(A/N): First off, I am so sorry this one took so long to come out. The stars aligned to make this take as long as possible to come out. I mean, for those of you who might have seen the announcement Zorana put out, you'd know that this is a day late! But hey, at least the upload rate is more consistent than TF Comics' upload speed. Oh, and by the way, we now have an official tumblr! ( ) There isn't much there as of right now, but expect things like announcements and more of those little comic things to go with them. Now, hopefully now that this one has finally been pushed out, Chapter 11 won't take until July to release. Please, enjoy, and feel free to yell at me in the reviews about how the upload rate for this story is absolute garbage to let off some steam!

In a dark and unknown location, a certain magician is speaking with his newfound god about the events that have recently unfolded within the world.

"Lord Grima," Merasmus said, bowing down to the silhouette surrounded by purple fire, "Lady Emmeryn lies dead, just as you have predicted. It looks like our plans have yet to be ruined after all!"

"Indeed, Merasmus." Grima replied with a sly grin. "After all, time does prefer to flow it's original course. Despite the meddling with the timeline that you, Validar, and that blasted Naga have caused, chronology has proven to reign supreme. Ah, but speaking of Validar, how is my old servant? Keeping well in… 'Teufort', is it?"

Merasmus nodded. "I actually just got off the inter-dimensional phone with him not too long ago. He claims that he's doing well, save for the Russian AND Chinese Mafias mistaking him for me. Apparently he knows how to take care of them much more efficiently than I do."

"...Very little of what you just said made sense to me. But no matter. The next phase of our plan has come." Grima let out a sinister laugh, followed by Merasmus joining in for some sinister laughing of his own. They kept trying to laugh louder than each other until finally Merasmus started to have a coughing fit. Once he was done hacking like a dying mule, he quickly regained his composure.

"Ahem. What is the next phase, Lord Grima?"

Grima turned and looked off at nothing in particular. "Gangrel is no longer useful to us. He is going to be killed soon, in a battle led by your friend Tavish and Prince Chrom."

"Oooh! Let me guess! Take them by surprise and kill the prince when he least expects it?!" Merasmus exclaimed like a little kid.

"That's an excellent idea, Merasmus… If you would like to be slaughtered immediately by the forces of Ylisse."

"...Oh. So… no total annihilation?"

Grima sighed and shook his head. "No. Not yet. ...Let this battle happen. Let Gangrel die, and let Chrom gain his victory. This will leave Plegia in a state of chaos, with no ruler and no clear heir to the throne. That… is where YOU come in."

"...wait, what?"

"You are to usurp the throne and become the next king of Plegia. And, for the next two years, we will begin our preparations for the final steps to bring me back to my true form."

"...You want… me… to become a king? Merasmus the Magician… a king?" He asked, his voice shaking from either fear, excitement, or both.

"Exactly. In the original timeline, it was Validar who took Gangrel's place. But… well, he isn't really here at the moment, and considering the great lengths you both went through to just switch places, let alone your rival's and my counterpart… There isn't much of a choice."

"Never fear, Lord Grima, for you see… it is I! MERASMUS THE MAGNIFICENT! MERASMUS THE MYSTERIOUS! MERASMUS… THE-"

"Shut up."

"Y-Yes, Lord Grima."

Grima was silent for a moment before looking back at Merasmus. "...Have you felt it?"

"Hm?"

"...It feels like the world has… shifted in a way. As if it's hanging on a single thread that's threatening to break at any moment."

"...No, I'm afraid I haven't felt this."

"I know what it is. The wrath of time. Too much has changed. Merasmus, it is destined that I return to my original form and rule over this world. Time demands it. The meddling that we've caused to the fabric of reality has not been without any damages. If you are to fail… Time will collapse."

Merasmus blinked. "...Erm…"

Grima shook his head. "...Enough of that. Head to Plegia. Aversa will guide you on the correct path. Do not fail me."

"Yes, Lord Grima!" Merasmus turned and left the area.

