Sorry to keep you all waiting. I have a bunch of schoolwork and I wrote a play so I was-and still probobly am- kinda busy.

That said, this chapter should hold you guys over for a bit.

It was somewhat staggering to see Ylisstol back in its former glory.

When Jon'so last saw it, it was in ruins. Grima had personally made it his nest, likely out of spite. He was pretty arrogant, rubbing it into the survivors that he had won, as if he was reclaiming a toy he lost.

In the end, however, the heros had won, with or without him.

"'Tis just like I remember it…" Jon'so said to himself, looking up at the castle from the crowded streets.

"You grew up here, right?" Luna asked. Her sword was wrapped up on her back, much to her disdain. She wanted to show off her heritage, and thought it was enough just to hide her mark. The group had to convince her that it would be too much trouble if somebody recognize her too early.

(Actually, it was Jon'so and Mar'on who had to convince her. Aln didn't really care about subtly, Annie thought it would be fun to charge people to watch her train, and Victoria thought it was cowardly to hide your weapons when you were invading a country.)

"Aye…" Jon'so replied, deep in thought. "'Tis strange. The memories are blurry."

"Time travel will do that." Mar'on commented. "You can't expect to jump between time periods and not have any side effects. I've been a bit blurry myself."

"Yeah, yeah, we all have weird memories." Aln commented. "Why are you guys holding my hands? I mean, Annie's hot, so I guess that's OK, but it's kinda weird with Mar'on doing it too."

"Flattery won't get you everywhere, ginger." Annie smirked.

"Said the pot to the kettle." Aln added.

"We don't want you getting us in trouble just yet." Mar'on explained. "You have a nasty case of sticky fingers."

"It could be worse." Luna commented, looking at Victoria.

"I will kill all of you in your sleep." The short girl hissed.

Luna pulled on the leash connected to her waist. "A battle against a mage while sleep deprived? You're going to have to give me more of a challenge than that!"

"Well," Aln said. "I for one am insulted that you don't think I can steal anything without my hands."

Jon'so looked at Aln. "...What did you do?"

Aln grinned, opened his mouth, and revealed a small pouch.

"...That's...frightening." Luna commented.

"How was he talking so clearly?" Mar'on asked.

"Dammit, Aln." Jon'so sighed.

Aln turned to Annie. "Bribe for a free hand?" He asked between his clenched teeth.

Annie let go of his hand and took the pouch from his mouth. "I don't like how wet it is, but gold is gold." She noticed Jon'so glaring at her. "It's for travel costs!"

"We have already made it to Ylisstol!" He exclaimed.

"Like I said, gold is gold." Annie replied, pocketing the bag.

Jon'so sighed. "Look, we should try to find a way to get an audience with the Exalt. We need to tell him and the other Shepherds about our return. Odds are they were worried about us."

"Would have been easier with the cyborg and the loony." Aln commented.

Severa and Laurent had separated themselves from the group to find their parents. Severa insisted it was something she needed to get out-of-the-way, to tell her parents off about something.

Laurent has said something about elbows. It had to do with science, so the group let him be.

"We only had one leash." Mar'on commented.

"A leash which I will push through your mouth and out of your anus." Victoria growled.

"That was...some vivid imagery." Luna commented.

The group had made it to the front gate of the castle. Along the way, Aln, who was bored, decided that he wanted to get Victoria out of her leash. He convinced Luna to give the leash ot Annie so she could converse with Jon'so, using her small crush to his advantage. He had picked another wallet from a passerby and gave it to Victoria, who bartered it to Annie for her freedom.

"Descendants of the Chon'sin…"

Jon'so and Mar'on, who had decided to join Jon'so and Luna's conversation, turned around to see a pissed off mage with a fire tome.

"...Oh boy." Mar'on gulped.

Before Victoria could attack, however, a voice interrupted them.

"May I ask what you are doing here?" The knight interjected.

"Sir Frederick, correct?" Jon'so asked, making sure he recognized the man.

"Correct." The knight replied. "And who might you be?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

This was probably the worst thing that could happen to the group. Frederick would never let them into the palace. Most of the group knew about Frederick's reputation with trust, so they knew how hopeless it would be for them to try and explain their situation. The best case scenario would be him locking them up and interrogating them about how they knew about the time traveling Shepherds.

Jon'so sighed and decided to take the risk of explaining his group. However, before he got the chance, Aln stepped in front of him.

"Well, tall, stiff and grumpy, I happen to be a master thief. I don't mean like the sugar thief you know, I mean a straight up thief. I stole many of the wallets off of innocent citizens of this city, including yours when you weren't looking. I also happen to be a general all around bastard, in every sense of the word. I'm also Plegian, so any reserved racism you have toward them after that war a few years ago should piss you off even more than you already are." Aln explained casually, tossing Frederick's gold pouch in his hand as he spoke.

In the stunned silence that followed, it occurred to Jon'so that Aln had absolutely no idea who Frederick was.

A sense of doom filled the air, directed at Aln. Frederick loomed over Aln.

"..." The great knight was still trying to process the information the thief dumped on him when Aln winked at him and bolted away. "Get back here!" Frederick immediately gave chase.

The rest of the group watched them go, still trying to comprehend what Aln just did.

"...He's dead." Annie commented.

"That was remarkably stupid of him." Mar'on added.

"A necessary sacrifice." Victoria said, uninterested.

"I know from experience a fact he is a fast dastard." Jon'so said.

"Well, we do have access to the castle now." Luna commented. "I'm pretty sure any other guards would just assume we're guests."

"Right." Jon'so replied. "Very well. Let's go. Aln will join up with us later...hopefully."

The group entered the castle.

"Lucina? You OK?"

"Yes...I have a bit of a headache."

"Should probably go see Lissa about that."

"I'll be fine, Robin. I just need to eat something."

"You never know. It could be Morgan."

"Oh! If it's me, can you tell me how-"

"No. That's what we would call TMI, young padawan."

"Fine…"

I know this chapter seems to mainly consist of Jon'so and Aln. I would say that, compared to Awakening, they are the Robin and Chrom of the story. The get the most narrative drive. Heck, their backstories are going to be the longest of the six, since they also double as world-building. That doesn't mean they're the main characters. It means they have a little more focus, but not too much more.

I'm trying to figure out Jon'so voice. He has both a Ylissian and Chon'sin upbringing, so he will probably jump between the two speaking patterns.

If you want an idea of the general vibe of Mar'on, think a slightly more serious Aang from Avatar.

The dynamic between Aln and Annie is very flirty. However seriously it should be taken depends on the support level.

Like I said, the majority of this story deals with the backstories of these characters. After a few chapters, the story is going to start jumping around. I'll make sure you guys have a general idea when each chapter takes place.

So the next chapter is going to be the one you guys were waiting for. You know what I'm talking about.