A Foolish Prince's Conquest

Ch.1 The Start of All (Part One)

It was around the end of Winter, a year after his death, when a blue haired boy was visited by the tactician. Minato quirked an eyebrow at his companion sitting across the table. The two were in a location modelled after the blue haired boy's memory of Gekkoukan High's library. Rows of high bookshelves filled the room with varying books of Japanese literature.

There was a book with a leather cover in the older man's hands as he flipped through the pages. Once he found the page he was looking for, his brown eyes quickly scanned over the words. The younger of the two tilted his head in confusion at why he was taking so long.

"Pardon me. I know I'm not being great company right now," the man with snowy white hair stated. He suddenly slammed the book shut causing Minato to visibly wince. "Sorry," he apologized again with a cough caused by the dust hidden in the book's pages. He promptly brushed off any dust that settled on his black cloak and eyed the fancy gold embroidery sleeve with a frown. The blue haired boy had asked the older man if he was from a well-off family before, but he quickly changed the topic, leaving Minato with more questions than ever.

"Did you find what you're looking for?" Minato asked. The tactician shook his head. Sighing, he rose from his seat to go find another book, Minato presumed. "I can help you if you want."

"I appreciate the thought, but it's not necessary. I've memorized where all the books are," the older man said with a small smile. He pushed the book back into its spot and pulled out an even larger tome right next to it.

"You're such a bookworm, Robin. I'm pretty sure you've read most of the books here," Minato said in response while the large tome was dropped in front of him. The blue haired boy simply looked at the tactician with weary eyes. "Don't tell me you need something else to be translated."

"Even though you have taught me Japanese, I still can't translate everything, my friend. I'm sure it's the same for when I teach you English." Minato inwardly groaned, but obliged him knowing that he has won this debate. Though much to his surprise, once he opened the book it wasn't in Japanese. He looked at the strange symbols doting the page. The tactician peeked over Minato's shoulder and had a perplexed look on his face. "Odd. I haven't seen this book in this library before, so I was thinking I might have missed it," Robin said as he gently took the book from Minato's hands.

The tactician swiftly flipped through the pages. Minato wondered how he doesn't ever seem to get paper cuts from how fast he was flipping through everything. And how can he even process the words that quickly?

"I can only recognize a few words and even then it doesn't make much sense."

Minato blinked, feeling somewhat tired from all that thinking. This is his punishment for staying up and going on a movie marathon, he supposed. "Translate what you can?"

Robin dragged a nearby chair away and plopped into the seat. He relaxed into a more comfortable position. "Well, it's written in a poem format for starters, so you can probably guess that there's some imagery. An ocean's gray waves... To seek... A shore... The path is yours." Robin shrugged. "That's all I can read right now."

Well, that was underwhelming. He thought the poem itself might be more interesting. But he was right. The current set of words didn't make much sense. An ocean's waves weren't gray and a path of theirs to seek a shore? Minato never understood poems and this wouldn't be an exception. "Good try anyway."

"This is going to keep bothering me," Robin mumbled. Then the older man quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, there's an author for this. Anankos was their name."

Minato frowned. "Anankos? That could be anyone."

"...Someone far away, perhaps. This language is a much older version of mine," the man with white hair replied.

"So, are you saying that this was written way before you were born?" Minato asked. The tactician nodded and gave him a small smile, albeit one that Minato could tell it was forced. "I wonder why this would be here. I haven't seen it before obviously."

"It's a mystery to me too. I could ask the other souls to translate, if you would like," Robin suggested. The younger of the two nodded. Then the tactician hid the book somewhere in a bag.

"Do you really know anyone who could translate it though?"

Robin smiled naturally this time and laughed. "You don't stay dead for centuries and never network around here. Trust me with the task and expect good results."

The next meeting was two months later. The boy was checking in with his friends to see how they were doing through a television set. They seemed to be doing all right, despite some still determining which path they wanted to pursue in their lives. But he knew they would push through since they made an oath to take some of his burden.

Yukari, surprisingly, was the first to pursue what she wanted to do. She enrolled in an acting course at college and has landed a main role in a show he used to watch, Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. A bit of nostalgia bubbled inside him as it reminded him of those days where he used to watch the show alongside her and other members of SEES.

Junpei has finally followed through on his love of baseball. Minato couldn't feel more proud, watching a good friend of his coach a little league team. Also, he finally asked Chidori out on a date, which made him shout, "Finally!" with an amused Robin laying on a couch next to him.

"Took him long enough," the tactician added with a laugh at Minato's reaction. His secret ship has now sailed. Robin's legs dangled off the couch's armrest and accidentally kicked Minato's head when he turned. "Sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I didn't fight literal death to cry over a simple knock to the head." For emphasis, the small boy tapped his head with a finger.

"I know. I just-"

"I'm fine. I'm not fragile, Robin," Minato replied more adamantly this time. Robin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that," the tactician apologized. He bit his lip, enough to draw blood, Minato noticed. "I know that you can fight. I don't need to watch over you for that. I'm still nervous about you getting hurt because..."

"Because...?" Minato asked.

"You know what I mean," Robin said.

Minato's dull blue eyes suddenly narrowed once he began to think about what the older man meant. Robin has been here in this sea of dead souls longer than he has. A soul long forgotten by the world and he watched his friends slowly die with the passing of time. He frowned knowing that he would have to go through a similar situation once his friends die of age. Not only that, but how long was he able to keep the seal up anyway? Robin was afraid, scared to lose someone else.

"Hey," Minato said to try to get the older male's attention. The small boy tugged the sleeve of his purple cloak. Robin seemed to take note of the younger boy's serious expression and turned to him with a confused look. "Do you ever feel lonely?"

