Alright, well for some reason, my POV shift symbols don't show up on here, so I'll probably just stick to using like, "Zach's POV:" from now on. Timeshift will still be the little omega, so yeah.

Skibbop, don't own anything.

"Are you alright?" I asked, holding Emile. I was practically holding him up, his arm around me. I didn't realize how much blood had sprayed about the hall during our battle with Dawn. There were splatters of red and scorch marks all over the place, not to mention the small pieces of debris created from her explosions. I noticed the lancer slipping from my grip and jostled him. "Hey, come on, stay with me."

He nodded lazily, and I grimaced. He was in terrible condition. There were more cuts and slashes on his body than I was willing to count, to the point where the majority of the blood covering the floor was dripping from his wounds, smeared from our footsteps. I knew that I wasn't in the best condition, either. At least one of my ribs was broken, and the gash along my side was bleeding heavily. Despite that, an energy filled my veins. I had to push on.

Finding a good grip on Emile was difficult with the blood making everything slick, but I managed, holding him up as I took the first step of many toward a healer. His breathing was slow, ragged and inconsistent, hard at times and soft at others. I was nearly carrying him, as his feet dragged when he tried to walk, smearing a trail of blood that dripped from him.

I didn't bother taking as much caution when walking through the halls. There wasn't time to be cautious, to worry if there was any enemy coming around the corner. Emile's approaching demise was a much more prevalent foe to fight off than any soldier that may find his way in our path.

I could hear the sounds of battle, offset by the quiet that surrounded us. I was hesitant, but decided that heading toward the sound of clashing blades and battles cries offered a better chance of finding a healer than wandering aimlessly through the halls.

Occasionally, Emile began to slip, and I had to hoist him back up. The further we went, the more frequently it happened, and the more I had to jostle him awake. I had heard to not let someone sleep when they were in this state, and I worried that if I failed to keep him from this slumber, he would never leave it, so I kept a watchful eye on him. His head would bob, and I would shake him.

The din of combat grew louder, and my fears lessened. They still burned with ferocity, glaring and fearsome, but dimmer than before. Soon enough, I saw the darkness outside, and the starless night sky. "Just a bit farther, Emile," I told the lancer, and he nodded with great effort. Just a bit farther, assuming we weren't attacked and killed on the way, but wishful thinking egged me on. "Come on, bud."

He was unresponsive. His eyes weren't closed, I noticed, glancing at his face. They were struggling to stay open. I felt his arm slip from around me and he began to fall, his legs giving out. I was unable to catch him, and he collapsed to the ground. Panic seized me, scaring me into thinking he died. "No, no, no, no, come on, Emile," I muttered, kneeling down and shaking him. His eyes were closed now. "Come on," I repeated. No response. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." I stepped back and walked a tight circle before kneeling back down next to him. "Okay, alright, I'm going to pick you up, alright?" No response.

I grabbed him under his armpits and pulled him into a sitting position. "Alright, fuck." I slipped my sword into its sheathe and rubbed my hands together. I pulled him up into a faux standing position, leaning him up against my back. I crouched down and, putting my hands behind his thighs, near his knees, I muttered to myself, "Okay, one, two, three—"

On three, I lifted him by his thighs onto my back, his arms thrown over my shoulders. I had to jostle him, shifting him up farther so I could get a better grip, and managed to get him up into a piggyback. My ribs were starting to ache, but I powered through it as best I could. Gods, I should have just thought of this earlier.

I hustled out into the open, no caution whatsoever. I got lucky, and no one saw me as I dashed to available cover. There was a tall marble wall that I hid behind, then glanced around. The combat still seemed to be further ahead, to the right of where we entered the clearing. Taking a deep breath—and a moment to make sure I had a solid grip on Emile, I ran from my cover, toward the fight.

I was defenseless. I was holding a man up on my back, and had no way to draw my sword without dropping him. If I dropped him, he would probably die, and I likely wouldn't have enough time to draw my sword before whatever enemy was upon me. So I moved quickly and as quietly as I could, what with the man on my back.

I rounded a corner to see a thief get impaled by a fiery haired woman on a horse, who I recognized as Sully. With her was Lon'qu, Kellam, and Miriel. They were holding down an entrance back into the building. The myrmidon was clashing blades with another thief, and Miriel was trading spells with a dark mage. Both of them managed to dispatch their targets with a bit of assistance: Sully stabbed the thief from behind, and Kellam threw a javelin straight threw the darm mage. I ran closer, and froze as I saw Kellam turn at me, preparing to throw another javelin.

"WAIT!" I cried, stopping in my tracks. Kellam hesitated, as well, then leaned closer, as if trying to get a better look at me before lowering his weapon.

My yell caught the attention of the other three Shepherds present, and Sully looked at me, a genuine smile growing on her face. "Zach," she called, rearing her horse back to look at me without craning her neck. She had a smile on her face, apparently glad to see me, until I ran closer and she saw Emile lying limp over me. "Holy shit," she muttered, smile dropping from her face, mouth open in shock.

"Take him," I ordered, and she pulled Emile onto her horse. With him in tow, she rode back into the building they were defending and out of sight. I followed at a slower pace, but not by choice. My energy was quickly fading now that we'd made it to relative safety. I made my way to Kellam and Lon'qu, the latter of whom offered the same stability to me that I'd given Emile on the way here, holding me up as my legs turned to jelly.

"What happened to you?" the myrmidon asked, taking me further into the building, behind cover and the wall that was Kellam.

"Ambush," I groaned, and he lay me down against a wall, my back straight up against it. "We were attacked by this mage bitch. She had a sword, too, as you can see." I made a half-hearted attempt to gesture at my cut, which had gotten blood all over Lon'qu's fur coat. "We killed her, I think, but got fucked up in the process." I jerked my chin to where Sully had taken Emile, saying, "He got it worse than me, though."

Lon'qu gave me a quick once-over with his sharp eyes, then Kellam called him to the door. Apparently more enemies were approaching, and the knight needed help. He drew his killing edge and ran back to assist, leaving me to watch.

Or at least, I was going to watch until a voice called my name, and I turned to see Sully riding back. "Lissa said to take you to her," the cavalier said, hopping down and helping me to my feet. She pushed me up onto her horse, then we rode back down the hall. We passed Robin and 'Marth' on the way. Robin paused when she saw my red-painted form struggling to hang on to Sully, then regained her composure to blast a knight with a thunder spell.

Robert POV:

It was remarkably easy getting my first kill. The fighter had run at me, and I simply sidestepped his first clumsy swing. Without hesitating, I ran my blade through his chest. Blood sprayed out, but I was unbothered. It wasn't the first time I'd seen blood, and it wouldn't be the last, so I ignored it as anything other than an inconvenience.

