*Um… when you reach a certain point…

PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. T_T*

Seven years passed in the blink of an eye.

Henry and Elena gave birth to a daughter two years after Carter was born, and she unsurprisingly looked just like her father as well. She was given the name Raven, and Carter was proud to be a big brother; he took it upon himself to protect her and keep her safe, even at a very young age. Carter was much like his mother, but did inherit some of his father's side, such as his liking for insects. Raven, on the other hand, took after Henry; she loved darkness and macabre, even at the age of four. She was certainly a daddy's girl and learned magic quickly from her father and Uncle Ricken. Carter learned magic as well, but was more interested in combat and tactics. It was a loving family, and Raven and Carter were very close to each other.

Also two years after Harper's birth, Ricken and Nowi gave birth to a son nearly a month before Raven's arrival. While Harper took after her mother, their son, Piers, was a mirrored image of his father. It was rather comedic that even though Harper was older, Piers acted as her bodyguard around the kingdom; if any boys gave her a hard time, here came Piers to her rescue. Harper gained the ability to shift into Manakete form, but Piers, unpredictably, did not. Instead, he showed magical prowess, and with Raven learned magic from his father and Uncle Henry.

Morgan and Noire had a son, whom they named Talon, whom was now three. He inherited the looks of his mother, but his behavioral traits from his father. It was heartwarming to see their family, and they appeared so happy. Talon made his mother come out of her shell slightly, and she always had a smile on her face. The future couples had children; they had come from a hell-bound future to here, where they were able to find love and start a family of their own.

Life was beautifully normal.

So, it was unexpected when Carter and Raven, and Harper and Piers ran up to Henry and Ricken before their school day began, confused looks on their faces. Raven's white braid and Harper's red ponytail swayed as they halted before their fathers.

"What's the matter, kiddos?" Henry questioned as he and Ricken looked down at them.

"We found this weird symbol!" Harper hastily spoke. "It's in an alley next to the school! Follow us!"

"Whoa there, slow down, sweetie," Ricken chuckled as he gently grabbed her shoulder to stop her from taking off. "Can't this wait till after school?"

"But it's really weird, Daddy!" Harper flustered. "You have to see it now!"

Henry looked at Carter, his customary smile on his face. "Think it's something we have to see now, Carter?"

Carter nodded. "I've never seen a sigil like it. Not even in your black tomes."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "When did you look in those? That's a no-no, squirt!"

"No-no? Dad, I'm not a little kid! Plus, you leave them lying about all the time!" Carter sighed impatiently, his arms crossed in a pout that made Henry laugh.

Raven reached up and tugged on Henry's sleeve. "Come on, Daddy!"

"All right, all right," Henry said with a chortle. "Lead us right to it."

Obedient, they children led them into the alley in which they had found the mysterious sigil. The moment Henry laid his eyes on it, he pulled the kids behind him, causing Ricken to do the same regardless if he was not exactly sure why. On the wall, in thick, black paint, was a magical array that Henry knew all too well what it was. He stepped toward it, Ricken staying back with the kids, and put his hands beside it, examining it more closely. No, it wasn't paint. It was tar. This person was no amateur in dark arts, that was assured.

Someone in Ylisse was a dark mage, and was playing a very dangerous game.

"Carter," Henry spoke, "I need you to take your sister, Harper, and Piers and find your mother at the castle. Send her here with Chrom, and stay at the castle, okay?"

"What's the matter, Uncle Henry?" Piers questioned.

Henry looked back at them and flashed a warm smile. "Nothing your father and I can't handle. Now, go."

Once the children were out of sight, Ricken made his way to Henry and inspected the sigil as well. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, sir! It's to summon Risen. This guy's a pro!" Henry sprightly replied. "Smell that? That's tar. Makes the beasties all the more powerful! Man, this is one hex of a spell, nya ha!"

Ricken felt is blood run cold. "H-Henry, this is bad. Someone in Ylisse is trying to summon Risen. What do we do?"

"Welp, tar is flammable, yeah? Torch the sucker!" Henry grinned.

"That doesn't just get rid of the problem, though. We need to find the person, and like now."

"Yeah, I know. But, we have to get rid of this thing first. Wouldn't want those bad boys running amok, right?"

