AN: Some characters maybe OoC. TBH I did not actually play Awakening, due to the lack of a 3ds. I've skimmed through support conversations and the like but it may not be enough to cover everything. So, if you find some of the characters OoC to the point you don't like it, I apologize ahead of time but I did it so it would fit with this tale.

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: Awakening is the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I do not own Fire Emblem and this is all purely entertainment.

Robin
on the nape of Grima's neck, midday

I glanced at Chrom, my King and dear husband, who was by my side. His armored glove-covered hand pressed gently but hard onto my shoulder, an appreciated though failed attempt to reassure me of the outcome of the battle to come. He whispered gently to me but his words unsuccessfully at making my beating heart settle. After all, ahead of us was possibly the end of all life.

"Robin, Mark, what are you orders?" Chrom spoke as he readied his holy sword Falchion, his hand now removed from my shoulder.

My twin younger brother, Mark, stepped up as he temporarily parted from his wife, Tiki, the grand Voice of Naga. Mark, though he hid it really well, was terrified, though I didn't blame him for being afraid. This battle determined everything.

I clutched my brother's hand and gave it a firm and tight squeeze.

"You always know when I'm at my weakest, don't you Sis?"

I simply nodded. After all, he is my twin. We've been together for as long as I could remember. I have, proudly, mastered the art of reading my own brother. Unfortunately, my brother does not share the same sort of feelings or art as I do. His memories were damaged. And it was all because of that vile Dragon God who wore my brother's flesh.

"Even if you're from another time line, I won't forgive you for tainting my Brother's body."

"Sis, we need a plan. Fast," Mark called out. "If we don't end this fight soon, Grima's, the Grimleal, forces will overwhelm us."

I nodded and looked amongst our fellow Shepherds. Mark was correct; as my gaze scanned the back of the dragon, I noticed the runes etched onto the body of the Fell Dragon. They were teleportation runes. I have learned that runes such as those can't be used in rapid succession but they most certainly posed a threat. However, our mages could certainly remove them, provided they are covered…

"At the very least, we need to get rid of those runes first." Mark nodded in agreement. "Miriel, Virion, Vaike, Nowi, Lissa, Stahl, Olivia, Gaius, Owain, Kjelle, and Gerome," I called out, each of them shouting in response when I called upon them, "I need you ten to deal with the runes behind us! Ricken, Maribelle, Sully, Frederick, Inigo, and Nah, deal with the runes directly east of us! Tharja, Libra, Kellam, Cordelia, Panne, and Lon'qu! The runes to the west!"

Mark took over from there. "As for the rest of us, we will slowly press forward until we managed to break a path to Grima! From there, Cherche, Gregor, Anna, Laurent, Donnel, Flavia, Say'ri, Yarne and Brady will deal with the runes north-west of here! Henry, Sumia, Basilio, Severa, Yarne, Cynthia, Noire, Lucina, and Morgant will deal with the runes on the opposite side! Chrom and Robin will deal with Grima while Tiki, Morgana, and I will assist Miriel's group!"

"Friends, don't push yourself!" Chrom shouted as he raised Falchion in the air. "We are all coming back alive, got that?!"

Everyone shouted in response and soon got into position. However, before we separated into our designated roles, Mark pulled me aside.

"Sis, please do not get yourself killed out there," he whispered. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you too."

I nodded, a vivid memory of our mother being murdered by that man flashed in my mind. Mark released my arm and then took his spot next to his wife. In that very moment, Chrom moved up beside me and gave me one stupid grin.

"Now's not the time for that Chrom! How can you be smiling at a time like this?" I was quite flabbergasted by his calm demeanor. But I somehow ended up releasing a small chuckle.

"See, now that's better. I understand that we're in a dangerous situation, Robin, but if we wouldn't want to end up making our vision narrow. Should we lose ourselves and forgo our surrounding, we will lose. And I, for one, do not want to lose you."

"And I, too, do not want to lose you," I replied.

I pulled out my own blade, a modified Levin Sword. The original blade's shape was rather impractical for actual combat so I had the blade reformed and reinforced. Instead of it being jagged like a child's depiction of a lightning bolt, it was wavy and smooth. I requested the blade to be reformed into this shape due to the fact that parrying with these kind of blades would transmit an unpleasant vibration to the attacker's own weapon. While it retained its ability to shoot bolts of lightning, its magical prowess was slightly reduced.

"Mother, we will make sure none of those Grimleal will get past us!" Morgant shouted as he elevated his shield, the enchanted brave sword held firmly and heroically.