My next kill was a dark mage, who was too busy focusing on Chrom to notice me running up behind him and damn near cleaving him in half. That one was a bit unnerving, because I saw a sliver of his spine when I pulled my sword free. Even so, it was easier than I'd thought it would be.

After killing my second dark mage with a blade through the stomach, I took a step away from the action to take a breather. That was when Sully had come careening into the room on her horse, dropping off what looked to be a blood covered corpse. I was scared for a second that it was the body of a Shepherd, but with closer inspection, I saw that I didn't recognize him.

Lissa seemed to, however, crying, "Emile?". She almost dropped her staff in shock, then looked to Sully with a look asking, "Is he dead?"

"I think he's still alive," the fire-headed cavalier said, her face an unreadable mask. "Zach's back there, and he's in pretty rough shape, too." Zach? Emile? Who were these guys? They certainly weren't any Shepherds I recognized. This was strange.

"Go get him," Lissa said, readying her staff to heal this 'Emile'. Sully sped down the hall she came from, and I watched as Lissa's staff began to glow a pale green. She let out a tense sigh when the light appeared, then focusses on healing this guy, who was lying on the floor, covered from head to toe in blood. His seemingly pale blonde hair was matted with the stuff, and his armour was stained with it. I wondered how much of it was his own before having to avert my eyes. The process of watching the skin on his wounds knit itself together so quickly was more unnerving than driving my blade through a man's heart, honestly.

I turned back when the green light had subsided, and ran over to help Lissa prop him up against the wall. She jumped when I appeared next to her, afraid of me. I thought it strange until I realized that she didn't know who I was. "Robert," I said, offering a smile. "I'm a mercenary that Chrom just hired. I'm here to help."

She didn't look like she trusted me, but that made sense. It would change with time, anyway. I propped this Emile guy up against the wall and got a closer look at his face in the process. Yeah, I most certainly did not recognize him, what with his strange haircut.

I whirled around when I heard a galloping coming back down the hall. Riding on Sully's horse was another man I didn't recognize, this one with curly black hair and also covered in blood. This guy seemed to be in better condition than Emile, hanging on to Sully. At least, that was until he went limp and slumped off of the horse, dropping to the ground, causing the cavalier and Lissa to gasp out what I assumed to be his name, the former trying—and failing—to catch him. "Zach!"

I rushed to pick him up. He was still breathing, and still conscious, but he was straddling the edge, and seemed to be leaning more toward passing out. I dragged him over to Lissa, and she readied her staff to start healing him. As I knelt by her side, I observed the man she was healing.

If the sword strapped to his waist was any implication, he was either a mercenary like me, or a myrmidon. Or maybe a trainee class? Were those a thing now? I was transported here from Earth, for some reason, so it wasn't out of the question. Maybe it wasn't too out of the question to assume that these two guys were from Earth, too. Nothing was too farfetched.

This guy was still on the edge of consciousness, but he looked at Lissa when she said, "Gods, Zach, what happened to you two?" The light from her staff never faded for the duration of the time she healed him, until his wound was fixed. He only had one major wound that I could see: a long gash going from his hip up to his pecs at an angle.

"We were attacked," he said after she'd finished.

"I can see that," Lissa scowled, glaring at him. He flashed her a small, weak smile, tiling his head against the wall and closing his eyes. "How many were there?"

"One," he said, smile disappearing. "We got her, though." I stood up when I heard footsteps coming from where Sully had, tightening my grip on my sword, the handle creaking. Was it an enemy?

"Gods," the healer murmured, then jerked her head up when she heard the footsteps, too. Sully looked, a steely look in her eyes as soon as she saw who it was. Seeing the calmed look on her face, I lowered my sword and relaxed. Around the corner came a distraught woman wearing a black cloak with silver hair tied up in twin tails. Ah, so we were working with a female Robin? Cool.

"Lissa," she said, her face brow furrowed in a face knit with concern. "Where is…?" I couldn't tell whether the emotion that appeared on her face when she saw this guy was shock or relief that he was still alive. Maybe both. "Zach!" Zach opened his eyes and tiled his head to see her, while she took the time to kneel down next to him. "What the hell happened?"

It was the same question that Lissa asked. Well, almost. I noticed that Robin didn't include the 'you two' part. That and there was a tenderness to her voice. I didn't think the others picked up on it; hell, Zach didn't even seem to. It was faint, negligibly so, but I heard it. It made me wonder if they were a couple. That would mean that he was with the Shepherds, though, which I could have gleamed from how all three of the Shepherds here knew him, but this would cement it. But that would mean... Nothing. That didn't mean anything special. I was grasping for straws. Regardless, his answer to her question confirmed his closeness with Robin, and all he said was one word. A name, rather.

"Dawn." Robin's mouth dropped open slightly. She couldn't seem to find the words she wanted. She looked him over once more, then looked up and saw Emile lying unconscious a few feet away. Robin glanced back to Zach, mouth open again, looking like she knew what she wanted to say, but he cut her off. "We took care of her, though, so you don't need to worry." He gave her an empty smile. Each of his breaths was fast and shallow.

Robin was still ready to say something back—I could practically see the words on the tip of her tongue—but Chrom's voice caught all of our attention. "What's going on?" he asked, and I realized that the four—er, FIVE of us sitting here made out for a suspicious sight. I stepped out of the way to give him a clear sight—it was a wonder he hadn't seen Sully racing in here with either Emile or Zach. When he saw the two of them lying on the ground, he put speed in his step and came over, sheathing Falchion. "Gods, what happened?"

"Dawn," Robin said, beating Zach to it. Just as it had been with Robin, that name was enough of an explanation. I didn't know who this Dawn was, or why she was such a big deal, and neither did Sully or Lissa, apparently. The cavalier and healer exchanged a confused look, putting it together that this was something they weren't a part of.

Chrom was in deep thought for a time, hand on his chin, then he asked, "We'll talk more on this later, but right now," he waved a finger, "we need to make sure that the rest of these assassins are dealt with."

"I think they are all dead now," Robin said, standing up and brushing her cloak off. "There weren't any down our hallway, and it didn't look like any were coming, so I left. Marth is still there, just in case, but it seems like the battle is done."

"There may be more inside the palace, still," Chrom said, "so we should head back in and clear it out, just to be safe." We all nodded, and prepared to head back inside. Sully rode back down the hall, saying she was going to inform the others. Meanwhile, Chrom opens the door that had been behind Lissa, the heavy door grinding over the stone floor. Inside, Emmeryn was waiting, sitting at a fancy desk in an otherwise undecorated room. Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration, so much so that she didn't notice Chrom until he walked up and touched her on the shoulder. At his touch, she jumped, startled, but smiled afterward. "Sister, we're heading back inside the castle now."

I missed the rest of their conversation, as Robin grabbed my attention. "And who are you?" she asked, crossing her arms. I could see Zach looking at me out of the corner of his eye, his head tilted back to lean against the wall once more.

