Doctrine of Valor

by 111 Oats

(The work formerly known as Fractured and Burned) Heroes are not born. I believe that you become a hero through adversity, you learn to adapt and grow and take things as they come. That said, there are no people more brave than the people who, like me, fought in a war that was not their own. They are heroes. We are the Shepherds. Multiple OCs, SI, Strong Language.

20. Chapter 19: Emmeryn

ALRIGHT, NO MORE WAITING AROUND! Let's get this show on the road!

Fire Emblem is owned by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

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"Mister Libra?" I called, unable to hold the whine from my voice. "Are we almost to Castle Plegia?" We had been marching for days, now, ever since the announcement of the Exalt's execution. The other clerics and priests were holding their own, and we made good time thanks to the natural advantage we had as magic bearers that allowed us to move unhindered through the desert.

That was not to say it had been easy, though. Plegians had attacked us on numerous occasions, and many of us were mere healers with small daggers for self-defense and no combat training to use them in any other fashion. I was one of the defenseless clerics, and had to rely on the War Monks like Mister Libra to defeat the enemies. Our numbers were whittled down by their ranged fighters and wyvern riders, though, and our lone sage was the only way we had to combat them.

The Sage's name was Asbel, and despite his proficiency in wind magic, he was tiring from its overuse. We could not rely on him forever, but… The closer we got to Plegia's capital, the more wyvern riders there were. Their throwing axes were killing us off. A group of more than two dozen clergymen had been reduced to fifteen in the duration of our travels.

I did my best to heal them. I had broken one of the three staves I'd brought with me—it was Mister Libra's suggestion, for he anticipated heavy resistance from the Plegians—and the staff in my hands now could not have more than a third of its duration remaining. I could see the orb at the top beginning to lose its luster. After that, the last staff in my possession was a Mend.

We did our best to stay out of the way of Plegian patrols. The townspeople respected us, and seemed to be indifferent towards our presence. We were mere travelers, despite the state of open war that had erupted in Plegia according to Mister Libra and another War Monk named Saul.

I walked to the top of a hill, keeping my head below the crest while Mister Libra searched for soldiers. My uniform and hair, both a different shade of pink, stood out somewhat against the dunes, so I had to keep under cover while the others looked ahead.

"Alright, the coast is clear," Mister Libra said, waving for the rest of us to follow him over the hill. He had become something of a leader after the head monk died in the last attack, taking up the mantle.

I thought he hadn't heard my question. It was understandable, though. We were in the middle of a fierce sandstorm. Our magic protected us from it, but did not make the whirling sand any permeable. It was a wonder we heard him call out, and amazing that he could see anything at all. I could barely see anything in this mess. I was about to ask him again, then stopped myself. He was probably under a lot of pressure, so my nagging wouldn't do him any good. Besides, the castle could have been super close, and my worries would have been for nothing.

I just wish my feet didn't hurt so much.

Robin POV:

I tried not to let it show how relieved I was when the river city was near. After almost two weeks of marching, I had all but forgotten that this city was along our route. Seeing it now, the name still evaded me. That may have come as a result of how little sleep I'd gotten in the past weeks, though. I'd been having a hard time remembering much of anything, as of late. I really needed to get some sleep.

But that was part of why I was so glad to get here. I pulled out the map from one of my coat pockets and checked it. I smiled. It was no more than a day's travel from the capital. And we had four days left until the execution. That gave us three days to rest up and plan a better approach.

Being this close to the Capital, however, meant that we had to proceed with caution. Gangrel was certain to have more soldiers this close, and it was not farfetched to believe that he would have some of them stationed in this very town. I moved with caution to the top of a hill alongside Virion, Krystal, and Gaius.

We crept our way down the hill. Krystal was a necessary companion on this scouting mission. The wind was fierce, blowing sand around us in a blinding haze for the past few hours. The dark mage's natural magic protection acted as a shield and protected us from the sandstorm's abrasion. Vision was still a major issue, so I needed the superior vision of Gaius and Virion to spot, well, anything. Virion had a talent for tactics, as well, and Krystal was more than capable of coming up with smart ideas, too.

We all left our packs with the other Shepherds back at camp. For sneaking around inside a city, we needed to be small, mobile, and stealthy. More than a few of the Shepherds lacked all of those qualities, as did a large force of armed soldiers.

Once we snuck inside the city's walls, the sand was not such a bane. We were able to move freely, though the buildings were all tightly packed. There was little room for hiding, and alleys were sparse.

"I can climb up on the roofs," Gaius suggested, his voice a harsh whisper. "Scout ahead and keep a look out for baddies." Clear of flying sand, he pulled a piece of candy from inside his cloak and plopped it into his mouth. "It'll be easier than trying to squeeze all of us inside these little alleyways."

Indeed. Even now, the four of us stood shoulder to shoulder. Virion had his quiver held at his side, as he would have otherwise been unable to fit. I was worried that my coat was going to tear. I could not move without scraping my chest or back against either the sandstone walls of the house in front of or behind me. I had to remove my sword and tome from my hips to even get in here. Krystal was small enough that she could almost move while only touching one wall.

I thought for a moment. "Do it, but take Virion with you. Take out anybody that shows signs of seeing us, but keep out of sight. We don't want any alarms being raised." I didn't know if there were any alarms or bells set up in this town, but that wasn't a chance I wanted to take. I wanted this to be a clean sweep through the town. Another slip up like our botched ambush a few nights ago could prove problematic when we were so close to the climax.

The thief and archer nodded and I slipped out of the let them out. Gaius felt along the street-facing wall for footholds, then began his ascent. He vaulted the wall quickly, and soon found himself looking down at us from the rooftops. "Come on, Ruffles," he said, lowering his arms for Virion to grab on. "Climb up here."

Virion's booted foot found trouble gaining a purchase on the wall, even when Gaius was pulling him up. "Come on, get up here," the thief groaned, planting his feet against the roof's border to gain leverage. "You have to at least try!"

"What do you think I am doing?" the archer barked back, glaring up at Gaius. "I'm not just sitting here!"

"You may as well be!"

The argument would have been far more heated if they hadn't been whisper-shouting. It would have been comical if not for the torch light coming from around the house's far corner. My eyes lit up at the sight and I put my hand under Virion's foot. "Hurry up and go!" I hissed, pushing him up. "Guards are coming!"

He yelped as Gaius pulled him over the ledge and they disappeared from view after the thief whispered, "We'll take care of them, Bubbles." I tossed Virion's bow and quiver up to them and scurried back to the alleyway.

"Hold this," I said, passing Krystal my sword and squeezing in beside her. I had my tome open, but lowered. If the guards walked past and happened to see me, I would hit them with a blast of thunder. It was a last resort, of course, and would create a scene. But that was better than being caught defenseless.

The city fell silent, it seemed, now that our fiasco in trying to get Virion on top of the house had ended. The only sounds I could hear were mine and Krystal's breathing and the echoing footsteps of the approaching soldiers. They grew closer and closer until the torchlight began to shine into the alley. The soldiers didn't come into view, though, and I heard them mutter something. Their loud footsteps were replaced with soft, cat-like steps, but I could tell that they were coming closer. There was an alley across the street from where we were hiding. I figured they were split up, with one going to check each alley.

When I saw the soldier across the street, I knew that the other was very close to the alley entrance. I raised my hand and readied Thunder. The torch came into view first and I grit my teeth. I heard Krystal suck in a shallow breath. Dammit, Virion, what are you doing?

The soldier's face came into view, and his mouth opened in an attempt to shout when something fell from the roof. The clattering sound of his armour made me flinch, and alerted the other guard. By the time that I realized it was Gaius who pounced on the soldier—he plunged a dagger into the Plegian's neck during the fall—Virion had already silenced the one across the street with a precise arrow.

I let out my held breath in a sigh and stepped out from the alleyway. I was glad to finally be free of it. Squeezing in and out was beginning to chafe my chest and back. Gaius stood up and wiped his bloody dagger on his pant leg before sliding it back into his sheath. "Sorry we cut it so close there, Bubbles," he whispered.

"It's fine," I said, trying to manage a smile. Krystal handed my sword back to me after she came out of the alley. "Just try to keep it from happening again." He nodded, and I flipped my hood up. "Now get back up there. You're our eyes and ears."

Without another word, the thief scaled the house and was once again lurking on the rooftops. "I'll take point, but watch my back," I muttered to Krystal, and put my tome away. A sword was definitely quieter than the crackling lightning of a Thunder charge. It didn't light up for miles, either. Krystal's Flux was the opposite, being perfect for nighttime stealth missions. It made little noise and was darker than the sky.

We made it into the city with relative ease, too, considering its proximity to the capital. Two of the guards noticed us slipping through the gate, aside from those posted out front. This posed a problem that was solved with two well-placed arrows, however. Now that we were inside, I expected things to be harder.

I did not know the layout of the city, but imagined that the river ran through the middle. If that was the case, there would be a bridge crossing over it. The Plegians would like to have their garrison closer to the capital and farther from the northern gate. I knew the river ran over from Ylisse and crossed the border—it was smaller, and wound through the mountain range creating the border between the two nations—so it probably split the city in two horizontally. If I was right, we would have to cross the bridge to reach the garrison. To clear out this city, we would need to break cover for a longer time than I would like. But if we took over that garrison, we would not have to pay for an inn or remain outside the walls while we stayed here.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I clung to the corner and waved for Krystal to follow. A quick glance to the other side let me know that there were no soldiers coming from this way. This city was rather small in comparison to either Ylisstol or the Feroxi capital, and the compacted buildings gave way to wide, spare streets. Easy to navigate, but I still had to be careful.

"Gaius!" I whispered, trying to make my voice loud without being heard by any unwanted listeners. The thief gave no response, and I frowned before cupping my hands in front of my mouth as if to shout. "Gaius!" I whispered again, this time louder. Once more, no response. I was about to call a third time when I heard two grunts in succession and the noise of something slumping to the ground.

I rounded the corner to see two Plegian's with arrows in their backs and a third dead with Gaius standing over him. The red-head looked at me with a scowl, and made his way over as he sheathed his daggers. "What were you being so loud for?" he growled, making sure to look around before he spoke.

"I needed to get your attention."

"As well as half of the damn town's guards'?" he asked, incredulous. "What do you want?"

"I need you to confirm something for me," I said, kneeling down. I drew a wide circle in the sand with my sword and cut a line through the middle. "There is a river that should run through the middle of this town. If I'm right, there will be a garrison or barracks on the other side." I circled a point on one side of the line. "If it's there, I want that to be our first target. The main brunt of their forces should be in there, and if we take their commander down, we may be able to force a surrender without any more casualties."

