So... I have some explaining to do...

I know that this chapter is dearly late, which I apologize for. But over the last couple weeks, some very serious personal things happened that forced me take a step back and reevaluate what I wanted for in life.

I don't want to go too much into what those things were, but when they make you stop and consider deleting this entire fic, AND make you question who you are as a person, it's pretty tough. But I eventually decided that I won't be giving up on this fic - I want to see it through, not just for you guys, but for myself as well.

So thank y'all for being patient and I hope you enjoy this extra-long chapter (for me) to make up for the wait. Enjoy.

Embers snapped and echoed throughout the waters, although this could easily be lost in the sounds of battle. Ashes sparkled up and lit into the night sky from the burning ship that stood dead in the water.

Two men, battered and bruised, washed up the shore amid the corpses of the blood-soaked lake. The more battered of the two, rolled over on his back, breathing deeply. The younger, however, even though he was wounded, instantly stood up, wide eyed and alert.

"We have to go Daniel. NOW."

The older man still laid on his back. "I'm... no... traitor." He managed to gasp out between heavy breaths.

The younger let out a bark of derisive laughter. "Traitors, Daniel? Really? Look around you. It's over. None of those things that you call 'honor' will matter after today. The cause is dead. Nothing is left for us here. We need to go."

"Go... then." Daniel breathed. "But I don't... betray others."

"The only people left to betray are ourselves." Without another word, the man took off sprinting, disappearing into the woods.

Daniel slowly sat up, ignoring the pain erupting throughout his body. his gaze shifting form the fleeing man back to the burning ships, where the last remaining warriors grappled with the invaders on the burning deck. His hand instinctively reached for the sword on his back. His hand grasped air.

Daniel breathed deeply, fixing his eyes on his destination with an undying glare. Without another word or glance behind him, he hobbled to the edge of the water and plunged in.

"How could this happen?" Chrom sat at the table, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Maybe I should say: who would do such a thing?"

Daniel snorted. "Apparently whoever did this has never heard of morals."

Chrom had called an emergency meeting right after the grueling sight had been discovered. He had ordered it taken down, which the Shepherds did, abeit somewhat reluctantly. It was if they feared that a malevolent spirit would come down should they dare touch it, although Chrom was insistent. He then resumed the meeting, and now sat with the same council as before, with the addition of all the Shepherds as well. Yet the talk of Emmeryn and the comings of war seemed far away now.

"So do we have ANY clue who did this?"

"We don't know Milord." Frederick responded. "All the Plegians in the area had been dealt with, and Gangrel remains in Plegia. It could not be him. It had to be someone from this side of the border."

Robin spoke up, her voice small. "But... how is that even possible that it was able to do... what it did? We buried all the bodies last night..."

"We investigated the area." Phila stepped forwards. "Most of the bodies WERE buried, but it seems that there were a couple that had been dug up. We have to assume that one of those held Orton's bodies."

"I must also intervene." A tall woman with spectacles stepped up. "I examined th e corpse this morning and noticed an unusual amount of umbralknetic energy radiating from the open lacerations. In other words," She continued, noticing the blank faces around her. "The wounds were caused by something - or someone - with an incredible amount of power."

"I see. Thank you Miriel. Whoever did that knew who he was searching for then."

"And that thing, whatever it is, is quite dangerous." Frederick added grimly

Chrom let out a frustrated exhale. "But why would someone inflict wounds on a dead body? Did anyone see anything during the day?"

"He couldn't have done it then; that's when we were burying the bodies." A knight named Sully spoke. "Whoever did it had to have done it at night."

Chrom looked to Frederick. "Who was on watch last night? Was it possible that they saw anything?"

The Shepherds looked uneasily among each other.

Frederick sighed and massaged his temple. "Milord, no one was on watch last night. Everyone was exhausted. After we had finished setting up camp and burying, everyone was too tired to be able to be fully alert. I apologize, Milord. I should have been more competent, I-"

"It's fine! It's fine Frederick." Chrom interrupted before he could go too far. "It's not your fault, you were right, we were all too tired..." He took a deep breath and looked out among the Shepherds. "My friends, it pains me to ask you this. But I must know, not only as your captain, but as your friend as well: did any one of you do this?"

