-Ylisse Castle, Research Lab-

"Plegia sent us a message saying what?"

"They want to talk to us." Chrom said. "You know, seeing as we're mobilizing the entire armed forces of our half of the solar system. They want to join us, apparently."

"Dear Ylisse." Robin recited, rolling his eyes, typing commands into his computer. "We suck. Since we aren't just a bunch of chaotically evil mooks with a quest of vengeance, we realized that if we don't help you, we all will die to Valm. Enemy of my enemy, and all that. Therefore, take our stuff. Please."

"You sent the message asking for it, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I didn't expect them to be reasonable." Robin sighed. "And I drew up such great battle plans too."

"You were prepared to go to war?"

"Nah, just kidding. Drawing up battle plans against Plegia is a waste of time. It's like planning for chess when your opponent insists on moving in the same spot on a tic-tac-toe board." Robin entered the final command. "Sidekick, we're done with experimenting today." A massive tube gave a pneumatic hiss as it opened. In the center was a yawning Nowi, wearing her normal get-up. "Now, I promise you this isn't what it looks like."

"Are you done experimenting on me today?" Nowi asked.

Chrom stared at Robin. Robin winced. "Okay, so it kind of is. Yes, Nowi. I'm done experimenting on someone who looks like a ten-year human female, definitely has the mind of one, but actually isn't so I don't have to feel bad at all for doing certain things which would be certainly illegal and downright unethical if you were."

"I feel like there's a special kind of hell for you people." Chrom commented.

"Well, if I was doing something wrong, maybe." Robin said. Nowi threw on a cloak that was lying around the lab and returned. She sidled to Robin. "So, it turns out that Nowi can't really wear normal clothes because her powers have a tendency to suck them in when she triggers her metamorphing powers. Her current clothes are actually made from her manakete scales. We've been working on that."

"Working how, exactly?"

"Do you know how Nowi's power's work?"

"She transforms into a dragon?"

"Close." Robin chewed his lip. "To put it simply, she extends the energy matrix around her body to envelope the matter surrounding her. The stone she holds acts as both a catalyst and energy storage during the process. The crystalline matrix is remarkable in that respect. She can then replicate the material to form various shapes – in her case, a dragon."

"Yup!" Nowi grinned.

"So, thing is," Robin said. "The energy matrix attracts everything that isn't her. Including her clothes. Except for the clothes that she's wearing, for some reason, which is why I had her wear them. So, we were trying to see if I could come up with a composite material that wouldn't have that happen. And we did!"

Nowi waved at Chrom, showing a bracelet on her arm. "This one remained. Nowi's excited to work with Robin!"

"Yeah, that's not the problem." Chrom sighed. "Anyway, Robin, we're leaving ASAP. Who are we taking?"

"Well," Robin said. "How many SHEPHERDs are back?"

"Most of them." Chrom said. "So, you think it's a trap?"

"Hah." Robin laughed. "I'm a freakin' genius. They wouldn't dare try it. But yes, it's probably a trap."

"Yay!"

"Nowi, you're staying here." Robin said. "We haven't made you armor yet. Where are we headed?"

"Carrion Island. Foul by name and fowl by nature." Chrom chuckled. "It's an ancient island for peace talks there."

"Peace talks, eh?" Robin laughed. "So, out of curiosity, how many have ended, ah, peacefully?"

"All of them, Nowi thinks?"

"Ha." Robin laughed. "It's zero, isn't it?"

-Carrion Isle-

The Shepherd's landing doors hissed, and a group of four SHEPHERDs – Chrom, Sully, Robin, and Sumia descended.

"Greetings, Prince Chrom." A familiar Plegian welcomed the Ylisseans. "It is my pleasure to welcome you."

"Aversa!" Chrom's hand went to his scabbard. Sumia caught it on the way there, shaking her head.

"What can I say?" Aversa chuckled. "It seems fate has designs for me yet. I apologize if you harbor any resentment, but let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?"

"You serve the new king, then? This... Validar?" Chrom asked.

"I do." Aversa lead them through the halls of a small palace upon the isle. "This way if you please. You know, this land is considered to be sacred to the Grimleal."

"I see." Sully interrupted. "So you're a part of this Grimleal, huh?"

