Author's Note:

Okay, I'm sorry for the false alarm to those who were on alerts when I updated this chapter. I have two things to mention: 1) Her name is Christiana. When I wrote this initially, I had no idea what her name was going to be. I didn't catch my mistake until I began writing for the next chapter. I fixed it and the note at the end reflects what is occurring now so be sure to read it before you click away. Thanks for understanding, and enjoy the re-submitted version of this chapter.

The sandstorm had hit the Shepherds stronger than anyone could have predicted. Chrom and the others in his party struggled to trudge onward as mounted units had to get off and help their steeds through the sandy terrain. Only the mages proceeded unhindered by the storm and even then they still had to keep a hand over their eyes to protect them from the flying desert dust. Robin had trouble keeping up with each of the units on the path. Her mind was calm, but she still worried about where her friends were.

Just as Chrom had hollered out to Frederick, the sandstorm started to let up. Off in the distance, they saw a party of diverse fighters running across the desert toward the oasis that was positioned south of them. The leader was dressed in blue frost-fighter gear and was holding a glass sword, from what Chrom could tell. The second in command, maybe, had a set of fiery armor and swords which seemed to light up his surroundings. The mage of the party looked tired from running so far. The assassin was invisible to most of the party, due to the dark attire and the moonless sky. There was another figure that was seen, but his attire could not be identified. Two young girls with green hair followed, distress on their faces. A mercenary stepped out from the oasis, blocking one of the girls from a fire blast aimed for her. Yet, neither of these figures were the main source of attention. Chrom, Phosphora, and Viridi had their gaze on another figure in white, with wings and brown leather sandals named...

"Pit!" they all yelled out. Viridi ran forward and spun her staff in his direction, gifting him with the power of flight. He immediately jumped into the air and began a protective flight pattern, launching two sets of projectiles from his orbitars and palms. Emm rushed to meet Chrom, his long hair pulled back into a spike that ran outward from his head. He called out as he ran:

"Shepards! We need help! We have two young girls in need of medical attention!"

Chrom motioned for Lissa and Maribelle to help the armored warrior. Once they had treated the manaketes, the two previously injured girls ran off after Emm, who was fending off two fighters near the oasis. Both girls grabbed green stones from their pouches and transformed into dragons, both golden with green scales on the wings and spine. Bright green fire burst from their mouths, engulfing the unwary axe-wielders.

Robin and Chrom stopped dead in their tracks. The tactical genius almost dropped her book in disbelief. "Dragons," she said.

Chrom shouldered his sword. "Well, looks like we'll have an easier fight."

Phosphora flew over them and zapped two flying fire balls about to roast them. "You still need to fight. Get your heads in the game!"

Both leaders rushed in to help. The manaketes were tough for their build, utilizing their draconic bodies to take out their opposition. They were able to do a tag-team maneuver with Emm and Gregor, the mercenary, who would switch in for a close-quarters strike after each blast from the dragons.

Pit glanced over toward Panne and Magnus. They were using a similar tag-team method where Magnus would block heavy attacks so that Panne could leap around the enemy and strike them from behind. Most often, they would target the cavalry units and render their steeds useless in combat. This left them open for Magnus to swing his sword at them and knock them out, flying back a few yards each time.

The angel looked ahead just to see a fireball flying towards him. He barely dodged it, but the heat set his wings on fire. Viridi dropped him on the ground where he proceeded to roll over and smother the flames. He wouldn't be able to fly anymore this battle, due to the damage he had sustained. He locked his weapons into combative position and charged towards the mage ahead of him. He twisted mid air, firing twenty shots at the robed magician, blasting him apart and scattering him in a shower of sparks.

He front flipped over a charging fighter, blasting the axe wielder with his twin palms and shattering the round-bladed weapon. The handle fell from the owner's hands as the body face planted on the ground, knocked unconscious. Pit shook off the haunting thought he had and continued onward in the battle.

Tidal was struggling with a Grimleal who had managed to distract the frost-fighter from leading her group. The black-robed unit had become obsessed with her, focusing only on attacking her and dodging all other attacks. Magic phased through him and the fire bursts from the dragons had no effect on him. The femme-fatale had resorted only on using a summoned ice-axe and a collapsing shield that rested in her gauntlet. Her tactical approach was well met with an impregnable defense. The robed Grimleal had made his stance with a battle hammer imbued with dark magic (think an anti-mjolnir).

