~Chapter Nine: Days Past~

"What? Captured?" Chrom asked, an urgent tone in his voice upon hearing the news. The Shepherds had arrived back in Ylisse only minutes before the young lord and his closest allies had been summoned by Phila to where the Exalt waited with terrible news.

Now the small group stood in silence as they watched Emmryn's worried frown, the Exalt avoiding their eyes as she murmured sadly, "A town on the edge of our borders was burned and destroyed…and when Lady Maribelle attempted to intervene she was taken hostage across to Plegia."

"Maribelle!" Lissa cried, dropping to her knees with a distraught expression. Rushing forward, Robin placed an arm around the princess before looking up to see Chrom biting his lip with worry. Already sure she knew what he was thinking, the tactician spoke up.

"Chrom, we have to go get her," Robin insisted, pulling Lissa to her feet with the help of Frederick. "If we don't go soon…"

"I know, I just hate to think of meeting that mad king of theirs."

"Mad king?"

"King Gangrel," Emmryn corrected, answering Robin's questioning voice before shooting Chrom a look. "And we must give him a chance to prove himself not the villan we think he may be. I shall accompany you on this trip-we are to depart at once."

"Your Grace!" Phila exclaimed, Frederick nearly echoing her. "Are you sure it's safe to go?"

"I am sure it is safe with my brother and our new tactician to help out," Emmryn said, her expression one of completely surety. "Now please, tell the troops to reorder themselves for another march. We must hurry!"

As Emmryn walked out of the room with the others hurrying behind, Robin felt Chrom step up to her side. Without looking at her friend, the tactician asked, "Is he truly mad?"

It was Frederick that answered her;grumbling, the knight muttered, "Madder than a march hare. I hate to think of putting the Exalt and her siblings even within range of him, but it is against my principles to deny orders from her grace. We must make haste at once, if she wishes so."

While Frederick guided Lissa out of the room, speaking to her with low words of encouragement, Chrom sighed loudly in frustration. Gripping his hand tightly around the hilt of Falchion, he resisted the urge to punch something as he growled, "Gangrel…he thinks he can do as he pleases, first sending bandits into our lands, then imposters in our place…now this! I swear, I could-"

The young lord fell silent when Robin stood on her toes and began to pat his head, as if he were a child. While he stared off into the distance in surprise, Robin chided, "Stop worrying. It'll be okay-we'll get there, get Maribelle, and get out with no problem. You'll see."

When the tactician finally stopped her efforts to soothe her friend, Chrom sighed once more before smiling at her and shaking his head. Hoping that everything would turn out alright, he grabbed Robin's arm and said, "Let's go then."

Robin stared, her eyes narrowed as she watched the man that stood above the Shepherds on a rock. Her eyes darted back and forth between the mad king and his advisor, a look of extreme dislike on her face as she took in the smug look Aversa wore and the triumphant look that Gangrel took on.

Leaning over, the tactician grabbed Chrom's arm and squeezed it gently before muttering, "Calm down, okay?"

The young lord took a quick breath; he hadn't realized how panicked he had looked until Robin had said something. As Emmryn began to question Gangrel's motives, Chrom murmured back, "I don't like this…at all. It feels like some sort of trap, like he wants something…"

Before Robin could reply, Gangrel cried, "If you ever want to see that little blonde brat again, you'll be handing over the Fire Emblem!"

There was a collective gasp before Chrom glared even harder and Emmryn's eyes grew wide with alarm. For a moment Robin debated asking what the emblem was, when she exchanged a look with Chrom that told her he'd fill her in later. Silently, everyone watched as Emmryn's normally pretty face grew cold as she replied back, "I will not give you the emblem, King Gangrel. I only wish for peace; and I intend to see peace in that same manner. Do not start a war, I do not wish to fight!"