Lucina nodded in approval with her brother, her Falchion raised and poised. Weapon after weapon, the Shepherds raised their arms and headed out to the final obstacle. I took a deep breath and glared at Grima. He simply glanced back at me and smirked.

Our armies charged, blades shimmered in the light as they danced about and blood was spilt and poured out from the Grimleal who were more than willingly to sacrifice themselves for Grima. I took down a Grimleal assassin who tried to sneak up on Chrom just as he took down a sniper that had their sights on Lucina and Morgant. But as I pulled my blade out, I turned around to see an imposing warrior with his axe raised overhead. In an instant, he fell over due to an axe that was lodged into his skull.

"No Grimleal shall harm you, Mother!" Morgant once again shouted as reclaimed the hand axe he tossed with some wind magic and then proceeded to assist his older sister.

As the battle progressed, the path was eventually cleared. I flicked the blood off my sword and steeled myself for our final battle. Chrom at my side, we both approached the Fell Dragon who was responsible for the misery of the future children. Grima glared at me and then at Chrom, finally returning his gaze to me. His mouth moved, a voice similar to my twin's but at the same time wasn't, and sent a chill down my spine.

"COME, WENCH… I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB IN FRONT OF THAT NAGA WHELP YOU CARE SO MUCH FOR!"

I kept my head in check and refused to take his taunt. With a slight gesture, I gestured to Chrom to move in. Nodded with approval, Chrom charged with his Falchion, its golden blade gleamed in the light of the setting sun. The overhead swing from my husband was easily blocked by Grima's own onyx-colored sword. Interestingly, it resembled a lot like my own modified Levin Sword. I shook the coincidence out of my head and ran up to support Chrom.

Although he and Chrom had their blades locked up against each other, Grima noticed me and shoved Chrom aside. In the next instance, he easily parried my own blade, the unsettling vibrations traveled through my arm. Chrom rushed back in easily and swung again. Grima avoided the blow and attempted to jab Chrom, which was easily blocked by the Shield of Seals. I swung my sword once more, only for it to be avoided. Of course, I anticipated Grima would do that. While he was out of reach, I made a lunging-like motion, releasing a bolt of lightning that dwelled within the Levin Sword.

Grima was struck by the bolt and glared at the both of us furiously. He raised his free hand and pointed it at us. Suddenly, the actual body of Grima reared its horrific visage. Purple and black magical energy formed in the Fell Dragon's mouth, then promptly released into a miasma of purple flames that flew right towards us at an astonishing speed. I quickly pushed Chrom down, the two of us nearly avoiding the blow. Chrom then rolled the both of us out of the way from Grima's blade as he failed to impale us.

We recollected ourselves and stared into the eyes of my brother's body. It was hard to accept that Mark, even if he was from another time line, became Grima. But, I knew sentimental thoughts like these were not fit for the field.

"I have to get rid of them, for the good of the people and the future!" I charged in, my blade coated with pinkish-purple flames. "Ignis!"

At the same time, my brother's lookalike had prepared Ignis as well, his blade coated in purplish-black flames in contrast with my own variation. When our weapons collided, a surge of magical energy escaped from the two, resulting in a deafening explosion. I tumbled across Grima's hard scales. Chrom helped me back up to my feet and I glanced at Grima, who wasn't even phased by the blast.

"None of our attacks are getting through," Chrom noted. "And things aren't looking too well for our comrades."

I looked to where Lucina and Morgant were fighting. Morgant's shield was damaged to the point where blocking with it would be detrimental while Lucina seemed exhausted. Some of the Shepherds in that party were dealt with light, but multiple, wounds. Henry, being the only person capable of using a staff in that party, could not keep up with taking down various Grimleal troops, disabling the teleportation runes, and heal everyone at the same time. While they were barely winning their front, I knew they will not last.

"We have to end this," I muttered.

"I AGREE. DIE WENCH!"

Grima released a wave of purple thorns at the both of us. Chrom gripped my arms and got the both of us out of his line of fire. But the Fell Dragon continued his relentless assault, the spikes followed us like a vicious hunting dog. Chrom and I had no choice but to split up, which was exactly what Grima wanted us to do. Grima teleported a sorcerer adorned in strange robes. The stranger's garbs were white at the top, golden strips of cloth anchored with golden metal from the shoulders, robe bottoms that were pitch black and covered in dark plates of metal. Multiple amount of belts were clasped onto the man's body, various tomes hanging off thin straps of leather. The man's face was hidden behind a metal dragon shaped mask.

