Prince Marth of Altea bore a stern and determined glare as he marched along the forest, with an entire army marching behind him.

He had managed to unite the kingdoms of Altea, Archanea, and Aurelius against the forces of King Medeus of Dohlr. But he still couldn't the thought of his father's death out his mind. And he particulary wondered what would happen after the war – he had been giving this war all his blood and sweat, and he had little time to think of what he would do once he returned to a kingdom at peace. But he didn't want to think about it too much. He just wanted to focus his efforts on leading the conquest of Grust and Macedon, which were both part of Dolhr's forces.

But he couldn't shake off the sensation that something was amiss in these woods.

He turned to see the knights Cain and Abel, who were marching in the front row. Cain sported red hair and armor, and had gained the nickname 'The Bull'. Abel was clad in green armor, had matching hair, and was nicknamed 'The Panther'. They both appeared to be making small talk, and Marth couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"You sure you trained hard enough?" Cain asked with a smirk and a wry tone.

Abel smiled and shook his head. "Come on, Cain. You know me too well for that."

Cain let out a laugh. "Yeah, I know. I just hope our strength brings nothing but glory."

Marth smiled at that, but it wasn't nearly enough to send away the overwhelming dread that he could not explain. He then turned to see Julian and Lena who were not too far away, either. Julian was a thief were red-orange hair, and Lena was a short cleric with plain red hair. Lena looked a bit uneasy.

"I still can't believe we're this deep into the war." Lena said, her tone just as uneasy as her expression.

Julian placed his hand on Lena's shoulder. "It'll be alright. We'll get through this."

Lena simply smiled.

"Marth."

Marth was snapped out of his gaze and he glanced down at Caeda. Caeda was a Pegasus Knight, the Princess of Talys, and a childhood friend of Marth's. She was clothed in red, white, and brown, and sported long blue hair. She looked up at Marth with concern on her face. "What's bothering you?"

Marth wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. "I…I'm not sure."

"Come on, Mar-Mar!" Said the voice to the right of them, and Marth turned his head and glanced down at the manakete Tiki. "You gotta know what's bothering you."

Marth rubbed his neck as he and the army continued to march on. "I just feel like something's amiss. I don't know how else to explain it. There's just…there's just something not right here."

Caeda let out an 'hmm', still concerned. "Don't worry, Marth. We'll look out for anything that might seem off."

Marth smiled, feeling a little reassurance from Caeda. "Thanks. Please do."

But as he and his army marched on, Marth looked left and right, still feeling the sensation that something truly was amiss here.

From afar, a blue portal opened up, and Stahl and Gaius emerged on their Pegasus. They were now in the time of Marth, and they breathed heavily as the thought sank in. They looked at their surroundings, happy to see lushful and life-filled forests once more, as opposed to the desolate and barren lands from the world they had just left. They only had this brief moment to gaze upon the scenery, however.

"We did it! It worked!" Stahl said with a smile, happy to have traveled back in time.

Gaius had a more serious look on his face. "Alright! Let's find Marth and end this nightmare!"

Stahl nodded, and the two soared around on the Pegasus. They looked for any sign of Marth's army, but found nothing. Stahl was beginning to stress out and worry they had traveled to the wrong area, while Gaius remembered that it was a big forest nonetheless and it could take a while.

After a few minutes, they did see their past counterparts, who go up from the ground looking completely confused as to what was going on. Their past counterparts looked up into the sky to see their future selves, with the past Stahl scratching his head. The four looked at each other for a moment, before the past versions suddenly began to fade away from existence. Neither Stahl nor Gaius knew what happened there, and they didn't have time to think about it as they saw a large gathering traveling through the forest.

They had found Marth's army, and they marched along as if nothing was going on. But Stahl squinted, and he could make out Bulzark not too far away – it looked like he was but moments away from finishing off the future Hero King.

"There he is!" Stahl exclaimed, pointing in the direction where he had seen Bulzark.