"I'm a mercenary," I said simply, flashing her a grin and a thumbs up. "Chrom hired me earlier."

She gave me a strange look, but her eyes didn't linger, instead looking past me. "What about you?" she asked, and I was confused as to who she was talking to, but I turned around to see Gaius crouched there, sucking on a piece of candy while he picked through the bag that Chrom had given him. I had honestly forgotten he was here, what with how quiet he'd been. "Who are you?"

"Just a thief," he supplied, spying into the bag with one eye closed. "Blue hired me, too." The thief didn't bother looking up at Robin when he spoke, but when he finished inspecting his loot, he stood up and peered over at us. "Name's Gaius."

"Robin," the tactician said, still perplexed at the situation and likely with the prince who hired us. She turned to me, next. "Your name?"

"Robert," I said, nodding. "Or Rob, if you prefer."

"We'll have time for more in-depth introductions later," Chrom said, stepping out of the room, Emmeryn a step behind him. "We have to sweep through the palace, find the other Shepherds and clear out any assassins that are still lurking within."

"What about these two?" Lissa asked, gesturing to Emile and Zach, the latter having falling unconscious like the former. "They can't exactly fight like this."

"You can keep them with me," Emmeryn suggested, her voice heavenly smooth and easy on the ears. "I will stay in my room while you all check the rest of the palace."

"Sister," Chrom said, gaze softening, "I don't feel comfortable leaving you unprotected." Just then, Sully came riding back, Lon'qu, Kellam, and Miriel close behind.

"One of them can stand guard," the Exalt said, a small smile on her face at her brother's frustration. The look on his face said that she missed his point, but he was unable to argue, as she was right. "Which of you would like to stand guard for me while the rest of them clean out the stragglers?"

"I'll do it," Kellam said, raising his hand.

"Alright," Chrom said, still unsure. "We can get going, then." I watched as every single one of the Shepherds filed in through the hallway that I had come running in through. Speaking of which, it was really easy to get into the castle. It was probably just because they were under attack, though, and had their guard elsewhere. I had also climbed in through an open window. Chrom and Emmeryn stood to the side, watching the other Shepherds. When the only ones remaining outside were them, Robin, and myself, they heading in.

Robin and I began to follow when a new, deep and smooth voice said, "When you want something done right…"

We and Chrom turned to see the voice's owner, only to see a ball of sparking purple magic come flying over our heads and slam into the ceiling where Chrom and Emmeryn were standing. Quick on his feet, the prince tackled Emmeryn to safety as a portion of the ceiling came crashing down, blocking the entrance.

Robin and I, looked back again. My eyes followed a stream of purple mist that outlined the path of the magic to its source. Stood there was a tall man with dark skin, tall pitch black hair and dark purple robes. I recognized him as Validar, Robin's father and Papa Grimleal himself. And based on the look he wore on his face, he was pissed. His red eyes were narrowed, his mouth formed in a deep frown. Robin must have gotten all of her looks from her mother, because she and Validar shared no resemblance.

He walked closer, his long robes dragging on the ground. When he saw Robin, however, he stopped in his tracks, his expression changing from livid to surprised. "Well, well..." he chuckled, much to the surprise of Robin and I. "Oh, I know you…" his eyes levelled with Robin's, his frown transforming into a grin. "If you submit to me, I may just honour you with the truth!"

Robin and I shared a look, and I said, "Yeah right, asshole. Let's get this over with." Robin's eyes held a conflict in them. Whatever it was disappeared within a second, and she pulled out a yellow tome, glaring at Vaildar.

The man frowned again, displeased by this outcome. "So be it," he said, his own purple-covered tome fluttering open. "If your wish is to die, instead, then I can grant it."

He swung his arm at me, and a purple fireball with blue sparks dancing over its surface flew from his hand at me. I dodge out of the way, but it exploded on impact, tossing me to the side. Robin shot a bolt of thunder at him. It hit him, but sparked harmlessly against his chest, and he chuckled. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted. "I expected more from you."

I got up off the ground, rolling my sword in my hand, then charging Validar. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, my existence clearly bringing him the greatest displeasure imaginable. He didn't bother to face me when he shot another fireball at me, missing me by mere inches, while the explosion was once more enough to send me to the ground. I pushed myself back up again, to find that he was once more looking at Robin.

The tactician was firing bolt after bolt of thunder at Validar, but they weren't bothering him in the slightest. He disregarded each one, then sent a fireball her way. It collided with one of her lightning bolts, exploding midair. The impact sent out a wind that billowed his cloak. He cast the spell again, mere seconds after, and this one exploded at Robin's feet, knocking her back several yards. "Come on, girl!" the hierophant bellowed as Robin pushed herself to her feet, holding his arms out to his sides. "This can't really be your full potential. If this is all you've got, I'm better of killing you now."

Robin glowered at him, and I decided that this would be a good chance to attack, while Validar was distracted. I charged at him, raising my sword preemptively. When I was within a yard of him, he flicked a hand my way, and a smaller version of the purple fireball blew me back.

"Gods," I growled, hopping back to my feet. How had he even seen me? Did he hear my footsteps? That had to have been it. Next time, I had to be quieter, slower. I had to sneak up on him. Get him while he had 100% focus on Robin.

"Are you that eager to die?" he asked, turning to me, head cocked to the left. "I gave you a chance to flee, but you didn't take it. What a fool you are."

"Like I would leave her here with you," I said, grabbing my sword with both hands and charging him again. I cast a quick glance at Robin to see her holding her hands out toward Validar, eyes closed, pages in her book flipping like mad. I returned my eyes to the dark mage ahead of me to see a fireball coming at my face. I didn't have enough time to dodge, so I did my best to block the spell, crossing my arms in front of me.

I hadn't expected it to be actual fire. I thought it was going to feel like… well, I didn't know what I thought it was going to feel like, but when that dark magic hit me, it singed my arms and burned off the sleeves to my coat, as well as flinging me back, sliding along the floor on my back. I stopped myself from sliding too far, and flipped back to my feet, desperately trying to pat out the flames that lingered, muttering a string of curses. As soon as I did, I heard Robin cast her spell, yelling out, "Thunder!" A massive bolt of lightning shot from her hands, faster than any of the previous spells, crashing into Validar.

