Hi, this is DRMSTR (his brother, so to speak). After some time I have managed to unlock my brother's account and retrieve the few chapters he posted before his departure. Well, in other words, I will try and correct what he did as well as wrap this story before I move on to the Golden Sun fanfic I'm writing.

I'm also looking for a proofreader, if you want to fill in the role please send me a PM.

If you're wondering why I chose that name for the story I can tell you two reasons:

1. - It's the title from a song of Dream Theater's album "Train of Thought"

2. - The title implies a chain of struggle… of which kind you ask? Well, let's say; what would you give to save someone? Would you repeat the circle of your life, just to be with her/him?

Enjoy.

000

At night, exposed, blinded by the darkness, a woman was running away from the advancing darkness, her baby boy in her arms, while looking back searching for something… or someone, so no one came after her.

"This isn't the life I wanted to give you, Robin! … I just wanted you to grow up and be a happy man. Now I see that the cursed fate your father brought towards us is going to make that a distant dream", the woman said, while tears were forming in her eyes. She held her baby's hand and saw a glowing mark, the one which was the spiritual marking of ancient evil.

Suddenly, a thunder echoed across the hall and an ominous voice called her name, in a language no one could understand. "Fool woman! Do you seriously think that you could take our son away? This is far more important than morals dear wife".

And from the mist a man clad in black robes appeared walking steadily, a smile on his face, pointing his finger at the woman. Behind him, a legion of guards started to cover the doors of the palace, preventing further the escape of the woman.

The woman smiled while holding tight her son, and with a frown replied, "No Validar, I will not give my son away to the fell dragon…" and with trembling voice yelled at the black mage, "I WILL NOT GIVE HIM AWAY TO GRIMA!"

Validar grimaced and extended his hand to her, "If you surrender… I will spare your life! Now, dear, give me the vessel of our God".

The woman was shocked, his husband went with mad the power the fallen god gave him, and the only way to escape that damned place was blocked with the Grimleals.

In a shattered voice, merely a whisper, she said "So, it comes to this… Robin, my love, don't give in to temptation. Yours will be a happy and brighter future!"

And with that, she cut her wrists and summoned a portal to escape from the clutches of Validar and his cursed destiny.

"Humpf, damn woman! She only delayed the inevitable!" Validar said while holding his mantle, looking at the bloody floor where his wife wasted her life away.

A soldier came and kneeled before Validar, saying with trembling voice, "Sir, we found that old sorceress you commanded us to find… but she refused to come with us, so we had to kill her".

Validar snarled at this news, but the soldier said a last thing, "… We found her daughter… Aversa".

000

At the same time, after teleporting away from Plegia Castle.

The woman was battered and bleeding, she knew her life was ending so she looked at her son's hand; with horror, she saw the purple marks of Grima and she knew her son was doomed; the fate of destroying the world, if Validar found him again, was going to be the end of it all, yet she didn't lose hope.

She walked aimlessly for hours, her strength fading, when she found a small village. Coughing blood and shivering, she knew her end was near, so she ran to the first house she found and stopped, looking at her son, while removing her robe and cradling her baby while he was cooing.

With tears in her eyes, she said her last words to her baby, "Son, you have a dangerous path ahead of you. The only thing that can save you from despair is love… find someone you can love enough to give all what you got…" she then coughed blood, her life near its end.

With tears running down her cheeks, she knocked on the door and left the baby on the doorstep and walked away, silently disappearing into the wood watching her baby at the door.

Moments later a woman opened the door and found the baby, crying. She took the baby in her arms and smiled as she went inside the house and closed the door behind her… the future was safe for now, the doomed fate was postponed.

Robin's mother observed the woman carrying his son inside the house, then smiled and went inside the forest, disappearing in the mist.

000

"Timelines are curious things" the rich sound of a woman's voice echoed in a dark room, only lit by a dim altar in the center.

"Lady Naga, the child is safe with a humble family, far away from the horrors of his father's curse… but we don't know if the mark of Grima can be stabilized nor if he will suffer it", a pretty looking young lady said while holding an Emblem on her hand.

