I figured we would want to get moving early the next day, so as soon as I woke up I gently shook Tiki awake. She mumbled wordlessly and kissed me on the cheek before she woke up. Gods, that was probably the most adorable thing she did, and that was saying a lot. She blinked a few times and opened her eyes.

"The first thing I see when I wake up every morning is you, and yet it still feels as though I am living in a fantasy." I kissed her on the nose, which made her giggle.

"Nope. Real as ever," I said. She rested her head on my shoulder and rubbed my neck with her cheek.

"Thank you, Robin. For last night."

"I'll always be here for you," I said, "no matter how bad things get."

"I hope it will never be that bad again. You know the worst part of me now, and yet you remained."

"You know I was going to ask you today what you meant when you asked me not to leave. I wasn't sure if you meant you didn't want to be alone or if you were afraid I'd...reject you." She cuddled up against me.

"In truth, it was both. I was admitting to something terrible. I was afraid it might drive you away. I'm sorry, I should have known better than to think that."

"No, no, you were exposing your deepest wounds. It's painful and I'm sure you were worried. But remember what I promised you?"

"You said that you would love me as much or more as you already did. I could never forget such a thing. It gave me every bit of courage I needed to speak."

"You want to know what I thought to myself after I made that promise?"

"What?"

"I thought that I would definitely love you more. I thought that I already love everything about you, and that learning more about you would mean there was more to love." She kissed me a few times on the neck and cheek.

"And what did you think after I had finished?" I hugged her closer to me.

"I thought that, since now I know more about you, there's more to love."

"Robin...what else can I say? How can I adequately express how happy you make me when you tell me things such as that? That you would see me at my worst and say such a thing...words fail me, and yet no action seems sufficient."

"Tiki, I'm not saying it because I want something in return. I'm saying it so that you understand the way I feel about you. I love you. And I promised I'd love you more every day. And I will, whether we're together for a year, or ten years, or ten thousand years." She had apparently run out of things to say, because her only response was a kiss. One that made it abundantly clear how she felt.

After an eternity we separated and I rolled onto my back. I realized that we had probably just kissed each other for so long that breakfast had already passed and the whole camp was probably packed and the Shepherds were probably miles away, so I sat up. I heard he shift her weight a little, then she sat up, hugged me from behind, and rested her chin on my shoulder.

"May I make a request?" she said softly into my ear.

"Let me tell you right now that you never need to ask that again. I'm giving you full permission to ask me any question or make any request now and forever." She kissed my ear, which was another fresh new sensation that sent a thrill up my spine followed by several more as backup.

"I will certainly remember that," she said. "Now as to my request...do you think that, if we have a son..."

"I think it's less 'if' than 'which one,' since we've got thousands of years to have lots and lots of children," I said. Back to confidence. Had to stay confident.

"Oh I hope so. Nothing would make me happier than to have a large family with you."

"Maybe having a large family with me in a peaceful and safe world we live in together forever." I paused as I decided to guess what her request was going to be. "...And yes, we can name our firstborn son Marth." She made a happy sound and squeezed me.

"It seems you know me so well already," she said. "Thank you."

"I know how important he was to you," I said as I put my hands on hers. "I'd be thrilled to have the chance to name our child after him. We can name our children after all the friends you've ever known. As long as you're their mother, I'm happy to name them whatever you want."

"How is it that I am already happier than I have ever been, and yet every day you make me happier still?"

"Because I love you more every day?" I asked helpfully as I stood up. She was still hanging onto me, so she rose with me.

"I believe that is likely the reason. And it is quite the happy coincidence, because I feel much the same. I did not even realize I could love you more than I did."

"That is a happy coincidence. Maybe we should get married since we both like each other so much."

"I'm sorry, I am already betrothed."

"Oh. Well, your fiance is a lucky man."

"Perhaps, but I think I am the lucky one. Somehow I won the love of the finest man to ever live." I dropped my hands to my sides and stepped away so I could face her. I grabbed her arms, pulled her in, and kissed her. Then I held her back out at arms' length as she giggled.

"Unfortunately, the finest man to ever live has to get to packing. We have an unpleasant day ahead of us." I knew it would probably kill the mood to say it, but we couldn't afford to wait around. Tiki sighed.

"I know. Heavens, but I wish we could simply run away like the princess and the knight in the story you read me." I kissed her again.

"We'll save the world first, then we'll run away, okay?"

"Very well."

"It's a promise." I released my grip and she walked over to put on her boots, which she picked up by turning away from me and bending forward in an act that was wholly unnecessary yet greatly appreciated. Once she had retrieved them she sat down while I started picking up our belongings and getting them back into the storage chests. She started helping me once she was finished dressing.

