A/N: You all voted, and I have delivered! The first four chapters of this story are now available as an audio series on my YouTube channel, NotYourAverage Productions (five if you happen to be a donor) with a new audio chapter coming out every week on Wednesdays. You can find the link to said channel on my profile page for this website. Donors of any amount get access to the newest video a week in advance, so please consider donating even a dollar or so per month. Most importantly, though, be sure to leave a review detailing your thoughts on how this latest chapter felt to you guys. Reviews are the lifeblood of a good story, so please, do tell me what you think!

Now, for this bonus chapter itself. I thought long and hard about what kind of note I wanted to end this on, and this is the result- the longest chapter I've ever produced for this story. We will see several old friends, and more new faces in the finale to this tale. I hope you all like it, and I'll see you in the omake for one last (kind-of) announcement. Read, Review, and Enjoy!


To The Future

Clang!

The shattering sound of steel on steel rang throughout the stadium in many places, but none so fiercely as the northwestern end. Magical projectiles and arrows soared across the battlefield, but the pair of young warriors locked in combat ignored them in order to focus on each other.

One was brown-haired, wielding a hand-and-a-half straight sword as his choice weapon for this encounter. He wore a big grin on his face, despite his exhaustion, his brown eyes twinkling with delight as he struck and counterstruck, seeking an opening in his opponent's impeccable reflexes. His clothing was that of West Ferox make, though he left one sleeve shorter than the other in bizarre fashion that displayed a horseshoe-like mark with a teardrop in its middle.

His opponent was grim about the mouth, with long raven hair that partially obscured deep brown eyes which never stopped moving as he too sought a flaw in the first lad's patterns of attack and defense. He was dressed all in black, like his one-handed sword that he carried in his right hand. His left hand he kept back, away from the furious exchange of blows, darkness shrouding the fist as he kept his magic ready for use.

"Hark, the battle nears its end!" the first swordsman panted. "A valiant effort you have put forth, good swordsman, but it is not enough! I, Od- ack!" He gasped out as the air was driven from his lungs with explosive force, courtesy of the black-garbed swordsman reversing his strike the instant after their blades met in a classic parry, smashing his abdomen with the hilt of his sword.

The brown-haired boy stumbled back, gasping for air as his hand went up to massage his bruised stomach on reflex. The second boy, seeing his opening, didn't hesitate. Thrusting with his left hand, he cried, "Flux!" It was a simple dark magic spell, but it would be enough to get the job done. After all, he didn't want to get carried away and permanently damage his opponent.

He needn't have worried, in any case. The shadowy blast hit the other boy dead-on, knocking him the ground and rendering him unconscious.

As soon as he was able to confirm that the other boy was still breathing amid the noise of the cheering crowd, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned away, seeking out a new opponent. I should see if Kiara and the others need a hand, he thought, swinging his sword back and forth a few times to keep his wrist loose. His father had often taught him that a fluid wrist could make the difference in a fight- a difference between life and death, he had more often than not reminded his son.

He put the other lessons back in his subconscious where they belonged before his mind started to wander. He was in the midst of a battlefield, and competition or not, he couldn't afford distractions.

"Mako!" he heard a familiar voice call from his left. He turned sharply to see Kiara and Celica taking stock of the situation, with the first girl pointing at another duel taking place not a hundred feet from where they were. Even as he started heading toward them, Celica, a blue-haired knight-in-training, ran off to join the fray, a long spear held in her hand as she jogged in half-armor.

"What's the situation, Tactician?" he grinned crookedly as he came up to stand beside his commanding officer.

"Pretty good now that Odin's out of the way," Kiara admitted. "Celica is going over to help Lilina against Minerva. Ignacio is keeping Elizabeth occupied, but I don't know how long that's going to last. You can go help him, or else there's Teela fighting Yinne. Take your pick, and help whoever you don't."

"Wow, sticking me between a rock and hard place, eh, Tactician?" the black-garbed young man joked. "I either go fight the manakete alongside a Taguel who's scared of his own shadow, or I go listen to Ignacio hit on Cordelia's daughter for maybe the hundredth time. On the other hand, I get to seem get shut down for the thousandth time."

"How can he be shot down a thousand times if he's only asked one hundred?" Kiara asked, her dark blue hair swishing as she cocked her head to one side.

"It's Ignacio," Mako chuckled. "He gets shut down more often than Sir Klein used to if my father's stories are anything to go by. I guess since he was so used to it, he showed his daughter how to really make it hurt."

"Fair enough," Kiara laughed. "Go on, then. I'll help the little bunny rabbit from being eaten by the dragon."

"Hey, upside if he loses," Mako said as they started walking away from one another. "My mother makes a brilliant rabbit stew."

"Mako!"


The battle was won quickly after that, with the East Khan's team claiming victory over the west for the first time in fifteen years. Flavia was beside herself with joy, and threw her competitors a massive feast as a gesture of thanks.

Of course, since the West Khan's team were all good friends and/or related to the East Khan's representatives, they were invited to join the feast, too. The former supreme ruler even came to party, though his expression was a noticeably irritated one for most of the night. It was also noticeable that he kept that glare fixed on his son, Odin, who looked decidedly uncomfortable. The wrath of Khan Lon'qu was legendary throughout Ferox, both east and west, though it was also known to be tempered quite well by his wife, Princess Lissa of Ylisse.

"Hey," Mako said as he approached his friend with a mug of cider in each hand. "That was a good fight, my friend. Had it been swords only, I would have definitely lost after that Aether you pulled off."

"Haha," Odin laughed as he accepted the drink, slamming it against Mako's before taking a deep swig of the sweet beverage. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he replied, "T'would have ended much sooner in your favor, were your wings permitted."

Mako glanced over at the semi-transparent wings on his back, then shrugged noncommittally. "There wasn't any sunlight in the arena," he pointed out. "None of us that have them would have been able to use them for very long."

"Hey, Mako!" a man with a full beard and an ugly bandana called as he waved over the young man. "That was some fight, kid! You're lookin' more like your old man every day!"

"Uncle Klein!" Mako exclaimed with delight. He made an apologetic nod to Odin, who waved the matter aside, and went to embrace the red-armored warrior as soon as he came within reaching distance. "I didn't know you would be here tonight!" he added as soon as the older man released him.

"Neither did I," Klein admitted, running a hand through his red hair, which was beginning to show flecks of gray in the fiery color. "Cordelia an' I were running down some bandits for the last few days when we hit the Ylissean-Ferox border. Fortunately, Raimi was a big help in rounding those thugs up, and we made arrangements for 'em to make it to prison yesterday. Since we were nearby, we figured we might as well come watch the fight."

"Ah," Mako said in understanding. "Where is Lady Cordelia, then?"

Klein pointed across the room to his wife, who was greeting Lissa as an old friend. She was as stunning as always, her beauty only matched throughout the lands by the Lightning Flash, Vice Commandant of the mage division for Ylisse's army. "Looks like they're catchin' up," the self-proclaimed samurai grinned. "Been a while since we'd seen Lissa and Lon'qu. I'd go and catch up with the guy, but he seems like he's taking the loss pretty hard, so I'm gonna give him some room for now."

Mako nearly spat out his drink as he tried to hold in his laughter at the thought of anyone being foolish enough to annoy the West Khan in his current mood.


