Hey guys! Happy Sunday! So, over the week I had only written about four pages. I wrote the other six in about an hour because of how much fun the characters I got to work with in the second half were! Anyways, this chapter refers to a lot of things mentioned in previous chapters. For example, this one starts right off where the last one ended, with Lucina threatening to kill her mother for the greater good. The five assassins that killed Henry's sister (and possibly someone else?) are also mentioned quite heavily throughout this chapter, and will also be quite prominent in the next one. The YLH is Ylisse's Last Hope, the orginization in the future that fought the Grimleal. Inigo's past with Walhart is also brought up, so see if you can remember what happened between them. I think that's it, so let's get into it (I don't know if that's actually a phrase of not. I'm not hip)! Happy reading!
I do not own Fire Emblem
It was taking everything Lucina had to keep her resolve. After seeing that her mother was somehow linked to the recreation of Grima, she knew that her duty was supposed to come before her wants. She tried so hard to keep that mindset, but the fact that her mother was fighting her on the subject want making it any easier.
It was only when Robin mentioned Morgan that the weight of the situation fully hit her. Sacrificing her mother would come hand in hand with sacrificing herself and her brother. She knew the pain of preventing her future self from having a good life would haunt her forever, but the fact that Morgan could never lead a normal life was the thing that sealed the deal for her,"...God dammit! I can't do it!" She threw her knife to the side, slowly being hit by thousands of different negative emotions. She had just tried to kill her own mother! She was a monster! Lucina clenched her fists and tried to stop the downpour of tears from flowing down her cheeks," I'm sorry, Mother. I'm so sorry! P-please forgive me!"
Robin smiled sadly and pulled her daughter into a comforting hug," My poor girl...there's nothing to forgive."
"Are you done, Lucina?" Both girls felt their hearts drop when they heard Chrom's voice from behind them.
"Father! I... I can explain!" Lucina immediately pulled apart from her mother and started scrambling to express herself while Morgan launched forward and hugged his mother tightly. His sister's babble died down when she saw the reunion, and her attempts to defend herself died off," I'm so sorry. I only wanted-"
Chrom placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and used his other hand to wipe away her tears," There is no need to say any more. You're not the only one who can eavesdrop. I heard every word," Robin cringed, hoping that he hadn't heard the part about her relation to the cult, but deep down she knew that it was only a pipe dream," Lucina, I know your heart is in the right place...But I trust Robin. You cannot shake my faith in her. Robin and I have held fast through good times and ill...," His eyes fell on his girlfriend, and despite the anxiety she had caused him that day, he managed a small smile," We swore to be two halves of a greater whole. You underestimate the strength of those ties, the bonds we share. I believe in them more than some foretold destiny."
"This is easier to say when you haven't seen it yourself..."
The blue haired boy held his ground," Lucina, aren't our ties stronger here now than they were in your future? You said so yourself. In this flow of time we are bound tighter than ever, you and I. Not just as father and daughter...But as friends. We can change things—we already have...and we will again."
Lucina looked between her two parents and nodded, desperately hoping that they were right,"...Very well, Father. Mother I...I hope someday you will find it in your heart to forgive me...," Robin took one of her free hands in hers and squeezed it gently, telling her that it was okay," And I pray...That is, I trust the both of you will prove me wrong. That the future will crack and fall apart before our family bond ever does."
"Yeah!" Morgan agreed chipperly," Nothing's going to bring us down!"
"Well look who it is!" The family turned to find the other three ex-Grimleal members approach them, lead by by none other than Gangrel," I haven't seen good ol' princey in ages! You're just as hopelessly pathetic as I remember you."
Chrom's eyes widened at the sight of Aversa and Gangrel," What the hell are you doing here?!" He angrily spun to face Hewitt," Did you bring them here? I knew you were trouble-"
"Relax," The dark haired boy interrupted," They're on our side."
The two former Grimleal members flinched at his statement," Hey, we never said anything about joining your cutesy little band!" Aversa pouted," That would make us even bigger targets!"
"Good, we don't want you-" Chrom started, but a pointed look from Hewitt cut him off.