"And you want me to run on these houses to check out the situation," Gaius said, nodding. "Got it. Come on, Ruffles."

"Thank you." I barely heard Virion's confused muttering.

"Alright." I leaned back against the house and stifled a yawn. "Now we just have to wait for them to get back and we can move out." Krystal nodded and hugged her tome to her chest. I realized now that she had been silent this entire time. She was usually quiet, but… "Krystal?" I said her name, and she looked up from the sand. "Are you alright? You haven't said a word since we left camp."

"Ah, yes I'm fine. My mind has just been elsewhere, I suppose." Her foot slid along the sand, making liquid-like grooves in the golden granules. "In truth, I'm worried. Chrom has been acting weird, lately."

"Oh?"

"He's been agitated and withdrawn. I don't think he's actually talked to anyone since Robert was hurt a few nights ago. When we march, he keeps staring straight ahead and…"

Whatever she said next was lost to me. I heard nothing past that, and suddenly she was done talking. It was like I had skipped a few seconds in time, or blacked out. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes. That was strange. Krystal didn't seem to notice however, and I yawned.

My eyes began to droop at some point, but time was getting difficult to tell. I would start dozing, nodding my head forward and my eyes would close for a second or two. I could myself every time, though, and rubbed my eyes to try and stay awake. I needed something to focus on. I looked around, my mind bleary, but everything looked the same in this damn city.

Come on, Robin. Just a little bit longer.

Suddenly, I saw shadows moving further back in the street. I blinked a few times, thinking it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but they were still there. Squinting at them, I began to make my way toward them at a crawl's pace. I heard Krystal call out my name, but her voice was muffled and distant, like listening through water. I gestured back for her to stay quiet and lowered myself to a crouch as I moved. She called my name again, and I was about to turn around to demand her silence when something touched my shoulder and I jumped.

My eyes snapped open and I caught myself before I fell. "What…" I was standing right next to Krystal still, and she was staring at me. Her stormy eyes were troubled. I rubbed at my eyes once more, pinching my nose and shaking my head. "Gods…" I fell asleep standing up.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice quiet. Up close and clear, though.

"Uh, yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "I'm fine, just a bit tired." I knew as soon as the words left my mouth that I didn't sound convincing. It wasn't a complete lie, after all. She studied my face, and I recognized the familiar investigative look in her eyes. It was different being on the receiving end, however. My eyelids started to fall shut just in the span of her looking at me, even though it was only a few seconds long.

I blinked myself awake when she stepped back. She had moved pretty close in order to get a good look at me, it appeared. "Did you sleep today?" I thought for a moment before shaking my head. "Robin!' she gasped.

"I couldn't sleep," I muttered, yawning again. "So I went for a walk. Then I heard crying, but Robert said he had it covered. Apparently he didn't, because he came to me later asking for me to talk to Cordelia. Then I had to look over the maps and make sure we were still on the right track." It occurred to me that this was fairly personal information that I shouldn't have been sharing without Cordelia's consent, but not until after I'd already spoken. Though I never did end up talking to the Pegasus knight. I could probably get to that after we'd taken this city over.

"What about yesterday?" Krystal asked, standing in front of me. She seemed to ignore what I'd said about Cordelia, which was good. Or maybe she was pushing it off for now. I bet that she was just storing the information. Huh. That reminded me of what Gaius told me a few nights ago—I could see the picture of the thief skulking around clearly in my mind—

"Robin." Krystal had a sour look on her face as she tapped my cheek. I'd been dozing again. "Did you sleep yesterday?" I slowly shook my head again, and she shook me by the shoulder. "You haven't slept in two days?"

"I've been busy." It was the best excuse I could muster. I knew I was in the wrong here, and my brain was too sleep deprived to come up with an even slightly valid reason.

"Busy can wait!" Krystal fumed.

Thankfully, Gaius dropped down beside us and gave me a way out of this conversation. I was too tired to be having it. "And so can this conversation," I whispered to her. "What's the report, Gaius?"

"You were right," the thief said, dusting himself off. "There's a big old building on the far side of the city. Ruffles is camped out there right now, keeping watch, but they have a whole bunch of guards standing around it. Seems like a pretty important place."

"Then we need to take it over," I said, stretching myself out. I reached for my sword, only to find it missing from its sheathe. Confused, I looked around and found it by my right foot. I must have dropped it at some point. Strange. I ignored the concerned look from Krystal, saying, "Let's go."

I saw Gaius cast a quick, inquisitive glance at Krystal before scaling the building and following along from there. The thief acted as scout, waving us forward when the path was clear. When it was necessary to get our hands dirty, whoever stood in our way was taken out without a fuss via a dagger thrown by Gaius or a quick cast of Flux from Krystal. A full battle never broke out, nor were we ever detected aside from the brief attention from a soldier who witnessed his ally's death mere seconds before his own.

Before long, we made it to where VIrion was hiding. He was crouched down on a roof, masked in the darkness. It was a great hiding spot, as I only noticed him when Gaius pointed him out. The thief got us all up onto the same roof so we could use it as a vantage point and plan our approach. It was a large building just as he'd said, but it looked newer than the other buildings. Its edges were sharper, while most of the houses had been worn by the harsh sandstorms. A few of the windowed rooms still shone with light, though I saw no one inside any of them. As far as I could tell, guards were posted around the entire perimeter of the building.

"I don't know if that is the garrison or whatever it was you were looking for," Gaius said, shrugging, "but a building that big and well-guarded is bound to have something we can use."

"I think you're right." I rubbed at my eyes and squinted at the windows, searching again for any figures inside.

"A group of men was in the third room from the left on the top floor," Virion said, pointing to said room. The light was still burning bright. "They looked to be discussing a rather serious matter, but they left the room shortly before you all arrived."

"Well unless they plan to come back," I muttered, "I doubt they would leave a light in an empty room." Not unless they were very foolish. "We need to keep an eye on that window until we are sure it is empty. Have the guards moved at all while you've been here?"

"Only once," the archer replied. His bow was slung over his shoulder now, and his keenly primped hair was blowing in the wind. Now that we were above ground level, the wind was fiercer and louder. Not loud enough that we had to shout over it, thankfully. But it worked against us, because anyone below would be able to hear us more than we could hear them, and that was a disadvantage I wanted to neutralize as soon as possible. "A moment after Gaius left, the three along that wall switched off individually with another guard inside. But that is all. It is possible that the same occurred on the opposite side, but I cannot see them from over here."

The way they were posted, if we to take any one of the guards down, another would surely notice and be able to alert the others. This was troublesome, but I should have expected as much with how close we were to the capital. There was no way to do this without drawing some attention, but perhaps we could minimize that with speed…

"I think I have a plan."

Ω:

We blundered the plan. Hard.

What Gaius was supposed to do was throw a knife at one of the middle guards then drop down to kill the alerted guard while Virion killed the other one. Then Krystal would kill the two guards alerted from Virion's kill while Gaius retreated to the rooftops. After that, it was up to Krystal and Virion to snipe the remaining guards, seeing as I was effectively useless unless things went awry.

While Gaius was running to the other side to kill his mark, however, he slipped on the rounded roof of one of the houses and fell to the street below, which alerted everyone on that side. Fortunately, only one of them went to check out the noise, figuring it was some desert animal or something. Gaius killed him, then climbed back up the house to avoid getting cornered. Virion and Krystal picked them off, but not before everyone else in the damned building. They flooded outside, though the single door was an oversight on their part, making them easy targets for Virion, Krystal, and, seeing as the plan had fallen apart and stealth was out the window, myself. Eventually we pushed inside and took over the garrison in spite of the setback. The commander in charge of the city was sitting inside. He was actually the one inside the single lit room that we had seen from outside, and he put up little struggle when three of us burst in through the door and stomped up the stairs into his room while Gaius slipped in through the window. It wound down pretty quickly after that so I sent Gaius to go bring the other Shepherds in. We had taken quite some time, and I hoped they were all okay after waiting so long in the sandstorm.

The garrison didn't have any cells to keep the surrendered Plegians in, but there were dungeons in a separate building. The prisoners would be kept there until the war was done. Just in case I forgot, I wrote a letter to Flavia telling her about them. I gave it to a courier and sent him off, though I was unsure if he would be able to get through the main army's front lines to deliver it.

The ruling duke in charge of the city held no ill will towards us when we announced our take over. He seemed indifferent as to who occupied it as long as they let his people live as they always had. We agreed without complaint. We had no desire to rule the city, anyway.

Even though the garrison didn't have cells, it was a very large building capable of housing all of the Shepherds and then some. Chrom and I set up everyone in their own rooms while Lissa and Maribelle treated everyone for rashes caused by abrasion from the sand and for other issues caused by prolonged exposure. The beds were a bit disheveled, considering the sleeping soldiers had hustled out of bed to meet our infiltration. We had done our best to minimalize casualties, or blood splatter when a kill was unavoidable. The rooms were relatively clean as a result.

After a long week and a half of sleeping on rocky ground in the dry heat, we all, with the exception of maybe Panne, were glad to sleep in a bed again. Even if it was only for a few days. It had been even longer since any of us had bathed, too, and the combination of dirt, sweat, blood, and sand in places I did not want it to be. As a result of these factors as well as my sleep deprivation, I almost broke into tears at the sight of the bathhouses attached to garrison.

It was a large bathing house, designed for multiple people at a time. Almost like that of the hot springs on Valm that I'd read about. It worked via the well installed in the room, so I drew enough water to fill it then, instead of heating it with fire, I just flicked a Fire spell into it instead. The water heated up instantly, much to my convenience, and I let myself laze into the warm waters for a nice, calm, relaxing bath.

My eyes had begun to close, the comfortable atmosphere appealing to my fatigue. I was tempted to let them close and allow myself a brief nap when I heard footsteps coming in behind. My eyes snapped open and I turned around, covering myself and snagging a bar of soap that I had sitting nearby, just in case. I calmed when I saw bright red hair, however.

"Hello, Cordelia," I guessed, turning around so my back was to her. I set the bar of soap back down on the ledge but still kept in close. I assumed it was her, but the steam that had filled the room already made it hard to be certain.

She stopped walking at the sound of my voice and I heard her squeak a bit. "Oh, Robin. I apologize," she said, "I did not think to find anybody else in here. I can leave."

I realized she was about to turn and leave, so I spun around, leaning over the ledge of the bath. "No, wait," I said, and she stopped moving. I just remembered something. "I don't mind if you stay. This is a group bathhouse after all, and it would be a waste for just one person. Besides, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, if you don't mind, then…" After a moment of hesitation, she dipped into the water, as well.

