Reawakened

When the Shepherds found Joos dead atop the mountain, none of them ever dreamed that they'd be seeing their beloved tactician again. But a detail Naga neglected to mention lead to exactly that.

What she didn't foresee needing to explain was this: Joos might have sacrificed himself to stop Grima from taking over the world, but the bonds he forged with all of his friends were so incredibly strong that somehow, impossibly, he was granted a second chance. This unexpected turn of events couldn't have even been foreseen by the Foreseer himself. That is, if he were alive to do so.

“...But Green, we have to do something!”

“What do you propose we do?”

“I...I dunno!” The conversation was cut short when the boy's eyes opened, seeing a somewhat familiar sight. The girl who spoke first gasped at his awakening. “Hey there!” Confused, the boy nodded at her, to which she smiled sweetly.

The man she was standing next to knelt down and offered the boy a hand. “There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, y'know. Give me your hand.” The boy took his hand and took a shaky stand. With a smile, he said, “welcome back. It's over now.”

Tears already welling up in his eyes, Joos nodded. “Thanks, Green. And you too, Grace.”

“Hey, I'm here too, you know!” The voice was loud and kind of obnoxious, but the unmistakable heavy footfall as another person hobbled over was a dead giveaway as to who it was. “What, no love for poor ol' twitchy-ass Augustus?”

Joos laughed and smiled at his third visitor. “Hello Augustus. What...what's going on?”

“I was kind of hoping you'd know, to be frank,” Green said, biting his lip. “Are you...good Joos or what?”

Joos' smile faded a bit and he nodded. “I remember you, and I remember going by that name, so yeah, I'm pretty sure I am.”

Grace raised an eyebrow. “By that name...?”

“Oh right. Well, I learned in my last moments that the other Joos didn't actually go by that name,” Joos explained. “He went by a different one.”

Green nodded. “Well, it would put a bad taste in my mouth to call you what the other one went by, so would you be cool with still being Joos?”

“Absolutely,” Joos said with a nod. “Say, um...is this like, the afterlife or something? Have I waited to wake up in whatever comes next until you guys got here...?”

Shaking his head, Green chuckled. “Nah, we're all living. And you're presumably back to yourself...hopefully.”

Suddenly, Grace gasped. “Hey, I just thought of something. Joos! Take off your shirt!”

“...Excuse me?”

Augustus gasped. “Mom, you're married!”

With a roll of her eyes, Grace reached for Joos' shirt and started to pull it off him. “Just take it off. It'll all make sense when we can see your back.”

Despite knowing what she was talking about, Joos struggled anyway, mostly due to her rough handling of his clothing. “Okay, okay, stop forcing it!” After several seconds of hilarious disrobing, Joos's shirt lay on the ground and his trio of visitors was staring at his bare back. “So...what do you see?”

“Nothing!” Grace replied happily.

Augustus scratched his chin with a shaky hand. “What exactly are we looking for?”

“You see, Joos used to have a huuuge purple mark on his back,” Grace explained. “Now that he's back, the mark is gone. I think that was Grima's mark.”

Green nodded, knowing where she was going with this. “So you're saying that since it's gone, he's definitely not Grima.”

Grace nodded and slapped Joos' back, causing him to recoil. “Absolutely.”

“Good to know,” Green sighed. “Now let's get you cleaned up. There's someone you should see.”

Something in Green's tone told Joos that not everything was well. With a wary confirmation, he followed the people who found him the second time back to the nearest capital, which happened to be that of Tost, which made sense, considering Green was present.

After a short rest at the Tostian capital, Joos couldn't help but ask someone what Green had meant back in that field. Unfortunately, his first choice was Augustus, who simply shrugged and stated that he had no idea. After he hobbled off to do his undoubtedly very important thing, Joos decided to ask Grace, who looked at him with the look of a worried parent. “Right. You should probably see for yourself...she's not in the best state of mind right now...”