Robin remained quiet for a bit while contemplating an answer. In truth, he wasn't sure how he should respond. It has been centuries since he felt any sort of loneliness. There was a time when he used to though, but people must move on eventually. In the end this was the response he came up with, "Not with you."

Minato blinked, somewhat confused, but he accepted the answer anyway. This was Robin, one of the best tacticians in history and almost destroyer of the world, after all.

"Robin, how goes the book translation?" Minato asked as he turned the television off.

"Oh, it's fully translated. Let me go find it," Robin replied. Then he lifted himself from his position on the couch to rummage through his bag. The blue haired boy noticed that he was throwing out expensive concoctions with no remorse and inwardly cringed at how some of it was just strewn about. "Don't worry about those. It was all experimental," Robin said as he continued to look through the bag. Any mess created by the concoctions then vanished like it never happened. A good quirk of this dream world, he supposed.

Is the bag an endless black hole? Minato thought as he watched different books pile on top of each other in a large heap. Minato walked over to the pile and looked at the books on top. Robin sure kept a huge collection of books. Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon and Mad Tales of a Bloodthirsty Falcon Knight Vol.1 to name a few.

"...I had no idea that you read stuff other than literature," Minato said as he took one of the books and flipped to a picture with the Falcon Knight. The lady, at that moment in time, was piercing through her opponent's heart with a long lance. The picture really did look quite intimidating, that's for sure.

"Those were gifts from one of my friends. She was a klutz who fell on her face so often, she raised it to an art form," Robin said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Your friend's taste is questionable," Minato said as he raised an eyebrow at the books of different genres. Romance, horror, fantasy, non-fiction, fairy tales, and even a guide to raising a pegasus were clumped together in the messy heap of books.

"She was certainly an interesting person to share books with due to that taste," Robin replied.

"...I see," Minato said.

Robin stopped looking through his bag. "Minato?"

The boy remained silent while staring blankly at the pages. Robin was worried that he had said something wrong. "Um, are you all right?" he asked as he approached the boy and placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He took a look at what the smaller boy was reading. He was mildly concerned with how he stopped at a picture that showcased blood and violence. He seemed fascinated with it. Was he going to have to start monitoring what he was reading or watching?

Minato woke from his stupor. "Oh, sorry."

"Want to talk?" Robin asked with a concerned expression. "You do have that glum look on your face."

The younger boy wiped off any remnants of his previous mood after he pointed it out. Minato wasn't up for talking right now. "I'll tell you later. Just not right now..."

Robin's eyes narrowed, but thankfully he let him have his breathing room. "Okay. Speak to me when you're ready."

The tactician went back to his previous task with the boy closely behind him. Minato swore that half of the things he threw out would not be able to fit in a small bag like that. That bag was truly a black hole in disguise.

"You should start throwing some of this stuff out," Minato said as he gestured to all the junk around them. The pile just kept getting bigger as the tactician dug into and pulled out more stuff. Minato watched the ensuing struggle with amusement at Robin's now frustrated expression.

Robin sighed. "I've tried. Hard to do so when you're attached to some of this junk." For emphasis, he lightly nudged the bag with his elbow.

"I suppose," Minato replied. An awkward silence filled the room. Minato wasn't sure what else he could talk about with the other man. The shorter of the two sighed and walked away. "I'm going out for some fresh air," he said.

Once he stepped outside, he decided to make a change of plans and walk around the city for a bit. He wanted to clear his head of unwanted thoughts, so he began to wander around aimlessly with no other plan.

The space around him transformed depending on his desires. While useful, it could prove troublesome when someone else was here because the dream would act on their wishes as well.

Minato found himself being lightly hit on the head with a book. Of course Robin would be here. He probably had a desire to find the boy, so the dream granted it for him.

"...What a troublesome child," Robin murmured under his breath while looking at the somewhat small playground in front of him. The area seems to have warped into the Naganaki Shrine during night. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but a chilly breeze swept through the area. Minato sneezed. "You forgot your jacket," he said as he threw his school uniform's jacket to the blue haired boy.

Minato replied, "...Thanks, Robin."

Robin nodded. He peered up at the clear night sky filled with stars. "I've been wondering this for awhile, but every time I talk about my friends, you seem... Sad. No, that isn't the right word. More like lonely."

"...I was hoping you wouldn't find out," Minato replied. He looked up to the stars as well. "This place is like a prison. I can't leave. You already know that I had to sacrifice myself to ensure everyone's survival." The other man frowned, but stayed silent. "I appreciate you coming here. Though every time you leave, I realize just how lonely I am. Any other person here is a phantom and so I can't speak with them. You can't stay here forever, I know that-"

The tactician ruffled the shorter boy's hair. "So that's what you've been thinking about," Robin interrupted.

He could feel his cheeks heat up a little from embarrassment. "S-Shut up," Minato retorted with a huff.

Robin laughed and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I couldn't help it. But what if I told you there's a solution?"

Minato's eyes widened. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

The tactician let go of the smaller male and opened the book he used earlier to get his attention. "During our translations, my co-translator and I came across some interesting tidbits. Apparently this poem is actually a song and it's related to a legend. Have you heard of the mythical kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido?"

Minato shook his head. "No."

"Okay, so both the kingdoms worshipped different dragons. Hoshido with the Dawn Dragon and Nohr with the Dusk Dragon. You're aware of the first dragons, yes?"

"You've told me before."

"So you weren't asleep during that lesson, good," said Robin. "Anyways, that wasn't their only difference. They had radically different climates. Hoshido had bountiful lands, so there was never a famine recorded in their history, but Nohr on the other hand..."