"Let me know if you want it warmer," I offered, and she nodded. There was a slight blush on her cheeks, even as she submerged herself up to her neck. We just sat there for a time. For some reason, I expected her to say something, but she remained silent. My eyes began to drift shut again, and I had almost slid into dreams when she finally spoke.

"You said you wanted to talk to me, did you not?"

Ah, right. I pulled myself into a sitting position, having begun to slip lower into the water as I dozed. "Yes, actually. I wanted to talk to you about the siege of Yllistol." She tensed in an instant. Even from a distance, I could see her eyes flicking over the surface of the water while her mind worked to come up with some reason as to why I would bring this topic up out of the blue. "I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic, but I was talking to Robert"—she frowned at his mention—"and he said you seemed rather bothered lately. And you haven't been wearing your pins." I would have pointed to her hair now for emphasis, but seeing as we were in the bathhouse it would be within reason to leave them behind anyway.

"How much did he tell you?"

"Just that you stormed off after he said something, though I have no idea what he said," I admitted. "And that he was concerned. I have to say, I am as well. From what Sumia and Chrom told me about you before, I figured you would be wearing your wing pins with pride." I let her think for a few seconds and process everything I'd said. She avoided my gaze, and I felt the frown on my face. I didn't know what I was doing. Why did Robert think to ask for my help with her? When she continued to say nothing, I sighed. "Could you at least tell me why you are angry at Robert? If he said something insensitive I need to know so I can punish him accordingly." I tried to lighten the mood with the comment, punching my palm and catching my fist.

I received a half-hearted smile in response. "I'm not angry with him," she said. "Not anymore, at least."

"Oh?"

"At the time, I was venting my frustrations and he said something rather bluntly. As emotional as I was," she shrugged, "it was enough for my temper to get the better of me. A moment of weakness, I know, and all the more unbecoming of—"

"Whoa, whoa," I said, raising my hands to stop her. "I'm not the one you should be telling this to." I couldn't resist taking this chance. Not only would it mend the little hole in their relationship—especially with a few words of subtle encouragement to the other half in this whole—but it could also serve to build it into something more! Ooh, I was getting excited at the possibility. Perhaps it was my mischievous side. "Robert needs to hear this more than me. He sounded pretty distressed over the whole thing. I think it would do him some good to hear that you aren't upset with him anymore."

"Truly?" One of her eyebrows went up. I was going to mask my smile, but decided that it was good for the new mood of the conversation.

"Yeah," I nodded. "But be a little tough on him. Make him work for it."

She laughed, and I found myself chuckling along. "Maybe." Her voice betrayed her words, as did her smile. I knew she was going to talk to Robert about this. I needed to talk to the mercenary before them and give him a few "helpful hints".

I turned away from her, then. It was all I could do to keep from giggling in excitement. Would it be abuse of my power if I paired them together frequently? Probably. But they did work well together. I was willing to bet that Robert trusted her more than any other Shepherds, and they had good chemistry in combat. Man, orchestrating people would never get old. Perks of being a tactician.

The soft padding of footsteps caught my attention. Cordelia's as well, and we both looked toward the entrance to see a short-statured silhouette through the steam. When whoever it was came close enough, they stopped. "Oh." Krystal's meek voice broke the silence. "I-I thought no one was in here. My mistake."

"No, you're fine," I said. "I don't know about Cordelia, but I won't be in here much longer." I was already wrinkling like a prune after staying in here for so long. I had better finish washing up and get out so I could still do something tonight.

I grabbed the bar of soap and began to scrub myself down. As I did, Krystal stepped into the water just as hesitantly, if not more so, than Cordelia had. She looked apprehensive, I realized, her eyes skirting along the water's surface, though her eyes flicked up to both Cordelia and I on occasion. The Pegasus knight had gone silent, aside from when she asked to use the soap. It was awkward, and I couldn't help but think that there was some tension between the two of them. While I had never seen anything to signify such a thing, I could not watch them all the time. There were going to be events that slipped past me, especially lately.

"I can't be the only one happy to be sleeping in a bed again," I said, grinning. Both of them nodded, and Krystal glanced up to me before she looked away again. She looked like she wanted to say something. I had an idea of what it was and how to bait it out. "Hopefully I'll actually get some decent sleep."

"Have you been having trouble getting sleep?" Cordelia asked, scrubbing her hair. Krystal, however, remained silent. But I knew she wanted to speak! I realized she was shy, but gods dammit, come on! Work with me, here.

"Yes."

"Is it just sleeping on the ground, or…?" I appreciated that Cordelia was holding a conversation. Maybe she was just trying to help me like I had been for her trouble. And she was partly right. The uneven ground definitely made it more difficult to get good sleep. I just wished that was all of it.

"Yeah," was all I said. Not her problem. She had a mercenary to talk to later, so she didn't need to worry about me.

"That can't be all," Krystal murmured, just loud enough for me to hear over the splashing water as I rinsed my hair. "You haven't slept in two days." I was right. She wanted to bring it up again.

"Two days?" Cordelia heard her loud and clear, surprised enough to drop the bucket she'd just filled with water to rinse the soap from her hair. "You haven't slept in that long?" I suddenly regretted getting Krystal to speak up. With both hers and Cordelia's eyes on me, I felt like a child being scolded by her parents. I felt very foolish. "And you're trying to help me out. What about you?"

"I thought Zach talked to you about it," Krystal said, eyebrows furrowed in, what was that, concern? Was she actually concerned? Oh, that was touching. Or it would have been if her statement hadn't confused me.

I titled my head. "Zach? He didn't do anything of the sort."

"Really?" Krystal asked. "I thought he was…" Her face turned a shade of red a tad brighter than the flush caused by the exposure to steam. "I could h-have sworn that you two were… were, well, um… v-very, uh, very close?"

"W-What?" I sputtered, completely caught off-guard. She didn't need to say what she really meant. Gods, was that what people thought? That he and I were a couple? Gods. "I, wha—where did you get that idea?" I knew I was blushing furiously. How quickly I lost my cool…

"W-well, whenever the others teased him about how much time he spent with you, he would get really defensive and his cheeks would get all red. We just assumed that he had a crush on you, at the very least."

"And you teased him about it?" I only mentioned that part mostly because it was weird to think about Zach having a crush on me. It was flattering, and he was nice, but I… I really needed more sleep. My heart was racing and my cheeks were rosy—I was getting far too flustered over something so simple. "I can't believe this. That's why he's been so evasive, lately!"

"I-I'm sorry," Krystal said, looking back up. Her hands were covering her face, but I could tell that her face was as red as mine. To the side, Cordelia was watching with fascination and a faint smile.

"What are you smiling at?" I snapped, clenching my hands into fists at my side. I probably would have looked more threatening with a weapon in my hand or, you know, clothes on, but dammit, I was embarrassed! A problem that was only furthered when Cordelia put her hands up in mock surrender while holding back laughter.

Meanwhile, Krystal's face was going redder by the second as I stormed out of the water with my face buried in my hands. I could not remember being so embarrassed during my time with the Shepherds. I didn't even know why I was embarrassed! I wasn't interested in Zach like that anyway! "Go get some sleep, Robin," Cordelia said, her voice cheeky.

I wanted to form a coherent, reasonable, snarky response to shut her up. In my eagerness to leave this embarrassment, I hurried out of the bathhouse. I didn't bother pulling on my clothes or slipping on my cloak, instead wrapping a towel around myself before storming out.

Once I had left their presence—though I was sure they were still laughing about it at my expense—I cooled off a bit. I was just tired and thinking unclearly. Probably sat in the steam for too long, as well. But now my mind was clear. At least, as clear as it could be after having been up for two days straight. I knew I needed to talk to Zach and at least clear some things up. If I had time, I would get after Krystal, Robert and the others about teasing him for having a crush, if he even did. I saw nothing wrong with a bit of teasing, but if it affected him enough that he wanted to keep away from me as a result, then that was going too far.

I had gotten lucky in the halls so far. I had yet to see a single soul since leaving the bathhouse and had almost gotten back to my room when that very luck ran out. Rounding the corner, I ran into the person who was simultaneously the first and last person I wanted to see and almost dropped my clothes in the process. "Zach," I breathed, holding a hand to my chest. He had startled me. "What's going on?"

"Nothing really," he said, scratching the back of his head. He looked down a bit before suddenly jerking his head back up and whirling around to see if anyone was behind him. When he saw that no one was there, he looked back to me, but his eyes were pointed directly at mine. "I was just heading to the bathhouse"—he gestured to the towel tucked under his arm—"and it looks like you were just there." A blush gently coloured his face, and I found an odd amusement from it considering mine had died down not long ago. "Is anyone else in there, or am I clear?"

"Krystal and Cordelia are still in there," I said. As much as I wanted to get back at the two of them for embarrassing me, this was not the way to go about it. I could come up with something better after I'd gotten more sleep, anyway. I smiled, until I noticed something strange about Zach's face. "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. His eyes narrowed and he eyed me with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "Why?"

"Your face is really red," I said, squinting. I leaned closer to get a better look and frowned. "Like, Cordelia's hair, red." The closer I got, the redder it became. I thought it was a blush at first, but his face kept brightening.

"I feel fine," he said, again. "What about you? Why do your eyes keep glazing over like that? Robin. Hey, Robin." His face suddenly had a very grave look to it. "Robin."

"Why do you keep saying my name? I'm right here." He was going crazy. Whatever was making his face red was doing something to his head. "Come on, we need to get you to a healer." I knew next to nothing about sandstorms aside from that overexposure to them was dangerous. This may have been a side effect, so he needed help.

Then I was at an angle, only held up from the floor by Zach having caught me. Did I fall? I didn't remember falling, or being caught. "Ooh…" The hallway was twisting and bending, and I reached a hand to clutch my head. What was happening?

"Robin?" Zach called, but his voice was distant, like Krystal's had during… when did I hear her like that? "Hey, hey, look at me." His voice was frantic now, panicked. I looked up at him and pulled myself to my feet. "Are you…?"

"I think… I think I'm alright." My eyes were clear, if a bit tired, but that was too be expected. Had I blacked out, if even for a few seconds? That seemed to be the only realistic assumption for how I ended up poised to fall on my face. Zach hovered nearby, hands outstretched in case I fell again. My lack of sleep was catching up to me. "Can you just help me get to my room? I think I just need to get some sleep."

"Robin…"

"Can you grab my clothes?" I said, pointing to the ground where they lay. "I must have dropped them." I didn't trust myself to try and bend down to grab them as I was, so I leaned against the wall to keep from passing out and falling while he helped pick up the bundled mess. "Thank you." He carried them under his arm and threw his towel over his shoulder. Remarkably, my own towel had not come undone. I imagined that that would have made quite a scene for any passersby, what with me unconscious and naked on the ground with Zach standing over me.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, still keeping right beside me. I was almost certain that I was just exhausted, but could hear the doubt in his voice. "Your eyes kept glazing over, like every few seconds, and you were completely out of it."