It was not a radical question, considering the circumstances, but still, the look of hurt and betrayal on everyone's faces when they unanimously refused tore at Daniel's heart. He knew it must be worse for Chrom, though.

There was silence before Robin spoke up again. "The message... who was it addressed to?"

Chrom groaned. "I don't know." He paused before adding: "Probably me."

Robin looked stricken. "Chrom, you cant possibly-"

"I'm the leader." Chrom didn't meet Robin's eyes. "I have to assume that it was addressed to me."

"D'you think someone meant to address it to Emmeryn?" Stahl interjected quickly

"We can't rule that out." Phila said. "It could have been addressed to anyone here, or maybe all of us. In any case, I'm glad that Her Grace is away. To think of what could have happened if she saw this..."

Another long pause before it was broken by Chrom. "What do you think the writing on the shield meant? A threat? A warning?"

Daniel shrugged. "Could be both. Or neither, now that I think about it."

Every eye turned towards him. "What do you mean by that?" Chrom asked

"I mean, think about it." Daniel stated. "We obviously know this guy has malicious intents towards us. If this man really wanted to threaten us, why would he kill one of the people who WANT us dead and just leave a message? Anyone could come and do that. People who want to THREATEN would come with their full strength and show it off to us if they really meant it. And if this guy wanted to WARN us, well why would he tell us what to beware of if he means harm? No, I this guy wanted to leave a MESSAGE. Of what though, remains to be seen..."

"Is there a difference?" Robin questioned, looking confused.

Daniel looked up. "Between a message and a warning? Yeah. Because whoever did this knew how to find us, where to find us, and what to do to intimidate us. And it's working. Look at us - questioning whether one of US did it. He meant to spread distrust among us. If it were a warning, he would be warning us that this would happen. But no - he's already gone ahead and done it."

He took a deep breath. "We need to focus on what's more important. The war. What happened today, however startling, has to come second to the more pressing matters at hand, which is to stop Plegia's invasion. Now, if this kind of thing does happen again - this time we'll be ready. And we'll stop him too."

There was silence as the people around the table looked at Daniel with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"He's right, Milord." Frederick stepped forwards. "We must focus on protecting Emmeryn first."

Daniel blinked. The last person he had expected support form was Frederick.

Chrom blinked. "Alright." He continued slowly. "Let's see, where did we leave off... right." He cleared his throat.

"The inevitable battle approaches. We must ready ourselves for them to attack everywhere. However," He continued "One would think that the most likely area they would invade would be by the capitol of Yssitol."

"Why is that?" Robin questioned.

"Because," Chrom continued, "Plegia has been waiting decades for another war. You saw how eager Gangrel was to declare war on us again. And knowing Gangrel, he won't settle for for more small raids or skirmishes around the border. No, he'll want to start with a bang. And if there's any place to make a statement, it's at the capitol."

"Captain." Phila spoke up. "What exactly are you proposing?"

Chrom took a deep breath. "I think that we should pull our forces back form the border. Focus on protecting Yssitol and Emm. Evacuate all civilians form the border and draw them back into a more fortified position."

A low murmer spread through the crowd.

"Pull back completely, Milord?" Frederick stared at him. "And give Gangrel that much ground already?"

Phila's face showed doubt. "Yssitol is well defended, Milord. And if Gangrel does attack our border, we must not be cowards. We must take the fight to them."

"And," Lissa jumped in. "Think of all the people on or near the border! Evacuating them all would take weeks, months even? We don't have that time!"

"We have to think about what matters most." Chrom explained slowly. "Losing the villages would be painful, yes, but Yissitol is the backbone of our entire kingdom. If Yissitol falls... we all fall."

The meeting dragged on for another hour, during which it slowly lost it's form as a meeting and spiraled into what seemed to be a debate. In the end, however, the debate ended in somewhat of a compromise - the council agreed to fortify Yssitol more, but would keep soldiers stationed at the border.

Daniel slowly walked out of the castle as the sun was dipping over the trees, and the sky glowing a bright orange hue.

Chrom had pulled all the Shepherds back to the Ylisse castle in order to rest and figure out their next moves. He strode across the gardens, admiring the delicate handling of the various plants and flowers.