This one had the desired effect, shocking the hierophant and bringing him to his knees. He clutched a hand to his chest, coughing. I felt a glimmer of hope, like we had a chance. That all died when he rose to his feet, however, and he bore a smile more brilliant than before. "That was better," he said, nodding. "But still not good enough. Come on, girl, you can do better than that. How can you expect to protect the prince, or that… one boy? The injured one. How can you expect to protect him if this is the best you can do? You won't ever be able to—"

He was cut off by the woof of flames, and I saw surprise knock the smugness from his face, a purple glow lighting up the darkness to my side. I turned, and saw Robin alight with purple flames, her eyes narrowed, teeth bared in a fearsome snarl. Lightning danced across her fingertips, and I thought I saw regret in Validar's eyes when I turned back. Robin drew her arm back, and I saw an opportunity. I drew back, then threw my sword like a spear at Validar, praying and hoping that it landed. He didn't see it coming; it lodged itself in his gut, and the dark mage staggered back, gasping. Then Robin let loose the largest lightning bolt yet, muttering, "Checkmate."

The lightning arced directly into where my sword was stuck in Validar, the iron blade conducting the electric magic straight into him. The dark mage began convulsing, screaming out in pain. He reached up and clutched his head, screaming louder and louder, the lightning dancing from within him and all over his body, until he dropped to the ground, and his screams cut out altogether. When his body hit the ground, the only part that made a sound was my sword. He slumped soundlessly and lifelessly to the floor, then the same purple flames that were now dying out on Robin began to appear on Validar, consuming him from where my sword was still lodged in his body.

I stared, jaw hanging open as he disappeared bit by bit, the flame spreading until it reduced the dark mage to a pile of… cherry blossoms? I looked back to Robin; her arms were slumped at her sides, and she dropped to her knees. "Robin!" I called, running over to her and holding her up. Her eyes were fluttery, her lips slightly parted. "Robin, come on, stay with me." I tapped her on the cheek twice, and she blinked, apparently coming to her senses. "Are you okay?"

"I… I think so," she said, touching a hand to her head. "What… what just happened?" She looked past me to where my sword rested in a pile of cherry blossoms. It was strangely serene now that Validar was dead. "Where did that dark mage go?"

"What?" I asked, arcing an eyebrow. Was she serious? "What do you mean? He's right there." I pointed to the cherry blossoms, and she only looked more confused.

"I don't understand."

"Those petals," I said. "That's him."

It was almost childlike, the expression she wore as I pieced her through it. She had a bright look in her eyes, a stark contrast to the darkness that shrouded them when she incinerated Validar. "He turned into flower petals?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Yes. You turned him into flower petals." I paused, about to let her speak, then decided to just tell her straight away instead of letting her guess the rest of what happened. We had yet to find a way back to Chrom and the others, of course. "You used these purple flames, and they burned him up. For some reason, he turned into flower petals after that."

"Purple flames." It wasn't a question. More of a statement of facts, to help get it through Robin's mind. She brought a hand up to her mouth, nibbling on the first joint of her index finger. "Strange." Her brown eyes stared straight through me. They looked different than before, another aspect to them, the closest of which I could relate it to being the conflict I'd seen in them earlier. Suddenly, they snapped into focus, looking into mine. "My apologies," she said, standing up. "We should get moving and try to find a way inside."

Zach POV Ω:

I woke up in a bed. A very familiar bed. I sat up, then winced as a sudden pain lanced through my side, sending me prone. "Agh," I breathed, then eased myself into a sitting position. With a brief look around, I learned that I was in my room. It was remarkably untouched from the assassination attempt, which was nice. I was also shirtless, with bandages wrapped around my lower torso. Sitting by the side of my bed was my sword; my shirt was nowhere in sight, which was unfortunate, considering it was really my only one.

I pushed the blanket off and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Wiping a hand over my face and standing up, I tried to recall how I had ended up here while snagging my sword and fastening it to my belt. All I could remember was Robin kneeling next to me, Lissa at my side, some guy in a red coat, and Chrom walking toward me. I was on the ground, and my wound had been… healed?

I looked at my side, where the gash had been, and found nothing hinting that a cut had been there. Other than, of course, the blood that had dried over my skin. Blood was matted all over me, not just there. It coated my hair, and twisting to look over my shoulder, I saw that my back was covered, as well. My bed was covered in flakes of dried blood, but not stained.

I twisted the doorknob and walked out into the bright hallway. It was empty. Literally. Aside from me, it was devoid of any staff, soldiers, Shepherds or diplomats. I was the only one, and took my first steps slowly, listening to them echo throughout the silent halls.

At every turn, I continued straight, making my way to where I knew Robin stayed, but I would look down the path I didn't take until it was out of sight. There was never anybody down them, but I kept an eye out, just in case. This silence sent a chill down my spine. This type of quiet was always unsettling; it didn't feel right, especially in the palace.

I didn't see a single person on the way to Robin's room. Well, not a living one. There were plenty of corpses strewn about. They were always next to streaks or puddles of blood, and in full armour, unless they were a mage or something. The blood made everything smell like iron. The metallic scent made my nose crinkle up. I was reminded of Emile, and I hoped he survived. If he died because of my helplessness…

I knocked on Robin's door when I arrived and waited for her to answer. When she said nothing, however, I knocked again, this time harder. Again, there was no response, and I began to worry. This was all very strange. If Robin wasn't in her room, I had no idea where she would be. Maybe Chrom knew. Chrom was a good option to find, as well. If I found him, well, maybe he'd know what was going on.

I tried my hardest to ignore the bodies that were scattered around, slumped against the walls or lying on the floor. I failed. Some of them wore the armour of Yllisean guards, while others were very clearly Plegian. Their blue and red uniforms respectively made the distinction rather easy. One pair consisted of a Plegian and an Yllisean, propped up against one another while both were on their kness, respective blades buried in the others gut. This had been the grave of so many, cemented even further by the chilling silence. It was sickening, but I was at least thankful that the blood was mostly dried. The floor would have been quite slick had the opposite been true.

The eerie silence was cut off as I heard footsteps heading my way. I looked up, having been staring straight down at my feet, to see a boy in robes and a pointy wizard hat running toward me. I stop walking and waited for him to get closer, eyebrow raised. "Are you Zach?" he asked, out of breath.

"Yes," I said, holding my hands on my hips. "Who are you?" He looked a little different, but I was almost certain that I knew his name already. A bit older than I had thought he was, but his hair was the same reddish colour that I remembered.

"I'm Ricken," he said. I noticed the green tome he clutched in his left hand. "Chrom told me to find you. I'll show you the way, but we'll have to hurry: he said we are heading out soon."

"What?" I asked. We're leaving? "Where are we going?"

"Um." He blushed sheepishly. "I forgot, actually. You'll just have to ask Chrom when we find him." He turned away and started to walk back. I followed close. He looked a year or so older than he had in game, and his voice was a tad deeper, but he wasn't any taller. He stood to perhaps my shoulders without his mage hat. He was probably fifteen here. So young, but then we all were. I didn't think any of us were yet twenty, except for Emm, but she wasn't one of the Shepherds.