"I'm just really tired," I said, rubbing at my eyes. "I'm sure of it." We arrived back at my room—it belonged to one of the higher up officers stationed here, so he had his own room. Chrom and I figured it was best that he and I had our own rooms, even if that wasn't the case of every Shepherd.

I unlocked the door and pushed it open with an extended yawn. The bed looked as inviting as a full-course meal after starving for a week. I was drawn towards it and collapsed onto it with a sigh of relief. As soon as I hit the sheets, I was out.

Ω:

When I woke up, I was so dazed that I almost panicked. I had no idea where I was at first, but when my vision cleared and I remembered that this was my room, I calmed down and pushed myself into a sitting position. That was about all I could recall, however, from the night before. I had to just assume that I came back to my room and fell asleep. I had to have gone to the bath at some point, considering the towel, but that was logical speculation.

The only light in the room was coming from the window, though it was thankfully covered by a curtain. Some point during the night, my towel had come undone. I looked around the plain room for my clothes, then found them folded on the chair by my bed. My mind was still groggy, but I slipped into my clothes and left the room. I left my cloak, though. It was the middle of the day, so the desert would be sweltering.

I turned the handle to open my door and found it locked. Strange. I didn't usually lock my doors, in the event that one of the Shepherds needed something, but I must have this time. I didn't usually sleep without clothes on, either, but here I was. Nevertheless, I unlocked the door and stepped out.

It was brighter in the hall, with windows lining the walls in oppose to the single window in my room. That was the first thing I noticed. The second was the emptiness of the halls. I had been in this building a short time, but the halls looked like they were supposed to be filled throughout the day. Seeing them empty like this felt wrong.

The third and final thing I noticed was the scent of food flowing through the garrison. It enticed me, appealing to my poor, empty stomach. I followed the smell to the best of my ability and found out why the halls were so empty.

Everyone was sitting in the mess hall and Stahl was cooking. I took a moment to wonder when they had bothered to set up a mess hall or if it was like this before we got here. Either way, the room was in nice condition and filled with not only the delicious scent of a fresh-cooked meal courtesy of Stahl, but the rambunctious and renewed energy of the Shepherds that I had come to be accustomed to before venturing into this desert. I smiled at the sight and walked to grab myself a plate.

As I loaded up on food, Lissa bumped into my shoulder as way of greeting. Though she had a cheerful smile on her face, I could tell that her sister's impending execution date was getting to her. She looked almost as sleepless as I had been.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" the princess asked, loading up her own plate. I gave her a peculiar look, in part because of how little food she had taken. I was more confused at her question. It seemed like more than just a greeting. How did I feel?

"I feel fine," I said suspiciously. "Why would I not?" My sleep-muddled mind was clouding something, I knew. Either that, or I had been acting off-kilter and she just thought to bring it up. Considering how little we'd talked over the past few days, however, I was led to lean toward the first option.

"Zach said last night that he had to help you back to your room last night," she said. I resisted the urge to snap my fingers and say 'That's right!' "He said you fell over and were out of it when he talked to you. You said you were just tired, apparently. If I remember correctly, one of the books I read a long time ago mentioned that disorientations and moments where you kind of black out, so that could very well have been the case. Still, we should keep an eye on you just in case."

"Alright, thank you." I said, and it made sense. I didn't remember blacking out, but I did remember almost falling and the disorientation was definitely there. Still, I had to make a jab at her to try and keep the mood light. "I didn't know you could read." I had to take a look around to make sure Frederick wasn't watching first.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, bringing a bit of life back to her face in spite of the bags that hung under her eyes. "Of course I can read. Back when I was training to be a healer with Maribelle, we had to study up on different illnesses and other ailments so we knew how to treat them."

"Good to know," I said and returned her smile. "I'll talk to you if anything comes up again." We waved and parted, with each of us walking to different sides of the room. At the corner of the room, I saw Zach sitting by Dylan and Emile. Krystal

"Hey," I said, walking up. They stopped talking and looked up at me when I got there.

Zach looked up, as I was walking up behind him. "Oh, hey, Robin. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, pulling up a seat next to him. "I was just tired, after all. And I'm assuming it was you who locked my door and covered the window?"

"Yeah, I figured you would prefer it that way, considering, well, you know."

"Right." I noticed then the confused expressions on the others' faces. We left that exchange pretty open ended, with a very ambiguous word choice. Krystal was looking the other way, however, shielding her face. I held back a smile at that. The way we said it, our words could have been interpreted as mentioning something less than wholesome.

"What are you guys talking about?" Dylan asked. His face was the only one devoid of expression, instead holding a stoic air with crossed arms. "Did something happen?"

Zach took it upon himself to explain. All the better, since I was barely lucid through all of it. "Last night, she almost fell down in the hall. We were talking, and her eyes kept glazing over, like she was staring off into space. I tried calling her name, but she never responded." He turned to me with an absurd expression. "You thought my face was red or something." I shrugged, and he turned back to the others. "Then she fell. I caught her, she snapped out of it, and I helped her back to her room." Back to me. "You fell asleep as soon as you hit the mattress, so I left pretty much right away. I mean, I stayed behind to make sure you were still breathing and shit, then covered the window and locked the door as I left." Just as he began to turn away, he snapped, remembering something. "That reminds me. Gaius showed up just as I was leaving, saying he had something to talk to you about. Wouldn't tell me what about, but said he'd check with you later."

"Oh, alright." I said, surprised. What had Gaius… oh. I understood after a moment of thought. That explained why he wouldn't tell Zach. "I'll talk to him, then." I tried to keep my expression cheerful in spite of this news. Gaius had been skulking around, and clearly he'd found something.

"And you're all right?" Robert asked, his mouth full.

"Yes. I feel fine now, and my symptoms were not uncommon for someone with as little sleep as I'd gotten." I left out the 'no sleep for two whole days' detail. It would spark a conversation that I really did not want to get into right now. I hurried to finish my food, using the excuse that I was really hungry, and told Zach I wanted to talk to him later before leaving. I wanted him to answer a few questions before I talked to Gaius.

Anyway, that was more than enough of that for now. I wanted to use this town to rest and plan, and I had already done one of those goals for today. I still needed to plan my approach for disrupting the execution. I had three days left to do it, but I would.

Krystal POV:

"Krystal?" I heard a voice at my door. Chrom's voice. The last person—well, not the last person I expected to see, but far from the first. I hadn't been expecting anybody anyway. I got up from my bed and slipped my bookmark into my tome. Waiting outside my door, Chrom had a look of uncertainty on his face. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," I said, offering to let him in.

Instead, he shook his head. "No, it's fine. This will be quick. I'm just wondering if… well, do you remember way back in Ferox? When we recruited you?"

I hesitated, then nodded. I was half-worried, half-curious about where he was going with this. Considering how short-tempered he'd been lately… no, that was a baseless worry. He wouldn't do anything of that sort. "Y-yes, I don't think I'll ever forget that place. It was awful in that dungeon."

"Alright. You know that they captured you because they believed you to be Plegian, yes?" I nodded again. Where was he going with this? "They thought you teleported behind the Longfort somehow. I didn't really think such a thing was possible until Flavia mentioned it. I remember back when I was still being tutored history, back when this was Archanea and Valm was split into two nations, there used to be woman with great magic power called witches. They were able to teleport, too, so I started thinking… I'll get straight to the point." He took a deep breath and looked at me with serious eyes, intimidating enough to make me forget how offensive it was for him to compare me to a witch. "Do you or do you not have the power of teleportation?"

I hesitated for a moment. I had somehow not seen the question coming, even after all of his leading into it. "I… N-no, I don't."

His expression softened, his eyes sad and pleading now. "Please, Krystal." He grabbed my hand and cupped it with both of his. "I won't tell anybody if you can or not, I just want to know if you have a way to save my sister sooner. I will give you almost anything."

Oh, Chrom… I so badly wanted to help him. No one deserved to lose their sibling, especially in such a way that he was to lose Emmeryn. I could help him, too, if not in a more effective way than how he wanted. I had the knowledge to warn him of what would happen. But I couldn't tell him. I knew that some of the others, mainly Dylan, wanted to keep our path through this world as close to canon as possible. So I couldn't help him.

I grabbed Chrom's hand, as well and looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Chrom. I am so sorry, but I am no witch. I cannot help you."

A range of emotion flashed through his eyes, then he closed them and his hands tightened around mine, almost to the point of pain. I was half of a second away from telling him to let go when he suddenly pulled away, his eyes settling on 'hurt'. "Ah, I'm sorry." He touched my hand with more care this time. "I'm sorry for bothering you. Thank you anyway."

"Chrom, wait." He was hurting. He wasn't as irritated as he had been lately, but he was hurting. Even I could see that. He stopped and turned around. I was uncomfortable starting up a conversation, especially about a serious issue, but my worry drowned the discomfort out. My voice was quiet, but I concentrated to keep it steady as I asked him, "Are you alright?"

He said nothing, letting his gaze linger while I stared back. When I realized he was going to say nothing back, rather waiting for me to explain my question. I cleared my throat and stood up straight, having leaned out the door to catch his attention. "L-lately you've been a bit, erm, off. You haven't been talking to much of anybody or doing anything, but when you do, you are snappy and short-tempered. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I have. Something is wrong."

He gave me a tired smile and shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. If you can't help, then I'll be on my way." With that, he left, and I could do nothing but watch his departing form. I wanted to call after him, but by the time I thought of anything relevant to say he was already too far to hear me without my chasing after him.

I felt horrible. That parting smile was what tugged at my heart the most, and I almost cracked. But I now knew that I needed to speak with Dylan and the others. I had made up my mind, and I wanted to save the Exalt.

Robin POV:

I knocked on Zach's door three times. As cold as desert nights got, I had my cloak back on. The garrison was warmer than outside, however, so I left it unbuttoned as I walked through the halls. Zach opened a few seconds after I stopped knocking. "Good evening," I said, flashing him a brief smile. "May I come in?"

"Sure," he said, confused as to why I was here no doubt. I had told him I'd wanted to talk with him when we ate earlier, but he had forgotten. "What's up?"

"There are just a few things I wanted to talk to you about."

"You mentioned that at lunch today," he said, sitting down on a chair, which I took to mean that I was to sit on the bed. So he did remember. "Well, whenever you're ready, go for it."

