Welp! I lost my 3DS! That sucks! I got it replaced though so we're fine. Anyway, uh… Not a lot to say here. Sorry it's been forever and a half. It's been too long.

The Apocryphal One: I actually made a mistake in that little authors note- apparently it's a paralogue, not a Xenologue. Go figure. But yeah, most of the free spotpass paralogues seemed kinda forced. This chapter will be doing my best to clean them up. I may as well write them all in since I already wrote in one...

As with the rest of the paralogues, there won't be any rhyme or reason to where and how these happen. Other than Aurora being very baffled by it heheh.

Also, I've been considering doing comissions. Apparently a friend of a friend does them and it was suggested I try the same. What do you guys think?

Anyhow, Please, do enjoy!

Chapter 25

The biggest lesson Aurora had learned from warfare was the idea of fighting unfairly; the art of "dirty fencing" as she had coined it. She was not particularly strong, nor was she all that skilled, but she was quick as a whip and perfectly willing to fight in a manner that some would call "dishonorable" but when it came to life or death struggles, she found that honor was a bit of a foolish notion. A dead opponent was a dead opponent, no matter the method. To her, there was no difference between a hypothetical opponent she had fought in a fair match against or one who she had kicked in the shins and stabbed while they were down.

As such, she had to begrudgingly admire Gangrel's style of combat. The man was a dervish on the battlefield, leaping to one foe, slashing or stabbing or electrocuting them with his jagged blade, before rapidly leaping away with no regard for whether he had killed them or not to quickly stab a man whose back was turned. An asset was an asset, she supposed reluctantly. It was clear that while this man was of no match to someone like Chrom, he was a close second. Certainly more dangerous than Aurora was, especially with that strange electrified blade he held. The sword actually was giving Aurora some ideas.

Sharpening Levin Swords was a task much disliked no matter who did them. One had to be careful not to discharge the lightning enchantments placed on the weapon, and rather than a much more efficient grindstone, they required a smaller whetstone that could navigate the jagged and wild edge. It was the enchantment that intrigued the quartermaster the most, however. She quizzed Ricken on it (as Miriel's general habit of sesquipedalian loquaciousness made it harder to decipher the meaning of her words) and discovered how the blade worked.

The blade's shape was actually conducive to the enchantment, if perhaps not its actual effectiveness. While still sharp, it took some getting used to and needed to be handled a bit differently than another blade, but it was a tradeoff to the lightning that coursed through it. The spell itself when discharged resembled the spell Elthunder, and according to the young mage, the blades were not unique; there were weapons enchanted with wind, fire, and even the spell Nosferatu could be placed on a blade with the right skills.

Ricken was excited, as he had been studying the tricky art of enchantment for a while now, and proudly demonstrated his progress, pulling out a long dagger and whirling it, causing it to burst into flames, scorching the dummy he gestured at. Aurora whistled lowly, an idea forming in her mind.

"So, could you enchant a bigger weapon? Say a proper sword?"

"Uh… maybe!" Ricken nodded uncertainly. "I mean, I haven't tried anything bigger yet, but I'm sure having more weapons with enchantments on them wouldn't be a bad idea, just as a backup… Generally mages are best suited for magical combat, but having a few scattered through an army can really add to their diversity."

Aurora glanced at her own sabre, recalling how she had once set her own weapon ablaze to battle Aversa. A slow crooked grin spread across her lips. "...So I have an idea that might be crazy, but something tells me I could need it."

Aurora had to wonder how many of the Grimleal they had to kill were actually serving Grima willingly, and how many of them were just brainwashed or under some kind of magical puppeteering. One thing was for certain however; Grimleal were much more dangerous and far better organized than even the most intelligent of the Risen. While they lacked the sheer numbers that the Risen had, they still far outnumbered the Shepherds, and while they might not have been as well equipped, they made up for it with their sheer, ferocious fanaticism. Aurora could swear that the most recent one that had been slain had been smiling when Mio had lashed her blades out and striking him down.

"Shut up!" Mio roared at another, as her blades flicked forward, Aurora at her side, flicking her own sabre left and right, forcing a would-be flanker to stumble back. Their blades whipped forth in tandem, the pair of them making a dangerous prospect to approach. They were even more deadly with Noire guarding their flank from a distance, occasionally launching an arrow seemingly from nowhere.

Eventually, the Grimleal's ranks were beginning to scatter. Those that were brainwashed or being forced into service scattered or surrendered, and the most fanatical of them were all that remained. A smattering of mad servants to the dark dragon, but the majority of their ranks had been broken. The only thing holding them together was Aversa. Should she fall, so would her army.

