I'm so sorry, please forgive me for not updating this! I was just so ashamed of how cliched the original ending to the last Chapter was that I spent ages trying to think of how to change it and when I finally did, I couldn't think of where to go next with it. I recently though got the threads of an idea as to where I want this story to go and I made sure to make notes which is something I don't normally do.

This Chapter focuses heavily on Samael and it sets up the next main focus of this story. I really want to flesh out the OCs because I want them to at least have a similar impact on people that the actual characters do, I don't want them to just be caricatures you know?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this long overdue Chapter (that's if anyone is still interested). xD

*Spoilers Warning* Definite spoilers about the 'true' end of 'Awakening'. Also spoilers about other elements of the plot throughout the game.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with 'Fire Emblem [Awakening]', its locations, characters etc. All rights go to their respective owners.

Rated T. (*Warning* Contains violence and themes that some people may find distressing.)

Together Again?: Freedom

Samael couldn't help but recall his past ever since Robin returned. By the time she was 10 she had still never been allowed out of cell- all she knew of the world came from either him or Calypso and the many books and tomes they had brought to her. Her language had greatly improved over time and her incredible thirst for knowledge seemed to astound both of the people she was allowed to interact with but then again, when all you had to do to pass the time was to read books and play chess then it wasn't really that surprising.

"Checkmate!" She declared having soundly beat him for the fourth time in a row that day.

"Man, will I ever beat you at this?" He sighed, deflated. When he'd first introduced it to her of course he'd soundly won but as time went on, she was able to win more and more frequently until the point where he was lucky to last long against her and he didn't class himself a novice by any stretch- having had ample opportunities to compete against multiple people including Calypso but apparently- her kid had developed an incredible knack for strategy. In fact, if he was to place bets, he would bet on Robin hands down mainly because Robin was this good with no exposure to the world around her other than what she was allowed to have in her cell while Calypso had all of that life experience to her name.

'Heh, apparently not, Sammy." She had so much amusement twinkling in her eyes.

Sighing again while shaking his head, he stood up and offered a hand to her. "Well...now that's done, I guess it's time for your magic and sword lessons." Calypso had made it very clear to him that he had to aid with her training as well should she ever need to defend herself. Calypso was obviously better at magic than him so her magic was coming on in leaps and bounds compared to her sword training but he was trying her best.

Robin frowned as she stood up herself. She was no longer shackled when in the company of others although she was when she was alone but at least she was able to move freely around her prison even if only for a little while, not like there was much to see apart from books but it was still preferable to how she used to be kept. "I don't see the point to this you know? I mean, it seems as if only you and Mother know I'm down here and I'll never be allowed to leave so..." She drifted off as she looked up wrapping her arms protectively around herself.

Samael had heard this complaint numerous times by now but it still broke his heart to see how forlorn she looked. He wondered what it was like to see pictures of the sky but never being able to look up at it, to see grass sweeping gently sideways as if carried by wind but never to be able to lay in it and feel the blades caress you, to see pictures of people crowding around a fire but to never be a part of that? He couldn't imagine her pain. Remember your vow, one day you'll help her to see the sky, feel the grass and be one of those people around a fire. You'll do it even if Calypso kills you for it.

"Well...you're special, ya know? There are some really dangerous people out there."

"Maybe but I wouldn't know but I guess it can't be helped." She smiled sadly as she looked at him. "Could you tell me about what's out there again please? I want to know what I'm missing out on."

He stared at her, it staggered him how different their lives were despite being so close in age. He laid a hand on top of her head and stared intently into her eyes. "After we've trained, I will tell you all about it until you're so sick of hearing about it, you're begging me to shut up- I promise."

And that was a promise that he broke because he fell asleep long before she grew tired of his words.

Chrom had lost all track of time in his cell. He felt so helpless and broken- even more so than when Emm died and even more than when Robin disappeared from his sight. He wanted so badly to help, so badly to fight but he saw no way out, no way to be of any use to anyone especially those closest to him.

"Is this how it ends?" He asked himself, brokenly as he stared at his open palm before clenching it into a fist.

"You haven't given up yet, have you Blue?"

