Pri(n)ce of Power

by FEProject.html

Robin grew up as a prince in Plegia, but loses his memories. Lucina is a girl sent back from the future in order to change the fate of the world. Robin doesn't have many memories of his past, while Lucina is struggling to deal with too many memories she's brought back from the future. Starts rather slow. Inspired by Cold Tea by dualbloodlines. Robin x Lucina

28. Sibling Blades

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone, it's been a while! (At least, by my standards.) In truth, I wasn't able to have much time to write in the past week or so, but I think it can be excusable because it HAS been finals season after all. But now that it is technically summer for me, I should have some more time on my hands, and so you all can expect to have (somewhat) of a more consistent upload schedule.

That being said… we are almost reaching the point in the story that many of you are probably waiting for. I promised that this story would contain Robin x Lucina, and so my faithful readers MUST have it… eventually. It should only be a few more chapters at most. I like to think that I've spent a decently long time building up the story, and so I hope that the reveal will not disappoint.

However, that's for the near future. In the meantime, enjoy chapter 28:

Earlier that night…

Lucina was sitting around the campfire, where the female shepherds conversed with one another in the evening, before they all went to bed.

"Man, that dinner was good tonight!" Lissa exclaimed. "Honestly, I don't know how he does it. I don't think anyone in the shepherds can even come close to making something that good."

"You watched him make the food today." Sumia said towards Olivia. "Can you share any of it with us?"

"Well…" Olivia mumbled. "I… can't really. The way he goes about preparing… he does it just like the rest of us, but what he does when he actually cooks… there's no way I could learn, or even try to replicate it."

"What do you mean?" Sully asked.

"Well, Robin said it himself." Olivia explained. "The stuff he does in the kitchen, he can't really put it into words. It's like it just comes to him. He said it's not something he'd be able to teach me, even if he tried to."

"You've known Robin since he was in Plegia." Cordelia nudged Tharja. "Has he always been like that?"

"Yes." Tharja grumbled, clearly not happy about being touched.

"Oh yeah… Henry did mention that during dinner." Olivia noted, and Sumia nodded in agreement.

"Did he now?" Tharja looked at the pinkette with a frown upon her face.

"Mmhmm!" Olivia smiled. "He said that Robin used to cook for you two, and that the three of you would often have meals together."

"Ah, yes." Tharja let out a happy sigh at the memories. "I can still remember those days vividly. I remember his father being angry at him for trying to learn how to cook, instead of studying tactics or something."

"And why is that?" Lucina asked. "Isn't it a great skill to have?"

"Maybe… but not from his perspective." Tharja admitted. "His father always believed that cooking was for the maids and servants, and a task that was more fitting for women."

"See, that's the type of men I hate the most." Sully barked. "If I met him, I'd bash his skull in."

Tharja let out a chuckle. "Yes, I'm sure you would. But Robin didn't care. He turned meal times from something that people do for the sake of survival into something that Henry and I look forward to. I'm honestly surprised that he's not attempting to take all the cooking shifts himself. After all, there's no way something like my cooking could ever taste good to him, given how picky he was about his food back in Plegia."

"Maybe his lost memories have something to do with that?" Anna offered. "Like maybe it caused him to forget about how picky he was, and it turns out that it's not as big of a deal for him now?"

"Maybe…" Olivia murmured. 'Although… it's probably because he can't actually afford to do the cooking every single night…' she silently thought to herself.

Just then, Nowi ran over and joined the circle.

"Hey!" the Manakete shouted as she got there. "Did you guys see? Robin went off to a tavern earlier with Gregor, Stahl and Gaius!"

This drew the attention of many of the female shepherds.

"How do you know?" Anna asked suspiciously.

"Well, silly." Nowi giggled. "I just asked Gregor, and of course he told me!"

"Going out to drink before an important battle is not something Robin usually does…" Sumia noted.

"Yeah I agree!" Nowi nodded enthusiastically. "Which is why I'm pretty sure it wasn't his idea. The other three must have convinced him. Knowing that Gaius is with them, they definitely are up to no good."

"What's THAT supposed to me?" Cordelia asked, slightly offended someone was talking about her fiance that way.

"Well," Nowi smiled. "Gaius is very sneaky. There's probably a reason they're taking him to a tavern of all places."

"My hypothesis is…" Everyone turned their attention to Miriel. She rarely spoke, so everyone took her extremely seriously when she did. "They've hauled him off in order to discuss matters of the heart."

"Matters… of the heart?" Say'ri asked, as if she hadn't heard the bespectacled woman clearly. She rarely was able to attend these campfires, so she jumped on the opportunity when she had it.