Minato said, "Let me guess, harsh climate and they had many food shortages."

"That's right."

"...Hm, I see."

Robin stretched his arms out, flinching when he heard a pop sound from cracking a couple of joints. He shook his head and flinched from the sound, but continued onward with the explanations, "Hoshido was also known for its just and fair monarchs, there were hardly ever crimes, at least that's what the legends say."

"So the statistics with numbers came from history books, but no accounts of events there?"

"Strangely, yes. The only events we know of are from that legend. Hah, I'm a terrible teacher. I forgot to explain to you about what happened in the legend, didn't I?"

"What happened?"

"I'm going to sum it up quickly if you don't mind, so I'll be leaving a couple of details out." Minato nodded in response, so Robin said, "A prince had to choose between siding with his family in Hoshido or with his family in Nohr. He opted to side with Nohr, but the decision only escalated with both sides wanting to fight a full-scale war. He stopped rebellions, led the Nohrian army through turbulent battles, and even solved murder cases involving the royal family..."

The tactician suddenly paused. He closed his eyes and seemed content in letting the silence drag on. A minute later and the blue haired boy was somewhat impatient. "...And?"

Robin opened his eyes and turned to his companion. He softly laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you this interested during my lessons..."

"You're such a jerk. Don't leave me hanging."

"...Right. But in the end, that prince never got to see the end of the war..."

"He... Died?"

"That was how the legend ended, yes. The prince died during the war's last battle in Hoshido. The people and his family of Nohr grieved, but peace was finally achieved like he wanted."

"That's... A tragic way to end things."

"And parents would tell that as a bedtime story in my time. Can you believe it?" Robin asked.

Minato shook his head. "Way to crush dreams," murmured Minato. Robin closed his eyes, his expression unreadable. Minato learned to associate the action with a serious Robin, and sometimes it scared him since it looked like he was a very different person.

"It may seem cruel to you, but war was more of a possibility back then," he said while slouching forward, resting his chin on intertwined hands.

"It's not that cruel, actually."

"Oh, really? Hm... It's a shame."

"How is it a shame?"

"Well, losing your innocence, I mean. It's a precious thing, something that once you lose, you can never get back."

"I don't really get it. How is innocence a good thing? It's just running away from reality."

"...Is that really how you look at it?"

"Yes? The world is an unforgiving and harsh place. I mean, we're proof, you know. Might as well have kids exposed to the real world so they can be better prepared."

Robin softly sighed. "...I can see your point, but... Kids should be able to play, live life carefree, try out new things, and just... Be happy while they can. All without having to amend past mistakes." He slowly shook his head, a bitter smile twisting into a wistful one. "...Their parents' mistakes," he added.

"This sounds... Personal with you."

"...You don't know what I did back then. As mankind's sworn enemy, I did many things that I regret, even now. Almost destroying the world was one of them, yes, but there's so many other things-"

"That wasn't you," Minato interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

Minato started, "You're not someone who would do that willingly. I know that much from our interactions. You're a good person, though you don't think of yourself as that. Things happened and... You were forced to, right? I may not have been there and I may not be good with words, but I can say for certain, it wasn't your fault. I'll keep saying it until you understand. It wasn't your fault."

"You're a better person than me, Robin," Minato thought as he said all those words.

The tactician voice trembled as he said, "...C-can we change topics, please?"

"Emotions running a little high?" Robin nodded, brown eyes darting towards his gloved left hand. Minato remembered that he never took that glove off, always keeping it on even when asleep. He never dared to question it since it was probably a touchy subject. "...Okay, I'm sorry for bringing back bad memories."

"I know it wasn't intentional," Robin replied. Minato could tell, however, that the mood has changed. The atmosphere was really tense, thick enough to choke or suffocate someone. The blue haired boy then slowly raised his arms, stretching out towards the tactician.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked with a questioning look.

"Hug," Minato simply said. Robin looked confused at first, but seemed to get the hint as he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's waist. It was awkward, the two not wanting to get too intimate. Once Minato began to rub circles on the tactician's back, he finally responded by nuzzling his nose into blue hair.

"Thank you," he said. The other man let out a content sigh before releasing the boy. "I needed that."

"You still don't believe me."

Robin's eyes widened. Though he bit his lip and closed his eyes again. He took a shaky breath in and out before replying, "You don't understand. I've been telling myself that I'm the personification of evil for centuries. It's not something that can vanish in the blink of an eye."

"Robin," he said. The tactician looked at him with a confused look again. "It's not your fault."

Robin heaved a sigh and rested his arms at his side. He ran his fingers over the wrinkles of his cloak, trying to smooth it out. "...I'll keep that in mind."

The atmosphere lifted a little. Minato let out a breath he was holding and looked off to the side. He wondered if he should push the taller man any further, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"So, about that book."

"Ah, right. I was in the middle of explaining the backstory and stuff related to it. Got sidetracked, pardon my forgetfulness."

Minato replied, "It's fine."

"Let's see, where should we start again?"

"I think I have enough backstory, so how about starting with what the poem says?"

Robin took a seat on a nearby bench ran his fingers through his hair. He looked up to the short boy and responded, "Hm, all right. First of all, the poem is actually a song. It mentions a throne, lies, and a disguise."

"What? How do all those things tie together?" Minato interrupted while taking a seat near the tactician.

As I said earlier, there's a small message directed to those who get the book. Take a look. I translated it in Japanese for you." Minato took the book into his hands and directed his attention towards the sloppily written kanji.