"R-right," Ricken nodded as he took out a fire tome and opened it up. He waved a hand out, and the tar burst into flames. "Takes care of-"

"DADDY!" they heard Piers scream. Ricken grunted in shock, and he and Henry ran out of the alley to see Raven and Piers running toward them, terror on their faces. On ahead, they could see Harper in her Manakete form and Carter, fighting two Risen. Panicked, Henry threw up his arm, and crows swiftly enveloped him and carried him to the two children. When they scattered, Henry stood before them with Goetia in his hand, casting it immediately, killing the Risen. At this, he turned and knelt down, Harper transforming back to her human form, and examined the kids.

"You guys okay?" he asked. Both of them shook in fear as they silently nodded. Ricken, with weeping Raven and Piers in his arms, appeared beside Henry, concern on his face. He handed Raven to Henry, whom took her in his arms and held her as she cried on his shoulder. Ricken then looked over Harper, relieved that she was unharmed. "You two were awesome!" Henry praised, trying to make them feel better. "Those baddies didn't know what hit 'em!"

"Th-think so?" Carter stammered.

"Oh, yeah! Way to be heroes!" Ricken grinned as he rustled Harper's hair. Harper and Carter smiled.

Their joy was interrupted when they heard screaming in the distance. Henry rose to his knees, Raven still in his arms, and he and Ricken looked out into the area from whence it came. With horror did they realize that the sigil they had destroyed had not been the only one in the kingdom, and now, Risen were being summoned all around. How had they let this happen? How could they have let someone slip by completely undetected? It was no mystery that Ylisse was at odds again with Plegia. The past seven years, they had many misunderstandings. Plegians wanted to send some dark mages to Ylisse to train more people in dark magic, but Chrom wouldn't hear of it. Dark magic was an ambiguity, and in the wrong hands, it could be horribly erroneous. Then, Henry was brought up; Ylisse had a dark mage from Plegia already, so why could they not have more? Chrom argued that Henry was not and would not teach dark magic, was married to his tactician and had a family, and was well-liked by his people; he was the one exception. Angered, Plegians began to appeal to mages to have them transfer to their land, and some did leave. In all aspects, it was an inane squabble, but nonetheless growing in heat day by day. It was only a matter of time before a battle would ensue.

And this could very well be the start of it.

Henry and Ricken locked eyes, realizing their worst fears.

"Ricken, I need you to take the little tykes to shelter," Henry ordered as he handed Raven back to his best friend. "I'm gonna do some dismemberment!"

"You got it," Ricken agreed. "Come on, kids."

With Ricken leading the children to safety, Henry started off in the direction the cries erupted from. On the way there, he killed a few stray Risen, meeting some of Frederick's recruits and soldiers along the way. When he reached the area the screams came from, he was glad to see Stahl and Lissa, Frederick and Panne, and Gaius and Sully already there. Emma and her husband, Quinn, were there as well to join the fight and to protect people. Just as Henry was ready to cast a spell-

"Sorry I'm late!" Elena said as she ran past him and to a Risen, which she killed immediately.

Henry grinned deviously as he cast Goetia, killing several Risen. "Leave it to you to have the best entrance ever!"

Elena jumped back to her husband's side, her sword held out in front of her. "What can I say? I've always had a flair for the dramatic."

They fought alongside each other, thinking back to the days during the war. Chrom and Sumia had shown up with Elena, and this was astonishing to see that Sumia had picked up her lance again in order to fight with her husband and friends to protect her people. With so many helping, the Risen were defeated in no time, and Lissa and Sumia began to help the wounded. Emma had received a blow from a Risen that had made a small wound on her shoulder, and thankfully, no one else was wounded badly, either. Elena put her sword in its sheath and turned to Chrom.

"What is going on?" she asked aloud.

"It wasn't me!" Henry piped up, a nervous grin on his face.

"I know better than to accuse you, Henry," Chrom denied. "But where in gods' names did they come from?"

"The kids found a sigil," Henry spoke. "They took us to it- you should have seen it! It was made perfectly! Props to the sucker who did it! Anyway, we got rid of it, but there were more around the city."

Stahl hopped off his horse and gently stroked its mane. "You don't think Plegia has infiltrated, do you, Chrom?"

Chrom furrowed his eyebrows. "It seems that way. We'll certainly have to be on the lookout." He turned his attention to Frederick. "Frederick, I want you and your knights to be on guard at all times. Also, see if you can find the rest of the sigils Henry spoke of."