The problem was, the witch was nowhere to be seen. She had been at the far back of the Grimleal forces, but had vanished among the low mountains and trees. Being on a pegasus gave her a kind of mobility that only a handful of the shepherds could match. Aurora bristled nervously. The Grimleal were breaking off and regrouping, and Aversa was still breathing.

Unless the off chance she got hit by a stray arrow or something. The thought crossed Aurora's mind as she glanced at a Grimleal curled on the ground, an arrow through his throat. She stepped over him, blade low, but stance ready. Mio stuck close, warily glancing about. It was oddly quiet suddenly.

Mio glanced over her mother's shoulder, and then uttered a yelp, grabbing Aurora and dragging her to the ground to avoid a pulse of dark magic, which erupted from the ground. Aurora groaned. Of course, she was here.

"Hell." She muttered, rolling to her feet, snatching her blade up, tightly clenching the hilt, pacing in a quick semicircle as she focused on where the darkness had come from, eyes flitting up. The black shadow that was Aversa's pegasus.

Any kind of cavalry had an edge over standard infantry, and being capable of flight made her opponent even more dangerous. Aurora leapt to avoid another wave of dark magic. Aversa was hurling her spells in every direction, occasionally focusing one directly at Aurora. She was scattering the Shepherds for cover.

Of course, she had made a key error in exposing herself so obviously.

"Blood and thunder!" Roared a surprisingly sturdy voice, an arrow whistling through the air, coming within a hair's breadth of hitting Aversa. She dropped into a dive, rocketing low towards the ground. Aversa snapped up, flying low and fast.

It was time. Aurora tossed her sabre aside and drew a second one, that had a slight glow to it, gleaming crimson in the sun. With a vicious whirl, Aurora swung the blade, causing flames to lick forth and burst forward. She felt a grim satisfaction in Aversa's yelp; the woman hadn't learned a thing, and her uniform was as flammable as ever. She dove from her pegasus and rolled quickly in the dirt, extinguishing the flames that licked at her outfit. She reeked of burnt fur and feathers, groaning. Aversa rose, still smoking slightly, whirling her spear and tome.

"I'm starting to learn." Aurora said, blunt and cool. "I've had an inkling for some time, but now-" She lashed the blade out, the flames lashing forward, forcing Aversa to back off further, "I've learned. And I'm going to press this-" Another whirling slash, twirling her blade in a lightning fast figure-eight pattern, and Aversa whipped out her tome, dark magic oozing forth. Aurora moved to evade them, and Mio began to flank Aversa, approaching from the other side, her blades seeking forth. Aversa lashed her spear out and flickered her tome, bursts of dark magic forcing the mother-and-daughter duo to back off, but they continued, advancing and lashing. Even worse, Aversa knew she couldn't stop, because it was certain that Noire would be attempting to line up another shot.

She changed tactics suddenly, placing a glowing hand upon the ground, launching out dark tendrils of inky black magic, lashing out violently. One tendril lashed over Aurora's side and she felt-

Pain. Agony. It was like being torn open without so much as a scratch on her skin- as for any other damage, she couldn't be sure. It was hot, then cold, then hot, but it was nothing but pain. Magic hurt like hell, no matter what kind it was, but this- this was something unfathomable. Was this what the victims of dark magic always felt?

Aurora reeled and staggered away, scrambling away from the circle of magic. Aversa was sweating, holding the protective circle of dark magic out as long as she could. Mio circled, waiting patiently, while Aurora dragged herself back a bit, taking a moment to sip from her Elixir, grimacing. She didn't want to take any chances with that sort of magic. Without warning, Aversa leapt from her magic circle, charging and whirling her spear, Mio diving out of the way a hairsbreadth away from the tip, actually snagging the strap on her scabbard and cutting it.

Aurora leapt to her feet, and jerked her flaming sword forward just in time to knock the spear back and-

"Fuck!" Aurora blurted as Aversa turned with the direction her spear was being pushed, viciously batting the wooden haft of her spear slammed into Aurora, sending her flying. Aversa hit hard.

Aurora raised her head from the dirt, seeing stars. "No auntie Malde," She droned, dazed. "I don't wanna dance with the boys~" She landed face first in the dirt, out cold. Aversa wasted no time, leaping forward to stab the girl on the ground when she was struck three times in the back- an arrow, sunk into her shoulder blade, and two curved blades stabbed viciously into her back. Aversa stared upwards for a moment, her back arched from the three weapons at once, before she twisted to the side, crashing into the mud on her face.

