Summers are supposed to be a time of freedom and free time! They're not supposed to suddenly explode with stuff that needs doing that delay chapter updates by months!

Yeah, another late update. On the plus side, it's also really big!

As usual, a big thank you to everyone who read, faved, followed and reviewed!


It was a well-known fact that Robin wasn't the strongest Shepherd. He wasn't even the sturdiest, or the toughest. Robin wasn't built like Vaike, he didn't hit like Chrom and he couldn't take nearly as much punishment as Frederick. Granted, he wasn't as weak and frail as say, Ricken or Lissa, but he definitely wasn't in the upper tier of Shepherds when it came to strength or endurance. Robin considered himself to be somewhere in the upper middle tier. He was average, but not Stahl levels of average. With enough training, Robin dragged himself from being "suboptimal" to "above average" in Miriel speak calculations. As long as Robin was better than Stahl, he was happy.

Naturally, that meant that he had to train to keep his position in the upper middle tier of Shepherds and not fall behind Stahl. In the early days, that wasn't so much of a problem. The Shepherds were small in number and Robin's responsibilities consisted of keeping them all alive in their battles. He planned, sure, but their numbers were so small that Robin had plenty of time to go and hit the training grounds.

This situation changed dramatically after their victory over Plegia.

Robin was promoted, the Shepherds were now a small army, and the responsibilities multiplied exponentially. As a consequence, training slipped down the priorities list. Robin still trained; it would be a cold day in hell before he consciously found himself dropping below the median. It's just that he did so a lot less often now. To be fair, it wasn't his fault! Every time he made time to train and wanted to spar with someone, something always ended happening. Just before Robin decided to head off to the training grounds, red headed merchants suddenly got new stock and wanted to give him her sales pitch, or some storm decided to drench the entire camp, or some magic mishap ended up starting a fire. It was like the universe saw what he wanted to do, and then decided against it. And Robin usually felt pretty bad next time he trained or was roped into another one of Frederick's insane training schemes (he usually felt a lot worse the day after). He really needed to train more…

"Yaaaah!"

…Because it usually resulted in situations like this.

Robin grunted as he blocked Lucina's strike and went for a counter.

"This" being that, having finally decided to make some time and not recheck the next battle strategy, Robin sought out a sparring partner…only to find himself struggling to keep up. Although it wasn't this bad before. Robin could usually hold his ground for at least a little while…

"Haaa!"

Lucina jumped back to avoid his attack before continuing her offensive.

…Or maybe because it was his choice of sparring partner today.

Robin sidestepped and barely managed to block the follow up attack.

Of all the people he could've fought against, it had to be Lucina. He had to pick his best friend's daughter. The daughter of his best friend, who went through dozens of training dummies when he sparred. And that was on a good day!

"Ugh!"

Robin grit his teeth as Lucina's practice sword connected with his shoulder. He tried to counterattack to get some breathing room.

And by the look of things, Lucina was taking after her father in every way when it came to sparring. She wasn't holding back!

"Whoa!"

Robin just managed to duck a swing that was aimed at his head (and one he was sure would've left him with a concussion…at best).

Sometimes, Robin hated sparring. It wasn't like real life when he could use all the methods at his disposal to win. No, he had to make do with weapons. That wasn't a problem in itself. Robin was a competent enough swordsman. He could handle himself with a sword. Attack the enemy and defend just fine.

"Ha!"

Lucina launched into a series of quick and punishing strikes.

The problem was that, if this were a normal combat scenario, Robin would just use magic. He found himself to be a better spellcaster than a swordsman. And the combination of swords and spells proved to be most devastating on the battlefield. Lacking magic, Robin was just stuck with his sword when he sparred. That was quite a significant handicap. Although it was supposed to improve his swordsmanship, Robin couldn't help but wonder—

"Rragh!

Lucina kicked out to throw Robin off balance before delivering a devastating blow.

"Holy—Oof!"

The kick certainly took the air out of Robin's lungs. He lifted his practice sword just in time to meet Lucina's strike. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

"You will not stop me!"

Lucina took after her father in going all out even when training. And going all out, she quickly jumped back after Robin blocked her strike before charging at him and hitting him with such a devastating blow that it completely shattered Robin's defences and sword.

"ACK!" Robin cried out in pain and crumpled to the ground. "I yield! I yield! Ow…"

"Robin!" Lucina was immediately at his side. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Lucina. I've been better. I think you may've cracked by ribs…" Robin breathed in and winced. "Yeah. Something's definitely not right there."

"Oh Naga. I'm so sorry, Robin! I'll go and get you a vulnerary right this instant!"

"There's…ow…no need for that, Lucina. As a good planner, I carry one on my person at all times in case of emergency or something. Let me just reach into my—ow ow ow!"

"Easy, Robin. Let me help you," Lucina said as she reached into Robin's coat. "…There are a lot of pockets in here."

"One of the many reasons I love my coat. You know that a tactician is only as good as the coat he wears."

Lucina quirked a brow.

"I don't think I've ever heard that one."

"Really? It's a well-known saying to us in the tactical industry."

"…Us?"

"You know. Us. People. People who are career tacticians."

"Have you met others in your industry?"

"…No, but I'm sure they take their coats as seriously as I do. How could they not? A coat is a tactician's everything. It's where he keeps his plans, his spellbooks, his notes, his hidden weapons…his everything! So the more utility he can get out of it, the better. That means carrying as many essential items as possible. And you know what that means?"

"Pockets?"

"Pockets," Robin nodded sagely. "Lots of pockets. Besides, a tactician's coat also reflects his status in his army and his reputation. See, mine is long and majestic, with gold trimmings and everything. That signals to my opponents that I'm a pretty big deal and have a record of winning. That's how I could afford my coat. If I saw an enemy tactician with a raggy coat on his shoulders…well. That just tells you all you need to know, doesn't it?"

Lucina stared.

"…What?"

"Nothing. It's always interesting to get a little insight into your theories and philosophies."

"I have them aplenty. If you want, I could schedule some seminars."

Lucina couldn't tell whether Robin was serious or not.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Robin. I'll…consider it," she replied before pulling out a small bottle from Robin's coat. "I trust this is your vulnerary?"

"That's it! I—" Robin said happily before being cut off as he watched the bottle slowly crack and its contents spill onto the ground. "Well then. How irksome."

"There's no need to panic. I'll just get you one from the medical tent and have you healed—" Lucina made to get up before pausing and looking back down. "Er, do you want me to help stand first?"

"That might be for the best. This ground is a bit dusty."

As it turned out, that was not for the best as Robin felt an explosion of pain when Lucina grabbed his arm and started pulling him up.

"Owowowow! Lucina, for the love of Naga please stop!"

The princess released Robin's hand as if burnt. Unfortunately, that had the effect of him falling back down to the ground.

Robin shut his eyes tight and grit his teeth to prevent himself from screaming in agony.

"Robin!"

"It's…okay, Lucina. Why don't you just…go get me a vulnerary, yeah?" the grandmaster managed to say through gritted teeth. "I'll just…lie here. And enjoy the…nature."

Lucina nodded.

"Gods. Forgive me, Robin. I'll be back before you know it!"

Robin watched the princess run off and closed his eyes to try and distract himself from the burning pain in his chest and shoulder. He also made a mental note to himself to really train his ass off before sparring with Lucina again. And he was going to have to spar with her. She was a key member of the Shepherds and a fine warrior in her own right. They were going to do a lot of fighting together and Robin needed to know how to work with her. Luckily, it shouldn't be too hard as was Chrom's daughter and thus shared her father's fighting style. And on the battlefield, Chrom and Robin made one of the most lethal and effective pairs. Speaking of, Robin would probably also have to spar with Chrom. Gods, he could almost feel the broken bones. Wait a minute. Nope. Those were his actual broken bones.

"Robin?"

"Urgh…" Robin groaned and opened his eyes to see…pink. "Olivia? Is that you?"

"It is. Are you okay?"

"I've been better…"

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, nothing much. I've just had a training session with your daughter."

Olivia winced.

"How bad was it?"

"Well, I'm almost completely certain I now have at least a few broken ribs and maybe my shoulder."

"That bad, huh? Do you need me to get you a healing potion?"

"No, it's okay. Lucina ran off for that as soon as this little accident happened. And yeah. She doesn't play around even when she trains, does she?"

"No she does not."

"Wait…Olivia, please don't tell me you've also tried training with her."

"She's my daughter, Robin. How could I not do some training with her?"

"My gods!" Robin's eyes went wide. "Olivia, were you okay?! She didn't hurt you too badly, did she?"

Olivia giggled.

"You can relax, Robin. Lucina knows that I'm not the toughest fighter in the camp so she went easy on me."

"I wish she extended the same courtesy to me…" mumbled the grandmaster before wincing in pain."So you were okay after that?"

"I did have a few bruises, but nothing too serious. Besides, Lucina seemed so horrified when she saw that she'd hurt me, if even a little."

"That girl sure does take after her father in how she totally doesn't hold back when training."

"She sure does. She takes after her father in many ways…"

Now, Robin may not have been the most emotionally attuned person on the planet, but he liked to think he got better in that department. He could at least sense the tint of sadness in Olivia's voice this time.

"What's wrong, Olivia?"

"Huh? N-nothing! Why do you ask?"

"Come on, Olivia. I've spent enough time around you during peacetime to know when something's bothering you. Talk to a friend?"

Olivia hesitated before sighing.

"You've definitely got better at reading people, Robin."

"I try," Robin flashed her a smile. "And you don't have to tell me anything if it's too personal."

"No, it's fine. I just…" Olivia took a deep breath. "I mean, Lucina is my daughter and I love her just as much as I do the baby back in the castle."

"Buuuut…"

"When I look at her, I see all the things she inherited from Chrom. She's brave, smart, strong, carries herself with a royal air and even trains hard like her father. And that's wonderful and I couldn't be happier! But sometimes I can't help but wonder if she inherited anything from me…"

"Oh. Is that it?"

"W-what? Robin! How can you say that?"

"What?" the grandmaster asked innocently. "I just think you're overthinking this…or not thinking about it enough. I don't know. The point is, of course Lucina inherited things from you!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! For one, she has your nose."

"My…nose?"

"Yeah. You know. I'd go as far as saying she has your features. Chrom is more on the 'rugged handsome' side of things. Your features are much softer. Less 'rugged' and more 'dainty' and feminine. Lucina definitely takes after you in that regard."

"Huh. I never really noticed. Chrom did tell me that, but I thought he was saying that to make me feel better."

"Now why would he do that? I mean, yeah, Lucina did inherit his hair color, but she also inherited your facial features. And that's a good thing if you ask me, because she'd otherwise be a girl version of her dad. And that would be really weird!"

"That's true," giggled Olivia. "I guess I never really thought about it that way…"

"Oh yeah. And there's a whole bunch of other stuff that Lucina gets from you. Like her fighting style."

"Come on, Robin. Now I know you're saying this to make me feel better. You of all people know that I'm not the best fighter around."

"No! Well, I mean, yes, but no. Look, you may not notice, but you do have a certain style when you fight."

"I do?"

"Sure you do! Wouldn't I, the person who trained you to be the warrior that stands in front of me, know?"

"I-I suppose…"

"Granted, that may be because I've actually spent a bunch of time and energy training you and thus may be the only person to pay attention to these little particular things, but still! On the battlefield, you carry yourself with, uh, how to say it? Grace?"

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that there is a certain flow that makes your movements in combat elegant and graceful," explained Robin. "I'm guessing it's because you've spent so much time as a dancer. It totally shows! Like, when we were doing your myrmidon training, you looked like you were almost dancing when you trained with your sword."

"I did?"

"Totally. When striking or dodging, your footsteps and entire body seemed like it was following some kind of unheard rhythm. Like you were dancing while fighting and letting your body get carried away by the melody in your head. Truth be told, it was quite something."

"Oh. Well…I…" Olivia blushed. "Maybe that's because you aren't too far off the mark."

"Huh?"

"Y-you see, I knew I wasn't very good at fighting. After all, I was a dancer my whole life. So when you decided to train me, I had no idea what I was going to do or even if I could do it at all. When we started, I felt as though I was entering completely uncharted territory and was a bit scared. In order to try and calm myself, I…I tried to link the practice and moves to something that was familiar to me."

"And that was your dancing."

"It was. See, the myrmidon style you were teaching me reminded me a lot of a couple of dances I knew."

"Well, they do say that fighting style was inspired by some special dances from far, far away…or was it the other way around?"

"Well, whichever way it was, it helped me feel more confident in what I was doing and put me in familiar territory. So…"

"So you adapted my moves and treated the whole thing as a big dance session?"

Olivia nodded.

"That explains everything…" mumbled Robin. "Well, regardless of everything, it was a pleasure to watch and hey, as long as it helped you get comfortable and improve your fighting style, who am I to judge the means by which you did it, right?"

"Right! And I think it helped me get a handle on training and improve."

"Improve by a lot!" Robin said enthusiastically. "Great job on that. Your combination of training and dancing produced both a treat for the eyes as well as practical results. Now that's what I call efficiency!"

"I was just trying not to let you down…"

"Well, mission accomplished. As long as we get results in the end, I don't care how unorthodox your methods for getting there are. And your results were quite impressive!"

"Heh," Olivia couldn't help smiling at Robin's enthusiasm. "I'm glad that I have your approval."

"Me too," Robin grinned. "…What were we talking about?"

"I believe it was how that relates to Lucina."

"Oh yeah. That. Uh...right! You and Lucina. With the dancing. Now I remember!" Robin cleared his throat before continuing. "Now, as your personal trainer during the interwar years, I think think that I'm more than qualified to make notes on your fighting style and technique. After all, I helped you develop it and watched as you added your own little details to it."

Olivia nodded.

"And as the one responsible for the general combat readiness of the Shepherds, I've taken it upon myself to study everyone's fighting styles and make some notes. You know, strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvements, etc."

"You actually keep an eye on us and how we fight?"

"Yes."

"All of us?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It's just that...there are a lot of us and we fight in our own ways, and you already have so many things you do around camp. To think that you notice how each and every one of us fights..."

"What can I say? I go above and beyond when it comes to my friends and keeping us all alive. From noticing the little details in fighting styles to staying up to craft battle strategies until the wee hours of the morning. That's me!"

"Robin," Olivia began disapprovingly. "You know we don't like it when you do that. We worry about you and don't want you working yourself into the ground. Didn't we have a talk about this?"

"I take your worries about me very seriously," replied the prone grandmaster. "Which is why I don't plan strategies up until the wee hours of the morning very day anymore. Now it's more like every other day."

Olivia crossed her arms and gave Robin the most disapprovingly look she could (which, given that it was Olivia, wasn't very intimidating or disproving. But it was the thought that counted).

"What? I—" Robin tried to raise his hands in defense and winced at the sudden explosion of pain in trying to do so. "Argh! Right. Stupid broken stuff..."

"Robin!" Olivia immediately knelt down and tried to ease the pain. "Please, try not to move too suddenly...or talk, for that matter. I can't believe you've maintained a conversation with me for so long. You must be in agony!"

"True, but I figured that since it hurt simply breathing, I could stand a bit more pain and talk. I mean, we're discussing important things here!"

"Robin…"

"No, really. I'm fine. I'm—" Robin's eye twitched as he suppressed the urge to cry out in pain. "…I'll be fine once Lucina comes back and gives me some potions. Hey, speaking of Lucina…"

"Robin, please. You have to rest to ease the pain!" insisted Olivia.

"Not before I say my piece!" said the grandmaster stubbornly. "I've noticed that, while she doesn't exactly dance and glide to her own tune around the battlefield like you do, she did inherit at least some of your technique."

"How so?" Olivia asked curiously. "From what I've seen, she fights more like Chrom than me."

"That may be true, but it takes a keen eye to spot the finer details and trace them to you. A keen eye like mine! And said keen eye has noticed that Lucina inherited your gracefulness when on the battlefield."

"Really?"

"Yep. She doesn't dance, and she may fight like her father, but she has inherited your swiftness and footwork. Oh yeah!" Robin continued at Olivia's confused stare. "She can't use Chrom's style because it relies on overwhelming the enemy's defenses. Since she doesn't have her father's strength, Lucina has had to adjust Chrom's style to suit herself. And what she lacks in brute force, she makes up for in speed and flexibility. And that's where you come in!"

"W-well, it's true that I try to move fast and not get hit when on foot…but I thought that was standard myrmidon strategy?"

"True, but how would Lucina know that? How would she know the moves? And she definitely has the moves. And you know what else? She has your myrmidon moves!"

"She does?"

"Definitely. You probably haven't seen it since you were with your pegasus in the air, but Lucina does a lot of acrobatic moves when fighting. She jumps, she flips, she sidesteps and spins, all while in combat. And she does so in a remarkably similar way to you. She doesn't fully dance on the battlefield like you do, but she does move with elegance and grace only her dancer mother could've taught her."

"Oh wow..." Olivia's eyes light up. "Really? She...she really fights like I do?"

"You bet she does! And if you have any more doubts, let them dissipate in the wind as I tell you that Lucina also knows one of your key signature moves. A move that only you, her mother, could've taught her."

A smile spread across Olivia's face.

"You mean...?"

"Yep!" Robin nodded and smiled. "Lucina knows that 'Galeforce' technique you, Lissa and Maribelle came up with."

"So I managed to teach her something after all…" Olivia visibly swelled with pride. "And it's something relating to fighting!"

"See? Lucina totally takes after you!" Robin said encouragingly before wincing and shutting his eyes. "I just hope she gets back soon. I never knew breathing could hurt so much…"

"Robin, if it hurts so much, why are you still talking?"

"Because! I still have stuff to say! Like, urgh, you have to tell me how you girls came up with Galeforce…later. When I don't have broken stuff. Urgh, damn ribs hurting…"

"I can always tell you, although I don't think you can do much with it…"

Robin was too busy groaning to hear.

Olivia looked down and hesitated.

"…Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"Can…can I ask for a favor?"

"For the last time, Olivia, I can't dance. I'd love to be your partner, but do we really want a repeat of the Dance Night Sunday debacle?"

"Robin, it wasn't that bad! Besides, this isn't about that."

"It isn't?"

"No. This is…I…" Olivia took a deep breath and readied herself. "I-I want you to teach me again."

"Teach you…what?"

"More myrmidon fighting skills, ground combat, how to be a better foot soldier, and things like that."

"Where is this coming from?" Robin asked as he opened one eye and looked at Olivia questioningly.

"It's something I had on my mind for a while now," replied Olivia. "I know that you've assigned me to fight in the skies in our recent battles, and I trust you when you assign us roles during battle. You know better than anyone else about how to best use us in battle."

