Gabriel turned to the woman beside him, his eyes wide.
Her white sword cleaved another enemy in two, and she turned to briefly smile at his sister before continuing the fight.
"Serafina," She said quietly. "I'm so proud of you."
"Mama," Finn said again as tears poured from her eyes. "I missed you."
The man was bewildered. The woman in white looked remarkably like his sister, and Finn had called her…
"Mother?" Gabriel asked after she kicked a snakelike creature to its death into a chasm that had opened in the earth.
The immediate area now free of vermin and evil, the strange woman turned to Gabriel. Her eyes filled with tears, and, hesitantly, she brought one hand up to cup his cheek gently.
He stared, refusing to believe his eyes. He'd seen the Sorcerer in some sort of strange vision only a few minutes before, and now his long-dead mother?
"Have I gone mad?" He asked, more to himself than anyone.
"My son," His mother whispered. "I'm so sorry I never got to see you grow up. A few short minutes with you was far too little."
"Mama," Finn choked on a sob and took a halting step to throw her arms around the warrior clad in white.
"My darlings, how I love you both."
Gabriel was swept into the hug with his mother and sister, still bewildered, but it wasn't a vision. The woman was solid, tangible, and too familiar to be anyone other than who his sister claimed.
It was as if a dam within his heart broke open. One that had existed for so long that he hadn't even known it was there. As his mother's arms wrapped around him, he felt like a child, vulnerable and scared, yet strangely comforted.
It was this embrace he'd longed for in the Darkness. These were the arms he'd yearned for in every time of sickness and fear throughout his childhood. The lips that pressed to his cheek released a flood of tears he'd never let flow.
"Mama," The word broke, and he nearly collapsed against her.
"Shhh," Her hand moved up to stroke the back of his head while she held him. Finn had done the same for him on so many occasions, but it should never have been her task. The world should have been so different.
"Mama, I missed you so much," Finn squeezed the woman tightly. "I… I did my best."
"You did a beautiful job raising him. I'm so proud of you. I love you. I wish we had all the time in the world to talk, but right now, we have to fight."
Gabriel's mother pulled away, and he ran a bloodstained sleeve across his face to wipe away the excess tears. She was right; there was no time for this right now. Picking up the weapons they'd haphazardly discarded during the familial embrace, the mother and her two grown children took defensive stances.
Finn's was less confident than the others, likely since she'd had no formal training to speak of. Gabriel also didn't think Roland liked the idea of her being in direct confrontation, and so hadn't allowed her to practice.
He looked towards his niece and nephews, who were now laying on the ground in exhaustion. The sky was a mosaic of light and dark as a cosmic battle raged overhead. A dragon black as the Darkness gnashed at a figure of light.
It hurt his eyes to look at the enormous battle. The dragon roared as a star falling from the heavens slammed into one of its wings, causing a fiery explosion that splintered the dark and made Gabriel cast his sight to the ground.
There was enough chaos around him without turning his attention to the heights above him.
His mother was already re-engaging with a goblin who lurked in the shadows of the city's rubble, waiting to strike. With three swift hits, she disabled the evil creature and turned to slice a vile stinging insect from the air as it buzzed towards her grandchildren.
"Behind you!" She cried to Gabriel, who had been momentarily awed by her battle prowess. He ducked and turned in time to catch a spiny, grotesque goatlike creature through its middle, eliciting a foul screech.
The skirmish, for that's all this could be called in the midst of such carnage as enveloped the city, raged on as Gabriel and his mother fought side by side. She was an enormously skilled warrior, a skill that she wouldn't have learned in life.
Finn stood as the last line of defense between the world and her children. They were improving, each in their own way. Ivan was holding his head, Lily trying to stand, and Roen had both his hands on the ground with his eyes closed, as if trying to discern something distant and important.
But there was no time to dwell on that. The enemies flowed steadily towards them; just as one was struck down, another took its place. Gabriel was sweating and exhausted, ready to fall to his knees and give up.
"Are there any others who could help us?" He panted to his mother, and she paused.
"I believe reinforcements are on their way," She nodded behind him, and Gabriel turned to see a large, armored and horned creature he vaguely recognized.
"Victoria!" He cried. Her mount charged towards him, using its impenetrable head to knock a swooping gargoyle from the sky. Its large feet trampled several goblins lurking in a shadow.
"Gabe! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She jumped down from her perch as the animal slowed, and he caught her in his arms, holding her tightly to his chest. The scent of her hair was a vast improvement over the stench of blood and death that laid heavily over the city.
"I've been worried sick," He whispered. They had been engaged less than an hour when the world changed entirely, and the final battle became the primary focus. It would have been unbearably tragic to lose her now, and yet, that was what his heart had most dreaded.
"Are you all right?" She pulled back and looked him up and down, her keen eyes quickly taking stock of how much of the blood on him was his own.
"I'm better than that, all things considered," He said. Victoria's giant mount turned and growled, stomping on a collection of scarabs coming from the chasm beside them. "The triplets are fine, Finn is all right, and… my mother is here."
He said the last part tentatively, half expecting Victoria to declare that he'd hit his head too hard and was suffering delusions.
She looked past his shoulder and smiled at the white warrior, who waved at her with a knowing smile.
"Your mother is beautiful," She beamed at him. It was a strange expression to wear amidst the death and chaos of war. "Would you like to meet my parents?"
Gabriel tilted his head in confusion. He'd met Dr. and Mrs. Sherman on numerous occasions. Unless Victoria meant…
She gestured, and two more warriors in white approached, a couple, each bearing some resemblance to the woman he loved. He gaped.
"Has everyone come back from the dead?" Gabriel gasped.
"I don't think so," Victoria looked around. "I can't see everywhere, but so many generations have come before, so many good, and so many evil people in the past of the world… if they all appeared right now, I think there would be quite a few more, don't you?"
The logic was sound but Gabriel didn't have time to absorb it. A collection of screeching, bloodthirsty bats was racing towards them, and he raised his blade and called to the newcomers.
"Nice to meet you both! I intend to marry your daughter, but I suppose right now isn't the best time to talk about that!" He nodded briefly to Victoria's parents. Her mother seemed amused. Her father did not.
Gabriel grimaced. He'd put his foot in his mouth. Again, like he had so many times before.
"They'll love you," Victoria raised her sword, and he worried. She had no combat training at all. Her entire military career had been in nursing, not battle.
"Will you check on the triplets? They seem all right, but a proper nurse…" He hedged, not wanting to insult her, but also wanting her to not directly face the inbound horde if that could be avoided.
"I see what you're doing, Gabe, but all right." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "My parents will help you keep everything under control. I'll be right back, as I'm sure our niece and nephews are just fine!"
She ducked away, leaving the man in a battle line with his mother, who he'd met only moments ago, and his deceased future in-laws. It was a more perplexing situation than he'd ever found himself in, which was saying a lot after his adventures.
"All right," He tried to smile, "Let's get this final battle over with, shall we?"
There was no response as the battle recommenced in earnest.