Robin's brother crossed his arms and tried to reason," Look, I know that you guys have been enemies in the past, but we need to stick together. Believe it or not, you'll be targeted more if you go off on your own. If you're with the Shepherds, we'll have your backs and you'll be less likely to be attacked," He held out his hands towards the two," Please join us."
The pair exchanged suspicious looks, almost as if they were challenging the other to go first. Much to the surprise of everyone, Aversa was the first one to shake his hand," Heh. Even after all we've been through, you'd still have me at your side...Very well, then. They say politics makes strange bedfellows, but surely this war trumps all, no?"
Gangrel scoffed at the exchange," What? You think some pathetic peer pressure will get me to put a price on my head? Bah! I'm smarter than that-"
"For Gods sake, Gangrel, join the fucking team," Hewitt groaned, surprising everyone with his laid back tone. Robin didn't doubt that the two were good friends, but the idea made her question his previous statement about knowing her. Were they friends once as well?
She brushed the thought off when the redhead huffily to his friend's hand," Fine, but only because I have nothing better to do."
Hewitt chuckled," It's good to have you onboard. All we have to do is convince the others to trust you two."
"Sounds like a blast," Aversa spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Her brother nudged her playfully," Come on. Let's get moving before they discover we left though the sewers."
Everyone nodded in agreement and turned to leave, but Robin gently took her boyfriend's elbow," Can I talk to you for a moment?" When she received the odd looks from the others, she clarified," Alone?"
Chrom waited until everybody else had disappeared to his car before speaking up," If this is about what happened with Lucina-"
"It's not...I just thought that you should know that I'm...somehow..."
His face slowly became more solemn," You're the one that kills me in their future."
She hugged herself tightly," Doesn't that scare you?"
"Why would it?" Chrom stepped forward and rubbed her arms comfortingly," I trust you."
The white haired girl turned away from his embrace, avoiding his hurt look," It scares me," When she saw the confusion on his face, she elaborated," They said I was going to resurrect Grima. He kept saying weird things, like how he needed my blood for it."
"That could never happen-"
"But it did!" Robin flipped back around," In their future, Grima was in power. It was all my fault...Somehow, I was weak enough to give in to them...," She clenched her fists," I'm not going to be weak this time around."
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It was easy to say that the only Shepherd happy to see Gangrel and Aversa was Emmy. She almost went to greet them, but Owain sensed the tension and held her back. The rest of the, tried to keep their distance, and even some of the originals sent them glares. Even Henry, who was usually cheerful to everybody, sent Gangrel his creepiest smile," If you try and pull another stunt, I'll use real poison."
Hewitt rolled his eyes at everyone's distrust, obviously unaware of the intense history between the two groups and went to explain," Look, I know that you all have a rocky past. I'm here to tell you that none of that matters anymore because the stakes have been raised. Your lives are in danger if you choose to stay in this meeting. If you wish to avoid fighting, then I welcome you to leave right now," A few of the lesser known band members quickly evacuated the room, avoiding the glares some of the others were giving them," Alright, so now we've got the serious members, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen; there is a group of Assassins known as the Ill Presage. Our mother was killed by them, Aversa's mother was murdered by them-"
"They killed my sister," Henry spoke up shakily, earning a small hug from Lissa to help comfort him.
The dark haired boy frowned, seemingly knowing there was a deeper meaning to his confession," I'm so sorry, but I'm here to tell you that they're going to start coming after us. We need to destroy them before that happens-"
"I know how to fight," Lucina stood up, filled with determination," I was part of the YLH, also known as the army that fought the Grimleal in the future. I can help."
"I was too," Inigo nearly blurted," I'll gladly join the fight to protect those closest to me."
"Wait!" Olivia cried. Her face burned bright red when she realized that she had just yelled, but she continued on to protect her son," Y-You just healed f-from your l-last injury," Lucina's eyes widened with worry, and Inigo had to actively avoid her frantic stare," I-I don't w-want you t-to get hurt a-again."