His head shot up at that voice. "Gaius?!" He asked in astonishment.

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"How did- how did you get out?"

Gaius, who was now crouched in front of his cell working on the lock to his door, met his eyes for a moment before they fluttered back to his work. "Thief." Was what he said in response.

"Oh yes, of course." Chrom placed a hand in his hair awkwardly. "But they stripped us of everything that we could've used how did you get access to tools?"

Gaius smiled at him. "The cavalry's here, luckily for me I was in a cell higher up that actually had a small window, Cordelia spotted me through the bars and was able to sneak a couple of things through to me but considering how heavily guarded this place is, and their reliance on magic, I wouldn't be surprised if they know I got a delivery and deliberately allowed for my escape so we're definitely not in the clear but being out of our cells will be a lot more useful than just sitting here, wasting away."

The door then clanged as it opened and Chrom shot out of there. "Where are the others? Where's Lucina?"

"Easy Blue, I freed whoever I could find on my way here, Lucina wasn't one of them though. But Tharja, Olivia, Donnel and Sumia are out. You and them lot should go on ahead, I'll carry on freeing whoever I can find. After all, we may cause more chaos in little groups than in one big formation especially without our gear."

Chrom grimaced. "That doesn't sound like a very tactically sound plan."

Gaius gave him a grave look. "Yes well, unfortunately, our tacticians are out of service right now so all we can rely on is our own initiative."

Robin yet again was all alone in her room when a sharp pain went straight through her head. She was remembering more and more of her past as time went on and every single time it brought on this flash of pain but this time she remembered something incredibly significant...

...

... ...

... ... ...

She had just turned 16 at the time and she was all alone in her cell, the one in which she'd spent all of her time since she could remember. She was facing one of the walls and had just come to a decision- a decision that would change her life forever.

"Hey Robin- ready for our spar session?" The familiar, boisterous voice asked from behind her and she turned to see Samael holding two practise swords lobbed over his shoulders.

"Actually, Samael, can we leave it? I want to talk with you."

His eyes widened with curiosity as he let the swords drop onto the floor with a loud 'clang'. "Sure, what's up, Robin?"

She reached for his hand and grabbed it, holding both of their hands between them and looking at them before removing all of her final doubts and fears and meeting his confused eyes with her own determined ones. "I want you to help me to leave this place, Samael, I want you to help me get as far away from here as possible. I- I don't want to live in fear anymore, I don't want to be afraid of who I am and who I can potentially be. I want to see the world, I want the chance to be normal."

Uncertainty filled his eyes as he tried to answer her pleas. "Robin, I can't, you can't, it's too dangerous. If your Mother finds out then there's no telling what she'll do."

"Even so...I have try. I know it's selfish to ask this of you, especially since it'll be obvious you helped me but I- I can't do this without you."

His jaw clenched as he thought about it before he placed a hand on both of her arms and forced her to meet his eyes.. "I have always had a plan in place ready to help you escape this place and to get you far away from here but Robin, you must know that there are dangers waiting for you- specifically for you- this world has it in for you whether you stay here or not. And whilst you've read books and heard stories from both myself and your Mother, you must know that the world out there is far more unpredictable than it seems- it's so much more wonderful but it's also so much more tragic than you could ever imagine. I want you to see it just as much as you no doubt do but I also know that it will swallow you whole given the opportunity."

Tears started to stream from her eyes in response to this. "I don't care about any of that! I don't care if I only live long enough to see a hundred years or ten minutes just as long as I get to see it! You have no idea what it's been like living down here, knowing that whatever fate would await me, it wouldn't be a good one, knowing that I would never get to see or experience anything except these four walls-"

"If I let you out of here they'll never stop searching you know?!" He snapped. "Either your Father will find you and you will become the Fell Dragon or your Mother will find you and you'll be right back where you started and she will use you to get what she wants. At least down here, you're not hunted, you're safe."

"I may be safe but I'll never be anything more than that and that is no way to live. I know I'll be hunted until the end of time- I know I'll never be normal unless...unless I ask for you to do one other thing when I escape."