Mio quickly flicked the blood from her swords, lifting Aurora up with some effort, grunting. "Noire!" She called sharply. "Good shot! Could you get Mama's swords? They're just over there." Noire skidded down the slope, clutching her bow, back to her normal self once again.

"I-Is Aurora okay?" She blurted, as she scrambled to pick up the fallen weapons.

"She'll live, but she's gonna have a bad headache." Mio grunted. "Come on, let's go. She might be bleeding a bit, but I can't see through all the muck..." The two girls carried Aurora's unconscious form away from the battle that was steadily drawing to a close.

Aurora awoke, her head throbbing. She was bandaged and laying on a cot. She recognized the strong scent of medicinals, and realized she was in the infirmary tent. She slowly rubbed her brow, and decided to not sit up right away.

"Oh ye gods." She groaned. "What did she hit me with, a sack of bricks?"

"Coulda been." Drawled a snarky voice. Aurora rolled her eyes to see Brady off to the side. "Yer pretty lucky actually, in spite of that whack givin' ya' a concussion…"

"Ugh." She groaned. "I don't wanna move too much."

"I don't blame ya." Snorted Brady, picking up a damp cloth and handing it to her. "Put this on the bump. It'll help. Mum's gettin' ya a broth that'll help you too."

"Is everyone okay? Mio? Noire?"

"They're fine, they're fine." Brady snorted. "That fancy fire-sword you and Ricken cooked up just about fell apart though."

"It was just a prototype, or whatever Miriel said. Still some stuff to work out... Could have exploded in my hands if I'd been unlucky..." Aurora slapped the cold cloth over her forehead. "Aversa?"

"Face-down in the mud, last time Mio saw her. Got an arrow and two stabs right in the back."

"Ha." Aurora smirked. "I lived, she didn't. Victory for me."

Brady paused. "You don't sound as pleased as I'd think ye'd be." He drawled, conversationally, but she could see him eying her. Aurora shrugged.

"I'm just… glad it's over." She admitted. "Or at least, that particular chapter of my life. I did not fancy having a vendetta against me." Aurora stared at the roof of the tent, eyes low. "I'm getting… tired. Tired of killing people and helping to kill people. Even wretches like her." She scowled a bit. "I think I got more perspective. Maybe I'm getting older."

Aurora reached over onto the table, finding her glasses and slipping them on. "I mean, I never enjoyed it. I think people who enjoy it… need help. And not all of them get it. Some do. I mean look at Henry, he seems to be… learning what empathy is, and how it actually works, and- well, I'm rambling now, but anyway…"

She struggled to sit upright, looking around for a moment to see her things hanging on a chair next to the bed. Idly, having nothing else to do, she picked through her bags and examined the blackened scraps of metal that once held an enchantment, then her hands idly traced to her belt.

"...Oh bloody hell!" She snarled. "Great, of all the things to lose, I had to drop my Elixir."

Aurora recovered fairly quickly, though she wasn't able to do much until cleared by the healers. The Shepherds stopped outside a large ruin- though to call it a ruin felt somewhat unfair- the place was actually in near perfect condition, with only the claws of moss and vines growing over it to leave any signal to its immense age.

"What's up, Boss?" Aurora rolled her sleeves back.

"Naga advised we come here- it's known as the Wellspring of Truth." Chrom's brow was furrowed heavily. "They say it reflects one's true self. I don't think I need some glorified pool to tell me who I am, but there may be something within- a key to defeating Grima perhaps."

"True self, huh? Not sure if I'd want to look to deep." Aurora shivers. "Dunno why, but self-reflection seems kinda scary to me."

"What do you have to be afraid of?" Chrom chuckled. "You're generally more self-sure than most people I know."

"Maybe but who knows- sometimes people hide things from themselves and I feel like it'd be arrogant to say I don't- how would I know?"

"Oh everyone hides stuff!" Aurora jumped at Henry's hand resting on her shoulder. "Dark, bloody secrets that even they don't know! It might make you go mad!"

"That's comforting." Chrom muttered, deadpan. Luckily, the uncomfortable topic was broken by Robin- who had an even more uncomfortable topic.

"Chrom!" Robin was pale, puffing. "There… Just now… I may have seen Aversa."

"You may have?" Chrom's eyes narrowed, and Aurora tensed, eyes instantly searching the area.

"Something's moving in there." She pushed her glasses up, drawing her blade. Henry grinned wider.