“Who's not? Whats going on?” Joos demanded. Suddenly, a scream echoed down the hall. One that seemed familiar and worrying. Joos and Grace exchanged worried looks before trying to locate the source of the scream. Said source made herself apparent when Joos was forcefully taken to the ground by a flash of frenzied fur. “Oof, we gotta stop meeting like this,” he said with a chuckle.

The voice he heard in response was not the one he was expecting, but it was a pleasant sound nonetheless. “Augustus told me everything! Daddy, you're home!”

Joos laughed and tried to push the future traveler off him. “I don't think there was enough time for you to hear everything, judging by the scream.”

“Doesn't matter. You're back!” Jayde shot to her feet and turned back into her human form, oddly keeping one side of her face away from Joos.

Disregarding that, he raised an eyebrow at something else. “And...you're not suspicious of this at all?”

Jayde tugged at one of her ears “Why would I be? You're back and that's what matters. Mom will be so exci...ted.” Her eyes (or, the one he could see) glazed over for a moment and she gasped, hopping and turning her full body to him. “Mom! You need to see her!”

Before he could reply, the reason she had been hiding her face became apparent to Joos, which he illustrated by gasping. “What the hell happened to your face?”

What was left of Jayde's face fell. “Well, that's what happens when you get careless during the final battle...”

Joos frowned. “Oh, so I did this to you.”

Jayde gave him a confused look. “Please. A zombie did this to me, obviously. Not your fault. Well, not this you anyway. You really gotta get over this whole blaming yourself thing. Mom needs you without the self-imposed guilt trips.”

That shook Joos out of his self hatred for a moment. “Wait, that's right. You said she needs me?”

Jayde seemed to just realize that was a concern and jumped once more. “Right! Mom needs you! It could happen any day, no, any minute now!”

That was when Green joined the conversation. “That's right. We need to get you out there immediately. Let's get going.”

Infuriatingly, the journey was taken in complete silence, as Green's new wyvern ferried three passengers to a vaguely familiar land. “Remember this place, dad?” Jayde asked, holding on to him tight from the back of the dragon apparently named Heath. “This is the animal sanctuary you guys found me at. Mom decided to settle down here because it's far away from other people. And to solve the poacher problem.”

Joos nodded, chancing a glance at the terrain below. “I see. Makes sense, knowing her.”

“Hold on tight, guys,” Green called. “We're about to land!” With that, Heath took a nose dive and landed in front of a shoddily made hut consisting of vines and mud.

Dismounting Green's new mount shakily, Joos took a look at the small house. “Hm, she could have made better shelter...”

Jayde shrugged. “She has more important things to worry about now. Maybe you can help with that now that you're back!”

“Maybe.” Joos returned a shrug of his own. “Wait, what's she so busy with?”

“You'll see,” Green assured him.

As soon as her feet were on the ground, Jayde broke out into a sprint. “Mom! Mom, I'm back! I brought company and I know you'll just love seeing him!”

From inside the hut, a voice sounded, but it was too quiet for Joos to hear. He took a cautious step toward the house, hoping she'd hear him...or smell him...

No response from the inside.

“...Hello?”

Green shook his head and went ahead, knocking on the door gingerly, as if it were in danger of falling. “Signele, I brought an old friend with me. You'll want to see this.”

He opened the door and made a motion for Joos to follow him. Jayde bolted in before them both and they ducked inside. The sight they saw was one Joos wasn't expecting to see. Signele sat in a rocking chair, staring off into space with one hand on her stomach. Said stomach was noticeably swollen, and Joos' initial thought was about how she let herself go in the months he'd been gone (Green mentioned he'd been gone about 4 months). However, the look in her eyes told him that maybe there was something more to her newly gained weight than met the eyes.

Speaking of meeting the eyes, he was having a hell of a time meeting hers. Finally he coughed awkwardly and spoke a timid greeting. When no response came, he huffed, crossing his arms and starting to get really worried. “Are you...okay? Hello? Earth to Signele!”