"Oh, but of course. Why, even Validar is Grimleal. We are both believers. My liege often says it was his faith that got him through, after Gangrel's passing. It was a difficult time, of course. But he kept order where there might have been chaos. We had meant to arrange an official visit to Ylisstol, but- Ah, here is my lord now." Aversa gestured. The hall they were meeting in didn't have a throne room, so Validar was within the one of the main hallways.

It was, Robin reflected, a perfect spot for diplomacy between the two leaders. A lot of escape routes for either side.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, sire." The Plegian king's voice sounded like gravel in a blender. "I am Validar, king regnant of Plegia."

"The honor is mine, good king…" Chrom trailed off. "Is it possible we've met before some...?"

"I'm quite certain I would remember any encounter with Ylissean royalty." Validar said. "You have a habit of being ... memorable."

Chrom shot Robin a look. Robin, who was skilled in the art of reading looks, translated it as a simple 'huh?' As in, 'Huh, I thought we killed this guy already, because doesn't he look familiar…' Robin agreed with the look, and fired back one of his own which briefly translated to 'we're not mad, the world is just out to get us' with a side of 'start stabbing and I'll have your back.'

"And you must be Sir Robin."

Okay. I've seen him dead, and he talks likes he's from the stone age. He's a villain. What more could we want? "You know of me, your majesty?" Robin asked, keeping his voice neutral.

"The whole world knows of Ylisse's master tactician!" Validar mused. DON'T REMIND ME! "And indeed, I see the sparkle of wisdom in your eyes."

Chrom responded to Robin's previous look by sending back a look which translated to 'I have no idea what's going here'. Robin responded in kind, but added 'Once you have eliminated everything else…' Chrom seemed to take Robin's meaning but responded with 'I'm not sure what we haven't eliminated at this point.'

"My, the negotiations haven't even begun and already so much whispering..." Validar's voice sounded like nails on a steel-plated chalkboard.

"...My apologies, King Validar. We meant no disrespect." Chrom bowed.

"Then let us get to it." Validar extended his hands. "Aversa, my dear, if you would be so kind…"

"Plegia can offer no soldiers," Aversa said. "As they were killed in the last conflict, but we will provide around 800 state of-the-art warships and 200 large troop transports beyond that. All hyperspace capable, of course. In addition, we would be pleased to fully fund the campaign against Valm, including supplies, weapons, energy, and the hyperjump systems. Should you want more than that, you only need to ask…"

"Huh." Sully stared at the Plegians. "Our intelligence network has those numbers at a rough guess for your fleet. You're giving us everything you got, aint'cha?"

"I would give troops as well, but our army remains in shambles from the last war. I trust the gold and ships will suffice as a sign of our commitment to the cause?" Validar smiled. Somewhere, a puppy has just died. "I, of course, want Valm as dead as you do. What is the expression? Oh, yes. The enemy of my enemy is a useful puppet."

"Friend." Robin corrected.

"I said friend." Validar said, completely straight-faced.

"Of course. Thank you, King Validar." Chrom bowed.

"The honor is ours, Exalt. I look forward to building a strong bond between our two nations."

"As do I. Then, if there's nothing else? My men and I must hurry back to Ferox."

"Oh, so soon?" Aversa crooned. "But I have one more introduction to make."

"...Yes? And who would that be?" Chrom asked. Alarm bells started ringing in Robin's head. He did not go for his saber, but he warmed up the coils of his gauntlet.

"A hierophant, the highest of his order in Plegia." Validar gestured to a purple cloaked figure standing behind him. The figure only had his bottom lip revealed, and said nothing.

"So, you lead the people in worship?" Robin asked. "We were just discussing religion earlier..."

The man gave no response, nor indicated that he had a response he was holding back, or that he had heard Robin.

"I'm sorry, have I said something to offend you?" Robin asked.

"The heart still sleeps, but the blood flows through it. And the blood is strong."

"Hey." Sully pointed at the hierophant. "Lower your cowl. In Ylisse, it is a courtesy expected of one in the presence of royalty. And you're in the presence of both the Exalt and your own king. "

"You are a long way from Ylisse, Dame Sully." The hierophant chuckled. "Remember this at all times, Ylissean Knight. The rules you are used to may longer apply the farther you travel from home, and even if you are home, you can't expect your guests to follow your rules."