"Yeah, you won't find 'em," Henry smirked, his finger held up for emphasis. "Once the summoning has been completed, the arrays disappear. It's too bad. I wanted to study them."

With an exhale that held irritation in it, Chrom sheathed Falchion. "Well, Henry, looks like it's up to you."

Henry leaned his head to the side. "Muh?"

"You know how the Plegian military works better than any of us," Chrom began. "I want you to keep your eye open for anything that may look suspicious."

"Whoa, hold on there, Mr. Prince-Sir!" Henry chimed. "It's been over ten years since I left Plegia. I'm sure they changed lots over the years."

"True, but there are also things they have not changed," Frederick sided with Chrom. "We're counting on you, Henry."

When they returned home, they were comforted to see that Ricken and Nowi had taken the kids and hid them in the cellar while they defended the home from the outside. They thanked their friends for protecting their children and went inside the house and into the cellar to find Carter with his sword drawn and Harper in her Manakete form at the bottom of the stairs. Once they saw that all was safe, Carter sheathed his sword and Harper transformed back to her human self. They noticed that they did not see Raven and Piers, and when they found them, they were hiding under a desk. Henry was delighted to see that, just in case, Raven had drawn a magical sigil in the dirt that would cast a powerful paralyzing hex on the poor soul who stepped on it.

Before supper, Henry took a brief nap so that he would be able to stay up all night on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Both worn out from what they had endured earlier, Carter and Raven fell asleep in his arms; it was times such as these that made Elena so happy. Once night fell, Henry gave Elena a gentle kiss and opened the door to leave- he jerked when he saw Ricken and Stahl standing there, waiting for him.

"Um?"

"Sorry," Ricken chuckled lightly. "We should have told you, but we're gonna help you in the watch."

"You don't need to be out alone," Stahl smiled.

"Hey, neat-o! I can practice some new hexes I've been learning to pass the time! Er, that is, if you guys are interested."

"Sorry, Henry, I think I'll pass," Stahl anxiously grinned. Ricken nodded at Stahl's statement, and Henry sighed in defeat.

"Fine. They're really cool, though. Anywho, let's go!"

They were up all night on the lookout for any signs of Plegians sneaking in. By the time daylight broke, they were exhausted and slightly disappointed that they had not seen anyone. Of course, they did not find this odd; after what had occurred the day before, they more than likely knew Ylisse would be on edge, so they would wait a couple of days to play it safe, then strike again. Henry and Ricken called off school for the following week so that they could sleep some, and the students did not mind at all. Three nights passed by, and with the same results. During the day, Frederick and his knights didn't see anything out of the ordinary, either, but they knew it was only a matter of time until something happened.

The fourth night, it was almost the same until the sun just started to peak over the mountains. Ricken nudged Henry's shoulder and pointed down the wall; a hooded figure with climbing tools was scaling down the wall. Just as they started down the stairs to head out of the kingdom to stop the person, a bright red light was seen in various locations, and merely moments later, they could hear the moans of Risen as they made their way about the kingdom. Stahl's horse was at the bottom of the stairs, so he jumped on and took off to find the bugle to sound the alarm, thankful it was nearby. Henry and Ricken pulled out their tomes to prepare for battle and went their separate ways to their homes to warn their families. As they ran, the bugle sounded, relaying the message of an attack.

Chaos ensued. Once Henry reached the house, Elena was already outside, still in her sleepwear, her sword in her hands.

"No!" she called out to him before he fully reached her. "Go after the infiltrator! I'll take care of things here!"

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you to fight these things alone."

"She won't be alone!" he heard Nowi cheerfully speak behind him. He turned to see Ricken and Nowi running toward them. "She'll have only the bravest, meanest, scariest dragon fighting with her!"

"Nowi, that's so not even you," Ricken grinned. He looked at Henry, and his grin transformed to a serious scowl. "Stahl's got some horses for us, Henry. If he's on foot, maybe we can catch him, but we gotta hurry!"

"You got it," Henry nodded. He threw his hand up in the air, and above him, crows began to circle in the air. Head leaned upward to see them, he smiled at his friends. "All right, guys. I need you to help fight the bad guys. Show them that crows are nothing to laugh at!"

At this time, Stahl rode up on his horse, two horses tied by the side. Ricken and Henry untied the horses and hopped on; before they rode off, they gave their wives a glance that expressed love and concern. Right as they rode away, their wives engaged in battle with Risen. Knowing their wives could defend themselves, the three chose to focus on reaching the infiltrator in time. As they neared the gate, they could see Emma and her husband at the turners, raising the gate for them. Stahl nodded in thanks as they rode by, and ahead, they could see the person fleeing, and they sped up their pace.