"Review with Robin the order of strokes for some of this kanji again. This is almost unreadable," Minato noted.

Minato looked at Robin with a deadpan look. "Er, thanks, I guess."

"...My kanji writing skills are terrible, aren't they?"

Minato replied, "To be honest, it's even worse than terrible, it's barely readable."

"Wow, you didn't even try to sugarcoat it or disagree. I'm so hurt," Robin said as he placed a hand over his heart and feigned pain. The tactician was a terrible actor.

"Sure you are," Minato countered as he slowly examined his writing.

To whom it may concern,

If this book has safely arrived in your hands, then I am assuming you and your fellow two heroes have met a terrible fate. I am sorry for the suffering that you have endured. I know that this request is selfish, especially after all you have been through, but I can turn to no one else. Please find my son, Corrin, and help him in his quest for peace. In exchange, you will be granted something that you desire most.

- Anankos

"I wonder if this message is truly written by Anankos," the boy wondered out loud.

Robin blinked with a confused look on his face. "Who else could it be?"

"This doesn't make sense. How could they have known that I have died when it was written a long time ago? Why is it referring to three people when it's just us two?" Minato questioned to the bewildered man. Robin sagged into his seat looking more exhausted than before. Not that he could blame him. The emotional drain earlier and both of their lack of sleep was probably getting to them.

"I don't know. One theory is if they were referring to my co-translator. But I don't think it's a probable choice since he isn't aware of who you are."

"Any other ideas?"

The older man shrugged. "Not at all."

Minato eyes darted away from the book. He shut the book and stared at the tactician in front of him. "...It's a joke. A wish? As if life is some fairy tale where if you do something, a wish is granted." Minato sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Let's just forget this happened."

"If that's your wish, then I won't argue against it."

"I'm sorry, Robin. And I know that you worked hard to translate the book."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Now, that does bring us back to... The previous problem."

"You don't need to worry-"

"The seal itself is starting to crack. Erebus will awaken the goddess Nyx at this rate and humanity will be eradicated. Surely you realize that? If it's linked to your own despair in here, then it will need to be remedied," Robin interrupted.

"...How long have you known this?" Minato asked. Robin flinched, but he quickly regained his composure.

"For a long time now ever since I've met you. It's why I came here in the first place, actually."

"I see," replied Minato.

"It's true that I visited you to check up on the seal at first. But I come here for your company too now."

"Are you that tired of the other souls?" asked Minato.

The tactician looked away from the shorter boy, avoiding eye contact. "Maybe."

"I'm not judging."

"And I thank you for that. Though you're still not evading our earlier topic, if that's what you were hoping for," he said with a sheepish smile.

"...I hate him sometimes," Minato thought as he sighed.

Minato asked, "What can be done?"

"...I don't know," Robin said.

"I think this is the first time I've ever heard you say that."

"Hey, I'm human," Robin replied.

"Oh, yes. But didn't you say you were connected to a dragon? Wouldn't you be a half dragon and half human?"

The small boy mentally noted how the older man fidgeted slightly. "...I suppose that's right." However, Robin shrugged, as if pretending that it was never mentioned. "Anyways, I'll see what I can do about the seal."

"But-"

"No buts. The two of us didn't sacrifice ourselves only for it all to be undone. Don't you agree?" the tactician argued.

Minato hesitantly said, "...I guess."

"Good."

"This time, I'm helping."

"Hm? I appreciate the thought, but you can't do much in here. Relax and keep your energy up. You will need it," Robin responded with a gentle smile.

"I," Minato started. Robin looked at him with a calculating gaze. It was probably done to see why he was so hesitant to speak. "Never mind." Robin mumbled something. "What?" the blue haired boy asked.

"I said that you have a strange way of expressing your feelings," Robin said.

"W-what? No, I don't..."

"Yes, you do," the tactician replied with a smirk.

"Robin..."

The older man laughed. "I jest."

"Not funny."

"To you it isn't, my friend."

With a small rare smile, Minato lightly punched the other man's arm. "Touche."

Robin dropped in periodically to give him reports on the status of the seal. It wasn't going well. Each day the crack got a little bigger. It worried the younger boy, but the tactician would reassure him that it will be all right in the end with a small smile. Though each time the older man came, Minato noted that a little life would leave those brown eyes of his. It was a never-ending cycle. Would everything truly be fine?

However, when Robin wasn't here, Minato would observe a teenager around the same age as him with silver eyes. He was given a similar power like his called the Wildcard and was utilizing it to end a murder mystery. Of course, the young boy could see the culprit from the beginning and it sickened him how he was treating it all as a game. Unfortunately he wasn't able to do anything but just be an observer. It sucked.

As time moved forward, Erebus continued to expand in power and size. It became more taxing for the boy to continue fending off its attack on the seal. The crack grew at a faster pace with each passing day. At some point, he began to wonder if he could even keep the seal up anymore due to how often he had to recoup his energy by sleeping. In addition, the world he sought to save was beginning to merge with the shadow's world if the fog was an indication. Was his sacrifice for nothing?

With those doubts, the shield he created to prevent Nyx's awakening was dimming with each passing day. Robin made an observation that humanity's time was nearly coming to an end if the two didn't do something. Yet, Minato felt guilt that both their efforts bore no fruit.

The teenager that he observed throughout the year was losing hope as well. The poor boy, losing a young cousin that was truly a wonderful girl. Now confronting a man who was accused to be the culprit and who killed her, Minato held his breath as he waited to see what the leader would do.

The teenager simply stood there. He wasn't reacting and was looking away from the rest of his party. The guy didn't like to show his emotions and tried not to lose his cool. In fact, he reminded Minato of his current self. He was someone who tried to harbor every burden on their own without pulling others into their problems.