Her son smiled softly at her and tried to reassure her doubts," Don't worry about me, mother. I've dealt with much worse before. I can handle a group of punks, especially if they're threatening you guys."
"They're not going to be alone either," Anders added, ignoring the death glare his twin was giving him," You can count Nate and I in."
Gerome gruffly crossed his arms in agreement," I will not let the past repeat itself."
"Hold on a minute!" Everyone in the room turned to face Tanith, whose face was extremely pale. Her eyes had bags underneath them and she appeared exhausted. Robin gulped when she realized that this was the first time they had seen her before the incident involving Walhart," I've seen violence up close, and I know how haunting it can be. We can't send out children in to try and fight notorious murderers! Call the police!"
"What good did they do?" Say'ri mumbled regretfully. The previous incident had obviously taken a toll on her as well," They couldn't save Cobalt. They couldn't find my brother. Honestly, I'm not sure if they'd even believe us."
"She has a point," Owain commented," The police didn't believe Chrom's father when he was talking about them. I doubt they'd believe us."
As much as the Shepherds wanted to disagree, they knew that the children were right. The police would either think they were lying or laugh at them, despite the fact that Flavia was the chief and Basilio was still in the hospital. Lissa was the first to voice her distress," What if one of you gets hurt?"
"Brady and I learned a lot from you guys in the future," Emmy commented," We can be there if something goes wrong."
Libra frowned," Can we not offer our services as well?"
"We disembarked from the future to safeguard the Shepherds," Laurent answered solemnly," Any one of our assembly would be jovial to shield you from harm with our lives."
"Don't think about stopping us either," Cynthia added confidently," We'd just sneak off without go your approval. If anything, we'd be in even more danger."
Morgan nodded in agreement," As long as we have a plan, we'll be safe."
Chrom stared at the children, considering everything they had just brought up to the table. As much as he wanted to help, he had to admit the only combat training he had was from boxing and paintball. These kids were specially trained for situations like this, and as much as he hated to admit it, they were more mature than most of their parents. He turned his attention back to Morgan," You mentioned a plan?"
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Everything was set into motion. That night, the children were going to seek out the five Assassins and destroy the threat before it could hurt anyone else. With the information that Aversa provided about their enemies, the children were going to be split into groups," So, the first man we are up against goes by the name of Bovis," The former Grimleal member explained," He specializes in long range attacks, so we need a group that can get in and out quickly."
"Everyone knows that I'm the fastest person in our group," Severa bragged," Naturally I'd be perfect for the job."
"I'll help her!" Anders volunteered eagerly before winking cheekily at the girl," Don't worry; I've got your back."
Severa's upper lip curled up at the thought of partnering with the redhead, but seeing that she had no other option, she tried to gain the upper hand," Ugh, fine. I expect you to keep up with me."
"Gladly."
Nate rolled his eyes at his brother, but Aversa cut him off before he could complain," Good. Once Bovis is out of the way, the others will split up to look for him. This is where the plan will shift into five different focuses; four offenses and one defense. The one who will find you first is Simia, and she is very fast and skilled. She also uses a sword as her weapon of choice. We need a group equally as skilled to pull it off."
Noire stood up straighter," I-I can d-defeat her...I'm sure of it."
"Fear not, Noire!" Owain burst over dramatically," I shall help defeat this fearsome Simia with my trusted weapon, Mystletainn!"
"A mixture of range and offense would work well together," Lucina confirmed thoughtfully, which gave Aversa the okay to continue her plan.
"Next up is Mus. While he is generally very slow, he is incredibly strong. Don't underestimate his power."
"That sounds like a challenge I'd be willing to take," Kjelle smiled," Yarne and I are more than capable of taking him out-"
"Wait, what?!" The boy's eyes widened to the size of saucers," I can't fight well! I blank out, remember? How do you expect me to help when I'm curled up in the corner crying!?"
The aqua haired girl sent him a swift glare that cut off his rambling," You asked me to make you tougher, this is part of the deal. Can I trust you to have my back?"
Yarne grimaced, eventually giving in to her logic," Of course. I'll be there for you."