The new mysterious mage assaulted Chrom with a spell I didn't recognize; it first started off as a brilliant flash of light and then it became a wave of searing light. That wave knocked Chrom off his feet, his arms burned and he seemed almost unconscious from the magic unleashed from the tome. But I had no time to go assist my husband. I charged at Grima with my sword at the ready, Ignis once again prepped.

"AGAIN? YOU NEVER LEARN, DO YOU?"

Grima prepared his Ignis and swung his blade out to meet mine and once again resulted in another explosion of magical energy. I fell on my bad but quickly got back up, Book of Naga in hand this time. As soon as the smoke cleared, I let loose the incantation on Grima. Grima took the full brunt of the spell and was certainly enraged by this.

I charged at Grima again, this time without Ignis. Grima swung his sword out but this time I was the one to parry the blow. Grima grunted as his arm and weapon was pushed aside by my blade. I pushed forward and landed a thrust where he was armored. He winced and then brought his blade down. I backed off but his sword's edge caught my shoulder and grazed it.

And just as we disengaged, we charged at each other again. Our swords were locked up against each other, metal grinding on metal as we continued to push our weapons to the limit. Suddenly, I felt his boot brushed up my leg. I quickly backed off, preventing Grima's attempt to trip me. The lookalike charged up at me and swung. I brought up my sword to block it but I wasn't fast enough; his blade hacked through my armor and sliced open my chest. Fortunately enough, the wound wasn't deep but I knew I was in deep trouble.

I stumbled back and watched as Grima closed the distance to finish me off. Fortunately, I had Excalibur prepared and released the powerful tower of wind between us. I had a feeling he backed off due to the apparent fact he didn't burst through the howling gust. I used the modified Levin Sword as a make-shift cane and used it to get myself back up.

"Robin!"

Chrom shouted out to me as he tried to run over but I raised my hand to stop him. Right in front of him, a pillar of golden light slammed into the ground. He turned around to face the mysterious mage again.

I, taking advantage of the grace period I bought myself, pulled out a vulnerary and quickly applied it to my wound. It wouldn't completely stop the bleeding but it'll be enough for this fight. Grima reappeared in my vision once the pillar of wind dissipated. He had a rather cocksure air about him as he glanced at my wound, his eyes seemed to have been telling to just drop on the floor and accept my fate. I fixed my stance and readied my sword. I stared back in defiance and tightened my grip.

"Still have the strength to fight?" he asked, his voice almost softening to the point where I thought it was Mark talking to me and not this Grima-possessed Mark.

I pointed my weapon, poised to strike Grima down. He seemed unimpressed and readied his stance, sword in front and free hand behind his waist. His sword glowed with Ignis, body positioned properly and ready to strike. He wanted to end the fight here.

"Why? Wouldn't he rather take his chances and wait for his Grimleal to finish us off?"

Instead of mirroring Grima, I tapped into the socketed green gem's energy and allowed the lightning flow through the blade. I knew for a fact that this would be the last engagement between us; my wound was already taking a toll. I felt my own grip slacking and my feet giving out. But I had to endure.

Taking that as a sign, Grima lunged in swiftly. I managed to deflect the blow but was assaulted by a flurry of slashes afterwards. I've done my best to block them with my own weapon but the magically enchanted sword got passed my defenses, sliced through my robes and singed both the cloth and the flesh on my arms. I grimaced as I received each hit but bit my lip to not cry out as to not distract Chrom from his own fight.

As I continued to be on the defensive, I noticed an opening in the middle of his swing. I took my chance, in a desperate attempt to end the duel, and lunged. His easily side stepped it with a smirk and slammed his pommel onto the back of my head. I hit the scaled surface hard and almost blacked out. When I attempted to get up, Grima's boot slammed into my back and pinned me to the Fell Dragon's neck. I turned my head and glared at the lookalike. However, he had an expression unfitting of his person.

"I'm sorry," he seemed to have mouthed as he raised his sword.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the worst. But the worst never happened. Instead, I heard the clash of steel and opened my eyes to see a familiar and comforting dark blue locks in my view, protecting me from my would-be killer.

"Lucina?" I asked in confusion. Did she already finish off the eastern side?

Lucina glanced back at me and then faced her possessed uncle. While Lucina seemed unharmed and still full of energy, Grima's host was already injured though his injuries are quite minor compared to my own. With her full strength, combined with the Falchion, she pushed him back. She advanced towards him and swung vehemently at his head. Although he blocked her sword, he stumbled back from the blow. She continued like this until he was a good distance away from me. My daughter then jumped back and gave me a blue glass jug.