It hurt. It really pained him to see this because it was like seeing a splitting image of himself. The personification of his mistakes was right in front of him. And even with his past mistakes in mind, he pulled Robin into his troubles when he swore that he would do this on his own. No one should suffer like he has in this seal and what was he doing? Transforming Robin's waking hours into a nightmare trying to do anything to halt humanity's demise.

There was something he never told the tactician, yet he wondered if he already figured it out or knew beforehand. They couldn't win this battle. Not when humanity themselves wished for the end of all. There was little the two could do. But was he only trying, so he could say he tried?

Minato snapped out of his thoughts when the person he was observing made his decision at last. The leader chose not to murder the culprit. He decided to let him go to see his side of the story, despite the victim being part of his family. An argument ensued between a close friend of his with dyed hair. Then, they both decided it was enough and stormed out the hospital with anger rooted deep inside them. It was safe to say, they were no longer close anymore. The rest of the party was in shock, not just only at the boy with dyed hair's outburst, but how their leader had lost his cool.

Minato watched as his fellow Wildcard became a crying mess once he was back at a place he used to call home. The boy wanted to reach out, to try saying something, and to steer him away from a path he would regret.

He couldn't.

He was just an observer, after all.

Minato closed his eyes and curled up into a ball. A feeling of guilt and misery was etched deeply into his heart. Robin appeared to visit soon after. He whispered sympathetic words and softly murmured his usual reassurances. The tactician's voice was laced with exhaustion, but with a warm hand lightly stroking his head the boy fell into a deep sleep.

Once Robin made sure that the blue haired boy was soundly asleep. He ran his fingers through his unruly hair and heaved a sigh.

The man no longer had time for simple pleasantries in life. Not when everything was at stake. He knew, however, that this battle was unwinnable even if he was one of the best tacticians in history. His strategies and plans have all failed. He was sure that Minato has realized by now. There was little chance they could succeed. All he could do was extend the timer that counted down to doomsday.

A sniffle alerted him to the presence of a possible intruder, but there was no one. Then he directed himself towards the television.

He forgot to turn off the TV.

Robin had never powered off the television set on his own before. Minato feared that he would break something with his lack of knowledge of these so called "electronics". He had to admit the concept of these things baffled him at first. The younger boy had to teach him how to use a device that could heat up food in the matter of seconds without a fire tome. Or that one time where he was taught the concept of "The Internet". It was a foreign world to him.

Robin eyed the television screen with curiosity. There was a person who looked to be around Minato's age. There was something about the teenager that seemed familiar to him. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was certainly bothering him.

Robin slowly rose and approached a table. He took a device that Minato called a "remote controller" and searched for a button that would turn it off. He ignored the hiccups and sniffles from the person on the screen since he wouldn't be able to help the person anyway.

"Wow, I'm becoming a cynical and cold guy," Robin thought, but he quickly brushed it away.

"Let's see, the button should be red, right?" he mumbled out loud to no one in particular. The bad part was there were multiple buttons of that color. The tactician pressed something random around the top of the controller and the room was filled with silence. "Oh, it was that easy," Robin said to himself again. He was finally getting used to this "electronics" sorcery. Well, somewhat. He was lucky this time.

Robin turned towards the sleeping Minato and sighed. Just a bit more. That was all that he could do. With one last gentle pat to the boy's head, he walked to the main entrance of the building and pushed open the door. There was nothing outside, but a void, since his younger companion no longer had the energy to sustain the world properly. Robin dug into his bag, trying to look for a specific tome. After a few minutes, he managed to find his teleportation tome. Though, he could tell that this tome wouldn't work soon due to how many times he had used it recently.

Robin raised a hand, an incantation repeating in his head. He closed his eyes to concentrate. A moment later, he disappeared as if he was never there.

Minato found himself in the corner of an unfamiliar room of red and wooden screens scattered all over. A pungent smell of blood overwhelmed his senses, causing him to cover his nose with his hands. There were skirmishes and battles with soldiers that seemed to be from different origins judging from the designs of their armor. Magic of all elements were being summoned forth everywhere. The wooden screens acted as cover for all the soldiers as it blunted the force of the blows. However, it was also a double edged sword. With cryptic words spilling from a lady's lips, her chant kindled a fire that spread quickly due to the amount of flammable objects. She closed her tome with a gleeful smile on her face as she watched her enemies burn. A wyvern soon appeared behind her and had no mercy as it gnawed on anyone who dared to challenge it.

"Camilla, I told you-" a boy wearing no shoes said while approaching the intimidating lady.

The lady with long and wavy purple hair responded to the name, "Don't kill the Hoshidans? I'm afraid that's hard to do here in their castle, sweetie," she interrupted with an unnerving smile that could make anyone's blood run cold.

Minato blinked, perplexed with his newfound discovery. What? He was in a room with Hoshidans? But that meant he was in Hoshido somehow? And who were these people? Those thoughts swirled like a hurricane in his mind.

However, the boy next to her did not look intimidated in the slightest. "No, that's not what I was going to say. These soldiers are fighting to the death, so they won't surrender no matter what. My request... Give them a quick end so they won't suffer anymore. No more burning our enemies to death, please..."

Camilla hopped onto the wyvern and patted its neck. "I will try for you, darling. But know that I will not hold back when someone's life is threatened. Now we should get out of here and find the others. Let's go, Laurel."

At her command, the wyvern called Laurel flapped its scaly wings and bolted at lightning speed past all the so-called Hoshidans into a separate room. The gusts caused by the wings fanned the already threatening flames further across the room.

