I'm finally back readers~! Sorry for the long wait. Had college and other stories to work on. Not to mention a job. And let me tell you, it's not easy doing updates during back to school sales. Those were exhausting. Just mentioning it, I can see that long line of customers waiting at the registers. And boy, I mean long. Thankfully I wasn't closing that day, but still. That was a practical nightmare. Now then, enough delays. Let's get started, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or Pokemon. I also do not own the opening, which is Papermoon, a Soul Eater opening.

*OPENING*

(Instrumental)
(The scene begins with the assassination of East Ninja Village. Coral, watching the scene from above, lets out a loud scream. Scene then changes to the title)

I'm falling
Down into my shadow
Holding in my every breath
As I await the deadly night
(Coral fell in dark water. She looked up at the surface and saw her family looking down at her as she tried to reach them. A whirlpool was picked up, dragging her away from them)

So scary
But you can't give into this
Fear of pumpkin carriages
Cause all the witches see it in your eyes
(Chrom and Robin were walking down the halls of the former's castle with troubled looks. Camera zooms out to reveal that it was seen in the eye of a crazy ruler and a dark mage. Screenshots of a Dark Flier and a general covered the screen)

See you in your dreams
Yeah, baby
(Screenshots of each of the Shepherds and Emmeryn going on with their normal lives came and gone in order of appearance)

Your nightmares, too
That's where I'll find you
(Scene changed to somewhere in space where Arceus was seen watching over Coral)

Fairy Blue
It is only for you
That I would crush the stars
And put them on display
(Coral, her Pokemon and the Shepherds were battling against the Risen and Plegians)
Black Paper Moon
(Coral's team were watching their leader sadly watching the sunset)

If you really put your faith in me
(Camera zooms over to many Pokemon that will be joining the Shepherds)
When you're lost here, I am
Forever with your soul
(Marth was fighting off many Risen on her own while heading to a portal)

Waiting here above you patiently
Just like the shining moon
(Scene changed and Coral took Marth's place as she ran to her clan's killer with a killing intent. They clashed and fought. Coral skidded back as she glared up at the murderer)

After the war against Plegia was over and Emmeryn was revealed to be alive the whole time, the Shepherds all returned home to Ylisse. Chrom and Robin kept their engagement silent, deciding to announce it after a celebration Flavia planned to have her people throw in Ylisse. Although questionable, the Shepherds all agreed that they should have that party, which would also count as a welcome back party for Emmeryn and a welcome and birthday party for Kazuki's Eevee.

Once the group returned to Ylisstol, the citizens were all shocked to see their exalt had lived after hearing rumors of her death. After they fully processed that their queen was indeed alive and with them, they welcomed Emmeryn back with open arms. After that, the whole city spent the rest of the day partying, whether it would be in their homes, in the streets, or in the castle walls. All in all, everyone was enjoying the time of peace. Well, almost all of them.

"You really have to go now?" Chrom asked Coral, who was packing up some food in a bag.

"I have to. Aversa is still out there. If she has a weapon from my village, my home, then she should know what happened to it. Why my village was destroyed," the ninja reasoned.

"At least stay for the celebration. We won the war and are now at a time of peace."

"Perhaps you are at a time of peace, but not me." Chrom looked at her in confusion. "Until I find the person responsible for the destruction of my home, I can never be at peace."

"And what will you do if you find them?"

"When I find them, I'll kill them. I swore I would and I won't rest until the deed is done."

Chrom was about to say something against the idea, but then remembered that he had done the same thing to Gangrel earlier, when he thought his sister died for them. "I understand. But where will you go? Aversa could be anywhere by now. And I doubt she'll return to Plegia."

Coral went silent at his question, ceasing her packing. She had no leads, and even if she did find Aversa, she wasn't sure if she really was responsible for her home. For all she knew, Aversa could be working with someone else and got the weapons from that higher-up.

The Ylissean prince sensed the ninja's small conflict and came up with a solution. "I'm no tactician, but I do have an idea. How about you stay here? Work as a secret agent. Who knows? The missions you'll be on may lead you to clues on her whereabout. Not to mention, there are still a lot of Pokemon out there. If I recall, aren't you here also to bring them back? Maybe if you find an injured Pokemon, you can bring them here in Ylisse."

"And your people will be okay with it?" Coral asked, considering the offer.