After the failed rescue attempt, the Shepherds fled Plegia and returned to Regna Ferox, where they began to plan their next move. ...Or, at least they WOULD be planning if they weren't too busy being distraught over the death of the most beloved person in Ylisse. There were four different types of grief going on. The silent, who simply stood there with a blank expression, as if they had been shut down; the crying, who are… well, crying; the nihilistic, who had basically went 'Welp, the Exalt is dead. There's no point to anything I do anymore,'; and lastly, the angry. And by God, Tavish was angry.

There he was, spitting out various swears and insults at himself and the poor training dummy in front of him, saying things that would change this story's rating from T to M, as well as cutting it up with the Eyelander and doing things like gripping it by the blade and hitting the dummy with the handle like an impromptu club, and even ditching the sword to beat it up with his bare hands. Yeah, Tavish was not happy. However, this pure, unbridled rage was the exact motivation that he needed to get not just him, but everyone back in business.

Tavish put Eyelander back in its sheath and looked back at everyone else, who were all gathered at a table with a map on it but none of them were speaking. Lissa was sobbing while Frederick awkwardly patted her shoulder to comfort her, and Chrom was just staring. Tavish grit his teeth and stomped over to the table, slamming his hands on it so hard that everything on it bounced up into the air about two inches.

"HOW CAN YOU ALL JUST BE SITTIN' HERE GATHERIN' DUST LIKE A BUNCH OF DAMNED IDIOTS?!" He screamed, immediately getting everyone's attention. "Every damn moment we sit 'ere, crying or thinkin' about wot we could've done differently is a moment wasted! If anythin' I should be the one cryin' since everythin' that happened was my idea! But ye don't see me cryin' do yeh?!" Everyone remained silent. "I understand why yer all like this! But now isn't the damn time to be sad! Now is the time to get up off of ye arses and get revenge on that demon of a man that caused all of this!"

"Demo…" Chrom began.

Tavish pointed a finger at Chrom. "Don't call me Demo anymore. Call me Tavish. I'm not abidin' any more damn codenames."

"Tavish. You can clearly see that none of us are in the condition to fight. We may have no physical injuries, but… the pain of losing Emmeryn is too much for any of us to bare."

Tavish frowned. "Well, ye forced me hand." He climbed up on top of the table and began to speak. "I don't claim to be a motivational speaker, not at all, but its aboot time I try it. If ye folks didn't realize, they didn't kill Emmeryn! She killed herself! Why would she do that?! Because she wanted to go out on her own accord! She wanted to give us a chance to get out of there with the whatchamacallit! The shield lookin' thing, I dunno… But by God, she did it for us! And there isn't a damn thing more noble than a sacrifice like that! We can't just let this go to waste! Now is the time to act! We can still win this! All we need to do is put Gangrel's head on a pike! Who's with me?!"

And just like that, the mood changed immediately. Everyone had the look of hope in their eyes after hearing what Tavish had to say. He jumped down off the table and rose a fist in the air triumphantly.

"...Alright. What's the plan, Tav?" Chrom said, a small smile forming on his face.

"Two key points. Full frontal assault… and a few of these." Tavish unhooked the pill shaped objects that had been strapped to his vest since day one and set them on the table. "Bombs. Normally they're shot from a grenade launcher… er, a small cannon, but I can rig 'em up to be detonated, as well as much more effective. I just need some steel, explosive powder, and definitely some copper. Normally, we'd get demolished if we were to run right in, but a few o' these and we're in the clear. Closest thing to stickies I got…" He muttered to himself.

"I will assemble the necessary materials, then." Frederick said before exiting.

"Are you sure about that, Tav?" Chrom asked, raising an eyebrow. "Messing with explosives like that can be dangerous. You might lose a limb or two."

Tavish just laughed. "I'll be fine. I've done this before. Besides, that's what the vest is for."

"Whatever you say. I presume we're leaving tomorrow?"

"Aye, we sure are."