"How so do you mean?" Robin asked, despite himself. He found himself oddly intrigued.

"You are guests at the King's expense, are you not? Yet you expect the rules how you would like them." The hierophant folded his arms. "Do you not yourselves hate it when your guests do not follow your own rules? I would think you would have learned such lessons from several uninvited guests. including one in particular who left a rather indelible impression. Remember the mistakes of the one who came before you, finger-pointer."

Images flashed through Robin's head of Frederick's last moments and the assassin's death. Sully was apparently also thinking the same thing, because she drew back her pointing finger and formed a fist. "Mind your tongue, hierophant. This is only neutral ground for the time being."

"So you are learning. In recognition of that…" The hierophant threw off his hood to reveal a grinning white-haired young man. "How is this for a reward?"

"What?!" Robin felt his blood chill. Who is this…

"My name is Robin. Fowl by name and foul by nature." The hierophant introduced himself. "Oh, and that was YOUR name as well, wasn't it? What a strange coincidence..."

"Why that IS rather curious, now that you mention it..." Validar chuckled. "What are the odds? In any case, I believe we are finished here. We will let you be on your way…"

"Hold just one moment!" Chrom stepped between the two groups. "What is the meaning of this? Why do your hierophant and Robin-?"

"I'm afraid we've no time for such trivial matters now, Your Highness." Aversa sighed. "We have aid preparations to attend to, and you have a long, hard journey ahead. I'll assume that you'll be taking your leave…?"

"No, we'll stay here for the night." Robin said. "Unless you object? I understand that it was traditional to host guests in Plegian culture?"

"Oh, it is." Validar's eyes sparkled. "But you should know we have many other traditions as well. Enjoy your stay, Sir Robin."

The Plegians walked away. Chrom looked at Robin. "Hey?"

"Yeah." Robin blinked rapidly. "Um, set up camp by that defensible ridge.

"We're staying here?"

"Of course." Robin said. "The encampment we set up is fine, and I'm tired. It'd be rude to refuse our hosts hospitality, and I have no intention of giving them an excuse to withdraw funding. Besides, they went through all the trouble to set up a trap. I'd like to see it sprung."

Chrom looked concern. Robin laughed. "Don't worry. They won't hurt us."

-Carrion, the Plegian Royal Ship-

"They're staying here?" Aversa asked, staring as the ship departed.

"Of course." The hierophant chuckled. "The famed tactician is one step ahead of his opponents. You see, he's calling our bluff right now. If we intend to backstab, now is the time."

"And if we don't?"

"Well, then our people will believe in the alliance. Such a thing can't happen. Of course, should we attack and Ylissean lives are lost, we'll be the villains." The hierophant chuckled. "You might be a step ahead of us, Grandmaster, but I control where the path leads. Let's play into your expectations, shall we?"

"What do you have planned?" Validar asked.

"Heh." The hierophant clicked a button on a cylinder in his hand. "Let's start with a game of minds. After that ... well, the sky's the limit."

-Carrion Isle-

"I'm supposed to sleep tonight?" Robin sighed, sitting outside the encampment. "Like that's going to happen. Hierophant? Now I've got more questions than answers. Could it be another-?"

"Robin... Heed me, Robin..."

"Who's there?!" Robin stood up, activating his warmech. He looked around. Life readings, negative. "T-there's no one. I'm alone... Stop imagining things, Robin."

"HEED MY CALL!" A voice whispered to him in the night. Robin spun around, listening. Another whisper, on the wings. "Why do you close your heart to him, Robin?"

Robin looked up. A shadowy figure stood in front of him. "Still with the mind games? It's not going to work."

"Have you truly forgotten? Oh, but you must have."

"Get out of my mind." Robin spat through his teeth. "Who are you? How are you doing this?"

"Heh heh. Such arrogance! Though I wouldn't accept much less from my own flesh and blood."

"Not funny." Robin said. "Not funny. You want to get at me for killing you, fine. Please don't play that dumb card. Please."

"You are of my flesh, but of sacred blood. Deny it if you want, but it changes nothing. You are to serve a glorious purpose! Search deep in your heart. You already know it is your destiny..."