"They're okay with our Pokemon. Why wouldn't they be okay with wild Pokemon staying? Besides, I'm pretty sure I saw some small, bird-like Pokemon in a few homes. And a couple of oversized rats and moving plants near the city."

The blue ninja thought about it and knew he was right. That and she also had a feeling that the prince wouldn't let her leave, not after everything they've been through. Plus, she also did kind of promised to bring all the Pokemon back to her world. Even if she managed to find them, she would need a place to keep them safe, especially from the bandits and hunters. She had no doubts that word spread about the Pokemon; it would be a matter of time before they become a target.

"Alright, I'll stay. But I expect the missions to send me everywhere. Every village we haven't been to, every town we haven't gone to, every forest or cave we haven't explored in, no matter how dangerous or mysterious it is," she said.

A smile formed on Chrom's face. "That's fine by me," he replied. "Now, if you can stop packing, let's go down for dinner. We have a big banquet going on." With that, the two went to the dining room.

In the room in question, every Shepherd were seated at the long table and were enjoying the meal the chefs prepared for them. Even their Pokemon were sitting at the table and enjoying the food.

"Oh man. All this food is definitely worth that big battle! I'm starving!" Vaike exclaimed, stuffing his face with some pasta.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Maribelle scolded. "And just when I thought your appetite was the one thing that wasn't as vulgar as your personality."

"Can you blame him? We all fought hard back there," Sully reasoned.

"Especially the Pokemon. They fought their hardest out there," Lissa agreed, looking to their partners, whom were also stuffing their faces with food, though not as messy as the Shepherd fighter.

"At least they have better table manners than Vaike," the wealthy daughter sighed.

"Hope there's dessert later. I could use some good cake," Gaius said.

"Cake sounds nice for dessert!" Nowi agreed.

Kazuto looked and saw Donnel hesitating, simply looking at the food on the table. "Is there something wrong, Donnel?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just that... I'm a villager and I'm here eating in a castle with the royal family. What my folks would give to be in my place," the boy answered.

"That may be true, but Donnel, you're here because you fought with us. You helped us end the war. If anything, you became an inspiration to your people and all the other farmers and villagers out there. You've become a hero."

The farm boy took in what the ninja said and found it to be true. He may be a simple villager, but he fought with the Shepherds. He didn't get this far by sheer luck, nor was it only because of Wilbert. He got to this point through his own dedication, his own strength.

"Yeah. I guess I did," Donnel said at least. "Whew. Now that I got that off my chest, let's dig in!" He gathered some food on his plate and ate.

At this point, Chrom and Coral walked in.

Seth noticed the two entering. "What took you two so long?"

"To put it in simpler terms, we were discussing business," his trainer answered, taking a seat next to the disguised Zoroark and helping herself to the food.

Before Chrom could take his seat between his sister and Gladiknight, Robin walked up to him. "Hey, Chrom. Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh sure, Robin," he nodded. The two left the room.

As they left, both the Gladiknight and the Pikachu glanced at each other before smirking at one another. They already know the secret between their trainers and had a feeling that it would be revealed soon enough.

"Why are you both smiling like that?" Anubis asked, noticing the looks on their faces.

"It does seem a bit suspicious," Merlin pointed out, also noticing the smirks.

The two simply smiled at them and continued eating.

With Chrom and Robin, the tactician was talking to the prince about their little secret.

"I know we said we will tell them after this celebration, but I don't think I can hide it for long. About us," she told him.

"I think I know what you mean. On our way back, I couldn't help but notice our Pokemon giving us these weird looks on their faces," he agreed.

"You don't think they know, do you?"

"Well considering that we were away from everyone else while they were distracted by the birth of Kazuki's Eevee, I doubt they would notice. Then again, Gladiknight has great senses, and Sparky is quite close to you..." Chrom raised an eyebrow as he realized one small detail. "Wait, why are we worried about this? Shouldn't it be okay if our partners know about our engagement?"

"Yeah, but what if they tell the other Pokemon? And don't forget that few of them can talk."

Chrom thought about the possibility and knew his fiancee had a point. Even if they can keep a secret, what if they talk about it with their trainers and another one of their Shepherds overheard? They want the engagement to be a secret, a surprise, a symbol of a good future for all of Ylisse.

"Well, I guess we can't keep it a secret for long then," he spoke at last. "Come. Let's spread the news to them all. Might even liven up the party."

Robin smiled in agreement to the idea. "Yeah. I suppose we kept this hidden long enough."