These days, the Shepherds that had made up the group that fought against Grima were somewhat scattered, some staying in Ylisstol while others returned to their hometowns. However, they never lost touch, and they all made sure to gather at least once a year to catch up and enjoy a week in one another's company in the Outrealm's Beach Resort.

After returning to Ylisse after Grima's defeat, Chrom finally took the title 'Exalt', and Khan Basilio had retired, naming Lon'qu his successor. The people of Plegia, now knowing that Robin had been the son of Validar, offered him the position of its throne, since they were now leaderless, and had heard the tales of his kindness, believing that he would make a far better ruler than his predecessors.

Robin had refused adamantly, saying that he wanted nothing to do with the ruling of a country. He only enacted two official commands during the month that he spent in Plegia as its interim ruler, the first being that the Grimleal cult was to be abolished with extreme prejudice. There was little resistance to this law, as most of the people that remained alive in the country were heartily sick of the power that Grima's worshippers had abused over the years.

The second act he committed was to name his cousin, Henry, the new King over Plegia. Despite being well-versed in dark magic, he was actually not a Grimleal himself, which was partially why he had joined the Shepherds to begin with. Robin was confident in his choice of ruler, knowing that Henry's eccentricities would be tempered by his sweet-natured wife, Olivia. Again, there was little resistance, save from a few advisors who tried to say that Henry was unfit to rule due to his excommunication from Plegia's royal houses. Robin had threatened to let Henry loose on them if they didn't silence themselves and obey his cousin's commands as they were his own, which proved to be an effective threat since apparently his curses were already somewhat infamous in the higher social circles of the country.

Say'ri had returned to her homeland to become the Queen of Chon'sin, where she ruled to this day. Virion was restored to his former barony, and his wife Cherche went with him, though their future son had elected to remain in Ylisse for personal reasons. All three of the former Shepherds visited at least twice a year, and their friends were glad to receive them whenever they did.

Four years following the Fell Dragon's demise, Lon'qu's warriors had wrested power away from Flavia, much to her chagrin, and then again five years after that. After his third win in a row, Flavia declared that if she didn't win the next tournament, she would retire from being the khan to go live in the mountains of Valm, where she would spend her days drinking sakè and throwing rocks at anyone that dared to disturb her retirement.

This year, though, the children of those Shepherds were now deemed old enough to compete, and both khans had been quick to invite the talented warriors to the Tournament of Power. Accepting Lon'qu's invitation were his son, Odin; Minerva, the daughter of Gerome and Cynthia; Elizabeth, named for Liz by her parents Lord Klein and Lady Cordelia, and Teela, the half-manakete child of Nowi and Donnel. There was also Brady and Noire's son, a boy named Altman who specialized in healing like his father, since he seemed to lack any genetic chances to become a warrior, and his best friend Oliver, the son of Ylissean Grandmaster Morgan and Laurent.

Oliver had been the tactician representing the West Khan, and he had put up a good fight with his comrades. However, it was well-known among the newer generation of Shepherds that while he was peerless with a sword, his cousin had him outmatched when it came to tactics.

His cousin being Kiara, the daughter of Lady Sachi and Lord Marth. Smart like her father and gifted with Undine wings like her mother, she was a child prodigy. Under her grandfather's tutelage, she had grown in brilliance and knowledge until she was able to outwit Chrom's general's in war games and hypothetical scenarios. At the age of only twelve, she had been accepted by her Aunt Morgan as her apprentice, to train so that one day, she would become the next Grandmaster of Ylisse.

She had agreed to help Flavia at the request of her great-grandfather, Chrom, who had said that it was time he repaid an old favor to the East Khan. As such, she had assembled a team of her own to best her cousin's group. There was Lilina, the Crown Princess of Ylisse, and her younger sister, Princess Celica. Both were named after great heroes of olden times, since Chrom and Sumia wanted each of their children to have their own identity attached to their individual name. There was also Yinne, Panne and Gaius' half-Taguel son, who had inherited his father's knack for sticking to the shadows and avoiding open combat. However, his mother decided that it was time he test his martial prowess like a true Taguel, and so had given him little choice about accepting Kiara's invitation. The fifth member of their little troupe was the Crown Prince of Plegia, Ignacio- the present timeline's Olivia and Henry's son.

The last member of the group surprised no one, given his father's addiction to battle, a trait that he apparently passed on to his son, somewhat to his mother's exasperation.

His mother and father were none other than Tactician Advisor Kirito, and Lightning Flash Vice Commandant Asuna. Both of them had been instrumental in saving the timeline, and so had become legends of renown during their years in Ylisse. His elder sister, Yui, had also known a certain degree of celebrity, earning the moniker 'Angel Shepherd', due to her skill in the healing arts, and her ability to cast powerful light magic.

The boy himself was named Mako, the first and only son born of his parents. Skilled with a blade, magic, and the Spriggan wings on his back, he was practically born to be a warrior, a road he eagerly walked. He reveled in using his skills alongside his legendary family to protect those that could not protect themselves, feeling a fierce satisfaction whenever he saw a broken family reunited, or a village saved from a bandit raid. He did not seek to spread carnage wherever he went, but to prevent mindless killing from spreading any more than it already had.

The stories of the horrors his family had faced, and even worse, the hell that his future self had endured, kept him motivated to see a world where there was no longer conflict. He knew it was a pipe dream, but he decided that if his future self had accomplished the impossible, and provided a way to kill Grima forever when even Naga said it could not be done, he would not stop fighting to make his dream a reality, either.


"Here's to my champions!" Flavia announced loudly from atop her grand hall's table, holding up a mug full of Feroxi fire brandy. According to what Mako had heard, the stuff would take the rust off of your armor, yet the newly restored Supreme Khan was drinking it like it was coffee. He noticed that several of the adults attending were unsteady on their feet as they echoed the toast, having drank the same beverage, though not nearly as much as their leader.

"Now who said you could start without us?!" a deep, booming voice rang out as the doors were kicked open. The speaker strode into the room, the only hair on his head or face being the gray beard he was sporting. "It's not a party until I say it is, sprogs!"

"Who invited you, oaf?!" Flavia demanded, though her words were hardly threatening when she was laughing at the sight of her old rival barging into her victory celebration.

"I did, soon as I heard Lon'qu lost my favorite chair!" the old- yet still very muscular- man grinned back. Spotting his old protégé, who was hiding his face in his palm, he added, "For a loss like that, I'll need some of the good stuff! C'mon, boy, let's drink to your loss!" And he made his way over to the grumpy swordsman, ignoring the man's protests as he dragged him toward the caskets of ale that had yet to be opened.

"Hey!" another voice called from the door as a small group entered the grand hall. "You were supposed to announce us!"

"I ain't a pageboy!" Basilio called back. "That's what you brought scrawny-butt for!"

"Hey!" a voice that Mako recognized as Lord Ricken, shouted in protested. "I'm a member of the royal houses of Ylisse, I deserve-!"

"To kiss my big brown Feroxi arse!" Basilio roared with laughter.

Ricken let his head hang, groaning to himself as Mako made his way over to the group, excited to see who had come along to celebrate the winner of the khan's tournament- it didn't really matter to them who won, they were good friends with both of the rulers. He knew that most of them wouldn't have been able to make it, but he hoped to see a few familial faces among the familiar ones.