"No... Get... out..." Robin pointed his right arm at the figure, and ignited his sword, impaling the spectre with extreme prejudice. It seemed unconcerned.

"Why do you resist us, Robin? Your rightful place is at my side. Not wasting your time with these doomed servants of NAGA! Let me join your strength to the Fell!"

"Robin!" A voice interrupted him. Robin looked up. Chrom was running at him.

"Not this one again... No matter." The illusion vanished.

"Robin, are you all right? I heard shouting." Chrom looked at him.

"Nngh... I-I think so... Yes, Chrom, thank you. I'm... I'm fine." Robin said. He deactivated his blade.

""Fine" is a poor choice of words! What's happened?!"

"Headache." Robin said. "The Hierophant from earlier must have set me on edge. I'm fine, trust me. Nothing else happened. Hah."

"You're lying." Chrom stated. "Robin, I know you're lying to me, and you usually are good enough to avoid being caught. Seriously, fess up."

"Fine." Robin said. "I caught a flicker at the end of my consciousness. It's the hierophant, or Validar. Doesn't matter which. Either I'm hallucinating, or something worse."

"Who was he? The hierophant."

"No idea." Robin shrugged. "Not a clone. If they had someone of my caliber, they'd have done a bit better in the last war. They're just trying to set us on edge."

"Is that why we're here?"

"Well." Robin looked up. "You won't like the real reason – Hey, is that a meteor shower?"

"What?" Chrom looked up. "No, that's - Robin, those are the cyborg pods!"

"Oh." Robin slapped the alarm on his gauntlet. "Well, it's about time!"

-Carrion, the Plegian Royal Ship-

"As expected." The hierophant looked over the display. "The tactician knew what he was doing. He's setting is lines with skills. I don't seem capable of getting an edge."

"Surely he is't that good." Aversa looked over the simulation. "There. It's a weak spot. Exploit it!"

"If you so wish..."

-Carrion Island-

"Filthy man-spawn." Panne slid around a cyborg energy staff. She leaped over it cartwheeling and tearing it's head off. Panne tossed the head aside. "And the remains are even worse."

A dozen pods dropped in front of her. Panne growled and extended her claws.

-Carrion, the Plegian Royal Ship-

The savage warrior tore across the battlefield, tearing through the swath of new cyborgs that had been deployed. Aversa cursed under her breath. The hierophant was chuckling behind her. "A weak spot, you say? Yet you never considered why that weak spot existed?"

"We'll lose at this rate!"

"The object was never to win." The hierophant sighed, keying a series of commands. "My liege, why do you keep this tactician around?"

"Well, she has gifts even you do not." Validar said. "Hierophant, what is your desire with this battle?"

"A lesson to Aversa would have been sufficient." The hierophant looked over the simulation. "A scouting report of these SHEPHERDs capacity is a useful bonus. But perhaps, we can derive a third thing from it. Yes, one order should suffice. No, make that two."

-Carrion Island-

"Risen." Robin stared at the cyborgs. "Haven't seen these idiots around since … what, four years ago? Why are they here? Are they part of a larger puzzle that I haven't yet cracked?"

"Focus!" Chrom bisected a cyborg, kicking the parts into another. Robin nodded, activating his blade into its dueling configuration, moving to back him up.

"Right. We need to get back to the campsite. The others are fighting, as well. Strange, but no one seems to be in any real danger."

"What does that mean?" Falchion carved another cyborg to ribbons.

"One of two things." Robin said, raising a hand. Lightning arced, frying another one. Robin ducked a gauntlet-enhanced punch, stabbing with his assassin blade and finishing with a final gauntlet blast. "Either they underestimated us, or they just want to keep us on our toes. I don't know who 'they' are, though."

"A tactician admitting that he doesn't know the answer." An eerie chuckling voice rose from out of the fog. Robin and Chrom looked at an alabaster-haired man stepped out, chuckling. He pointed his hand beyond the two, towards a group of cyborgs encroaching. "Would you say that tactician is … eating crow?"