"As will I," Laurent volunteered," My skill-set may come to some use to you two."
Aversa folded her hands, silently commanding the attention of the entire room. Something about the sudden change of mood made the the hair on the back of the kids' necks stand up," The last two members are going to be the hardest to kill. Tigris is both strong and cunning, so there is no "having each other's backs" on this one. Both of you need to be equally skilled and confident enough to destroy him before he destroys you."
"Nate is one of the most skilled guys I know," Anders offered up," He might be able to help...that is, if he's willing."
The black haired boy narrowed his eyes at his brother," Stop volunteering me for things."
"You didn't seem to have a problem with changing the future earlier; what's stopping you now?"
Nate looked like he was about to murder his brother, but much to the surprise of everyone, he backed down," Fine. Gerome, are you willing to be on my team? I don't trust anyone else aside from my brother."
The dark haired boy nodded," It is done."
"That leaves the leader of the group, a man known as Gallus. The trick in defeating him comes with teamwork as well, for he is equally specialized up close and out of range. Let your guard down for a minute, and he'll make his move. Many of us know him for his tendency to decapitate his prey," Aversa's gaze fell on Lucina," I believe that with focus and trust in your partner, you will be able to defeat him."
Lucina knew that she was going to have to defeat the leader, so her assignment didn't come as a surprise to her," I will try my best."
"As will I," Everyone turned to face Inigo, who had moved to stand by the blue haired girl's side," We know each other's dynamic. With our combined efforts, we can eliminate the threat."
The girl opened her mouth to protest, but Aversa cut her off," That leaves everyone else to protect the healers and go in if one of you are killed to finish the job," Some of the kids cringed at that, but they all knew that complaining would cause them more misery in the long run," Now get some sleep. It's going to be a long night."
Inigo turned to leave, but the hand on his shoulder kept him from moving on. Despite not turning around, he already knew that it was Lucina. The rest of the children filed out of the room, leaving the two alone. Once the door shut behind them, his friend finally spoke up," Show me."
"Show you...what?"
She spun him around to face her, despite the fact that he was almost a head taller than her. He would've thought her attempts to hold his attention was cute if it didn't come with her anxious gaze," Your mother mentioned you had injuries. Show me them."
His heart dropped in his stomach as memories of how he obtained the flooded back. Despite the fact that Walhart was dead and couldn't hurt her, something made him incredibly easy. Maybe it was because he didn't want to see how she'd react when she saw just how bad they were. A small, persistent voice in his head kept nagging him that he just didn't want to show weakness to the girl he idolized, but he pushed that thought deep into the back of his mind. Thoughts like that weren't going to get him anywhere," They're just mere scratches," Inigo lied, hating how her face became increasingly more worried," They're long gone now."
"Inigo," Lucina's voice almost came out as a beg, pleading him to be honest with her. He bit his lip, knowing that her persistence wasn't going to wear off. If only she knew how ugly they really were. As soon as she laid eyes on them, she'd tell him to stay back and rest and pick someone else to help her defeat Gallus. The first person she'd go to would definitely be Novak, and if that happened, she would be out of his reach. Everyone fell for Novak's charms and he didn't even have to try! Even when Inigo started being as flirtatious as the boy, he didn't get nearly as many admirers," Inigo? What's wrong?" The brunette was pulled from his thoughts by Lucina, whose eyes were wide with dread. Something told him that she already knew how bad they were, but still wanted to see for herself anyways. This thoroughly confused him, wondering why she would want to see something she hated. Her voice became increasingly more desperate as she tried one last time to sway him," Please...I need to see what happened."
Inigo's lips pressed together into a tight line," You're not going to like what you see."
"Maybe, but I need to see it."
He stared at her miserably for a few more seconds before unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off, revealing the array of injuries scattering his chest and stomach. Lucina's hand instinctively moved to cover her mouth in horror, scanning his body before hesitantly moving closer to observe it. Her fingers hovered over the yellowing bruises covering his stomach before inching her way up to the brand still embedded into his chest," W-When did this happen?"
"Lucina-"
"Please tell me."