He was not disappointed. "Aunt Leafa!" he exclaimed as he rushed to hug his father's sister. She laughed as she returned the embrace, excited to see her nephew once again. These days, Ricken's talents as a mage took him all over the nation as a respected teacher of the battle magic arts, which meant that he and his wife, Suguha, were often away from Ylisstol.

"I heard you won, congrats!" she said as she held him at arm's length. "Your mom and dad said they were sorry that they couldn't make it, but they'll be happy to celebrate once you get back to the capital."

"Ah, I figured they'd be busy," he said with a rueful grin. "It's all right. I know their work is more important than a party."

"Good thing I had enough vacation days saved up," said another, effeminate voice. Mako's face split in another grin as he embraced his sister, who moved from behind their aunt to receive the hug. Around them, about another dozen or so guests moved into the hall, calling out greetings and cheerful insults to friends they had not seen in some time.

"You did really well if you beat Odin like I heard you did," Yui added with a soft laugh. "I'm really proud of you, Mako." Even though she was nearly ten years his senior in terms of appearance, they had always remained close siblings during his upbringing.

Yui worked as the Royal Healer, seeing to Chrom's family's health whenever something came up, be it an injury or one of the princesses catching a cold. This kept her in the capital most of the time, though she was known to accompany the Exalt and Queen on an international summit from time to time (it helped to keep treachery at bay when your most powerful healer was also one of your strongest battle mages, Chrom had reasoned).

"Coming from you, that means a lot," he grinned lightly. "I just wish you could have seen it happen."

"Mmm, I've had enough of battles for one lifetime, thank you," Yui replied with another soft smile, but Mako could see the pain of many battles in her dark gray eyes.

Before he could make an apology, another guest made their way over to greet him. "Mako, I nearly mistook you for your father in that outfit!" It was Morgan, coming over with a large grin on her face as she reached out to shake hands with the young warrior. Beside her was a tall hooded figure. "Congratulations on your win, by the way!"

"I'm surprised to see you so happy about the fact," he admitted as he shook hands with her. "I did help defeat your son, after all."

"Yes, well, it'll be a good learning experience for him," Morgan shrugged. "You can't win 'em all, can you, Dad?"

"I prefer to learn from other people's mistakes," Robin said as he threw back his hood with a large grin. "But yes, it is true that at some point or another, every tactician will fail in one way or another. What's important is how you treat the loss. Will it be a life lesson or a reason for embitterment?"

"Lord Robin!" Mako said with a short bow to the older man. "How does the evening find you?"

"You can drop the whole 'lord' thing," the former Grandmaster chuckled. "I'm retired, and I always hated titles, as I'm sure your father has told you."

"Sorry," Mako grinned ruefully. Glancing around for a moment, he asked, "Where are Lady Lucina and Sir Laurent? I would have thought they would be joining us if you are here?"

"The twins were feeling ill, so she elected not to join us," Morgan explained. "It's nothing serious, just some stomach bug or other, according to Yui. They should be right as rain when we return, especially with Sir Brady taking care of them." Much like their future counterparts, Robin and Lucina had twin children, a boy named Alm, and a daughter named Alicia. Unlike their future selves, though, they had their father's snowy blond hair instead of their mother's azure locks.

"And unfortunately, my son-in-law is busy with his research at the joint Ylisse-Plegia scholar's summit," Robin shrugged. "I decided to come along to make sure nobody touches my wonderful daughter in his stead."

"Dad, I'm hardly a little girl," Morgan said as she gave him a playful shove. "I can handle myself."

"Let a father worry," he said as he shoved her back, sending her backwards a pace or so. "And if you can look after yourself, how come you couldn't hold your own against that?"

"Oh dear," Yui sighed with a grin as she looked sidelong at her brother before adding, "I suggest we get away before they get into technical terms and argue until they settle it with a chess match."

Grinning, Mako followed his sister back to the table, where Kiara and Oliver were going over notes, each in their own journal, pausing every few seconds to compare and exchange some muttered words. "Dear gods, it's everywhere!" Mako joked as they approached.

"Hrm? Oh, hello Mako!" Oliver smiled as he shut his book and tucked it into a satchel. "Good fight, mate. You certainly threw me for a loop, taking out my best swordsman like that. Lady Yui." He stood up and bowed to the older girl, who returned a head nod.

"You mean second best," Mako pointed out good-naturedly. "Everyone knows you're the best swordsman out of us kids."

"Best swordsman?" Oliver shrugged modestly, even though he was known to defeat Lilina and Odin regularly in a sparring matches. "Maybe. Best warrior? Not even close."

"I think Chrom and you would have had a match for the ages back when I first joined the Shepherds," Yui said while favoring him with a smile. "Keep it up, and you'll be Lon'qu's equal before long."

"Thanks," the boy said, blushing a little at her praise.

"Why is he getting all the compliments?" Kiara asked with a raised eyebrow as she stuffed her own notebook into the pocket of her coat that looked much like her grandfather's, save for the color scheme of blue and silver. "My team beat his."

"He needs to feel better," Yui shrugged. "As you said, you won, so why do we need to compliment you?"

"Also, you made me team up with Ignacio," Mako pointed out. "No praises will be sung from this mouth."

"I gave you an option to go fight with Yinne!" she protested.

"Yeah, like I was going to let you go fight alongside that guy," the boy said as he indicated the Prince of Plegia, who was currently trying to cozy up to Elizabeth, the hot-tempered daughter of Klein and Cordelia. Even as they watched, his arm was grabbed, wrenched painfully, then used to body slam him into the floor. The entire section of the table erupted into laughter, with Klein being the loudest of them.

Looking back at the others, he added, "He would have been too busy trying to figure out which one of you to hit on to do any actual fighting."

"Okay, fair point," Kiara grumbled. "Note to self- never pair Ignacio with female soldiers…" Her comment brought a fresh round of laughter to the table.


It was nearly the morning when Lord Marth found Mako up on the roof, humming quietly to himself. The party was still going on, though just barely. Most of the competitors were unused to drinking, and those that were did not have the resistance to the stuff that they used to, save for Flavia and Basilio. Their voices could be heard even now, singing Feroxi victory songs that echoed through the halls of the fortress.

"My daughter was looking for you," he said as he leaped up onto the stone structure's top. "She quite missed your company when she noticed your absence."

"Sorry about that," Mako said with a wry grin. "Just…" His voice trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

"Dueling with unpleasant thoughts?" Marth guessed as he sat next to the young Spriggan.

"How did you-?"

"My father and grandfather made that joke quite often, though it was often true whenever one of them brought it up," Marth chuckled. "Tell me, then. What troubles you?"

"You knew my future self, right?" Mako blurted out. Marth, taken aback by the unexpected question, gave a small start of surprise. "What was he like?"

"Well…" Marth said, choosing his words carefully, unsure of how to proceed. "What have your parents told you?"

"That he was fearless in battle," Mako answered honestly. "That he was an unparalleled warrior who never hesitated to stare death in the face, time and time again. …That he died a hero."

"All of those things are true," Marth nodded. "So why are you troubled by thoughts of him?"

"I don't know," the boy said with a frustrated sigh. "I've seen the banner with him on it in the palace, and the way he looks… I don't know, how someone so heroic could look so…"

"Evil?" Marth asked quietly.

"…Yeah," Mako nodded. "I don't understand. If he died a hero, why remember him in such a dark image? I mean, Dad always dresses in black, but I don't think of him as a bad guy or anything like that. My future self seems so different from him, but everyone always says that he did what he could to secure our future."