Where to start? "Well, I suppose that all of my questions really tie into one another. Last night—before you found me, mind you—I was talking to Krystal and Cordelia. We talked for a little while, mostly them scolding me for not getting enough sleep, but then Krystal said something that caught my attention. Apparently," I was a bit sassy as I said the word, considering how ridiculous this small rumour was, "she and some 'we', which I took to mean Dylan, Emile, and Robert, have us pegged as being a couple." He stared at me blankly, though a frown marred his face. "You… don't seem very surprised by that."

"Well, they tease me all the time about how much time we spend together," he said, shrugging. "Didn't really figure they thought that far into it, though. I just thought it was a joke they liked to play on me, even if it is a bit stale at this point."

"And you never thought to mention it to me?" I asked, crossing my arms. I wasn't mad, really, nor was I surprised. Still worth an ask, though. He shrugged again. "Besides, we haven't even talked much in some time."

"Haven't we?"

"No, we've hardly spoken a word to each other since we left the first oasis, bar tonight and last." Now I was confused. This was the part that confused him? It was obvious if one put even an inkling of a thought into it.

"I…I'm sorry, I guess. I just didn't notice."

"You didn't notice?" I scowled, and he shrugged once more. "You weren't avoiding me or anything?"

"No, of course not. Not intentionally, at least."

"Oh." Why had I thought that? It was a possibility, but the chances of it being the truth was minute. "I assumed that you had been avoiding me either because of their cheering or because you had a crush on me or something." I said it nonchalantly, but a thought struck as soon as it left my lips. "You… You don't have a crush on me, do you?"

"Um, no?" he said, either unconfident in his answer or finding my question tedious and ludicrous. I leaned toward the latter. His eyes were narrowed into a full scowl at this point. "Where did you get that idea?"

Krystal. "I don't know, just figured I would check." I was relieved he'd said no, to be frank, though I kept that detail to myself. He would have no use of it, and could take offense. That said…

"Yeah, I mean don't get me wrong," he said, holding out his hands. "You're fuckin' sauce, but I don't have a crush on you." What did he call me?

"What?"

"What?"

"What did you call me? Sauce?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. It means, like, really good. I was saying you look great, essentially." He looked away sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, just slang from my, uh, my home." Oh. Interesting. Confusing, but interesting.

"Oh, thanks, then. And, just to clarify," I said, standing up and holding a hand out for pause. "You don't have any sort of crush on me?

"No," he said, standing up as well and dusting himself off. He was smiling now, something I was grateful for. "I promise you that I don't."

"Alright. I don't want to be left in the dark on this kind of thing," I said. Then an idea came to mind and I turned back around to look at him, my hand having been inches from the doorknob. "Hey, if they keep teasing you and stuff, come tell me. We'll plan some prank on them or something funny. Get back at them, you know?"

He laughed, a slight chuckle. "I think that would be awesome. I'll let you know if that happens."

"Good," I said, unable to help my own smile. "I will talk to you later, then." He waved, and I stepped out of the room. Sauce. What a strange term. How had it come to mean that? I wondered. On my way back to my own room, the word echoed through my head.

My night of talking was not done, though, and the word was soon chased from my thoughts. As I rounded a corner, I caught a certain red-headed thief waltzing down the hall with his hands behind his head. I sighed, almost disappointed to have to talk some more. It had taken up my entire day, what with discussing tactics or talking to Robert about Cordelia or talking to Zach moments before. But this was important, and I was glad to have gotten to talk to Zach and Robert before whatever Gaius had to report.

So, I cleared out my throat and called his name, then waved him over the way I was going.

Krystal POV:

I was on my way to talk to Dylan, Emile, and Robert. I hadn't gotten around to it last night due to how tired I was, the weariness brought on by the stress caused by Chrom. I worried about him when he was like this. It seemed like uncharacteristic impatience that I'd been witnessing, but then he did show spouts of anger in-game, so…

Nevertheless, I needed to talk to the other earthlings. I wanted to help Chrom, and the only way I saw to do that and spare him from further emotional distress was to save Emmeryn. We all knew that Robin's plan would not work, what with the unforeseeable foul play on Aversa's part, and we could do something about it. We could plan around Aversa's interference, or let Robin know and have her find a way to deal with the Risen, or…

No, I had to save my arguments for when I actually talked to them. Right now, I had to work myself up into a fighting spirit. Otherwise, my own confidence in an argument was not something to be counted on. I was taking deep breaths and whispering small quotes of encouragement that I remembered from home when I heard something unexpected.

"Chrom, I'm trying to come up with something as quickly as I can! I want the Feroxi at our backs just as much as you do, but they aren't here." It was Robin's voice, muffled by the thick walls but still very understandable due to how loud she was shouting. "We need to deal with things on our own, and unless you have something to offer, you need to leave because I will not have you yelling at me while I'm—Chrom! Chrom, get—"

The door to the room slammed open and the prince stormed out and slammed the door behind him, shaking the hall while his hands clenched in rage at his sides. I let out a squeak and tucked myself behind, well, it was really just a dip in the wall. It was big enough to fit me, though, and I used it to hide from the furious prince as he stalked past me. His face was contorted in anger so fierce, I could barely comprehend how he felt.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," I heard Robin say, her tone solemn and tired. I wondered who she was talking to now that Chrom was gone while the door drifted open, the prince having broken the latch. "I just wish he would understand that I'm doing the best I can."

Zach POV:

"I just wish he would understand that I'm doing the best I can," Robin said, leaning forward on the large table in the middle of the war room. I was standing off to the side, arms crossed as I leaned against the wall, but I'd seen the entire thing. "He's not the only one who wants to save Emmeryn. But that's how he acts. He thinks that he is the only one affected by Emmeryn or her absence. If she dies—gods forbid that be the case, but if she dies, he will be far from the only one broken."

She pushed off the table and began pacing the room, clutching at her head. "He is so gods-damned narrow minded that he can't see outside of what is directly in front of him! He's been wallowing in his own worry and self-pity, but do you know what I've been doing? Since we left for Castle Plegia, I've been checking up on the Shepherds after each fight or during the march and asking them how they were doing.

"Vaike—you know what Vaike told me? He told me that when he was a kid, he lived in the slums, stealing and causing trouble with everybody. But then Emmeryn came to his town. With just a few calm, inspiring words, he said she turned his whole life around. He left his town and moved to Ylisstol to start learning how to fight and defending his country and family. He is just one person, but if someone can flip your whole outlook on life, then they are the greatest of diplomats and speakers. Emmeryn is one of those people. With that skill, Vaike must be far from the only person positively affected by her. And if she dies? Would they all more on with their lives, hardly a care for their benevolent exalt's death? No, they would grieve. They would grieve because she is a blessing to them and helped rebuild their country after the last war with Plegia ravaged it."

I watched her calmly, not surprised by her outburst, considering how explosive Chrom's had been. This was the first tactic meeting I'd joined in on, but Chrom had seemed too tense for it to be just caused by today's discussion.

"Yet Chrom doesn't know that. He doesn't take into consideration how anybody else views our circumstances. He hasn't even talked to his little sister who is going through the exact same thing as him in days." I hadn't noticed any of this. I had done much of the same thing, though I suspect for an entirely different reason. If I would have known… I liked to think that I would have at least checked in on the others. Gods.

"—seems to think that I haven't been doing anything, either." The first complaint Chrom vented in his temperamental explosion was how little Robin had done in the past few days in spite of how close Emmeryn's execution date was. His shouting had startled both of us, at first. As had the way he shook the room when he slammed the door. "But he hasn't been watching. I've been working myself ragged, Zach." She leaned forward on the table again, this time facing directly at me. "Before you found me and helped me to my room the other—what was it, last night? Whenever it was. I wasn't just tired. I was blacking out because I hadn't slept for two days, all while marching and fighting and talking to the other damned Shepherds!" Her voice had risen back to a shout.

"Two days?" I breathed. "Robin, what…?"

"Because the Shepherds needed me!" She jammed her thumb back at herself, her face beat red from frustration. "They needed me, and they need him, but he is too damn daft to see that. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have made it this far. I coordinated our route to be as fast as possible while still keeping us in minimal danger. I planned each attack to keep minimal injuries and casualties, even before we came to this gods-forsaken desert to look for his sister. And look! We haven't lost a single life, even if we came a bit close. I stayed up for two nights straight to cover his messes while he hid in his tent because he was too much of a coward to face his fear and doubt. But I've done too little."

She scoffed and ran a hand through her hair before tearing off her coat and throwing it on the floor. She let out a long, guttural groan and began to pace the perimeter of the room. I moved out of her way to pick up her coat and set it over the back of a chair.

"I'm tired and I want to sleep, but apparently I'm not doing enough, so I need to skip out on my own rest so he can sleep easy." I heard her sniff and looked back at her. She was facing away from me, but her arm was up, rubbing across her face.

"Are you crying?" I asked, walking up behind her.

"I'm just…" She wiped at her eyes again. "I can't deal with him anymore. I'm tired and agitated." I didn't know what to do. I was terrible around crying people. I never knew what to do. What could I do? But she wasn't sad, was she? Just angry. Angry to the point of tears.

The only thing I could think to say was, "Do you want a hug?"

She froze, staring at me for a moment of two before bursting into a fit of tearful laughter. I frowned, but she wiped away her tears. "No, I don't. I'm not sad."

"I know, but you don't need to be sad to want a hug." I said. "I want a hug all the time and I'm never sad."

"If you say so," she said, shaking her head. We stood silently for a long while, just the occasional glance between us. After a time, I offered to help her in any way that she needed-be it tactics, talking to the other Shepherds, or anything else. Gods knew I had nothing else to do until the execution. She didn't accept my offer, however, instead scowling and frowning. "Hey, um, there is something I need to tell you. Do you remember a while back, when we were in Ferox, I think? I said that I had a strange feeling about you?"

"Umm…" Despite her tone, this didn't sound good. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I felt the same thing when we saw Robert the first time that I did I saw you, Emile, and the others. I admit," she said, looking away, "it worried me. I trust you, but the others… Well, it's clear that they tend to stay apart from the rest of the Shepherds, but I know that some people are just introverted. Still, I couldn't just leave this feeling. I was worried, so I told Gaius to keep of Dylan, Krystal, and Emile."

Her eyes were suddenly serious, but I didn't know why. I scowled, thinking about what those three could have possibly done to make her so serious. "Okay? I think that's reasonable to do." So why are you so grim?

"Well Gaius reported something last night. In that night just before crossing into the desert, he saw those three and Robert sneak into the nearby town. They got a room at an inn and left shortly after and snuck, one by one, back into camp. They talked about having you to get in my good graces and influence how I guided the Shepherds."

"What?"

"They wanted you to use how close we were. To use me.""

"That's ridiculous," I said, but the way she looked at me and hugged her arms to her stomach said otherwise. A dry laugh escaped my lips. "You can't believe that."