She leaned in close so she could whisper her plan into his ear and he gasped when he heard it. "Robin I-I can't...I can't do that, please don't make me." Tears began to fill his eyes as well as he pleaded with her. But she cut him off-

"If you decide to help me then it's the only way forward, I have to forget this place, I have to forget her, I have to forget you..."

...

... ...

... ... ...

She stormed out of her room and went straight to Samael's, knocking his door wide open as she stormed in. "I remember!"- She gasped- "You helped me, you smuggled me out of Scorchfell and erased my memories with forbidden magic you left me in that field where-"

"Where the wind would sweep your hair and the blades of grass would caress your skin, yes, I did." He turned to her with a sad smile. "I couldn't arrange a group campfire though although you seemed able to arrange that for yourself."

"Samael."

"When I got back here, I had to temporarily erase my memories of helping you to escape, I had to set up the scene so that it looked as if you'd somehow escaped alone in the dead of night and then I had to use the same forbidden magic to forget how I helped. When both myself and Calypso went to your cell the next day, I couldn't remember that I'd helped and so I was just as shocked and clueless as she was. I bet she always suspected me regardless but she had no way to prove it. And when I finally remembered, I spent so much time worrying after you and yet hoping I'd never see you again 'cause then you'd be free and under less threat of being brought back here." He ruefully smiled at her. "I guess that didn't work out."

"But the forbidden magic...that's the reason myself and Morgan are here, why both of my daughters are prisoners, why I had to betray all of my friends- I- I don't understand, why would I ever ask that of you." A tear trickled unbidden from her eye.

He stepped towards her and cupped her cheek. "Why indeed? You were so very selfish that day to make that request of me, so very, very selfish, just like your Mother is in fact but I still helped you, I wonder why?" He pondered.

"Samael?" Robin asked cautiously, trying to move away when all of a sudden, an unexpected voice called her name...

Chrom believed that Gaius was right, it did indeed seem as if it was the plan all along to allow them to escape as there were barely any guards or traps, Tharja could still use minor magic without a tome due to experience and so she was able to stun some of the guards while the others had to take on a more 'hands on' approach but luckily it seemed that not everyone was of Calypso's skill level regardless of reputation.

"This place is so darn big, I'd bet ya a thousand chicken eggs that it goes on for miles." Donnel stated.

"M-maybe so, but we have to try to find R-Robin or even Morgan or maybe even the two Lucys." Olivia stammered out.

"But where do we go now, we've been searching forever and we don't have a layout of the place." Sumia sighed.

"Stop your complaining would you? My precious Robin and her progenies are in danger- she may not be herself at the moment but that just gives me all the more reason to curse everyone here into oblivion once I get my tomes back." Tharja panted as she wasn't the best when it came to physical stamina or strength but she sill had the energy to let out a troubling laugh.

"Err...plus we still need to find our weapons if possible, Tharja just reminded us of that." Donnel said.

"We'll have to split up even further then to cover more ground. With any luck, Gaius has managed to up the amount of us by now and we may run into one another as we go. Take a hallway each and we'll reconvene here."

They all nodded in agreement and Chrom started on his way down the hallway he was investigating. He managed to find a room of practise weapons which- while not ideal- was still better than going around empty handed and so he grabbed what he could before continuing on his way. Just as he left that room, a familiar chuckle filled him with dread as he turned around.

"Doing a bit of sight-seeing, I see." Calypso drawled out.

"Calypso!" Chrom snarled as he tried to launch himself at her but all she did was let out a breath and stepped out the way.

"Come, must we fight like this especially when you're in no position to take me on? After all, you're still my son-in-law whether you like it or not."

Chrom narrowed his eyes at her. "You seemed to have changed your tune, what happened to trying to attack me in order to send a 'message'? Or accusing me of taking everything from you?" He spat.

"The message was for my daughter, it was to remind her of her duty, of why I allowed her her freedom for a second time, a reminder that she was not to forget where her loyalties were supposed to lie for a second time. As for that, well...I've claimed everything back now, haven't I?"

"My family and friends are not your property." Chrom growled at her.

