Chapter 21
The New Tactician
The day was bright. The Ylissean castle was protected and this time of peace seemed forever lasting. In the castle, there was the daughter of the great tactician himself, hanging around in the barracks. She looked on at the papers in there. Many were records that were about some of the Shepherds, or about the strategies that the tactician had used. She looked at a certain paper. It seemed to have shown his strategies and results of the battles that took place.
"Morgan? What are you doing in here. It's kind of depressing don't you think?" Severa asked, entering the barracks.
"Not really. It's honestly really cool to be in here. Most of the information here talks about the past battles my father led." Morgan said, excitedly.
"It doesn't really interest me much." Severa said, in a bored expression. "But if you don't mind, would you tell me about the day you had met your parents? You did promise me."
"Sure. It's a pretty fun story. But, can you just give me a small explanation of what happened when my parents became engaged?" She asked
"I only saw a bit. Why do you want to know? Didn't Lucina already tell you?"
"Mother did tell me, but I want to know how it looked like in your eyes." Morgan said, grinning.
"Hmm. Alright then, but you're telling me your story afterwards."
Morgan nodded as she looked in excitement.
"So basically, Cynthia was curious about what Robin and Lucina may have been doing as they weren't at the celebration..."
"Hey, mom? I'm going to go see what Lucy and Robin are up to. They've been gone for some time." Cynthia said, going outside of the tent.
"It has been some time. I think I'll go see as well." Sumia said, standing up too.
Robin, please don't do anything stupid. Chrom thought as he got up and followed.
The family stepped outside as they saw Robin on one knee, holding out his hand as he showed Lucina the ring.
"Is this really happening! I need to get a closer look!" Cynthia said, trying to move as close as she can.
"Stop. They don't know we're here." Chrom said, stopping her.
"Alright. I was just joking. Oh wait, I have to go tell Severa!" She said as she ran back to the dining tent.
Sumia and Chrom continued looking at what was to happen. "This reminds me of when you proposed." Sumia smiled.
"It does, doesn't it." Chrom said, showing a smile as well.
"Severa, look!" Cynthia said, dragging her over.
Severa looked at Cynthia in annoyance, but looked in front of her. The pair was embraced in a hug, and as they broke off, Robin placed the ring on Lucina's finger.
Severa smiled at the sight. "I always thought Lucy would be the last person to fall in love."
"Apparently not." Inigo said behind her. "But hey, there's still many more flowers out there." He let out with a laugh.
Severa looked behind Inigo, as she saw everybody come outside of the tent to look at the pair. She moved next to Cynthia. "You basically alerted every single shepherd to look outside."
"Whoops?" She said, playfully shrugging her shoulders.
Severa shook her head, as she continued to look at the pair. They simply continued to smile at one another.
"Woo! Congratulations sis!" Cynthia said, running towards the pair.
"Cynthia, wait!" Chrom yelled out.
Robin looked at his direction as he noticed Cynthia running along, with most of the shepherds right behind her. "Wait, huh?"
"C-Cynthia?!" Lucina blushed.
The shepherds quickly arrived as they carried them inside the tent, to celebrate the occasion.
"Did that really happen?!" Morgan said, surprised.
"Yeah. Why? Did your mother say something differently?"
"No, she said that she was caught off guard by the shepherds, but she didn't say that she and father were carried!"
"Well, it was a hectic night. And Lucina didn't tell you about that, probably because she was embarrassed about it. I mean, she was as red as a tomato!"
"You did catch then off guard while they were just engaged." Morgan laughed.
"Hey, go blame Cynthia for that." She smiled. "But anyways, it's your turn to tell a story."
"Alright. I've gotcha. Wait, now that I think about it, you weren't there when I first appeared, right?"
"Nope. I was off doing some shopping. Why else would I ask for you to tell me?" Severa asked.
Severa and her shopping, money wasting ways. She thought to herself. "Alright then, let's start!"
After Robin proposed, everything in his life had felt brighter. Now with the war over, there was some actual time of peace until more fighting would replace the peace. At this point, the tactician had believed that his life couldn't get any better. That seemed to change as the shepherds had entered into a new area. They took a small detour to gain Naga's tear, but that wasn't all that was found.