"But?"

"But when I'm up there, I realized that I don't know what's happening on the ground. Yes, I can swoop in and either hit the enemy with my lance or cast a spell, but I usually spend my time up in the air, where I'm out of reach."

"And that bothers you because…?"

"Because I can't help but worry about my husband and my daughter," Olivia admitted guiltily and looked down. "Again, I trust you when you're assigning us roles and I'm not asking you to completely change your plans just for my sake! B-but every time I'm in the air, I always think about how Chrom and Lucina are doing, if they're okay, if they're hurt. Being far away from them gets me anxious! And based on our conversation just now, I realized that I'm missing things, Robin. Important details about my own daughter."

"Olivia, I really don't think—"

"You noticed Lucina inherited some of my moves and certain parts of my fighting style. Granted, you train with everyone and have a sharp eye for such things, but it's also because you're down there, fighting by her side. I'm sure I could've noticed things like Lucina using Galeforce if I were fighting with you."

"What exactly are you saying?" Robin asked, not liking where this was going.

"I-I'm…" Olivia hesitated before steeling herself. "I'm asking if…maybe…i-if you train me to be a good enough soldier on the ground so…I…could fight alongside my husband and daughter…?"

Robin frowned.

"O-only if it's convenient for you!" Olivia quickly added. "I don't want you to radically change everything because of me and especially if it puts others in danger. I-I just thought that it would be an opportunity for you to try new things…and let me help in keeping my family safe and bond with my daughter…"

Robin closed his eyes and inhaled. He immediately regretted it as pain shot through his chest.

But pain from breathing aside, the gears in Robin's mind started turning. Would he actually reassign Olivia and train her as a myrmidon? She did fine as a spellcasting flier in the skies. Now that he reassigned Lissa and Maribelle, Olivia was the only one of those left (Robin made a mental note to explore the magic potential of Sumia and Cordelia. Being the most experienced pegasus riders, having them cast spells on the fly sounded very useful). Was he really going to sacrifice Olivia's spellcasting and maneuverability for a ground combat roll?

On the other hand, Robin already changed things up by doing a bunch of reassignments. And the spirit of that whole reorganization was versatility on the battlefield. It was important to have as much versatility as possible to get an upper hand on the enemy and keep them guessing. It also gave Robin more options to play with when planning. Olivia as a myrmidon would certainly be different than what she was doing now. And it wasn't like he was immediately going to reassign Olivia. It would be a while yet before she would be ready to face enemies on foot. She certainly couldn't face the Valmese. Maybe the odd Risen here and there. They only mindlessly charged at you so they would make some good practice for Olivia as a myrmidon.

Speaking of myrmidons, Robin's mind immediately turned to Lon'qu. More specifically, Robin thought about how much of an asset Lon'qu was on the battlefield. Lon'qu was experienced, fast, strong, and nigh untouchable. Granted, all his years of training resulted in him being promoted to a swordmaster, but still. He could hit hard and bounce back before the enemy even knew what hit them. How cool would it be if Robin could train Olivia as well as Lon'qu trained himself? Hell, if Olivia ended up being half as good a swordmaster as Lon'qu, then that really opened up some interesting new battle strategies…

While Robin was thinking, Olivia fidgeted nervously. With every second the grandmaster stayed silent, Olivia grew more and more nervous. She grew nervous because she knew her request was selfish. She knew what she was asking Robin was unreasonable and that it could possibly endanger all of their lives. She knew all this, yet she went and asked him anyway. She was knowingly asking Robin to increase his workload and change his plans so that she could look after her family. She was a terrible person and a terrible Shepherd!

"…Okay, so—"

"I'm sorry!" Olivia cried, unable to hold back her guilt any longer. "I'm sorry for troubling you with this! Please ignore everything I just said!"

"Olivia."

"It was a stupid and selfish request on my part that I asked you without really thinking properly about the consequences."

"Olivia."

"A-and it would require to you change all of your plans for my sake, so I—"

"Olivia!"

Robin's voice brought Olivia back to reality.

"…Yes?"

"Okay."

"Huh?" Olivia stared in confusion. "Robin?"

"Okay," repeated the grandmaster. "I'll do it."

"You'll…do it?"

"That I will. If you're willing and serious enough about this, we can pursue your myrmidon training and deploy you on the battlefield alongside the others."

"Robin, I…" Olivia's eyes lit up before she deflated. "While I appreciate the thought, I don't want you to jeopardize your strategies for my sake. Please, don't think anything of my request. I was being silly and foolish."

"You're not jeopardizing anything, Olivia," assured Robin. "And you're also right."

"I am?"

"Very much so. See, combat versatility is a major theme that I'm pursing. Your suggestion fits neatly into that trend. I can't get complacent with stuff that works now. In future, it might not. So mixing things up is good and having more myrmidons opens up new avenues that I'm eager to explore. It helps that you're naturally inclined for myrmidon fighting style."

"Do you mean it?" Olivia asked hopefully. "You're not just saying this to make me feel better?"

"No. When I talk strategy, I always talk straight and with no nonsense! Speaking of," Robin turned serious. "Olivia, I need to be absolutely sure that you're committed to this. I mean, you're no longer going to be casting spells at enemies on the ground from the safety of the air or swooping in and then swooping out. You're going to be in the thick of things with enemy units all around you. You're also going to have to get up close and personal with them, using your sword to take their lives while keeping yours. It's going to be a dangerous, brutal and ugly reality out there. Are you sure you want to jump in?"

"Yes," Olivia said, her eyes filled with determination. "I've given this a lot of thought, Robin. I realize that it will be dangerous and scary, but I have to do this. Chrom and Lucina have to go through this every day while I'm in the relative safety of the air. I…I have to be there with them, Robin, no matter what. A-and the mere fact that I'll have them and everyone else supporting me gives me strength. I know I can do this! ...With the proper training."

Robin stared at Olivia, who held his gaze evenly.

"You held my gaze and didn't blink. Good for you!" the grandmaster nodded approvingly. "Shows that you're really serious about this."

"Now more than ever," admitted Olivia.

"Great. Just give me some time and I'll get you a training routine for your new role. Do you remember all we've learned during peacetime?"

Olivia nodded.

"Okay, that makes it a bit easier. Since we won't be fighting the Valmese any time soon, I think we can field you with robes and sword when fighting random bandits or Risen. Should be many of those around and would make for great practice. We'll just need to brush up on your skills and ramp up the intensity as the Valmese get closer. You're fine with that, right?"

"I'll do whatever it takes!" Olivia said firmly.

"Right then. It's decided then. I'll…" Robin trailed off and closed his eyes when a thought occurred. "Does Lucina dance?"

"Wha—?" the sudden question caught Olivia off guard. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean, 'you don't think so'?" Robin asked curiously. "She's your daughter from the future, isn't she? Wouldn't that be something you'd know about?"

"Well, I…haven't really asked her about it…" Olivia mumbled and looked away in shame.

"I'm confused. Why?"

"Because! She may be my daughter, but she's already been through so much. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders and has seen so many horrible things. She carries herself with such gravity and is so serious in everything she does, I don't want to bother her with little nuisances like what she did in the future before things turned…bad."

"Well that's just silly."

"Robin!"

"What? I'm just speaking my mind here!" said the grandmaster defensively. "I mean, come on. You're her kinda-sorta mother who's dead in her time and who she hasn't seen since forever. After all that time in the future with Risen and Fell Dragons and whatnot, don't you think she'd be happy to spend time with you?"

"Well, yes. She's made that quite clear and has spent a lot of time with me and Chrom. Still…" Olivia hesitated. "Most of the time we've spent together has been during training or doing things around camp. There was that one shopping trip in town a while back, but beyond that, I don't think I've seen Lucina doing anything not related to fighting or chores."

"Isn't this the perfect opportunity to fix that? Get to know your daughter and all?"

"Do you think…? I don't want to bother her with this…" Olivia still looked unsure.

"Olivia," Robin sighed. "You're willing to put yourself in danger by volunteering to fight on foot and on the front lines with the others in order to bond with your daughter. I'm sure talking to her and asking if she takes after you in dancing and other hobbies is a much more effective way to get to know her better."

"Yes, but—"

"No buts! Since you have some reservations about this, I'll make it easier for you and ask Lucina myself."

"What?!"

"Yeah. You know, start a conversation with her and gently steer it into that topic. I'll then seamlessly pass it on to you so you can continue the conversation naturally and without interruption."

"But…but…" Olivia tried to protest.

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of everything!" Robin proclaimed confidently. "Besides, I want you to get along with your daughter as much as you do. Who knows? Maybe Lucina has some secret moves and will wow us with them as you do!"

Having recognized when Robin made up his mind and the futility of trying to talk him out of whatever he planned, Olivia settled on blushing at his compliment.

"Hey, it's true. Your dancing is like magic, which we all appreciate that you do even while fighting on a pegasus during daytime. There's nothing better after a long day of fighting than sitting around the campfire and watching you dance. I swear that everyone feels fresh and invigorated after your shows!"

Olivia giggled. "Thank you, Robin. I don't think my dancing is anything special, but it always gives me a warm feeling when people compliment me."

"And it always gives me energy to do whatever I need to even when I think I'm dead tired, so thank you, Olivia!" Robin smiled cheerily. "…You think you can give me a healing dance to get me through the broken ribs?"

Olivia chuckled.

"Robin, my dances may be magic, but they don't perform healing miracles. I think it's best if we wait for Lucina to come back."

"Well she's certainly taking her sweet time! I'm in great pain here!"

The words had just left Robin's mouth when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching.

"Here I am! I apologize for the wait," panted Lucina. "I tried to find the best vulnerary and get back to you as soon as I could."

"Not a minute too soon. I'm dying here! Gimme!"

"Of course," Lucina handed over the vulnerary to Robin. "Now, I suggest drinking it slowly and—"

Lucina was interrupted by Robin downing the entire vulnerary in one go.

"Oh dear."

"Lucina? What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, hello, Mother. I…" Lucina sighed. "In his haste to ease the pain, I believe that Robin has done something he will soon regret."

"What do you mean, dear?" asked Olivia curiously.

"All will become apparent in three, two, one…"

Lucina had just finished counting when Robin suddenly started coughing and hacking violently.

"Robin! What's wrong?!" Olivia asked, alarmed.

"Ack! What the hell is—blegh! Disgusting taste in my mouth! Argh, pain in chest from the coughing and…oh? Oh, that's…huh."

"Robin? Are you okay?"

"Er…yeah. I'm well. Surprisingly so!" the grandmaster looked puzzled. "I don't remember vulneraries acting so quickly…or tasting so bad. Urgh, I feel I'm about to throw up…"

"Er, yes. I thought it prudent to get you one of the fast acting vulneraries," explained Lucina. "They're more potent, but sadly have a much stronger aftertaste. It's recommended that you take it down slowly to avoid shocking your body…and taste buds."

"Taking thing things slowly is for cowards and suckers! I want to live fast and get results! Even if it's sometimes at the expense of my own health and makes me want to throw up. Urgh…"

"I…" Lucina began and turned to whisper to Olivia while Robin tried to keep his stomach contents in his stomach. "Mother? Should I be worried?"

"Worried? Why would you be worried, dear?" asked Olivia.

"Because Robin has just revealed how he lives his life and his thinking behind everything he does. While already questionable, it becomes alarming when you take into account the fact that he is our tactician and drafts all of our plans. His philosophy in pursuit of quick results seems…dubious when applied to the battlefield, yet he has lead you to victory all this time. Now, I don't mean to question or undermine his authority, but I have to be sure. Was Robin really responsible for the strategies behind those victories or was it just mere coincidence?"

"Oh Lucina. Is that it?" Olivia asked before giggling.

"Mother, please!" Lucina said seriously. "This is an urgent question that needs an answer."

"Right. Forgive me, dear," Olivia calmed herself. "But I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Although Robin may be a bit…eccentric off the battlefield, he's nothing but professional when it's time for battle."

Both women looked over at the man in question, who was currently dry heaving.

"…Hard as that may be to believe sometimes," added Olivia and turned back to her daughter. "Trust me, dear, all of us have fought alongside Robin enough times to trust him with our lives. Your father would be particularly vehement in his defense, having known Robin the longest."

"Thank you, Mother. That's all I wanted to hear," Lucina smiled.

"But dear, do you not trust Robin yourself? Surely you've seen him working enough to know how he in on the battlefield?"

"Actually…I have not," admitted Lucina. "During the war with Plegia, I kept my distance to minimize my impact on the past. I only got close during the fight at Carrion Isle, and that was only at the end when Father's life was in danger. I'm afraid I haven't properly fought with you all since then."

"Ah, I see…" Olivia nodded in understanding. "But don't worry, Lucina. Robin's victories on the battlefield were more than sheer luck. You'll see the next time we all fight."

"I look forward to it," said Lucina. "It will be interesting fighting alongside you all instead of just listening to the stories of your exploits. Especially with how different Robin is..."

"Oh yes, about that. I've been meaning to ask you something. Is Robin really that different today than he was in your time?"

"Very much so. This Robin is practically an entire person altogether."

Before Olivia could inquire further, the man in question walked up.

"Okay, I think the nausea has passed and my bones feel healed. Smart thinking getting me a fast acting vulnerary, Lucina. Thanks for that!"

"You don't need to be thanking me, Robin. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I was the one who put you in such a state in the first place."

"Don't mention it. It was bound to happen eventually," Robin waved dismissively. "This just serves as a reminder that I need to get myself together and train more. I mean, your dad beat the crap out of me before, but I gradually became good enough to at least not get sent to the medical tent after our training. Now here I am breaking my bones against his daughter! Which, by the way, kudos to you. Your form is terrific and your moves superb. We have to do this again so I can get a better sense of how you fight."

"Oh. I..." Lucina was caught off-guard by the sudden change in topic. "Th-thank you?"

"No problem. I think it'll be good for everyone involved."

"Whatever you think is best," Lucina nodded. "Do you want me to tone it down in the future?"

"Oh no, keep it at your current level. It's good 'life and death' practice for me. The enemy sure isn't going to go easy on me and neither should you!"

"But I don't want to hurt you every time we train, Robin."

"Well, I'll just train with others until I get better and can hold my ground against you. How about that?"

"I—"

"Great! After a few rounds with the likes of Lon'qu, Sully and Frederick, I'll be in shape to take on you and Chrom!" Robin paused and subtly winked at Olivia.

"...?"

Olivia looked at Robin curiously, hoping for an explanation. However, instead of providing one, the grandmaster just moved on.

"Oh hey, Lucina? I think your mother wants to talk to you."

"She does?"

"I do?"

"Oh yeah. You know, about the thing?"

"The...thing?"

"Yeah! The thing?"

Olivia stared blankly at Robin.

"Mother?" Lucina asked curiously.

"Lucina, I..." Olivia was completely lost.

"There's no need to be shy, Olivia!" Robin turned to the princess. "Lucina, Olivia wants to spend some quality time with you by doing mother and daughter things. Things like dancing!"

"Robin!"

"Mother?" Lucina turned to face the woman in question. "Is...is this true?"

"W-well, I..." Olivia struggled to find words. When she looked over at Robin for help, all she saw was him making encouraging faces and mouthing words she couldn't make out. "...Yes?"

Robin facepalmed.

"Mother, are you sure? You don't sound certain..."

"Of course she's certain!" Robin interjected, planting an arm around Olivia's shoulder. "Lucina, you're her daughter from another time and she wants to make up for lost time she didn't get to be with you. She's just too shy to ask you, her proud and noble daughter. But believe me when I say that she really, really wants to spend some time with you. Right, Olivia?"

"Y-yes, that's right!" Olivia nodded vigorously, finally catching up to Robin's plan. "Ever since you've come back to us, I've wanted nothing more to get to know you better. But you're always so busy training, helping around camp or with Chrom. I didn't want to interrupt your plans..."

"Mother, please! You would never interrupt anything because I value your company. Truth be told, I've also wanted to spend more time with you."

"R-really?"

"Of course. After all, you are my mother," Lucina smiled warmly. "I very much enjoyed our time together when we went shopping. It was one of the happiest moments in recent times."

"Do you really mean that?"

"I do, Mother. I would like to have more moments like that with you, if you will allow it."

"Oh Lucina!" Olivia sniffed as tears began forming in her eyes. She then hugged her daughter tightly.

"Mother?!"

"Don't worry, dear. I-I'm just so h-happy to hear you say that! Of course I will allow it! I would do anything to spend more time with you."

"Thank you, Mother."

Mother and daughter shared a hug.

When Olivia calmed down, Robin cleared his throat.

"There we are! You two are bonding already. Isn't that nice? Now, why don't you two discuss the next stage in your getting to know each other and talk about things to do together? You know, like dancing, and shopping...and dancing."

"I'm afraid I won't be much help in that area," admitted Lucina. "Although I remember a few early lessons and instances where I tried to dance with Mother, the proper technique always seemed to elude me."

"Then we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

"Mother?"

"Even though I may fight atop a pegasus, I'm still a dancer at heart and perform for the Shepherds every now and then. I would be more than happy to teach you the steps and techniques required...if you want, of course!"

"I would like that very much, Mother. I've always admired your graceful movements and remember being entranced every time I saw you dance when I was little. I even tried imitating your movements when I was alone, although I was never as good as—"

"Well now you won't have to since I can teach you myself!" Olivia said excitedly. "Our own mother-daughter bonding activity!"

"I look forward to it, Mother."

"Me too. Why don't we start right now?"

"Er, now?"

"Yes! We have some free time now and I can at least teach you some basics."

"Mother, while I appreciate the sentiment, I think now may not be the best time," Lucina turned to Robin. "Are we not going to head off to search the ruins soon?"

"Soon enough, but that doesn't mean you can't use this time to bond a bit," replied the grandmaster. "Besides, I still need Sumia and Cordelia to bring me the final scout reports. That gives you guys enough time to do your thing. At least just a little bit."

"Wonderful! Thank you, Robin. Come along, Lucina. We have so much to do before Sumia and Cordelia get back!"

Without waiting for an answer, Olivia took her daughter's hand and dragged her off the training grounds.

"Huh. Olivia being assertive. You don't see that every day. I guess she's really looking forward to spending some time with her daughter…" Robin mumbled to himself as he watched the two walk away.

Robin felt good. He did a good thing. Olivia clearly wanted to spend time with Lucina and Lucina wanted to spend time with her this dimension mother. And Robin was the guy who got the ball rolling. In a way, he helped resolve a family matter and bring its members closer together. That was nice. Now they would spend time and talk and do…whatever moms and daughters did together.

