*Camera turns on*

*M3 and Ice can be seen in front of the camera, waiting for their moment to start.*

M3: "Hello everybody! This is our commentary segment on DA…"

IceBite: "Yeah, the 2 who would normally be doing this story are too exhausted to commentate, so we're here…"

M3: "Besides the fact we also wrote the story...But that's not important. What is important is what will happen now since the last chapter."

IceBite: "As you might have guessed, we have a 2-year timeskip on our hands…"

M3: "And let's see what happened since then...Start the chapter!"

*Chapter 8 Loading…*

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*Loading Complete.*

*Chapter 8 starts.*


Chapter 8: A New Threat

Time had passed in the world...ending when it was 2 years later. After the Ylissean-Plegian War of whatever year it was, peace went through the lands of Ylisse, Ferox, and Plegia.

In this moment of peace, the Shepherds had kept in touch with each other as they went on with their own lives and paths. However, a small group did go on one final mission before going their own ways...that earned them another friend: one of the merchant 'Anna's that wandered around the continent, who now kept in contact with the group.


Having been the last person to join the group of Shepherds during the war, Olivia didn't really a chance to interact with the other members...save for one.

The one being Connor Thomas. Connor had to spent a few days and nights to convince Olivia to help out in a project of his...Which she did eventually agree.

The project was to build a community inside the kingdom of Ylisse that was open to anyone who needed a place to stop and rest. Of course, that was not the only goal...but they had to start somewhere.

In the remaining time of the two year period, the community went from a small inn to a large town with its own blacksmith, trader shops, and other associated business and housing matching the current technology level of the world.

As for Connor and Olivia, they ended up being the wealthiest people in the town, due in large part to Connor investing into the community. Olivia continued to practice dancing, though making progress, her nervousness from people watching her dancing still got to her.

Of course as mentioned, there was progress. Olivia was able to perform her dances with Connor watching. Also, Connor helped Olivia by training her how to fight with a sword, despite her views about violence.

This naturally led to them seeing more and more of each other as time went on. There was even talk among the community and a few Shepherds who visited about the relationship between the two...Though they both didn't say anything about if the topic ever came up.

Eventually, near the end of the two year period, Connor had decided to give the community its own name. He settled on the name, 'Zilver Sero'. The name in itself coming from the the first building in the town, the 'Zilver Sero Inn.'

Since then, life was busy, but it was also mildly simplistic. Just the way Connor wanted it to be for now.


Meanwhile, Daniel traveled while everyone else was busy, exploring the sea to the south of the Ylissean continent, using a small starship he brought with him, a Star Relic of the Nerazim he called the Forward Unto Dawn. Using it, he found and set up shop on an archipelago to the south of the continent, using some tricks he learned from one of his past enemies, a Dark Archon called 'Ulrezaj'...

Furthermore, some of his people came down and moved into the Shepherds' Barracks: the CPU Candidate Nepgear moved in, and began getting to work helping the more technologically-reliant members of Daniel's group maintain their equipment. Furthermore, Kaptin Bluddflagg and his Krew, a group of Orks Daniel managed to befriend, also came down to the planet, but then moved into Daniel's archipelago, where they constantly fought the inhabitants, keeping their's, and the inhabitants', senses and skills sharp...

Brother Thade and his men also began setting up on the archipelago, creating a new 'Fortress-Monastery' on one of the islands: they're too small to be a 'true' Space Marine Chapter anymore...but they're the only Space Marines this world had. And, if the last battle of the previous war taught them anything, Chaos had an interest in this world, meaning they HAD to defend it…

Eventually, by the time Daniel returned to the mainland, he missed a LOT, namely that some of the Shepherds got together with members of Daniel's group: the least surprising was Sevon and Ruby: those two were practically inseparable. Then there was Lenora and Ash'pur, the former actually researching what she could of the 'Tau'va' AND the Farsight Enclaves from the materials Ash'pur had gotten for her. Another pair that cropped up was Gaius and Neopolitan. Well, birds of a feather and all that...but the most surprising was… … …

"FENIX AND NOWI?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Daniel had exclaimed when he found out, still wondering how 'childish excitable dragon girl' and 'loud, boisterous warrior guy' got together..