Jayde poked at her mother's shoulders. “Mom? Dad's home... Aren't you excited?”

Signele finally sighed and looked down at her hands on her stomach. “I don't know if I should believe it. I could just be imagining things. That's been happening lately.”

“Wh...what?” Joos' voice was small, and he was having difficulty masking the hurt in it.

Green put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “She's been having a rough go of it lately. What with losing you, seeing Jayde get hurt, and having to deal with the baby...”

“Baby?”

“Babies,” Signele corrected. “I feel more than one of them.”

Green paused before continuing. “She only really snaps out of her daydreaming when the children are brought up.”

Suddenly, it all made sense. “Wait...so you're saying she's...you're...pregnant?”

Jayde nodded. “She could give birth any day now. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you once she's not in pain constantly...”

With a nod, Joos considered the situation. He died for four months and came back to a fiance about to have children. What an odd...wait, when could she have ever gotten pregnant?

…He discarded that line of thought when he remembered that one time.

Regardless, he had an idea to bring Signele back to the real world. Gently, he knelt in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. He decided speaking probably wasn't going to work, so instead, he leaned in and planted his lips on hers, hoping to bring her back with the living. At first, it was like kissing a dead body, but finally, her eyes widened and she realized what was going on, evidenced by the fact that she started returning the kiss after that tense, scary second. In fact, she started returning it so much that she nearly pushed him to the ground with the force of her smooch. When he pulled back with a smile, her eyes were watering and she looked astonished at the sight sitting before her. “You're...real...” she said it so quietly he was scared he imagined it.

Instead, he just nodded. “I'm home.”

Signele extended her arms and he practically fell into them, realizing just then how much he missed being in her loving arms and holding her in his. “I would tackle you to the ground right now, but that's probably not good for the kids,” she said with a weak chuckle.

Joos nodded against her shoulder. “I understand. I'm just happy you're back with us. You must have gone through so much without me here.”

Signele's voice caught in her throat, and her words came out through tears and sobs. “You were gone and I was hurt and pregnant and...and...and...and you were gone and...”

Shushing her, Joos pulled her closer. “Hey, it's okay. I'm here now.”

“Ready to meet the children?” Signele asked warily.

“Ready as I'll ever be,” Joos said as he finally freed Signele from the hug.

Signele's face contorted into a pained grimace. “Good, because I think they're coming now.”

The faces of everyone present fell into panicked, worried expressions. Jayde gasped and started running around frantically, looking for anything that would help the situation, Green made a comment about how he should have brought Grace along, and Joos had to fight he urge to faint.

To spare the gruesome details, the birth was a long and arduous process, filled with a lot of screaming, cursing, blood, and one fainted royal. The end product was what was supposed to be three life-forms entering the world as three screaming Taguel babies. But instead of a third, there was a mass of skin and blood that Joos thought was a side effect from giving birth until Signele cried over it the second she wasn't holding either of the children anymore. Jayde and Joos, each holding a child, looked between each other with questioning glances. Once Signele explained that this was supposed to be a child, the reality of the situation set in.

Signele explained through tears and sobs. “Back when we fought on the mountain, I...I knew I was having triplets because I could hear all their little hearts beating, but after that battle, and after I was thrown down the mountain, I couldn't hear one of them anymore. So yeah...that's why I've been really distant lately. Besides losing my fianceé, I was preparing for...this.” She held up the supposed child and dissolved into tears once more.

Joos nodded, looking at the now sleeping child in his arms. He sat at Signele's side and leaned against her, resting his head on her shoulder. “Well, your fianceé came back, if that helps.”

With a sniffle, Signele nodded. “I guess it does.”

Jayde nodded toward the unconscious member of the gathering. “We should probably get rid of that one before Green faints again.”

After agreeing, Joos and Signele looked to each other with the same suggestion. “Can we bury it? Like a funeral?”

“Do you want to bury it? Like a funeral?”