Gangrel exchanged a malicious grin with the woman at his side before calling back, "Did you say war? You're a rather nasty Exalt, aren't you? Well if it's war you want, then it's war you get! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"

"Emm, run!" Chrom grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her back into the middle of the formation, before the whole group took off towards the border from where they'd come. As Gangrel's cackles grew further and further, Emmryn managed to gasp out, "But Maribelle-"

"We'll get to her somehow," Chrom promised. "Let's just get out of this area where we could be surrounded and cornered-we'd be no help to her then. Come on!"

The group burst out into a mountainous area, looking around dazedly as they took in several, scattered forts. As the sound of troops marching towards them began to grow louder and louder, Chrom put a hand on Robin's shoulder and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," the tactician replied without hesitation, pulling out her tome. "I'll see us through this!"

Already forming a plan in her mind, Robin moved quickly and began walking amongst the Shepherds, giving orders as she did so. As Chrom watched her expectantly, he suddenly heard a loud yell from the plateau above him. Looking up, the young lord found himself staring at Ricken; the young mage waved at the main group frantically, while Maribelle looked around with a wary expression on her face.

"RICKEN?" Chrom said incredulously. "What is he doing here? I told him to stay back at the castle!"

"It stands to reason that he trailed us here in order to prove himself worthy of joining the Shepherds," Miriel observed, the whole group watching with a mixture of awe and worry on their faces as the enemy troops burst onto the field and Ricken began flinging wind spells around with Maribelle behind him.

"Well who cares why he followed us!" Robin huffed, appearing by Chrom's side with Lon'qu trailing along behind her. "Everyone get with your partners and go! New priorty-get to those two and rescue them!"

Without further ado, the tactician threw herself into the fray; sword swinging, Robin ferociously cut down a charging wryven lord before turning in the same breath to allow Lon'qu to stab at the mercenary that followed. While the other fumbled to get together into formation, Chrom ducked through the crowd of Shepherds to get to Vaike's side, the fighter already eager to begin.

"C'mon, Chrom!" Vaike crowed. "The Vaike is feeling good today!"

"Oh yeah?" Chrom asked, raising an eyebrow as the two moved after Robin and Lon'qu, cutting down the soldiers that approached the group from the sides as everyone moved as a unit towards Ricken and Maribelle.

"Yeah," Vaike grinned. "Let's not let Robin beat us to the leader in this battle-he's ours for the taking!"

"Bloodthirsty, aren't you?" the young lord frowned, his eyes darting towards where Robin and Lon'qu where literally back to back before the swordsman left to dart over to Lissa's side as the healer moved out of formation to help Ricken and Maribelle join the group.

"Not bloodthirsty," Vaike replied, "Just ready to show them they shouldn't mess with the Vaike's mates!"

"That's the spirit!" Robin interrupted the two, leaping over them as she grabbed at Sumia's saddle. Swinging herself up behind the flier, the tactician held onto to the back of the saddle tightly before asking, "Ready, Sumia?"

"Right!" Sumia replied, turning once to give Robin a grin of confirmation.

"Break formation!" Robin cried, thrusting her sword into the air to signal a charge. "Split into two groups and move up the mountain, keeping archers in the middle and healers on the sides. Charge!"

As everyone answered her cry with a shake of their weapons, Robin gave Chrom a brief smile before she and Sumia ascended, leaving the young lord and his partner to continue the fight from the ground.

It was with a weary sigh that Chrom stood in the courtyard of the castle, wondering at how once again Robin had managed to get them out of a tight scrape and to victory. After defeating Orton, the troops had made haste back to Ylisse and settled Emmryn into her room. It had left Chrom feeling unsatisfied; as the young lord thought back on Gangrel's demands, his fists tightened and he glared into the night.

It was Robin's voice that interrupted his musings; coming up behind him, she hesitated before asking quietly, "Chrom?"

"Robin."

"You're awfully pensive tonight," she laughed softly, hoping to get a smile out of her friend. When her joke failed though, she fell silent before twisting her cloak in her hands with a worried look on her face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chrom glanced over at the tactician and immediately felt bad; it was clear by the expression she wore that she was anxious to help him in some way.