"You're just saying that because you got no one that fell in love with you yet." Connor bluntly joked in response.

"I'm serious! How did THEY get together?!" Daniel repeated.

"Sometimes the most unlikely people fall in love with each other, just because...Though it could be argued ever since Fenix fought side by side with Nowi, they got used to working together...I guess." Connor stated back.

Since they were alone at the time, Daniel felt safe saying, "And now Nah is going to be Part Protoss… … …" He facepalmed and sighed. *Wonder how THAT is gonna change things…"

"Probably not much...Then again, we did basically throw a massive monkey wrench in how things WERE suppose to go…" Connor noted. "Speaking of which, where have you been since I last saw you?"

"Just busy and setting up shop for some of the things I've had in storage...Something's been telling me this world's the last stop on this multiversal journey I've been on, so I might as well set up shop here…"

"And when I find myself down there, I hope for your sake it ain't what I think it is. I didn't say this back then because of what was going on...but I didn't like seeing those Astral Knights...Told me something is going on..." Connor exclaimed in a suspecting tone.

"With the Forces of Chaos being confirmed to be interested in this world, dude…it's a GOOD thing they're here…"

"Not that...I'm talking about the other thing...whatever 'it' is." Connor retorted.

"Hmmm?"

"Look...I overheard some vague comments from some of your friends when they visited the place I'm living at. I know you're up to something...And right now, I'm thinking it's bad."

"Really, and what are you thinking it is?"

"...Is it the beginning stages of building an empire under your leadership, using your influences and past adventures to achieve it?" Connor asked, waiting for an answer.

"... … ...I have no reply to that…" Daniel replied, after some time thinking it over.

"...Okay. Just thought I ask." Connor said in a neutral tone and look to avoid showing what he thought of that answer.

Some time passed in the span of seconds before Connor awkwardly asked as he jumped subjects, "...So, you want to know what I've been up to?"

Daniel shrugged. "Sure."

Connor went on a tangent about Zilver Sero, with building it up and having Olivia be there along the way. He spoke more about the businesses and trade work, but mentioned very little about himself or Olivia...and nothing about their current relationship.

"Really...and what's this I'm hearing about you and Olivia? I've been...hearing things…" Daniel commented.

"Nothing...It's nothing. We...just decided to be partners...I mean, partners in managing Zilver Sero. That's it." Connor answered before adding a bit more words, thinking Daniel wouldn't be interested.

"You sure?" Daniel asked, "Because, like I've said, I've been hearing things…"

"Like what? That we been spending a lot of time together lately, that we admitted that we fell in love with each other, that I've been waiting for the right moment to propose to her?" Connor blurted out, not catching what he said.

"...Yes, exactly," Daniel replied.

Connor realized what he said and desperately tried to backpedal with, "Of course…Just know, they aren't true… …Despite what you been told...I mean, heard."

"...Eh-huh…" Daniel replied, unconvinced.

"Yeah...you don't believe my lie. The things you been hearing are true...And we are in love with each other...Just don't tell anyone I confirmed them to you." Connor admitted rather quickly.

"...Why?" Daniel asked.

"Well...Actually I just want you to make sure you don't mention the proposal part...I...need as much time I can get to scrounge up the right ring for her…I want it to be a surprise."

"Ah, alright…" Daniel replied.

"But enough about that...We should go see what's going on in Ylisstol later. Both of us haven't been there...Since the war ended." Connor suggested as he changed the subject again.

The reunion for Daniel ended at a few hours later before Daniel ended up alone, heading back to his business on the mainland.

And with that, everything seemed to be going fine...