"Is something the matter?" she asked. "You look troubled."

"There actually is," I said. I hadn't expected it to show on my face, but it had been nagging at me once we stopped talking. "It's, well, it's Lucina."

"Ah, I expected such." She grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "It is as I said to you yesterday: her feelings are her own. You cannot hold yourself responsible for them." I shook my head.

"I know, but still, I broke her heart. I've been there. I know how it feels. I...just never expected to be on this end. And that's leaving aside the part where she threatened to kill me. I can't even blame her for it. I might be dangerous. I just...I want her to feel better. She's important to me, even if it's not the same way I'm important to her." She gave me a peck on the cheek and laughed a little.

"Of course you do. Of course she put a blade to your throat and your first concern is her welfare."

"Well she didn't use it, so I'm fine. She's the one who was barely holding together. I can't even imagine how long she's been like this. I don't think I'd be capable of holding all of that in."

"She is strong of will. She must be to be willing to traverse time itself to alter her future. I think she will begin to recover and will come to you on her own. I would recommend you not try to speak to her until then." I shook my head and sighed.

"You're...probably right. It pains me to leave her alone, but if this is all because of me, you're probably right." She squeezed my hand again.

"She knows you care about her, but she needs time apart from you." She took her other hand and rested it on mine. "What of you? We spent so long talking about me that I feel I ignored your welfare after you learned such a terrible part of your past. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. You needed me." I patted her hand with my free hand. "I'm fine. I haven't heard Grima in my head since then, so either he's not strong enough to affect me more or I need to be in proximity to Validar, since it was his magic that made it happen."

"Now that we are on the subject," she said, "I should tell you that the very first time we met I noticed a dark power in you that was similar to my own."

"Wait...really?" She had never mentioned this before. It seemed like it would have been relevant for her to tell me.

"Well, yes," she said. She looked a little sheepish. "The truth is, I never mentioned it because I...well, I forgot."

"You...forgot?"

"Yes. Though I sensed it there, you have never given any sign of falling prey to it. I have never even seen you get angry. Over time I simply forgot that I had seen it within you." She leaned into me briefly. "You have shown yourself to be so good a man that it left my mind." I felt myself blush.

"Wow. That's...that's really...thank you," I said.

"Do not forget that, no matter what power is inside you, you are still you. You are still a good man and I love you with all my heart." I pulled her into a hug.

"I won't. Thank you, dearest."

"Mm. Oh, by the way, I had a thought last night," she said. "When I am in danger of losing myself, it is you calling my name that keeps me safe. Do you think that the same could work in reverse?"

"Well I don't know what it is about me that makes that happen, so I couldn't say."

"Perhaps you have some power at your disposal that neither of us are aware of. Or perhaps it is simply the bond of love we share between us."

"I hope so," I said as I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Hopefully I won't get my mind invaded again, but if I do, call out to me. I don't know if it'll work, but I have faith in you." If someone like me could break that kind of spell on her just by speaking her name, I had to imagine that she and all of her immense power could do the same for me. How odd to think that this woman in front of me was so powerful that she could destroy the entire world. All that power, and it was contained inside a woman who went on walks with me under the stars, and helped me with my cooking, and fell asleep against my shoulder when I read her stories, and laughed at my terrible jokes, and...

"Where did that smile come from? What are you thinking about?" I heard her ask. I kissed her forehead again.

"You."

"Mm." She leaned into me for a few moments.

"We should get going. It sounds like everyone else is starting to wake up." I heard the sounds of movement coming from outside the tent. I knew I was usually among the earliest to rise, but I must have been the first today. That was okay with me, since it meant Tiki and I had gotten these few moments together. I could only hope for more in the future. She let go of my hand and I picked up my chest to carry it out to the convoy. She picked up hers with some difficulty and followed me. Power or not, in this form she was still a relatively petite woman without much actual physical strength. I hurried to the convoy cart to drop my chest off then rushed back to help her with hers. She graciously handed it to me.

"I should perhaps have brought fewer things along. I did not even realize I owned so much."

"Don't worry," I said, "we bear each others' burdens, right? Sometimes they're more literal." I was rewarded with a little giggle, which would always be reward enough for me.

"Thank the heavens you are so strong."

"Aren't you a dragon?"

"I am."

"Aren't dragons large and powerful?"

"Do I look large to you?"