The two questions came at once, and the couple laughed once they had realized their thoughts lead to the same place. After a kiss, they got to the burial. The family that had quickly gone from a small duo to five members had a special moment, as they bid farewell to what was supposed to be the sixth person.

Soon after, Green woke up, and they got to the important task of naming the children. Signele nodded at the boy and said, “Kayde. After Kayla and my darling Jayde.”

Jayde giggled at the pet name, and the little Kayde in her arms made sputtering noises that said he at least acknowledged his holder was doing something.

Then Signele turned to the girl in Joos' arms. With a sniffle, she placed a hand on her head. “Kodie.”

Joos smiled. “Dakota will be honored that you named someone after him.” A moment of awkward silence passed, and he looked around confused. “What? Would he not?”

Green cleared his throat and put a hand on Joos' shoulder. “There's a lot you missed.”

After getting caught up on all the deaths he was unaware of, Joos looked down at the baby in his arms. “Dakota...Pika...Knifez too, huh? At least he died with his family...I guess.” A somber silence passed before he looked to Green with a smile. “You guys really can't manage without a tactician, can you?”

Green returned the light-hearted smirk, eager for something to lighten the mood. “Hey now, don't get too cocky, you hear?”

“Last time you did that, we wound up with these two,” Jayde commented, earning a laugh from everyone in the room.

After that, Green left with good luck wishes and a promise that Joos would be able to catch up with more Shepherds eventually. Joos turned down the offer to see them immediately, because there was important work to be done right where he was.

The first order of business was improving his dear fiance's living conditions. It was no easy task, but in a matter of weeks, Signele had a full size house, made from brick, wood, and everything else that would make a decent house. It even had a room for Jayde, even though she insisted she wasn't staying, and one room for each of the kids for when they got older.

The building wasn't easy, and it wasn't something Joos was used to, but the manual labor gave him plenty of time to think about the fact that he became a father less than half a day after coming back to life (apparently). After Green helped provide some furniture, it was looking like a house suitable for one much more wealthy than a broken Taguel living in an animal sanctuary. Once the house was done and Signele had emotionally accepted the death of one of her children, it was almost like the several month period between the end of the war and the day the children were born didn't even exist.

The second pressing matter to attend to was relating to a certain term Signele had to keep reminding other people not to use.

And so, several long months of planning and raising babies later, that animal sanctuary played host to one of the biggest events it would ever see.

One side, four men, the second holding little Kayde in his arms, and on the other, four women, the second in line holding her sister Kodie. Hardly an eye was dry as Joos finally made good on his promise to spend the rest of his life with Signele.

The greatest feeling in the world for him was finally being able to call her his wife instead of his fiance.

And the greatest feeling in the world for her was knowing that she wouldn't be taking on the task of raising twins alone.

As for Kayde and Kodie, at the time, the only feeling they cared about was the one they felt when they were fed.

Paralogues: Paralogue 1: From Sickle to Sword - Paralogue 2: The Secret Seller - Paralogue 3: Taylor's Dilemma - Paralogue 4: Rides With Wyverns - Paralogue 5: Wings of Justice - Paralogue 6: Tournament of Kings - Paralogue 7: All Buns go to Heaven - Paralogue 8: The Lyin' King - Paralogue 9: Doing God's Work...Kinda - Paralogue 10: Nose in the Book, Head in the Clouds - Paralogue 11: Fast Fingers and Freedom - Paralogue 12: Witchcraft and Wizardry

DLC: The Conquest of The Domain [ Xenologue 1: Twenty-One Years Ago... - Xenologue 2: Fight of the Mapmakers - Xenologue 3: Capital City Onaw ] Days of Future Past [ Xenologue 4: The New Shepherds - Xenologue 5: A Glimmer of Hope - Xenologue 6: Beginning of the End ]

Non-Canon: A Very Forum Emblem Christmas! - **Reawakened** - Tales From the Barracks [ Second Seal Scramble ]