But one thing Robin knew they would do was dance. Or talk about dancing. And that would eventually lead to some kind of dancing. That was also good. It was good because Robin wasn't exaggerating when he praised Olivia's dancing and the effects it had on anyone watching her performances.

No matter how tired, weak or lazy you felt, watching Olivia dance brought you a second wave of energy. Energy enough to do more things and get stuff done. Stuff you otherwise wouldn't want to, or could not, do. Robin didn't really know how that worked but, like with many things in his life, he learned not to question it. He just accepted it was it was. And it was useful as hell. So useful that Robin sometimes wondered what could happen if he had two people capable of this inspirational magical dancing (he knew it was unique to Olivia because he didn't feel the same effects when he watched other dancers doing their thing during the many times he was forced to attend royal ballets and such). And now that Lucina, Olivia's biological daughter, joined them, well, Robin's mind naturally went places. Places that included wondering whether Lucina had the magic in her to dance and rejuvenate people like her mother. She clearly had the form and finesse for it. All that was needed was the skill…and maybe the clothes. Olivia usually changed back into her dancer's attire (or at least out of her combat uniform) when back at camp. Said it made dancing easier.

So it was just a matter of doing a little research to determine if Lucina had any dancing ability and try to see if she could follow in her mother's footsteps and zap people full of energy though dancing. That didn't mean that was Robin's only intention! Having found out Olivia's insecurities, he naturally wanted to help his best friend's wife and her daughter connect…that just neatly fell in line with his other plans. And now that he got them together, he could see if anything would come out of it. If Lucina had the talent, all she'd need is some attire and they'd have another dancer in their midst! Hopefully one that could repeat her mother's trick.

Apparently the attire was very important. Olivia said that it helped put her in the right mood for whatever dance she had in store. Robin had to admit that it did help with the visual imagery.

It was a good thing that Olivia was the queen. Being royalty, she could afford a bunch of different and exotic dancer's clothes to help put her in whatever mood her dance demanded. Not that she'd buy any of them herself. Well, some of them. She'd be too shy to buy others herself for fear of burdening the country and spending its money unnecessarily. Most of her costumes were gifts from a (surprisingly) attentive husband, knowledgeable nobles, and fashion savvy friends.

It was also a good thing that she was queen and a married woman, because some of those costumes were very…risqué, to say the least. Robin very clearly remembered having thoughts when he first met the dancer back when they were getting the hell out of Plegia. Her clothes then left little to the imagination, showed off a lot of skin and somehow, the costume was made that the strategically covered areas also somehow seemed…it made it seem naughtier than it should've been.

So…yes. Having and extremely shy yet very revealingly dressed dancer running around camp would've been problematic, but Chrom immediately solved that problem by proposing. It pretty much eliminated any inappropriate thoughts Robin may have had about Olivia. Even when he looked at her out of her queen's costume and in her dancer's outfits, he felt and thought nothing. Thank the gods for that. Needless to say, it would've been very awkward if he had those kinds of thoughts about his best friend's wife.

Right. So Olivia brought some of her costumes out with her out on the road. They'd need to haul more of them out of Ylisstol for the Valm campaign, but at least they had something to work with and Lucina had some costumes to work with. Put her in the right mindset and all that. And once she donned her clothes, she would get into it, and dance, and inspire, and…and…

Images of Lucina in Olivia's various dancer's clothes suddenly flooded Robin's mind. They were…interesting.

Realizing that his blood was heading south and that his thoughts were going in a very dangerous direction, Robin desperately tried to change tracks and think of something else. Anything else.

…It was harder than it should've been.

"Argh!" Robin was now remembering some of Olivia's more exotic outfits. Outfits designed to titillate and tease. And now he was seeing his best friend's daughter from the future dressed in them. "No! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! Away with you! Shoo!"

Why was it so hard to think of something else?! Anything else!

So busy was Robin in trying to turn his thoughts to another subject that he didn't hear the flap of wings and the sound of hooves hitting the ground.

"Robin!"

"Oh thank gods…" Thankful any distraction to stop the barrage of increasingly inappropriate images of his best friend's daughter, Robin eagerly turned to face the voice. "Well if it isn't my favorite scouts. Back so soon?"

"Somebody's being particularly friendly today," remarked Cordelia. "In a good mood?"

"I'm always in a good mood," replied Robin cheerfully. "Even if I wasn't, I'll always greet you, my two best lady friends, in an open and friendly matter."

"You don't seem to be in a good mood," observed Sumia. "In fact, you seem a little bit…red. Robin, are you okay?"

"What? I-I'm not red!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Robin, you're flushed," Cordelia stated flatly. "Is anything the matter?"

"No. Nothing's the matter! And for your information, I certainly haven't been having any inappropriate thoughts about anyone! None whatsoever!"

"Okay…?"

"That's right! Just normal, everyday thoughts. That's me! Ha ha ha…"

Sumia and Cordelia exchanged confused glances.

"Right, um…" Cordelia cleared her throat. "We're back with our latest report on the status of the ruins."

"Good. So how are they? Still abandoned as reports suggested?"

"Not as abandoned as we initially thought, sadly."

"Bandits?"

"Worse."

"Oh course it is…" Robin sighed and shook his head. "So what're we dealing with?"

"See for yourself."

Cordelia handed over her and Sumia's observations.

Robin examined the report and frowned.

"…You're kidding me."

"If only. Cordelia and I both saw this with our very own eyes," confirmed Sumia. "Risen were suddenly entering the ruins en masse."

"…Seriously? Risen?" Robin asked in exasperation. "The ruins were empty all the time we were marching up on them. When did all of these suddenly appear?!"

"Quite recently, from the look of things. There were no reports indicating any movement in the area before this," said Cordelia.

"And of course they decide to appear when we approach the site to begin our search…" Robin mumbled grumpily before shivering. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Listen!"

"'Listen'? I thought we were supposed to be feeling—"

"Shhhh!"

Sumia and Cordelia exchanged confused glances.

"Did you feel that?"

Both women remained silent.

"It's the familiar feeling of being watched," explained Robin slowly. "Or rather, being stalked. This can only mean one thing…"

As if on cue, there was some rustling in the bushes nearby.

"Hey-o, Tharja!" greeted a familiarly cheery voice.

A started gasp.

"Whatcha doing?"

From the distance, Robin could make out the telltale sign of Henry's white hair. Squinting, he could also make out a figure who he assumed was Tharja.

"You. What are you doing sneaking up on me?" hissed the sorceress.

"Sneaking? Who's sneaking?" asked Henry innocently. "Me and Little Henry here were doing some nice walking in the woods when we came across you skulking in the bushes. And then we thought 'what's our ol' buddy Tharja up to now?' and decided to investigate. So. Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Tharja answered curtly. "Now go away. You're taking up my valuable time…time I could be spending enjoying my favorite hobby."

"Aw, don't be like that! We're just trying to be friendly here and getting to know the people we'll be working with, isn't that right, Little Henry?"

The crow on Henry's shoulder cawed.

"Good for you and your…friend," Thajra said condescendingly and rolled her eyes. "Go make nice with the others around camp. I have no interest in getting to know people outside of one person in particular…and you've already blown my cover! Now run along before I curse you for this interruption."

"Oooh, are we people watching?" Instead of leaving, Henry very casually kneeled down in the bushes beside Tharja, much to the latter's displeasure. "I love people watching! It's almost as fun as killing! Who're we watching?"

Tharja glowered.

"Oh hey, there's Robin. And others! Hi guys!" Henry waved seeming completely oblivious to the death glare Tharja was giving him. "Oh, is that favorite hobby you were talking about watching Robin?"

"I'm a few seconds from cursing you into a toad," Tharja managed to say through gritted teeth.

"Nya ha ha! That'd be a neat trick if you can pull it off! Although I gotta warn you, I'm no slouch when it comes to cursing and hexes. You'll have to work reeeaaaally hard to get me!"

"Unlikely," Tharja scoffed. "My curses are powerful and potent. No one can resist them."

"Luckily for you I'm not just anyone! Dispelling curses and deflection is kinda my specialty. I was top of my class in wizard school. People kept up lining up curses on me and I kept on knocking them right outta the park! Or, back at them. Fun times!"

"Wait a minute…" Tharja narrowed her eyes and examined Henry as if seeing him for the first time. "Could it be…?"

"What's with the weird look? You're making me feel like a toad that's about to be dissected. Hey, that's a fun thought!"

"You. Before joining us you worked for Plegia, didn't you?"

"Yessir! Fought for the army and all that."

"Interesting. Then the stories are true…"

"What stories?"

"When I still fought for Plegia, we heard all sorts of stories about you. A silver-haired youth with a knowledge of curses and an extraordinary gift for magic. A man guarded by fierce crows so that very few had seen the true extent of his powers."

"Oh wow! Now that's a reputation! Yeah, crows have always had a thing for me, I guess. Dunno why. Not that I'm complaining. Some of my best friends are crows. Isn't that right, little buddy?" Henry cooed as caressed the crow on his shoulder.

Little Henry cawed.

"Yes, well. I suppose that does explain a few things. Now that I know who you really are…" Tharja grinned wickedly. "Perhaps you'd be willing to teach a trick or two to a fellow dark mage?"

"Sure! You want me to cast a death curse on someone?" The smile usually plastered on Henry's face widened.

"Someone in camp? Mmm…" Tharja thought for a moment. "…No. That could be problematic."

"Hee hee! Yeah, I guess. Too bad, though. See, 'cause I've got one that makes blood come out your—"

"Thank you, I get the picture," Tharja interrupted before a thought occurred. "What's with the smiling, anyway? No one's going to trust you if you're grinning like the village idiot."

"Hee hee! Smiling? This is how I always look."

"Hardly reassuring. Tell me what you're plotting and I may yet spare you."

"Sorry! Nothing sinister over here. I'm just a hale and hearty mage," Henry said cheerily.

"Ugh... Hale? Hearty?" Tharja frowned in disgust. "Have you no respect for our ancient profession? We're supposed to be harbingers of pestilence and famine and doom!"

"I do so love doom."

"Well, this has certainly been enlightening. You have successfully interrupted my Robin watching time, but I will spare you today because you have given me many things to think about. And you might prove useful in the future. Now I have to retire to my tent to prepare a few things. Don't follow me or interrupt me again."

Without waiting for a reply, Tharja got up and left.

Little Henry cawed.

"You're right, little buddy. I think she likes us!" Henry then turned to Robin. "So, how'd I do, Robin?"

"Top notch, Henry!" the grandmaster gave a thumbs up. "Keep up the good work. With your current efforts, you'll be best friends in no time!"

"That would be swell!"

"Well don't let your soon-to-be best friend walk away from you like that. Keep on her!"

"You got it, boss!"

Henry saluted and ran off after Tharja. Meanwhile, Robin chuckled to himself.

"Just as planned. I'm so good I sometimes surprise even myself."

"Um, Robin?"

"Sumia."

"Care to explain?"

"It's simple, really. Just a matter of math."

"Math?" Sumia repeated, confused.

"Yes. Math," Robin nodded seriously. "See, I have one creepy dark magic stalker and another creepy-in-a-different-way dark magic user. On their own they're both creepy and one is very stalker-y. But combine them together and their mutual creepiness cancels each other out!"

"Robin. How does that possibly make any sense?" Cordelia felt compelled to ask.

"It makes all the sense! It's just like when Miriel was talking about…was it magnetism? Or magic theory? Uh…" Robin shook his head. "She talks a lot about science, but the general idea is that two things that have the same or similar properties negate each other when mixed together. And it's totally working!"

"How do you figure that?"

"Because Tharja's creepy gloominess is negated by Henry's creepy optimism. Whenever she becomes a downer, Henry's there to lighten the mood and make everything better! Besides, they're both dark mages so they should have some things in common. Birds of a feather and all that. More importantly, Henry is capable of fending himself off from Tharja's hexes, thus making him the perfect person to distrac—I mean, befriend her. And that, in turn, leads to her spending less time stalking me. Because she'll be too busy with Henry, as shown just now. Impressive, isn't it?" Robin smiled brightly. "Just goes to show that I'm not just a pretty face!"

"That's, uh, certainly something…" Cordelia commented.

"But don't you think there can be certain...consequences of putting two dark mages together?" asked Sumia worriedly. "I mean, Tharja shows no hesitation in cursing people and Henry is...Henry."

"What're you talking about? All I'm doing is distracting one gloomy dark mage by throwing another powerful — and possibly insane — dark mage in her direction to run interference and annoy her to the point that she forgets all about me and focuses all her attention on her irritant. What can possibly go wrong?"

Sumia and Cordelia stared.

"...Okay, maybe a few things could go wrong when I hear myself saying that aloud..." admitted Robin. "But hey! This is yet another part of my intricate and increasingly complicated web of plans. And you should know by now that my plans always succeed."

"But Robin, yo—"

"Always succeed!" the grandmaster repeated for emphasis. "This time will be no different. Besides, it's not like Tharja's going to kill Henry. That would be in violation of her terms of employment. Oh, and Henry can take care of himself in the dark magic department. So really, everybody wins. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?"

Both women looked at each other before turning to face Robin and nodding mutely. In times like these it was best to just smile and hope for the best.

"Well, now that Henry's going to shadow Tharja, I'm going to find myself having a lot more stalker-free time. Heh, to think that the answer to my stalker problems was to give my stalker her very own, unnervingly cheery stalker. Sometimes the best answers are right in front on you, aren't they?"

For lack of anything better to say, Sumia and Cordelia continued nodding.

"And that handles the most important affairs of the day!" Robin declared triumphantly. "Now, if there's nothing else, I think I'll enjoy the rest of my stalker-free day."

"Uh, Robin?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Like?"

Instead of answering, Cordelia pointed.

"Oh. Right. Scout reports. Uh..." Robin re-read the report and felt his mood drop. "Right. Risen. The ruins crawling with Risen suddenly on the same day we decide to get our expedition on. Gods, why? Why are they even there? Why now?!"

"Maybe they're looking for the same thing we are?" ventured Sumia. "Since it seems that no one has claimed it yet, it must be a very powerful thing in there. Powerful enough for Risen to want it at least. Unless…unless they're there for another reason."

"Yeah, fat chance. They're mindless undead soldiers who kill stuff. As far as we know, there's nothing in the ruins to kill, so they must be there for the magical artefact still in there somewhere. And of course they'd show up just when we would. Of course!" Robin shook his head angrily. "Although I really shouldn't be surprised at this point. What I should do is always expect the worst. Now, let me see what numbers you guys saw down there…"

As Robin was reading the report, he didn't notice the encroaching darkness until it slowly worked its way up his report.

"Hey guys, can you turn up the light? It's getting hard to read over here."

"Uh, Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"I think this may be a little out of our control."

"What? Why?" Robin looked from his report to see Cordelia pointing up. Following her finger, Robin's eyes widened. "Holy crap! The sun!"

Indeed, the sun. The sun was gone…or rather, it was replaced by a giant, black…something. Like a hole. There was a giant black hole where the sun was supposed to be!

"What's going on? Our sun is gone! Is the world ending?!"

"There's no need to worry, Robin. The world isn't ending."

"What? How do you know? How can you be sure? I mean, our sun is now a black hole!"

"Yes, I'm sure. You have nothing to worry about," Cordelia reassured patiently. "The sun has not gone away, it's simply obscured by the moon. We call this phenomenon an 'eclipse.'"

"Oh. Really? This is what an eclipse looks like?"

"How do you know what an eclipse is without knowing what it looks like?" Sumia asked.

Robin pointed to his head. "Amnesia, remember? Can't remember a thing. That's why every day is a learning experience! And I know of eclipses because I've come across the concept when I've read stuff. Granted, it's nothing like I imagined it would be like."

"What did you imagine an eclipse would look like?"

"Well, complete and utter darkness, for one. Like, midnight darkness, only darker. Abject darkness. Oh, and horrible things happening. Demons spawning, world ending, etc. You know."

Sumia and Cordelia looked at Robin with amused smiles.

"Hey, those books were my only source of info on things like this!" Robin said defensively. "How was I supposed to—"

Robin was interrupted by a horrified scream from nearby.

The three immediately darted off in the direction of the scream, their weapons ready in case they were being ambushed.

"What's going on?" Robin demanded, brandishing his sword and looking around for any sign of enemy activity. "We heard someone scream. Are we under attack?!"

"Oy. There is no need to be with the alarm. Gregor is on job!"

"What the…?"

Robin stared in confusion at the sight in front of him. He was confused because, right there in front of his eyes, was a smiling Gregor. But that wasn't what made the scene so incomprehensible. What made the scene incomprehensible was Panne shaking and trembling in Gregor's arms. Yes, that's right. Panne, aloof, stoic, and detached Panne, was trembling with fear in Gregor's arms like a scared little bunny.

"Uh…" Robin tried and failed to think of something to say. Glancing to his side, he saw the Sumia and Cordelia were equally befuddled.

"Oy. Why Robin and friends making funny faces at Gregor?"

"Whaaa...aaa... No! Ancestors help me... D-darkness...consuming all..." Panne muttered to herself while trembling.

"Is just eclipse! Sun is only hiding behind moon for small time," Gregor explained. "Is coming back, Gregor swears. Do not make with the worrying."

"T-truly?"

"Panne has never heard of eclipse?" Gregor questioned.

"I've been hiding for most of my life. There is much I do not know," Panne replied curtly.

"Oy, you must have been poor and lonely girl, yes?"

"Do not offer me pity. I will not accept it."

"You are funny woman, saying so to Gregor while cuddling in his strong arms!"

"Cuddling...? In your arms...?" Panne slowly looked around and realized her position. "Aaargh! When did you grab me, man-spawn?! I should eat your heart for this insult!"

"Please, do not be doing this! Gregor is needing his heart!" the mercenary joked jovially. "And it was you who jumping into Gregor's arms like frightened rabbit, yes?"

"Er, yes, well, it must have been...this 'eclipse.' I…" Noticing Robin, Sumia, and Cordelia watching the scene, Panne untangled herself from Gregor's arms, grunted and stiffly left without another word.

Robin watched her leave in stunned silence.

"Is no problem! Gregor will be seeing you!" Gregor called after the leaving Panne. "Gregor always in mood for friendly cuddle."

"What…" Robin pointed. "What the hell was that?"

"Ho ho ho! Gregor just being his friendly self! One moment Gregor walking in camp and minding his own business, the next, sun goes black and Panne is being very much stressed. Panne is being so much stressed that she jump and cuddle Gregor. Not that Gregor mind. Gregor always welcoming free hugs and Panne is being very soft and furry!"