The majority of the Shepherds were gathered in the throne room. I picked Krystal, Dylan, Chrom, and Robin out of the group, the latter talking with Emmeryn and Phila about something while an old man in robes the same shade of green as Emm's stood close by. Everybody was in full armour, weapons sheathed but donned, a somber mood filling the room. I looked out of place, I realized, as I was still not wearing my shirt. "Captain Chrom," Ricken called, waving to get the prince's attention when we walked into the room.

He, Robin, Emm, Phila, and the old dude turned to face us, none of the others seeming to notice the mage. Chrom gave me a strange look, and I returned it, though for a different reason. "Where is your shirt?" he asked when Ricken and I walked up.

"I don't know," I admitted. "It was gone when I woke up." He and Robin shared a look, and the tactician shrugged. "What's going on?" I asked, getting straight to the point. "Ricken said something about us leaving? Where are we going?"

"We're going to be escorting Emmeryn to a second palace out east of here," Chrom said. "It's on short notice, I know, but we need to make sure she is kept safe, especially after this attempt on her life earlier tonight."

"Alright. How long will we be staying there?"

"That's what we're discussing right now," Robin said. She was hugging her arms to herself, her brow furrowed. "We're not sure if it would be better to remain with the Exalt, or take the fight straight to Plegia."

"Perhaps this is a conversation best saved for the road," Phila said. "We should be on our way soon, after all."

"You are right, Phila," Chrom said, sighing. "The sooner we leave the better." He cleared his throat, then to the entire group of Shepherds, shouted, "We're moving out." He took the lead, Robin, Frederick, Phila, and I following close behind. Behind us, Emmeryn and the old hierarch followed, kept in the center of the column, guarded on all sides by the remainder of the Shepherds.

We marched through the night. There was no event with note that occurred. Everyone aside from me, having passed out and gleamed a few hours of sleep, and Emile, who was still unconscious, was exhausted. They had only gotten a few minutes worth of rest before we all went on the road again, and I felt at fault, which was strange, because there wasn't anything I could have done, was there? No, this was scripted. There wasn't any avoiding this.

I noticed that Robin was quiet, which while not unusual, her silence was generally the result of her burying her nose in a book. This time, she had no book open. In fact, the only book she had with her was her thunder tome. She looked pensive, like something was on her mind, nibbling on the first joint of her index finger, her eyes dark.

"What's wrong?" I decided to ask her. I pulled her from some rather deep thoughts, her eyes blinking a few times before taking on a new light as she turned to face me. "You seem troubled."

"Oh, no," she brushed it off, shaking her head. "Just something on my mind." She gave me a small smile, and I noticed that one corner of her mouth was raised a little higher. I wondered if it been like that before. I had never paid too much attention to detail, so it was very likely that I just hadn't noticed.

"Are you sure?" I pressed, almost hooking my thumbs on my waistband, but stopping myself when I accidentally tugged on my bandages, reminding me that I was still, in fact, shirtless.

"Yes," she assured me, her smile persistent. "I'm just thinking through some things, I promise." Her eyes lingered on me for a moment, then her smile turned into a silly grin as he brow furrowed. "Are you cold without a shirt on?"

"Um, a little," I admit. The night air was chilly against my skin. Not even to make me shiver, or make me genuinely cold, but it was mildly unpleasant. "It isn't too bad, though, why?"

"If you want, you can borrow my coat."

"No, I'm fine without," I declined. "It really isn't that bad."

"Are you sure?" she asked, slipping one of her arms out of its sleeve. "I have a shirt underneath, so I don't need to wear it."

"Wow, you're wearing a shirt underneath?" I ask sarcastically, holding my hands to my face in mock surprise. "I never would have guessed. I thought you were offering to take my place as the shirtless member of our party. Here I was, protecting your modesty in vain."

"Shut up," the tactician said, grinning. "Don't take the coat, then." She put her coat back on all the way. "I was just trying to be nice, but fine." She said it with a false offense to her voice, one that contrasted her grin.

I shook my head, her grin infecting me. We walked in silence for a time, both of us smiling. In light of everything, I was glad that we could keep a sense of humor and cheer. I wondered how long that would last.

"So when you said you took care of Dawn," Robin asked suddenly, "what did you mean?"

"What?"

"Earlier tonight, before you passed out," the tactician explained. "You said that Dawn was the one who attacked you. You also said that you 'took care of her.'"

"Oh," I said, having forgotten even saying that. "I meant that we…" I was going to say that we killed her, but was that right? She left no body. She left nothing, actually, not even the lance that was sticking out of her. "Well, I don't know if we killed her." The look that Robin gave me begged that I explain. "When Emile stabbed her the last time, she stepped away and threw something on the floor. There was a bright flash, and she was gone when it went away. There was a magic circle on the floor, like the ones when you cast a spell, but that was it. Emile's lance was still sticking out of her chest, and she took that with her, too."

"And you're doing alright?" Robin asked.

"I mean, I'm still injured," I said, "but it doesn't hurt too bad."

"That isn't what I mean," the tactician said, looking into my eyes. "I mean emotionally. That couldn't have been easy for you." Oh, I saw what she meant. Thinking back on it, she was right. It was not easy.

"I…" I couldn't think of how to start. "At first, I couldn't even move," I admitted. "I was frozen at the sight of her. It was like… well, it was literally narrowly avoiding death, then being confronted with the same thing again later." The best thing I could compare it to was getting hit by a car, receiving minimal injuries but having the shit scared out of you, traumatizing you and giving you nightmares. Then one day, you would be walking to the mall or something and just as you cross the street, oh look! There's that same motherfuckin' car that hit you! A deer in headlights.

"So Emile did all the fighting?" the tactician asked, furrowing her brow.

"No, I managed to snap out of it last minute. Ended up saving his life, I think. How is Emile, anyway?" I took a moment to look behind us, over the rest of the Shepherds, but couldn't see him. "Where is he?"

"He's riding with Maribelle," Robin informed. "And he's doing better, at least according to Lissa. She said he'll be recovered before we arrive at the eastern palace. But back to the fight; did you just get over it, or…?"

"I.. don't really know." I didn't feel much better than I had. There wasn't a weight lifted from my chest, like I'd always thought when one got over something like that. "I guess? I mean, I don't feel liberated. I think it was a spur of the moment thing, like a survival instinct sort of thing. I don't feel like I'm over that one night, and honestly," I shook my head, blinking. "I don't know if I ever will be. I may just be plagued with nightmares for the rest of my life. Who knows?"

"You're being really dismissive about this," she observed.

"Yeah, I tend to be." I had always been, and suspected that was another thing that wouldn't change. "It's just how I am. Don't worry about it too much, alright? I'm no worse than I was before."

"That isn't very comforting," she said, a smile flicking upon her face, then disappearing just as quickly.