"Well, part of you does," I said as I openly leered at her chest and waggled my eyebrows in the most ridiculous way I could manage. Tiki started laughing so hard I thought she would wake up the whole camp. Based on the reactions from some of the other tents, she may have done just that. I managed to keep my composure as I carried her things to the cart. When I returned she was still at it and people were starting to emerge from their tents to see what all the commotion was. When they looked at me I just shrugged.

Once the camp was packed up I met with Chrom to discuss where we were supposed to go before we started moving. I expected it to be a war council of sorts, but with Lucina absent it was only him, Tiki, and I.

"Do you have a theory for where Validar is headed?" Chrom asked me.

"Couldn't say. The only thing I heard him say was something about 'setting the table,' but that could mean anything."

"Ah, I had not heard that before, but I may know what he meant," said Tiki. We both turned to look at her. "Thousands of years ago, there was a site known as the Dragon's Table, where my mother sealed away many earth dragons when they descended into madness. The seal was broken long ago and the dragons escaped into the world where they were then slain by humans, including several that were slain by Marth. If any of the mad dragons sealed within it were ever slain by one another then their magic may well have saturated the site with evil energy. It could possibly be used as a ritual site for dark magic."

"Do you know where it is?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I could not say for certain. It has been far too long since I was there to recall its exact location. However, if the worship of Grima is common in this nation, it is possible the castle was built within easy traveling distance of the site." I looked back at Chrom.

"It's a start." I squeezed her hand. "Thank you, Tiki."

"Of course."

"So then let's head back to the castle and see if we can find information or a trail. Is the army going to get here soon?"

"They should arrive by tonight. I've ordered them to stay and hold the border. I doubt the Plegians will try to invade, but I want them there in case it happens."

"Works for me. I don't know how large of a standing army Plegia still has after the last war anyway. And I have no idea how much of the nation is interested in fighting on behalf of Grima." I stood. "Let's get Cordelia and Sumia in the air and have them scout ahead. Oh, Cynthia too. They might be able to get us some numbers." Chrom nodded.

"I'll pass it along. Get everyone moving." We split up to pass around the orders. Ten minutes later we were on the road back into Plegia. Once again there wasn't a living soul between us and the castle. It was starting to really unnerve me. Plegia wasn't the most populous country, and there was a lot of desert, but that didn't mean that no one lived there. We should have at least seen farmers or villagers or even the occasional bandit. But there was no one.

We reached the castle by midday and found it empty. Even, disturbingly enough, the bodies from the previous day's battle were gone. Validar, Aversa, and the hierophant were nowhere to be seen, but I hadn't expected to see them. We began exploring around the castle to look for some kind of path leading to where we needed to go, but if there was one it wasn't obvious. It wasn't until around an hour later that Cordelia arrived back to report to me.

"Robin, I think I found the site. To the southeast there's what looks like a temple and...gods, there are thousands of people walking towards it. I tried talking to a few of them but it's like they're in some sort of trance. I think we should get going there."

"Thank you. I'll pass it along to Chrom." She nodded and took off again. I found Chrom and told him what she had told me.

"That is...unsettling," he said. "I can't think of too many reasons that would be happening that aren't bad."

"Especially if they're acting mindless," I said. "Let's get going." We gathered everyone together and followed behind Cordelia as she led us back to where she had seen the mass of people. It took most of the afternoon to arrive there, but we knew we were there right away. There were indeed thousands of people walking towards a large temple in the distance. I walked up to a few of them.

"Sir!" I called out to one as Chrom joined Tiki and I. The man turned. His eyes were glassy and his expression was blank.

"Grima...Grima...Grima..." He turned away and started walking towards the ruins. Several more attempts to speak to people yielded similar results.

"Chrom," I said, "we need to get into those ruins now. It's not hard to guess what these people are for."

"I agree." We turned and started towards the temple. There wasn't anything between us and the temple but an open field and the massive crowd of people. "Chrom, put the cavalry on crowd control. We need to guide these people away from the temple and out of harm's way. Even if it means moving them like sheep." He nodded, turned, and barked out the appropriate orders. The cavalry all ran forward and began forcing the crowds to turn away from the temple. There was some resistance, but they were apparently too mindless to do anything but follow orders. That was good, it at least meant they weren't being forced forward. It was likely they were being dominated into meekly doing what they were told.

"VALIDAR!" I heard Chrom shout. I snapped my gaze back towards the temple. I hadn't even seen Validar outside. He was with Aversa. They were a few hundred feet away from us. We started moving forward towards the temple. The crowd was mostly split off to the sides which gave us a clear lane to proceed.