"And you calmed her down by just casually explaining away what an eclipse was. How did you even do that? How do you know what an eclipse is? It's not every day that the sun goes black!"

"Gregor is being experienced mercenary; Gregor has been around block and seen many things. During long and illustrious career, Gregor seen and learned many things. Solar eclipse is just being small part of Gregor's knowledge pool!"

"…Right. Well," Robin looked to his friends, who shrugged. He then cleared his throat. "Does wise old Gregor know when the sun'll get back to normal? I mean, it looks really cool all black, but having everything being so dark is a bit of a pain…"

"I would strongly advise against looking directly at a solar eclipse unless you want to damage your eyesight and potentially incur blindness."

"Blindness?!" Robin turned his head away from the eclipse so fast he was pretty sure he got whiplash. "Ouch. Wow, am I going to feel that one in the morning…"

"Hello, Miriel," greeted Sumia. "Are you here to study the eclipse?"

"I am not," replied the sage. "There is quite enough data on that subject as is. Moreover, there will be numerous other occasions to further study and analyze this phenomenon if so required. By that time I should be in the comfort of my laboratory and with the proper equipment on hand to make detailed notes as required."

"Oh. Okay."

"So what brings you here?" Cordelia asked.

"I have something for Robin."

"Oh hey. That's me," said the grandmaster as he was rubbing his neck. "What do you have for me today?"

"I have come to give you back your spellbook," Miriel answered and handed it over to Robin. "I have taken into account your considerations and found the optimal balance of spells while at the same time keeping the spellbook at an acceptable size and weight. Your spellbook is armed with a combination of mid and high tier elemental spells in order to keep you prepared for any enemies that you may encounter. However, I must inform you that I needed to eliminate the weaker spells in order to keep the spellbook light enough so as not to encumber you."

"That's fine. As long as I'm able to properly blast away Risen and the like, I'm happy," Robin balanced his new spellbook in his hand. "Not bad. Small enough to fit in my coat pocket and still light enough to carry. Thanks, Miriel!"

"Your gratitude is noted. Do you require me to go over the process of transferring spells from tomes to your spellbook?"

"Yes, but not now. Now, we have more urgent matters to attend to. Speaking of, when will this blasted eclipse subside? We have some fighting and relic hunting to do and we can't do it with this darkness!"

"Ho ho! Robin is needing to be patient!" Gregor laughed heartily. "Eclipses not be lasting very long. A few minutes at mostings. Should be over in blink of eye."

"I guess that's encouraging. Still makes reading stuff a bit hard," Robin grumbled. "I guess the only upside is that we're going to be in some underground ruins so sunlight is going to be irrelevant…"

"Given the newest reports, do you want us to gather everyone so you can lay out the strategy for the upcoming fight?"

"Hm? Oh yeah. Thank you, Cordelia. Keeping me honest and on track as usual. Yes, uh…" Robin cleared his throat. "Why don't you and Sumia get the word out and have everyone get their gear and gather at the front of the camp. Since there's Risen in the ruins, it means that the clock's ticking and we have to get in there before they…do whatever it is they want to do with an ancient artefact. Gregor and Miriel can cover the other side of camp."

"Roger."

"Will do."

"Very well."

"Gregor is on job!"

As Robin watched his friends dart off in different directions to gather everyone, he opened his new tome and conjured up a bright fireball in order to better read his report. It might've been a little overkill to waste an Elfire use, but he had many more where that came from.

"Well, at least this'll be a nice opportunity to field test this thing. Being able to cast different spells from one book sure is handy. Let's see how it feels to switch on the fly…"

He would find out very shortly. He just needed to get a general idea of what they were facing and what strategies to put to use…


"Okay people!" Robin called to the assembled Shepherds in front of the ruin's entrance. "You all know what to do. Our little expedition got a bit harder with the appearance of Risen, but we've killed enough of these mindless things before to do it all gain. The only difference now being that we're in fighting them in a more confined space, but not too confined if these rough sketches from previous unsuccessful scavengers are to be believed. Apparently these ruins are big enough to fit fliers in the underground chambers. Keeping that in mind, I've split you into two groups in order to maximize our chances of finding this damn thing where all others have failed. It should be a walk in the park. No booby traps or horrible, terrible curses as far as I'm aware of. Just Risen. Piece of cake!"

The assembled Shepherds remained silent.

"Er, right," Robin cleared his throat and moved on. "We've gone over the plan and our objective. Does everyone know what they're doing?"

The Shepherds nodded.

"Good. Any questions before we head and relic hunt?"

"Actually, Robin? I have some reservations concerning, well..." Chrom approached and looked back uncertainly at his wife, who was now dismounted and wearing myrmidon robe with a sword instead of her usual dark flier attire. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I know you must have a good reason for reassigning Olivia, but she's not really trained for melee combat, you know? She's one of the more frail Shepherds and I can't help but worry about her now that she's going to fight on foot..."

"I must agree with Father on this, Robin," Lucina said quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "Is this not a bit too dangerous for her?"

"I understand your concerns, trust me. But you have nothing to fear," Robin assured. "In fact, this is the best possible time to be trying out new things."

"How do you figure?" asked Chrom.

"Because of our opponents."

"I...don't quite understand," said Lucina.

"It's simple. You see, we're about to face a large and experienced army the likes of which we've never seen before. They may be a ways off for now, but they're also hardened by countless battles and experienced from conquering an entire continent. Given these circumstances, deploying Olivia in a new role seems incredibly risky, doesn't it?"

Chrom and Lucina nodded.

"And since we'll need everything to face an enemy of such magnitude, we'll need to move away from things that worked before and try out new roles," continued Robin. "This is where changing roles comes in. Olivia and I have practiced swordplay and she has skill. And what better way to test that skill than against slow, uncoordinated undead soldiers?"

"Robin, that's—"

"Would you rather she fight first against the Valmese?"

"No, but—"

"Would you rather she fight against bandits? Bandits who use their brains and are much more agile than Risen?"

"...No."

"Then Risen is what you get," Robin said before softening his tone. "Trust me, guys. This is for the best. Risen make easier targets than humans because they're mindless, slow and clumsy. And Olivia's good enough with the sword to hit and jump back before she's hit. Besides, it's not like she's alone in this. You, Lucina and a bunch of other Shepherds will be there to keep her safe, right? And Lissa'll be there to patch her up if anything goes bad."

"Yes, I suppose so..." Lucina conceded.

"You're right, as always. Forgive us, Robin," Chrom apologized. "We trust your judgement and reasoning. Still, that doesn't prevent us from worrying, you know?"

"I understand completely. But—"

Robin was interrupted when a loud rumbling sound emerged from the entrance and the ground began to quake.

"W-what's happening?!"

"Is the ground gonna split?!"

"Hold on!"

The quake eventually subsided but a bright light suddenly shone from the ruins. That was followed by the undeniable moan of Risen from within. After a few moments, all was quiet again.

"...That didn't seem good," Robin mumbled to himself. He then turned to the assembled Shepherds. "You all saw that, people! Earth trembling and bright lights coming from dark ruins is never a good sign of anything. Doubly so if Risen moan like that. Let's get down there and find whatever we're looking for before the Risen get their undead hands on it. Remember the plan, people! Cordelia, you and your group are to guard the entrance to prevent more Risen from entering and flanking us. The rest of you, get in your teams and prepare to engage. Go go go!"

With a salute, the Shepherds got into their groups and descended down into the ruins.


"Look at this place..." Sumia murmured in awe. "It's so big. You'd never guess that something like this would be hidden underground..."

"And check out this glow everywhere. It's like you can feel the magic pulsing with every step," remarked Ricken.

"No kidding. The glow is strange, but I kinda expected the size this from the intel and scavengers' tales," said Robin.

"Really?" asked Sumia.

"Yep. Why else do you think I brought in fliers? I heard tales that this place had room enough for pegasi to fly freely. Even Minerva fit!"

"Who do you suppose built this place?"

"Not to interrupt you two," Maribelle interjected, "but I believe we have more important matters to attend to."

Looking ahead, the group saw a group of Risen trudging purposefully in one direction.

"Mages, prepare to fire on my mark," Robin said as he prepared his own spellbook. "Sumia, take Virion and cover us from the air. Lon'qu, you're with me. Everyone else, partner up and get ready...and watch the sides. I don't trust those huge gaps in the floor. With how these things go, I wouldn't be surprised if they were bottomless..."


"Rargh!"

Olivia breathed heavily as she dodged the axe of the Risen.

"Okay, don't panic. Just remember the steps and what you learned with Robin..."

Jumping back as the Risen swung again, Olivia immediately closed the distance and slashed the Risen across the chest.

Injured but not defeated, the Risen prepared raised its arm to swing its axe.

"Not today!"

Before Olivia could react, a sword stabbed the Risen from behind, causing it to roar and dissipate into purple mist.

"Olivia, are you okay?" Chrom rushed to his wife. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, I'm fine," Olivia panted, trying to steady her breath. "Thank you."

"Are you sure? You don't have to keep fighting if you're tired."

"T-thank you for your concern, my love, b-but I'm fine," Olivia panted. She then took a deep breath to steady herself. "I have to do this. I have to get used to fighting on foot and with a sword. For you and for the Shepherds."

"That may be true, but please don't push yourself too hard, dear. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you..."

"You don't have to worry, Chrom. I know my limits and fight Risen I know I can beat. Although..." Olivia smiled. "It helps knowing that you're looking out for me."

"Always."

"That seems to be the last of them. At least for now," Lucina announced as she approached. "Mother? Father? Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, Lucina. You have nothing to worry about. Your mother is just catching her breath."

"Mother?" Lucina looked at her mother with concern.

"I'm fine, dear. We should move on before the Risen come back."

"Mother, are you sure? Do you need a moment?"

Olivia shook her head. "Give your mother a little credit, dear. I may be frail, but I'm not that weak."

"Of course, Mother. I would never think otherwise."

"Milord, the area is secure," reported Frederick. "Shall we proceed?"

"If no one's hurt."

"No serious injuries here!" piped up Lissa. "There was an issue with Minerva a little while ago, but she's all fine now."

"Issue?" Chrom looked at Cherche for an explanation.

"Nothing to be concerned about. Minerva just gets too excited sometimes," explained Cherche. "But she's much too tough to be taken down by a few Risen, isn't that right?"

The wyvern roared in agreement.

"She just suffered a few scratches, although that stomach ache was entirely her fault. How many times have I told you not to play with your food? Especially when it's clearly rotten?"

Minerva seemed to visibly cower in the face of Cherche's admonishing. An odd sight.

"Okay…" Chrom decided it was time to move on. "If everyone's ready to move on?"

"Before we go…"

"What's wrong, Lissa?"

"It's about the Risen. Have you noticed anything weird about them? I mean, the ones here seem to, I dunno. Be really out of it? They fight very differently. It's almost as if they're distracted or something."

"I concur with these observations."

Everyone turned to see Miriel walking toward them.

"Based on my observations of the Risen we have encountered here, I can safely conclude that their behavior pattern in indeed different to those that we have fought previously."

"Yeah, isn't it?" Lissa said. "These ones seem...dazed or something. They don't even attack us until we get them first."

"A shrewd observation."

"Why do you suppose that is?" asked Chrom. "Risen are usually just mindlessly wander around and kill everything in their immediate area."

"Although there isn't enough data to draw any definitive conclusions, I would hypothesize that the Risen's behavior is related to the earlier quake and light that emanated from the ruins. Perhaps the Risen sensed something from here and all converged onto this location."

Frederick frowned. "Do you suppose they've come in search for the artefact?"

"Possible, but unlikely. These ruins have been here for quite some time. If the Risen were truly after the artefact, I'm certain they would've come much sooner."

"Wonderful. Aside from the Risen, we know have to keep an eye out on whatever it is they're looking for. Keep your eyes open, everyone!" Chrom shouted to the others. "We might not know what we'll find, but the fact that Risen are searching for it is reason enough to proceed with caution."

The group nodded.

"Okay. Now that everyone's rested, we can—"

"Wait!"

"Hm? What is it, Cherche?" Chrom asked.

"Minerva says she heard something. Listen..."

In the eerie quiet of the ruins, Cherche was proven right as there was a faint noise in the distance. It sounded like...footsteps. Footsteps that were getting closer.

As the Shepherds were about to head in the direction of the approaching footsteps, they jumped as the silence was interrupted by the loud sound of a fire spell crashing into its target, followed by Risen moaning.

"Shepherds, prepare yourselves!" Chrom called out as he held Falchion, ready for whatever was about to appear (from the sounds of things, they were at least guaranteed more Risen).

What the small group of Shepherds were not expecting was to see a figure in a familiar coat running toward them.

Chrom squinted.

"R-Robin?!"

Indeed it was, for who else would have that signature coat but the Grandmaster of Ylisse himself? Although it was a bit strange that he had his hood up. Also, since when did Robin look so short?

Chrom's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a group of Risen in pursuit.

Panting, Robin suddenly turned around and, holding his spellbook open, cast a fireball at the pursing Risen, killing a few in the process. Unfortunately, that didn't slow down the others rapidly approaching him.

"Argh, no! Of all the times to run out of spells…!" Robin grunted in frustration, tucked his spellbook in his coat, and unsheathed his sword. "No spells and overwhelming enemy numerical superiority. Odds not looking good. Only option now is to—Wargh!"

Chrom decided to intervene when he saw his best friend trip and fall flat on his face.

"Shepherds! To battle!"

As the other engaged the group of Risen, Chrom rushed and extended his hand to his friend.

"Having a little trouble, are we?"

"A little…" Robin said as he took Chrom's hand.

Huh, that was weird. Must've been something in these ruins, because Robin's voice sounded a lot different. Almost…younger and more feminine. And was he always this short?

Chrom shook his head and dispelled these thoughts. After all, there was a battle to win.

"Looks like we came just in time. Can you still fight?"

"I can now!" Robin said enthusiastically before reaching down and unsheathing his sword. "The numbers all add up now that you're here! Thanks for the help, Mister!"

"'Mister'? Robin, what're you—never mind. Let's finish these monsters! You ready?"

"Yeah!"

With that settled, Chrom and Robin both engaged the enemy.

Although these Risen were more coordinated than usual, the Shepherds nevertheless managed to defeat the group.

"There!" Chrom grunted as he stabbed Falchion at a grounded Risen. "That's the last of them."

Looking up, Chrom saw the other Shepherds finishing up, smiling to himself when his eyes locked on Lucina worrying over Olivia, no doubt in the same way he himself had. He also saw Cherche and Frederick surrounded by dissipating Risen, a testament to their effectiveness in combat.

"Seems so," Robin sheathed his sword and clapped his hands together. "Hey, thanks for the assist! Those things didn't seem to let up and I just ran out of spells to cast. You guys have great timing!"

Now that the fighting was over and Chrom could focus, there was definitely something wrong.

First of all, Robin certainty wasn't as short as he seemed now. Chrom may not've been the most observant man in the world, but even he understood that much. Second, that was definitely not Robin's voice. The ruins could've had the craziest sound effects on a person's voice, but certainly not enough to change it so dramatically.

It seemed that Chrom wasn't the only one to notice. While they were talking, the other Shepherds gathered around and looked at Robin in confusion, or, in Frederick and Lucina's case, apprehension.

"Whoa, did you guys feel that? I just felt a chill down my spine! It's like the atmosphere here suddenly changed and got all serious and uncomfortable!" the person (definitely female) laughed.

"Who exactly are you?" Chrom asked, keeping his tone neutral but his hand on Falchion just in case.

"Oh, right. Where are my manners?" The person reached up and removed her hood, revealing a smiling girl with an uncanny resemblance to a certain grandmaster. "I'm Morgan. Pleased to meet you!"


"Rargh!"

Robin grunted as he blocked the Risen's sword and, not for the first time, cursed his complacency.

For too long he got used to his desk job running Ylisse, signing papers and hearing complaints from citizens and lords about this and that. For too long he has neglected his training in favor of his official duties. And for too long he got used to fighting alongside Sumia on her pegasus at the expense of his ground combat skills. And today showed that he needed to urgently fix this problem.

"Rargh!"

He needed to fix it fast!

Jumping to the side (and narrowly avoiding having his head separated from the rest of his body), Robin quickly charged up his Levin Sword and shot a bolt of lightning at the Risen before it got a chance to turn around.

Robin only got a glance of the Risen disintegrating before his reflexes kicked in to immediately block an axe swing from another Risen.

"Argh! Why are there so many of you?!" Robin grunted as he tried to push the bulky Risen away.

The Risen naturally didn't respond, but it did get decapitated and disappear in a cloud of dust.

"Thanks for the save, Lon'qu," Robin said gratefully as he was helped up.

"You're getting sloppy," the swordmaster stated flatly.

"You don't say?" Robin replied sarcastically.

"Ha! That's what a lack of proper trainin' does to ya, Robin. If you were diligent and had an intense training regime like ol' Teach, you'd be in top physical condition," Vaike boasted. "And able to do THIS!"

He then proceeded to push the Risen currently attacking him back before swinging his axe and chopping it in two.

"And this is why Teach always gets tenure!"

"Not now, Vaike!" Robin rolled his eyes at his friend's posturing. "Stay focused and help me stay alive to deal with these Risen. Both of you."

"Of course! The Vaike can't lose to his star pupil, now can he?"

"Vaike, since when am I your pupil?"

"Not talkin' about you, Robin. I'm talking about Lon'qu over there!"

The swordmaster frowned at this as he stabbed a nearby Risen.

"Wha—?!" Robin was genuinely offended at the fact that he was passed over. So offended that he casually ducked a Risen's sword swing before setting it on fire. "How come you chose Lon'qu over me?"

"Robin…"

"What? Is there just something fundamentally unpupilable about me that made you overlook me as your star pupil? Wait…" Robin parried another Risen's axe and stabbed it in the face. "I'm not even your pupil, let alone star pupil! What the hell, Vaike?!"

"Are you sayin' you wanna join Teach's class?"

"…No, but it's the thought that counts!"

"If you two are quite finished?" Lon'qu said irritably as he disarmed a Risen before slicing it in two. "We still have a few more enemies to kill."

"Right…" Robin nodded and turned. "Ricken! Maribelle! On me!"

The two quickly made their way and stood by Robin.

"Ready your spells!"

The three spellcasters each opened their tomes (and spellbook) before unleashing a devastating array of spells on the group of Risen.

Instead of ignoring their casualties and mindlessly continuing as they were, the surrounding Risen seemed to have picked up on the threat and charged.

"Well, that doesn't seem good…" Robin put away his spellbook, readied his sword and moved to the front. "Ricken, Maribelle, stay behind us and keep blasting the Risen away. Lon'qu, Vaike and I will take care of any that you don't get."