"So, what's the plan?" Stahl questioned.

"I've got one," Ricken started in reply. "Stahl, Henry, you two cut him off from the sides. I'll go straight toward him. I'm sure he'll have tomes of some sort, so watch out for that. Oh, and don't hurt him. We need to take him with us to ask him questions."

"Aww…" Henry groaned, disappointed.

"Okay, let's do this!" Ricken ordered.

Stahl and Henry steered their horses on outward to the side, nearly twenty feet away from Ricken. They sped up their speed even more, but not so much as to cause exhaustion or harm to their steeds. Unexpectedly, the person skid to a stop and turned around, a black tome in his hands. He opened it up and traced his hand along the pages then threw the hand upward in the sky.

"What's he doing?" Stahl wondered aloud.

About ten yards in front of Henry and Stahl, magical arrays appeared in the sky, and red light burst from them. Out of them, Risen fell onto the ground, rose to their feet, and began to charge. A laugh erupted from Henry's mouth.

"No way!" he awed. "This is one remarCAWble dark mage!"

The Risen reached them and began to grab at their legs. Stahl slashed his sword at them, and Henry cast Goetia, but there were too many, and they were pulled off their horses to the ground. Even though he was worried about his friends, he didn't look back or slow down- Ricken knew this person had to be stopped. He withdrew a Wind tome; hopefully, he could just knock the person off his feet and slow him down. Hastily, he opened the tome and cast a Wind spell just powerful enough to knock the person down. Just as it was to hit him, the person closed his tome and threw his hand out, a massive black claw emitting from it and dissipating the spell; however, it was not finished there. Before Ricken had time to react, the dark claw hit the horse and Ricken. The horse shot forward and flung Ricken off, whom hit the ground and rolled over four times and slid a few feet, finally coming to a stop facedown. Henry and Stahl saw this, and horror filled their chests.

"RICKEN!" Henry yelled as he tried to fight his way to his best friend.

Delirious from the attack, Ricken fought to stay conscious. He felt someone grab him by the hair and lift his head up, causing him to grunt in pain. His entire body screamed in agony, and now this person was holding him up by his hair as a sign of mockery. Through the blood, he could see that the hooded person was looking down at him. Was this it? Finally able to fully open his eyes, the rising sun helped him to see the person, whom was just as shocked as he was. His lungs felt as though the air in them had turned to steel, and as he opened his mouth to speak, the person gently laid him to the ground, turned, and ran into the nearby forest. Henry and Stahl defeated the remaining Risen and hurried over to Ricken, whom was making an effort to sit up on his knees.

"Ricken! Oh, gods, you're hurt!" Stahl panicked.

While normally, Henry would have made jokes about blood at a time like this, it was certainly not the time now. He was deeply worried about Ricken as he looked him over. On Ricken's left hand, his middle and index fingers were gone down to below the nail. A gash was on his forehead that bled immensely, and he was covered in scrapes, dirt, and bruises. Surely, there may have been some broken bones or sprains as well. His apparel was also torn in various places; he would be unable to mend those clothes. He needed help five minutes ago.

"I'm fine. Go after her," Ricken winced. Nauseated, he doubled over with his right arm on his stomach.

"Not a chance!" Henry argued. "Come on, we're taking you to get help."

"I said I'm fine!" Ricken yelled, frustrated that because of him, they were going to lose sight of the infiltrator. "We'll lose her if you don't go!"

"And we'll lose you if we do!" Stahl pointed out. He looked around to see that Ricken's horse had been killed by the person's attack. Luckily, his and Henry's horse survived. With a whistle, he called the horses to them, and Henry lifted Ricken onto his horse before he mounted it as well. They began to ride back to Ylisse, and before Ricken could stop himself, he leaned over the side and threw up. Henry patted Ricken's back once he was through, and Ricken wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Hey," he weakly croaked as he leaned his head back on Henry's chest for support. He was so weak and tired from blood loss, and Henry and Stahl only hoped they could get him help in time.

"Hmm?" Henry said, not minding Ricken's action at all.

"I know who the infiltrator is," Ricken nearly whispered. "It's…" He said nothing more, signifying to Henry that he had slipped into unconsciousness.