"Again, all of this is true," Marth told him. "However, just because it is true, it does not mean that you have the whole story."

"Then fill in the gaps for me, please," Mako requested as he turned to look at the Hero-King's descendant. "Whenever I try to ask my family about him, they all just seem to be sad about it, and don't tell me anything that others haven't told me."

"Well…" Marth hesitated, then forged ahead. Mako deserved to know the truth about his future self. The other children knew their future counterparts, or at least knew stories about them and their deeds. Mako deserved no less.

"Understand that your counterpart and I were never on what you might call friendly terms," Marth began. "As a matter of fact, he was disliked- if not hated- by most of the Shepherds, myself included."

"But if he was a hero-"

"He died a hero," Marth told him soberly. "He didn't live as one. At least… not for most of the time we knew him. According to Lady Noire, he had always been an intense person in their ruined future, but the death of his sister brought out the worst in him. He became violent and distrusting, and malice ruled his heart. The only morale compass he retained was due to his desire to get revenge on Grima for the death of his sister. To that end, he savagely attacked your father when they first met, simply to demonstrate the fact that we were woefully unprepared to face the Fell Dragon. He dealt him a wound which could have been fatal, if not for the intervention of your mother and sister."

"He attacked his own father?" Mako asked incredulously. "My father?"

"Yes," Marth nodded somberly. "For better or for worse, he was persuaded to join our ranks by Yui, after which I can say he became a most valuable asset."

"An asset?" Mako inquired, an identifiable note in his voice. "Not an ally?"

"He made it a point not to grow overly attached to anyone, save for his sister," Marth shrugged. "Mataras never did allow himself a close relationship with your parents, though eventually your father and he learned to work together in battle. He later on showed a soft spot for Lady Noire, and he seemed to regard my mother as a friend."

"So he wasn't all bad?" Mako asked hopefully.

"I think Yui had a very positive influence on him," the lord answered carefully. "From what I could see, he allowed his darker passions to rule him more often than not, unlike our comrades that live by a code of honor. He was merely concerned with survival, no matter what it cost him.

"In battle, he was merciless, never giving an opponent a chance to surrender. If he was to do battle, it was always to the death. Oftentimes it was a gruesome sight." He paused as he noticed Mako looking a little more pale than normal. "I can stop if you need," he offered but the boy shook his head in the negative.

"I'll be alright," he said. "I think… But what I don't get is why everyone now thinks of him as a hero. What did he do to make up for everything that he did to hurt- and help, I suppose- your cause?"

"Have you not heard the exact tale of his death?" Marth asked, though he already suspected that he knew the answer to that.

"All I know is that he died protecting everyone else," Mako said with a negative shake of his head. "Beyond that, no one will tell me anything. Even the historical records merely depict his death as a selfless act of bravery. But I don't see how someone that twisted could sacrifice himself for others."

"In a way, he did act selflessly," Marth admitted. "My grandfather wanted to use the Exalted Falchion to return Grima to his millennia-long slumber, but Mataras objected to this plan, as did many of the other future children. However, as far as they knew, the only way for Grima to die was for him to use his own Fell magic to take his life, which he would never do."

"But wasn't Sir Robin-"

"Aye, my father was Grima's Fellblood Avatar," Marth nodded. "He planned to destroy Grima before Chrom could, and end the threat of the Fell Dragon forever. But you see, Mataras had another plan, one that he kept a secret from everyone but me."

"You?" Mako asked, curious. "Why you? I thought you said that you never got along with him."

"We didn't get along," Marth confirmed. "But more importantly, we could agree that Grima needed to die without my father needing to sacrifice himself. So we committed a taboo that I think my grandfather is still a bit angry about."

"A taboo?"

"Mataras had engaged the Fellblood Avatar from the future in battle, protecting Yui from a blast of Fell magic that would have surely killed her," Marth explained. "He had developed a technique to absorb a caster's dark magic and send it back at them with his own energies augmenting the spell to make it even more dangerous. But this time, he didn't use the dark energies he had absorbed. He kept locked within himself, and at first I didn't think too much of it."

"He was saving it for something?" Mako guessed, and Marth nodded an affirmative. "He originally planned to blast Grima's Avatar with it in order to kill him, but then we heard about the Awakening ritual that Naga used to unlock Falchion's true might. We also knew that whatever Naga created, the Fell Dragon would try to duplicate and then corrupt. So Mataras got the idea to beat him to the punch. Thus did we commit our taboo."

"You made a dark Falchion," Mako breathed. "No wonder the Exalt was so angry with you two."

"Aye, he was livid when he found out, and Mother was none too pleased, either," Marth chuckled. "He used the energies he had contained within himself to corrupt the nature of the divine blade, creating the Fell Falchion. When the time came, I gave it to him to wield against the dark Avatar. Victory seemed so close- he would strike down the monster that had killed and hurt so many."

"What happened?" Mako asked, his eyes wide now.

"Grima, though ignorant of the sword's true purpose, recognized Mataras as a threat to himself, and killed your counterpart before he could get close enough to strike," Marth sighed heavily. "He was so close, too. So close to not only ending the nightmare, but avenging everyone that had died at the beast's claws before him.

"He knew, going in, that he might not survive. But that didn't matter to him. He wanted to have his one last revenge so that everyone he had once loved could live in this timeline. In fact, some his final words were a request that Yui protect you."

"They were?" the boy asked, perking up a little bit.

"Yes," Marth nodded. "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that he didn't want you to turn out anything like him. Your sister, mother, and Lady Maribelle tried to heal him, but he refused their help, on the account that it was already too late to preserve his life, and that they should save their energy for someone worth saving.

"He wanted you to be able to grow up safe and happy, a chance that he was never given. He grew up in a hell on earth, and I think that's what distorted his character more than anything else. Perhaps his nature was once a good one, like yours', but was drowned in so much death and destruction that it was all but lost until the very end."

"So… he did die trying to save everyone around him," Mako said slowly. "But he lived drowning in resentment and bitterness." Looking over at Marth, he asked, "Then… Which was his true nature?"

"Why does it matter so much?" Marth asked the young warrior.

"Because I don't want to become him, if that's what he was really like!" Mako cried. "I don't want to become a monster that only lives in people's mutterings because they're too ashamed of him to admit that they knew him!"

Marth's eyes widened slightly, but he kept his voice calm as he answered, "I don't rightly know the answer to that, Mako. I could not see his heart, because he kept it hidden from everyone, even Yui. In the end, I don't know that any of us really knew him."

"Then… I could still end up becoming him?" Mako grimaced. "The Black Spirit…"

"You could," Marth nodded. "But I doubt that very much. At your age, Mataras was already a hardened, calculating machine of war. You're a kind-hearted young man who looks out for his friends and those in need. You have a father and mother who love you and have done their very best to raise you. And perhaps most importantly, you trust your fellow Shepherds. Mataras had none of these things. So I honestly doubt that you will become him, unless you wanted to be like him."

"No," Mako said with a shake of his head. "I don't want to be anything like him."

Marth smiled a bit at that declaration. "You just might be the only one of the children of this timeline to say so about their future self. However, I do believe that there are some things you could do to take from him."

"Like what, an inane bloodlust?" Mako asked sarcastically.