"A lot of things." He announced. "That place is writhing with magic. I can smell it."

"If Aversa is still alive, she could be doing something dangerous." Chrom wrapped his fingers around Falchion, advancing towards the entrance. "We have to investigate."

"Well, she's not the one doing any of the magic stuff." Henry drawled, flipping through pages of his tome. "It's not dark magic or nature magic. I don't think it's even divine. I've never felt magic like this. It's like- it smells kind of like… salt."

"Salt?" Aurora mumbled. Henry sniffed again.

"Yeah. And wood. It's old, even older than my dark magics are!" He cackled. "It's so old it'd probably bleed all over the place if it was a person! Nya ha ha!"

"Morbid."

"Thank you!" Henry took a little bow, as he flicked some dark magic flames along his fingers. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

Aurora was feeling a bit disturbed. She was fighting herself. She wasn't sure what was worse- the weird, empty way her doppelgänger stared at her, unblinking and flickering slightly- or the way it knew her every move and trick she had pulled in the past.

Also, it was exposing that her technique was a little sloppy. She hated that, but she supposed it allowed her to make some corrections. The problem was, every time she switched tactics, her copy did the same. Everyone was having this issue, so at least, she supposed, she wasn't alone. Suddenly, her phantom jerked forward, looking surprised.

"Even mine couldn't see me coming." Kellam sighed, as he drew his spear out of the Aurora-clone, shaking his head and moving on to aid Vaike who was locked axe-to-axe with his own. Aurora uttered an amused bark of laughter, before darting off to join another. She moved to Donnel's side, and quickly added her vicious thrusts and slashes alongside his jabbing spear, forcing yet another phantom down. Soon the idea spread and Shepherds were pairing off against their phantoms, overcoming them effortlessly.

Aurora wiped sweat from her brow, grumbling. "Ugh. This has not been worth it. Whatever Aversa's here for, clearly this place is not worth the effort…"

Aversa was staring into the wellspring, before uttering an ungodly, horrific shriek, her eyes pale, sweating and backing away.

"See?" Aurora muttered to Donnel. "Not worth it."

"So, er…" Chrom awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, eyes low. "Aversa was brainwashed by Validar. That… changes some things."

Aurora grumbled, but did not reply. She could live with it. She didn't have to like it, but she could live with it.

"You realize that as the Quartermaster, you'll have to deal with her being here eventually, right?"

"If I can keep… mostly civil around Gangrel, I can keep mostly civil around her." Aurora grumbled bluntly.

"Mostly." Chrom grinned, giving her a light pat on the shoulder, and she couldn't resist a smile.

"Alright, alright, get outta here so I can do my work, boss." She joked, sitting down and cracking her knuckles. "And tell Robin to check the Roster, if you see him."

"Grima's been running us in a big circle." Aurora noted wryly to Robin, who sat on a barrel, munching on an apple. She was fairly sure Tharja was nearby too, as usual. "I feel like the stupid thing is trying to annoy us now. It's got the power to end the world, but it has enough time that it can screw with us first… Probably trying to get us to drop our guard."

Robin sighed softly. "...I'm worried." He admitted. "I'm really, really worried."

"It's your job." Aurora shook her head, leaning back against a tree. "And to be honest, I think we all are. But if we show it, it sure as hell ain't gonna help us. Keep your chin up as long as you can, yeah?"

"...You know," Robin began, slowly. "Lucina tried to kill me, the night before we battled Validar."

"...What?" Aurora's head snapped up. "Hold on, what?! I say again, what?!" She was certain she heard a shuffle nearby. "Oy, you. Out here, now." She snapped. Tharja reluctantly emerged from behind the tent, bitter and a bit embarrassed. Robin didn't even notice, and rested a hand on his wife's head, and she relaxed her tensed shoulder.

"She had seen in the future, that I would kill Chrom."

"Oh." That made more sense. "Is that how you knew to hold back?"

"That, a dream, and some perfectly-timed tactician's paranoia." He chuckled. "But it just strikes me as strange, that even if I had died, Grima would still have risen.

"By using that future-past-whatever-thing." Aurora sighed. "Yeah. Life's a real nasty piece of work, isn't it? Fate and all that tripe- or whatever you wanna call this. Hell, my life has been a lot easier than most people in this army." She chuckled darkly. "Chrom had a- well, a dastard of a father, and- well, you know a lot of the rest. Lissa had to go through it too... And Lucina and her friends- hell, my own daughter had to go through hell…" Aurora sighed and took her glasses off, rubbing her eyes.