The brunette took a deep breath, trying to keep his heartbeat steady as he recalled the day," It was the last time you saw me before the hospital. It was before I disappeared. It was-"
"-when we left you behind at the school," The girl finished. When what may have happened finally hit her, she stumbled backwards and hugged herself tightly," Walhart found you, didn't he?"
"Luci..."
"Oh gods," She backed away even further from him when he took a step towards her," I could've been there! I might've been able to prevent it-"
He shook his head," No, Lucina. He would've hurt you too-"
"I should've stayed behind instead. I should never have left you! Maybe then I'd be the one with the scar and-"
Inigo advanced forward and grabbed her arms before she could put anymore distance between them, keeping his grip firm, yet gentle at the same time," No. I don't regret anything that happened that day. I'd let them cut me open before I'd let them lay a finger on you."
She winced at the seriousness in his tone, desperately wishing that he wouldn't say things like that. Sacrifice was the thing that made her lose her little brother and almost lose her mother. Yet something about hearing him say it made her insides churn even more than usually would have. Lucina pulled her eyes away from his and flinched when they fell on an ugly scar embedded into his shoulder," Inigo..."
He seemed to know what she was referring to, because he managed to lighten up a little bit," I had to take him down before he could hurt my parents or Levy. My dad managed to kill that dastard, but not before he managed to graze me."
"That is not a graze!" Lucina scowled," It looks like he stabbed you!"
"Well..."
"He stabbed you?!" The blue haired girl shook her head in denial, trying to back away out of his grasp," No, there's no way you can fight! You'll get even more hurt! What if something happens to you? I'd never forgive myself! I'd never-"
Inigo watched as she became increasingly more and more panicked," Luci, I can still fight! It happened weeks ago! The wound is nearly healed now-"
"Don't you get it?!" She burst," I know you can still fight! You still fought in the YLH when you had a broken ankle! You won't let anything stop you!"
"I don't see what the problem is, then-"
"The problem is that I could lose you!" Without warning, tears started to streak down her cheeks," I can't lose you, Inigo! I already lost both my parents and my little brother! You became the only constant thing in my life, and losing you would mean that I've lost everything! It's already bad enough to that all of my other friends are willing to give their lives for me! Please, for my sake, be selfish! Don't fight! I can't...I need..."
"Luci...," He gently pulled her into a soft hug, trying to ignore how much it broke his heart to hear her sob. He wanted to tell her he felt the exact same way, and that was why he was fighting. He cared so much about her, and the very idea of losing her kept him awake at night.
Tears soaked her cheeks and his chest as she continued to cry," I m-might lose my m-mother again. She...I-I...a-and my d-dad...M-Morgan already d-died for m-me once...Please d-don't die for me...Inigo, p-please...d-don't d-die for m-me..."
The brunette tightened his hug and started to gently rock her back and forth," Shh...it'll be okay, Luci. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are your family. We're here to stay this time. Besides, you can't get rid of me that easily," He smiled playfully," Shh...don't worry Luci. Everything is going to turn out alright; you'll see. Just let it all out. I'm here for you."
She nodded tearfully and, much to his surprise, snuggled closer to him. It took Inigo a full five seconds to realize what was going on before responding with the same gesture. He wanted to make her feel safe, even if it turned out that she never returned his feelings. He tried not to get his hopes up and rested his head on top of hers, holding her as she tried to restrain herself," It'll be okay, Luci. I promise."
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"Hey Severa, wait up!"
The olive haired girl stopped in her tracks and turned to face Anders, who was racing to catch up with her. She tapped her toe impatiently, waiting until he arrived to turn back around and continue walking," What do you want? Are you here to discuss battle plans?"
He shrugged," Not really. I just came because I like talking to you."
Severa rolled her eyes," Gawds, you're annoying. Don't you have something better to do?"
"Better than talking to you?" The redhead grinned," That's unlikely."
She blinked a few times before regaining her composure," I know what you're doing. You're flirting with me! I don't have time for romance, especially when it's coming from stupid dastards like you who only want me for my body."