At that final decision, they went back inside and told the big news.

The next day... So to say it was a huge mess in the city of Ylisstol. After announcing the engagement to the Shepherds, everyone was partying like there was no tomorrow. Well, everyone but the Pokemon, ninjas, minus Kai, Emmeryn, Nowi, Panne, Donnel and the chefs, for they, influenced by Flavia, drank a lot of alcohol during the celebration. Drunk, both Chrom and Robin then announced the engagement to their people. At the big news, everyone was really happy for the prince and had been partying almost just as long as the Shepherds.

"I can't believe how crazy it was. Even Phila and Cordelia partied hard," Coral said to her fellow ninjas. The three teens, child and Pokemon were in a hall by a window.

"Well can you blame them? The war is over, Emmeryn is back, and Chrom and Robin are engaged. These guys have every right to party," Seth reasoned.

"I suppose that is true."

"Look on the bright side. At least it'll keep Kai quiet for the day," Kazuto said.

"That's cruel to say," Yuuki scolded her boyfriend.

"You know it's true. Besides, with how hard everyone partied, they'll need a longer rest than initially planned. Plus, it'll give us time to help clean up and prepare."

"Prepare what?" Kazuki asked, her Eevee resting on her head.

"Vee?"

"Prepare the wedding, of course. Chrom and Robin's wedding," the north ninja said. "They practically just recovered from war. And they are currently out of commission and will remain for some time. "

"Well, majority of the people are knocked out anyway. Might as well do something. Besides, it'll be good training," Coral agreed, as she leapt out of the castle from a window.

"It can make people happy," Seth pointed out, following after his trainer.

"Okay! Us too, Yasu!" Kazuki said to her Eevee, prepared to follow after the Zoroark and east ninja.

"Oh no you don't!" Yuuki intervened, grabbing her daughter by the back of her shirt.

"Why not?"

"Because you have a more important job. While we clean up the streets, you'll be in charge of the Shepherd's Pokemon and help them, Emmeryn, Panne, Nowi and Donnel clean the castle. The chefs did enough work, preparing so many food for us last night, so let them rest for the day."

Hearing that request Kazuki gasp in surprise. "Really?!"

"It's a big job, Kazuki. Think you can handle it?" Kazuto asked.

"Yes sir!" The young child rushed back into the dining room, where the Pokemon were trying to bring their partners to their room and the guests to the guest rooms.

"Should we leave our Pokemon with her too?" Yuuki asked Kazuto.

"The Shepherds' Pokemon are enough. Besides, we need more help around the city than in this castle," he reasoned.

"Good point."

Meanwhile, in the woods miles away from Ylisstol, a certain swordswoman was swinging her sword over her head. Ever since the day 'Emmeryn' committed suicide, Marth stayed in the woods near Ylisstol to train and to be on lookout for any Plegians. She had been so busy training, she wasn't aware of the news of the end of the war and Emmeryn's return.

'I can't believe I trusted them,' she thought. 'I had thought the Pokemon being here, the ninjas being here, can change the future, but nothing changed. The exalt still died. If her future hasn't changed, than the Pokemon can't be trusted to change our future for the better.'

She heard a sound at a distance and looked up to see a big, gray and orange bird flying to a branch, with what seemed like a bunch of fruit hanging out of its mouth. She saw a nest on the branch it was on and many small Pokemon similar to the big bird Pokemon were sticking their heads out of the nest, reaching for the food. Lowering its head, the suppose parent allowed its children to each take a fruit. As soon as its mouth was free of food, the bigger Pokemon sat and rested in the nest, its babies huddling close to it for warmth and comfort.

Watching them interact made Marth remember of her childhood, how her parents took care of her and her younger brother and be exhausted afterwards, especially considering their occupation. Not only that, it also made her think of her partner. Rather, what happened between them.

*FLASHBACK*

It was after Seth faked Emmeryn's death, Marth was walking through the woods in the rain. Roxy was walking behind her. Sensing her trainer's depression, the Puppy Pokemon rushed up to her side and rubbed against her leg in an attempt to comfort her. In return, however, the swordswoman kicked her away.