"What kind of-" she took a breath. "What kind of world would let someone's children go through an even worse hell than the one their parents did?"

Robin and Tharja exchanged a glance, unsure of how to answer.

"...Aw hell, I got all sentimental on ya. Next thing you'll be asking me how I wound up here."

"Actually, I'm curious." Tharja uttered. "You seemed… unsuitable for being a Shepherd- at least when I first encountered you. So. How?"

"Huh." Aurora slid down to the ground against the tree-trunk, thinking. "Gods, it must have been… five years now? Yeah. Five years. So I was about seventeen. I was… really good at educated things- numbers, statistics, organizing, and logistics. Dad was a highly regarded scribe, not quite a noble, but pretty close, and mother was… er, a lady of the night…" Raised eyebrows. "...who had originally been a nurse during the holy wars, but she had everything stripped away because she would patch up wounded Plegians too. She would have been executed if it weren't for the fact that the unit she was with would have revolted and slaughtered their own commander on the spot." Aurora chuckled.

"Mother was very popular. Had lots of songs and stories that she'd tell to keep morale up. Even the commander wouldn't have enforced the Exalt's insane will if it weren't for the fact his family would have been on the line…" She sighed. "It was a really harsh time, Robin, you have no idea. Nobody was safe. Didn't matter whose side you were on. Glad I didn't have to see it. Chrom only saw a tiny bit of it. He was born just at the tail end of the war and Lissa right before the Exalt died and Lady Emm replaced him."

Aurora took a breath.

"I didn't learn all of this for a long time, mind you. Mother got pregnant with me before she and father met, so he took her in- guess he recognized her for her service in the war. He was a recruit she'd treated- he never told her until years later. But Mother's old life sort of saved her. If father had brought her in without anything to her name? He'd have probably been a laughingstock. Even with Mother's prestige, things were rough. Still rough, but much better now, thanks to Emmeryn. She stomped out a lot of corruption and elitism in the noble circles. Well, stomped out feels too harsh a word."

"Sternly ushered out, with a gentle but firm tone?" Robin laughed softly.

"Yes, that sounds right." Aurora smiled a bit, fond of the memory of said voice. Emmeryn never got angry, just stern. "Father wanted me to be more than just some housewife- and like hell I'd become one anyway- so he started to teach me how to write and do some basic arithmetic. From there, I just… instantly excelled at organization and logistics of numbers and it kind of caught a friend of his eye. So the guy took me to a small village that was- well long story short, it had supplies but everything was a mess. Records, how much funding they had, how much tax they needed to pay, they were in debt to the point that the town didn't even know for sure how much they owed. So uh, he decided to fly by the seat of his pants and give me a shot. And I cleaned the hell outta that town."

Robin whistled. "I take it that got the attention of some more people?"

"Uh-huh. The province's governor found out about it. At the time, Chrom was beginning to form the Shepherds, and the governor there was one of the few men who knew about it. I guess the rest is history, innit? As soon as the Shepherds actually became a thing, with Stahl, Sully, Frederick, Chrom, Sumia, Lissa, Miriel and Vaike, I was tossed in and told "keep us organized." So I uh, did."

"Wait, wasn't there someone else?" Robin furrowed his brow and Tharja rolled her eyes.

"Kellam." She uttered, deadpan.

"Yeah, right! Him!" Aurora nodded. "Eh… A lot of the stuff I went through on the way was kind of rough though. You know how I am. I can be lil' rough around the edges. So yeah. Picked lots fights, got chewed out, threatened, had a nasty grandfather who constantly tried to force my dad to marry me off… I basically made such a nuisance of myself that I probably would have been in a lot more trouble if Chrom actually cared about that stuff. Used to butt heads with Maribelle a lot. Still do, but now it's more friendly. But uh, yeah. I have other issues to work out on my own, but I've started to realize that they're a lot smaller than I thought they were. I think all this damn near nonstop war for the past years have given me some perspective."

"You're an odd one, Aurora." Robin laughed. "But I can respect that, I think. All of us are odd. One, big weird dysfunctional family."

Aurora grinned wide, her canine teeth flashing.

"Welcome to the Shepherds." She said with a bark of laughter.

"Why are the Grimleal kidnapping people to sacrifice them?" Kjelle grumbled, flipping a javelin in her hand before hurling it into a cultist. "Grima's already awake. Why waste their time causing a fuss when they already have what they want?"

"They don't- scuse me." Aurora ducked in surprise as a stone rocketed where her head was. "Huh, haven't seen someone use a sling for a long while... Anyway, as I was saying, they don't seem particularly sane."