The shepherds slowly marched towards their destination. They had been celebrating their victory over Walhart, and Robin's proposal.
The pair walked together as they marched on. The two held hands, and smiled seeing the rings on their fingers.
Severa and Owain walked behind them. "They haven't stopped smiling since yesterday." Severa said with an annoyed expression.
"Ahh, but it's amazing to see that this powerful duo, has united in a way that connects them even more. Imagine how amazingly coordinated they'll be!"
Severa rolled her eyes. "I guess now that the war is over, they won't mind me taking a small break." She walked towards Donnel. "Hey, father? Mind if you can give me a tiny amount of money?" She asked innocently.
"Why sure. But, wha'd ya need it for?"
"Oh, only some small things, like clothes." She said, still talking in a innocent way.
"Alrighty then." He then went to his pocket to take out a bag of gold. "So, how much d'ya need?"
"Well, I'm not too sure about how expensive it may be. Wait, what if I try to buy something, but it's too expensive? I might look like a bad person."
"Hmm, I guess you could take all of it?" He said, wondering if this was a good idea.
"Really?! Thanks dad! I'll make sure to bring most of it back!" Severa smiled, walking away.
"No problem. Anything for my daughter." Donnel smiled.
"That was easier than I thought." Severa grinned. She then walked back towards Owain. "Owain, come with me, we're going somewhere."
"Ahh, I see that you need my assistance. Are we going to spar, or simply train?" Owain asked, prepared for battle.
"We're going shopping, and you're carrying." Severa grinned.
"Huh?! W-wait! I have other things to do!"
"Wait, h-how did you know about that?" Severa asked.
"Grandmother told me about it. She said that she laughed when it happened because of the act you pulled off." Morgan laughed.
"Okay, enough distractions. Can you get on with your story?" Severa said, annoyed.
"Alright, fine. Anyways-"
The shepherds continued on and marched forward. Even though the war was over, there was still much to be done. Chrom decided to go check out some ruins that may have contained a rare artifact that was Naga's tear.
"Oh c'mon! Why did we have to take this detour? We're finally done with this war!" Lissa cried.
"Because we're looking for Naga's tear, and it will be useful to us, especially when we're fighting Grima."
Lissa sighed. "Alrighty then. But just so you know, I'm going to get as many sweets as I want when we get back to Ylisse!"
"Alright. That's fine with me." Chrom shrugged.
Lissa smiled. "Anyways, what is Naga's tear anyways? Some relic or something?"
"It's an artifact that is said to contain some of Naga's power. Odds may be that it doesn't exist, but we were so close to where it may have been, so I decided we check it out." He explained.
"So you don't even know if it even exists." Lissa asked, quietly.
"Not at all."
"I'll see you around." Lissa said, slowly walking away.
Sumia walked towards the exalt as she saw Lissa walk away. "Good morning Chrom. Did anything happen with Lissa?"
"She's just angry that we're taking this detour. I'm sure some others are mad as well. Robin, I'm sure isn't pleased."
"I doubt it. He was still with Lucina the last time I saw him, and he looked happy as well." Sumia replied back.
"I see. At least I know he isn't mad." Chrom sighed in relief.
"I'm sure nobody is truly mad at your decision. At most, it will take away three days from our break. Plus, we've never been to this area, so it's nice to visit this place and look around."
"I guess so. I just hope we can find the artifact we came here for. It can really help us."
"We'll find it. But, getting off topic, now that Robin's engaged, how do you feel?" She asked.
"Hmm? Oh, ah well, it's going to be weird to call one of my close friends my son." He laughed with an off expression. "But, what do you think?"
"I personally think it's perfect. I know that Robin is an amazing person that will take care of Lucy, no matter what."
"I guess that's a nice way of thinking about it." He smiled.
"After all, they do remind me of us." Sumia said, showing a sincere smile.
"So they do." Chrom smiled back.
Frederick quickly approached. "Milord. There's some trouble ahead of us,"
"What's happened?" Chrom asked.