Till a new conflict brought the entire group back up together again…

A kingdom by the name of Valm had been attacking and conquering its neighbors. And their next target was the continent that held Ylisse and Ferox. Believing that something must have been done about this, Chrom sent out messages for every member of the group to return to Ylisstol.

Save for one person, everyone else had arrived. They were told what was known about the Valmese force, which was heading for Ferox by sea and that a summit with Flavia was to be held.

After packing up weapons, armor, and other equipment, the group moved out from Ylisstol to Ferox.

The summit started with Flavia, who didn't have much to offer in terms of new information about the navy forces. Basilio, who got called in, brought two other people that provide more information about the Valmese kingdom, or 'Empire' as the two referred with Valm.

The two people by the way, were Virion and Cherche. Virion didn't show up to at Ylisstol because of his current status of seeking asylum in Ferox. Cherche was also there for the same reason, but that was due to Valm conquering the territory of Rosanne.

And it was also pointed out by Virion and Cherche that they were from there...and that Virion was the 'Duke' or ruler of said territory and Cherche was a servant of 'House Virion'.

Eventually, the assumption that the Valmese ships would be arriving in a few days was brought up from Cherche. There was some doubt, but Cherche backed it up by saying that she only would be telling what she felt to be the truth.

Either way, even if the timing was early or later than what was told, it was agreed that the Shepherds were to offer their aid in defending Ferox with the Feroxian Army.


When they arrived, a villager tried to negotiate with the Valmese...only for their general to strike down the villager.

"Savage bastards…" Daniel growled, "Which should I go? Hmmm...I know…"

Then, before anyone could reply…

"EYE! BATCHIRIMIRO!"

Then Daniel pulled out a red Eyecon with a fire-like design on it, before inserting it into the Driver.

"Toucon Kaigan: Boost! Ore ga Boost! (GO!) Furuitatsu Ghost! (Fight!) GO! (Fight!) GO! (Fight!) GO! GO! (Fight!)"

Daniel's armor turned bright gold/yellow, and took on a flame-like design. He'd become Kamen Rider Phantom, Toucon Boost Damashii.

The Shepherds looked at him in shock.

"Is that an upgrade for that 'Kamen Rider Phantom' Identity of yours?" Chrom asked.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, it is…"


Connor looked at Olivia, telling her, "You sure about tagging along with me? I tend to fight more than one opponent at the time...by myself."

"You helped trained me to fight with a sword...The least I can do is be by your side." Olivia said in a slightly confident tone.

"If you're up for it, then I'll let you. Oh...and just pay attention to what's going on around you and you'll be fine, I promise." Connor said in response before placing his armor's helmet on.

The two departed from the group as the battle started, with their swords of choice. Connor with the digistruct katana and Olivia with a Killing Edge.

Two Valmese soldiers wielding swords were the first opponents they ran into. Connor handled one, while Olivia dealt with the other. The fight with Connor ended quickly after the digistruct katana slashed past the soldier's armor after the soldier missed his attack.

Olivia, on the other hand, had her fight last a bit longer due to having to strike twice with the Killing Edge. The reason being that she still needed practice putting all of her strength into each attack.

With the two soldiers defeated, Connor and Olivia advanced to find more Valmese soldiers...except this time, Connor swapped his sword for his City Watch pistol. The plan being to give Olivia more experience in fighting...but still have a ranged weapon to keep her safe if needed.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Reinhardzh were fighting through the Valmese going through the city. Daniel used his Gan Gun Saber, while Reinhardzh used his power axe. Once there was a lull in the fighting, Daniel sighed.

"...Something wrong, milord?" Reinhardzh asked.

"I'm just...thinking about something Connor mentioned," Daniel mentioned, "...It's just… … ...in all of my travels, both here AND the previous universes, I never found someone I truly…'clicked' with…"

"You mean in a romantic manner?" Reinhardzh asked.

"Yeah...it gets lonely after a while…" Daniel replied.

"...I never found anyone and it does not bother me…" Reinhardzh replied.