"Maybe not but aren't you at all curious as to why your dear wife and son are so willing to do my bidding despite one showing a clear reluctance and the other trying to give up all he was before? Why are your daughters being held captive separately from the rest of you? You're not looking at the bigger picture, my boy."

Chrom was about to respond when he heard a voice in the distance.

"Samael?"

"Robin?" Chrom gasped before shooting in the direction of the voice followed closely behind by Calypso.

He stumbled into the room where his wife's voice came from and found Samael embracing her as she struggled in his grasp.

"Robin!" Chrom sprung into action and pulled her out the other man's clutches, pulling her behind him protectively.

"I was only embracing a friend." Samael exclaimed, his hands up the air like he was surrendering.

"Like hell you were!" He snarled at the obnoxious man in front of him before turning to check on Robin. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him and despite everything that had happened between them, Chrom couldn't help but fall even more madly in love with her in that moment- she looked so much like how she used to when she was surprised by something- it warmed his heart. He always knew that she wasn't really cruel or evil or even horrible, that whatever was going on with her wasn't her. Even if it was by her own violation that she decided to help her Mother, that if she felt like she had a choice in the matter then she would've made that other choice and he had to believe that it was the same for his son despite him being further gone.

Just then he heard Calypso's chilling laugh again and he turned to face her as she stepped towards Samael, "Dear oh dear, it seems my daughter is still just as oblivious to you as she always was. You've been smitten with her since childhood and what does she go and do? Build a life for herself away from you, forget all about you and falls in love with this weakling of a prince when you sacrificed everything for her and continue to do so even now. And even though she now knows the truth, she still chooses him over you, that must hurt." She mocked him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Samael?" Robin asked uncertainly.

"So you knew all along anyway huh?" The man clenched his hands at his sides, his face scrunching with anger and his black hair covering his eyes. "How could you not see? How could you let my sacrifice be in vain and then return only to torment me further by showing that you never needed me. All you did was use me like your Mother has used me, like Scorchfell has used me. All I am is a pawn on the chessboard. "I used forbidden magic for you- I sacrificed so much of my life, my blood and in the end, I got nothing in return. Just like my Mother, just like this home of mine, we mean nothing to the likes of you." He spat as he looked up finally at Robin, his eyes glowing with pure rage.

"Calm down." Chrom said trying to defuse the situation, his first instinct would've been to pommel the guy but he had to contend with Calypso as well.

Robin stepped out from behind Chrom to address the man directly, "Samael, you were all I knew growing up and you always spent so much time with me. Our feelings may have grown but it wasn't because we were meant to be together, it wasn't because we were meant to love each other, it was because all we had in this cold, lonely world was one another and a shared secret. I told you I wanted to live a life outside of Scorchfell outside of everything I knew here. I should've known that it would always be my fate- my destiny- to be used by my parents one way or another but I could never predict how that would come to be or who I would meet along the way.

"As a child of course I had a crush on you, of course I looked up to you." She looked back at Chrom. "But Chrom is the man I'm meant to spend my life with, we're two halves of a greater whole and I don't know why it took me so long to see that even though I am still cursed, I didn't have to do my Mother's bidding, he would help me come hell or high water, I have no need of this place, I have no need of my Mother and you can do the same! You can have this realisation! You can meet someone who means just as much to you as Chrom does to me."

Chrom's eyes widened as he met her gaze. "Robin." He turned towards her an they got lost in their own little world until...

Samael laughed manically, at the pair. "Still refusing to take any responsibility I see despite that cursed blood meaning that you can't go more than five seconds without hurting anyone. You want to be free of me, of this place? You want to be free of your Mother? Well then..."

It happened so fast that no one had any time to react, Samael's hand shot towards Calypso who was stood next to him looking bored by this whole thing and gripped her neck before crushing it with a sickening 'crunch'.

"Mother!" Robin cried.

"Allow me to grant at least one of your three wishes, my dear Robin."

Ooh, I hope people don't think that for all of her power, Calypso went down pretty easy, it's not like she was expecting it, ya know? she thought everyone was at her beck and call, she would say 'jump' and they'd say 'how high?' and that was always gonna be her downfall, you know? I will explain more about forbidden magic and why that's so dire for everyone involved in future. Until next time. xXx