"Mother, quickly drink this," she said softly as she pressed the potion to my lips.

I greedily drank the contents and felt my strength recovering, although not as fast as I would like. But thanks to the elixir, my wounds closed up. With a little of my strength recovered, I pushed myself up. However, I felt gentle large hands on my shoulder, as if telling me to sit. I turned back to see Chrom, face marred with slight burns, who gave me a small smile.

"Let us handle this from here, Robin," he gently whispered. "You've done far more than enough for all of us." Before I could protest, Chrom shushed me. "At least give yourself a moment of respite before fighting again. Don't worry, our son will protect you," he pointed out as he gestured to Morgant.

"Fine, I'll stay put…for now. But Chrom, make sure you keep an eye on Lucina. She is fighting her uncle, possessed or not, after all," I warned.

He nodded and approached his daughter, his Falchion in hand. I turned my direction the other way to see what happened to the mysterious mage. But his body was nowhere to be seen.

"Morgant, what happened to the man your father was fighting?"

"Uh, Mother, you might not believe this but the strangest thing happened when Father took him down. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, you would probably believe it. Anyways, the mage turned to dust when he died but it's not like how a Risen turns into a dark pile of dust. It was like he was made of sand! And, ugh, he gave me shivers when his mask broke. The man had pure black hair, blood red lips, pale as snow skin, and creepy golden eyes. It was sooo strange Mother," Morgant explained rather quickly.

Morgan then handed me a strange brownish-red tome with a golden star imprinted on its cover. It was one of the many tomes that was attached to the mysterious mage. When I opened the mysterious book to read its contents, I was flabbergasted by its incantations that were written into the pages. It's not that they were complicated or illegible but it was more of a compatibility issue. Just by reading the letters scrawled in here, I knew that my magical energy was not suited for this tome.

"Morgant, I don't think I am even close to being capable to use this tome. Perhaps Libra or Lissa might be able to use it."

"Mother, don't you think this magic is completely different from what we use? I'm certain you felt it yourself, right?"

I could only nod in silence as I recalled the two strange spells that were used against Chrom. It was as if someone condensed the light of the sun and weaponized it. Who devised these spells? Where did it originate from? Unfortunately, the one person who could have answered these questions is not only dead but a pile of sand.

With a gesture to my son, he helped me up and brought me closer to the fight but far enough so that we wouldn't get caught up in it. I glanced at both my daughter and husband, both of them prepared to take on the host of Grima. Past the gaze of the two resolute figures stood the Fell Dragon's host. However, though he seemed determined, his posture was rather sloppy. There was a well-placed wound at his waist. With an injury that bad, I highly doubt, Grima's host or not, he would prove to be any trouble.

With no words said, the father-daughter duo charged at the lone man. Dark magical energy swirled up in his hand and just as Grima was about to direct it at the two, his hand swung the other way, directing the released energy behind him and slammed into the Fell Dragon's face. The man appeared to be in shock just as the two Falchions rammed right into his chest. He coughed up blood, his face still in disbelief of what he had done.

"H-h-how?! I thought I completely devoured you years ago!" Grima spurted out. What followed those words was not the harsh voice of Grima but instead the gentle tone I found very familiar. "No more… Now, you won't be able to hurt my family. Not this time…"

Chrom and Lucina pulled their Falchions out and looked at the dying man. The future Mark, though he was dying, had a rather blissful expression as he rested on his backside. I stumbled away from Morgant and approached the three. When Mark laid his eyes upon me, he had a rather solemn visage.

"Sister… I'm sorry," he began as he coughed a bit more. "There isn't much time so I'll be quick; should you or my other self be the one to deliver the finishing blow, Grima, myself, and the two of you will die. But should you let Chrom or Lucina finish me off, Grima will go back into his thousand year rest…" He rested a bit before continuing once more. "I implore you, for the good of everyone, I want you Sister, especially you, to end it."

He seemed rather hesitant to bring out that last line but I understood what he meant. Without hesitation, I went for my sword. Both of my children shouted as they both tackled me onto the scales. From the corner of my vision, I saw Chrom approach my brother's future counterpart and mercifully end him. In that exact moment, I felt the scales stirred. Grima was lulled back to sleep. His body was heading straight into the ocean. Fortunately, it seemed our companions were already prepared, most of them already on their wyverns, pegasi, griffons, and our three manaketes who were fortunately large enough to support a good handful of us. For those who, unfortunately, did not have a spot were teleported by Tharja, who ahead of time reverse engineered the teleportation rune for our use. When I was brought to the rune, I turned back to see Lucina near my future brother's body. She knelt down and placed something in his hand and then rushed to the teleportation circle. When we stepped in, we were teleported back to Mount Prism and watched Grima fall into the sea.