Anders pondered for a few seconds, letting her words sink in before responding," You don't get complimented very often, do you?"
"What?!" The olive haired girl tried to keep the blush off of her face as she huffed," I get flirted with all the time! What, do you think that people don't like me? Even if they didn't, I wouldn't care! I especially don't care what you of all people think of me, just in case you were wondering."
"That's too bad-"
"Yup, so you can just walk away now-"
"-because I care about you," Severa suddenly came to a dead stop, causing the boy to stumble a little bit and turn around to face her stoic self," I was right, then."
She narrowed his eyes at him," Look, I don't know what type of game you're playing at, but it's not funny. Let's just come up with a battle plan and never talk again."
"But I like talking to you-"
"Shut up!"
Anders chuckled, unsure of she was truly angry or just incredibly flustered," Heh, you're pretty cute."
Severa threw her hands up in exasperation and started to walk away, indifferent to whether of not he followed. When it became apparent that he was indeed following her again, she picked a topic that would hopefully avoid all of his shameless flirting," When we fight Bovis, we're going to hack him into tiny bits. Aim for either the neck or the lungs so that he can't make any noise while he's dying. As soon as he's down, we'll go back to our base and wait for the others to show up. If we see anyone else in trouble on the way-"
"We'll help them," He finished, smiling at her annoyed glare," Sounds like a good plan, partner."
"Ugh, don't call me that."
"Why not?"
"Because you're not my partner!"
"Of course I am," Anders smirked," We're on the same team for this mission, which makes us partners by default."
Severa rolled her eyes and murmured," Out of all the Shepherds, I had to get stuck with this guy," After making sure he didn't hear her, she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him towards a training spot," Come on, we need to practice before tonight. Don't even think about trying to sneak off."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
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Owain was getting ready alongside Noire when someone shyly tapped him on the back," Erm, Owain?"
He turned around a lot up when he saw Levy," Ah, it is my fated partner from across time! I have not yet cooked you the meal of legends, but-"
"Don't worry, I didn't come here for that," The purple haired girl rubbed her arm nervously," I just came by to tell you to be careful tonight, and...," She opened her mouth to continue the thought, but the words died in her mouth. Eventually, she just settled for a supportive comment," I know you can defeat them, but I also know that fighting is dangerous. Just come home safe, okay?"
The white haired boy smiled," Of course! With Mystletainn to protect me, Noire to guide me, and your faith in my skills, I will defeat the treacherous Simia! Once the enemy is defeated, I shall come back and produce the most magnificent meal you have ever consumed!"
Levy couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her lips," O-Okay. Good luck tonight!"
With that said, she burst out of the room, leaving the two alone again. Owain was about to return to his practice when Noire spoke up," Since when do you know how to cook?"
He nearly dropped his weapon and childishly defended himself," I know how to cook!" His confidence faltered slightly," I just don't know how to cook well..."
The brunette smiled cheerfully," I can help! I love cooking! Plus, I want to help you impress your girl."
"Really? That's be gr-Wait, what?! Levy's not my girl! I-I mean, she is a girl, but she's not my girl yet-I mean-" He glared at his friend while she laughed at him," Don't tell her, or I'll tell Priam that you like him!"
Almost like someone flicked a light switch, her face paled," Y-You wouldn't! He w-would never t-talk to me a-again!"
The two scowled at each other defensively before turning back to their weapons," We'll talk about this later."
"O-Or never."
"Never is good too."
So, this is one of our first children heavy chapters! It was really fun to write them interacting together! But, I'll talk about that in a little bit. Let's start at the beginning; Lucina couldn't kill her mother, and even though Chrom knows about Robin, he still trusts her not to kill him. That will be important later on in the story. Gangrel and Aversa begrudgingly joined the Shepherds (you see, there was a reason I didn't kill them off when I could have), and while most of the Shepherds don't trust them, they sure came in handy for giving out information! See if you can recognize who the five assassins are, because they are from the game. I actually paired up people according to who they were friends with and who they were fighting against, which was fun because it was just like the playing the game! Lucina and Inigo had a really heavy moment that revealed a lot about both of them. I'll let you interpret what you will so that I don't accidentally give away any spoilers! Oh my goodness, Anders and Severa was really fun to write! I realized that they have a great dynamic together because Severa acts sort of like Nate and Anders noticed it. I won't tell you anything else about his intentions, because we're going to explore that deeper later in the story. Finally, we had a cute moment between Owain, Levy, and Noire! Review time!