Such symmetry... so much care for such little things.

He yawned, feeling drained. After a night like last night, combined with a grueling meeting today, AND traveling all the way back to the castle, he wanted nothing more than just a good meal and then bed. Nothing more.

So when he saw Robin standing outside, waiting for him in his path, her arms crossed and her mouth tight, his heart sank.

"I want to talk with you, Daniel. In private."

Daniel groaned. "Now? Can't it wait? We-"

"Yes. Now." Robin turned and began striding away. Daniel saw no choice but to follow her. She obviously wasn't in any mood for arguments.

Robin led him all the way to the edge of the garden, past the grounds and to the edge, where a stone wall marked the end of the property. Man, we she means private, she MEANS private.

Robin finally stopped in the shadow that the trees cast against the dying sun. Daniel halted next to her. "Ok, you brought me out here - way, way out here, I might add. But what do you want?"

Robin took a deep breath. "Daniel, I want to know what REALLY happened yesterday."

Daniel froze.

"I know you know at least something." Robin continued. "You don't come from this world, yet you somehow knew that that man's name was familiar. You acted strangely. You started to say that you knew something would happen. I need to know this: do you know ANYTHING about last night?"

Daniel looked at her steadily. "Did you take this up with Chrom yet?"

Robin hesitated. "He... I know he trusts you, but I'm asking you now. Forget about him."

"Yeah, sure." Daniel snorted. "Well you can take this answer back to Chrom as well: I didn't do anything."

"I didn't ask if you DID anything, Daniel." Robin retorted. "I asked if you KNEW anything."

Daniel took a deep breath. "Well, I certainly knew things. I knew that that man was in trouble as soon as I heard his name. But I had no idea that something this extreme would happen."

"But you did know that this would happen." Robin's gaze hardened.

Daniel sighed. There was no point in lying. "Yeah... yeah I guess so."

"Then answer me this." Robin stepped forwards. "How did you, a man not in any way remotely connected to this world, somehow knew this man's exact name?"

Daniel sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "To be honest, Robin, I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

"Did you know who did this?"

Daniel was quiet for a long moment before finally speaking. "No." He said quietly. "No, I really don't. I would never know the person who would do such a thing, such an inhumane act." He felt his fists tighten at his side. "I really would never recognize such a person. I never would."

Robin looked at him in utter bewilderment. "So you didn't know? Look-" She broke off, rubbing her temples. "Let me just put this very simply:" She looked deep into his eyes. "What aren't you telling us?"

This was it. He couldn't get out of this now. Gods, man, what have you done. Daniel slowly looked up to her, the mounting dread building in his stomach-

But thankfully, thankfully, Daniel was spared from answering this question from a sudden commotion that happened to break out in the field opposite them.

Both Robin and Daniel looked at each other for a split second before simultaneously raising their weapons and charging towards the sound.

It didn't take them long to find the source. There was Chrom, his weapon drawn, facing off against another man. Both Daniel and Robin skidded to a halt next to him. Robin instantly raised her sword in the direction of the stranger.

Daniel, on the other hand, nearly dropped Kjelto in shock.

Because once he got a good look at the masked man, he could instantly see: this was the same man that he had encountered at the forest road. the same one that he, Robin and Chrom had been talking of on the way back to camp.

The stranger, too, had his weapon drawn. The mask hid most of his face, but his mouth was set in a determined line.

Chrom broke the silence. "Look. I don't know if you are a liar, or if you're insane. But you come to warn us about the future? And an assassination attempt on Emmeryn? Have you lost your wits?"

The stranger remained silent.

Chrom stepped forwards. "How do I know it's not YOU who is planning an assassination?"

"I thought... that you wouldn't believe me." The stranger finally broke the silence. "So allow me to prove it!"

What happened next, Daniel couldn't quite comprehend.

The man threw his arm out and released the sword. Instinctively, Daniel stepped directly in front of Chrom to block it... only to find that the stranger had instead thrown his weapon high above and behind them, and leaped after it. By the time the other three had turned, the stranger had landed, sword in hand, with a dead man on the ground next to him.

Wait... where did HE come from?!

The stranger slowly turned his head towards them, breathing heavily. "I trust... this proof... will suffice?"