"Now that sounds like Mataras," Marth grinned, causing his companion to wince slightly. "I jest. In all honesty, though, you would do well to try and emulate his tenacity and commitment to a cause. Both traits are things I see in you, but you would do well to try and cultivate them. They served him well in battle."

"I see…" Mako mused. "Thank you for your honesty, Lord Marth. You have… given me much to think about."

"Shall I leave you alone with your thoughts, then?" Marth offered. "Or should I alert my daughter to your whereabouts?"

"I think some solitude would be better, at least for a little while," Mako said absently.

"Good answer," Marth smirked as he stepped up to the edge of the rooftop. "If you had told me that you wanted my daughter's company up here alone, I might have decided to castrate you here and now." With that he leaped back down to the battlements.

"You- wait, what?!" Mako shouted after him. Marth just laughed as he walked away, patting the sheath of his sword as he did.


The next day, the gathered Shepherds were on the road back to Ylisstol- with the exception of Lon'qu's family, who needed to remain in Regana Ferox for at least a few more days to oversee the official transference of power- talking among themselves in groups of two or three. One of the groups of three consisted of Mako, Lilina, and Kiara, who found themselves talking about their future careers as defenders of the realm.

"I can't see myself as being very effective sitting in the throne room all day, deciding how much tax to levy out of some poor farmer every season," Lilina was sighing. "I don't know how my father does it, especially after all the excitement he had in his younger years."

"Maybe all those years of adventure and peril made him appreciate a job where he could see his daughters on a more regular basis," Mako shrugged. "I know I enjoy our times of peace."

"It's not that I don't enjoy the peace," Lilina argued. "It's just… I don't know, our parents and our future selves did so much good for the world. It seems only right that we do the same."

"Well, at least I don't have that pressure on me," Kiara grinned. "I don't have a future to compare myself to." Neither of them seemed to notice the downward turn of Mako's mouth as he remembered what he had been told about his own counterpart.

"Maybe, but when Alicia and Alm start their training with your grandfather, they're going to be giving you a run for your money," Lilina grinned back, thinking of the two twelve-year-old children of Robin and Lucina. "I hear they're already good enough at chess to keep Lord Virion on his toes whenever he comes to visit."

"Yeesh, already?" Kiara winced. "I was fourteen when I first managed to beat him. I guess this means more studying for me when we get home."

"We can all do with some more growing," Mako said, pushing aside the thoughts of his dark future self. "Although, if I remember right, we're older than some of the Shepherds were when they set out to save the world. Maybe it's time we start going on our own missions, move out from under the shadows of our parents."

"I've been thinking along those lines myself," Kiara admitted. "It would be a good experience for us if we were to take a mission without the supervision of our parents. Otherwise, how are we to know our true value as Shepherds?"

"Are you certain you're ready for that responsibility?" Lilina cautioned her friend. "I mean, if we actually were to undertake a quest or other on our own, our lives would be solely in your hands, Kiara."

"I know that, which is why I haven't said anything in an official capacity yet," the tactician-in-training replied. "But lately, I can't shake this feeling that… I don't know, we're the future now, right? So we should take the reins on it if we're going to be like our parents and the Future Shepherds."

"Hopefully no apocalyptic dragon-gods pop up this time, though," Mako said with a faint grin. "I like a good adventure much as the next Shepherd, but I'd rather avoid world-ending scenarios if I can."

"Agreed," Lilina nodded. "I say we put a hold on this conversation until we reach Ylisstol and have a chance to talk to my father and aunt about it in private." The others nodded their agreement, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Even though they were all of age, it was a nerve-wracking thought, to be striking out on their own, without the guidance of their experienced elders to help them correct any mistakes they might make.

In an attempt to change the subject, she turned to her black-garbed companion with a smile and asked, "Say, Mako? Do you have any plans when we get back to Ylisstol?" She ignored the warning glare that Kiara sent her in favor of watching Mako's eyes look upwards as he thought about his answer.

"I think I have a few days off from training with my father and Sir Frederick," he answered. "I was planning on flying to Southtown in order to pay Brian a visit." He was speaking of the current Maribelle and Kellam's son, who was training to be a cleric under the watchful eye of his mother. While he had inherited his counterpart's habit of speaking bluntly, he was hardly as coarse as Brady.

"Why do you ask?" he inquired of the princess.

"I was hoping you might like to dine with me tomorrow evening," she replied with a smile. "There is a lovely restaurant not far from the castle that my mother and I quite enjoy." She brushed a lock of her azure hair behind her hair as she did so, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"That sounds like fun," Mako nodded with an innocent grin. "Who else should we invite along?"

"Oh, er…" She fumbled, blushing harder as she realized that he had misinterpreted her invitation. "I was… rather hoping that it would just be the two of us."

"But wouldn't that-" Mako stopped right where he was on the road, eyes wide as dinner plates. "Oh." His mind flashed back to Marth's threats about what he would do if he found him alone with Kiara. He began to sweat lightly at the thought of what the Exalt would do to him if he went on a date with his precious daughter.

"I do hope I'm not being to forward, but-"

"Hey look!" the boy suddenly shouted, pointing into the sky at a distant bird. "Is that red-tailed hawk?! I've never seen one before! Be back in a bit, I'm going to check it out!" With a loud bang! he shot into the sky like an arrow from one of Virion's bows.

Lilina blinked after him, a little embarrassed and upset that she seemed to have scared him off. "I suppose I pushed it too soon…" she said half-heartedly.

Kiara couldn't help but snigger at the princess' disappointed face. "That my friend, is what we call karma," she giggled. "I totally called dibs on him before you did. That's just what you get for trying to get in on what I wanted first."

"Can you blame me?" Lilina said indignantly. "He's a sweet, caring young man, a wizard with a sword, and easy on the eyes. What girl wouldn't want someone like him?"

"Not you, until I mentioned it," Kiara muttered. "You were still hung up on Yinne at that point, even though I told you that he and Minerva were involved."

"So I'm not allowed to move on?" Lilina demanded.

"Not when I called dibs," Kiara sniffed.

The two girls were raised to regard one another as cousins, and for the most part, they got along famously. After all, Lilina would be Exalt one day, and Kiara her Grandmaster Tactician. It only made sense for them to be consistently involved in each other's lives. However, as of about six months ago, their relationship had become somewhat strained by the fact that they had both grown fond of a certain Spriggan boy. They tried to ignore the situation as much as possible, but there were inevitable moments of friction, like the one that was occurring now.

"If you really felt anything for him, you should have said something to him!" Lilina was saying now.

"How I handle my relationships is not your business!" Kiara replied hotly.

"I have never-!"

"Enough, both of you!" The two girls were startled to see that Yui had come up behind them, wearing a deep frown on her normally cheerful expression. "This argument is petty and childish. I expected a lot better from you two."

"Y-You heard all that?" Kiara asked, reddening rapidly.

"We all heard the shouting," Ignacio grinned cheekily. "By the way, whoever doesn't get the Spriggan can always come to me for some comfort…" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, until Elizabeth smacked him upside the head.

"I heard enough," Yui said as she brought the girls' attention back to her. "I shouldn't have to explain that my brother can make up his own mind about who he wants to be with. But more importantly, there is something you two haven't considered yet."

"That being…?" Lilina asked, embarrassed at the fact that she, the crown princess of the realm, needed to be reprimanded by a healer.