"There seems to be some Risen attacking a small town. If we don't intervene, the town may be destroyed."
"Alright. Go tell Robin about this. He'll know how to approach this situation."
Frederick nodded, as he went to get Robin.
"More fighting, right?" Sumia asked.
"I'm afraid so. But after this, we'll head back to Ylisse. I promise." He said sincerely.
"Right." Sumia smiled. "Let's go then."
"Wait. Why are you telling me this in Chrom's perspective?"
"Well, my mother told me that Robin and her weren't doing anything on that day but just talk. Also, we were just getting to the good part." Morgan said, annoyed.
"Alright alright. Carry on." Severa puffed."
"So Chrom was now aware of Risen in the area, so he decided to go on and get rid of them."
The pair continued to walk on as they walked along some wagons. The war was over, and there was finally some time relax. They continued to walk as they began to notice the scenery around them. "This place is quite beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is. It's amazing how lovely some place like a forest can look." Lucina said with a smile, but then frowned. "There were no views like this in my time. The land was all dark, and barren."
Lucina then looked back at Robin. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lowered the mood like that."
"No, it's fine. But, I just want to let you know that, that won't be the case this time. We're going to change the future, and I'm here to help you achieve that." He smiled.
"Thank you, Robin. You always know how to lift my spirits." Lucina smiled.
"It's no problem. I'd be glad to do anything for you. After all, we are engaged." Robin said with a blush.
Lucina blushed as she smiled. "And I would be glad to do anything for you as well."
"Robin. We need your assistance." Frederick interrupted as he approached the tactician.
Robin turned to look at the knight. "Huh? What's happened?"
"There's been sightings of Risen, and there's also some reports of a town close by."
"I see." He said, looking at Lucina. She gave a nod. "Right then. I'll go over there now."
He walked towards Chrom's location as Lucina followed beside him. "It seems that there's still trouble to deal with." She said, sighing.
"Yeah, unfortunately. There seems to be trouble everywhere we go." Robin said with a worried expression.
"Yes, but it will soon be over. We're getting closer to ending this all, and to save this world's future." Lucina replied back, optimistically.
"Yeah. And to live a life of peace together." He smiled.
Lucina gave a weak smile. "Yes, but-"
"There you are." Chrom interrupted.
"So what's the situation? Any huge threats?" Robin asked.
"No. It seems that most of the risen are roaming around, but there isn't really anything out of the ordinary."
"Good. Then there isn't much risk in this battle. Are all the shepherds ready?"
"A few went off to go shopping." Chrom said, annoyed.
"Severa left, didnt she?" Lucina asked.
The exalt nodded. "She left along with Owain."
"Ah well. I'm sure we can still protect the town with the remaining shepherds we have."
"Okay then. but what do you say we should do?"
"Same as we usually do." Robin grinned.
"Let's move on then." Chrom sighed.
"Alright. Everybody, ready up. It's not a big mission, but don't let your guard down." Chrom said, leading the shepherds on. There were a few shepherds missing who most likely went off to see the sights. Maribelle and Ricken both seemed to have left as well. However, this didn't stop the shepherds from going to protect the local town. They continued to walk towards the Ruins of time as the princess noticed something.
"Hey, Robin?" Lucina said, showing a worried tone.
"Yes Lucina?"
"I think there's somebody over there. She's on the ground..."
"She seems to be unconscious..." He said quietly. "Chrom, continue on with the plan. I have to go see something. Lucina, Cynthia and Inigo, follow me."
"Robin, what's going on?" Chrom asked, worried.
"There seems to be somebody passed out over there by their self. I'm going to see if we can bring them to safety." Robin replied back.
"Alright. I trust you, but be careful, and watch each others backs."
The tactician nodded, as he continued to march on. Usually, Chrom would be first to try and help anybody in trouble, but something felt strange about this. It's as if the tactician felt something tell him to do so.
"Are you alright Robin?" Cynthia asked.
"I'm fine. But right now, we should be focusing on our mission."