In awe, Chrom could only manage a weak nod.

But suddenly, the bushes behind the stranger rustled, and a second man burst from the shadows, his sword poised to strike down the stranger.

The masked stranger only just managed to dodge in time, nearly tripping over the fallen man's sword, in an instant and with the swoosh of steel, Chrom had rushed in and felled the second assassin.

The stranger turned to face Chrom... and all three gasped.

Because standing in front of them, with the mask now in shards on the ground, was no longer a man, but a women whose long hair, now revealed, hung down freely.

There was long silence as the company did nothing but stare at each other. It was finally broken by Chrom. "But you're... a woman?"

The woman smiled slightly. "And a good actress too... I'm honestly surprised you did not figure it out earlier..."

"What do you want?" Robin stepped forwards. "What is this?"

The woman's expression turned serious. "You must listen. A Plegian party is here. They will attack the Exalt tonight and will kill her if they get the chance."

"How is that possible?" Chrom finally found his voice. "She is guarded all the time, in a strong castle."

"You can choose whether to believe me or not." The woman turned away. "But I will go to warn her and protect her. You can come with me or not. But do not stop me." She walked towards the castle briskly.

Chrom had sank down to a sitting position. He seemed to be lost for words at the shocking revelation. After a brief hesitation, Robin came next to him. "Chrom, are you...?"

Daniel didn't wait. He took off after the woman. Although it was true that the woman had indeed saved Chrom, he still couldn't shake the feeling that she wanted to get to the Exalt a little too much. He couldn't take that chance.

The woman had already put up a good distance ahead of him, so Daniel had to run to catch up to her. "Oi! You!"

The woman paused, allowing Daniel to run up next to her, panting. "So... Marth, huh? What's your real name?"

The woman didn't turn around. "You may continue calling me Marth, for now."

Daniel grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from continuing to walk away from him. "You've been keeping secrets."

She turned, her eyes lighting in recognition. "Ah, Sir Daniel." The woman answered swiftly. "Is that a problem?

"Well, no, it's just... hang on, you remember me?"

The woman nodded. "That day on the forest... It was not too long ago. I am glad to see that you have found a place within the Shepherds."

Daniel nodded slowly. It possibly occurred to him that he had just met her only four days ago. yet it had seemed like such a long period because of everything that had happened so far. "Yeah, although it's more accurate to say that they found me." He hesitated. "So, do you mind explaining why you felt the need to disguise yourself?"

The woman stiffened. "I cannot. Not now." She paused. "Although I can thank you."

"Thank me? For what now?"

"For being so selfless. For being willing to step in and take a sword for my fa-" She cut herself off abruptly.

Daniel stared at her blankly. "Erm... what?"

The woman continued. "For protecting Chrom. I can see that you care for him. That time when I threw my weapon, even though it was not my intention to harm him, you would be willing to sacrifice yourself for him." Her expression was hard to read

Daniel struggled to recall the action that had happened. "Oh! Yes, but that was more of an instinct." He looked at her curiously. "But why do you care so much about him anyway?" She's definitely being strange...

The woman froze. "He must... stay alive."

"Oh?"

"I - The future depends on him." The woman met his eyes.

Ok, she's definitely hiding something. It almost sounds like she wants Chrom alive, but then why would she want to kill Emmeryn? Daniel crossed his arms. "So, you can see the future?"

The woman hesitated. "...In a sense."

"Then-"

But he was cut off once again by another commotion. Only this time it was a distant explosion that rattled the earth.

Daniel whipped around. "Did you hear that? It sounds like it came from the castle-"

But when he turned around, the woman had already vanished.

The smoke from the castle could be seen from a mile away. Even as Daniel sprinted, he could hear the panicked yells. As he ran, he kept his eyes peeled for Robin and Chrom, or the mysterious woman. But they were nowhere to be found. Daniel had to hope and pray that they had gone to the castle as well.

As Daniel reached the entrance, he pulled up short. Yells and screams could be heard from the entrance. Several servants and other members of the castle streamed out of the entrance. Daniel surged forward, struggling against the scrum of people pushing against him.

When he reached the inside, he stopped short. Fires and soldiers grappling with dark figures were everywhere. Daniel had to pull his mask up to bloke the thick smoke that was pooling on the ceiling.