The two spellcasters nodded and continued casting spells at approaching Risen. What surprised Robin was that the Risen seemed to actually use whatever brains they still had and actually avoid some of the spells instead of rushing blindly into them.

"Great. Tactically adept Risen. Exactly what we need…"

"Ready yourself," Lon'qu warned and got into a fighting stance. "Here they come."

"Yeah, yeah…" Robin quickly unleashed a lightning bolt from his Levin Sword. But before he could engage, Vaike charged forward.

"Watch as Teach gets the highest body count today!"

"Son of a—!" Robin swore under his breath. "Lon'qu, let's go and help Vaike stay alive!"

It was still as hard as before, but fighting back to back with Lon'qu at least took the edge off and reminded him of what it was like to fight. Back in the early days, he did a lot of training with the then myrmidon. It was a hard and grueling exercise, but it helped Robin get to know the Feroxi fighting style and even incorporate some of its techniques into his own Feroxi-Ylissean hybrid mix. And that was good because it allowed him to be adaptable and fight with both Ylisseans and Feroxi soldiers. Oh, and occasionally switching it up with Vaike now helped!

And it was with this teamwork that Robin and Lon'qu (with cover fire from Ricken and Maribelle) managed to hold off the Risen, keep the spellcasters safe, and keep themselves alive.

"Gods…" Robin panted after the last of the Risen disintegrated. "Am I out of shape. Nice fighting with you, Lon. Just like old times, eh?"

Lon'qu just grunted, but the ghost of a smile on his face was more than enough to tell Robin that he agreed.

"Okay, that's that. Whew!" Robin wiped the sweat of his brow and exhaled. "Damn, these Risen are tough. And they fight better than the rest! At least they're all dead now. Is anyone hurt?"

"Hah…The Vaike is…totally fine!"

Judging by all the cuts, blood, and the fact that he was barely standing, Vaike was most certainly not fine.

"Well that should teach you to run off like that without my approval," scolded Robin. "I call the shots here for a reason! But I guess your lecture can wait. MEDICS!"

"Here!"

Ricken quickly rushed with his staff and began healing (overseen by Maribelle).

"Right. While everyone gets healed up, let's take this opportunity to take a quick rest before—"

"Robin, look out!"

"Wh—ACK!"

Robin barely had time to duck as an arrow zoomed right past where his head was only a few seconds ago.

Slowly taking a look back, he was able to just see the arrow lodged between the eyes of a Risen assassin before it disintegrated.

"Dear Naga," Robin breathed as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I should really find myself a new line of work. At this rate, my hair will grow grey before I'm out of my twenties! Oh wait…"

"Robin! Are you okay?!"

The sound of flapping wings, hooves landing and a very concerned voice brought Robin back to the present.

"Yes, thankfully. I'll all r—Oof!"

Robin was interrupted as a very concerned Sumia pretty much ploughed herself into him and gave him a hug.

"Thank goodness!" she cried. "I was so worried up there! I saw how many Risen there were down here and how you were struggling to fight them off. I wanted to come and help but then a bunch of Risen on wyverns appeared!"

"Hey, it's all good. Although it was tough going, we all still—wait a minute," Robin paused as Sumia's words sank in. "Risen riding wyverns?"

"Yes. They came out of nowhere just as I was about help on from the air. I think they're even tougher than normal wyvern riders because their mounts don't feel pain, being dead and all."

Robin shivered.

Great. Risen riding wyverns. It's like someone went into his nightmares, took the thing he hated the most, made it undead, and slapped a Risen to ride it to make it extra freaky!

Trying to take comfort in his new spellbook with all of its wind spells, Robin focused his mind on the conversation at hand.

"Uh…yeah. So, Risen riding wyverns, huh? That must've been a tough battle. I should be asking you if you're hurt. You're not hurt, are you? With no wind spells or hard hitting weapons, how did you make it out of there in one piece?"

"Oh, I'm fine!" Sumia stepped back and smiled. "Although it was tough at first, we managed to get through with Virion's help."

"Virion…?" Robin asked in confusion before looking past Sumia. He totally forgot he assigned her a partner.

Sure enough, the archer himself slid down and bowed in his trademark overdramatic fashion.

"Yes, me, Virion! With my archery skills on hand and dear Sumia's expert handling of her pegasus, we were able to dispatch those pesky wyverns in not time!"

"And that?" Robin pointed to where the Risen assassin used to be.

"That was a combination of fair Sumia's sharp eyesight and my unparalleled archery skill!" explained Virion. "After we had successfully dispatched all those pesky wyverns, Sumia brought her pegasus down to join the others. As we were approaching, she spotted the Risen lurking in the shadows and ready to strike. She promptly alerted me to it presence and I, mustering all of my skill, was able to rid the foul creature with the most accurate and noble of shots!"

"Truly impressive. Now, what would you have done if I didn't duck at precisely the last moment?"

"Why, Robin! I had no doubt that your reflexes would react accordingly and with all haste, thus having you duck just in the nick of time to have the arrow pierce the Risen instead of yourself. And look, I was absolutely right!"

"I-I'm sorry about that, Robin," Sumia said apologetically. "But with the Risen coming up so stealthily and so soon, I didn't think anyone would have time to react and Virion's a great shot and…"

"Yeah, I get it. Almost shooting me aside and wiping a few hours off my general lifespan aside, you guys did the best with what you had," Robin nodded approvingly. "You guys also saved me from grave injury and/or death, so thanks. Hopefully my reflexes will stay sharp if you need to repeat this little trick next time."

"Ah, but of course! And since this combination works so well against those dastardly undead wyvern riders, I assume Sumia and I will be seeing much more of each other, hmm?" Virion said with a grin.

"…Why are you so smug?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Because if there's anything that gets my noble skills to be yet more impressive, it's if I have a lovely maiden close to me to show them off to. And who can be lovelier than fair Sumia?"

"Oh Virion," Sumia giggled. "I would be flattered if I didn't know you probably say the same thing to every woman we come across."

"You wound me!" Virion exclaimed dramatically. "I speak nothing but the truth! And the truth is that you are the…"

As Virion serenaded Sumia with sweet nothings, Robin couldn't help but frown.

What the hell was Virion thinking? Robin made it absolutely clear that there was to be no romantic entanglements between Shepherds! Was Virion trying to get himself fired? And moreover, if there was to be some form of tolerance to relationships, it sure as hell wouldn't be between Sumia and Virion. Skilled archer and good board game opponent that he may have been, Virion was still a shameless philanderer and a pompous…philanderer. His only redeeming characteristic was that his constant boasting had some merit. He was probably the best archer in Ylisse. Still, that was far from what Sumia deserved. She deserved better. She deserved the best. She deserved nothing less than the best! And that wasn't someone like Virion. What she deserved was someone like…like…

Robin shook his head to dispel these thoughts.

What the hell was he thinking? Letting his emotions get the better of him. Amateur mistake! All he needed to do was distance himself and think about this logically. And thinking about this logically, Robin came to the conclusion that preventing Virion from flirting was like preventing the sun from rising or Robin from loving his coat. You just couldn't do it. All that you could do was look on and shake your head. Besides, it's not like any woman in the Shepherds would fall for this "charms." And Virion was not dumb as to start something he very clearly knew would get him fired.

Also, pairing him turned out to be an effective counter against flying undead wyverns and their riders. Lacking in any offensive weapons, wind magic, or heavy armor, having someone wielding a bow was the next best thing to counter wyvern riders and keep Sumia alive. The alternative was leaving Sumia defenseless, resulting in her being wyvern food. No one wanted that. So now Robin had an alternative to himself (now that he was going to spend more time fighting on foot), Frederick (who was scarily effective with Cherche), and Cordelia as Sumia's potential partner on the field of battle. And it just so happened to be Virion. And Robin was going to have to let them fight together.

"…so lovely, like the moon on a cloudless night's sky, illuminating the land with…"

…Despite that unreasonably angry and violent feeling in his stomach at the sight of Virion flirting with Sumia.

"Hee hee, I'd watch myself if I were you, Virion. If you keep on piling it on so thick, I may just fall for you!"

…Or maybe he'd just stick himself with Sumia when they would engage enemy wyvern riders. Besides, what were the odds that they'd encounter more of them in Valm? As far as Robin knew, wyverns were mostly seen in (and native to) Plegia. Valm had horses. If there were wyverns, they'd have legions of them. Because they were like horses, but better and more ferocious and harder to kill.

"If you two are quite finished?"

Robin snapped out of his thoughts to see an irritated looking Maribelle with her arms crossed.

"Everyone is healed and ready to go on. All we need is you."

"O-oh, right. Sorry…" Sumia apologized.

"Ah, I must also offer my sincerest apologies," began Virion. "I was simply—"

"Okay!" Robin interrupted the archer's long winded speech about nothing. "So no one's injured, everyone's fine and good to go?"

"The Vaike is ready for more action!"

Lon'qu simply nodded.

"Good," said Robin. "Let's keep on moving. I think we're getting close, so keep your wits about you! These Risen seem to be fighting better the further in we go."

"Yeah, isn't that weird? Risen are usually mindless monsters and don't use any tactics or anything in battle," commented Ricken. "These ones seem almost…coordinated."

"I see I'm not the only one who noticed. Good eye, Ricken!" Robin said approvingly. "But yes. These Risen here seem to be uncharacteristically organized. That just makes them all the more dangerous."

"Ha, dangerous or not, they'll still all fall to the might of Teach's axe!" Vaike boasted now that he was all better.

"You know, given the Risen's coordination and tactics, their movements are strikingly similar to those we fought at Carrion Isle," remarked Maribelle. "Do you think…?"

"I hope not," Robin said. "That one was really hard to kill. But why woul—"

Robin was interrupted by an unnatural and bloodcurdling screech.

Looking up, the Shepherds noticed a horrible, evil looking creature swooping down and landing some distance away. Making matters worse, there was a very fierce-looking Risen riding it, not unlike the one they faced on Carrion Isle.

"Of course…" Robin muttered gloomily.

Both Risen and mount roared again before lunging at the group.


"…You're what?" Chrom asked flatly.

"I'm Morgan!" the girl named Morgan replied, still smiling brightly.

"N-no, not that. About the part where you said Robin was your father."

"Yep!"

"So, Robin is your father?"

"Uh-huh."

"…Just to make it absolutely clear, Robin is your father?"

"Yeah…" Morgan tilted her head curiously. "You make it sound like I said something crazy. Is it really that hard to believe I have a dad?"

"It's not that part I have trouble believing…"

"Uh, okay…? Say, you guys wouldn't happen to know where I can find him, would you?"

Still at a loss about what to say given what Morgan told them, Chrom looked helplessly around to the others for some help in dealing with this whole situation.

Unfortunately, everyone seemed to be just as lost as he was. The most they managed was to stare at Morgan with looks ranging from shock to disbelief.

"…?" Morgan seemed to notice the looks she was getting. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"That's not…I mean…" Chrom sighed. "Anyone want to help me out?"

"Milord, I would normally advise caution when dealing with strangers with such claims, but given our track record and her unquestionable resemblance to Robin…" Frederick trailed off.

Chrom turned to his sister.

"Lissa? Anything to say?"

"So this is what Robin's kid looks like. Heh, Robin has a daughter! I can't wait to rub this in his face!"

"Lissa…" Chrom warned.

"Uh…" Morgan looked at the befuddled Shepherds. "Is anyone gonna answer my question? I mean, you guys seem to know my dad and all. Where is he?"

The Shepherds just looked between each other again.

Meanwhile, Minerva lowered her neck and sniffed Morgan. She then roared happily and wagged her tail.

"Would you look at that? Minerva likes you already!" Cherche said happily. "She's a very good judge of character. She had the same reaction when she first met your father."

"Oh, neat! Always glad to meet a wyvern that doesn't want to eat me. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Morgan said as she reached out and pet Minerva on her head.

The wyvern did the wyvern equivalent of purring in contentment.

"My, she really must like you a lot. Minerva usually doesn't take too kindly to strangers touching her without her consent. Most are lucky to escape with their hands intact."

"I try to be nice to everyone I meet, be they human or wyvern."

"I suppose that's one way she's different from her father…" Olivia said slowly. "She doesn't run scared at the first sign of a wyvern."

"Gods, we come down here to find an ancient artefact and instead run into Robin's daughter. His daughter!" Chrom ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. He then turned to his daughter. "Lucina? Can you tell us anything?"

"I…" the princess seemed more lost for words than the others. "I really wish I could."

Chrom raised a brow. But before he could say anything else, Morgan suddenly looked up.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Should we be worried?" asked Lissa.

"…Maybe?" Morgan looked around. "We definitely shouldn't be staying in this spot. I recommend moving."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just a hunch. Listen."

The Shepherds all quieted down and strained their ears.

There was a sound. It sounded like…crashing?

"Oh yeah. Definitely should move."

Morgan proceeded to take a few steps back.

"…What was that?" Olivia asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure," replied Chrom. "But it didn't sound good. Let's take Morgan's advice and—"

"Father! Mother! MOVE!"

Before Chrom could do anything, he found himself being tackled to the side by Lucina. Just in time, as he heard a loud thud as bricks and something very heavy landed right where he was seconds ago.

Grunting, Chrom checked to see if his family was unharmed. Then, he looked back to see what just happened.

Thanks to Lucina's quick reflexes, they all managed to not get crushed under the weight of the undead griffon that fell.

"Oh gods, where the heck did that thing come from?!" came Lissa's voice to his side.

"Doesn't matter. Everyone, prepare yourselves!" Chrom shouted. "It's still moving."

True enough, the griffon slowly but surely got up and looked around. Eyes landing on Morgan, it spread its wings and prepared to attack.

"Olivia! Morgan! Get behind me and Lucina!"

Not waiting for a response, Chrom got up, and pulled out Falchion, seeing glancing to his side as Lucina did the same.

However, before anything happened, there was another noise. It was quiet at first, but got louder.

"…rrrrrrrraaaaaaAAAAARGH!"

The griffon shrieked as something fell on top of it.

Surprised by this turn of events but not taking any chances, Chrom still kept his fighting stance.

The griffon was alive (figuratively speaking) and twitched. The Risen that fell on it (bigger and bulkier than the rest) moaned and slowly got up.

"…Wow, you don't really see that every day," Morgan commented from behind Chrom.

"With us, this is just another typical Tuesday," Chrom joked before turning serious. "These things are alive, but weak. We should finish them off now. Lucina, are you ready?"

"On your mark."

Before Chrom could issue the attack order, yet another sound was heard from above. Distinctly human. A familiar voice.

"…oooooooh goooooooOOOOODS!"

A powerful gust of wind suddenly shot down from above, hitting both griffon and its master as well as knocking everyone around them backwards.

Grunting from the impact, Chrom looked up just in time to see a figure landing on the Risen before rolling off and falling to the ground. Apparently that wind was enough to finish the griffon, as Chrom saw it dissipating into purple mist.

"Oh gods. Oh gods oh gods oh gods!" the familiar figure of Robin panted. "I'm…alive? I'm alive. Ha ha, I'm alive! Probably shaved a few years of my lifespan for pulling that stunt, but I'm alive! Heh, thank Naga for quick thinking and wind spells. Man, I hate flying. Urgh, my back…"

Grunting, Robin slowly stood up and stretched.

"Bwargh!"

"GAH!"

Jumping in surprise, Robin instinctively threw a bunch of lightning bolts from the direction of the threat. Looking backwards, he saw the Risen Chief muttering something before it dissipated.

"Damn Risen commanders take a hell of a lot of hits before they stay dead…" Robin muttered irritably as he dusted himself off. He then spotted Chrom and the others lying of the floor. "Oh hey, guys! Fancy meeting you here! Uh, funny story about how I got here…"

"…Dad? Is that you?"

There were a few ways Chrom preferred to introduce Robin to his apparent daughter. Most of them involved caution and slowly getting Robin used to the idea, giving him subtle clues to edge him closer and have him eventually accept the idea that he himself had a daughter from the future. Slowly. That would've been the ideal way to go about.

The current situation was definitely not ideal.

"…What?" Robin asked curiously before laughing. "Hey, who's the new kid? I like the way she dresses! She reminds me of someone. It's a bit li—ACK!"

Robin was interrupted as Morgan ran into him at full force, hugging him tightly and knocking them both down to the ground.

"DAD! I'm so happy I finally found you!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait. What did you just call me?"

"I was beginning to think we got separated. Well, no harm done. We're finally together again so everything's gonna be just fine!"

"…Who are you?"

"Well that's a silly question. Hello? It's me! Morgan! ...Your daughter? Love of your life and Daddy's little girl and all that?"

"My what?"


There were a few things in life that could ground Robin's mind to a complete halt. Not surprisingly, they were all related to his one sacred principle surrounding Shepherds and the total prohibition of relationships between them.

The two times Robin's mind blanked in shock or incomprehension were when Chrom declared his love, and intention to marry, Olivia. Or rather, the girl he met literally a few weeks ago, saw once in passing and never saw again until that moment when she decided to join the final battle and almost threw all of Robin's carefully crafted plans out the window.

That wasn't fun.

The suddenness (not to mention, randomness) of it all caught Robin completely off guard and his mind struggled to understand the events that were unfolding in front of him.

That was the first time he drew a blank. The second time was when Lucina dropped the news that she had friends from the future that came with her. Her friends being children of other Shepherds, meaning these Shepherds eventually did to the romantic thing despite Robin's very explicit dislike of it all. Worse, Robin found that his future self either actively encouraged (he couldn't have. He just couldn't) or at least condoned all of this extremely unprofessional behavior. This news wasn't as bad as Chrom's shotgun marriage, but it still sent Robin into a dazed state, him mind running laps in order to understand and explain the actions of his future self as well as pondering whether he also fell into the romance trap.

There was technically also the time when he accidentally married both Sumia and Cordelia that one time, but it was brief and quickly resolved. Besides, he was stupid drunk that time, so it didn't count!

But whatever happened, Robin's resolve was strong and his dedication to his principles unwavering. He quickly came to the conclusion that, whatever happened in the future, the him of the present would not succumb to petty feelings of romance, ever! He was much too strong for that. That was his one sacred principle. And what is a man if he had no principles?

That was what Robin told himself to move on from Lucina's grim news. That was also the last time he ran into something that threw his mind into turmoil (not even the whole time travelling thing and adult Lucina reveling what happened in the future affected him that much).

For a while, things made sense…until now, when they suddenly didn't.

The appearance of his apparent daughter threw Robin completely off course and had the unfortunate consequence of shattering his entire worldview and everything he believed in.