"No offense, but you're a tech-priest: sometimes I wonder if you guys are asexual…" Daniel replied.

Reinhardzh shrugged. "...Whatever, milord...I am sure that, Omnissiah willing, you will find someone...now, we must continue this battle…"

Daniel nodded. "Right…"

The groups each continued to fight, until Reinhardzh and Daniel encountered the general. "You are nothing! A speck of sand on the boot of the great empire!"

"None are greater than the power of the Omnissiah!" Reinhardzh announced, before firing his plasma cannon at the general, but it hit the ground in front of him...still weakening him due to the heat and blast radius.

Daniel then pulled the lever on the side of his Ghost Driver.

"DAI-KAIGAN! BOOST! OMEGA DRIVE!"

Daniel rose into the air, shot at the general, and struck him dead center. As the general sparked with electricity, he said, "What... H-how... Ahh…"...before exploding.

"Well…" Daniel said, dismissing his armor, "That takes care of that…"


After the battle, the Valmese force was defeated...but there was not all good news. In the attack, the city was in shambles and the Feroxian Army suffered heavy loses fighting the other ships filled with soldiers.

The problem was now dealing with a empire with a strong naval force being used to invade and attack. Ylisse and Ferox weren't exactly prepared or experienced in dealing with enemies that attack by sea.

However, a bit of hope came from the Avatars. They brought up that if a strong set of ships and crew were able to meet challenge the Valmese fleet in the sea...they could remove the advantage Valm has over Ylisse and Ferox.

The catch was...that the only possible ally kingdom who could do the task is Plegia. Chrom intally shot down the idea, but after a bit of reasoning from Basilio and Flavia, he agreed to it.

He still voiced his concern, mentioning that he hoped the new king in charge was more reasonable than the last one. And yes, Plegia had gotten a new king.

Gangrel was stripped of his title and basically exiled from the kingdom and a new leader took the helm...Like Chrom said, hopefully this new king could be counted on.


Time passed as the group made their way into Plegia to meet with the new king. They eventually ended up on a island that was known as 'Carrion Island'.

Traveling through the Island, they eventually set up camp and sent a small band of people to meet with the Plegian King. Connor, Daniel, Sevon, Lenora, Frederick, and Chrom were the people who made up the band.

After arriving and heading into the castle on the island, the group walked down a hallway till they met somebody they never thought to see again...

...Validar...He was not only alive, but he was also the king of Plegia. Then, he, to most of the Shepherds' surprise, agreed to supply them with ships and funding. Then, however, he brought out a pair of cloaked figures. One of them kept their hood up the whole time...the other revealed themselves to be a copy of Sevon.

That caused quite a stir with the group, but they left soon afterwards.

That night however, Sevon and Lenora were assaulted by a message from Validar, who revealed himself to be their father. They admitted this when Chrom, Ruby, and Ash'pur discovered them, but all present voiced they didn't care about that.

...That's when things began to go downhill…

A few people on guard watching the camp's perimeter reported seeing lots of Risen...heading straight towards the camp. Everyone was woken up as several Shepherds dealt with the Risen heading towards the camp.

For the fleeting moment, it was found that the Risen were coming from an area a bit aways from the camp. Leaving behind a few people to watch the camp, the remainder of the group advanced to stop this source of Risen.

Reaching a valley with forts placed around, the group found that there was a head honcho of the Risen further into the valley on a bridge. Keeping their eyes peeled, they advanced until a swarm of crows started flying around the group.

Connor and Daniel knew what was going to happen...But remained silent as they let it play it out. They knew because of one of their old projects in their partnership in the past as writers.

The crows continued to circle until they got lower to the ground, making it impossible to see what they were flying around in the sea of black feathers.

A voice then appeared saying a crow-related pun about the current situation...Which didn't help at all. Then the swarm of crows dispersed, showing a young man was in the epicenter.

The crow boy continued to make terrible puns, along with point out the group was trapped according to what the crows were apparently saying.