He turned and saw a Plegian soldier about to strike down a wounded warrior. In one motion, Kjelto was unstrapped from his back, in his hand, and slashing through the air. The man's head rolled on the ground a few moments later.

"Daniel!" He looked down. It was Stahl. "Gods, thanks for that!"

"Stahl!" Daniel helped the man to his feet. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I'm fine!" Stahl shook his head desperately. "And I don't know! Most of us were in here, getting ready to leave, and then the explosions happened! They must have used them as a distraction to get in..."

"Who's they?"

Stahl paused. "They look like Plegians!"

Daniel swore. So the woman HAD been right about an assassination or at least an attack on the castle... but was she with them or against them?

Another explosion rocked the palace, sending debris crumbling around them.

"Look." Daniel had to shout to be heard over the din. "I need to get to Chrom right away! D'you know where he and Robin are?"

Stahl shook his head again. "No! I just got here a few minutes ago! Why do you need to find them so badly?"

"Long story!" Daniel hollered back. He scanned the area. It was impossible to see anything in the maze of smoke and battle. "D'you know where the Exalt is?"

"Last I heard she was still in her chamber!" Stahl paused. "They aren't... after her, are they?"

"Yeah, I think so! Look, get to cover if you're hurt. I can't help you right now, I gotta help protect her." Daniel then sprinted away, not bothering to look behind to say if his directions were followed.

Daniel weaved and dodged other skirmishers as he fought his way towards the center of the castle. he stopped every now and again to help out a fellow member, but otherwise kept pushing. He passed down the hall and into the throne room that he had entered just two days ago. It seemed relatively unscathed. Good, they didn't get this far. He burst into the room...

...Only to find it empty.

Daniel struggled to think. There was no sign of a scuffle and no signs of battle. Stahl had mentioned "her chamber." Was it possible that it was in a different room? He began sprinting in the opposite direction-

But just then, a lithe figure sprang form the shadows and landed directly in his path.

Daniel had to open and close his eyes several times to fully comprehend what he was seeing.

In front of him was what appeared to pass as a woman... but with animal-like characteristics. She had dark hair, brown eyes, but also a tail, long front teeth, and long eras folded down either side of her head. Daniel got the impression he was looking at a female bunny-woman.

The creature spoke. "You made a mistake to think you would find the exalt here. You get ME instead!" With those words, she leaped straight at Daniel, her paws outstretched to reveal sharp claws, forcing Daniel to lunge away from the attack.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Daniel hollered, Kjelto held up defensively in front of him.

"That does not matter, manspawn. I only need to know that YOU Plegians seek to harm the Exalt!" She leaped at him again.

Daniel rolled out of the way. "Ok, Wait! I'm not with Plegia!" He shouted, slowly lowering his weapon. If she wanted to protect the Exalt, perhaps...

The creature did not relax, instead leaping at him again. "Liar! I saw you come alone to murder her."

Daniel once again ducked. "No! I swear I was just coming to help her. To protect her from these people who actually WANT to murder her!"

"How do I know you speak truth?"

Daniel glanced behind her. "Well... how about this? Duck!" His arm surged forward and threw Kjelto. The creature instinctively ducked, allowing the blade to sink into a Plegian soldier who had been seconds away from slicing her head off.

Take a page out of that Marth person's book...

"Does that help?" Daniel inquired, walking over to release the blade from the soldier's corpse.

"Unless you did throw it at me?" The creature was still poised to strike yet again.

Daniel lost his patience. "Ok look. I'm here to help, and I don't have time to argue. If you're with me great. But If I have to strike YOU down too to get to her, I'm fine with that as well."

"Hmph." The beast huffed, but she slowly relaxed her posture. "Who are you sided with, than?"

"Um, the Shepherds?"

The beast perked up in confusion. "The Shep-herds? Who are they?"

Daniel groaned. He didn't have time for any elaborate explanations. "Look, for now all you need to know is that we fight for the Exalt, we keep Yssitol safe, and we're against Plegia. Does that make you or me friends or enemies?" He gripped Kjelto tighter, anticipating another attack.