"I'm… I'll be alright for now." That still wasn't the most reassuring, I knew, but it was the best I had. I wasn't exactly good. My nerves were still buzzing, as if I was still in combat, which was disconcerting, to say the least, but I didn't need to tell Robin that. That could have been because things were still tense. It was just comforting to know that she was concerned. "Check back in on me when we get to the eastern palace." When things calmed down and we were settled somewhere safer, I hoped my nerves weren't tingling. Though that wouldn't be the Eastern palace, I reminded myself. We were going to be attacked on the way, weren't we? Wyverns and mages, I knew.

I hadn't gotten to fight a wyvern yet. I wasn't sure I wanted to, either. Chrom was good enough at it, considering his sword was able to rend them to pieces, but my bland iron blade probably wouldn't even be able to pierce their scales. Wyverns were probably really scary up close, too, so perhaps it was best that I kept my distance.

I probably wasn't going to get to fight in this next battle anyway. With my rib injury, it hurt to make the slightest movement with my arms, or the smallest twist with my torso. The others were better equipped to fight in combat, and Ricken needed all the practice he could get. His wind magic would help cut the wyverns out of the sky, too.

"Hey," I heard Robin say, receiving a light push from the tactician, just hard enough to get my attention.

"What?"

"I asked why you were looking at the skies," she said. "Do you see something past all these clouds?" True enough, the night sky was caught behind a wall of clouds. They didn't appear to be storm clouds, though. They were fluffy, just numerous, and blocked out all the stars.

"No," I said, scolding myself silently. I looked to the sky while thinking about wyverns that were going to attack in a few hours. Nothing suspicious at all about that, dumbass. Gods. Now I had to pull something out of my ass. "No, that's the problem. I wish we could see the stars. My brother showed me where a few constellations were, once upon a time when we went stargazing." There was no saying that the sky of this world held the same constellations as the sky back home, though.

I shouldn't have been talking about my brother, or anything back home. It was bound to make me miss it all, and I was not in the mood to be brought down like that. Robin wanted to continue the conversation, however, saying, "That was nice of him."

"Yeah," I said. "He did a lot of cool shit."

"Really? Like what?" Jesus Christ, woman, I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't want to miss home right now. But I couldn't just cut her down. That wouldn't be like me, so I kept talking.

I told her how my brother would give me books every weekend he came to see me when I was little, and I would fill them up with drawings of dragons and other imaginative creatures. I had always been an imaginative child, and enjoyed putting the things I thought up on to paper. I also told her how brilliant my brother was, and rambled about all the stories he told me; I exempted the ones that didn't make sense due to technological differences, but there were still plenty to share. It was funny. Once I started talking, I couldn't stop. It was a good way to pass the time for a few hours, at least until my eyes started to burn with tears.

Robin noticed, and her expression softened. "Are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, and I nodded. "What's wrong?"

"I just… I really miss my home." I punctuated the statement with a dry laugh, earning a strange look from the tactician. "And I've been kind of an emotional wreck, lately. It's strange, really. In this past week, I've cried more than I had in the past few years of my life, even though these last years have been the hardest for me." It was strange, to say the least.

"I'm sorry that it's been so hard for you lately," was all she said. "Just know that I am always happy to lend an ear to whatever you need to talk about."

"Of course," I said, forcing a smile. "When it comes to emotional support, you're my first draft pick."

The confused look on her face as she asked, "What?" brought a genuine smile to my face.

"Nothing."

Dylan POV Ω:

"So the Teach didn't see you during the fight last night," Vaike said, walking next to me. He was seemingly unaffected by the fatigue that wore down everybody else, sans Zach and Emile, for obvious reasons. I almost corrected him that it was still the same day as when the palace was attacked, but caught myself, as the sky was brightening with the light of day. Gods, Vaike liked to talk. "Where were you?"

"With Krystal." I couldn't stand his obnoxious tone, and hoped that being standoffish would be enough to put him off. Unfortunately, the 'Teach' was not one to be put off by silence when he could fill it.

"How did you fight inside? I'd figure the halls are too small for a big ol' bird to fly around in them." He wasn't wrong. I had to refrain from transforming into a bird throughout the entire fight, assisting Krystal by poking at enemies that got too close with a lance from a soldier the dark mage had killed. A thing to note about Krystal: despite her shy demeanor, she was more than capable in combat.

Now that we were out in the open, I felt better. Being constricted in those tight halls made me nervous, which was new to me after coming to this world. Now, being outside was liberating, something else that was new. The feeling of fresh air rejuvenated me, and I felt good, despite not having gotten any sleep the night before.

The sun rose higher into the sky, and when it was about halfway to noon, we were walking along a wide path on a cliff side, with a line of mountains cutting off our other side. The sloshing of waves against the rocks hundreds of feet below us was a background noise as I looked to the mountains to our left with my eyes, keeping my face forward so as to not draw suspicion. I wondered if the others were ready for what was coming. Emile was no doubt out of commission for this fight, considering he had yet to wake up. Gods, it was a shame what happened to him, but at least he was going to survive.

And during the night, word of a pair of new recruits spread throughout the collumn. I had expected them to say Panne and Gaius, but I was only part right. Instead, we had the sugar-seeking thief and, in the taguel's place, a mercenary named Robert. I talked to him briefly, and he seemed nice enough. It was clear that he was from Earth, due to the fact that he was not a normal Shepherd and that he recognized me as a taguel. We talked for a time after that, and he was energetic with his words, apparently having plenty of questions at the ready. I told him about Emile, Krystal, Zach, and myself, and how we were all from Earth, as well. It made me wonder just how many earthlings were dropped here, and why.

Aside from the waves below and our steady march on the rocky surface, there was no noise. All conversation had died out, even the futile attempt at engaging one with me by Vaike, and we walked in silence for a time, until Chrom asked the old man in the robes why he kept looking toward the mountain tops. The old man sputtered out some lame excuse, then the air was split with the angry cry of a wyvern. Then, everybody's eyes went to the rocky peaks to see a squadron of wyverns fly over them, some landing ahead of us on the cliff-side path, others flying over where the cliff dropped off, and others still remained perched on some of the lower parts of the mountains. As if on cue, a battalion of archers, thiefs, and barbarians emerged from the sparse foliage spread along the path, brandishing weapons and nasty smiles.

The collective shing as most of the Shepherds drew their weapons was a cacophony in its own, and I prepared to transform, just to see the old man ran forward, toward the enemy. "Hold, sir!" he cried, holding his hands up in a plea for peace. "I am the man Kind Gangrel told you about! Did you not receive orders to take me into your protection?"

I respected Vasto for what he did next. He flew down from the top of the mountain where he was perched, landing his wyvern with its draconic face inches from the old hierarch. "I've orders to protect a man, true…" Vasto gave a displeased scowl to the hierarch. "But I see no man here. Only a pig. A rasher of traitorous bacon that sold out his own sovereign!" There was a menacing anger to the wyvern rider's voice, a brutality to his facial expression that even frightened me a touch. Then the rage turned into a sadistic smile, and he sat up tall. "And what do we do with little piggies, hmm?" he shouted out to his men, earning a laughter from them.

