Chapter 3, and let me add...this is starting to get weird.


"Do you see anything?" Gaius mumbled from behind a tree outside the Garrison.

From the bushes next to the tree, Robin's silver hair could be seen standing out. Robin rustled the leaves around so he could see. When he had gotten a chance to scope the area, he turned to Gaius.

"Nothing on my side, but-" Robin mumbled. He stopped mid-sentence to duck down and shush his friend.

The two watched as Cordelia and Maribelle trotted by, still in their drunk gaze.

"Gaius! Come here! Please?" Cordelia yelled in search of her beloved.

"Robin! It's rude to keep a girl waiting!" Maribelle added.

When the two were out of sight, Robin and Gaius stood up. They were safe for now, but they needed to find Tharja if they wanted to undo whatever was afflicting the army. Before they continued forward, Gaius remembered something.

"Hey, what happened to Stahl?" Gaius asked dusting leaves off of his shirt. He then reached for a candy cane in one of his pouches and began to nibble at it.

"Oh yeah..." Robin remembered, "I think Lissa got a hold of him when we were running."

Turning back time a half an hour before, our two heroes were being attacked by a love-sick Cordelia and Maribelle. An explosion of smoke quickly filled in from the kitchen, followed by a screaming Nowi dashing out the kitchen door. Robin and Gaius used the moment to slip away. Stahl, however, was grabbed by Lissa at the last second, and hasn't been heard from since.

"Okay, so here's the plan." Robin said squatting down and grabbing a tree branch.

"We're here." He continued drawing an X and a triangle in the dirt beneath them.

"Wait." Gaius interrupted, "Are you the X or am I?"

"What? Why?" Robin asked derailing from the plan.

"Because I want to be the X..." Gaius admitted.

"It doesn't matter who the X is!" Robin yelled standing up.

"So, I can be the X?" Gaius asked standing up as well.

"No way! I'm the X!" Robin stated loudly.

"What?! You said it didn't matter!" Gaius responded loudly.

"Right, because I'm the X-Whoa!" Robin yelled.

He was cut off when Maribelle came up from behind and pulled him into a hug. Gaius tried to run, but Cordelia was behind him.

"Robin! There you are! Just where did you get off too?" Maribelle yelled with glee as she squeezed Robin harder.

"Oh, you know-ack!-around..." Robin mumbled in pain.

"Gaius, you're no better!" Cordelia exclaimed, "You made me worry my love didn't love me back!"

"No. Why would you think that? Could it be how I keep trying to avoid you!?" Gaius asked sarcastically.

The two tried to struggle free but were quickly forced onto the ground. They wouldn't be able to break free of the two's obsessive grasp this time.

"Gaius?" Robin said with a defeated tone.

"Yeah, Robin?" Gaius asked in response.

"High five..." Robin said holding out an open hand, "This is probably the end for us, but still...its a good way to go out, right?"

Gaius met Robin's hand with his own.

"Would have preferred more candy involved, but...yeah, it's pretty sweet."

Suddenly, the mood was cut by a swift thwack sound. Maribelle and Cordelia's grips on the two were lightening as the girls fell unconscious. Gaius and Robin looked up to see Stahl and Olivia. Olivia was blushing, with an angry look, breathing heavily, and holding a ladle with two dents in it.

"And just WHAT were you two doing?!" Olivia yelled angrily.

Her outburst sent Robin and Gaius straight up off the ground out of fear, and sent Stahl stepping back a bit.

"Olivia?" Robin asked nervously.

"I-I can't believe you'd do this to me, Robin!" Olivia yelled.

She quickly turned and started crying.

"N-No, Olivia it's not what it looks like! I-" Robin pleaded stopping mid-sentence.

"Wait. Why am I explaining this like I was cheating on her?" Robin thought to himself.

"It's not what it looks like, Olivia. These two are cursed." Gaius informed pointing to Cordelia and Maribelle.

"Cursed?" Olivia asked sniffling as she dried her eyes.

"Yeah, something about Stahl's cookies makes people fall in love with the first person they see. Speaking of which..." Gaius said turning to Stahl.

"H-Hey, don't look at me! I used regular ingredients, I swear!" Stahl stated.

"Yeah, I doubt you had anything to do with it." Robin admitted taking suspicion off of Stahl.

"Regardless, we should see Sunshine about this. She has to know something or another." Gaius indicated.

"Right, but without a sample, it won't be as simple to solve..." Robin reminded.

"You mean like these?" Stahl asked reaching behind him.

Stahl pulled out of a pouch a plastic bag with two cookies inside of it.

"Stahl! That's genius!" Olivia complimented.

"But that's only two. Where are the others?" Gaius asked.

"Still on the plate in the Mess Hall, why?" Stahl informed.

"You mean the kitchen everyone's meeting at. Where everyone can get a hold of them?" Robin asked rhetorically.

"Oh...yeah..." Stahl replied scratching the back of his head.

"We should get going. The longer we spend twiddling our thumbs the more time the potion has to spread its effects." Robin declared.

"What about them?" Stahl asked pointing to the unconscious Cordelia and Maribelle.

"Prop them against the tree. With any luck, they won't wake up until after we find a cure." Robin decided.