But the creature finally dropped out of her fighting stance. "I suppose we are allies. NOT friends. For now." She stepped closer. "I will fight with you ONLY to assure that you will not murder the exalt. A tanguel never forgets."

A tanguel, a tanguel... why does that sound so familiar? Ah well...

"Good." Daniel sighed in relief. "Then you can help me: do you know where the Exalt is now?"

The creature slowly shook her head. "I do not. I was searching for her, as well."

"Well we can search together. C'mon." He turned back towards where he came. "And what's your-"

"Panne." The creature cut him off before he could ask. "And know that I will be keeping my eye on you, manspawn."

Daniel sighed. "Look, can't you... oh, forget it. Let's go." He began running back the other way with Panne, feeling the Tanguel's curious gaze burning into the back of his head all the while.

They emerged back into the battle, the scene just as chaotic. Everywhere Daniel turned, there was fire, killing, death, and destruction. He shook his head vigorously. He needed to focus at his task at hand.

He did some quick thinking. If they had just searched the east chamber, which was empty, then... "We might as well search the west side!" Daniel shouted to Panne. "Come on!"

"What about these men!" Panne yelled back.

Daniel shook his head. "We can't do anything right now! All these small battles will be for nothing if we can't find Emm!" He turned and ran, not caring if Panne was following.

Daniel sprinted down the hallways, blocking out the sounds and sights of the gruesome fights all around him. Past experience had taught him that in order to keep his cool in high-pressure situations, that one should block out the things around him and continuously focus at the task at hand. Right now Daniel had a task: Find Robin, Chrom, and most importantly, Emmeryn. And he was certainly focused on it.

So maybe that's why he was blindsided by the Plegian Soldier as he ran, who came lurching out of one of the hallways and rammed into him. Daniel flew 12 feet into the air and landed hard.

He got up to see the lance of the soldier planted at his neck. He looked for Panne, but saw she was fighting another brute behind him. The soldier laughed and raised the shaft, and Daniel braced for the exploding pain that would surely erupt from his middle-

-Only for the man to suddenly lurch backwards with a gurgle, and collapse in heap next to him.

Daniel struggled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain that erupted from his ribs. He glanced towards his savior.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, shady. Been a while." The man smirked at him as he sheathed his dagger.

Daniel blinked incredulously. The voice and figure were certainly familiar, but he hardly dared himself to believe it.

There he was. Orange hair, black uniform, and sweets stuck all over his body. It was impossible... and yet it was exactly like...

"Gaius?" Daniel uttered increduously.

The man grinned. "Yup. Hoping we would be meeting under better circumstances, but..."

Despite the amount of time that had passed, Daniel had not forgotten the meeting at Little Horse. He had, in fact, on more than one occasion thought of Gaius, and wondered how he was doing. He often pondered if there could have been a way to further dissuade him from going on his mission. But know he was here, right in front of him. Addressing him as a friend.

Daniel's brain spun furiously to respond. "What are you - how did you get HERE?" Daniel asked, still not fully believing it was the same man he had met so many nights ago.

Gaius chuckled. "Funny story, I was just with these guys at the palace, until I overheard the boss's plan."

"Wait... you were with these guys when they got in?"

"Yeah, at least at first" Gaius responded somewhat guiltily. "But then did you know what he wants us to do? He said-"

He broke off as he found Kjelto leveled at his throat, Daniel's face set.

Daniel took a deep breath. "Gaius... I'm sorry... but if you came with these men, and are fighting with them, then-" He hesitated before his face hardened once more. "I'm enemies with you now. Besides, you barely know me. I ask that you please come-"

"Whoa, easy there, chief." Gaius responded, nudging the blade down with the tips of his fingers. "I'm not here to kill anyone. Did you not see me just kill this guy for you?"

Daniel raised the blade back up. " But then why-?"

"Look." Gaius interrupted, raising his hands in surrender. "I need ya to trust me. I know these people's plan, and I gotta see your leader. D'you think you can help me? Please."

Daniel hesitated. Did he trust him? But he remembered that what Gaius was demanding was almost the exact thing he had demanded of Panne just moments ago. And besides, he didn't have time to argue the point. "...Alright." He said slowly. "I'll trust you."

Panne ran up next to him. "Who is this? Another one of these scoundrels?" She demanded as she prepared to spring. Gaius looked slightly intimidated.