A strange wave emanated from the man, hitting the cyborgs. They stopped, stumbling in place. The man chuckled and raised both hands. Robin and Chrom stared at the 'borgs stopped, then crashed, hitting the ground. The two turned towards the laughing psionic.

"I'm not one to unnecessarily crow over the defeat of my enemies," The man bowed before them. "Of course, they were a lost caw-se to begin with. Not quite the caw-tastrophy but more of a caw-medy."

Robin stared at the man. "We've met before, haven't we?"

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Henry chuckled. "I thought you were all right then, but it turns out you're all FRIGHT!"

"Knock it off!"

"Who is this?" Chrom asked. 'Someone you met during your travels?"

"No." Robin sighed. "This joker is Henry. A Plegian psionic reject who serves as a mercenary during his spare time from trying to be funny. And, as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have enough spare time. We met during the Ferox arena fight. Henry, why are you here?"

"Hey, can I join you? Birds of a feather, you know. White hair and all." Henry gestured between himself and the tactician.

"Is he serious?" Chrom asked.

"Oh, don't let all the joking around fool ya." Henry winked. "I've got kind of a thing for killing. Most funny people do, you know. The two things must be linked somehow. Ever talk to a jester when he's off duty? Those guys are some sick dastards!"

"So," Chrom leaned on his sword, panting. "What can you do?"

"I can wave my cloak around and pretend I'm a bird. Fowl by name and fowl by nature."

"You might think you're hot stuff," Robin pointed his gauntlet at Henry. "But I personally find you a bit more shocking."

"Score two for the tactician." Henry laughed. "It light of your caw-ful puns, I suppose I might show the caw-lmanation of my abilities."

Robin pointed to a group of cyborgs ahead of them. "If you can clear the way, Sumia can sweep Chrom to their leader. He's making a ruckus of himself. Take him out, and the whole formation falls apart."

"Well, I suppose." The alabaster psionic fell eerily quiet. He spread his arms apart. "These things aren't quite made of the same meat we are, but they still dream of electric sheep."

"Oh, no." Chrom said. "Robin, what have we done?"

"To dream, perchance to sleep." A dark glint formed in Henry's mind. "Want to see things from my perspective?"

"I don't know." Robin said. "But if there was ever a time to feel bad for cyborgs, now would be the time."

A foul chant fell upon the battlefield. "Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling by the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore."

"Augh!" Chrom howled, clamping his hands over his ears. Robin caught his hands, and threw them apart. "Repeat a mantra like the Ylissean anthem." Robin hissed. "Don't try anything else. And remember, this is just the backlash."

""Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said," Henry kept chanting. "art sure no craven, ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the nightly shore. Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plegian shore!" The cyborgs had all frozen, sparks flying from their still, metal forms. Henry raised a hand up high.

"Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore.""

Robin watched as dark shadows seemed to rise out of the corner of his vision. The cyborgs sparked at once, blasting haphazardly and savagely dismantling themselves and each other as their programs went haywire, trying to run through a diseased human mind. And above it all, Henry was laughing, not a polite laugh or even a hearty one, but the spectacularly terrifying laugh of a man who had committed himself to areas beyond the normal human reach.

"Robin, I'm ready." Chrom tapped him.

"Right." Robin yanked his attention away. "Sumia, you're clear for flight route alpha."

"Flight of the Valkyrie!" A white blur shot past Robin, sweeping Chrom with her. "We've been practicing this move!"

The flying queen had her arms clasped around Chrom's chest with Chrom holding his arms outstretched and Falchion extended. The two flew low, keeping the blade pointed at the ground until they were just before the boss cyborg. Then Sumia promptly did a vertical 180.

Robin raised an eyebrow the maneuver. The queen had managed to do a half-loop with Chrom's blade outstretched, right before the cyborg. With Sumia's speed and precision, the cyborg hadn't managed to get his guard up at all. It fell, split into halves. Sumia deposited the Exalt. After the two swapped a victory embrace, Sumia flew off to aid the others. Robin started making his way across the battlefield.

"Well, that's the last of them." Chrom deactivated Falchion. "Robin what do you think sent them?"

"Chrom, look out!" Robin cried.

A last cyborg dropped before Chrom, energy sword drawn and set to slash him. Robin fired electricity from his gauntlet, knowing he'd be too late, while Chrom braced himself.