"I doubt any of us need to actually focus. These risen won't be able to keep up with any of our moves." Inigo said, confident in their abilities.
"Let's continue regardless. Father and the others may get into a bad situation." Lucina said, rushing the group.
"Right. Let's go then."
"Morgan! You need to move!"
"Huh? What's... What's going on?"
"Hurry up. I can't keep him off for too long! J-just hurry up!"
"I don't understand... What's going on?"
There was suddenly a loud roar. "YOU WON'T ESCAPE!"
"Huh!?" She said as she began to wake up. Man, that was weird. Where am I? Oh well, I think father just got lost or something. Maybe I did. Where was I before this anyways? She thought. She continued to think and to try and remember any memories, but was immediately greeted with a headache.
"Gods! What was that even about?" She said, bothered by the odd pain. She shook her head. I should continue on and move.
She got up from the floor, and moved on. As she walked, she noticed some odd creatures moving. The heck are those things?
She continued moving on as she caught sight of a small group. "Hey there. Do you guys know where this place is?"
"Watch out!" Cynthia yelled out.
She turned around to see the creature moving with an axe. I can't move. What the is this? Why can't I move?!
"Thoron!"
There was a ray of lighting, quickly hitting the risen behind her. She fell as she saw the creature behind her collapse.
"C'mon. We have to move away from here." Inigo said, bringing the lost girl with him.
"W-wait! What is this place?"
"I'll explain later, let's just move."
The two quickly ran behind three other figures. Two of them seemed familiar, yet odd. Why do I have a weird feeling about this?
The fighting stopped quickly as the group surrounded the lost girl. "I'm glad we were able to make it to you on time. You almost got hurt."
"I guess so." She said quietly.
"Hey, what's your name?" Cynthia asked.
"My name?"
"Of course silly. So, what is it?"
"Ehh..."
Robin stepped up to the girl. "You've forgotten your name?"
"I don't even know where I am." She said. However, she looked closely at Robin. Morgan, you need to move!
"My head!" She screamed out, in pain.
"Huh? Wait, are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine." She said quietly. "But I did remember something. My name's Morgan, apparently."
"Well, it's nice to meet you. My name's Robin, and I'm the tactician of the Shepherds."
More memories quickly entered Morgan's mind. She flinched in pain, but began to smile. "I've figured it out!"
"Figured what out?" Lucina asked.
"There's not much time for this." Inigo said, looking at nearby risen.
"He's right. We'll speak of this later. Right now, we have these things to take care of. Cynthia, Inigo. Go take Morgan somewhere safe."
They nodded, and with that, the tactician and princess were gone. "They're pretty quick." Morgan said, stunned.
"Heck yeah they are. And strong too. I think that they may even be stronger than MY father and mother." Cynthia said, grinning.
"Hmm. But who are they? The two who went off, I mean." Morgan asked, curious.
"Robin's our tactician. He's been with the shepherds after my father had ended up finding him on some random field. But he's a really cool guy who is a master tactician, more known as the heroic tactician of Ylisse!"
"It's him! It has to be!" Morgan thought happily. "What about the girl with him?"
"She's a princess from a destroyed future. She came back to this time in order to prevent her dark future from ever happening. She's also engaged to Robin and also happens to be my sister, and the daughter of the Exalt."
Morgan simply gave a confused look.
"I'll try to have them explain themselves later."
"Alright then." She said, walking back to the rest of the shepherds with Cynthia. I wonder though. How did I even end up here?
The battle went on slowly as the day passed by. However, it went by successfully with no casualties or injuries. Due to the best result possible, Chrom was also able to receive the rare artifact that was Naga's tear. The army held a small celebration for the occasion.
"Hard to believe it, but we were able to actually find it." Chrom smiled.
"It shall be a great use for us." Lucina said happily.
"Robin, Lucina? Someone wants to talk to you two." Frederick said, as he walked away afterwards.
The tactician gave a look to Chrom. "Just go already." He laughed.
"Alright, alright. Jeez." Robin said while laughing.
Lucina smiled. "You two always seem to get along well."
"He's the first friend I made since I was found in the field I was in. I still appreciate what he's done for me."