"Easy! Easy, Panne." Daniel quickly intervened. "He's with us."

Panne snorted. "What, just like that?"

Daniel hesitated. He understood her suspicion, but could not find any other retort. "Yeah. Just like that."

Panne growled and glared at him. "If one of you - ANY of you turns rouge, I will not hesitate to kill both of you where you stand." With one final glare, she took off into the depths of the castle. Daniel saw no point in trying to follow her.

Gaius walked up to him. "What's her problem?" Daniel shrugged.

"So... can you please take me to your leader?"

Daniel snapped himself back to the present. "Well, I'm kinda looking for him now. This way!"

The sprinted off into what appeared to be a main hallway. There, finally, to Daniel's relief, he saw Chrom and Robin fighting together back-to back. The moved almost as if one body, cleaving through soldiers that dared move too close.

Daniel leaped into the fray, charging down one soldier and running through another. For a few moments both he and the others were lost in the heat of the battle, where Daniel could only make out clangs, yells, and blood and sweat. Finally, the dust settled.

"Chrom!" He shouted as he straightened up. "Robin! Are you guys alright?"

Chrom was breathing heavily. "We're... fine."

"Thank goodness." Daniel looked around, dread building in the pit of his stomach "Where's the Exalt?"

Robin blasted another soldier with a jolt of lightning. "She's safe! She got out of the castle!"

Daniel nearly collapsed in relief, but suddenly a bang echoed throughout the hall and in a waft of smoke, A man appeared before him. He had sunken, almost shadowed appearance, with a thin frame and face, his eyes glowing red.

The man's lip curled into a sneer as he readied the tome he held in one hand, causing it to pulse with energy. "Emmeryn was supposed to be an easy target. You will pay dearly for interfering with my designs!" He lashed out, sending a bolt of dark energy that both Robin and Chrom had to dive aside to avoid.

With Robin and Chrom briefly incapacitated, Valider turned to Gaius. "And you traitor," He snarled. "Will learn what happens to those who choose to betray me!"

He sent another bolt out straight towards Gaius. The theif managed to raise his dagger move just in time to avoid taking it dead on, but even the glancing blow was enough to send him flying to the far side of the hall.

Valider turned to Daniel next, another bolt ready in his hand. But as soon as he saw his target he stopped in shock, before his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"It's you."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Me."

The energy in Validar's hand slowly fizzled out. "To think after all this time... it would come to me instead."

Daniel snorted. "You'll find that a lot more has also come for you, scum."

"Perhaps that is so..." Validar paced forward a few steps. "And yet you still continue to run from it. Even I would never see you as such a coward. But you mortals surprise me."

Daniel readied Kjelto "The true cowards are the ones who give into it instead."

"But that could be arranged." Validar goaded. "All it would take was one small spell..."

Daniel growled. "And what would you accomplish? You would be playing with a force that even YOU can't control! And even if you did, I would never stop fighting. I would prevail over him, no matter what. So thanks for the offer," Daniel leveled Kjelto at Validar's throat. "But I pass."

Valider laughed. "Oh, how naive you are! Do you seriously think you can run forever? It will-" But Valider was forced to break off and conjure an energy shield in his hand to ward off a sudden arcfire strike from Robin.

As soon as he caught sight of his attacker, Validar smiled yet again. "Well, well... the gods keep gifting me today! Submit to me, and I might just gift you with the truth..."

Robin readied her sword. "What are you talking about? Spare your lies, Plegian!"

Validar's eyebrows shot up in gleeful surprise. "Oh my poor girl! But do you not know?"

The hand holding Robin's sword slowly lowered. "What-"

But suddenly Validar was forced to block another attack, as the masked woman rushed in and barely missed cleaving his head off in a vicious sword-strike. At that moment, Chrom suddenly rushed over, and with a sickening crunch, drove Falchion into the back of Plegian sorcerer.

Validar wretched, gurgled, and slowly collapsed. "No... This is all... wrong... how..."

He rolled over on his back and suddenly chuckled weakly. "It matters not... you all... are doomed... I just wish I could have killed her... In person..." His corpse suddenly seemed to fade into an ash-like substance, which slowly wafted away, filtering into the air.