MissShane12: Sorry I didn't get to respond to you the last chapter! My story wouldn't let me see my new reviews for a few days, so I couldn't tell who said what. Anyways, it's good to hear from you again! I'm glad you still like the story! Dimitri is one of my favorite OCs, and him fainting was like icing on top of the cake! Yeah, Dimitri is growing as a parent! I'm glad you like the twins as well! I love their dynamic with each other and other people, mainly because Anders is very positive and tries to find a simple way out of things while Nate is a pessimist and very hardheaded. Heh, I thought of the murder subplot a while ago (it was almost right after they got out of jail), but it fit in the best here. Thank you for reviewing!
Kit-Cat Star: Funny thing about that scene...the first time I played it, I actually didn't sacrifice myself because I didn't want my character to die...hehe...oops. I can understand that Lucina (and possibly Morgan?) was already born in the game, but they are definitely non existent in this story. Yay, I'm glad you liked that choice! It was like a family roadtrip, except that they were separate for most of the chapter and it didn't really end well for them...oh well. Aversa is going to grow a lot as a character if I can work it in, so look forward to seeing that! Thank you for reviewing!
Moonlights Glow: That's okay! I'm happy that you've continued to read with your busy schedule, and I'm glad to hear from you whenever you have the time! It's kind of sad that marching season is over in the game, but it had to happen eventually. Anyways, I'm starting to doubt that they'd have time to do it with all of the drama that's going on in their lives. I'm sorry that you guys didn't go to state. I'm sure that you were a great band and put on your best performance, though! That is clearly shown if you were that close to going! Besides that, you guys had an awesome score! The Shepherds actually almost didn't win, but I decided that them winning would be the equivalent for them winning the war in Valm. I always focus on colorguard too, don't worry! I love looking at their technique and silks (I have silk envy)! That's really cool! I've always wanted to do winterguard, but my schedule is too busy to do it. That, and my school band teacher sort of sucks and wouldn't even let us go to regionals...that's besides the point, though! Story talk time! I actually planned for certain characters to die (Emmeryn, Walhart, ect), but I really wanted Gangrel and Aversa to come back and redeem themselves! I'm glad that it worked out. Haha, I understand! Every time I write Desdemona, I have to cringe a little bit. The name doesn't fit her at all. It's no wonder everyone started calling her Robin! Thank you for reviewing!
Golden-Lightning: Thank you! In the future, I want all three games, but I'm going to have to wait a little bit for that. Maybe I'll get one game with my own money and the other two for my birthday? I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I think that part of the reason I'm leaning more towards Nohr may be because of Inigo and Owain, but I'm not quite sure yet. I haven't settled on a new husband yet. Thank you for the review!
crowsandclouds: Haha, I know! Writing that part was like a punch in the gut to me (it was like a painful reminder that the story is slowly coming to a close (PS, I got somewhat emotional while writing that last sentence)). I'm dreading the moment I have to introduce Grima, because that's when the story is going to get really heavy and really close to the end. Oh, I'm sorry about the spoilers! I hate it when things like that happen, although I usually set myself up for it. The assassins are going to be in the next chapter, so be prepared! Thank you for reviewing!
So, I may have said this a few times already, but the next chapter is going to be the attack on the Ill Presage (the five assassins that are killing everybody). There might be some additional drama in the chapter if there is room for it (I'm not sure how long it's going to be, but each team has to defeat their enemy, so that's at least five different sections). With this, though, there is also the assumption that adult Shepherds will not be in the chapter very much (I don't know if they'll be in it at all). Don't worry, they'll make a reappearance soon! I just haven't played that much with the future children, so we'll get to dive a little bit deeper into their personalities. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!
-Uprisingdragon