Gaius set his attention there, and now he could see Bulzark as well. "Looks we don't have a lot of time, Munches!"

"I know. I'm gonna charge down, and you ambush him when we're within range. Get him away from Marth!"

Gaius readied his lance, and Stahl swopped down, charging the Pegasus towards the hooded Manakete. Gaius was sweating – there was so much room for error, and yet the stakes were too high to allow for any. He took a moment and let out a deep breath before setting his eyes back towards Bulzark.

Bulzark then jumped out from the forest, a dagger in his hand, and made his presence known to Marth and his army, who stared at the Manakete in complete shock. "Long live Medeus!" Bulzark yelled as he charged towards the prince.

Only to get impaled by Gaius' lance.

The pegasus flew several hundred feet away from Marth's army before it neighed as Stahl began to lose control. "Whoa now, girl!"

But before they knew it, the pegasus darted into the woods, with neither Stahl nor Gaius liking what was happening. Stahl tried to regain control, but the pegasus was still freaked out. Gaius tried to keep his grip on his lance, but Bulzark being impaled onto it complicated things. Thankfully for them, Stahl got the pegasus calmed down, and now they had just left the trees and were about a 300 feet away from a cliff, where more forest could be seen.

But Stahl and Gaius both had to focus their attention on Bulzark.

Gaius removed his lance from the hooded man and looked at Stahl.

"We can't waste any time," Gaius pointed as he looked at the blood on his lance.

"Agreed," Stahl replied, and they both began to thrust their lances towards Bulzark and stab him repeatedly.

But it wasn't long before Bulzark got up and grabbed Stahl's lance, throwing it out of his hand. Gaius tried to thrust his lance, but Bulzark grabbed it and threw it several feet away as well. He looked down at the two with nothing but irritation and annoyance on his face.

"I don't know who you two are," Bulzark said, his voice colder here than it was back in Millennium Court. "But you have made the biggest mistake of your life." He felt around his person, and Stahl and Gaius assumed he was looking for his dagger, which had been dropped when they were running through the woods.

Bulzark snarled in rage and decked both Stahl and Gaius in the face with enough force to knock them both down to the ground. "You're meddling in affairs you don't understand!"

Stahl groaned as he tried to get up. "What's there not to understand?"

Bulzark gritted his teeth and lifted Gaius up, above, his shoulder, and threw him against Stahl. Gaius got back up quickly and tried to deck Bulzark in the face, desperate for any strike that could help take him down, but Bulzark grabbed his leg and kicked Gaius in the stomach. Stahl charged towards Bulzark, but Bulzark grabbed him and threw him against a tree. Gaius felt blood come down from his nose, and in the brief moment he stood there, Bulzark decked him in the face three times – and each time hurt like hell.

Gaius had figured that the best way to finish off Bulzark was to throw him off the cliff – it looked like a fall of several hundred feet. He tried with all his might to lead Bulzark towards the cliff – he punched and kicked with all of his might. It didn't seem like he could anything. He had already felt worn out from battling Bulzark in the present, and then from being forced back into the conflict between Queen Cordelia and Captain Libra. But he still grew frustrated as it seemed like every punch and kick he threw towards Bulzark did little. He grabbed his lance and impaled Bulzark in the chest again – but even that looked like it did little harm towards the Manakete. Instead, Bulzark only snarled.

Bulzark grabbed Gaius' chest plate and ripped it off, and he began to punch Gaius in the chest, each blow hurting worse and worse. Gaius looked at Stahl, who still laid unconscious next to the tree, and wondered how he himself wasn't losing unconscious. Then Bulzark ripped off Gaius' stomach plate and swung a kick that was unbearably powerful. Gaius was forced down to the ground, and Bulzark grabbed him by the neck, gritting his teeth.

"You humans…you're all scum. That's why I must kill Prince Marth. With his death, Medeus will bring prosperity to the entire continent!"