"I'm his sister," Yui told them with a smile that sent chills down their spines. "I've been a part of his life longer than either of you. If I want, I could make sure that neither of you has a chance with my kid brother. If I ever see or hear about you two fighting over him like he's a prize horse again, I will do exactly that. Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Kiara nodded vigorously. She had never seen the kind-hearted mage this angry before, and it frightened her almost as much as her own mother's disapproval.

"Why do you-?" Lilina was silenced by Yui's glare fixing solely on her while intensifying in its severity. There was something very dangerous in those eyes, she decided, and commoner or not, Yui Kirigaya was not a mage to be trifled with. "Yes ma'am…" she said begrudgingly.

"Good," the older woman said, apparently satisfied that the point had been driven home. "Now if you two will excuse me, I have to go make sure that Mako knows he's allowed to come back down." With that, she took off on shining white wings to follow after her brother.


Mako noticed her approach, and ceased chasing what was, in fact, a red-tailed hawk. "Is it safe to go back down yet?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes, I've talked to the both of them," the raven-haired woman nodded. "They should play nice from now on."

"Both of them?" Mako repeated with a questioning inflection. "Who else-? Wait… Kiara?! Her too?!"

"I'd keep an eye out for Kerry when we get back to Ylisstol, too," Yui said, remembering how she had caught Sully and Stahl's daughter mooning after the boy a few weeks ago.

"No!" Mako shouted desperately. "What is this?! How did I not notice these things?! Why did I not notice this?!"

"You're your father's son," Yui said with a soft laugh. "Try not to worry overmuch about it, Mako. You're free to make your own decisions about who you fall in love with, whether that's one of the Shepherds, or a nice girl from the village. Just because a couple of girls are smitten doesn't mean you have to do anything about it."

"I don't?" the boy asked hopefully. "I mean… I hardly know Kerry. But Lilina and Kiara… I've known them forever, they're two of my best friends. I feel like I should say something to them."

"Like what?" his sister asked patiently, already knowing the answer.

"I… don't know," Mako admitted. "It just doesn't seem fair to either of them, you know? But on the other hand, I've never given much thought to a relationship before. I've put everything I have into becoming a great Shepherd like you, and Mom and Dad."

"Nothing wrong with that," Yui assured him. "Like I said, no one can force you to be with someone you don't want to be with. Even if you choose to remain celibate, you're allowed. Don't ever let anyone else's feelings or words convince you otherwise."

"Okay… Yeah, you're right," he said with an embarrassed grin. "I kind of made a scene there, didn't I?"

"No one was paying attention to that," the young woman laughed. "They were too busy watching the crown princess and the future grandmaster having it out over a boy. I think Oliver even made a wager with Altman over which one of them would get you."

"Ah," Mako said, his face doing an excellent job of coloring itself like a tomato. "You sure it's safe to go back down there?"

"The girls and I had words," Yui told him with a strange smile. "But it is a beautiful day for a flight. I'd be happy to keep you company if you want to stay up here for a bit."

"Thanks," Mako breathed, relieved. Then he cocked his head at his sister as a part of their conversation came back to him. "What did you mean when you said that I was our father's son?" Yui's only response was to laugh.


Both girls apologized to him for their behavior that evening over dinner, which he accepted with as little awkwardness as he could manage. The atmosphere was still a little tense around the campfire, but the three friends mostly covered it by talking to the others in the group.

"Ah, camping," Robin grinned as he patted his stomach, which was satisfyingly tight around the middle. "This takes me back to my first days with Chrom and Lissa."

"Wasn't Sir Frederick with you?" Oliver pointed out.

"Shh…" Robin grinned at his grandson as he placed a finger over his own lips. "We don't like to talk about him."

"I'm right here," the knight said indignantly. He had been one of the older Shepherds sent to see which khan won the tournament, much to his chagrin. He preferred to be where he could guard Chrom, but the Exalt had ordered him to go as an official escort for the Grandmaster. Since Morgan was technically a royal, the stubborn knight had relented and agreed to the assignment.

"Sometimes, I think I can hear him, just before I go to sleep at night…" Robin added, ignoring the man as if he wasn't there. "Reminding me that I skipped his physical fitness hour yet again… Then I give him the finger because I'm retired and I don't have to stay in shape if I don't want to." He tried, unsuccessfully, to smother his laughter as Frederick muttered something very un-gentleman-like just loud enough for the former tactician to hear.

"I hear your kids keep you fit, though," Klein smirked at his old commander. "Alm's becoming every bit the swordsman Marth is, right?"

"Yep, and Alicia is getting more advanced with her magic every time I blink," Robin said proudly. "The future of Ylisse will be safe in the hands of my kids and grandkids." He favored Marth and Morgan with another bright smile, which they returned from where they sat together. Even though they were both married with separate lives now, they tended to stick together at social gatherings.

"Don't forget the rest of us," Lilina smirked at the blond man. "Some of us are only the children of the soldiers you commanded in the fight against a demon, after all."

"Hey, let a father preen a little," Robin sniffed.

"A little?" Cordelia snorted. "You hardly ever talk about anything other than your children. Sometimes we can get you to open up about whatever new subject you're studying in the royal library, but that's on a good day."

"So you're saying I'm that dad?" Robin asked, feigning hurt.

"Yes," several people around the fire said in unison.

"Good," he grinned. "Because my kids are amazing and I am not ashamed to talk about it."

"I wish my father would talk about me in such glowing terms," Celica sighed.

"Pfft," Klein laughed. "Kid, if you could go back in time- and not to fight Grima, please- and see your old man when you and Lilina were little, you would not be able to get him to shut up about you two. I'm pretty sure he kept us waiting on official meetings for an hour on a regular basis because he was too busy being with his daughters."

"That is, until Sumia gave him one of her patented 'slaps', and told him to do his job before the country's farms went barren," Robin sniggered.

"Didn't she do the same to you shortly after our brother and sister were born?" Morgan pointed out cheekily.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Robin muttered, pulling his hood up so that his face was obscured in shadow.

"Seriously, what is so bad about getting a slap from her majesty?" Mako asked. He'd heard that her slaps were something to be feared, but he didn't understand why. He had met the queen many times, and she didn't seem to be all that strong. Surely a slap from her couldn't be all that bad, right?

"I'll give you a demonstration if you want," Celica said with an evil grin.

"Down, girl," Morgan told her, though she couldn't hide another grin. "You'd wind up getting some of the same from a few people around the camp if you did that." Mako stiffened as his sister let out a quiet laugh, while Kiara and Lilina suddenly became very interested in their empty plates.


"You want to go out on a mission on your own?" Chrom asked thoughtfully as he drummed his fingers on his desk. "You all handled the situation with the tournament with aplomb, and that was without direct senior supervision. What brought this on?"

He was sitting in his office behind an oak desk engraved with the mark of the Exalt on the front of it. Before him stood Kiara, Oliver, Lilina, and Mako. These four, he knew, would be the next generation of leaders that would determine what kind of militia the Shepherds would one day become. He couldn't have been prouder of his daughter and grandchildren, and Kirito's son had acquitted himself well in his combat studies. He knew that the future was safe in their hands, yet now here they were asking for permission to strike out on their own. It made him feel a little old, the thought of handing over the reins to his progeny.