Eventually, the group learned that the young man was called Henry...and he wanted to join the group and offer his services as a dark mage. When asked why he wanted his join, his answer was involving the fact that he really liked killing things.

Despite that, Henry was allowed to join the Shepherds...and the battle started.


The adventurer and dancer worked together to take on three Risen, all armed with lances. The first Risen to go down was because of Connor with his digistruct katana. The second Risen to fall was taken out with one attack from Olivia, who was still using the Killing Edge.

As for the third and last one, they both attacked the Risen as Connor dealt the first slash and Olivia performed the second and finishing follow up slash.

Connor offered a small amount of praise as the two moved onto another group of Risen. Olivia was doing better with the experience she got from the last battle, but was on a long path to keep improving her sword skills.

The digistruct katana was soon replaced by the dual knives, which were then used to defeat a Risen armed with a sword. Olivia returned the favor by noting Connor's skill with the dual weapons.


Daniel had joined the fight as Kamen Rider Birth, using the Birth Buster, opening fire on the Risen. He soon noticed a group of archers aiming… … ...at Sumia. Daniel saw Frederick, who married Sumia during the timeskip, rushing for the Risen…

Daniel was closer, but at the bottom of a sharp incline...but he had the answer to that…

"Caterpillar Leg!"

Daniel began advancing up the cliff through using the Caterpillar Leg, shooting the Risen with the Birth Buster. Once the Risen were dropped, he looked over at Frederick, who looked at Daniel with his usual stern look...before offering a brief, yet grateful, look.

Daniel nodded, and they both returned to the fight.


The surrounding forts were cleared of Risen and the lower part of the valley was cleared out as well. As the group made their way across on one side of the valley, Connor and anyone else able to snipe from a long distance picked off the Risen on the other side of the valley.

Soon, the bridge was in the next part of the path to reach the big Risen on top of it. Thankfully the bridge was widen enough to not worry about falling off by accident. However, the same could not be said for getting knocked off by it.

Connor and Olivia ended up being the pair to challenge to the big Risen threat. After getting close enough to fire at if from a distance, Connor tried to fill the creature with lead from his .44 Magnum.

All six rounds went into the Risen...and yet it still standing. As he reloaded, Olivia tried to warn Connor that the big guy was about to strike him.

Connor dodged in time, but ended up having to get closer due to the limited space of ground. The Risen noticed that and used it to its advantage. It kept attacking as Connor moved around still firing the Magnum.

At some point, Connor had to reload...leaving him open to get hit..and the big guy took the opportunity. The attack's damage was absorbed by the armor mostly, but did nothing to lessen the impactful force that made Connor fall over the side of the bridge...to his apparent doom.

Unfortunately for the Risen...It still had to deal with Olivia. The sword wielding dancer, however, was now in a state of anger that was used to drive her attacks. The Risen tried to attack back, but ended up missing as Olivia dodged.

Putting all of her strength into each attack, she aimed her attacks and ended up slashing down the Risen after landing two slashes near its upper body.

With the Risen defeated and disappearing as smoke, Olivia reluctantly looked over the edge of the bridge to see what became of Connor...only to move back quickly as she saw him rapidly rise upward via magic.

It turned out Connor had used the power he called 'Far Reach' to grab the ledge of the bridge to save him from his fall. Once he was back up to the bridge, he grabbed the ledge with both hands and pulled himself back onto the bridged ground.

Suffice to say, Olivia was relieved that Connor was still fine. He offered an apology for making her worry like that, before awkwardly saying that they should return to the group. They did...after making sure they were in the clear.


After the battle, Sevon, Lenora, and Chrom met on the nearby bridge, the same one where Olivia and Connor fought the Risen Chief… … ...only to be ambushed by a Risen Assassin. Fortunately, 'Marth' was there, although she slipped up and called Chrom 'father'...after moving off to speak with her, Chrom discovered that Marth was in fact the future version of Lucina.