Finally, Tidal knocked aside the hammer and kicked her foe back where he fell off of his feet. Tidal stepped forward, switching to an ice-ninjaken with a flick of her weapon. Her eyes narrowed as the figure got up slowly. The hood had been knocked away, revealing a girl's face, pale and grey with two eyes of a snake, green and reptilian. On her forehead was a vine tattoo that wrapped in a horizontal line across from one side to the other. Her lips were pale enough to be unnoticed from a distance. Her hair was white, darkened by the curse that bound her heart, and was pulled up to hide its true length. Her combatant instantly recognized her and gasped as she rose to her feet.

"Christiana?" Tidal asked. "What did they do to you?"

Christiana said nothing, instead teleporting away in the blink of an eye. Tidal put away her Ice-Blazendier. A tear rolled down her cheek. She had lost her closest friend to the darkness, perhaps never to return again.

While Tidal was off to one side meditating what transpired, Emm talked with Chrom about the troops and who was who.

"We're here to assist in the rescue of Lady Emmeryn. Tidal is our leader and frost fighter, Raphael is our tactician and dread fighter, Dusk is our assassin, Elliot is our mage, Darissa and Nowi our Manakete allies, and I am the flame knight Emm."

"Any friend of my sister's is a friend of mine. Why not join us from here? We'd be able to save her with a higher chance of success."

Emm nodded. "I was going to request that as well."

Pit walked up to Viridi and Phosphora who were waiting on him. As he reached them, the youthful goddess backhanded him so hard that he fell off of his feet and landed flat on his back.

"HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF ON ME LIKE THAT, PIT!" Her voice was the most intimidating that it could ever get. "We were worried SICK just looking for you!"

Phosphora shook her head. "And I thought that Pandora had anger issues. Pit, remember that while Palutena is no longer available, Viridi is charged with keeping you alive. Don't get her mad and she'll be calm." Turning to her sensei she cooed. "Take it easy, Viridi. Don't let something like this get you all carried away."

Viridi stepped back. "I'm fine. Pit, I'd watch your step if I were you. If you pull another stunt like this, I'm revoking your power of flight."

Pit nodded. "Got it. Jeez, I thought Phosphora's flirting was going to be the worst thing I'd have to deal with."

Phosphora giggled. "Aww. Did our poor little Pitty Pat get scared. *wink* Just so you know, I've not stopped flirting just yet: I still think you're kind of cute."

This remark caused Pit to blush and another, albeit less serious, conversation broke out between the three. Magnus and Panne were about to die from laughing so hard. Robin just stood off to the distance, chuckling to herself and wondering how, in a time of war, they could have so much fun just being themselves.

Emm waited for Chrom to pull Robin and Frederick aside. He then, in turn, sat down in front of Tidal, where Darissa had decided to rest her head on Tidal's lap.

"Was that really her?" Darissa asked. "Was that your friend who entered before you?"

Tidal nodded. "That was Christiana. She came here earlier to check out this world and scan its surroundings. After her second attempt at scouting, she was unable to return on time. We came in to save her and to commence our mission."

Emm bowed his head. "But, now that we're here, we've realized that we came too late."

Darissa grimaced. When she locked eyes with Emm through "What will you do?"

Emm clenched his fist. "If we move out on our own, there's no telling when or where we'd run into her again. If we stick with Chrom, we may run into her again along the way. The more Elliot or I can observe her, the better. We may find a way to change her back."

Tidal shook her head. "Just make sure that we don't kill her in the process. I don't want to deal with losing yet another party member."

The minds of the three teams met with Chrom in the navigation tent. Raphael suggested a split-squadron mission, comprising of two parties, one of a smaller size that would rescue the captured Pegasus Knights, who could then help in rescuing the Exalt. They had been alerted by Khan Basilio's spy that the Exalt was scheduled to be executed the following day at noon. Freeing the Pegasus Knights and attacking the execution grounds simultaneously would ensure that the Ylissean forces could save Emmeryn swiftly. If they wanted to retrieve the exalt unharmed, the forces at the foot of the drop off needed to be taken out first. Gangrel had positioned more archers under the Exalt than Viridi could shake her stick at.

Speaking of Viridi, she reminded them that Pit's power of flight lasts only five minutes at a time. It would be enough time to retrieve the exalt, but he would be in much more danger with the ruler in his arms. He would be out of commission if he was used in that way. Robin suggested that the Goddess of Nature should lead the smaller squadron against the prison cell to allow Pit's flight in assistance. Viridi wanted to hand-pick the squadron herself and let Chrom command the rest of the troops in the main assault, but Raphael offered to split the army based on which teams worked best together. In the end, Viridi won and she got to organize her squadron of nine from the few soldiers she prefered to fight with. Chrom and Robin agreed with the outcome, but Robin was secretly hoping that Viridi had chosen a few more for her team.