Tavish knew it was coming, yet still flinched when he heard it. A knock on his door late at night. 'Who could it possibly be?' He thought sarcastically to himself.

"Hey, Demo, it's your girlfriend." Eyelander laughed from off to the side, where it was propped up on a wall.

"Shut up and be glad I didn't craft ye into scrap." Tavish got up, walked over to the door and swung it open. "What the hell do you want this time, Mari- oh. Yer not Maribelle."

"You're right, I'm not." It was Lucina. "...I guess I was wrong the last time we met, then. Emmeryn wasn't safe."

Tavish was quiet. "...Aye. She wasn't. I tried savin' her, I did. But…"

"I know. I was there, watching."

"...Could I have done anythin' aboot it?"

She shook her head. "I… don't believe so. The future I have seen is once again on track to becoming a reality. It seems that… it is unavoidable. The Fell Dragon is going to return eventually, no matter what we do to stop that from happening."

He frowned. "Ya know, if you could drop the whole 'mysterious prophet' act and tell me what the hell is going on or how you know all of this stuff… that'd be great."

"I have my reasons, DeGroot. As I'm sure you have your reasons as to why you like explosives so much."

"Oi, it's a family business!"

"I guess I could say the same about my endeavors."

He crossed his arms. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's… complicated."

Tavish narrowed his eye at her, studying her. It was then when he had noticed something he hadn't before. There was a mark on one of her eyes; the same mark on Chrom and Emmeryn's skin.

"...Wait a second. Doesn't that thing on yer eye mean yer a noble?"

She immediately covered her eye with her hands. "You saw nothing!"

His frown turned into a grin. "...I see what's goin' on here. You're a dishonored noble! Estranged and whatnot! Exiled! Kicked out! What did ya do? Share a bed with a knight? Or did ye just run off?"

"I…" She began to sweat nervously. "I-I gotta go!"

"I'm on the right track, aren't I?!"

'Just go with it, Lucina!' She told herself. "...y-yes. I was… uhh… exiled. A long time ago."

"Haha, I- ...wait, that doesn't make sense. Chrom didn't recognize you when he saw ye without the mask…"

"J-Just forget what you saw and let me leave in peace!"

"Alright, I understand. It was just simple curiosity. Now, if you don't mind, I have bombs to modify." He shut the door.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Naga…"

"You have the brand?!" A new voice came from the side. This time it actually WAS Maribelle, who had happened to come by and listen in on the last parts of the conversation. In response to this, Lucina shrieked loudly out of panic and ran faster than a speeding bullet down the hall and out of sight.

"...What in the world is going on?" Maribelle sighed.

The Shepherds marched onto the border wastes, which were covered in the remnants of fighting. Multiple forts were scattered about the field, which no doubt housed Plegian reinforcements from within them. Gangrel stood triumphantly out in the open and called to his foes.

"Welcome, my Ylissean friends! Was the death of Emmeryn not enough? Do you all wish to see even more of your royal family slaughtered? Well, you certainly came to the right place to witness such a thing!"

"Enough talk, Gangrel!" Chrom replied with a fierce tone. "Only one of us will be walking this earth by the end of today! Today is the day I kill you or die trying!"

"Ahahaha! Oh, majestic! A warrior is a warrior, even as a prince… But, alas, not too fast! We'll have plenty of time to deal with that later. SOLDIERS! CRUSH THEM!"

"GANGREL, YOU DAMN COWARD! COME OUT AND FACE ME!" Chrom roared with a fire in his eyes. "Tav, you're with me! Everyone else, hold back the assault! Don't be afraid to use Tav's bombs!"

Chrom and Tavish made their way to Gangrel's position who, upon seeing them up close, yelped in surprise. "Ack! I didn't expect you to make it here this quickly, Prince! ...Who's the guy next to you? I don't think I've ever gotten his name…"

"And ye won't get it now." Tavish replied coldly.