"And the shepherds, and me, appreciate what you've done for us."
The stopped at the outside of the tent. Well, we're here...
They walked into the tent where they saw Morgan talking with Cynthia. "Oh, there you guys are!" Cynthia said, glad.
"So. What did you guys need from us?" Robin asked.
"Not much really. Only that you forgot about me." Morgan said, pointing her finger at Robin.
"Forgot about you?" He said in confusion.
"Of course! How did you forget all about your daughter!" She said as loudly as possible.
"D-daughter?" Lucina said, shocked.
"Yeah. Y'know, your little girl, princess. Stuff like that."
Robin gave a confused look at first, but began to show a smile. "I'm honestly surprised that I didn't notice before."
"What do you mean?" Lucina asked, nervous about the situation.
"She has your hair color, which is a given. She's also wearing a coat that looks exactly like mine. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it is mine."
"It is! You gave it to me on one of my birthdays. Speaking of birthdays, what's today's date?" Morgan asked.
"Today is June 18th."
"What?!"
"What's so surprising?" Robin asked.
"That means that you missed my birthday! Now where's my present!"
I've only known her for five minutes, and she's already a handful... "Let's get back on topic. We know that your name is Morgan, and you got your tactician robes from me. You also happen to have cerulean hair, most likely coming from Lucina. This just leaves one farfetched, but possible explanation. You came from a time where Lucina and I had a child." He said, blushing.
"Woah, isn't there only one timeline? There's no such thing as time travel."
"That explains why you're even here though. You say that I'm your father, right?" He asked.
Morgan nodded.
"Then how could I be your father if I'm only in my twenties, while your around sixteen?"
"You do look a bit younger. But if that's the case, how did I even get here? Not that I'm complaining. Meeting you like this is pretty cool."
"I don't have a clue about that. But, I'm assuming that me getting engaged caused your existence." Robin said, showing a smile.
"Oh right! I forgot. Then that makes you my mother!" She said, pointing at Lucina.
"M-mother?" Lucina said, still nervous.
"Yup! I don't have many memories of you, or anybody else for that matter. But it's nice to meet you, mom!"
"It's nice meeting you too, daughter." Lucina said, showing a smile.
"Alright! We're one big happy family now!" Morgan let out, excited.
Robin smiled, but noticed something in one of her pockets. "Hey, Morgan. Is there something in one of your pockets?"
"Huh? Oh, let me check." She said, as she looked through her pockets. "I did! It's this book about tactics. Wait, I remember! You gave me this on the same birthday!"
"I guess that's more proof. Look on the inside. There should be some notes that I have placed."
Morgan looked inside the book. "There is! Some are even improvements of the book itself!"
"Welp, I'm off. See you guys around somewhere." Cynthia said out of nowhere as she left.
"So... father. What are you gonna get for my birthday?"
"This again?"
"Yeah! It's been a month already since. You shouldn't complain about it. If anything, I should be complaining, which I am." Morgan said, grinning.
Lucina simply smiled at the sight. It's hard to believe that I'm to have a daughter with Robin. Lucina thought, blushing.
"Hey, are you guys in here? Cynthia told us to come in." Chrom said, entering.
Cynthia, why the heck did you tell Chrom?! Robin thought.
"So, who are you?" Morgan asked, suspiciously.
"I'm Chrom. Leader of the shepherds."
"Oh, I remember! Cynthia talked about you for a bit. You're her and Lucina's father too, right?"
He nodded.
"And on your right is Lucina's mother, Sumia!"
"Cynthia's talked about us some, hasn't she." Sumia smiled.
"Yup. Oh, where are my manners! Anyways, my name is Morgan! And I just want to say, it's nice to meet you both. Grandma and grandpa!" Morgan said excitedly, giving the two a hug.
"Grandfather?" Chrom said, confused. He then gave Robin a serious look. "You... Haven't been doing anything with Lucina, have you?"
"No! He hasn't!" Lucina answered for him. "Morgan simply appeared this afternoon. Robin's guessed that she appeared because we had gotten engaged."