"Fear not, Tiki, I watched for a long time this timeline. Sometimes there are events where the dragon is put back to slumber again for a thousand years" Naga said as her face turned into a look of grimace, "and there are times where the world is completely destroyed because of the ambition of the vessel"

Tiki watched as the Goddess played with the water-like altar and listened as Naga displayed a different image in the water. "In the past, the Avatar was a critical asset to stop the war between two kingdoms but, if in the future certain events don't occur and its offspring don't appear, then that timeline is lost forever."

The Goddess changed the image on the altar again, this time showing a silver-blonde haired young man, clad in a light silver armor, "Ever since, the Avatar has been in contact with the old dragons; drawing power from them. This made him the perfect candidate for the corrupt God Grima!" she said.

Naga sighed as she continued, "The truth, Tiki, is that for every timeline that fails I lose power… I only got enough power to maintain a last timeline… and if that fails… then the magic on the world will disappear and mankind will perish because of it"

"But my lady, what if I helped them! I could…" Tiki said, but was interrupted by Naga, "This timeline will not be destroyed like the other… but we cannot be certain. We must remain vigilant in case Grima resurrects… and if that happens…" Both women stared at the Emblem, then looked up at the sky.

"You helped the hero-king in the past, I know you can help them, but you haven't recovered all your powers after helping Marth two millennia ago", the goddess said.

Then Naga reached and touched a silver necklace with a shape like a dragon's head; a gem attached to its center, "Just like Azura did, all those years ago", she said as she locked eyes with Tiki "Each event is preceded by prophecy. But without the hero, there is no event".

Naga hold the Emblem in her hand and said, "In the future, in this timeline, the last descendant of Marth's bloodline will be born… we think it's time to deliver this emblem to Emmeryn. This timeline will have a cursed future if we can't control Robin's power… or if he succumbs to the dark curse of the fallen dragon God! He is a God too… let's hope he is a good one".

Suddenly the earth crumbled beneath their feet and a dark mist enveloped the goddess. "You know this is not over Naga. I, the Fell Dragon Grima, will rise from oblivion. You only delayed my return. His heart is not strong enough to resist me… he will be mine". And with a shrill cry, the mist dissolved and the sky remained dark.

"So, this gives us a chance to stop this, but I don't know how we can do it. We know that Robin is from the dragon lineage, that's why he is a good candidate for Grima, but we need to find a way to prevent the incoming disaster" Naga said, "This in only the beginning of the darkest time on the Halidom… I need time to think about this further. Lady Tiki, go rest and gather your power, the manaketes will be needed soon… I fear this is going to get worse before it ends". Tiki just stared at the goddess and nodded.

"… This is the beginning".

000

Around thirty five years later, at the midst of a war against the Grimleals and the Valmese warriors, the Exalted Empire was crumbling. After the death of the Exalt Emmeryn, the royal family was fighting against the revival of Grima, but to no avail.

The last remnants of the army of lord Chrom, known as the "Shepherds", were fighting in the castle of Plegia; Validar, the mastermind behind the return of the Fell Dragon, commanded the last forces of his domain, delaying Chrom from destroying Grima once and for all.

"How old is your daughter Robin?" Chrom asked a hooded figure marching at his side. The man smiled, "Severa's going to turn fifteen in a couple of days. You know, she's a little older than your daughter".

Chrom shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, like a couple of months!" he said as he laughed, "I'm a little worried about Cynthia though, she seem a little out of it but she really looks up to your daughter! Let's end this war so we can search for all what we lost". Robin nodded, as a disembodied voice echoed through the battlefield.

"Little Prince, you certainly cannot hope to avoid the return of Grima and survive, do you? It was written long before you were born! Even that false goddess, Naga, fears the return of my master!" Chrom and the hooded man were in position, weapons ready to strike the very heart of this war.

"No Validar, this ends now! The rule of the Fell Dragon will not arise ever again, you can take our lives, but you can't take our future!" Chrom shouted, defiance in his voice, to the black wizard, "Now we have the means to destroy you once and for all, we have done the Awakening!" he said as he gripped Falchion in his hands, and pointed it to Validar with a blinding light.