"You shall not harm my brother." A figure appeared, knocking Chrom to the side. The cyborg swung, and Marth caught the powered gauntlet in her bare hand. Blue flame wreathed itself as the energy field connected with the woman's fingers.

"Space beyond space, ethereal quintessence of the universe, I command your powers as is my right of divine blood." The flames ignited azure blue. Marth thrust her fist through the cyborg, destroying the machine with a single blow. "Aether."

Robin broke the silence. "Wow."

The figure stood up. "You're safe."

Chrom looked at Marth. "...You called me "Brother."

"Did I? I... have no recollections of such events."

Chrom stared at the woman. Robin sighed. "I heard you, Marth. Don't try it."

"...Perhaps we might speak privately?"

"Perhaps we should, yes." Chrom said. "If you don't mind, Robin?"

-Carrion Island, Secluded Lake-

Marth took in a deep breath. She walked around Chrom. "Look into my eyes." Chrom met her gaze, to see identical blue eyes staring back at him. "We are one, the two of us. I am you. You are me."

"I … don't understand." Chrom said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lucina. I'm a girl. Principally, that's the only difference between us." Lucina took off her left shoulder plate, revealing a Brand, similar to Chrom's. "If you still don't understand, this might clear some things up."

Chrom looked at her, comprehension dawning. "So, you are my sister."

"I… suppose…?" Lucina looked down. "I mean we share all the relevant DNA but I wasn't – urk!"

Chrom embraced his identical double in a hug. "If we're the same, you'd know how little the circumstances of your birth mean to me. I am you and you are me as much as any two siblings are, sister."

"You have no idea how much that means to me … brother." Lucina wiped a tear from her eye. "That feels weird to say."

"It feels weird to hear it." Chrom embraced his sister again. "Lissa doesn't call me that anymore."

"Eh…, Chrom?" Robin said. The two turned to see Robin watching the pair. The two turned to him. "Sorry for intruding, but I kind of needed to. I don't question you, of course, but the two of you are alone and Marth is crying. This is how ill rumors are born, of all kinds. You might want to be discreet about it. Or not. The choice is yours, but keep a low profile for the time being, yes?"

Chrom stared at his friend, comprehension dawning. "You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you-?"

"Eh!" The tactician held up a hand. "I didn't know. I guessed, something you could've done. And even if I did know, it wasn't my place to say anything. Secrets are secrets for a reason and there's a very good reason why Lucina kept hidden for as long as she did."

"Because you thought I wouldn't accept you?" Chrom asked, turning to Lucina. "No, that's not why. You have the Gift, don't you? How did you get it?"

"Ask only questions you want to know the answer to. Because you aren't going to like the answers to those two." Robin dropped beside the pair. "Trust me."

Chrom stared at his friend for a while. "Fine. I trust you, Robin. Lucina, I don't care how or why, but you're my sister, and will always be treated as such. Now, I have to deal with my wife." Chrom stared at his wife who was shredding flowers. He sighed. "This is going to be a very weird conversation."

"Should I help?" Lucina asked.

"I think you might need to." Chrom said.

"He loves me... He loves me not..." Sumia ripped another petal flower off.

"Er, Sumia?" Chrom addressed his wife, noting the small mound of pink in front of her. "I don't think this island is meant to be a graveyard for flowers."

"I'm not spying on you!" Sumia dropped the flower and turned away. "You can't prove it! This is all Robin's fault, isn't it!? ROBIN! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"In my defense, this isn't actually my fault this time." Robin sighed. "Jeez, the one time I didn't do it, I get falsely blamed."

"Can we tell her, Lucina?" Chrom asked gently.

"Of course." Lucina said.

"Lucina? But wait, that's..." Sumia stared blankly at the woman Chrom's age standing next to her. "What."

"Sumia, this is going to be something of a shock, but... I'll just say it: This is my sister, Lucina."

"What."

"It's true, Sumia." Lucina thrust her shoulder out. "Look closely and see for yourself. We share the Brand."