Gaius groaned loudly as he tried to break free from Bulzark's grip. "Humanity was doing just fine! We'll only go to hell if you do kill Marth!"

Bulzark stared at Gaius for a few moments, seemingly let that sink in, before he smirked. "So that just proves it then. My actions will expose humanity's true nature."

"No, damnit! I –"

But Bulzark didn't let Gaius finish. He threw Gaius down to the ground and kicked him in the stomach and then punched him the face twice. Gaius began to cough blood, and he tried to get up, but he couldn't. He just collapsed to the ground.

Bulzark stared at Gaius for a moment before turning his attention to Stahl, who groaned as he got up. Bulzark looked at Stahl with a daunting look on his face, but Stahl wasn't about to back down any time soon – he only narrowed his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what your actions will do the world?!" Stahl yelled in an aggressive voice unusual for him.

"Your friend gave me an idea…"

Stahl spit some blood out and wiped his mouth. "Medeus will still fall. And then a thousand years later, the world will be destroyed."

Bulzark then grabbed Stahl by the neck and threw him down to the ground. "By man, I assume?"

"…erm, yeah…"

"My point is proven," Bulzark replied before he kicked Stahl in the face as the latter tried to get up.

"No, except it's only because of your actions –"

Bulzark grabbed Stahl by his hair and forced out, and the latter let out small yelps at Bulzark's force.

"Who's to say that humanity wouldn't destroy itself in 50 years or such? Now perish!"

Stahl tried to get ahold of his lance to impale Bulzark, but the quick Manakete got to him before he could. He still tried desperately to reach his weapon, knowing how screwed he was without it, but Bulzark was too powerful. As Bulzark punched and kicked him around, Stahl felt more pain than he did when the Firewalker bear clawed at his face. He tried to punch Bulzark in the face, but Bulzark seemed hardly fazed. Instead, he only smirked, before ripping off Stahl's chest and stomach plates. He kicked Stahl in the stomach and punched in the chest twice, and all Stahl could do was hold his chest in pain. He tried to kick Bulzark in the stomach, but his opponent dodged and decked him in the face again.

Finally, Stahl knew he couldn't risk it anymore, and rushed towards his lance. But just before he could grab it, Bulzark tackled down to the ground. Bulzark began decking Stahl in the face again and again, and each time it hurt like absolute hell. Stahl tried to block one of Bulzark's punches, but the latter was too quick. Stahl turned his head and looked at his lance, and Bulzark responded by grabbing him by the throat as he continued to deck him in the face. It was only a few moments later that Bulzark finally relented, and Stahl coughed out blood that stained onto Bulzark's robe, not that the Manakete seemed to mind.

Gaius was finally able to get up, and he charged towards Bulzark with what strength he had left. To this, Bulzark only smirked.

"You're both nothing more than weak fools." Bulzark said, his smirk morphing into a grin as he kicked Gaius in the chest, sending him down to the ground. "Clearly, you had no idea what you were getting yourselves into. A mistake that will cost you your lives." Stahl got up, and made a final effort to reach for his lance, but Bulzark lifted him up and threw him towards Gaius.

Now Bulzark was pummeling at them both. He decked Gaius in the face twice and kicked him in the stomach before moving towards Stahl, punching him in the stomach three times before uppercutting him in the face. And there was little either could do to fight back – they were too worn-down to do anything. Bulzark kept on punching and kicking, and Stahl and Gaius could only stand there and get beaten down. Bulzark landed a blow to Stahl powerful enough to knock three of his teeth out, and Stahl kneeled down and felt his jaw. He then grabbed Gaius' left arm and twisted it until snapping sounds could be heard, to which Gaius screamed out in pain. And he, too, kneeled down.

Bulzark grabbed the thief by his hair again. "You'll go off the cliff first."

Gaius groaned, and Bulzark punched him in the stomach one more time before preparing to lift him up, only to pause for a moment and look up in the air, and saw four pegasi looming the sky – all flying down towards the three.