It wasn't that he didn't trust them, or didn't want to let them try their hands hand at being the nation's new guardians. Their sudden request simply made it feel more… real.

"As you said, we did well in the Khan's tournament," Oliver began.

"Some of us more than others," Kiara added a trifle smugly, to which her cousin shot her an annoyed look.

Before they could begin to squabble, Lilina said, "The four of us discussed this at length on our trip home. We believe that, given our recent success- though it was all but a given since we were only competing against friends and family- we should test our mettle in a real crisis. We also factored in that we are about the same age that several of the Shepherds of your generation were when you had the second war with Plegia, and fighting bandits is hardly the same thing as fighting in a war."

"It's more similar than you might think," Kirito said as he shifted from next to Chrom behind the desk. "In both situations, as a commanding officer especially, you'd be putting the lives of your comrades at stake with every decision you make. If you're not absolutely certain that you're ready for that responsibility, then you'll only do yourselves and your soldiers a disservice."

"We've been in battles where people have died, Father," Mako said solemnly. "We know what is at stake. Besides, were you always so sure of yourself when you made out to conquer Aincrad? Or when you went to war with Valm?"

"I was forced into both of those situations," Kirito replied calmly. "Well, maybe not with Valm, but I couldn't just stand by and let these people go into battle when I knew I could help them."

"Then you must know how we feel now," Kiara responded. "We are ready to serve our nation. We may not be perfect for the job, but we can get it done. If we can function as our own unit, it would greatly increase the active number of Shepherds that can handle the situations that our skills call for."

"You wouldn't have to worry about sparing senior members for supervising us in the field," Oliver offered.

"But I would have worried parents breathing down our necks," Chrom responded.

"Not me," Robin said cheerfully, the only member of the elder Shepherds that had remained silent for the whole exchange. Everyone looked at him now, leaning back in a comfy chair, tossing an apple above his head, catching it, then tossing it again. Morgan had called it his 'thinking pose' when she was younger.

"Sorry, what?" Kirito asked with a slight frown as he cocked his head at his old friend.

"I won't be worried," the blond man said, catching the fruit from his latest toss and setting to rest on his lap as he looked the Black Swordsman in the eye. "And neither should you. Admit it Kirito, if these kids were in our position twenty years ago, they're twice as ready as we were to face everything we did. It's how we've raised them."

"Look, I'm not doubting their skills," Kirito said defensively. "But you can't honestly tell me that you won't even be a little worried?"

"Of course there's a natural instinct to worry for our kids," Robin said patiently. "But look at 'em. They're not kids anymore. Your son is the very same age you were when you came to Ylisse, and I certainly didn't view you as a child."

"I know," Kirito sighed heavily.

Chrom snorted with laughter, causing his friends to look at him with questions in their eyes. When he had recovered, the Exalt said, "I always thought that once I became an adult, I would be all done growing up. No one ever told me that I'd have to grow up again when it was time to let my children out into the world."

"Does that mean we get our assignment?" Lilina asked eagerly.

"Yeah, Chrom, does it?" Robin smirked.

"Hold your horses," Chrom chided his daughter. "It's not like you're going to get sent into the Outrealms on your first mission. Back before Grima began his ascendancy, the Shepherds patrolled the borders of the kingdom, hunted down bandits and the like."

"I've been doing some research into a possible slaver's gang operating off the south-west coast," Kiara volunteered. "We were planning on bringing it to you after the tournament, but now seems as good a time as any."

"Doing your homework in advance?" Robin beamed at his grandchild. "That's my girl." Kiara giggled and smiled back at him, glad to earn such a compliment from him. Doting though he might be on his family, the former Grandmaster only handed out praise when it was due them.

"How much of it has she done, though?" Kirito prompted, and not unkindly. This was only expected of him, since he worked for Morgan in overseeing the less-than-orthodox parts of the military, a category under which the Shepherds fell (and mostly made up).

"We know that children- especially younger girls- are disappearing seemingly at random from the islands and coastline villages," Kiara responded instantly.

"The local have a lot of superstitions about sea monsters and spirits, so a lot of them have chalked it up to not enough prayers to Naga to earn her protection," Oliver added. "Some of them even think that the parents have done something to deserve their child being taken."

"Why hasn't anyone sent a request for our aid if this is happening so much?" Chrom asked, speaking before Kirito had a chance to question them further. "I've seen maps of the area, and been there once or twice- it's where Donnel came from, after all."

"If you look at the layout on a country-sized map, sure" Mako volunteered. "And you may be used to moving fast, your excellency, but the folk down there would hardly go whizzing around on a pegasus from town to town every day, or even on horseback. They leave their hometowns maybe once every four months or so. There's hardly any contact between these settlements."

"Not to mention a missing child is hardly the sort of subject people would want to bring up in casual conversation when meeting with other villages for a festival or some other gathering," Lilina said, throwing in her two cents. "Especially if they believe that a dark force is at work. It'll be mentioned in whispers, but nothing more."

"We only noticed because Aunt Morgan saw that there were some recruits missing for each district for basic training," Kiara added.

Nowadays in Ylisse, once a year, a senior Shepherd along with a knight, a mage form the royal academy, and a squadron of soldiers would visit various districts for a six-week period, where fifteen-year-old boys would be taught the basics of armed and unarmed combat in the case of another conflict. Girls were given the option to learn healing, and if they had the skill, rudimentary battle magic.

They would train in this manner once a year, every year, until they turned eighteen, when they had the option to join the military if they so chose. While it wasn't knighthood or a formal magical education, it gave the young men and women the option to choose for themselves what kind of life they wanted. It also negated the need for a mass conscription of underprepared farmers and mason workers in the event of a war.

"You're sure it wasn't a district headman trying to shortchange us on the draft?" Robin asked carefully.

"We're sure," Kiara nodded vigorously.

"It was only three or four people per district, and all of them were supposed to be part of the new group of kids," Oliver explained. "Kiara said that once my mother starting going through the names of the people absent on the census, that's when she noticed that they were all from different areas."

"Why slavers, though?" Chrom asked with a small frown.

"No one's demanded a ransom, and I can't think of any other reasons to kidnap a bunch of kids," Kiara shrugged.

"It is an unfortunately sad truth that there is a lot of money to be made from slavery," Mako said with a wince. "Your excellency and the Shepherds have done very well in stamping out most of the slave trade in our borders, but there's only so much you can do."

"You think you can do better?" Chrom asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You and grandpa said it, not us," Kiara grinned cheekily, earning her another grin from her grandfather.

"You are of Robin's blood, that's for sure," Kirito sighed. "Well, snarky comments aside, it sounds like they're pretty well informed of what's going on, and they have a reasonable hypothesis to go with. I'd let one of our teams check it out if they came to my desk with this."

"Honestly, I'd say the same," Chrom nodded with a long exhale. Looking his daughter in the eye with the Brand, he said, "You do understand that when you go, you are not in charge, right?"

Lilina seemed a little taken aback, but she composed herself before saying, "But when you and Uncle Robin-"

"I was the official leader of the Shepherds, and later on when I passed that title to Robin, I was acting Exalt," Chrom interrupted her. "You are neither, Lilina. I am still the Exalt, which means that in the Shepherds, royalty means nothing for you. It didn't for Lissa, so it won't for you or your sister. Morgan is the Grandmaster, and in her place for this assignment- should you all be allowed to go- Kiara will be the acting tactician. Who she appoints as her lieutenant is up to her, but you will not be receiving any special treatment because of your heritage, which means that if you attempt to undermine her authority or take action as an insubordinate, you can and will be court martialed. Am I clear?"