Validar laughed at this, and with a wicked grin replied "Oh little fool! Even your sister wasn't stupid enough to defy me. So I had to kill her before she summoned the true awakening…" the mage said as Chrom gasped in shock, his eyes full of surprise.

Validar laughed and said with an evil grin on his face, "I see… you didn't knew you needed all the orbs for the Fire Emblem to be fully charged, it's a shame!" he said, reaching one of his bags to retrieve a purple orb.

"I'm glad the Ylisse and Plegia kingdoms didn't had a good relationship to start with, otherwise my work could fail, like my predecessors a thousand years ago in the era of the hero king Marth".

The dark mage closed his eyes and readied a spell before saying "Now it's your turn… but don't worry, your little daughter will be safe as my little slave and their souls will satisfy my master's thirst for a while!"

Then the battle began, a clash of titans to determine the future of the world. Validar casted a spell that sent Chrom flying backwards, crashing into a nearby wall, covering him with rubble; the hooded man casted a thunder that stunned Validar while he helped Chrom to stand up and deliver the final blow. Validar sensed this and casted a fierce fireball towards the prince, but it never damaged Chrom; the hooded man intercepted the ball with magic of his own.

As the battle continued, both parties began to get tired. The black mage tried to look for a way to escape, but both Chrom and his friend covered all possible exits. Validar charged at the prince, his hands bearing a powerful spell, but the hooded man froze his movements, as Chrom slashed the black mage side, wounding him gravely.

Soon the battle ended, and Validar was defeated. "No!, This cannot be…", Validar whispered in a voice full of pain, going to his knees with a purple mist coming out of his body, but as a last act of desperation, he casted dark magic towards Chrom, but the hooded man pushed him out of the way and received the impact instead.

"C'mon Robin, you can't die here!" Chrom said while holding his friend and looking at the mist Validar was getting transformed. "It's all over my friend, we've won. The future is secure now, you need to get up and help me start the new world we've created!" the prince said, but as soon as Robin started to get up, he started to see a red haze upon everything, his eyes glowing with a purple light.

Chrom saw this and tried to help Robin to recover his consciousness, instead a light dagger was summoned in his friend's hand, piercing the prince's chest. The impact made Chrom to recoil a little and wince in the now glowering wound.

Chrom kneeled and coughed blood, while staring at Robin and said, "T-this is not your f-f-fault!" The prince said as the tactician stood up, still piercing the lord with his magic.

"You did this! You will pay for what you did to ME!" Robin said as Chrom fell to the floor, dead. Robin started to laugh in a wicked voice, summoning Grima to wake from its slumber.

In his mind, Robin tried to free from the dragons claws. "Let me GO! I never forgive you for killing my friend".

A ghostly figure appeared in front of him; Robin could see it was an image of himself. "You can't resist me! You have a weak heart! You and I are one and the same! You know you wanted revenge for what he did to you!" the figure said as it casted a spell, binding Robin's will.

As Robin got up from the floor and opened his eyes, they glowed in purple light. He then extended his hands and from the marks of his arms, a purple glow emerged, wrapping his body in a dark mist as quake started to form cracks on the floor; a wicked growl echoed through the hall.

The possessed Robin emerged from the palace, he saw some young blue haired man, with a butterfly mask concealing his identity. "Now is the time I will resurrect! Shepherds, surrender now and you will be spared!" Grima - Robin yelled at the remaining forces of the late Exalt.

The masked man heard this and signaled the remaining forces to retreat, waiting to see her if his father and his friend came out of the castle, but it was pointless.

As he saw this, Grima gave away a wicked laugh and said, "Young man, you're waiting your father correct? Let me help you reunite with him!" With that, the girl saw the flying corpse of Chrom landing beside her, Falchion still gripped in his hand. Gasping in horror at the scene, he picked up Falchion and ran away trails of tears running down his face.

The remaining forces of the Exalted army retreated, the shadow of a dragon raised from the columns of smoke, roaring through the skies. "This is only the beginning my child!" The dragon shouted, "We will see this world destroyed once and for all!" The fell Dragon flew into the dark sky, leaving only the remains of a torn world turning into ashes.