"I don't want to believe it," she said. "I really don't, but that's what Gaius heard. That's what they said, and you were the one who convinced me to let them into the Shepherds." The next part was unspoken. You used me.

"I can't believe this." I ran a hand through my hair, my heart aching, tears burning in my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was hurt or angry. Probably both. "You think I'm using you? You honestly think that?" I suddenly felt very hot. "I joined the Shepherds at the same time as you, and I'd never met you before."

"How do I know that?" she asked. "I have no memories. As far as I know, you could all be people from my past out to get me. You could have had this whole thing planned out before we met."

"You sound fucking crazy, Robin. I'd never even talked to any of them before they joined." She was just pulling this shit out of her ass. This was absolute fucking bullshit. Why would I try to use her? What the fuck? I was just as angry at the other guys from Earth, however, as I was at Robin for distrusting me. "I had no idea who they were."

"How do I know that?"

"I fought against Emile in the Arena, Robin!"

"That could have been planned," she said with a shake of her head. Dammit, woman, why can't you just trust me? After all we've been through?

"That was the first time I met him," I groaned running a hand down my face.

"Then why did you tell me to let him join?" she asked, tilting her chin up. "What did he say to you when I went to talk to Flavia?"

"I…" I couldn't tell her that. This looked bad. What did I tell her back then? Motherfucking think, dammit! "I told you exactly what he said back then." I glared at her, which wasn't hard due to how angry I was. "His family was killed by Plegians, Robin. That's why I told you to let him join."

"What about Krystal? Or Dylan? Or Robert?" she asked, crossing her arms again.

"Dylan saved our lives," I said. I wanted to sit down, but my temper put an antsy energy in my legs, so I started to pace the room. "Krystal was falsely imprisoned by Raimi—"

"How did you know she was innocent?"

"Look at how meek she is!" I barked, stopping my restless feet. "All she does is hide in her fuckin' room and keep to herself! She's too scared to speak up for herself, but what, you think she has some secret plot to take over the Shepherds? You're fucking crazy, Robin," I said, jabbing my finger at her from across the table.

"And Robert? I didn't tell you to recruit him. You know who fucking did?" I jerked my thumb toward the wide open door. "Fresh Prince Chrom, out there! He paid him to join! I had no part in it because I was busy getting the shit kicked out of me by Dawn!"

"I…" She looked away, and I pushed off the table to start pacing again. I kept to my half of the room but kept my eyes locked on her the whole time. I watched her afflicted with what I hoped was shame and remorse. I wanted her to feel like shit.

"If they are doing something, I don't know a thing about it. I haven't talked to them in a long time, and even if I had, I would never use you, Robin. I can't believe that you think I would." I walked over to the door and grabbed the smashed handle. I could feel the tears threatening to spill from my eyes, and I wanted to leave before that happened. I didn't need her to pity me. "It hurts, Robin. It fucking hurts. Next time, use your fucking head a little before jumping to conclusions based on what a thief heard through a fucking wall."

With that, I left her to hopeful hurt and think about what she did, shutting the door behind me. I knew it would close because dumbass broke it, but I didn't care. I was just too tired or this shit to care.

Robert POV:

I was bored. I had nothing to do but wait until the battle, so I was lying on my bed with one knee raised while I stared at the ceiling. I was letting my mind race, and I couldn't help but think of the coming battle. If I remembered correctly, we were going to recruit Tharja and Libra. But Emmeryn was going to die.

I'd been battling with that thought for the past few hours. I knew she died canonically, but I didn't know if I liked that idea. I mean, I had nothing against the Exalt, and Chrom and Lissa wanted her alive most definitely. And I kind of liked it here. It was a hell of a lot more interesting than home, anyway.

My thoughts were cut short as a set of three knocks hit against my door. I remained on my bed, however, calling, "Who is it?" I wasn't about to open my door for just any Shepherd. It was late for that, and I had no qualms about turning them away. My door was locked for a reason. I was surprised by who answered me.

"Cordelia."

"Oh, one sec." I slipped off my bed and unlocked the door. Outside was a faintly blushing Cordelia. "So, uh, what's up?" I kept my distance from her since she walked away from me during our guard shift, and we said nothing to each other between then and now. I was worried she was still angry with me, so I gave her space.

"I want to apologize. May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." I stepped to the side and closed the door behind her. "You can sit wherever you want."

She chose to stand. "I don't think I'll be here long," she said. "I just want to let you know that I am not angry at you, nor should I have been in the first place. I had no right to be."

"No, listen, I understand. You were still grieving, in a way, and I was insensitive with my words. You don't need to apologize." It was good to hear that she was no longer upset with me, though. Put a part of my heart at ease.

"But I do. I know that it is reasonable to upset when dealing with these kinds of things, but I did not need to burden you with my troubles like that. And for that, I apologize." She was calm in her delivery, knight-like but less than stoic. Professional.

"Well, thank you, I guess. And in return, I have an apology of my own." I sat down backwards on my chair and crossed my arms over the back of it. "I could have worded what I said better. You were upset, and I knew it."

"You were a bit blunt," she agreed with a chuckle. "But that's alright. I sense that it's just the way you are."

"Heh." I scratched the back of my head, glancing to the side. "That's not far off." Then I realized something—a gleam of silver amidst her red locks. "You're wearing your pins."

"I am." She smiled, her hand reaching up to rub a finger across the silver wing. "Like you said, you could have worded it better, but you were right. It would dishonor my fallen sisters if I let these pins sit in my bag for the rest of time. I want to show them the respect they deserve in this next battle, and I will do it as Pegasus Knight of Ylisse."

Her smile was bright and genuine—it warmed my heart to see her so happy. "Then I hope they are watching."

"As do I. Thank you, Robert. I will talk to you tomorrow. Be sure to get plenty of sleep, because tomorrow is going to be trying."

"Same to you," I said. "Good night, Cordelia."

She opened the door and went to the left. Right when she did, however, I heard a frightened yelp and a gasp from Cordelia. "O-Oh, I'm sorry,' came Krystal's voice as she spun past the leaving Cordelia. The dark mage stepped into my doorway with her eyes closed and a hand to her chest. When her eyes opened, her face went a bright red. "I-I don't mean to interrupt you so late, but we really need to have a meeting." Her voice was quiet, and she looked back out the door to make sure no one was listening when she said it. "I already talked to the others, and we're meeting in Emile's room."

We hurried to the lancer's room. She sounded urgent, and her hurried pace betrayed her short legs as we rushed through the halls. When we got there, Emile was sitting on his bed and Dylan was pacing the length of the small room. "So?" the laguz demanded when we entered, stopping to cross his arms and look down at Krystal. "Why did you call us all here? Based on your tone, it isn't just to discuss what we are going to do about the Exalt tomorrow."

The dark mage walked to the far side of the room and leaned against the wall. "I just heard Robin and Zach talking." I rolled my eyes, suppressing the urge to make a joke. Her expression was still grim, her face pale. I looked at Emile and Dylan to see them with narrowed eyes, hungry for more information. "They were arguing actually."

"Trouble in paradise?" I asked, the line slipping out before I could stop myself. "But you don't look like you witnessed a normal lovers' spat. What's up?"

"Robin knows we met up before coming into the desert." I froze at the news. She knew? How? We made sure we weren't… wait. "She said something about a strange feeling, and that she had Gaius tail us."

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. That shadow that I saw slip out of view… "I knew I saw something, but dammit, I didn't think it was anything important."

"What else did she say?" Emile asked, his hands clasped in front of his face.

"Nothing else concerning us, really. Gaius heard us talking that night, too though, about using Zach to influence Robin's decisions. She got on him about that."

"We were joking about that," I murmured. "But I'm sure Gaius didn't know that."

"Zach started shouting around then, so I left."

"But she didn't say anything else about us?" Dylan asked. Krystal shook her head and he nodded. "Good. No use crying over spilled milk then. We should keep a better eye out for prying eyes, though. Now, we need to discuss tomorrow. Are we all agreed on letting the Exalt die?"

"No," Krystal and I said at the same time, both equally surprised with the other. It was unlike her to directly speak against somebody. In response, the laguz narrowed his eyes and urged us to explain. I could tell he was unhappy with our decision.

"Chrom is hurting," Krystal piped up, hugging her cloak to herself. "I can tell, and he'll get even worse if Emm dies. No one deserves to lose their sibling. But we can save her."

"I see how you think," Dylan said with a sage nod. "But I can't agree. We all know that he is fine after Emm dies. She doesn't even die, anyway. We find her over in Valm toward Endgame. Sorry. What's your excuse, Rob?"

"I could care less about Chrom, honestly. I just want to save Emm. It doesn't matter to me if it breaks canon and keeps us stuck here. I like it here more than home." Not the most convincing excuse, as he put it, but it was how I felt. I didn't want to go back if I had the choice.

"That's it?" His gaze was demeaning, and I felt insulted to have him looking at me like that. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I don't care if you want to stay here, I'm getting home. I'm not taking any chances when it comes to that."

"I'm sorry," I said, temper rising, "but what gives you the authority to decide that? We outnumber you in votes, here. It isn't solely up to you to decide."

"I do not care," the laguz repeated. "I am going home, regardless of what you want. This isn't up for debate."

"Then why bother asking?" Krystal scowled.

"I wanted to know what you thought, and was sure we were all on the same page. But now I see where we stand, and I am going to tell you that you are not keeping me here."

"You can't just take control like this." His voice was scolding, almost parental. I was not going to take disrespect like that, especially from someone smaller than me. "I won't let you."

"You won't stop me," he replied, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward with a glare. "I'm going home." I stepped forward, as well, undaunted by his attempted intimidation.

"Guys."

"What are you going to do, asshole? Fight me? You can't transform in here." Step.

"Guys!"

"I don't need to transform to kick your ass." Step.

"GUYS!" Emile came between us and shoved us apart, then stepped between us. We had been nearly face to face. "Calm the hell down! You aren't going to fight in here, or anywhere. You'll cause a scene, and then what'll we do? We'll be in real deep shit. Get—" he shoved us back again, as we both took a step toward each other. "Get back! We can settle this civilly. Robert. Let us get home. In the event that it comes to us leaving here, I'm sure you can choose to stay here. If not, then we'll figure something out. And Krystal, Chrom will be fine. We know it. He is strong enough, and we can help him through. And Dylan, you need to calm the fuck down. I agree with you—I want to go home, too—but you can't be starting shit in my room."

"I… I suppose you're right," Krystal said, sulking. I could see that she was disappointed. My own temper was cooling, as well.