Lilina's chin firmed up and she stood at attention. "Yes sir," she said a little stiffly. "I understand."

"So long as you do," Chrom said after a moment, apparently satisfied. "The same goes for Celica, and I'll be sure to let her know that before you all leave."

"So… we got the assignment?" Oliver asked hopefully.

"Your cousin gets the assignment," Kirito grinned at the eager young swordsman. He like Oliver, and had given him a few pointers in the art of swordplay over the years. "You all get whatever she tells you to do."

"Great," Mako said, his wings vibrating excitedly. "I can't wait to get started."


"Hey, Lilina?" Kiara said as she approached the princess after dinner in the mess hall of the Shepherd's barracks. "Can we talk for a moment?" She had just finished giving the others a run-down of their assignment and had ordered everyone off to bed, as they would be heading out an hour after dawn.

"Yes, of course," the azure-haired girl nodded heavily. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but her father's stern words in his office had wounded her pride. His blunt telling of the situation that she would be in once they were out on their own had been a stark contrast to what she had imagined. In her mind's eye, she had always imagined herself leading the charge against dark forces, backed by the nation's best and brightest. It was how she'd heard the legends told of her father, how he and Robin fought side-by-side to defy fate itself.

Now she realized that she wasn't like her father, brought up by hardship and tough decisions. Nor was she like Lucina, whose upbringing had been ever more dire than her father's. She was just Lilina.

"I want you to be my lieutenant," Kiara said, snapping her out her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said, not certain that she'd heard the other girl correctly.

"I want you as my right hand when we go into battle," the blue-haired tactician said with a smile. "That's how the last generation of Shepherds started, right? One madcap strategist and a stubborn Exalt-to-be."

"I'd hardly call you a madcap, and I doubt I'm that stubborn," Lilina said with a returned grin.

"Well, we can always improve on the legend, can't we?" Kiara chuckled. "However, I do think that the secret to their partnership lay in the fact that one of them was a born leader that they were all expected to follow, and that leader trusted his comrade to do what he did best, and guide them to victory."

"But…" Lilina hesitated, the added, "We're girls. There are bound to be some men who will challenge us simply because of that fact. There's never been a military unit led solely by women before."

"First time for everything," Kiara smirked. "Besides, that's why we have our own boys- to knock those kinds of clowns on the head."

"You've already thought of everything, haven't you?" Lilina laughed. "All right. I accept your offer. I'll be your lieutenant."

"Thanks," her friend chuckled. "Mind you, there is one problem I haven't figured out yet…"

"Mako?" Lilina guessed with a sigh.

"Yeah…"

"Hmm…" the princess frowned. "We could always have a duel, winner gets the spoils?"

"Pretty sure that Yui would murder us both if we did that, and then nobody wins," Kiara said with a wince.

"Game of cards?" Lilina suggested.

"Sure, but instead of cards, can we do chess?" Kiara grinned.

"You know I would lose that."

"Of course, that's why I suggested it."

"...We should get some sleep."

"Yeah, we'll figure out how we can get ourselves killed in the morning," the tactician sighed.

"That's your job now," Lilina laughed over her shoulder.

"You're the assistant to said job! Half of everything is going to be your fault!"


The next day, bright and early, the next generation of Shepherds stepped out onto the road that led to Southtown, their first stop on the way to the coast.

"I feel like we should say something to mark this occasion," Kiara said quietly as they gazed at the path before them.

"And that's all she wrote?" Mako tried with a massive grin.

"No, but it'll be all he writes," Lilina said with a playful shove.

"Says who?" Mako challenged. "He can always write more!"

"But will he?" Kiara giggled.

"Maybe," Mako shrugged. "I guess we'll have to see if he has the time."

"What are you idiots talking about?" Elizabeth demanded, her red wings buzzing angrily as she glared at the trio. "Aren't we supposed to be moving?"

"Why yes we are, and since you're so eager to get going, you can do reconnaissance for the day," Kiara said cheerfully. "Off you go."

"I feel like the moment is ruined now," Lilina sighed. "Did we ruin it?"

"Nah," their black-winged companion grinned mischievously. "We have our whole future ahead of us. I'm sure we'll have plenty more moments to remember."

Fin.


Robin: You are a particular kind of dastard.

Mataras: I've been called worse.

Kirito: What was the point of that last bit?! To endlessly torment your readers?!

Mataras: Come on, guys. It's me. I have to have some form of a cliffhanger in there.

Lucina: You are cruel.

Morgan: Actually, did you all notice that he seemed pretty... normal? In this chapter, at least.

Mataras: No I'm not. I wasn't even in this chapter.

Kirito: You kind of were... You know...? Mako? Your current self in this timeline?

Mataras: Oh, that. Well... no. He is a very different person from me, so much so that we might as well be two different people entirely. The only similarities between Mako and myself are our origins in this tale. And I have a reason for this.

Asuna: Care to explain?

Mataras: Somewhat of a nature versus nurture deal. We look the same, sound the same, even began with the same name. But the times that this kid and I lived in are completely different, as highlighted by Marth, which wound up making us completely different people. Not to mention, Mako wants to be nothing like me.

Robin: Then how did you decide to make him act, if not like you?

Mataras: Honestly, I just tried to imagine how a kid raised by Asuna and Kirito would turn out. Needless to say, he inherited his father's oblivious skills with the ladies, another vast difference between us.

Lucina: Are you not married?

Mataras: Yeah, but I knew what I was doing... Kind of.

Yui: I suggest we move on.

Mataras: I like that plan, too.

Chrom: Why a next generation story?

Mataras: I was curious to see what the world would look like twenty or so years after the last chapter, and this was the result. Also, I found it interesting to come up with names for all the kids and grandkids- even great-grandkids in your case, Chrom.

Chrom: Don't remind me...

Lucina: I for one am interested to see how these new Shepherds handle being on their own after being looked after by such legendary company.

Robin: Er, dear? This is the last chapter. No more Fire Sword.

Mataras: Not technically true. There is a sequel to this story that takes place during the Fire Emblem Fates period called Fire Sword Fated Incursion, which is a direct sequel to chapter 51 of this tale.

Yui: Also...?

Mataras: You people are really fishing for a sequel from me, aren't you?

Everyone/Readers: YES!

Mataras: No!

Readers: You suck!

Mataras: Oei! I'm doing the audio series, aren't I? A lot of you voted for that! Also...

Marth: Also... what?

Mataras: I, er... might have something on the back-burner.

Readers: ... What?

Mataras: Early days yet. I need to finish at least one of my other stories before I commit to anything back here. I don't want to burn myself out again.

Robin: Fair enough. ...Got a timetable yet?

Mataras: What did I just say?!

Kirito: Yeesh, someone's grouchy.

Mataras: That's just how I am!

Yui: Thank you all for joining us here on the finale for Fire Sword.

Lucina: We hope to see you all return for the sequel, which we will be sure to notify you of on this story- whenever that is.

Mataras: If ever!

Asuna: Now you're just being mean to them.

Mataras: I am the cliffhanger king! It's in my job description!

Robin: Good readings to all of you!

Mataras: And with that Grima-awful pun, I'm out.