"Oh, so you two are half-siblings." Sumia said. "That's kind of cute, actually. I get it. Marth has been the secret one who looks after you from the shadows, always wanting to share in the warmth of your family, but is too shy because she's actually a bast-"

"NO!" Robin facepalmed. The smack echoed across the valley. He removed the hand to leave a bright red mark on his face. "Sumia, this isn't one of your cheap soap opera novels! Stop jumping to conclusions! And ow."

"So, what is it?" Sumia looked confused. "I don't get it."

"Begging pardon." Lucina gave a small smile. "We do actually share the same bloodline."

"What."

"The same exact bloodline."

"Same exact bloodline." Sumia blinked for a second. "Oh! You mean like one of those cheap sci-fi thrillers? I get it now."

"I protest the 'cheap sci-fi thriller' line." Robin mumbled. "But yes, kind of."

"We share the name because we're both named after the same ancestor." Lucina explained. "Well, actually, I picked the name after I was done with Marth."

"Are you willing to explain that to us now?"

"I suppose so." Lucina said. "I escaped a while ago with the help of a friend who asked that I not reveal anything about them. Anyway, this person was skilled in the lost art of psychohistory. They told me vague swathes of the future."

"So you know the future?"

"Bits and pieces of it, yes." Lucina said. "If neither of us did anything, within fifteen years, all intelligent life within our galaxy would be destroyed after the Fell began."

"The ..." Robin paused. "Fall?"

"Fell." Lucina said. "It's an ancestral ritual that the Grimleal haven't completed. The last twisted relic of Medeus. Fortunately, I exist to prevent it."

"So, what can you tell us?" Chrom asked.

"Not much." Lucina gave a sad smile. "War between Valm and Ylisse is inevitable at this point. I can't tell you more than that. If I do, the calculations are thrown off and our last gamble becomes meaningless."

"When you say 'last gamble'," Robin mused. "I get a chill down my spine."

Lucina blinked. "I'm ... terribly sorry I can say no more."

"Well, don't be." Chrom said. "Come on, I'll take you to meet the rest of the SHEPHERDs."

-Shepherd, Lounge-

"So, you figured it out a while ago, did you?" Lucina asked. She had come back from meeting everyone on duty.

Robin nodded. "I'm a step ahead of everyone else. I looked through the official record of the last war. Chrom's authority let me access some top-secret projects. When I looked through them, I found one notable one missing. You see, Chrom told me he didn't have the Gift his sisters did."

"So you figured out the one project they kept off the books. A project the former Exalt had hidden, one to use the power of his offspring's Gift." Lucina sighed. "You're far too clever for your own good."

"Yup." Robin said. "So, feel like talking about your power?"

"It's not that impressive." Lucina flushed. "I'd suppose I'd be what you call a thermalkinetic. I can absorb energy and channel it back as fire."

"That seems useful to kill people with."

"So does my sword." Lucina said. "Also, obviously, I can't overuse it, or I start getting burns all over my body."

"Sounds fun." Robin sad. "Welcome to the team, then. Thanks for not telling them that we discussed psychohistory a while ago."

"You understand that I was acting according to what I thought was best." Lucina said. "So, are we discussing the elephant in the room?"

"No." Robin said. "I don't know my history. It's all right if we have a team member with an unknown history. Anyway, I've got a bet I won with Chrom."

"You bet my brother?"

"Yeah, that Carrion Island would have a continued rate of 0% peaceful negotiations." Robin said. "Win-win. So, what color am I repainting the hull of the Shepherd?"

"You didn't!"

"Heh." Robin grinned. "You're looking at the new chief of design for the Ylisse Victory Fleet. You know, that butterfly mask you wore was kind of cool."

"Don't. You. Dare."

Author's Note: Serious note first. I could've thrown a few more fight scenes, but this was already a really long chapter. If you'd like me to emphasize combat over dialogue, tell me, I'll adjust.

So, in case the fact that I was using fowl/foul puns and overusing Henry wasn't a tip-off, I like puns. Like, really like puns. I hold off usually out of respect to normal people, but this was kind of really hard to resist. Sorry. There were some problems with Tales of Zestiria but Lailah wasn't one of them. I really like pun characters. It's kind of a pity Henry isn't used for puns more puns.

Sorry! Had to. I'll stop. Probably.

Also, yes, that is Henry quoting Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven". If you knew that, you get a Ruin.