"Yeah, sure." I said, turning to leave. "Whatever, I guess we'll let the Exalt jump to her death. Just know that you could have stopped this." I shut the door behind me and said a silent prayer to Naga or whatever gods Frederick talked about in his crit quotes.

Ω:

"Are you all ready?" Virion asked in a whisper. He had an arrow knocked and ready. He, Donnel, Cordelia and I were all crouched at the crest of a hill with our weapons in hand. We left the town at dawn, and some of the townspeople we'd talked to had said that the execution was scheduled for sunset, so we had ample time to finish our own mission in preparation for Robin's plan.

I still had my issues with letting Emm die, but it was out of my control at this point. I had no way to interfere at the moment without unnecessary casualties.

The captured Pegasus Knights were held in a small outpost off to the west of the Capital, and Robin sent us here to set them free. Virion had come along not only to lead, but to inform Phila and the others about Robin's plan. Donnel was here because the kid was honestly a beast on the battlefield, according to the tactician, and Cordelia had asked Robin personally to come along for this. I assumed she wanted to prove herself, and Robin slapped me along with them for a little diversity in weaponry.

"Yeah," I muttered, running a finger along my sword. "I'm set."

"As am I," said the red-haired Pegasus knight.

"Let's go," came Donny's drawling voice.

"Very well," the archer nodded, then waved us forward. "Let us begin."

We slid down the hill and broke into a sprint. A few well-placed arrows by Virion took the sentries out of commission, and the other three of us broke in through the weathered fort's door. Inside was a crew of unsuspecting guards, though I had to admit that their reaction time was stunning. Their swords were drawn as soon as we burst in. Unfortunately, I had a furious Pegasus knight and a ferocious farm boy on my side. The soldiers were dead in seconds, several holes in their bodies.

"Nice," I said, dumbfounded at their efficiency. I had expected it to be quick, but damn. "Let's keep moving." Virion was keeping watch outside, as planned. If someone was alerted, then this plan was debunked. At the other end of the room, there were two sets up stairs going up and down. "Stay low."

We crept up the stairs, passing by a side door, and stopped at the next one. With my fingers, I counted down to breach. 1… 2… …3! I kicked in the door and the two of them charged in, Donny with an energetic "YEEEEEHAW!" I came in soon after them and found the room full of enemies more than doubling our numbers. At the far end of the room was a man in more elaborate armour and an axe strapped to his back with two myrmidons at his side.

"Shit," I cursed, running toward them. I felt an unfamiliar surge of energy within me, not unlike a boost of adrenaline. "Let's make some magic!"

?:

I was so tired, but the capital was in sight! That sandstorm had been rough, but we made it through. Honestly, that had been the best part in the past few days. Since the sandstorm, we had lost more and more allies. At this point… it was just me and Mister Libra. I had tried to heal them, but the wyvern riders kept coming! They threw so many axes, and Asbel tried to hold them off while I healed with my staff.

He killed them all, but by the time he had, he was covered in so many lacerations and deep gashes that I was unable to heal him. I had no idea what it was that kept him going, but he refused to die until of the wyvern riders had joined him. Gods… who would attack simple clergymen like that? What kind of monster did it take? Yes, some of us were armed, but it was for protection against bandits, not…

I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced the thoughts away. It did no good to dwell on such thoughts. I had to remain strong, like Mister Libra. I kept my eyes on the city as the two of us got closer and closer. We had to save the Exalt, or convince the Mad King to let her free. But now, I had to doubt if he would even listen to reason. If someone was willing to send wyvern riders to kill a group of healers, then he had surely gone mad. Either that, or his twisted heart was too evil to do otherwise. I doubted the possibility of our mission, no matter how hard I tried to believe.

"Keep strong," Mister Libra said, as if sensing my doubt. He seemed to be privy to my doubts whenever I had them, always giving me helpful words or encouragement. I envied his fortitude and maturity. "We are almost there, Calliope."

"I hope so, Mister Libra." I truly did hope.

Robert POV:

My blade dug into the captain's thigh, but he kicked out and pushed me away. His determination to keep fighting was admirable. Cordelia and Donnel were fighting off the myrmidons that had been at his side so I could take on the captain, utilizing our weapon advantages.

"Why won't you go down?" I growled, meeting his axe swing with the blade of my sword. I groaned and tried to punch at him, but he hopped back.

He came at me with a wide swing, but I was able to dodge out of the way and give a quick stab his way. He blocked the attack with his armoured gauntlet, so I spun around to strike from the other side. I dealt a short gash to his left arm, then received a punch from his armoured fist. My ears rang, and I stumbled back, slightly dazed.

The irony taste of blood entered my mouth, and I knew he split my lip. Son of a bitch. I stabbed at him, then slashed, then stabbed again in a frenzy. Behind me, I could hear Donnel struggling to fight off his swift foe.

Cordelia came in from the side to help me, having dealt with her own target, but I waved her off. "Go help Donnel!" I shouted, gritting my teeth as I blocked another heavy swing from the captain. He clearly didn't acquire his rank for free. He had the skill to back the title up.

"Right!"

The captain laughed, his voice hearty and reverberated inside his thick metal helmet. "Keeping the lady safe, eh, kid? Let's hope you can finish this yourself, then." Then he let out a roar and came at me again, though I was a little disconcerted at his heartiness.

I stepped out of the way of his falling axe and slashed at his gut. He seemed to like punching and kicking, too, unlike most fighters or barbarians I'd fought. Though with a helmet like that… Wait, was this guy a Warrior? Oh, shit! I was fighting a promoted unit!

I kept out of his range, then dove in for an attack whenever he missed. He was a beast, though, and kept fighting in spite of all of the bleeding wounds cut across his body. However, his vitality and fighting spirit could only go so far. When I cut across his legs, he dropped to his knees and propped himself up with his axe. He groaned, barely audible through his helmet. "Come on, kid. Finish me off, now." Then he looked up at me, and I could tell he was looking into my eyes. "There are worse ways to go out, are there not?"

I smiled a grim smile, and poised to stab him through the gut. He nodded, and I delivered the killing blow. It had been sometime since I'd killed someone, and it was weird to kill someone who seemed so willing to go down fighting. At least he was at peace.

"Alright," I said, wiping the blood off my sword and sliding it back into its sheathe. "It looks like the dungeons are in the basement. You guys go down there and break Phila and the others out. I'll go outside and look for the pegasi."

They nodded, and we all ran down the stairs. When they turned to descend further, however, I turned off to the side and went outside. The bright Plegian sun was unexpected, and I covered my eyes until they adjusted from the darkness inside the fort. I was sore everywhere from the captain, and I was pretty sure he broke my nose, but I snuck along the top wall. It circled around the main center of the base, but there was no one to be seen out here. I doubted that everybody stationed at this fort was confined to those little rooms, but perhaps Gangrel hadn't actually expected us to hit this place. We did hear about it from the Plegians we captured, after all, so it wasn't exactly public information.

I disregarded the absence of guards, but still kept a wary eye out as I searched for some sort of stables where the pegasi would be kept. Several shacks were scattered inside, though sand was swept up against them, forming dune-like slopes by each shack. One shack was bigger than the others, though, and by quite a significant amount. As I moved closer, I heard the snorting of a horse.

I sighed as I stepped through the open wall and found a collection of white winged horses. I found the Pegasi. "I'll be right back," I told them, raising a hand before stepping out of the stables. "I have to go get the others, but I bet you'll be happy to see some familiar faces." They snorted and stamped their feet, but barely regarded me otherwise.

I ran back to the door I came from and almost ran into Cordelia, who was coming out the very same one. "I found the pegasi," I breathed, jerking my thumb behind me. "Did you find the Knights?" She nodded, but her face was tense and serious. "What's wrong?"

"Some of them were already dead," she muttered, but let the remaining Pegasus Knights past. I pointed them to the large shack where their steeds were held while staying behind with Cordelia.

"How?" I asked, my tone soft. We both knew this was a possibility, but had hoped against it.

Phila was the one to answer my question, coming outside last. "Infection," she said. Her hair was no longer in its tight bun, but loose over her shoulders. She didn't look too well off herself, with a few bandaged cuts and the smell of death thick on her. I kept those two facts to myself. "Their injuries from the siege grew infected, and the guards here had no interest in treating them. Gangrel's orders, I suppose."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "But as far as I can tell, your mounts were well kept. They look as ready to fly as ever."

Her smile was pained, forced. "Good. Now Cordelia mentioned a plan?"

"Go greet your pegasi," I said. "I'll wave Virion over so he can explain it." She nodded and walked past. Cordelia followed her with her eyes, but sighed. "Where is Donnel?"

"Coming."

I hummed, then leaned over the edge of the wall and whistled as loud as I could to get Virion's attention. When he looked over, I waved for him to come in and he began to make his way toward us. "We'll mourn them more later, Cordy. For now, we have a plan to enact."

Krystal POV:

The squadron of Pegasus Knights landed beside our hideout about a mile from the city. Phila and Cordelia rode in the lead, with Virion and Robert riding behind them on their respective pegasi. I wondered where Cordelia had gotten her own Pegasus, but kept from asking. She did not look to be in the mood to talk.

Robin explained the rest of the plan to Phila and the other Pegasus Knights, then we waited and made sure our weapons were in peak condition for the last few hours until sunset was nearly upon. At that point, we marched our way toward the Castle Courtyard. Grima's skull rested nearby, standing far taller than the castle itself. It was a terrifying sight, and made me fear for when he—or she—inevitably woke up. The dragon was mountainous up close.

When we were near the courtyard walls, we could hear Gangrel's bellowing voice as he addressed the attending soldiers. "Good people! Warriors of Plegia! Welcome! Welcome, one and all! Your anticipation electrifies the air! We ALL remember the crimes of Ylisse." His tone turned to one of disgust, but his foul voice did not decrease in volume. "Would you have their witch-queen answer for the them? Here?" A pause, and then the roaring cheers of a gathered crowd. Their eagerness for bloodshed and repentance was frightening. "Today? NOW? YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! Finally, we will have JUSTICE!" A pause, and I looked up to where Emmeryn stood. Creeping up the ledge behind her was a barbarian with a large axe.

"EXECUTIONER!" Gangrel screamed. "If you would be so kind…"

"Virion!"

"Right!" The archer let fly his arrow, and it soared through the air until it stuck itself in the executioner's chest, knocking him from the perch. As he fell, Robin's voice cut through the now silent air.

"Now move!"

Robin had anticipated that wyvern riders would be coming in from the North, so she kept Virion and RIcken at the back so they could dispatch of them before they got the chance to disrupt the rest of her plan. Sumia and Cordelia soared high into the sky, and our large collection of swordsmen charged straight ahead. The more fragile among us, myself included, stuck behind the more armoured Shepherds, like Frederick and Kellam.