"Ouch! Now that's just harsh!" Gangrel laughed. "Ah, it doesn't matter. You'll die, just the same! Either filled with stab wounds, arrows, or electricity. Whichever comes first." He pointed his Levin Sword at them. "Onto business, then?"

"Ye may be a 'Mad King', but I'm a pissed off Scotsman and that's much worse!"

Gangrel rolled his eyes. "Enough of the talking, more of the fighting! Gods, you people are insufferable!" He said before quickly jumping forward to attack Chrom. Chrom dodged just in time and countered with a quick slice with the Falchion which Gangrel parried, leaving Chrom wide open. Before he could attack once more, Tavish did like he did with the training dummy and grabbed Eyelander by the blade, smacking Gangrel across the face with the handle, dazing him. Chrom slashed Gangrel across the stomach, causing him to drop his weapon to clutch his torso in pain.

"Any last words, Gangrel?!" Chrom pointed his sword at the now bleeding Mad King.

"Be… behind you…"

Both Chrom and Tavish looked behind themselves, only to see nothing. "...There isn't anything ther- HEY!" When they turned back, they saw Gangrel running into one of the forts. The two chased after him with haste.

"CLOSE THE GATES! DON'T LET EITHER OF THEM GET THROUGH!" Gangrel cried in distress. The gate to the fort began to drop. They aren't going to make it!

"Gods, no!" Chrom exclaimed. "We can't let him get away!"

They ran as fast as they could. They were just a few more meters away from the gate when Tavish dove forward and slid under the gate just before it had finished closing. "Chrom, join the others! I'll take care of Gangrel!"

Chrom nodded. "Give him hell."

After dealing with some insignificant soldiers, Tavish followed the trail of blood inside the fort to where Gangrel was hiding. He found the Mad King within a storage room full of barrels and boxes, as well as a bunch of weapons mounted on racks. He was just laying there, clutching his chest and groaning in massive pain.

"Ahh, you…! The Prince… agh... sent you to do the dirty work for him, then?"

"I came here on me own initiative. Chrom would be too if ye didn't drop the damn gate."

Gangrel let out a weak laugh. "That's what happens when you don't… work your cardio!"

Tavish shook his head. He then caught a whiff of something in the air. Something he knew all too well.

Gunpowder.

He walked over to one of the barrels and knocked it over. The familiar explosive powder began to pour out all over the floor, giving Tavish a brilliantly cruel idea.

"What are you… waiting for? Aren't you going to kill me? I won't fight back. I can't. I barely have the strength to stand. ...Or are you too scared? Too caught up in the illusion of peace?!"

Tavish laughed. "Oh, far from it. Ya ever caught on fire, lad?"

"Luckily not!"

"Well, let me explain. Yer entire body stings. Yer esophagus shrivels and your lungs burn, inside and out. Ya feel like yer sittin' in Hell itself."

Gangrel gulped. "...y-you're not going to set me on fire, are you?"

"No. I'm going to blow you up. Which is exactly like being set on fire, but only much… much worse."

"N-No! Please!"

Tavish chuckled. "The Mad King, beggin' for his life? That's gold." He took the barrel full of powder and poured it all out all over the room. He left a trail of powder from the entrance all the way to a full barrel of powder, which was in turn next to several other barrels full of gunpowder. On his way out, Tavish casually grabbed a torch that was hanging on the wall for light and dropped it at the beginning of the trail. "Bidh mi 'gad fhaicinn*."

Outside, the fighting had calmed a bit. Tavish ran a safe distance away from the fort to meet up with Chrom.

"Is Gangrel dead?" Chrom asked expectantly. Tavish looked back at where he came from.

"He will be any second now."

A fiery explosion erupted from the nearby fort, leveling it to nothing but a pile of rubble.

"...Tav, what did you do?" Chrom asked in the tone of a disappointed parent.

Tavish grinned while admiring his handiwork. "I gave 'em a light."

Bidh mi 'gad fhaicinn: I'll be seeing you (Scottish Gaelic)