"Shape up, Chrom," the young lord told himself. "Don't worry your friends; especially those that don't need the extra stress."

To draw attention away from his own problem, Chrom coughed before asking, "Have you recalled any memories yet?"

"What?" Looking up with a confused look on her face, Robin stared at her friend as he shifted back and forth on his feet and repeated the question. As she stared him down, Chrom began to feel even worse when she finally pointed out, "You can't divert my attention from your problems by addressing mine. What's wrong now?"

With a sigh of defeat, Chrom admitted quietly, "Everything. Gangrel's demands, my sister's wishes that can't be fulfilled, the desire to pummel him into the dust even when I should want peace more than anything…It's a lot, I know."

"I can't exactly blame you. Even if I don't really have that great of a grasp on the power of the fire emblem, it still makes me pretty mad that someone would have the audacity to ravage a whole town and kill just to get the power to kill even more. He wasn't very sophisticated about his methods either."

"Yeah, it's just really…"

Chrom's words died off, his throat seeming to close as a some nearby bushes rustled and a familiar figure stepped out of the darkness. Standing tall and stoically, Marth moved quietly forward until he was mere feet away from the young lord. The two men stared each other down, neither one daring to make a move until Chrom felt Robin close behind him, her hand on the sword at her side.

"What are you doing here?" Chrom asked, feeling much more confident knowing his best friend was with him and would watch his back if Marth tried to attack. Much to his surprise however, Marth said nothing for a moment before unsheathing Falchion.

As Chrom also unsheathed his sword, Marth scoffed, "I'm here to save you."

"Save-"

"From him." With a twirl the swordsman turned, slashing into a man who had just jumped out of a nearby tree taking Chrom and Robin by surprise. As Marth turned back to give Chrom a triumphant smile though, there was a flash of silver in the bushes, and before the young lord knew what he was doing he'd rushed forward.

As he dashed towards the swordsman, Marth turned just in time to have his mask sliced in two; long blue hair fell from where it had been artfully pinned up, and there was an expression of shock on the pretty girl's face as she took a step back and Chrom took down the other attacker.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Chrom turned to look at Marth and asked, "You…you're a woman?"

For a moment Marth said nothing, before muttering, "Well it's about time you figured it out…"

Chrom stared and Robin opened her mouth to say something when there was a loud booming sound from the castle. Before either the tactician or young lord could say a thing, Marth grabbed her sword and said through gritted teeth, "Come on! We have to save the Exalt!"

"But you-" Robin started.

"I'll explain another time!"

As Marth ran off towards the Exalt's room, Robin and Chrom exchanged worried looks and followed after her.

"Another enemy?" Robin panted, her eyes wide as she took in the woman who had somehow entered the fight that was occurring in the midst of the castle. After reaching the Exalt's room, the Shepherds had all broken up into groups and moved to defend their leader, Robin leading a group on her own as she slashed through enemies and made her way towards the outside walls where she knew the leader to be waiting.

Just as the tactician began calculating whether or not it was better for her to just take out this new threat by herself, Marth called out, "Leave her be! She is an ally."

"A friend of yours?" Robin asked, eyeing the strange looking woman with a curiosity; beautiful as this new addition to the battlefield was, there was something strange about the way her hair seemed to be braided into what appeared to be rabbit ears.

"No, but I knew she would be here on this night to help."

For a minute Robin debated saying back something sarcastic when she instead shook her head and just looked at Chrom,who stood next to her with a frown on his face.

"We'll answer all questions later," he said quietly, answering the frustrated look on Robin's face. "Let's keep Emm safe first."

"Right," Robin said, reluctantly turning her back on the woman. "Emm."

The two crouched low into fighting positions before Robin rushed ahead, taking down the enemy and falling back to give Chrom room to shove through with the strength that she lacked. They fought with a synchronization that had enemies falling at every turn, their friendship off the battlefield seemingly having fueled their ability to read each other's thoughts when in battle.