"Ah, so you've decided to follow us after all, even though you know how this story ends," said Validar as we got closer. Do you rush to your death because you desire it, or is this some vain play at altering destiny?"

"Gods damn your destiny," said Chrom. "Give me back the Fire Emblem now, or I'll take it from your corpse. The Fell Dragon will not return!"

"Fool! There is no altering the course of fate! You will meet your end here, as it is meant to be!" He turned to Aversa. We were close enough now that I could overhear them even though he wasn't shouting anymore. "Slay them, if you think you can. If not, do not bother to show your face again." What a wonderful master he must have been. I wondered if I could use that. And did she really think she could stop us? One against all of us? Validar turned and entered the temple.

"VALIDAR! FACE ME!" shouted Chrom again. Validar didn't turn back.

"Aversa," I said, "stand down. You can't possibly think you can defeat the lot of us." I had seen her magic at work. It was powerful, but not powerful enough to fight this outnumbered.

"Oh, darling, I don't have to," she said. "I have plenty of company for all of you." She started waving her hands around in gestures I didn't recognize. As she did, Risen started to, well, rise from the ground. Ten. Twenty. Fifty. They looked larger than usual.

"Gods above," said Chrom to my left.

"Keep the citizenry safe. As numerous as these Risen are, I still think we can win against them. Everyone knows the formation." I made a snap decision. "I'll handle Aversa."

"Robin, are you sure you want to do that alone?" asked Chrom.

"I'll be fine. Trust me." I had a feeling about her. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't think I'd need to worry about her.

"I don't know about this," he said.

"Do you want me with you?" asked Tiki. I shook my head.

"They'll need you here. I promise I'll be fine. I'm not exactly a slouch when it comes to magic. Now move. They'll start attacking soon." Chrom nodded.

"Shepherds! Protect the people and destroy the Risen!" Everyone knew the formation. They were capable. They could do it. I breathed a silent request for Lissa's forgiveness and charged forward. Tiki was right beside me. Chrom broke off to take on a Risen that was near him. Another appeared in front of me. I managed to duck around its lumbering swipe and hit it in the back with a bolt of lightning. It roared and fell forward. I was about a hundred feet away from Aversa, and there were a handful of Risen still in my way, with more materializing every moment. I needed to get to her quickly or we'd be overrun. I started flinging lightning at every Risen in front of me, but I didn't have my Thoron tome on me so it wasn't as effective as I wanted it to be.

Two Risen stood in my way. I slipped by the swing of one of them but it took me into the path of the other. Its fist clipped me and sent me sprawling. The only thing working in my favor was that my momentum carried me closer to Aversa. The Risen turned to face me and was about to bring its fists down on me when its chest exploded in a fireball. Someone was covering me, though I didn't have time to look and see who it was. I scrambled to my feet and kept running. Tiki barreled into three Risen and started swiping at any she could reach. It caused enough of a distraction that I was able to force my way past them and I reached Aversa, who wasn't doing anything except summoning more Risen.

"Aversa!" I called out as I approached her. "You have to stop this now!" I needed to get her talking. Talking meant she wasn't summoning, which meant there wouldn't be more Risen. She stopped gesturing for a moment.

"And why would I do that, dear Robin? This is so much fun." I got within a few feet of her and raised a hand towards her. I didn't cast any magic, because I wanted to see if I could reason with her. If Validar treated her the way he had then there was a chance I could give her another option.

"You can't possibly want this," I said. "If Validar succeeds it means the end of humanity. How could you be fighting to make that happen?"

"Why do you fight for the prince?" I was a little caught off guard, but I didn't let it show.

"Because he's my best friend and I owe him my life, and I want to save humanity like he does." I started walking in a circle. I wasn't exactly trying to get behind her, but my logic was that movement would make me more distracting.

"Then you know why I do what I do. I owe Validar everything, so I give him everything."

"But you must see he's manipulating you. You can't think he really cares about you." Aversa started following my movement and we began walking in a circle at the top of the temple stairs, each never letting the other get out of sight. I stole a glance towards the battle and saw that it looked like we were winning.

"But does it matter?" she asked. Maybe it was me, but I thought I heard a note of bitterness in her voice. "He took me in when I had nothing, just like the prince did for you. He raised me as his daughter. Whether or not he holds any love for me doesn't matter. He is all I know of love." She paused briefly and put a finger on her chin. "Well, most of it." She sent a curse my way. I was anticipating it and I blew it aside, but didn't retaliate.

"He wants to destroy the entire world! Lucina has seen what happens when he gets what he wants. It's the end of everything!"