He had a daughter. He had a daughter. He, Robin, the most adamant anti-romantic in the Shepherds, had a daughter.

Robin's mind devoted all of its power to trying to deal with this revelation. It tried to process it when the other Shepherds carefully separated him from his daughter. It was processing it when the group hurried out of the ruins. It was processing it while they were on their way back to camp, and it was still processing it when the few Shepherds that were there all rushed to the command tent.

Robin was vaguely aware of voices, of people talking and of other such things, but he didn't register anything or what was happening. In fact, he still wore that same expression of shock, confusion, and disbelief that he had in the ruins when Morgan plowed into him and his mind ground to a halt.

In a desperate attempt to create an explanation and prevent his mind from shattering into thousands of pieces, Robin had to harness the most powerful of all resources in the human arsenal: avoidance and denial.

Once he'd settled on this course of action, Robin felt as if an incredible burden was lifted off his chest. He felt free and at ease. This also allowed his mind to regain its proper functions.

"—hen wall of these monsters started coming after me!"

The first thing Robin registered when he came out of his shocked state was Morgan's voice.

"I don't even know what they wanted. I was there, minding my own business when all of these undead things started rushing me. Like, all at once! I did take out a bunch of them thanks to my trusty spellbook, but they just kept on coming! Eventually, I knew I had to get the heck outta there or I would've been done for. So I ran until bumped into you guys."

Looking around, Robin saw that they were all in the command tent, "they" being Chrom, Lissa, Olivia, Lucina, Cherche, Frederick, and Morgan. The others all made a circle around the young girl and were listening to her story while Robin was standing off to the side.

"So, you don't remember anything before you woke up in the ruins?" questioned Chrom.

"Nope. Nothing at all," Morgan answered cheerily. "Every time I try to, my head starts to hurt. But I do remember Dad and stuff we did together!"

"I see…" Chrom nodded. "And you're sure that Robin is your father?"

"Of course I'm sure! What kind of silly question is that? I think I would know who my dad is. I mean, he's the only thing that I'm not drawing a blank on!"

"Hey, that's still better than what I had."

Everyone in the room looked up in surprise as Robin spoke up.

"At least you have something to remember. I woke up in a field with nothing!"

"Dad!" Morgan cried happily before rushing and hugging him. "You went all weird back there. Are you okay now? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine, although a bit thirsty…"

"Leave it to me!"

Before anyone could stop her, Morgan darted out of the tent.

"She certainly is a go-getter…" Robin chuckled before looking at everyone staring at him. "…What?"

"Er, Robin?" Chrom began cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why?"

"You know, with the latest news and your beliefs…"

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it."

Everyone looked at the grandmaster curiously.

"Wow, you sure seem to be taking the fact that you now have a daughter pretty well," said Lissa.

"Indeed. Did you really accept it that fast?" Olivia asked.

"What? No!" Robin laughed. "That's just crazy talk! I don't have a daughter!"

Everyone in the tent exchanged worried glances.

"You…you don't?"

"Of course not. What even gave you that idea?"

"Maybe the fact that Morgan claims she's exactly that," stated Frederick.

"Oh, that. Yeah, she's not my daughter," Robin said dismissively.

"How do you figure?" asked Chrom.

"Because the very idea of me having a relationship and a kid is just super nuts. I mean, it's me we're talking about. I know me. Having a kid means that I have a romantic relationship. Having a relationship means that I fall in love and all that mushy stuff. I'm absolutely against all that. That means there are no romantic relationships involving me in the future. That means that Morgan can't be my kid. Simple!"

Everyone stared at Robin with a mixture of pity and disbelief.

"…I see that you don't believe my foolproof logic. Well, there's a simply way to solve this. Lucina?"

All eyes fell on the princess, who remained silent and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Yes?"

"You've been oddly quiet all this time. Tell us, is Morgan one of your friends that travelled back to the past with you? Is she indeed my daughter?"

"I…" Lucina began cautiously. "Not…to my knowledge…"

"See? Lucina says no. I'm pretty sure that if Morgan was indeed my daughter, Lucina would've already told us," Robin said as if that ended the matter.

"Wait a minute," said Chrom. "Lucina, what do you mean?"

"I mean that this is the first time that I'm seeing Morgan."

"If I may," said Frederick. "Does this mean that Morgan isn't who she says she is?"

"Peace, Frederick. I'm sure Morgan isn't some kind of secret agent sent to infiltrate us," Chrom assured. "But the fact Lucina doesn't know her does raise some serious questions…"

"I only said that I have never seen Morgan before," said Lucina. "However, given her demeanor, dress, and resemblance to Robin…"

"Guys, come on. Are we really going down this road again? She's not my daughter!"

"I'm back!" Morgan announced as she barged back into the tent and handed Robin a glass of water.

"Hey, thanks kiddo!" Robin happily drank the water and sighed contentedly. "Nothing like a glass of cool water after a long day fighting Risen."

"Want me to get you another glass?"

"You don't have to."

"That sounds like a 'yes' to me. Will be right back!"

Before Robin could say anything, Morgan once again dashed out of the tent.

"So energetic…" Robin then turned around. "And totally not my daughter. I mean, she doesn't even look like me!"

"'Doesn't look' like you? Robin, she's basically a younger version of you, if you were a girl," Lissa said.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"How can you possibly think otherwise?"

"Oh, what? Just because some people just so happen to share the same style of clothing they have to be related?"

"Robin, she has the exact same coat you," Cherche pointed out.

"Nuh-uh. Mine is fancier. It's a coat befitting of a grandmaster like myself. Hers has less frills and shine. Hers is a tactician's coat. Totally different. Actually, I don't even know why she even has such a coat. Only tacticians should have coats as good as hers."

"And you don't think she's a tactician because…?"

"For one, look how young she is. You can't become a high ranking tactician with a coat like that at her age unless you're extraordinarily gifted. Besides, the path of the tactician is long and grueling. I highly doubt that she'd willing choose it."

"Unless she's your daughter and wants to follow in her father's footsteps," Lissa pointed out.

"For the last time, she's not my daughter!"

"Robin, she does look like you…" Olivia said quietly.

"No she doesn't. For one, her hair is all wrong."

"What does hair have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with everything!" cried Robin. "And Morgan's hair is all wrong. I mean, if she were indeed my daughter, she would've inherited my hair color. And my hair color's white. See? White! Hers is blue. Blue is not white, ergo she's not my daughter."

"Robin…" Chrom sighed. "You do realize that your hair was blue when I first found you, right?"

"…What?"

"Remember? For the majority of the previous war your hair was almost the same color as mine? Until it suddenly wasn't before the battle with Gangrel. And then you drank a potion and had your hair change on a daily basis until it lost all its color and settled on white?"

"….."

"Remember how your blue hair caused rumors to swirl around the capital that you were somehow my long lost brother after we first came around?"

A smile spread across Robin's face.

"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny."

"Yes, it was hilarious," Chrom said dryly. "Now back to the topic at hand. If anything, Morgan's current hair color, by your logic, means that she can very well be your daughter. She looks like you and fights like you too."

"Not to mention that hair color is not the most optimal way of judging one's parentage," remarked Cherche. "It takes two people to make a child. She could simply have inherited her hair color from her mother, whoever she might be."

"I—wait. How do you even know how she fights?"

"I've fought with her in the ruins. It felt like I was fighting alongside you, only if you were a bit shorter and had a few different moves."

The evidence present to him made it very hard for Robin to keep denying that Morgan was his daughter or pretending that this issue didn't exist. It took a lot of Robin's mental resources to not think about it and his friends weren't making it any easier. He could sense a headache coming on…

"Guys, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I have to reiterate that Morgan is not—"

"Here I am!"

Again, Morgan announced herself as she barged in and handed Robin another glass of water.

"Oh thank gods…" Robin mumbled, ever grateful for the distraction. He again downed the glass of water. "Okay. Morgan? Help us resolve an issue here."

"I'll do my best."

"Great. Now, I want to talk about your hair."

"My hair? What about it?"

"Do you know whose it is?"

"Uh…mine?"

"No, not in that sense. I mean who you got it from. Like, was it your mother, or…?"

"I…don't remember…" Morgan shut her eyes and thought. "Oh gods, I'm drawing a blank! What's wrong with me? I can't ever remember what my mother's face looks like! It's all a big empty blank!"

Seeing the young girl looking so distressed and about to cry, Robin felt a strange and irresistible urge to comfort her and try to make her feel better.

"Hey, listen…" he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "It's okay if you don't remember. That's not important. I'm sure your memory will jog eventually. In the meantime, make yourself at home with us. You can hang around and see if you remember anything, yeah?"

"Thanks, Dad…" Morgan hugged her father before looking up and smiling. "I may not remember much, but at least I remember you! Oh!"

"What?!"

"I remembered something else!"

"Oh?"

"I remembered that I want to be a great tactician just like you. I even have your old campaign coat to get me started. After all, a tactician is only as good as the coat she wears, for a tactician's coat also reflects her status and reputation in the army in which she serves. I may not be as good as you, but at least your coat put me on the right path."

Robin felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"Dad? You okay?"

"I'm more than okay, Morgan. I'm proud. Proud that…" Robin sniffed and wiped the tear away with his sleeve. "Proud to find someone who's in the same professional field as I am. And you even share my philosophy! This is an incredible feeling…"

"Well yeah. If I wanna be the best, I gotta learn from the best. And who's a better tactician than you are?"

"Heh, you're just saying that because I have a nicer coat than you do," Robin joked before ruffling Morgan's hair. "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Dad."

"Glad to hear it. Now why don't you go wait outside while I finish up here? We can get you set up later on."

"Sure thing."

Robin smiled to himself as Morgan made her way out of the tent. Turning back, he found everyone staring at him with knowing smiles.

"…What?"

"After that heartwarming father-daughter moment, are you still going to insist that she's not you daughter?" asked Lissa.

"What, that? That was just me being nice to the new girl. She's obviously lost and confused. I mean, she looked like she was about to cry! I had to say something."

"Is that really what you're going with?"

"Yes."

"If I may," Cherche spoke up and turned to the others. "I think I know what's going on and why Robin doesn't believe that Morgan is his daughter."

"Because she's not!"

"Of course she's not," Cherche said sympathetically. "Because having a daughter goes against all of your personal beliefs. Morgan showing up so suddenly and claiming to be your daughter is a lot to take in. And you obviously can't believe her, otherwise your entire worldview would collapse around you. Isn't that right, Robin?"

Although she was addressing Robin, Cherche faced the others when she empathized the last part of her sentence.

"Exactly!" Robin said, completely unaware of the message.

"Ah, I see…" Chrom nodded. "Of course. How silly of us. We were trying to convince Robin without any thought on how he feels. This is naturally a lot to take in."

Cherche smiled. "I'm glad you understand."

"But what do we do about this?" asked Olivia. "Do we just…wait?"

"That seems to be the best course of action, milady," said Frederick. "At least until enough time has passed for the implications to sink in. Discussing it now won't get us anywhere, as we have clearly seen."

"Great! So we can all agree that I'm right and Morgan isn't my daughter, right?"

"Of course, Robin."

"Awesome! Now let's gather everyone up so we can tell them the good news. We can't have a girl with an admittedly good coat walking around and claiming to be my kid, now can we?"

"Wait, so you want to prevent Morgan from talking to others?" asked Chrom.

"That's the plan, yes."

"And that's why you told her to wait outside the tent? The tent that's in the middle of camp and the one that everyone goes past?"

"Well, that's…uh…"

A surprised yelp followed by a thud interrupted Robin's thoughts.

"Ow…" A sigh. "I guess I was overdue a fall eventually…"

Sumia, because of course it is.

"Oh wow. You fell right on your face! Are you okay?"

Morgan.

"Urgh, I-I'll be fine. The pain usually passes, although the hit to my pride takes a bit longer to go away…" Shuffling. "Thank you for helping me up."

Sumia again.

"No problem. I'm always happy to help."

And Morgan. Sumia and Morgan. Uh-oh…

"I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new?"

Robin had to interrupt this conversation before—!

"Oh yeah. Just joined today. I'm Morgan! Aspiring tactician in the hope I'll be as good as my dad one day."

"Pleased to meet you, Morgan. My name is Sumia and I…" A pause. "I'm sorry, but did you say tactician? And like your father?"

"Yeah. You know, Robin. White hair, greatest tactician that ever lived, has a coat like mine, but better. World's best dad and all that?"

Judging by the lack of response, Sumia must've been stunned into silence.

"So…strange question, but you wouldn't happen to be my mom, would you?"

Sputtering in Sumia's part.

Robin's eye twitched.

Looking worriedly between each other, all but one of the tent's occupants rushed out to separate the two and prevent Robin's (and Sumia's) minds from having a complete meltdown. That left him with one other occupant in the tent.

Lucina remained deep in thought about something.

"Okay, that didn't just happen. It didn't happen!" Robin then waved his hands and snapped his fingers. "There. Everything is right in the world again."

Lucina frowned.

"I hope that's not because of me."

"Hm? Oh, forgive me. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment. The implications of today's events are a great cause for concern…"

"Yeah, no kidding. Here I am, living my peaceful life, when bam! Some kid claims to be my daughter from the future. As if my life wasn't complicated already. Moreover, you don't even know her, so who knows who she really is?"

"The fact that she appeared at all is very disturbing. And claiming to be your daughter, with no memories or other relationships…" Lucina sighed. "I can't even begin to imagine what this means for the past, or even the future, for that matter."

"This just has to be some sort of big, weird misunderstanding," Robin said flippantly. "You yourself told me that Morgan isn't my kid. That means that I'm obviously single in the future. That means that Morgan is just some poor, confused kid, right?"

"All I said was that I did not recognize Morgan, Robin," Lucina corrected. "And I have no idea what anything means anymore. Morgan's entire existence throws my limited understanding of time travel right out the window. Gods, I tried to interfere as little as possible to ensure the correct passage of events, yet now…"

"Hey, come on, now. Don't be blaming yourself. This is in no way your fault."

"That's nice of you to say, Robin, but how can it not be? All these changes are a result of my actions. Even when I tried to limit my involvement, events took such a radical turn that—"

"Hey, none of that," Robin said firmly. "Lucina, you have to stop thinking that everything is somehow your fault and just take things as they are sometimes. I mean, this mess is beyond anyone's comprehension. Dwelling on it certainly won't make it any clearer and neither will blaming yourself. Besides, how you could you have possibly made something like this happen?"

Lucina remained silent.

"Exactly. So…you know. Take a page out of my book and try not to think about it too much. Or at all. The problem will eventually resolve itself or just go away."

The faintest hint of a smile appeared on Lucina's face. "I hope that's not your approach when you face a military problem."

"Gods no!" laughed Robin. "When presented with a military problem, I like to look at it from all angles. If I exhaust all conventional tactics, I start thinking of unconventional ones. If I still don't have an answer, I like to step back and work on something else. Coming back to the problem with a fresh eye usually gives me new ideas to try and make it solvable."

"Why not use this approach to non-military problems?"

"Ha, I wish! I can solve military problems because they're easy to solve. It's my specialty. It's what I like to stick to. Problem is that non-military problems are so varied. And there's people to deal with. That's all way out of my comfort zone, so I just like to avoid them and pretend that they don't exist. They usually sort themselves out without me."

"That's certainly a way of looking at things."

"Hey, it works. And it's exactly because it works why I'm not in any rush to fix it. Anyway, don't blame yourself, yeah? Live life in the present and not the future. Now if you'll excuse me, I have stuff to do around camp. Bye!"

Lucina waved goodbye as Robin happily exited the tent in blissful denial. Yet when he left, she frowned.

Morgan's appearance completely threw her plans into disarray in more ways than one. It also raised some serious questions about this time and her role in events. In any other circumstance, Morgan's claim to be Robin's daughter with no memory of anything else would've been dismissed outright and had her placed under constant supervision. Moreover, given the mysterious nature of her appearance and her lack of a credible explanation, Lucina would've immediately suspected her of being an enemy agent, or worse, her father's killer. However, there were a few reasons why she reserved her judgment.

For one, the circumstances surrounding Morgan's appearance were strikingly similar to that of Robin and Chrom. That would ordinarily have put Robin at the top of the suspicion list, but seeing how much her father and mother trusted him, Lucina had to give him the benefit of the doubt. On top of that, Robin was instrumental in winning key battles in the future. If anything, that gave him more leeway. Besides, she wasn't going to act against someone with no concrete evidence. She was raised better than that.

And Morgan's similarities didn't stop there. Again, although Lucina would usually doubt claims, evidence suggested there was truth behind Morgan's words. She certainly had Robin's features, his distinctive coat, and his desire to be a tactician. It could all be an act, sure, but she just seemed so innocent.

Lucina tried to see the good in people, but she was nothing if not cautious. So she resolved to keep an eye on Morgan to assuage her suspicions. Perhaps then she could figure something out about the girl and where she came from. On that particular subject, Lucina decided to follow Robin's advice and tried not to think about it, at least for the moment. The only silver lining was that Morgan didn't remember her mother. Lucina shuddered to think of the implications if she did and if it wasn't…no. Best not to think about that at all.


Robin merrily walked outside, content to not think about the earthshattering event and girl that could potentially change his life and make him re-evaluate his entire worldview, thereby breaking his mind in the process. No, it was much easier to go on with his life and pretend that everything was normal and that nothing's changed.

"Well if it isn't my favorite client."

Robin could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Anna! My trusty and most reliable supplier. What can I do for you today?"

"Trust and reliability are part of my official creed, hon. After all, what's a merchant if she doesn't have trust or reliability? And it's not what you can do for me, it's what I can offer you."

"What can you offer me today?"

"I'm glad you asked! Today, I come to you with the very latest in medium armor technology. Behold!" Anna pointed.

"…A tree?"

"Give it a second. Hey! I said behold!"

"Oy, no need to be yelling. Gregor not so old that his hearing is damaged."

Gregor walked from behind the tree. What was surprising was the armor he was wearing.

"May I present to you," Anna said, seeing the interest on Robin's face, "the newest thing in the long and successful Hero line of products: The Hero's Armor Mark V! That's right! Designed with comfort and protection in mind, this version is the latest and best version of the popular Hero series armor set. The Mark V is the culmination of years of research by the best designers and armorers to provide maximum protection and minimum hindrance to movement. Watch as our model does various acrobatic feats while clad in full armor."

"Is true. Armor very good and surprisingly light," confirmed Gregor. "Allows Gregor wide range of movement, unlike heavier armor pieces. Also allow Gregor to do this!"

Gregor proceeded to flip backwards and do a cartwheel.