Gaius and Stahl laid the two against the tree, and then the group made their way back into the Garrison. They walked through the many halls of the Garrison, each empty like a ghost town. To add to the effect, the cobblestone hallways were dimly lit by a small number of torches, adding to the unnerving feel.

"Everyone must be in the kitchen by now." Olivia muttered looking at the absence of shepherds in the halls.

"That's not good. Let's just pray they don't eat the snacks." Stahl added.

"Hey, Olivia?" Robin asked changing the subject.

"Y-yes, Robin?" Olivia stuttered nervously. She was back to being her usual shy self.

"What was with that outburst back there? And the thing back in my room? Are you okay?"

Olivia turned red again. She had prayed he had forgotten about that. Her outburst wasn't intentional. She just saw Maribelle on top of him and snapped.

"O-oh...uh-er-right, t-that." Olivia stammered trying to find the right words, "Well...t-the thing is, R-Robin..."

"Yes?" Robin asked intrigued at where she was going with her words.

"I-I...um..."

"Hey, lovebirds! Can it, we're here!" Gaius yelled interrupting the moment.

Olivia blush faded a bit, but remained slightly when she heard "lovebirds".

"Gaius! Don't go around saying stuff like that! I-It's embarrassing." Olivia said pouting at the end of the sentence.

The group stood in front of the iron door that cased in Tharja's room. It gave off an even more supernatural fear than the hallways surrounding it. Robin, specifically, felt a chill down his spine in the presence of the room. It was nerve racking enough that no one would make the approach to knock on the door.

"S-So...whenever you're ready, R-Robin." Stahl faltered volunteering Robin.

"Me?!" Robin asked, "Why? She terrifies me more than anything!"

"Just do it, Bubbles. We don't have time." Gaius added.

"...Let's take a vote." Robin offered.

The other three immediately raised their hands and in unison said, "Robin."

"Dammit!" Robin cursed under his breath.

The tactician turned to the Hell's gate in front of him. No doubt, Tharja would try and take this as a proposal of sorts or some other perverse thing. However, Robin didn't have time to assume the worst. He slowly raised his hand up to the door and began to knock. Each clanging sound resonated with the prior, and each one made Robin more nervous.

Leisurely the door creaked open and from the confines of the chamber emerged the dark mage. Instead of the awkward moment Robin anticipated, Tharja immediately slammed the door when she saw it was Robin.

The group merely stared quietly at what they saw. Usually, Tharja would jump at a chance to speak with him.

"Tharja! Open up!" Robin yelled knocking on the door louder.

"...No, thank you." Tharja mumbled.

Robin grumbled to himself out how difficult she was being.

"NOW, she chooses to be out of character?!" Robin thought to himself.

Gaius scratched the end of his clean shaven chin and pondered on a way to get Tharja to leave. He noticed Robin wasn't looking his direction.

"Perfect." Gaius murmured as he started to reach for Robin's shoulders.

He placed a single hand on Robin's shoulder and turned Robin towards him.

"Gaius?" Robin asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry." Gaius said pulling one of the love cookies out.

He immediately slammed his boot down on Robin's foot, causing Robin to scream mouth wide in agony. Gaius then placed the cookie in Robin's mouth and the turned Robin towards Olivia. Robin then showed the symptoms. He hung his head downward, gained a large blush and dazed look, and looked directly at Olivia.

"Oh no, what is this? It seems Robin has fallen in love with Olivia by means of a curse. If only someone knew how to fix it..." Gaius hinted to Tharja in an apathetic tone.

Tharja cursed the thief for his cleverness. She didn't want to leave Robin like that, but at the same time, she couldn't reveal that it was all her fault to begin with.

"Say, Robin? How do you feel about Olivia?" Gaius asked in his fake acting voice.

"I...I don't think I've ever loved anyone more..." Robin mumbled.

Tharja frowned. She was angry, but knew that it was because of the cookie, so it didn't bother her that much. Gaius knew this and decided to hit the nerve harder.

"Robin! Dance with Olivia!" Gaius ordered the lovesick tactician.

Robin immediately grabbed Olivia's hand and began to lead her into a tango. As happened Olivia could feel her face lighting up. She wasn't sure if she could stay conscious much longer.

Tharja's frown became a scowl.

Gaius reached behind him and pulled out a small box labeled, "Plan Ahead! The game for happy couples!" and began to read the questions.

"Question 1! How many kids will you have?" Gaius asked reading the card aloud.

"Two. If that's alright with you darling?" Robin asked without breaking a sweat.

"Um...uh...er-I mean-...o-o-okay..." Olivia stuttered dizzily.

Tharja's scowl became mumbling angrily.

"Question 2! Where will you go for your honeymoon?"

"Anywhere Olivia desires. Of course, our mode of travel will be a Pegasus drawn carriage...and love." Robin answered.

The mushy comment even made Stahl want to hurl. Tharja was in disarray.

"Question 3! Where will your first-" Gaius continued before being interrupted by the sound of an iron door slamming open.

"Okay! Alright, I'll help! Just stop! Please!" Tharja begged.

"Thank you Sunshine. We'll start with Robin, because he's really starting to sicken me..." Gaius stated pointing everyone's attention to Robin.

He was caressing a fainted Olivia's hand at the time.


So...yeah. That happened.