"Well, you…" the hierarch cleared his throat, lowering his arms and holding them close to himself. "I mean, perhaps… You let them go free?"

"Oh," Vasto grinned, waving his arms up in mock surprise. "Are you a chicken now? Bawk Bawk!" He let out a laugh, leaning back, shouting, "We've a whole barnyard in our midst! Well, it don't matter what you are." With that, he leaned toward the hierarch with his dark expression again. "The axe will fall just the same."

The old man turned to run away, back to the Shepherds, but Vasto wasted no time, his wyvern turning so its rider could reach the coward with a swing of his long steel axe. The axe cleaved clean through the old man, bisecting him. As the two halves of the hierarch dropped to the ground, Vasto yanked on his wyvern's reigns, and it lifted into the air. He flew a brief circle over his troops, calling, "Smell that boys? The wind of fortune blows our way! Let's make quick work here and head on home!" With a skyward pump of his axe, his troops erupted in cheer, and he flew back up to his mountain roost.

"Give them no quarter!" was Chrom's response, with a pump of Falchion, the holy blade gleaming in the morning sun, and we let out a rivalling cheer of our own. The majority of the Shepherds stepped forward, Sumia taking to the skies. I took the time to transform into a bird and joined her. A blessing of being a bird laguz, I had fantastic vision, and I watched Chrom closely, flying a tight circle over the Shepherds. I saw him point Emmeryn toward the back of the column, toward where Zach and Maribelle were. She mounted Phila's Pegasus, and the two flew over by the myrmidon and troubadour stood.

I heard the roar of a wyvern, and turned to see one of the riders roosted on the mountain had decided to come after me. I did a barrel roll to avoid the oncoming attack its rider had planned for me, and managed to dodge both that and the bite the mount lashed out with.

I recovered to see the rider flying in a wide to turn return and try his hand at another attack. I was faster by a wide margin, and intercepted him mid-turn, grabbing the rider in my talons. In shock, he dropped his weapon when I grabbed him, and was left to pound at my feet until I dove down and threw him at the mountain he had come from.

His mount was not happy with me killing its rider, and flew at me with an outraged cry. No longer laden with the weight of its rider, it didn't hesitate to lash out at me with its claws and fangs. I cried out as it scratched at me, my voice coming out as a bird's caw, before retaliating with a serious of savage pecks and claws of my own. I pecked at its eye; when I hit my mark, it let out a pained roar, reeling, but I didn't relent. Seizing the opportunity, I pecked at its throat, then twisted and tore. Blood sprayed from its torn throat, and it fell from the sky.

I cast a brief glance downward, and saw the body falling toward the bulk of the Shepherds, so I dropped low enough to grab the wyvern in my claws and dragged it just long enough in the air so it would land without crushing anybody.

I looked down again and saw Chrom cutting down a wyvern in a single stroke, Falchion bathing in the lizard's blood before the prince flicked it clean. Krystal and Virion were trading shots with a pair of archers, and Sully and Stahl were holding a line alongside Kellam, making sure no enemies got too close to Ricken, who was shooting down a wyvern with his wind, and Lissa, who was healing our allies.

Another roar coming from behind me caught my attention, and I dived preemptively, avoiding an attack that I knew was coming. I saw this wyvern fly overhead, then try and pull the same turning maneuver as the last one. This one, however, lost its rider early to an arrow.

I glanced down, seeing Virion lower his bow, and then looked back up to make sure I charged directly at the now unmounted wyvern. I aimed my talons for its throat, and collided with it, both of us twisting through the air. I clenched its neck with one talon, then clawed it with the other, once more carrying it to a safe landing zone.

"Dylan!" I heard a woman call, and looked down. Robin was waving to get my attention, standing safely behind the line with a certain Feroxi myrmidon standing next to her. She waved me to come down, so I dived in a circular motion, circling the bulk of the Shepherds several times before I got low enough to descend quickly. When I landed, I was reminded of how heavy I was as a bird, sending up a small cloud of dust.

"Take Lon'qu into the air with you," the tactician said, and the myrmidon stepped forward. "He can take care of the wyvern riders for you as long as you get him close."

I nodded the best I could with my massive bird head. I crouched low so Lon'qu could climb onto my back by pulling the minimal amount of feathers. Once he was safely on top of me, Robin stepped back to a safe distance, and I ascended with a powerful flap of my wings.

I searched for a target that currently wasn't under fire, which proved fairly difficult. Having taken out all of the archers, Ricken, Krystal, and Virion turned their shots toward the skies, shooting down, or at least at, the wyverns that remained.

"To the right," Lon'que shouted over the wind, a factor which I had a tendency to forget while flying, and I looked where he was pointing with his killing edge. There was a stray wyvern rider, stationary in the air, seemingly searching for a target of his own.

I redirected my course and flew toward it. He was unsuspecting, and I clashed with his wyvern with a hell of an impact, knocking it down a few feet before it caught itself and returned my fight with valour, biting and clawing, the two of us desperately trying to keep to the air as our rider's dueled. I tried to keep as close to the wyvern as I could, knowing that Lon'qu's blade wasn't as long as the wyvern rider's axe.

It didn't take long for the myrmidon to dispose of the wyvern rider, and when he had, he didn't hesitate to make his blade's next target the wyvern itself. When I pulled back after a peck, Lon'qu leaned forward and slashed at its throat with his killing edge, and the dragon fell to the waves, splashing after a few seconds. We made a good team.

Zach POV:

"It looks like they're having fun," I said to Maribelle, looking up at Dylan as and Lon'qu flew off after letting a wyvern drop to the deep blue depths of the sea. Meanwhile, I was stuck on guard duty, keeping Maribelle and Emile safe while the other Shepherds took the fight to the Plegians.

"I'd hardly call that 'fun,'" Maribelle said, scowling as she kept an eye on the unconscious soldier.

"How's he doing?" I asked, stepping away from the rock I was leaning on and uncrossing my arms.

"Well, compared to before," the healer frowned, "he's doing much better. His breathing is smoother and deeper. But he'd lost a lot of blood, and a healing staff can only do so much."

"I don't understand how staves work," I said, scowling. "They can heal wounds like cuts and broken bones, like my rib—"

"Your rib wasn't broken," Maribelle cut me off, setting her staff to the side and resting on a rock. "And while they can heal wounds, bones are more complicated. The bone isn't repaired like flesh wounds, just put in place and mended enough so that the healing process can finish on its own. But our friend Emile's problem is blood loss. When Lissa healed him, she closed his wounds, but that was it. To fix his problem, we would need to create more blood, which frankly isn't possible. Do you understand?"