"Go away!" she shouted. "I thought you Pokemon can make a difference for the future... But I see I was wrong! If you can't help me on my quest, then you're better off not following me at all! Get away and stay away!" Without another word, Marth took off, leaving Roxy standing in the middle of the woods, deeply hurt by what Marth said.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Marth hadn't seen Roxy since. She thought about going back to where she left her, but something was holding her back from doing so. Her heart tells her to go and reconcile with the Rockruff, but her mind was telling her to not waste any more time worrying and train as hard as she could to prevent the future from happening. Though she was training as hard as she could to prevent a certain future event from happening, deep down, she really wanted to see Roxy again. But even if she goes back, there was no way the Rock-type Pokemon was still waiting for her in the woods.

"I need a break," she sighed, grabbing a cloak and walking to the city of Ylisstol.

As she reached her destination, the first thing she saw was a mess. Some food and drinks were on the floor, some people were on the ground, knocked out, and kids and some Pokemon were cleaning up the mess that were made and brought the adults in their home. She was at the party the day before, but didn't stay long. All she knew about it was that they were celebrating the end of war against Plegia and that Chrom and Robin were getting married.

'Glad I didn't stay long,' she thought.

"Huh? Marth?" called a voice. The swordswoman turned and saw Coral looking down at her from the ceiling, holding some bags, a couple filled with trash. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the day Panne joined the Shepherds."

"I was... training," she answered. "These people really went all out, did they?"

"Tell me about it. The castle is just as bad. And all because Flavia and Vaike got Chrom and Robin really drunk. Not only that, but the east khan had her soldiers pass that alcohol out to all of Ylisstol. It's a good think none of the kids and Pokemon drank that stuff, or it would be an even bigger mess."

Marth let out a small chuckle. "Well, it looks like you need a hand. Mind if I help out?"

"Greatly appreciated." The blue ninja landed by her side and gave her an empty bag.

As they both cleaned the streets, Marth said, "I understand that they were happy, but they still didn't have to go this far."

"Exactly what I thought," Coral nodded in agreement. "But who can blame them? If it was me, I would probably do the same."

"For an engagement? Then again, I suppose Chrom isn't really your ruler."

The female ninja looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" The question caused the blue-haired girl to look back at her, equally confused. "I'm talking about how Emmeryn's alive." Hearing those words made Marth widen her eyes in shock.

"Wait, what?" she asked.

"You didn't hear? I thought word travels fast. And you said you can see into the future. The exalt still lives. All thanks to Seth."

"Your friend?"

"Friend and Pokemon." That shocked Marth even more. "Since you're an ally, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, since you did help us out earlier. Seth is actually a Pokemon, one who is a master of illusions. His illusions are so powerful, it can fool a very large group."

Taking in all this information, Marth looked down and replayed all her words. 'They... they did it? They saved her life? The exalt's death was fake?'

"My. What do we have here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before." The two girls turned and saw the exalt approaching them. The sight of the Ylisstol ruler made Marth catch her breath.

"Lady Emmeryn." Coral immediately bowed at her presence.

"Raise your head, Coral. You don't have to bow your head every time you see me," Emmeryn told her.

The blue ninja picked up her head. "As much as I understand and respect your kindness, it's a ninja's code to bow to someone of high status and respectful."

As they spoke, Marth couldn't remove her eyes from Emmeryn's face, not believing that the exalt was alive.

"And who's your friend?" the kind ruler asked, turning to the swordswoman.

"Oh yes. You haven't really met her. This is Marth, the one responsible for saving your life and Chrom's during the assassination attempt the day he and Gladiknight first did a Mega Evolution," Coral introduced.

"I see. So this is Marth. For saving my life and my brother's, you have my upmost gratitude. If there's anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask." All that met her offer was silence, which was starting to worry the exalt. "Is there something wrong?"

"You're really alive..." she breathed.

"You really didn't know?" Coral asked. She then noticed something different about Marth. "By the way, where's Roxy? I thought she's with you now."

At the mention of the Rockruff, Marth dropped the bag. "I- uh... I just remembered I have something important to do. Bye!" She rushed out of Ylisstol.

"What just happened?" Emmeryn asked.

"Don't know," the blue ninja answered.

With the swordswoman, she was rushing to the woods where she left Roxy. All guilt she was feeling when she left her partner was welling up inside her. What she did to Roxy the last time she saw her was starting to play in her head, making her feel even more guilty and worried about the Rockruff.