"He is MY world. And YOU want him dead." Another curse. I sidestepped it. It didn't feel like it had as much behind it as the previous one. I might have been getting through to her.

"What I want to keep the world safe. I would have no quarrel with him or anyone in this country if you weren't trying to literally end the world." We circled and I had a view away from the temple again. The Shepherds looked like they now outnumbered the Risen. I didn't have a perfect view, but I saw a couple of people on the ground and prayed they were only injured. I stopped pacing.

"What good is this world anyway? Look at these people. It was so simple to bring them under our command. A few words, a few promises, and they give themselves up willingly. Why fight it? Everyone dies, and the future has already been written. Best to give up now."

"You can't honestly believe that."

"Oh? What do you know of me? You hardly even know yourself."

"I know that you're a human being. I know that you spend your life in the shadow of other people, always manipulating them, never doing what you want to do. I know that the man who claimed to be your father has mistreated you terribly." Okay, so I could only guess at the last part, but it wasn't a hard guess from the way he had spoken to her.

"Ha! You're one to talk about not having your own ambitions! You think we haven't been watching you? Everything you do is what the prince wants! You claim I have no will of my own, but what do you want? What is it you're doing to further your own goals? You're here, in a foreign land, marching to war mere months after your last one, all because the prince asked you to! You're trying to fight destiny, because the prince asked you to! And I'd wager that you'd allow yourself to die so long as the prince asked you to!" A third curse came flying at me, but I didn't even need to sidestep it. It missed entirely and smashed a chunk of stone out of the temple wall behind me. She was losing her will to fight. Somehow I was getting through to her.

"I promise. I promise I'll do everything I can to come home safe." I shook my head.

"You're wrong about that. I owe Chrom a lot, and he's as good as my brother, and there are a lot of things I do on his behalf. But no, I wouldn't die if he asked me to. I have my own life, and I have my own reasons to go on...and you can too." Maybe it wasn't the best sales pitch, but I wanted to see if I could get through to her. She laughed derisively.

"What an adorable claim. Oh, Aversa, you can have your own life too. I'm too far past that. The only person who ever showed me kindness is gone now. Validar is all I have, and I won't let you stop him." She flung more curses at me, none of which hit. "Attack me, damn you! What are you waiting for?"

"Why? You've already lost." She turned and saw that, indeed, the Shepherds had slain the last of the Risen and were headed towards the entrance. I noted idly that Tiki was in the front, although she was herself again. Aversa turned back to me.

"Damn you. Damn you, why wouldn't you attack me? You were supposed to kill me. I failed. You know what he'll do to me. Kill me, damn you!" She lunged at me. I sidestepped that too. She fell to her knees. "You're too late, you know," she said flatly. "The ritual should be finished by now. You can't stop him. No one can."

"I'm not going to kill you," I said. "There's no reason to. You can have your own life." She shook her head and didn't face me.

"Why? Why are you always so...so gods damned nice?" I wasn't sure what she meant by 'always,' but I didn't let it faze me.

"Because I can still see the good in people." I offered her my hand. Incredibly, she took it. "You can have a life apart from this. We're going to stop Grima and you can do whatever you damn well please." I had originally started talking to her in the hope that I could talk her down, but now that she was like this, I was really trying to put her on the right path. So maybe she was one of the Grimleal. She had said herself the citizens were easy to manipulate, and they certainly weren't evil. That couple we'd met on the island were just normal people. All the citizens of that town were normal people, and that was Plegia too. Aversa deserved a chance.

"Heh, you talk with so much conviction I can almost believe it." Tiki arrived and stood next to me. The others weren't far behind.

"Because it's true," I said. "I'm giving you a second chance. Don't waste it." Aversa looked at Tiki and then back at me. Then she smiled and I couldn't tell what exactly was hiding behind it, although I could see something there.

"No wonder I lost," she said in a smooth voice. "You reminded me why I've always had such a soft spot for you...lover."

A/N: It's kind of hard deciding exactly what direction to take what amount to filler missions in the game besides skipping them entirely, and I don't want to do that for fear of throwing off the pacing too much. Anyway, I didn't want to write out some drawn-out battle sequence against, you know, 12 Risen, so instead we get character development.

Oh, and they're adding CANAS TO HEROES YES

YES

YES

I DON'T EVEN CARE IF HE'S A TEMPEST TRIAL REWARD WHO'S TRASH HE'S CANAS AND I WILL INVEST THE WORLD IN HIM.

I've always rather liked Canas as a character from the first time I played FE7.

Incidentally, I think Florina was my first fictional crush.