"I believe so," I said, nodding. Still, healing magic was strange, but I wasn't going to ask again. Maribelle sat on the rock with her eyes closed, looking oddly peaceful. Emile was lying on the ground, under a makeshift cover that we made using a piece of canvas that Maribelle had attached to her saddle and a small tree. She said that it was best to keep him out of the heat. I asked her, sarcastically of course, why we didn't get any cover to hide from the heat under, and she said that when I passed out, she would gladly hide me under the canvas, but until then, I had to suffer through it.

I took this time to reflect on how I really hadn't bothered to make friends with any of the Shepherds aside from Chrom, Robin, and Sumia. I needed to work harder on that, I realized. I actually liked Maribelle, as well as Gaius, and now that they were with us, I needed to get closer to them. As long as I was here, I needed to make friends, and I could certainly do a lot worse than Maribelle.

"What is that?" Maribelle said, snatching my attention. She was holding a hand over his eyes, keeping the sun out of them. I followed her gaze to see a large shape running toward us, and my first thought was of Cordelia. She was supposed to be coming in this chapter, telling us that the Plegian army invaded and took the palace.

But then I realized that Cordelia was supposed to fly in on her Pegasus. This shape was on the ground, and reminded me of a horse with the way it ran. It even seemed to have a rider atop it, bobbing up and down as the shape ran.

"I don't know," I said, narrowing my eyes and drawing my sword. "But be ready." I was nervous. I wasn't sure if I was capable of fighting, and I was certainly not able to if it was a lance user. I didn't tell Maribelle that, and hoped she didn't see how nervous I was.

As the shape grew closer, I realized that what I had previously thought was a rider was a pair of… ears? Wait, what the fuck? Hold on, was that a fucking rabbit? Oh, oh my gods. I lowered my sword as I realized just who was coming. I realized Maribelle was looking at me, confused because I lowered my sword. "It's a taguel," I said, hoping she knew what I meant as I watched Panne run closer.

"A what?" Nope, she didn't. Shit.

"A taguel is a race that can transform into beasts, like that rabbit right there," I pointed at Panne. "I always thought they were extinct, though. I never thought I'd be able to see one."

Panne was kicking up a cloud of dirt behind her as she ran, and this time, I noticed something bouncing on top of her, behind her massive rabbit ears. This something was a mix of red and silver, which was confusing. Nothing about Panne was silver OR red, at least to my memory. When she got closer, she slid to a stop, kicking dirt at Maribelle and I, forcing us to shield her eyes.

"Manspawn!" she said in her distorted, mid-transformation voice. "I carry one of your wounded!" I moved my arm out of my eyes and saw that yes, on her back was a beautiful woman in silver armour and scarlet red hair.

"Holy shit," I cursed, sheathing my sword and running over. The woman was tied to Panne with a thick thread, almost like a rope, which I fought to undo. She was severely injured, as Panne said, and seemingly unconscious. "Maribelle!"

The healer snapped out of her shock at seeing the giant rabbit, shaking her head, then ran toward me. I got the woman untied and picked her up, carried her over to our makeshift cover, and set her down next to Emile. Maribelle went to quick work healing her, her staff lighting up the area.

In the meantime, I turned to the taguel who delivered her to us. "So who are you?" I asked her. "And what happened to her?" I already knew the answers to both questions. Well, I thought I did. But this was definitely turning out differently than it had in the game.

In a flash of purple and white lights bright enough to grab Maribelle's attention, Panne transformed from a 9 foot tall rabbit to a humanoid woman only an inch or so shorter than me. "My name is Panne," she said. "As for what happened, I am unsure. I found her between here and the large manspawn city, alongside an injured Pegasus. The Pegasus was beyond help, but I saw that this manspawn was still alive, and carried her here."

"That'll have to do for now," I said, turning away from her. Maribelle had finished healing the woman, at least with her staff. She was still knelt over her. "Maribelle, how's she doing?"

Chrom POV:

It never ceased to amaze me how easily Falchion cut through wyverns. It took less effort to cut through a wyvern's scales than it did to cut through standard issue armour.

As the battle wound to a close and the enemy's numbers dwindled, I began to make my way to their commander, the wyvern rider who cut down the hierarch. I could hear the screeches of fury coming from Dylan as he tore through the sky, Lon'qu on his back, and the sizzling of spells flying through the air. This battle was over already. All that was left was the commander.

When he saw me coming closer, he hefted his axe and descended from his mountain perch, landing a few feet away from me, with enough force to billow my cape. "So, prince," he said with a smirk. "You've come to face me yourself, eh? I can only imagine the glories I'll receive for killing you off."

There was no saving this man, and I didn't want there to be. It may have been hypocritical of me, but there was no way I would spare the life of someone so willing to throw away human life. This man was dead to me already, so the least I could offer him was a last honour. "Tell me, what is your name?"

His smirk didn't fade, instead growing a tad. "Why do you care? It's not like you're going to need my name in hell."

The corner of my mouth twitched. "It's honourable to know the name of your opponent in single combat," I said, remembering what I'd read in one of those dingy old textbooks in the palace library. "That way, you know who you're sending to the grave."

"You're pulling the chivalry out on me?" he scoffed, then laughed loudly. "Alright, fine. I'm Vasto, one of Plegia's wyvern generals. I'm the man who's going to drop you in the sea, take the Fire Emblem, and fly back to Plegia to claim my rightful glory."

"And I'm Prince Chrom of Ylisse, the man who's going to bring you a swift and merciful death." We each brandished our weapons, Falchion gleaming, and charged.

I had to give him credit; to the end, he fought with confidence, no hesitation at all in his strikes. I parried each of them, and he blocked mine. No hesitation, even when he saw that he missed a crucial swing, and Falchion was able to cut clean through his mount's neck, decapitating the creature. I wasted no time in running my blade through his chest.

His last words were spoken as a whisper as he leaned forward, my sword still penetrating through him and sticking out his back. "You doves think…" he breathed, "that killing me will change anything?" He let out a chuckle, as that was the greatest laugh he could manage. "Even now, my brothers storm across your precious border. Go on, dear exalted coward. Run! Flee while they slaughter your subjects! Save yourself, and let their faith in you run from them like their blood, just as it had with your father."

AYYYY, what's good, guys? This chapter is fuckin' huge, if you hadnt' noticed. 12,000 words, by god.

I am pleased with how this chapter turned out. I wasn't at first, but I think it worked out just as well as I'd hoped, if not better. Um, a few differences presented themselves in this chapter. We finally got Ricken, and Panne joined, if a little late. Things are changing.

Also, I added Chapter Titles, and will be from now on. Figured I would point that out.

That's all I have to say for now, I think. It probably isn't and I'll regret it later, but for now, I bid you all farewell!

All of the Oats have left the building.