There was a brief silence before Chrom walked over to Robin. "Are you alright?"

Robin's eyes were distant, distracted. "I'm... fine, Chrom. We... should meet with Emmeryn."

Chrom looked concerned, but nodded. "Alright... I suppose I should thank-" He broke off, glancing around. "Where did Marth go? Oh, not again!"

Daniel, too, looked around and saw, to his shock, that she had again vanished. He sighed. "Go on, go to Emmeryn. I'll look for her."

"Are you sure?

Daniel nodded. "I'll be fine. You guys look like you could need some treatment and I don't have my medical stuff with me. Go to Lissa. Besides, I need to find some people that could have been left behind and wounded." He was thinking specifically of Gaius, but it occurred to him that there were others that could be wounded, too.

Chrom still looked reluctant. "Well... alright, just come back quick, ok?" Daniel nodded.

He set off down the hallway. Validar's words were still ringing in his ears. Was he right? And would it happen? But if he was dead... there was another question: was he truly dead?

His heart sobered at the sight of the once-beautiful castle, now wrecked. It would take a while to rebuild this, but-

His train of thought was broke off by that sudden smell. The smoke smelled weird...

...And dreadfully familiar.

But that's impossible... they must have used some weird stuff on those fires...

He stopped dead. Unless it's not coming from the fires. Validar's words echoed in his mind. "You... are all... doomed..."

Daniel sprinted down the hallway, smashing his way into a small room that held the source of the smell. There it was, barrels filled to the brim with it. And the sizzling could only mean one thing...

Oh no.

NO.

Daniel sprinted out, and tore down the hallway. desperately willing his body to go faster. FASTER!

I'm too slow...

YOU CAN GET TO THEM.

There's no time...

FASTER!

Daniel ran harder than he had possibly ever had in his life. He neede to Reach them in time. If not, then...

to his relief, they hadn't gotten very far; as he rounded the bend, Chrom and Robin were just in sight, speaking to Emmeryn. Daniel sprinted forward, desperately waving his arms. "Chrom! CHROM!"

Chrom turned around. "Daniel, what-"

"Chrom we have to get out. NOW!"

"Why-?"

Daniel nearly tore his hair out. "We need to MOVE! This place is gonna blow! GO!"

"It's going to what!?"

"Chrom, we have NO TIME! The barrels in the back - it's blastpowder, tons of it! And it's gonna blow us all to hell unless we get out RIGHT NOW!"

To Chrom's credit, he didn't question any further. "Go, GO!" He began pushing people towards the main gate. Soon most of them were outside, save Daniel.

"WAIT!" Marth had pushed her forwards. "Panne's still in there!"

Daniel didn't ask how the woman knew her. Without hesitation, he sprinted back in a short distance before turning back. "Get clear of the castle completely!" He hollered. "I'll see-"

He heard a sudden sizzle, loud enough to be heard through the hallway and in the main gate

The air suddenly exploded, as the series of explosions ripped across the castle and blew Daniel further into the palace.

Weightless. He was airborne, before he slammed into a pillar.

Daniel forced himself to get on his hands and knees. His ears and head were ringing, and he coughed violently to expel the dust from his lungs. But he snapped back into reality just in time as the castle began to crumble, and then, with a tremendous rumble, collapsed completely.

The last thing he felt was the rubble crushing down on him as the whole palace caved in.

The last thing he saw were the main gate, Chrom holding back Robin, and their terrified faces.

The last thing he heard were the Shepherds screaming his name.

I feel bad for leaving you guys on a cliff-hanger, but hey, It was a long chapter, so I think that justifies it... at least for myself...

Before you say it, I know that the castle DOES NOT blow up, but who said that this would be following the main plot? *evil laugh* And I gave you guys some new mysteries with Daniel... he's definitely hiding something if that wasn't already obvious... *more evil laughs*

I want to apologize for not responding to review as of late, but with the recent stuff that has happened, I decided not to for a few weeks. But I'll try to get back on it.

I don't know when I will next update. The issues in life I am still actively sorting out, so maybe the next update will be late too.

BUT I want you guys to know that i WON'T be abandoning this fic. So I will see you all next time, whenever that may be.