When the pegasi landed, the four pegasus knights jumped off and headed in Bulzark's direction. Leading them was Caeda, and Stahl faintly recognized the other three from painintgs and portraits. They were the Whitewing sisters. The oldest and tallest, Palla, had green hair and a matching outfit. The other two, Catria and Est, had blue hair and red hair, respectively, and matching clothing. Palla narrowed her eyes as they and Caeda headed towards Bulzark.

"Stand down! You cannot beset Marth's army!" Caeda yelled out as she and the sisters all gripped their lances.

Stahl and Gaius still kneeled down, trying to muster the energy to move, and Bulzark grunted before charging before the ladies.

He decked Caeda in the face, only to impaled by Palla with a lance. Bulzark kicked Palla away, and then Catria and Est thrusted their lances towards Bulzark and impaled him in the chest. They removed their lances, and Bulzark grabbed them both by their hair and lunged them towards each other. Catria and Est were both sent down to the ground, and Palla gave Bulzark a death glare before impaling him in the chest again, and then Caeda got up and stabbed him in the stomach. Bulzark removed both lances himself, and yanked Palla by her long hair. Palla yelled in pain, and Bulzark threw her towards a tree. Caeda thrusted her lance towards Bulzark again, only to get kicked in the stomach twice and uppercutted in the face three times.

Stahl and Gaius were both finally able to get up, and they saw Marth finally charging into the scene. By his side was Navarre, a long black-haired man clothed in red and wielding a sword, and Tiki, Cain, Abel, Julian, and Leif were not too far behind. Bulzark glared at Marth and let out a war cry as he grabbed Est's lance and charged towards the prince.

"Your blood spills today, Marth!" Bulzark yelled out as Marth narrowed his eyes and readied his sword.

And just when it looked like Bulzark was about to stab Marth right through the chest, Stahl tackled him down to the ground. Gaius, with his good arm, stabbed Bulzark in the legs and slashed his chest before he was forced to lean against a tree, holding on to his broken arm.

Stahl, for his part, found that it hurt to move now due to the beatdown Bulzark had given him. But now Marth, Navaree, and Julian were slashing at him with their swords, and Cain, Abel, Caeda, and Palla all thrusted their lances towards the Manakete. Stahl took a look at Gaius, who was still leaning against the tree.

"Go, Stahl. Send him off the cliff."

Stahl nodded, and grabbed a lance. With his remaining strength, he impaled Bulzark with his lance repeatedly. Bulzark yelled out in pain, and it was apparent that he was becoming very weak. He could do little to fight back as Stahl and Marth and the others. Listening to Gaius' advice, Stahl began cornering him towards the cliff, and Marth and his men followed along and helped. Marth slashed at Bulzark one more time, and Stahl impaled him in the chest. Bulzark spit out some blood and sent Stahl a death glare.

"Burn in hell, you scumbag," Bulzark angrily said as he placed his hand on his chest.

Stahl narrowed his eyes. "You're the one who's about to be sent down to hell, Bulzark. Enjoy the flames."

Then Stahl kicked Bulzark in the chest – but at the last second, the Manakete was able to grab Stahl by his exposed shirt, and they were both sent falling down. Gaius' eyes widened in horror.

"STAHL! NO!"

There was silence, and Gaius rushed towards the cliff as fast as he could, ignoring his broken arm. He didn't want to believe that Stahl was dead – after all they had been through, to see Stahl die like this…Gaius felt dread and grief tearing him up on the inside. He began to breath heavily as the thought continued to storm through his mind. Marth just looked at Gaius for a few moments before breaking the silence.

"Calm down, sir. It'll be alright," Marth said in a reassuring voice.

Gaius grew frustrated at the prince's words. "My friend is dead, Marth! My friend is dead!"

Caeda, who had been looking down at the cliff the whole time, turned and looked up at Gaius. "Maybe you should look down here." She exclaimed.