When CPU Noire found Chrom hugging Lucina, she...was surprisingly cordial about it (surprising due to her infamous tsundere-ness). When asked how she was taking it so well, she lied and said she was listening in on their conversation and overheard it. In truth, Daniel had, after Chrom and CPU Noire got married, warned her ahead of time that Marth was in fact the future version of Lucina and CPU Noire, having heard of wackier stuff back in her homeworld, believed the claim.

Therefore, the reunion between mother and daughter was much smoother than it could have been. Then...Lucina told the group of the future, and how dire it was: the Shepherds mostly dead, along with most of Daniel's troupe, with only CPU Noire alive, and that was not saying much because her 'death' merely banished her back home, with NO way to return.

As for Connor, when he asked Lucina what happened to him in the future...Her response was that he simply vanished one day… With no definitive word on if it was due to death or something else.

Then, as for Daniel...Lucina pulled something out of her pocket: it was a Cobra Core Medal, broken down the middle. It didn't take a genius to realize it was the Core Medal that once held Daniel's consciousness. Unfortunately, a couple bits of it were missing, permanently vaporized by Grima's magic. Daniel was saddened, shocked, AND disappointed: had the whole medal been there, he MIGHT have been able to revive his future self…

Lucina pointed out that the Future Children Daniel was closest to held the remaining Core Medals, in addition to the other combos he'd held onto since the Kamen Rider Universe: Morgan (who was given a Cobra, Kame, and Wani Medals, along with Daniel's Purple Combo), Owain (who was give a Wani Medal, along with Daniel's Yellow Combo), Severa (who was given a Kame Medal, along with Daniel's Blue Combo), Cynthia (was given given a Cobra Medal, along with Daniel's Red Combo), Inigo (who was given a Wani Medal, along with the Silver Combo), and, one the group didn't recognize, Ada (who was given a Cobra and Kame Medals, along with Daniel's Green Combo)*.

When questioned as to who Ada's parents are, Lucina held her tongue, stating it was for Ada to say. In the end, CPU Noire described her pride in that her daughter managed to survive all that and still be in one piece.

Of course, the Shepherds now had a new mission: find the Future Children…


*Camera switches over.*

M3: "And that's the chapter. Quite a lot happened in that time skip."

IceBite: "Yeah, looks like everyone's got plans…"

M3: "Not to mention that we finally get to know what the 'ZS' stands for...Zilver Sero."

IceBite: Which sounds a lot like 'Silver Zero'..."

M3: *Going onto the next topic* "Moving on, we see ZS Connor and Dark Prelate Mitchell set up their own little place in the world of Awakening. With Connor's Zilver Sero…"

IceBite: "And Dark Prelate Mitchell's cluster of islands…"

M3: "Two different styles of living, based on what's said to go in both locations. Personally, I would rather be in Zilver Sero...Don't have to worry about attacks happening every now and then."

IceBite: "Well, if the Dark Prelate's place gets attacked, at least they could fight back against it...I mean, COME ON: SPACE MARINES!"

M3: "You got a point, but don't expect Zilver Sero to be totally defenseless, it still has a few adjustments to make."


M3: "By the way, besides the small environmental changes...It seems the course of events in Awakening got changed to reflect the recent events caused by ZS Connor and DP Mitchell."

IceBite: "Yeah...wonder how our Dark Prelate Mitchell is gonna react when he finds out his primary Core Medal is gonna be split irreparably in the bad future…"

M3: "Same thing for the ZS Connor here...His fate in the future sounds like the cause of some other factor besides Grima."

IceBite: "Although...who's Ada?"

M3: "Yeah...That's one of the more odd things. Then there is the names of the people Lucina mention also have those medals…With this 'Ada' being one."


M3: "And that's about it….Not much else to mention. Unless you got anything, Ice?"

IceBite: *shrugs*

M3: "Then our segment is done. See you another time."

*Camera turns off.*