Robin didn't know whether he should more impressed by the fact that Gregor could do so much in armor or by the fact that Gregor was so spry.

"See what I mean?" Anna continued her sales pitch. "It's light enough to enable such acrobatic movement while being functional enough to protect the wearer's vital areas. And speaking of protection, you can't get any more protected without going into heavy armor territory. The chestplate is built with the hardest – yet lightest – metals around and covers the entire upper body. You got your leg guards to keep your legs safe and arm guards for that same purpose. Moreover, look at the ergonomic shield design. The designers know the perils of having a shield that you hold in your arms. In the thick of combat, you can get it knocked out of your hand, drop it, or need both your hands to do something. They solved his little problem by making a two part shield that attaches to the wearer's arm. The first half goes on the upper arm and acts like a big shoulder guard while the second half covers the lower arm. And the genius of the two part shield design is that it allows the user to keep his or her arm's movements, unlike a traditional one piece shield."

"Is true. Gregor can bend arm and still hold something in hand. Is better than normal shield because it protect like normal shield, only much more moveable!"

"The bottom half is also detachable," Anna added. "For when you need to use if the more traditional way or ward off arrows from above."

"Wow. Very versatile," Robin said with approval.

"More than that, it's very protective! The Mark V can withstand more punishment than the next leading competitor in the field, be that physical or magical. Watch."

Anna pulled out various weapons out of her bag and approached Gregor.

"Er, Anna?" Robin said uncertainly.

"Don't worry about anything," the merchant replied airily. "This is just a demonstration. The armor can more than handle it. You ready, big guy?"

"Gregor always ready. You may begin with the hitting."

"Now watch as I hit our model with different weapon types and marvel at the sturdiness of the armor!" Anna said to Robin before she started hitting Gregor. "Marvel as the armor only sustains scratches and dents even as I hit it with everything ranging from axes to swords!"

"Ho ho! Gregor only feeling slight tingly feeling where pretty merchant is hitting him!"

"Exactly. And now…" Anna reached into her bag and pulled out her Levin Sword. "The Mark V against magic. Is our model ready?"

Gregor braced himself and nodded.

Anna pointed her sword and cast a lightning bolt at Gregor, who blocked it using the shield.

"Behold! The Mark V sustained a full lightning bolt and only this black stain remains!"

Robin came closer and examined the spot where the lightning bolt struck. Sure, there was a smoking black spot, but the shield seemed otherwise undamaged.

"Of course, out on the field you'll encounter enemies that hit a lot harder than I," admitted Anna. "And the Mark V, still being in the medium armor category, will still take damage. After all, it doesn't have the toughness and protection of heavy armor sets. But! In the medium armor category it's second to none."

"I can see that," Robin said appreciatively.

"And best of all? The Mark V is unisex! Behold!"

Looking up, Robin saw Cordelia step from behind the tree, also wearing the new armor.

"It…certainly feels different than the armor we get to ride our pegasi," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "Bulkier and heavier."

"Naturally. Medium infantry armor is heavier than the armor issued to pegasus knights. It doesn't have to take into account weight and such," Anna explained. "Besides, the Mark V is formfitting and very stylish."

"I suppose?"

"Gregor is very much agreeing with this statement. This is best armor Gregor has worn in very long time. Is enabling Gregor to both move and fight. Gregor very much like!"

"The Mark V also guarantees maximum customer satisfaction or your money back! Now," Anna smiled and turned to Robin. "Being my best customer, I thought I'd come to you first with this amazing new product. Interested?"

"Uh...I…" Robin felt like a child on a candy shop. "I'll take 10. Wait, make that 100. No! A 1000! Uh, I'll take them all!"

"Music to my ears!" Anna said cheerfully.

"Robin…" Cordelia warned.

"Er, right. Sorry. I got really excited there…" Robin tried to calm himself.

"Aw…" Anna pouted. "Why did you have to do that? I had this sale in the bag!"

"Because it's my duty to ensure that you don't take advantage of our easily persuaded friend," Cordelia replied sternly.

"Who? Moi? I would never!"

Cordelia frowned.

"Okay, no need to give me the evil eye," Anna said defensively. "But seriously. This is brand new stock and I came to you guys first because you are my best and most reliable customers. Are you interested at all?"

"Yes we are," Robin said quickly. "Very interested. How many can you give us?"

"How many do you need?"

"And more importantly, how much do you want for them?" added Cordelia.

"I'm sure all of these details can be ironed out once we start negotiations and have a final contract," Anna said. "Naturally, I'll need my finder's fee and the early bird fee for coming to you guys first…"

"Of course you do…" Robin sighed. "Do we really have to go through this whole process?"

"Sorry hon, but a merchant's only as good as her contracts."

"Oy, is the same for mercenaries! Only reputation of employer and employee also very important."

"As with everything in life. Anyway, we have to renegotiate some of our previous contracts," said Robin.

"Why?" Anna asked immediately. "Are you thinking of pulling out? Because there's a penalty for that."

"Relax, Anna. I just need more stock. I like to have huge overstock than risk shortages."

"Why don't you just order everything off Annazon?"

Everyone turned at the new voice.

Robin gulped.

"M-Morgan, what are you doing here?"

"More importantly, what are you talking about? What is this 'Annazon'? Is there someone out there laying claim to the Anna brand, because my family has sole rights to it!" Anna grabbed Morgan by the collar. "There is, isn't there? Tell me who she is and I'll bury her in so much legal paperwork that she won't see sunlight for years!"

"Whoa there, calm down!" cried Morgan. "Isn't that your service?"

"Huh?"

"You know. The product delivery service. You issue a bunch of brochures to places with all your products, people look them over, order what they want by mail and you guys deliver right to people's doorstep! Or they could just come in and collect at one of your major outposts. That is your service, right?"

"No, but it sounds like a very good idea…" There was a glint in Anna's eye. "Say, how do you know of this service?"

"It was pretty common from where I'm from," answered Morgan. "At least, from what I remember. Dad taught me how to use your service early so I could get stuff, for him or for me."

"This sounds like a million gold idea. Kid," Anna said as she wrapped an arm around Morgan. "You an I are gonna have a little talk. Tell me everything you know about Annazon."

"A bit weird that I'm talking to the creator about her product, but okay!"

Robin got a bad feeling as he watched Anna walk away with Morgan.

"Cordelia?"

"Yes, Robin?"

"Can you go and accompany those two to keep an eye on Anna so that she doesn't corrupt my daughter?"

"…Your what?"

"Uh…" Robin's eyes widened as he understood that he said. "I misspoke? Never mind. Go."

"But Robin—"

"Go!"

Cordelia looked at him worriedly before nodding and dashing off after Anna and Morgan.

Robin just shook his head. "This is going to be a long day…"

"Oy, Robin."

"Gregor."

"Friend Robin is planning on buying fancy new armor, yes? Gregor very much liking how it feeling and protecting his vital regions."

"Yes, Gregor. I intend to buy all armor on offer," Robin said tiredly.

"Good news! Gregor looking forward to putting new armor through paces on field of battle. Now Gregor go and take care of business. Will be seeing you soon."

Robin waved lazily as Gregor walked off. He was suddenly very tired. It took a lot of mental resources not thinking about the major thing and pretending that it didn't exist. Left him feeling quite drained.

"Greetings and salutations, Robin. May I have a minute?"

Glad to have something to help him not think about the major thing, Robin jumped at the distraction.

"Miriel! What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"

"I've come to follow up on the performance of your new spellbook," Miriel said. "If you have a moment."

"Sure thing. Man, your book was a real lifesaver! Worked like a charm. Saved me from many a close call. Also, it's so convenient having multiple spells in one book. Makes all the difference between life and death. The time I save from switching tomes I can use to kill things."

"I see…" Miriel nodded as she made some notes. "I tried to make the spellbook as efficient as possible. Did you experience any negative effects? How was the weight? Did it encumber you too much?"

"No negative effects, weight was fine and the book was just the right level of portable. So it worked ever better as advertised. Thanks for that!"

"I'm happy to hear that the spellbook was to your liking," Miriel said as she wrote. "How is your offspring?"

"…My what?"

"Your offspring. Your progeny. The girl we encountered in the ruins. I believe she's your daughter, correct?"

"No. No she's not."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Curious. The evidence strongly suggests that she is indeed your progeny."

"Well she's not," Robin said stubbornly. "How do you even know about her? I thought they all just rushed her out of there or something."

"Do you not recall that I was there when we encountered her?"

"…You were?"

"Correct."

"Well. Uh. She's not my daughter, despite her claiming otherwise."

"What say you to the overwhelming evidence that points to the contrary?"

"I say phooey! She isn't my daughter!" Robin shouted before calming down. "Now, was there anything else you needed from me?"

Miriel looked at him quizzically before taking out a tear shaped…something out of her pocket.

"There was a matter of this."

"What's that?"

"Based on the inscriptions, it's called the 'Tear of Naga.' It materialized after the griffon riding Risen vanished."

"So…what exactly is it?" Robin asked, looking at the object curiously.

"I believe this was what was buried in the ruins."

"…The what?"

"The artefact that the rumors spoke of. One that supposedly has hidden powers."

"Right. That. The main reason why we set off to the ruins in the first place. Gods. I head off in search for treasure and find a daughter instead…"

Miriel quirked her eyebrow.

"…I didn't say that. You didn't hear anything!"

Miriel just continued looking curiously.

"Anyway. Do we know what this thing does?"

"Not at present, no. It will possibly take me some time to properly assess this 'Tear of Naga' and create a rough hypothesis of what its effects are. However, it is apparent that it seems to be a vial of sorts, presumably containing a liquid of unknown properties."

"Wait…" Robin stared. "You don't think that those are the actual tears of Naga, do you?"

"Unlikely, but I can't rule anything out at this stage."

"Huh. We possibly have the tears of an actual goddess with us. I wonder what we're supposed to do with—"

"Hi, Dad! Boy, Anna sure does like to ask a lot of questions. All that talking sure got me thirsty. Hey, is that water?"

Before Robin and Miriel could say anything, Morgan took the vial from Miriel's hand, popped the lid and drank the contents.

"This is some really sweet water. Has a weird aftertaste…" Morgan scrunched her face at the taste. She then looked up to see Robin and Miriel staring at her. "…What? Did you guys want some?"

"To have someone so casually consume this substance while being completely unaware of its effects…" Miriel mumbled to herself.

Meanwhile, Robin was suddenly filled with worry bordering on panic.

"Oh gods, Morgan! Are you okay? Are you feeling faint? Weak? Weird? Strange? Does your head hurt?"

"Uh...no. You okay, Dad? You're kinda freaking out…"

"Of course I'm freaking out! You just downed an entire vial of some weird, mystical liquid without knowing its effects!"

"…I did?"

"Yes, you did. And we don't even know what's going to happen to you now!"

"This requires immediate attention and study," Miriel declared before taking Morgan's hand and leading her away.

"Wha—? What's going on? Where're we going? Dad?"

"Don't worry, Morgan! You're in good hands with Miriel! She'll conduct a thorough examination and make sure that there's nothing wrong with you, right, Miriel?"

"That is correct. We must make haste so I can quickly examine and spot any and all side effects."

"Go with Miriel, Morgan!" Robin urged. "Don't worry. Nothing's happened yet so I'm sure everything'll be just fine."

"Okay…" Morgan was put more at ease at Robin's words. "I really don't feel any different."

"That is a positive sign. Please tell me if you start feeling different at any time and…"

Robin watched the two disappear behind some tents and sighed. Gods, his heart was beating like mad. Why was he even so worked up? It was a thing belonging to Naga; Naga was the good goddess. She wouldn't leave something that would just kill you if you drank it! Yes, that's right. Morgan would be just fine. She'd be just fine…

"There you are, my love."

Robin felt arms wrap around him waist and sighed.

"Now's not the best time, Tharja."

"Oh, but I disagree," purred the sorceress. "Now is the perfect time to discuss our relationship. After all, we have a daughter now."

"For the last time, she's not my daughter!" cried Robin.

"Nya ha ha! Sounds like someone's in denial!"

Robin grunted in irritation. He did not need this now.

"What do you two want?"

"Well, I want to discuss our relationship with the appearance of our daughter," said Tharja before looking at Henry with disdain. "He seems to just follow me around for whatever reason."

"Not whatever reason. I want us to be best buds!"

"Can't you go and follow someone else around? I have to discuss something with my significant other."

"For the love of—!" Robin broke away from Tharja's grip and faced the two. "I don't know how many times I have to say it, but Morgan is definitely not my daughter. And can't you two take this elsewhere? I have a lot of things on my mind now!"

"How can you deny the parentage of our child?" asked Tharja. "She has an aura around her, not too dissimilar to that of your own. There's also something else about her. She radiates power. Her potential is incredible."

"It sure is!" Henry chimed in. "I bet she could kill a whole lot of people if she tapped into her full power. Maybe she'd even be able to drench an entire valley in blood! Isn't that neat?"

"And her power is a natural combination of two powerful parents…" Tharja continued in a sultry voice. "A father like you, and a mother like me."

"No, no she's not!" Robin shook his head furiously.

"Robin, why do you deny our destiny? Proof of our love is right here."

"Morgan proves nothing! She's not my daughter! She isn't and she never was!"

"Deniaaaaal…" Henry said in a singsong voice.

"You shut up!"

"Robin…" Tharja furrowed her brow. "Do you require indisputable proof for you to accept Morgan as our child?"

"She's out our child! She's not even mine!"

"…Say no more. I'll get my tools and prove to you that her bloodline is ours. Then you'll have no choice but to accept her as you daughter and me as your wife, hee hee…"

"What? No! Tharja!"

But it was too late. The sorceress was gone.

"That's not good..." Robin mumbled. "Henry!"

"Here!"

"New assignment. Or, addition to you old assignment."

"Neat! Can I finally cast a death curse on someone?"

"No death curses!" Robin snapped. "Go follow Tharja and do what you were doing, but now make sure that she doesn't hurt and/or traumatize my daughter with…whatever she's planning to do."

"So she's you daughter after all, huh?"

"S-shut up! Just go run interference!"

"Sure thing, boss!"

Robin was breathing heavily as he watched Henry run off in pursuit of Tharja. He was also getting a headache. It was becoming increasingly hard to ignore and deny Morgan being his…his…

"Urgh. I need to lie down…"

After walking around aimlessly, Robin found a grassy spot and lay down. Closing his eyes, he hoped to empty his mind and relieve his headache.

He lay there as time seemed to slowly crawl past. He lay there even when he heard footsteps approaching. He lay there even as he heard two people sitting down next to him.

"…If you're here to kill me, then you couldn't have picked a better time. I'm both lost and confused, so get it over with. Just not in the face."

"I hope you don't usually have such morbid thoughts."

Robin knew that voice anywhere. Based on this, he could also guess who the second person was.

"Cordelia. Sumia."

"So…we heard the news," began Cordelia.

"Want to talk about it?" Sumia asked gently.

"No. And there's nothing to talk about. No news, nothing. Absolutely nothing," Robin replied before sighing deeply.

"That's fine. We don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to."

"Thank you."

"Robin?"

"What?"

"I have something here for you," Sumia said. Robin heard her take something out. "It's your favorite! Liver-and-eel pie!"

"I appreciate the thought, Sumia, but I'm not hungry."

Sumia and Cordelia exchanged worried glances. Robin never, ever says no to pie, doubly so if it's his favorite. For him to decline meant that there was something very serious on his mind!

"Okay," Cordelia began carefully. "Do you have anything you want to talk about? We can talk about anything that's on your mind. Anything at all."

"Did you take care of Anna?"

"For now, although I'd watch her if I were you, Robin. You know how she gets when money's involved and I'm sure she didn't get everything she wanted out of Morgan."

"Wonderful. Yet another task to add to the list."

"…Is there anything else that's on your mind?" asked Sumia.

"Actually, yes."

"We're all ears."

"Okay. I want to talk about our club."

"Our…club?"

"You know, our book club."

"…What about it?"

"I feel that it needs a shakeup. We've moved on from the days when we were a ragtag group of armed border guards chasing bandits. Now that we're the best of Ylisse's forces, I feel there need to be some changes to reflect our status in our club."

"Robin, you're not leaving us, are you?" Sumia asked worriedly. "Because it won't be the same without you…"

"What? No! I'm not quitting! Why would you even say that? Reading books with you guys is one of the few non-war related things that I enjoy doing in my spare time. I'm also one of the founders of the club. I can't really abandon it, now can I?"

"Oh," Sumia sighed in relief. "I'm glad."

"As am I," said Cordelia. "You certainly give our club some character."

"That's me. I'm nothing but character," Robin joked. "But that's where the issues come in."

"What kind of issues?" inquired Sumia curiously.

"Well, I feel like it sounds way too childish. A book club? We're not in school anymore. I feel that in order to reflect our newfound status and reputation, our club needs to not be called a club, but something else. Something that's classy and sophisticated, but still related to books."

Cordelia nodded. "I see. So you just want to change the name?"

"Pretty much. And maybe some other stuff, but the name is the most pressing issue. So, any suggestions?"

"Something that's classy and sophisticated?" Sumia thought for a bit. "Like an organization or a society?"

"Yes! A society! That sounds refined and fancy. I like that!"

"And we read books, so…literature. Why don't we call ourselves a literary society?" suggested Cordelia.

"That's excellent! I love it!" Robin said enthusiastically. "We'll rename ourselves the 'Robin and Sumia Literary Society.' It's both classy and sophisticated, refined and fancy. It's perfect! Good job, guys. A job well done all around."

Sumia and Cordelia giggled at Robin's childish enthusiasm at this simple name change. They also nodded to each other, deciding to change the subject.

"Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"You do realize you can't keep dodging the subject forever," Sumia said softly. "It'll have to come out eventually."

"Why? Why does it have to come out at all? Why can't we just go on with our lives and pretend like nothing's happened?"

"Because then the problem doesn't go away and only boils," explained Cordelia. "If you continue to ignore it, it'll boil and boil until it'll eventually end up exploding in your face."

"…I disagree."

"Robin, why don't you just entertain the idea of Morgan being your daughter? You don't even have to accept it, just think about it."

"Because as soon as I even begin to contemplate that idea, the floodgates open and all sorts of unpleasant things rush in," Robin said gloomily. "Like the implications of me having a daughter, me falling in love, me having a wife, me breaking the single most important rule in my life, etc."

"So…" Sumia began slowly. "Do…do you know who her mother is?"

"No, thankfully. She doesn't seem to remember anything other than stuff with me, thank the gods for small miracles."

"Why do you say that's a good thing?" Cordelia asked. "Aren't you at the least bit curious to who her mother is?"