Gaius obliged and looked down the cliff – and saw Stahl, hanging on to a ledge about twenty feet down and slowly climbing his way up. Bulzark's body could barely be seen all the way at the bottom, but Gaius payed no attention to him. His attention was on Stahl.

"Stahl! You're okay!" Gaius cheered out, relieved to see his friend alive.

Stahl groaned as he climbed his way up. When he reached the last five feet up, he frowned, seeing no ledge. Gaius went to offer his hand, but then he remembered his broken arm. So it was instead Marth who helped Stahl up.

When Stahl was back on flat ground, he and Gaius looked at each other, completely overjoyed.

"We did it, Gaius…WE DID IT!"

Both began laughing, happy that the nightmare was finally over. Bulzark had finally been dealt with, and with him went the entire world he had created when he succeeded in killing Marth. But Marth stood before them, alive, and they couldn't have been happier. Stahl lunged towards Gaius and embraced him in joy. Gaius couldn't hug him back due to his broken arm, but he was still elated as all hell.

Marth looked down at the cliff. "Burn the body. Make absolute sure that man is dead."

They stood there, embracing and laughing for a few moments, before Marth cleared his throat.

Stahl let go and Gaius and stood here awkwardly, his face reddening. "Erm, sorry, my king – prince, prince."

Marth raised an eyebrow and replied. "Right…let's get you two healed up."

Lena healed Stahl and Gaius up, and they no longer felt so crappy – though Bulzark's severe beatdown meant that there were still a few bruises here and there. Stahl had his armor back on, but Gaius was clothed in the outfit he wore under his armor, and he had bandages around his left arm. Lena pulled Gaius up, and he groaned and rubbed his neck. Then Abel and Julian approached the two.

"History will remember you for what you did today." Abel said, making eye contact with Stahl.

Stahl chuckled nervously, excited at being in the presence of Abel, The Panther. "Thank you, Ab – sir. And I'm confident that history will remember you, too."

Abel smiled at that. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Julian, meanwhile, had his attention on Gaius – and more specifically, his broken arm. "How's the arm, dude?"

Gaius placed his hand on his broken arm. "Still hurts, but I'll be alright."

Julian let out a smile. "You can thank my love, Lena, for that." And then Lena walked up to him, and the two kissed. Gaius smiled, hoping to have that with Maribelle real soon.

Then Marth, Caeda, and Tiki all approached Stahl and Gaius, with Caeda holding onto the reigns of Stahl and Gaius' pegasus and Marth having a small smile on his face as he sheathed his sword. "I will never forget what you two did today. When our war is over, the world will know of how you saved my life. And the bards will sing about for years to come."

"Thank you for saving Mar-Mar!" Tiki shouted in a bubbly and excited voice.

Marth held out his hand towards Stahl. The latter took a moment and blushed, before the two princes began to shake hands, a smile on both their faces.

Caeda then approached Stahl and Gaius closer, feeling her hand around for a brief moment before looking back at the two. "You two are something. For men, you're able to ride a pegasus pretty damn well. Our army could use people like you."

Stahl began making motions with his hands and let out an 'erm'. "That would be fun…but my friend and I, we really have to get going. We have some urgent personal matters to attend to."

Marth nodded to that. "Well, whatever it is you must go, I wish the best of luck to you both. You two deserve prosperity and happiness."

"Thank you." Gaius said, truly touched to hear that from a figure as legendary and beloved as Marth. "And good luck to you, too."

They looked around and saw looks of content from Cain, Navarre, the Whitewing sisters, and the rest of Marth's army before they mounted back onto their pegasus and took to the skies.

The two smiled at each other as they flew farther and farther up, happy that they were finally about to see their world again. After a minute of flying in the air, blue fire consumed the two once more. A portal entered, and Stahl and Gaius took a final look back, seeing Marth and his army march on once more, before entering the portal and disappearing from this time period.