[Skyrim Crossover] As if Skyrim wasn't already hectic enough, with its inhabitants fighting both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire. Now there's dragons, too, and Emmet finds himself unwittingly roped into the whole mess. What else could go wrong?
After some breakfast, Emmet seemed right as rain again, and was raring to go. Benny was absolutely delighted when Kitty handed him the Dwemer key, turning it over and over in his hands as they walked.
"Do you think we've got time for that explanation now?" Emmet asked after a while. Benny didn't seem too inclined to leave them just yet. The Prince glanced up from his prize, and blinked at the Dragonborn.
"Oh. Sure, I guess now is as good a time as any." He chewed his lip as he thought how to start his story.
"I was once a Breton mage, working in the Imperial City in the final years of Emperor Uriel Septim the Seventh. My team in particular had a fascination with the Dwemer ruins. We studied their technology, what few remnants of their culture we could find. I was the youngest on the team, and the others didn't like me very much. Guess they thought I was getting 'too big for my britches', or whatever. They were constantly looking for ways to get rid of me, though I didn't realize this until it was too late."
"What happened?"
It was a moment before Benny spoke again, and when he did, it was very quietly. "There was a city guard. Not the captain, but fairly high-ranking, and I loved him very much. We always did our best to be very careful not to get caught, because relationships like ours were still very much frowned upon back then. But... My team, they somehow found out anyway. They went to the captain, and turned me in for trying to 'corrupt' one of his officers. The night I was arrested was the last time I ever saw him, because right after that we found ourselves in the middle of the Oblivion Crisis. The Emperor came to my cell, and I escaped with him and his personal guards. He gave me the Amulet of Kings right before he was killed, and I was asked to find his son Martin."
"You were the Hero of Kvatch?!"
Benny gave him a weak smile. "Yup, that was me."
"What happened to your guard...?"
"He was killed by daedra invaders early on. I didn't find out until after the Crisis was over."
"Oh, Benny..."
Benny shrugged. "It was two hundred years ago. I've had a lot on my plate since then, so it was easy enough to move on."
"What did you do when you found out?"
"I guess I got a little self-destructive. I don't really remember much of that stretch of time, but I wound up in the Shivering Isles. I destroyed the Gatekeeper, something the previous Prince of Madness wasn't very happy with me for, but for whatever reason he decided not to kill me. Instead, I wound up performing a bunch of tasks for him- one of which was to make a new Gatekeeper. Eventually he revealed to me that these seemingly odd and unrelated tasks were actually part of a plan to stop the Greymarch, where he would once again become Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order. I defeated him, and broke his curse, and he gave me the title of Prince of Madness. I couldn't have denied it even if I'd cared to, at the time, so now here I am."
"That's so sad..."
"Maybe, but it means I got to be here to help you." He bounced. "Oh! And I finally found an airship!" Emmet laughed as he suddenly perked up again. "Seriously, I think that's going to be the highlight of this entire century."
"If we can stop Alduin from destroying the world, at any rate," Lucy reminded them.
"I have faith in you," Benny said.
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Their return to the Temple was met with enthusiasm, especially once the rebels realized they were successful in their mission. "A lot happened while you were gone," Mayhem told them. "We happen to have a second Scroll in our possession."
"Do we really??" Kitty asked, eyes wide. "How did that happen?"
"It looks like the vampires are also starting up some trouble, and one of their own actually stole the Scroll they had and came all the way out here looking for help in stopping their plans."
"Wow," Emmet gasped. "Is the vampire still here?"
"Yeah, he's around. We're waiting on Vitruvius to read the Scroll he brought us."
"Vitruvius can read Scrolls?!" Kitty giggled and nudged Lucy.
"Pick your jaw up off the floor," she teased. Lucy blushed and scowled at her.
"Oh, and another thing-"
"Emmet!"
The Dragonborn jolted as a surprising voice called his name. "Sirius?! You're back!" He paused as he caught sight of the elf. "Whoa, you look really different."
"Considering the circumstances of my departure from the Thalmor, I figured it was in my best interests to be less recognizable."
"Oh no, what happened??"
"I outlived my usefulness."
"At least you finally know the truth now," Lucy said. "Does your being here mean you've decided to join us, instead?"
"...I'm still thinking on it. I haven't made a decision yet."
"He did give us a lot of Thalmor intel though," Mayhem added, smirking at Sirius. "Bruce and Penn and the Knight are trying to come up with a plan based on what we now know."
"Not you?" Lucy asked.
"No, Sirius and I will be leaving with our new vampire friend as soon as we know what his Scroll has to say." Lucy gave the half-elf a considering look at that.
"What??" he huffed at her. "Just because I was a Thalmor officer doesn't mean I want to see the sun destroyed any more than you do. Less than you do, actually."
"Wait, they're going to try to destroy the sun??"
"My father is, yes." They turned to the newcomer. He turned glowing yellow eyes onto Emmet. "You must be the Dragonborn I've been hearing so much about."
"That's me," Emmet agreed. "I'm Emmet!"
"Balthazar. It is an honor to meet you, Dragonborn."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "Nice to meet you. Now what's this about destroying the sun?"