"Cordelia, all my willpower is going into not thinking about that right now. Gods, imagine if she did remember who her mother was. Imagine that it was one of you."

Cordelia raised a brow.

Sumia blushed.

"Exactly. Now, how awkward would it be if suddenly this girl comes along and claims to be our child. I mean, we're battlefield partners and best friends now. With Morgan's appearance, our relationship gets thrown into all new and weird territory! We're all single, then our supposed daughter just shows up, and then what? We don't have feelings for each other! What are we, just supposed to start dating or whatever? How weird would that be?"

"I suppose I see where you're coming from…" Cordelia admitted.

"Y-yeah, of course!" Sumia agreed. "It would definitely be awkward, with us all being single and just good friends and nothing more…"

"And that's why I find it easier to just not think about it," Robin finished, still keeping his eyes closed. "I can't even begin to know where I would be if I knew who her mother was. She might even be some lady I've never even met!"

"But you can't just ignore Morgan," insisted Cordelia. "She at least believes you to be her father. Do you really want to tell her you don't believe so despite how firmly she seems to believe it?"

"Gods, no. For whatever reason, I can't bring myself to upset her and feel and a powerful need to make her feel better if I see she's down," Robin paused. "Oh gods. I…I don't think I can tell her I'm not her father! Just imagining her crushed expression, with tears in her eyes and…argh! My heart! It hurts!"

"So you feel some sort of attachment to her, then?"

"I don't…I mean I…" Robin sighed in frustration. "I don't even know anymore. One side of me wants to hold her and never let go, but another side refuses to acknowledge her existence."

"Ah, so deep down inside, you're at least open to the idea of her being your daughter?"

"I can't have her be my daughter, Cordelia," Robin said flatly. "I just can't. It's too much for my fragile mind to take. I'm afraid I'll descend into madness if I accept Morgan and all the implications. But…I can't be the one to make her sad either. Argh!"

"Okay, why don't you just…put a pin in that for now and just try to take it one step at a time?" suggested Sumia.

"What do you mean?"

"Just try not to think of the big picture and all its related problems. Just break it down into little individual problems and focus on solving them one at a time."

"That's a great idea, Sumia," Cordelia said. "Robin, instead of focusing on the wider picture, why don't you just focus on Morgan? Forget the fact that she's your—"

"Claims to be."

"…Claims to be your daughter and focus on her as a friend. If you don't want to upset her, you can neither confirm nor deny her claim and just get to know her. Maybe then you'll build a relationship with her and go from there? Who knows? Maybe you'll grow more comfortable with her over time."

"And maybe you can even accept her as your daughter," Sumia added. "And tackle the other issues piecemeal later on."

"Right. Piecemeal. One at a time. Later on. I can do that. I just…go and talk to her like a normal person. Not my daughter from the future, just a normal person. Don't think of any of the implications and just the future. I can do that. …" Robin finally opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks for the advice, guys. I feel that you two are always there for me when I'm lost."

Sumia smiled. "That's what we're here for."

"Keep this up and we'll start charging you for these sessions of ours," joked Cordelia.

"There isn't enough money in Plegia to cover these, based on how often I find myself in these types of situations," Robin said with a weary laugh. He then slowly got up and pulled himself together. "Okay, here I go. I'm going to go out and talk to Morgan like a normal person."

"Just remember: take it slow. Don't think beyond the current moment," said Cordelia.

"You can do it," encouraged Sumia.

"Right. Well, off I go!"

Robin walked with renewed confidence back to camp in search for his dau—no. He'll cross that bridge when he'd get there. Right now, he was looking for Morgan. Not daughter, just Morgan.

As Robin was walking and mentally preparing himself, he came across Gaius and Gregor standing beside a few large crates.

"Gramps, do you really need that many bottles?"

"Oy, what's with this 'gramps' business? First little girl calls Gregor 'gramps' and now candy thief too?"

"What can I say? I guess the name stuck."

"Gaius is lucky that Gregor such nice guy and not easily being offended. As for question, Gregor does need so many bottles. Feroxi winter coming soon, yes? Very cold. Drinks from old country help keep Gregor warm during cold days and nights."

"Why not just buy better clothes?"

"Good warm clothes are costing many monies. Drink very much more affordable. Also reminds Gregor of home."

"I…guess that makes sense."

"What're you two doing?" Robin asked as he approached.

"Hey, Bubbles."

"Is Robin! Greetings and congratulations!"

"Oh yeah. I guess congratulations are in order, aren't they?"

"Why?"

"Word on the street is that you're now a proud parent," Gaius grinned mischievously. "Didn't think you had it in you. Who's the lucky lady?"

"No one. And we're not talking about this anymore," Robin said firmly before quickly changing the subject. "What's with the crates?"

"What a deflection," Gaius said as popped a lollipop in his mouth. "Must be something serious. As for the crates, Gramps here thought it'd be a good idea to spend his money on crates worth of drinks to 'keep warm' instead of clothes and such."

"What can Gregor say? Drinks reminding Gregor of home. Is very nostalgic feeling."

"…That the same stuff you gave me back at Plegia when we first met?" asked Robin.

"Is one and same! Is Robin craving for again for bitter taste of Gregor's motherland?"

"Less craving for bitter taste and more needing something to help me prepare for what I'm about to do…" Robin explained gloomily. "Care to pop open a bottle?"

"Of course! Drinking with close friends always better than drinking alone!" Gregor said merrily as he pulled out a bottle from a crate.

"Wow, didn't think you were a happy drinker there, Bubbles," remarked Gaius.

"I'm not, but I need all the help for this talk I'm going to have."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No. I've done enough of that as it is. I just need a few glasses to prepare myself and just do it. Act natural and let the conversation flow."

"Alcohol does tend to loosen lips."

"Exactly."

"There!" Gregor poured three glasses and set them atop a crate. "Gaius is joining us for celebrations, yes?"

"Eh, why not?" the thief shrugged and took a glass.

"Brings back memories, eh?" said Gregor. "Just like in Plegia."

"Except instead of scorching not desert, we're up north," Gaius commented. "And it looks like it's going to get very cold, very soon."

"Swell," Robin said dryly. "Let's just hope we get back to the town and don't spend too long out here in the wilderness. If there's one thing I hate, its extreme temperatures."

"What about wyverns?"

"Them too."

"Kids?

"…Shut up and drink."

– A few drinks later –

Robin felt the familiar feeling of alcohol making his way through his body and the pleasant buzz in his head that made his problems seem not so bad.

"Ah, the magical calming properties of alcohol…" Robin sighed in contentment after downing another glass. "Puts everything into perspective it does…"

"Is a lot better with friends!" laughed Gregor. "Make for very good talks and the heart to hearts."

"I don't think we're quiiiite there yet," Gaius said. "Revealing personal secrets and intimate details about yourself requires at least three more bottles."

"Then what are we doing here with one? Come on, Gregor, pop open another one!"

"Ho ho! Robin is very good buddy to be doing the drinking with!" Gregor said merrily. "Is good."

"Although he's a bit of a lightweight," Gaius remarked.

"Who you calling a lightweight?" Robin asked indignantly. "Do you see me getting drunk?"

"Not yet, but you're almost there."

"How do you know?"

"Past experiences."

Before Robin could retort, a new voice entered the conversation.

"What's going on here?"

The three men turned.

"Hey Lucina," Robin greeted. "Nothing much. We're just having a jolly ol' bonding exercise."

"…By drinking?"

"Is best way to do bonding," explained Gregor. "Does little Lucina want to be joining us?"

"I think I'll pa—"

"Hey, Bubbles? Didn't you come here to do something?"

"Like what?"

"You said you had to go prepare yourself for something, right?"

"Oh. Right. Gods…" Robin refilled his glass. "I think I'll need a bit more alcohol in me to tackle that issue."

Lucina watched the scene with concern before deciding to intervene.

"Robin? May I have a word?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you…alone."

"Hm?" Robin looked up curiously.

"She sounds serious, Bubbles. I guess that's your cue to go and ditch us."

"Are you kicking me out?"

"Hey, you heard her yourself. She needs to talk to you alone."

"Don't be worrying, Robin. Gregor and Gauis will be here for when you'll be coming back. There's still more bonding to do!"

"Blergh, I'm missing the best part of the bonding!" Robin whined but got up nonetheless. "Don't have too much fun without me…and don't do anything dumb!"

"Don't worry, Bubbles. That's exclusively your domain."

"…You're a sarcastic dastard, you know that?"

Gaius grinned roguishly. "You know you love it."

Robin rolled his eyes and followed Lucina to a quiet corner of the camp.

"I apologize for dragging you away, Robin," said the princess once they were alone.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Robin replied nonchalantly. "So, what's up?"

Lucina hesitated, thinking about how to approach the subject.

"Robin, do you remember when we talked about you and the future?"

"Yeah. Future me was sure different than present me."

"That's the issue. Do you remember what I said about the you of the future?"

"That I wasn't the loveable life of the party that I am today, right?"

Lucina chuckled.

"Not in those exact words, but yes."

"Is that why you brought me here?" Robin asked. "To talk to me about future me?"

"In a way…"

"Hm?"

"Robin, there is also another detail that I'd like to mention," Lucina paused and chose her words carefully. "Do you do that often?"

"Huh?"

"Drink with others. Or, just drink."

"Well, I usually do so on occasion to celebrate stuff and when life throws something so terrible that I need alcohol's help to cope. Fortunately, that last part doesn't happen too often and I celebrate more than I freak out. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because, in the future, you were still the one responsible for our overall strategic planning. With the Valmese invasion, you were flooded with reports and work. As the campaign intensified and Ylisse was dragged in, your workload only increased…as did your responsibilities and stress."

"Okay…" Robin didn't like where this was going.

"Do you know how you dealt with all the pressure?" Lucina asked.

"I'm guessing I didn't lean on the others for help."

"You did not. You decided to shoulder all the burdens on your own in order to lessen the pressure from the others. Much like Father, I believe that you wanted to put on a brave face since so many looked up to you."

"Uh-huh…"

"But you were only one man. And while Father took to confiding his worries to his family, you chose…alternate methods to cope."

"So, what? I drank myself under the table every night as the war progressed?" Robin laughed. "Or did I become some sort of raging alcoholic like in those detective stories?"

Lucina looked away.

Robin stopped laughing at her reaction.

"…You're kidding."

"To be fair, you weren't a drunken heathen!" Lucina said quickly.

"But…?"

"But you did drink more frequently as the war progressed. And the alcohol made you become moody, aggressive and short-tempered. You shouted more often and even snapped at those you loved you most."

"…Did this affect the war?"

"I don't believe so. Thankfully, you never drank when crafting strategies and tactics. But when new reports came in, with casualty numbers and the enemy's advance…"

"I took to the bottle."

Lucina nodded grimly.

"Did…did I ever get physical when I was in that state?"

"I can't say. You were all gone to the front lines so I couldn't see you. But I can say that there were more than a few occasions when it looked like you almost came to blows with Father and others. I believe that everyone organized an intervention for you before you all left to fight."

Robin remained silent, digesting everything Lucina told him.

"…Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I wish for you to avoid the mistakes you made in the future that almost made you push away everyone that cared about you," Lucina said honestly. "I've seen how you slowly spiraled downward, with each glass becoming two, then three, then five. I've seen how your mood changed and how you lashed out against those who only wanted to help you."

Robin looked at the empty glass in his hand.

"There are other ways of dealing with life's problems, Robin," Lucina said as she approached and slowly took the glass out of Robin's hand. "Please don't overlook them and take the easy way out."

Robin looked into Lucina's eyes. The usually stoic princess was now standing in front of him, asking, pleading, for him to not follow the same destructive path his future self did. Robin didn't know what decisions he took in the future, but if it affected Lucina, who was helpful but remained aloof around all those except her family, enough for her to make such an impassioned plea? Well, then it must've been pretty serious.

"Thank you for telling me this, Lucina," Robin said after a long pause. "It sounds like it affected you a lot."

"Seeing those who you love most fight with each other really affects a small child," Lucina said quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, Robin. It wasn't you and they weren't your actions."

"I still can't help but feel responsible for them. After all, it's still me that did them, future or not."

"You can't be sorry for what you didn't do, Robin. You can only take lessons and strive to not repeat these actions in the first place."

"You're absolutely right, Lucina. Your story…it was sobering. To think that I really did become…" Robin shook his head. "Regardless, thank you for warning me and opening my eyes. Although I don't make it a habit of drinking, I'll be extra vigilant and watch myself when the war heats up. I guess the moral of your story was that I don't need to do everything myself and bottle everything up, huh?"

"Father always told me that you can only do so much by yourself. Having others trust and confide in and lean on does wonders for one's mental wellbeing. Knowing that you can turn to them in times of need will get you that much further."

"Note taken, although it's quite ironic."

"How so?"

"Oh, you know. You telling me to not do things all by myself."

"Forgive me, but I don't see the irony."

"I have eyes, Lucina. I make it a point to watch the Shepherds and what they do to ensure that nothing's amiss and to maximize our efficiency. And you know what I saw?"

"Do tell."

"I saw a strong young woman with the burden of the world on her shoulders. More than that, I saw this young woman throwing herself at every little chore and helping everyone with whatever they may be doing. I saw her being everywhere at once, helping anyone and everyone. I saw her taking on the strongest foes, pushing her body to the limit, and neglecting herself in the process. And you know what else? I saw her doing it all alone."

"I can assure you that I'm perfectly fine."

"Really? Then how many hours of sleep do you get? What's your training-to-sleep ratio?"

Lucina remained silent.

"Thought so. I assume there are things that you haven't discussed with your parents?"

"…They don't need to be concerned by things that may not even happen."

"Who's the one bottling things up now?"

"I'm not…!"

Robin chuckled. "Relax, Lucina. I'm not saying that you have to tell them everything about the future or things like that. What I am saying is that I'm not the only one who thinks they need to do things alone and not bother others. You told me that it helps when you have others to support you yet you go off and do things all by your lonesome. You have your entire family alive and well. Moreover, they love you unconditionally. You can lean on them for support, you know. Not only them, but the entire camp! …Although you'll probably feel more comfortable with your family."

A small smile spread across Lucina's face.

"So don't think you have to do this alone, yeah? I'll promise to be more open about my troubles with others if you promise to do the same. Deal?"

"You have a deal, Robin," Lucina said before chuckling. "It's funny."

"What?"

"I come here to help you yet end up with you offering me advice. It's as if I'm a child again…"

"Lucina, it wasn't my intention to make you feel so—"

"Relax, Robin. I meant it in a good way."

"Huh?"

"I haven't felt like a child in years. It's a nostalgic feeling…"

"Oh. Well. Uh, glad to help?" Robin laughed awkwardly. "But seriously. Thank you, Lucina. For looking out for me."

Lucina smiled. "Likewise."

"Right. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and have a very awkward conversation with my daughter."

"Ah, of course. Please don't let me keep you."

"Honestly? I'd love for you to keep me as long as humanly possible. I really don't want to do this, but I guess I can't put this off forever…"

With a heavy sigh, Robin bad farewell to Lucina and walked off to his tent.

Watching him go, Lucina hoped that she'd put this Robin on a different path than the one in her future. Her intervention already put the world on a different path, she might as well meddle a bit more and hope Robin also walks another one. Although…

Lucina frowned.

Perhaps more intervention would be necessary. There were certain events that had to play out a certain way and Lucina was determined so see that they did. Robin had to be pushed in a certain direction. If not, then this would have some very serious consequences for some of her friends…


Robin was slowly approaching his tent. Slowly approaching the moment of that conversation. He had no idea what he was going to say or do, but he just had to just do it. He couldn't avoid Morgan forever.

A few feet away from his tent, Robin was surprised to see a smaller one built right next to his.

"Huh?"

He was equally surprised to see someone walk out of his.

"Chrom? What're you doing here?"

"Ah, Robin."

"What happened to you, man? You look like you've been through Frederick's Five Hour Fitness Friday."

Chrom laughed wearily.

"Looking after Morgan, I might was well have."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your daughter is really something. Has enough energy for an entire army. It look me, Olivia and the others all of our energy to keep up with her and keep her from running around camp and causing a few misunderstandings."

"Ah, I see…" Robin nodded in understanding. "Sorry that you had to do that. I was having a little crisis back there."

"Hey, no problem. I know you had it worse than we did," said Chrom. "But I think you should talk to her now. She's been asking to see you all day. Even asked for her tent to be set up right beside yours."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here."

Chrom put his hand on Robin's shoulder.

"Don't worry about a thing, Robin. You'll be fine."

"Ha, easy for you to say. You already have a baby daughter so you knew what to expect."

"Oh, sure. Me having baby Lucina totally prepared me to have a Lucina from the future show up right in front of me and warn me about how doomed said future is."

"It only sounds dumb when you put it like that…"

"You'll be fine," Chrom said encouragingly. "I know you will."

"Right…"

With one final nod to Chrom, Robin walked into his tent. Inside, he found Morgan looking through his collection of board games.

"Wow, look at this collection! You must have every edition of the Total Warfare and Risk/Reward series ever! Can we play a game sometime? Please? Pretty please?"

Robin couldn't help but chuckle. Whatever his thoughts about Morgan, her cheery disposition and sunny attitude were certainly infectious. Being in the same room as her could instantly improve your mood.

"Let's face each other later on. It'll be good to have someone other than Virion to face for a change. I'm curious to see what you're capable of."

"Okay! But…go easy on me? I'm not nearly as good as you."

"Sure thing, kiddo. I can't just go and beat you out of the gate, now can I?"

"I promise I'll put up a good fight, Dad!" Morgan declared.

Robin thought that this was a good a time as any to address the whole "Dad" issue. Maybe tell Morgan to refer to him simply by his first name or something. Start their relationship off cool.

"Morgan? I want to—"

Robin was interrupted as Morgan came up and hugged him.

"I don't know how I got here or why, but I'm sure glad that you're here with me. As long as I have you, I know that everything will be okay!" Morgan looked up and smiled brightly. "I love you, Dad."

Robin knew that he had to talk to Morgan about their relationship. He knew that he was still not thinking about love or Morgan's mother. He knew these things, yet with Morgan hugging him and looking up at him with such unconditional love in her eyes, all he could do was hug her back and hold her close.

"I love you too, Morgan."

And above all, Robin knew that this was absolutely true.

As soon as he admitted this to himself, everything seemed to fall into place. His head suddenly became clear.

He accepted the overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect her at all costs. He accepted that he cared for her more than he cared about anything else at this point. And above all, Robin accepted that his cheerful young girl was his daughter.

It wasn't important what her future might've been or who her mother might be. She was his daughter and that's all that mattered.