The barefoot boy, with pointy ears and ruby red eyes, beckoned Minato forward with words of encouragement. "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you along with my siblings," he reassured. The taller male unsheathed an odd looking katana from a scabbard secured tightly to a belt. A purple aura shone brightly from the katana, giving the blue haired boy the feeling of uneasiness. He clutched the handle of it with a hand. The other male looked at him with a confused look. "Now isn't the time to daydream! We need to get out of here!"

Minato tried to speak, but no words came out. The other boy took hold of one of his hands and led him away from the raging blaze towards the door Camilla left from. Some enemies did manage to find them, but the flames quickly covered their tracks. Minato tried to ignore their screams of agony and it looked like his companion was too, albeit with a grimace he unsuccessfully tried to hide.

Once they were out, Minato coughed into his sleeve. He was never more glad for breathable air. The boy next to him looked at him with concern and gently squeezed his hand. "Will you be all right?" he asked rather quietly. Minato nodded, but he wasn't being truthful. He felt really tired and weak. However, he tried not to let it show and followed his ally to whatever destination they were going to.

"Our destination is the throne room. If we can get there, it will be all over," he said. Then he placed a finger on his chin and looked to be deep in thought. "That is, if we can get father to sit on the throne..."

Minato had no idea what he was talking about. But he seemed to be stuck with these people. After all, he was in the middle of the battle and it seemed like the Hoshidans deemed him as an enemy.

As they were moving along, his pointy ears suddenly perked up and twitched. The white haired boy's eyes narrowed as they darted around. Minato let out a gasp of surprise soon after.

His companion had forcefully shoved the shorter boy aside. A clash of two blades ensued as the taller boy barely intercepted an attack in time. Minato watched the scene with wide eyes. While he wasn't scared that he nearly died, he was surprised that a stranger would do that for him. Or was he even a stranger?

His opponent raised his own blade, but it didn't compare to his companion's much fancier katana. His battle partner accepted the challenge and readjusted his grasp with the grip of the weapon. Minato held his breath as he watched their foe make the first step forward. His ally did the same soon after and so a stand-off between the two ensued to see who would move. Judging from how passive his battle partner was being, he was more of a defender than an attacker. His stance also screamed of being more on the defensive side. Minato made a mental note to be on the offensive if he was paired up in battle with him later. At least, to make up for the lack of initiative on the other boy's part.

The soldier broke their waiting battle and lunged forward. His ally moved to intercept the blow and was successful. However, the strength of the blow made the other male lose his footing a bit. The white haired boy quickly recovered and swung his katana, the edge of the blade clashing once more with sharpened metal. Their opponent blocked the attack with his own katana and leapt backwards.

Minato watched the spectacle with awe. The boy's technique with his weapon was sound. In fact, it might be better than his own even. His battle partner, meanwhile, made quick work of the enemy from that moment on. The opponent eventually collapsed to the ground. Blood stained the tip of the katana from the puncture it created near the heart.

"...May you rest in peace," the now much more gloomy male said. He swung his katana to flick off any remaining blood that hasn't dried and turned to Minato. "Where's your sword or evoker?" Minato's eyes widened. How did he know about his evoker? He thought he left it back in the living world. However, he checked the belt that his gun holster was attached to. Minato tapped the holster with a finger to confirm if a solid object was contained within. A tingly feeling at the very tip of that finger indicated that, yes, his evoker had somehow managed to be in his possession again.

"You're really starting to worry me..."

The blue haired boy took a shaky breath in and out. With a hesitant hand, he slowly reached towards his evoker and pulled it out. The gun was in a pristine state, as if he had never used it in the first place. It was an unsettling feeling, touching something that he had long since abandoned the notion of ever having again.

"So you do have your evoker. How about your sword?" Minato checked if a scabbard was attached to his belt, but there was none. A sword was nowhere to be seen in the vicinity either. The other male quirked an eyebrow at that. "Maybe it was left in the fire..."

Minato shook his head. There wasn't any swords near him while he was in that corner, so it must have been dropped elsewhere. Not that it mattered, with this evoker he could still defend himself if needed. The catch was his energy was running awfully low, so he couldn't summon his personas willy-nilly.

"I see," the white haired male said. His red eyes reflected the flames behind them, Minato noticed. He must be nervous to stay here. Not wanting to see what would happen if they stayed, the blue haired boy pushed the other male away into a linear corridor.

Paintings of different nobles were hung on the walls. Minato noted how the clothing they wore was a lot like what people wore in feudal Japan. He wondered if Hoshido was somehow linked to Japan, but why would no one speak of it or record it into history books?

There was some scribbles scrawled onto some scrolls next to the paintings too. His ally was inspecting the paintings and scrolls with a gloomy expression.

"Minato." He quirked an eyebrow at his companion next to him. "Do you wonder what could have been if we made different choices along the way?" Minato blinked, somewhat confused by the question. He truly didn't know what choices they had made in the first place. He wondered if he had amnesia, or perhaps something similar to it.

Regardless of his inner turmoil, the other boy held his ground. Once he realized that Minato wasn't going to respond, he continued, "I never told my family this, but I feigned ignorance to save a friend. I wonder, was it all worth it? At that Opera House... Just... Staying silent," he said quietly. Minato tried to say something, but once again nothing came out.

The other male looked at him with a concerned look. "You can't speak?" he questioned. His eyebrows furrowed once Minato nodded in response. "You might have been hit with a silence incantation earlier. We'll check it out once we find one of our healers," he ordered. "Stay close to me and don't leave my side unless I tell you to."