After a few hours of running, she finally made it to the spot where she left her Pokemon. Catching her breath, she looked around for the Puppy Pokemon. "Roxy! Roxy, are you here?! It's me! Roxy!" No sound were heard in response to her call, but that didn't stop Marth from calling out to her partner. "Roxy, please! Tell me if you're here! Look, I'm sorry! I never meant any of that! I didn't mean to not come back until now! Just please, Roxy. Please answer me! Come back to me, Roxy!" As she took a step forward, she saw something in some nearby shrubs. Walking towards it, she found a dirty, brown bandana, with cream-colored bone on it. To many, it would be nothing but an accessory, but to Marth, it was more than that.

*FLASHBACK*

It was the day after Roxy joined Marth on her journey. During that time, the girl was feeling sore on her cheeks, for her Rockruff kept nuzzling and cuddling her cheek, or occasionally her neck, with the rocks around her neck.

"Ow ow ow..." she groaned, rubbing her face.

"Ruff?" Roxy noticed her trainer rubbing her face and seemed more confused or curious rather than worry.

"Can't you go easy on the cuddles? Or not use those rocks around your neck to do it?" Instead of a nod or a whimper, all she got from the Puppy Pokemon was a smile and head tilt.

'That's nowhere close to the right response,' she thought with a sweat drop. As she looked up, she saw a village up ahead. As soon as she saw civilization in front of her, an idea came to her. 'I know!'

About an hour later, after contemplating and checking the accessory shop the village had, Marth picked out and bought the very same bandana the present Marth found, only more clean and new-looking.

"Hold still, Roxy," she told the Rockruff, who sat obediently as she tied the bandana around her neck, covering the rocks. "There. Fashionable and I don't have to worry about the rocks scarring my face."

Roxy looked down at the accessory around her neck and got teary eyed. Seeing her eyes like that made Marth panic.

"Huh?! What's wrong?! You don't like it? I was told I have weird fashion sense but-" She was cut off by Roxy jumping in her arms and happily nuzzled her. Thankfully because of the neckerchief, it didn't hurt as much as before. After the cuddles, Marth brought Roxy up to her eye level. "So you like it?"

"Rock ruff!" she nodded.

A smile formed on Marth's face at the answer. "I'm so glad! Let this also represent our friendship, okay?"

"Ruff!"

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Tears formed in her eyes and dripped on the bandana at the memory of what it represents. And now that Marth found it in the shrubs, with no Roxy in sight, it could only mean one thing. "What have I done...?" Holding the bandana close to her, she fell to her knees and muttered out, "I'm sorry..."

"And? What are you going to do about it?" she heard. Looking up, she saw Coral looking down at her from a tree.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"You were acting weird earlier, so I followed you." Landing on the ground beside the swordswoman, Coral then asked, "So, what are you going to do? Are you really just going to let her go or are you going to find her and reconcile?"

"But what if she doesn't forgive me?"

Hearing her back down before trying made Coral angry. "So you're just going to let her go?! You? Who warned Chrom of the disaster that was to fall upon Emmeryn? You're not scared of fighting against an army of Risen, but you're scared of trying to make up to your friend?"

"And just what do you know about me?!" Marth demanded, angry that the ninja before her would speak as though she knew everything about her life.

"Enough to know that you suffered from a terrible tragedy." Until that. To hear those words, those very accurate words from her mouth, surprised her. "I know those eyes. In fact, back when we were talking about how Emmeryn survived, you acted a bit weird then, as though you were sure she had died. And not in a way where you were happy she did die, but rather, you took her death harder than anyone else, even harder than Chrom and Lissa, and they're her siblings. So tell me, Marth, unless if I'm wrong, you're hiding something else, aren't you? You don't just predict the future like Chrom told us you did. Otherwise Emmeryn's survival wouldn't be that much of a surprise for you. And I demand to know, Marth. Who. Are. You."

Halfway through Coral's observation, Marth was backing away from her until she felt a tree behind her. The ninja didn't stop her approach and got to her face as she asked her question. And truth be told, the blue swordswoman was quite frightened of her. So frightened, she forgot one important detail, as her interrogator stepped back, eyes wide in shock.

"Your eye... You couldn't be," she spoke in disbelief.

Knowing that the truth was out, Marth sighed and stood on her feet, preparing herself for the big reveal. "It's exactly what you think."

"But how? Not even Emmeryn said anything about a missing sister."

"That's because I'm not her sister." The swordswoman rubbed the back of her neck as she took in a deep breath. "Hi, my name is really Lucina. And... I'm Chrom and Robin's daughter from the future."