I turned to Chrom, who had a rather disheartened look on his face. I noticed that the future Mark uttered something to him but whatever was said was beyond me.

"Why didn't you let me end him? It was his one last wish and yet…"

"I couldn't let you do it. Though it was his last wish, it was too selfish, especially after all he has done, controlled or not," Chrom responded.

"And what you done wasn't selfish?" I rebuked.

"What I did was justified, Robin! Not only we would have lost you and your brother, but also Morgant and Morgana, both who of which haven't been born in our time! The people still need the two of you siblings… I still need you…" Chrom embraced me tightly. I swore I felt a tear plop onto my shoulder as Chrom uttered a few more words quietly to my ear. "Don't ever leave me, please…"

And just when I was about to pat Chrom's head, I felt someone's hand slap the back of my head.

"Sis, you big idiot!" Mark shouted, which was completely out of synch to his normal and calm demeanor. "I should at least have a say in it if we were BOTH going be sacrificed to kill Grima for good. Geez, for a genius, you can be quite a fool…" He sighed heavily and glared. "I don't think you need me to remind you but don't ever think of doing something that dumb ever again."

I could only nod as I felt my prevented actions impale my heart. If it weren't for Lucina and Mark, I would have killed him… I gestured Chrom to release me and then walked over to the cliff, staring at the almost hidden sun.

"Was this really the right decision? What if Grima causes more trouble in the next thousand years? Will everyone be strong enough to defeat him?"

I knew that only time would tell.

No PoV
elsewhere within a hidden fortress, after dusk

"Lord Malovence, Grima was put back into sleep," said an armored fighter.

"No matter," a dragon faced mage said. "I have recorded enough data from that failed experiment."

The dragon faced mage wore the exact same robes as the man who fought Chrom. But, instead of white and gold, he had leaf green robes with ruby colored strips of cloth hanging from his shoulders. The druid walked away from the stone slabbed table, littered in various and inked parchments of theories and spells, and walked into another room. The fighter followed his master wordlessly.

In the new room, there were large glass jars that filled the vast amount of shelves. There were glowing yellow wisps of light contained in them. A horrible stench could be smelled from the ends of the room. And the source of the smell was the large pile of corpses, all completely rotted and forgotten. The so called Lord Malovence paid no attention to them however. He reached out for one of the larger jars with his armored hand and then manipulated the wisps of light. Slowly, a human-like shape was made. More of the lights were stolen from their containers as they were piled up. Malovence flicked and the lights disappeared. Left behind was a woman, completely bare and her snow-white skin completely exposed.

"Rise," Malovence commanded. She did as she was told, her golden eyes staring right at Malovence and the fighter behind him. "Approach," he, again, commanded.

As she walked towards him very fluidly and gracefully, the fighter slowly approached the woman to get a better look at her. The man was rather astonished by her appearance, noting her cold but golden glowing eyes, her abyss colored hair, blood red lips, and extremely pale flesh.

"What is she?" the fighter asked.

Malovence ordered the woman to make herself more appropriate and gave her directions of where she could find clothes. He then gathered more jars and prepared to make another one of his creations.

"They are called Morphs, my friend."

AN: I hoped you enjoyed this rewritten chapter. I will note that I was rather lacking on character descriptions (mainly due to the fact I was lazy and figured that most people have an idea what the characters look like.) I don't think I'll go back to this chapter to add in the actual character descriptions but in the future chapters from the OCs' PoV, they will describe what they think the Shepherds look like.

Information: In the game, if the Avatar lays the finishing blow on Grima, the two will disappear. Naga then mentions that the Avatar has a chance (MORE LIKE ABSOLUTELY) to come back due to their bonds with everyone in the Shepherds. Well forget that. In here, nakama power will not save anyone. Buh bye plot armor.

Since both Robin and Mark are twins, they probably have the same amount of connection to Grima so if Grima dies, they both die. However, it does not work the other way around so if Robin or Mark dies, Grima will be fine.

Things that concern Naga and her role in this fanfic: Naga from the future timeline was severely weakened when she sent the future children back into the past. Thus, she does not appear before the Shepherds and only Tiki, though not often, is the only means of communication to Naga. So that is why future Mark is the one who explains about the link to Grima, rather than Naga herself.