The blue haired boy found it to be a strange request, but indulged him regardless. The two proceeded down the hallway, but at a slower pace this time. The other boy was being much more cautious than before, guiding Minato through the different hallways. It was odd for someone to know this place like the back of their hand, especially if they were considered a hostile force. Just who was this person next to him? Surprisingly, they haven't seen any of their Hoshidan foes either. Minato assumed that his companion's siblings have taken care of it.

"Holding up fine?" the other boy asked with a soft smile. He tenderly rubbed Minato's head while the blue haired boy nodded. This boy reminded him of Robin, always inquiring him about his health and other things he fusses over him about.

"Like an overprotective older brother," Minato thought to himself. "Or they are both that one affectionate mother. Either one."

It didn't help that they looked kind of similar too, but with different eye colors and ear shape. It was definitely an odd situation. He felt safe around him, enough to trust him for the time being.

"We're almost there at the throne room. We'll meet with the others soo-" The other male suddenly stopped again. Minato raised an eyebrow at why they halted.

The white haired boy's eyes soon widened. "Look out!"

Minato nimbly sidestepped to the right as a shuriken brushed past his cheek. A stinging gash was left in its wake, but thankfully his pain tolerance was higher than average.

"Where is that ninja...?" his battle partner mumbled out loud. Minato assumed that their target was probably either hanging from the roof somewhere or behind some object. However, the two weren't able to take a good look at their surroundings from all the shurikens being thrown quickly in succession. Due to his lack of stamina, Minato knew he wouldn't be able to keep up. Eventually one managed to cut and wedge itself deep into Minato's shoulder. He hissed from the pain.

The blue haired boy faltered in his dodges. "Minato!" The other boy promptly jumped right in front of him as a human shield. He used his katana to deflect a shuriken and looked back to Minato.

"I've got a plan. One of your personas can use wind magic, right? Start a storm!" he ordered as he continued trying to parry the shurikens. It wasn't until now that Minato realized that his battle partner had not one or two, but three shurikens already hurt him. The wounds looked rather painful...

Minato knew he had to hurry. He winced when he accidentally irritated his wound. He swiftly swapped the evoker to his other hand and pressed the muzzle to his temple. With a shaky breath, he braced himself for the recoil of his shot. A blue fog surrounded the persona user. He pulled the trigger and the sound of glass shattering echoed in his mind.

"Norn, come forth!" he thought.

Three sisters of gold merged with a gigantic clock manifested next to him. The hands of the clock ticked forward very slowly compared to a normal clock, Minato noticed. Perhaps it indicated that his time may be coming to an end or he wasn't able to move forward. Either way, these sisters have always unsettled him ever since they claimed that they ruled fate when he first fused them.

Knowing what he had to do, he commanded his persona to whip up a storm. If he recalled correctly, the skill should be named Phanta Rei.

One of the sisters extended a hand. A few moments later and a huge column of wind surrounded the two boys. None of the shurikens could slice through the powerful winds, giving them ample time to rest. With luck, the shurikens would bounce back to wherever it came from.

A few moments later and he heard something hitting the floor. He assumed it to be the ninja. Kind of ironic to be hit by their own shuriken and have that be their epitaph.

Minato snapped his fingers and the roaring winds dissipated. His belief was correct as he saw a figure slumped headfirst onto the floor. The barefooted boy winced at the scene and covered his bleeding wounds with a hand. Minato slowly pulled out the shuriken stuck within his shoulder. He let out a pained noise while doing the task, but he was successful. The small weapon, now dripping with some blood, was dropped to the ground.

"Great. Just what we needed," the other boy said. Minato took hold of his evoker and pulled the trigger again. An armored angel appeared with blond spiky hair. Raphael, if his memory was correct. Minato ordered him to use his only healing ability. Their wounds quickly vanished like they were never there. "Phew, thank you."

Minato's vision was beginning to turn blurry. He had really overdone it this time by using skills that required a substantial amount of his energy.

The other male directed Minato's fall towards his chest. He held him up with a steady hand and laid his head against his shoulder. "Easy there... I pushed you too much, didn't I?" The blue haired boy slowly shook his head, yet he was slowly nodding off. The white haired boy began to affectionately caress his head again. The action lulled him into a relaxed state. He knew that they were in the middle of a full scale battle, but...

Minato took a shaky breath in and out. The smaller boy was feeling sleepy. His arms were like lead, unable to move even if he willed it. The only conclusion he could come up with was... He was going to slowly die.

The short boy opened his mouth, finally able to voice something,"I'm... Sorry. I can't go on any longer..."

His ally looked at his face with wide and glossy eyes. "...Minato? Gods, no...! You can't leave us like this! Not when we're so close to ending the war!"

The blue haired boy sluggishly turned his head. "You need to go... You... Have to go."

"I won't leave you here!"

"They need you... Your siblings-"

"What am I suppose to say to Robin and Souji...?! They need you too..."

Minato had no idea who one of those people were. "Souji...?" the boy slowly asked, trying to recite the new name properly.

"Yes? You two are close. But why... Don't you seem to know..." the other boy wondered out loud. The short boy felt a pang of guilt in his chest. That "Souji" deemed him as important, but he didn't even know or remember who they were. "Hang on until we get to Elise and we'll deal with it. You'll come back home with us and everything will be back to the way it was before-"

The blue haired boy's lips curved into a small smile. Since he seemed to know about his personas, then he probably knew the consequences of using it too much. "...You already know that I'm not going to make it..."

The other boy's eyes widened. "I..."