As the two turned to take down those in the right hall and move towards the courtyard though, they were thrown off by a new opponent; a man with shockingly orange hair stood in their path, a look of disinterest on his face as he glanced over his shoulder at some approaching fighters.

"They're really not all that intimidating, are they?" he reflected, taking the lollipop out of his mouth and giving it a thoughtful lick before finally looking at the two people staring at him with confusion on their faces. "I joined their group thinking I'd get some sweet things but if I'd known they were going to be like this I would've just spent this time looking for something better instead."

"Who…?"

"Gaius," the man introduced himself, before grinning and slinking up to the surprised pair. Before either of them could do a thing, he slipped between the tactician and young lord to look them over before continuing, "I came to get treasure, but it seems like there's none here to be found. I might as well join you guys, but unless you can sweeten the deal I'm not interested in it."

"Sweeten the deal?" Chrom asked, before Robin pushed the thief aside and said, "On your left, Chrom!"

Turning she slashed at the enemy before finishing him off, muttering, "We've no time for this, either he's with us or he's against us!"

Looking at Robin with interest in his eyes, Gaius said, "You seem like a fun person. Full of happiness and all that."

"I am happy, when I don't have to deal with people like you who can't make up their mind whether they're good or not," Robin retorted back, sheathing her sword for a minute and turning to face the thief while Chrom patted his pockets down hoping he had some gold on him.

Gaius laughed at Robin's sarcasm, before allowing her to poke him and scrutinize him. He was about to say more when Chrom interrupted the both of them, spilling a sack of candy as he pulled it from his pocket.

"Damn!" Chrom cursed, "I forgot Lissa gave these to me!"

He moved to put the candy back in the bag when the thief put his hand on the young lord's arm, stopping him. Staring at the sack of candy with a sparkle in his eye, Gaius drooled, "Sugar…"

Chrom and Robin exchanged looks before Chrom asked hesitantly, "Did you…want them?"

"You drive a hard bargain, Blue," Gaius said, before grinning and swiping the bag of candy so fast that it literally seemed to disappear. "I'd love to be part of your crew, especially if you continue with the sugar like this."

"Uh, right then. Well, let's go," Chrom ordered, feeling a bit confused at what had just happened. "You'll be listening to Robin here, since she's the one who does strategies…"

Gaius looked at Robin again before smirking in a way completely different from how he'd smirked at Chrom.

Taken aback, Robin muttered, "You should head to the middle area and join them until I can figure out your battle style…"

Leaning forward, the thief put his face closer to Robin's and said, "So you're the one I'll be listening to? You seem like a sweet girl…sweet enough to eat, really. Sure you're cut out for a battlefield like this?"

Robin blushed and Chrom frowned, both of them a bit unsure of Gaius' teasing until the orange-haired man pulled back with a laugh.

"So innocent!" he teased both of them. Turning to Chrom he gave him a wink before saying, "Don't worry, Blue, she's all yours. I'll be seeing you after the battle for more sweets."

As the thief took off easily, Chrom blushed bright red. To cover his embarrassment at Gaius' comment, he muttered, "I feel as if I've just taken on a rather troublesome person. And-and I don't know what he meant with that comment at all."

"He's just kidding, I'm sure," Robin breathed, avoiding looking at Chrom as she tried to calm down her suddenly racing pulse. Although she didn't want to admit it, the thief's comment had her wondering if it was that obvious to outsiders how close she and the young lord were; more often than not, the tactician had felt a secret pride in the fact that she seemed closest to Chrom, even in comparison to those he had known for years.

Straightening up, she unsheathed her sword again and coughed, "A-anyways, let's focus on the battle at hand. Let's go, Chrom!"

As Robin dashed forward, throwing herself back into the fray, Chrom nodded and gripped Falchion tighter.

"Right," he muttered, more to himself than to her. "Focus."