I ran behind the tall, stealthy knight, using my magic to give him a boost through the loose sand until we made it to firmer ground. "We'll keep moving ahead," he said, and I nodded.

A wyvern rider tried to dive down at Lissa, who was riding with Frederick, but I intercepted him with a shot of Flux. His mount let out a wicked scream as it died and crashed into the sand far behind us, knocking up a cloud of sand and dust. The healer flashed me a thumbs-up and urged Frederick forward. I did the same with Kellam.

Vaike cut down one of the soldiers in our way, then Robin blasted the second with a bolt of Thunder while Chrom cleaved an archer in half. There were still a few lancers in our way, but Frederick and Vaike were making quick work of them. Further south was a long fort, and west of that was another group of Plegians surrounding two people who looked to be dressed in healer garb.

I didn't get the chance to seize a good look at them, as two soldiers came at Kellam. While one kept him busy, the other snuck around to try and stab me. The Knight pushed his shield over to protect me, but suffered a stab from the first soldier. He pummeled the second one with his shield, and I knocked the other high into the air with Flux.

Still atop the roost, Emmeryn stood and overlooked the battlefield as soldiers mobilized inside. I wondered if she could see us down here. Then I saw the wide-brimmed hat of a mage come stepping around the main wall, a charge of Fire already burning and ready to be shot.

"Kellam!" I cried, stepping in front of him to take the hit. The fireball was larger than I had expected, leading me to believe it was something stronger, like Elfire, after I was thrown into Kellam's armoured body. My head rang, having collided with the thick metal plates, and he threw his javelin to kill the mage.

"Are you alright?" he asked, helping me to my feet. Oof… that hurt. The fire wasn't so bad. My resistance must have been high enough to neutralize most of the damage, but hitting against his armour was jarring.

"Yes, I think so." Over the wall a pair of wyvern riders flew, and then a third heading toward where those two healers still were. I followed its path to see that one of the healers was brandishing a massive axe, swinging it about to strike down their opponents. Chrom was making his way toward them, but I didn't know if he would make it before the wyvern rider. "Try and take him down," I said to Kellam, pointed to the wyvern and shooting at it with Flux.

I missed, but Kellam's javelin pierced its wing and sent it spiraling to the ground. "I'll keep those two over there covered," he said, readying another javelin. "You go around the corner and help the others."

I was hesitant, but went anyway. I rounded the corner to see Zach and Lon'qu clashing with a wyvern rider and lancer respectively, while Robin dueled at a range against an archer. Then I saw a woman in very little clothing and a purple tome in her hand. She was fixated on watching Robin fight, unmoving as the battle went on. I drew closer, recognized her as Tharja.

When I got close, however, she was snapped from her trance and magic circles began to swirl around her as she aimed a shot of whatever tome that was at me. I dove out of the way and picked myself up to avoid her next shot. "Wait!" I said, throwing my hands up but still running to the side. "Wait, please! I don't want to fight you!"

"Then you shouldn't have gotten close," she countered, putting her purple tome away and pulling out a yellow one.

"Why are you even fighting?" I cried, blocking the large bolt of Thunder that came at me with a charge of Flux.

That caught Tharja's attention, and she paused her assault. "You're a dark mage?" she asked, lowering her tome. "That is interesting."

"Can you let me talk?" I asked, closing my tome as a sign of peace. I hoped I wouldn't regret that.

"I suppose I can give you a moment to explain why you sided with the Ylisseans."

"They rescued me from a Feroxi dungeon," I said, not daring to move closer. I was wary of her, in spite of her wide smile. "And let me join because of how uncommon dark mages were outside of Plegia."

"They let you join just like that?" she asked, smile dropping from her face. Her eyes drifted over to where Robin was. The tactician had switched to her sword, getting close to the archer she'd been fight and chasing after him in a series of slashes and stabs. "Do you think they would be willing to let me join, as well? Dark mages like ourselves are serious boons, as I'm sure you know."

"I can't say for sure, but maybe if you talk to Robin over there." I pointed to the tactician, and Tharja's face lit up. I made a note to apologize to Robin later for what I sent her way. I sighed and dusted myself off, sand covering my clothes after dodging the dark mage's continuous attacks.

This battle was almost over.

Robert POV:

I ran fairly close to Chrom, though he was a tad faster than me due to how my soreness from fighting the captain slowed me down. He told me to follow him south to rescue the two women surrounded down there. It seemed that even in his bitter worry for his sister, his chivalrous nature still prevailed.

As we got closer, I recognized one of the 'women' as Libra, the war monk swinging around his hefty killing axe in nimble strikes to cut down the soldier coming at him. The other one, however, I didn't recognize. She had pink hair, a bit less vibrant than Olivia's, and a dress like Lissa's in a different shade of pink. She had no weapon, only a fancy metal staff that she used to heal Libra while he dealt with their assailants.

The numbers around them were proving to be too much, however, and I put a bit more speed in my step. I collided sword first with an unsuspecting archer who had an arrow knocked and aimed at the War Monk, the blade cutting through his spine and killing him instantly. Chrom came in close behind me, cleaving a dark mage in two with a roar and a swing from Falchion.

Libra's face, blood-covered and serious, softened several stages at the sight of the blue-haired noble. "Prince Chrom," he called, voice calm and soothing. The girl beside him jerked her eyes up to look at the approaching prince and I. She let out a hefty sigh of relief, slumping over in the process.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Chrom asked, lowering Falchion as we came into speaking distance. "And why do you two fight alone?"

"We were not along when we set out, sire," Libra said, solemn. The girl behind him sulked, turning away. "We lost many brave comrades during our journey here. In truth, I was beginning to doubt the realism of our struggle, but now…" He smiled again, shaking his head. "Now we have come across you, sire. Pray, my prince, let us serve you by patching your wounds and cutting down your foes!"

"Well I would be lying if I said I was not honoured to be joined by such formidable women of the cloth."

"I am no woman, sire. The only woman here is Calliope there. I am in fact a priest. Well, a war monk if you seek to split hairs."

"I… I see."

"Nevertheless, let us not delay!"

"Right." Chrom waved us forward with Falchion and we all rounded the fort separating us from the rest of the battlefield. Further north, I saw the approaching silhouettes of wyverns. With Ricken and Virion at the ready, we had little to worry about in that department. I put my focus on the task ahead of us.

I saw Tharja hovering over Robin, defending the tactician with vicious bolts of lightning. South of them, Krystal was battling a wyvern rider who had flown out from over the courtyard. Her casts of Flux were enough to defend herself from the hand axes, but the distance kept between them was too great for the spell to reach.

The struggle was cut short as a fireball from atop Sumia's Pegasus set the wyvern rider on fire. Riding with the Pegasus knight was Miriel, the studious mage raining down fire on helpless soldiers who had just come out from the courtyard.

Joining them in the sky was Cordelia and Dylan, the latter of whom was engaged in direct combat with another wyvern rider. He killed the rider pecking him to death. Then he grabbed the wounded wyvern and dragged it lower until he threw it into the side of the wall.

Cordelia threw her several of her new javelin in succession, some missing and sailing to the ground, other sticking in the wyvern's hard scales. She was having little trouble in her fight, so I paid it little mind. Zach was having trouble in dealing with a wyvern rider that was keeping out of his reach, swooping down to slash at him, but missing every time as he was too nimble. Then Dylan careened into the wyvern rider, knocking it out of the sky.

The massive lizard almost landed on top of us, but the impact shook the ground. I wondered how many times the laguz could do that without hurting himself in the process. That looked like it would be pretty painful, considering how much harder the wyvern's scales were than Dylan's feathered skin.

Free from his sky-bound nuisance, Zach wiped a hand across his forehead. He looked over to where we were heading over from and waved. "We got ourselves another dark mage, by the looks of things," he shouted, then pointed over to Tharja. Chrom frowned, but said nothing. He narrowed his eyes, presumably to get a look at the unexpected recruit. "Who is this?" he asked when we got closer.

"My name is Libra," the war monk said, bowing while holding a hand over his heart. "I am a priest in the service of Naga."

"And I am Calliope," the pink haired girl said, planting her stave on the ground. "I am a healer being trained by Mister Libra. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the myrmidon said. "Wish it had been under different circumstances, though."

"We can focus on that later," Chrom said. "Who all is left?"

"No idea," Zach said, shrugging. "It's clear out here, but I think there are a few more being dealt with by Robin and the, uh, the dark mage." He pointed to where the courtyard gate was. Inside, Robin was indeed firing off bolts of Thunder alongside Tharja. They were a terrifying pair of great efficiency.

"You'll never save your precious exalt, scum!" roared a new voice, and a javelin sailed out of the courtyard, barely missing Robin and Tharja. That had to have been the boss, with an arm like that. Campari, if I recalled correctly.

Then a sound akin to a wyvern's roar, but deeper and more menacing, exploded from where Robin was standing, and she was coated in purple flames. The flames were vaster than they had been back in Ylisstol, though, spreading outward from where the tactician stood and glassing the sand at her feet. She pointed her hand to the petrified Campari and pulsed with light.

"You're finished," she muttered, then lightning crashed down from the sky, conducted by his heavy metal armour to fry him completely. Just as Validar had, Campari was reduced to a smoldering pile of cherry blossoms when the lightning had cleared. Robin dropped to her knees and Tharja rushed to her side. As the dark mage helped her to her feet, we all rushed closer.

"Tharja," the tactician said between ragged, coughing breathes. "Can you shoot a charge of Thunder into the sky?" She handed the dark mage her tome, and the ball of electricity sailed into the sky. As soon as it was higher than the mountain they were waiting upon, the Pegasus Knights flew out from their hiding place.

"Your Grace!" Phila called, waving to the Exalt.

"Phila!" Emmeryn called back, her voice filled with joy and relief. "I'm so glad you are safe, but how—"

"Your brother's men freed me, but enough of that. Come, we must hurry!"

"What?" came Gangrel's incredulous voice. "Pegasus Knights? How did they… UUURRAAAGH, that damned Ylissean tactician does NOT play fair!" Then a flash of purple and a collection of shadowy figures appeared in magic circles, bows in hand.

"Gods…"

AN: Oof, this chapter was a long boi. That was part of why it is late, though. It turned out a lot longer than I'd expected, what with all the filler stuff in the beginning. But I'm hoping that its 19.5 thousand word count makes up for it being a day and a half late.

I don't have much to say about the chapter itself aside from that, though.

I had bad news, though. Well, bad for me. I received an email from the writing program I applied for, and I was unfortunately declined. But I'm keeping my head up and plan to register for a few other programs for this summer.

With that, I have naught else to say.

All of the Oats have left the building.