"That does make sense. In the original timeline, the future children never came. Their engagement changed time." Sumia said, trying to make sense of the situation.
"I guess so. But I can't believe it. I already have grandchildren..."
"Hey, I'm sure it's not that bad. Most grandparents are around their sixties. You're only in your twenties!" Morgan said, optimistically.
"Plus, I'm sure it isn't too bad. Morgan seems like a good granddaughter." Sumia smiled.
"Yeah, what grandma said!" Morgan continued on.
"I'll try then. But Robin?"
"Yes Chrom?" Robin said, immediately answering back.
"Good luck with being a parent." He said, grinning as he left.
"Seems that Chrom is a bit uncomfortable being called a grandfather." Sumia said, laughing. "But it was nice to meet you Morgan. I hope to speak with you some other time." She said, leaving.
"I'll make sure to do that. See ya around!"
Sumia left the tent with a wave. "Guess we're back to the three of us." Morgan said.
"Yeah. Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?" Robin asked.
"Ehh, not really."
"I see."
"It's not that I don't want to share it with you guys. It's just that I lost my memories, but I only have some that involved you."
"Only me?"
"Yeah. But seeing some of the other shepherds felt familiar. It's odd with mom though." Morgan said, wondering about something.
"Huh? How?" Lucina asked.
"It's like I know that you played a huge part in my life, but I can't remember a thing about you."
"Not one single memory?"
Morgan shook her head.
Lucina looked downwards.
"Hey, don't think this is a bad thing." Robin spoke to her. "This is like a chance to get to know her in a more personal level, rather than a parent figure."
"Right." Lucina said, showing a weak smile.
"That sounds pretty exciting." Morgan said, continuing to remain enthusiastic. "But, I'm going to try as hard as I can in order to get some memories of you mom. I promise!"
"Thank you Morgan. It means much for you to do this." Lucina smiled.
"Aww, you shouldn't be thanking me. I should be thanking both of you. You saved me from those creatures out there. You also got married too, which is why I'm even here."
"W-we're only engaged." Lucina said, blushing.
"Still though. I'm thankful to you two. I can't wait to learn everything from you two personally like this!"
"Anything for our daughter." Robin smiled.
"We'll do everything possible to keep you happy." Lucina said, smiling as well.
"Aww, come here you two!" Morgan said, bringing the two over for an embrace. "One big happy family we are, aren't we?"
"Yes. We are." Lucina said, smiling. I don't know much about parenthood, but I'll do as best as I could, to grant her a happy future.
Robin continued to stay in the embrace. He smiled upon seeing his daughter and future wife, enjoying themselves. What a family we are. I honestly should've noticed that Morgan was bound to show up though. As for having a daughter... All I can really say is that I may not know how to raise Morgan, or how to even treat her. But I will make sure that I'm able to keep her safe, and to make sure that we're able to remain a happy family, no matter what.
A/N: I'm finally back! And finally, Morgan is introduced. Anyways, I changed the picture used by this fic, but It's been changed for quite some time. I'm just glad that I'm able to write again without a care in the world (not really because of summer homework...).
But yeah. Next chapter will be up, guaranteed in two weeks time. I'm off to a vacation, which is why in updating in two weeks again, but I'm hoping that once I return, I'm going to have lots of ideas and drafts to work with.
Off topic news segment: I had a Smash 4 game streamed. It was on a tournament in Next Level Arcade in Brooklyn, New York. I entered as Delfy. Unfortunately, I was demolished on the game on stream. If you're interested, go to team spooky's channel and look for the game. Or just type in "Delfy Vs" or something. (I'll post more info in my bio later on, hopefully…)
Also, funnily enough, this was going to be a small 2-3k word chapter. It got kind of long somehow, at least in my definition of a long chapter. (I don't really write much, but I've seen some amazing talent write 5k word chapters a week or more. I write a lot less, but oh well.) Anyways, forgive me for any errors. I kind of rushed a bit to finish by today.
So, I'll be back in two weeks. Hope to write my mind out once I arrive back. And like always, I'll see you guys later, and have a good one!