"Go on... I've already died once. I'm not scared..." The other boy's head hung low, perhaps to contemplate his next action. His ruby eyes have lost their lustre; its last amount of vibrant color. He looked empty, like everything was just lost.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he said.

Minato found it difficult to breathe, but he had one last thing to say. The story that Robin told him earlier, he had to tell him. If this boy was that prince, he didn't deserve to die.

"...You'll-" he started, but his eyes widened as the boy flinched. Red stained his armor and he let out a hiss of pain. A sharp tipped quiver pierced through his stomach, leaving the boy keeled over in a defenceless state. How did that-

Soldiers appeared before them, each talking to one another with snide remarks. Each were pleased to have incapacitated the infamous, Queen Killer Corrin.

Wait, Corrin? Then that meant that the boy next to him was none other then the person in that letter.

One of the Hoshidans kicked away Corrin's katana, leaving it near the end of the hall. Their enemies didn't forget about Minato. One of them brought the blade of a naginata against his throat, the cold metal draining any warmth left in his neck. He could feel it slicing into his skin, with more to come no doubt. He wasn't too bothered to see his own blood on the blade either, but the white haired male next to him wasn't pleased judging from the death glare he gave to their sudden enemies.

Corrin growled. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him!"

"Oh? You don't have the right to speak traitor," one of the Hoshidans said as he took a swift swing to the boy's back. Corrin screamed, the distressing sound echoing in Minato's ears.

"...Y-you need to run," Minato mouthed wordlessly to the other boy at the expense of the naginata cutting deeper into his throat.

"W-what about you...?!"

"Forget about me! Just run...! I'll distract them!"

He argued, "H-how will you-"

"RUN!" At this point, the blade had cut through a part of his throat. Minato let out sharp gasps of breaths, but he was no longer deterred by the searing pain. If he was going to die, then he might as well bring these people down with him.

Corrin eyed him with disbelief, but followed what the blue haired boy said. He rolled over and barely dodged the tip of a katana where his head used to be. He got onto his feet with some difficulty and flinched from what the blue haired boy assumed to be from irritating his wounds. One of their foes raised their bow, ready to finish him once and for all.

However, a column of air soon appeared, blocking Corrin from Minato's view. It trapped him and the Hoshidan soldiers in this prison. "Minato-!"the blue haired boy heard despite the roaring winds blocking out the rest of what he said. Minato didn't respond because he knew that if he did, the prince wouldn't leave him behind. As he thought, the boy with red eyes soon sped away judging from his surprisingly loud footsteps.

He held onto his evoker tightly, pleased that he had done his final task. Norn disappeared, the clock's slow ticking soon stopping with the hands pausing at exactly midnight.

The man in front of him, holding the naginata, sliced deeper into his throat. He couldn't scream if he wanted to anymore. His voice was absolutely gone. However, Minato had to admit, the man didn't seem suspicious when he took his evoker in hand. Perhaps he never really used it as much as he thought he did?

One of the Hoshidans said, "You..."

Anger spread like wildfire across their faces. Minato gave them all a small cheeky smile. He couldn't fight back, not anymore. And that was the last thing Minato thought as the naginata finally sliced his throat.

Then the Minato of that world was no more.

A/N: Next chapter, Minato wakes up from his sleep by Robin. With that dream still fresh in his mind, he watches as the world he saved falls. Mind wandering over to the book, he begins to wonder... Should he indulge in a fairy tale after all?

Glad you weren't turned off by the headcanon tag and stuck around~ I started writing this with the intention to improve my describing skills and action scene writing. Is it weird to say that it was my first time writing an action scene? Hope it was satisfactory... I also thought the idea was interesting enough to start a story around and so I kept writing more other after writing the dream scene. Then this behemoth of a chapter was born. And trust me, this is far beyond my usual word limit. I give kudos to those of you who write long chapters constantly, it's really tough work.

Critique and reviews are appreciated! It really motivates me to get feedback, you know~ If you have any questions or suggestion, feel free to do so in a review or PM. I promise that I don't bite, really!

Headcanon Notes

As hinted by Robin's summary of some stuff that happened with Nohr, I added some original characters. Most of the OCs were part of the Nohr royal family... But well... They're all now dead. Expect me to develop Nohr's history and current troubles more because I feel like it was really lacklustre in the original game. I'll be fleshing out the rebellions (looking at Cheve specifically). I also feel like Nohr's battle should have been more within the country instead of with the Hoshidans 24/7. Not that I'm going to ignore it entirely though.

Robin went through the events of the sacrifice ending (He finishes off Grima instead of Chrom), but he was never revived by the power of bonds like in Awakening. It's how I thought the ending should have been. As for how he got into the seal, I'm assuming that Minato's seal is connected to some form of the afterlife because he's dead. Since Robin almost destroyed the world as Grima, he won't be able to get a peaceful rest like the other Shepherds (hence being separated from them). At least that's the flimsy excuse I'm using for getting Minato and Robin to interact...

Robin sucks with modern technology. I found the idea hilarious, so I added it in. He's like that one old fashioned teacher that constantly breaks computers or projectors without trying. Admit it, we all had that one teacher~

During that dream sequence, Corrin did manage to find the others. Though uh... He succumbed to his wounds around the end of the final battle. Not much healing can be done when you're in the heat of battle. I'll leave it up to your interpretation about what happened with Robin and Souji.

To make the persona users less overpowered, when using a persona some of their Max HP is deducted if you like thinking with game mechanics. It can kill them if they use it too much. Once they hit zero max HP, they will die (Or sort of in this chapter's example, Minato). It's the best I can do with combining two different worlds in terms of game mechanics... And trust me, I have been thinking about it for a long time.