Viridi, satisfied with the results of the discussion, retreated to a small area near her tent where a single purple flower was growing. She knelt down and gently touched the delicate specimen, letting a small amount of her power flow into the beautiful plant. It grew slightly faster, opening a little with the added power of the goddess. In the end, the harsh sun forced the plant to wilt in her hand. Viridi's heart sank as a tear rolled down her cheek. She had done so much for her planet, but it suffered great damage and began fading in natural beauty. Her work to repair the suffering of the plants and the human civilization's care for them had done nothing. Humanity in both worlds despised nature, burning down most of the forestry for one reason or another. She shook her head at the thought that she had failed the universe in her mission.

Phosphora and Pit saw her silent mourning from a short distance, Pit stunned by the revealed soft side of the strong, young goddess. Phosphora shook her head in disbelief.

"She's been like this for as long as I can remember," she said. "Even though she came off as courageous and strong when leading her troops, she would always mourn over the harsh reality that her work didn't ever last long enough for others to enjoy it."

Pit lowered his head. "I-I never knew."

"Well, I guess we can all learn something here." Pit looked behind him to see Panne and Magnus walking up to them. Magnus continued, "Even in the aftermath of the war, Viridi was seen by most humans as an enemy. I found out about her efforts to heal the land and its people from the old man, Dintos. I began my own, private attempt to help my village embrace nature and its beauty. It seemed to work: people were more conservative with their waste; every household had plants everywhere on their property with proper methods of watering; even went as far as to grow back a forest that was burned down before the war began. But, even though my village could enjoy nature, none of the other cities, villages, or kingdoms wanted to live such lives."

Panne frowned. "It's not just in your world. All worlds have few people who appreciate the natural surroundings they can see or are permitted to view. My race is almost extinct because of such ignorance. If Viridi is this torn up about a simple plant growing in this world-"

Phosphora cut her off. "She's not weeping over just a simple plant. What she was growing was an Acumen Perennial: a flower that reflects the balance of nature. It can only survive if the governing power over the land has a positive view of and care for nature. It's Viridi's special plant that she grows and she has been trying to develop one everywhere she goes. If she does succeed, it becomes a blessing to the kingdom and balance is kept strong. It pains her to see them wilting each day she attempts to grow them."

Panne was taken aback by this revelation. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

Phosphora shook her head. "Viridi can only hope to find a kingdom in either world to grow her masterpiece. If only there were such a place..."

It was at this time that Viridi wiped away her tears and slowly entered her tent. She laid down on her mat and curled up into a ball. She proceeded to weep over her failure to bring hope for nature to this world and for failing to provide it in her own. There was no place for her to accept her gift and welcome her provision. No one was aware of how long she cried, but the goddess was absent from dinner that night. No one had checked on her until Phosphora peeked in after the evening meal. Viridi had managed to cry herself to sleep by that point. Phosphora tucked the wilted goddess into bed and left her to rest up for the following day.

Author's Note:

Yes, yes, I know. I made up the name of the flower for this story from synonyms for insight and flower. I added that last scene to give you something to look forward to later on in the story. Viridi does have a soft side in the game, but it's barely shown and not that much is known about it. I'd like to point out that the nine units in the rescue party will consist of Pit, Viridi, Phosphora, Magnus, Panne, Darissa, Nowi, Gregor, and Tidal. I was unsure as to when to say it in the story, but I guess now is a good time to say it.

Next, I've got an update. I have ended the Hyrule Warriors and Sonic crossover until further notice. There are two reasons for this. My first reason is that I couldn't figure out how to continue it from where I left off without spoiling my master-plan. Don't worry, it will happen, but it won't be anytime soon. Sorry. The second reason is to free up time to write this crossover and one of the others I have planned. I'll keep releasing this one as soon as each chapter is finished, but the other two will be done in advanced so that I can roll the entries out weekly.

Thirdly, I'd like to confirm someone's question to my inbox: YES! I have mapped out the end of the next chapter and am planning on releasing it on April 28th, 2016. Mark your calendars for it.

Finally, thank you all for showing support and reading my stories. I've got more coming and hopefully another chapter this next week. See you real soon.