Kjelle grunted, ducking behind her shield as another stone dinged off it hard. "Gods, he's a good shot with that thing."

"Yeek!" Aurora squeaked, girlishly as third stone clipped off her hip. "Dammit!" She ducked behind Kjelle, who's bulky armored frame was safe from stones, nursing the bruise "Ugh, sorry. I'm not being much help today."

"...I had no idea your voice could go that high." Kjelle glanced back at Aurora with a pursed smile.

"Oh shut it." She grumbled. Another stone pinged off of Kjelle's armor. "Mind your head. It might not get past your plate, but if one hits you there I don't think you'll be getting up for a while, and I'm not gonna be able to drag you in that."

"Urgh. If it were an archer I'd just wait for him to be out of arrows." The knightess growled as she began trudging forward, shield high. "But I don't think he's gonna run out of rocks any time soon…"

"Oi!" Aurora snapped, keeping Kjelle from advancing with a tug. "Don't just start walking forward, we don't want to get separated from the main body. Overextension leads to death- in tactics or supply lines."

Kjelle growled, but backed down, a stone falling short after they made their way backwards. "Out of his range." She nodded, relieved. "Still, we should be-" Aurora's head snapped around, eyes wide, causing Kjelle to cease speaking and follow her gaze, trying to see what the short woman was staring at.

"Oh ye gods." Aurora nearly dropped her sword. "Is that- are you- what kind of- Lady Emmeryn?!"

Kjelle nearly tripped on her own spear. "What?!"

"I mean, that's bloody fantastic that she's alive!" Aurora blurted, stammering. "But gods above she looks… bad. Alive, but… Something looks wrong. Is that why Chrom was in such a rush to get us out here? Has the world gone mad? Do people just not die these days?!"

"Time travel and undead began to start in the world on the same day." Kjelle rumbled. Aurora winced.

"Ugh. Fair enough, whatever, just stick close to Lady Emmeryn. We lost her once, and we are not losing her again!"

Aversa, Aurora could have believed survived. People had survived worse than a few jabs in the back, especially when someone had (stupidly) dropped her elixir right nearby in the fight. Gangrel, was less plausible, but it felt more like some cruel joke of fate. Chrom had nearly sliced him open, but somehow the way he had fallen must have kept the wound from tearing him apart. But Emmeryn…

Aurora couldn't fathom it. As changed and distant and seemingly unaware as she was, Emmeryn was alive. She could barely speak, and only just began to recognize faces- not from the past, but just from being near the Shepherds every day. The scars on the former Exalt's mind were too deep to heal through any kind of magic.

"She's resting now." Aurora told Chrom at the next meeting. "I set up a soft, safe bed and have Frederick and Stahl taking shifts watching over her. I'd rather have someone with her."

Chrom nodded. "In her current state, I'd be inclined to agree… Gods, she's alive." The prince quickly coughed a bit, disguising the fact that he was scrubbing his eyes a bit.

Libra, who was the most knowledgeable about healing minds as well as bodies sat up slightly. "Her Radiance is physically quite healthy. The village is rather remote, but they did wonders for her injuries, it seems, but…" He hesitated. "There is nothing I am capable of doing to restore her mind and spirit. Time and care is the only thing that may ever help her improve."

"I see…" Chrom lowered his eyes. "...Perhaps it's for the best, that she cannot remember."

"Mm…" Aurora rested her chin on her hands. "...Guess we have to just, what? Push ahead?"

"Aye." Flavia nodded grimly, scowling into her mug. "We're going to end this. We have to."

Robin rubbed his brow. "I'm not even sure how to plan to battle something like Grima."

"Naga shall guide us." Libra clasped his hands.

Aurora glanced low. "I might not be the sort of woman who prays, but anything helps at this point."

Basilio chuckled. "Spirits high, lass. We go in and take down that monster or go down in a blaze of glory."

"I'd like to hope the latter doesn't happen if it's all the same to you!" Chrom laughed, and Aurora felt a bit heartened.

"What brave fools we all are." She mused, before tossing back her drink. No one would begrudge her a bit of Feroxi wine, with the end of the world coming so close.

Okay I need to stop here, or else this chapter is never being finished. I had hoped to get all the paralogues, but hell with it. I'll get the next two out later. Sorry this took forever, but this chapter was a bitch to start, let alone finish….

Anyway, uh. Sorry for any general stupidity and for taking forever

Love you all!

Night everybody, or something to that effect!