000

As the blue haired man arrived at a camp he removed his mask, revealing the lovely face of a woman. The woman put a hand on her face, trying to cover the tears of sorrow, a figure approached her, slowly, from the shadows. "So what happened there?" A teenage girl asked at the now sobbing girl.

The blue haired woman looked at the silver-blonde haired girl, the tears now running down her face, and answered, "Severa, my father a-and your father… all the Shepherds… my mom… all were killed!" the young woman tried to control herself, but the sorrow gripped her heart as she poured everything out, "The Fell Dragon awakened and killed them!… killed them all!… I-I learned from our remaining forces that one of the Shepherds betrayed my father and killed him along with your father".

"How… how's that even possible, Lucina?!" Severa asked her friend, still in a shock over the news of the return of Grima. Lucina didn't answer. The teenager blue haired woman looked away and touched Falchion, she then said with trembling voice, "We must ready ourselves for the incoming storm… we need to defend what remains of this land, until we are strong enough to stop Grima"

Severa's tears fell to the ground, she knew Lucina was right, but her will to live was faltering. Lucina looked at the camp and said, "I will give the notice to the sons of the Shepherds… our brothers in arms… they deserve to know that all of our families died… I need to cope this as well… before we fall into despair".

The silver-haired girl sobbed and rubbed her eyes, she knew the last remnants of her family was her baby sister, but she disappeared a couple of days ago, her mother was killed in action and now her father had been betrayed and murdered.

"S-sorry Lucina… I need to be alone for now… call me when it's time to go… I… I…"

The blue haired woman nodded and walked a small grassy path towards the camp. At the camp, every son of the Shepherds turned their heads towards Lucina as she stepped in front of the small battalion; crossing her arms in front of her, she spoke in a sad tone, "My friends, today we learned that the last Shepherds fell in battle!, today is a terrible day for us all! In not the time the Fell Dragon will come to us, to end what our fathers started. We need to flee and take refuge, our fathers would have wanted that we did this, their sacrifice must not be in vain!"

The girl raised Falchion in the air, exclaiming in a voice full of resolve, "Let's face this threat once and for all… we deserve a better future, we deserve to avenge our parents… WE DESERVE TO LIVE!", with that last yell all the sons of the Exalted army cheered and raised their swords in the air, ready to stand one last time for their future and hopefully to create a new future for everyone.

000

In the meantime Severa retreated to her tent and sat in her bed; putting her hands in her face, she began to cry, cursing the name of Grima, while hugging a family portrait in her chest. She sobbed and said, "I will do this for them! I have to be with them, even if it's in the afterlife".

The girl fell asleep remembering her family, rubbing the last memento of her mother; a precious ring engraved with a Pegasus, symbolizing her mother and a thunder branch to symbolize her father.

After some time, the voice of Lucina came from outside her tent, "S-Severa, are you awake? We need to begin the march to the east, but if you need some time to think let me know. I understand what you feel, I lost my parents too and I want them back… b-but we can't do anything to bring them back now. The only thing we can do is win our freedom back… that way we can keep their memories with us, forever"

Lucina waited for an answer, while touching the fabric of the tent, but to no avail, she heard nothing except the sobs of the broken hearted girl.

Lucina turned back to tell everyone that her commander wasn't going to go to war, but the sound of an opening tent revealed Severa in her mother's armor, Severa looked at Lucina and gave a little sigh, "I will do this for them!… lead the way".

The blue haired princess smiled and began to march toward the barracks. Inside all the Shepherd's children observed Severa donning her mother's armor, reminding them of their promise of never giving up, to honor their parents last wish… to live and enjoy the future.

That night began the last march… the march for the future. The remaining children of the Exalted army headed towards the skirts of Ylissean territory with one common objective… to win back their future someday!

000

A/N: If you remember the beginning from Awakening, you'll remember that Robin fell almost immediately to Grima's control… I don't think he was so weak, but in the endgame Grima casted a spell depriving Robin's will to do anything… so make your guess.

A/N 2: The timelines part is one theme for controversy, because many people say that Fates is not related to Awakening. For me, when I heard Caeldori's confession in the Japanese dub "… if I have an unrequited love again… save me again, just like this!" But the decision of what to believe is up to you. For me is a different timeline on a parallel universe.