"Girls!" Lissa exclaimed, realizing what Miriel had meant. "They must be talking about girls!"

"That actually makes sense." Maribelle conceded. "The rest of them are married, so it's possible that they're curious about who Robin is into. After all, he's one of the few men in camp that isn't married or engaged."

"And probably the most interesting one too." Sully smirked. "Ol' Kellam may as well be a brick wall, and I didn't think Ricken is old enough to be capable of liking girls yet."

This earned a chuckle from some of the female shepherds. Although Ricken wasn't much younger than everyone else, everyone joked around about him because of his height. It's something Ricken has just learned to accept at this point.

"Oh man!" Nowi exclaimed as she looked towards Say'ri, Anna and Lucina in a not so discreet way. "Would I LOVE to be a fly on the wall while they have that discussion!"

"Hmm, that WOULD be something extremely interesting." Cordelia admitted, completely oblivious to the bright red faces of the aforementioned three. "This IS Robin we're talking about."

"It's not gonna be me, so why does it matter?" Tharja muttered. However, she internally admitted that she would also like to know.

"Hey!" Lissa realized. "Maribelle's been introducing a few of the Ylissean noblemen's daughters to him in the past two years! Do you think that Robin's into one of them?"

Anna felt the blood in her veins turn to ice. She hadn't been with the shepherds during those two years! What if Robin already had a sweetheart back in Ylisstol? She turned to Say'ri, and found that, although she kept her composure, her jaw was clenched and her eye was twitching. Apparently, the two of them had reached a similar conclusion. Anna had to admit, if she lost Robin to one of these two within the shepherd's camp, she could MAYBE respect his decision. But if he chose some unknown noble girl instead of them, she'd be more than a little upset.

However, when Anna turned to Lucina, Anna found that the future princess's face didn't appear to have any signs of frustration or worry on it. She seemed relaxed, and Anna swore she saw a smirk on Lucina's face.

"I doubt it." Maribelle waved her hand dismissively. "The only reason I was introducing those harlots to him was because my father asked me to. Several of the noble families in Ylisse were offering him favors as long as I introduced their daughters to Robin. Those scallywags are just trying to use him to gain prestige for their families. I talked with all of the girls myself. Not a single one of them is interested in Robin as a person, and deep down, I think Robin realizes that too. He's never gone on more than a single date with any of them. Someone as smart as him would not fall for such parlor tricks."

Anna looked at Lucina again, and realized that the future princess did indeed have a smirk across her face. 'She must have known somehow…' Anna concluded. 'Perhaps I really should be cautious of the information she likely has from the future…'

"Maribelle is right." Lucina endorsed the Valkyrie's statement. "At least… if this timeline is anything like my own."

"What do you mean?" Sully asked.

"Remember how I… revealed that Robin was single in the future?" Lucina continued, feeling a little bit embarrassed upon bringing up the memory. "Well anyways, that was something he was definitely struggling with. He kept trying to find the right person, and to make things work out between them. However, time after time, it always ends up the same way. The girl was never into him as a person and was only dating him because of her parent's ambitions, and so the relationship crumbles. Everytime it happened, Robin would fall into a bout of depression that grew worse and worse as time went on…"

"Wow…" Lissa smirked. "It seems like Lucina is our resident expert on our dear tactician, Robin… I bet she's spent hours upon hours… thoroughly researching him." Lissa said this last part with a strong hint of innuendo in her voice.

"I-it's not like that!" Lucina immediately denied, her face turning crimson. "He was always working at the castle, and he spent some time with me when I was younger. That's the only reason I know!"

This earned her some eye rolls from exactly four other female shepherds, namely Nowi, Olivia, Anna and Say'ri.

"Sure…" Lissa continued. "I wouldn't be surprised if we found you in Robin's tent in the morning one of these days…"

The War Cleric giggled as she saw Lucina blushing and squirming around uncomfortably.

"A-aunt Lissa!" she stammered.

"All right, all right!" Lissa laughed. "I'll stop teasing you."

"But that's kind of sad, isn't it?" Sumia whispered, bringing some more seriousness to the conversation.

"How?" Panne asked, content with just listening in on the rest of the shepherds. This was not a subject she is familiar with, after all.

"Well, Lucina mentioned that all of the shepherds died… and that means Robin must have died alone." Sumia clarified. "That sounds terrible."

"Yeah." Cordelia nodded. "It's a shame. He's such a great person, but I guess no one saw him as a great man, but rather as a ticket to earning themselves or their family more prestige."

"Such is the world of politics." Maribelle sighed. "In the future, he probably was so renowned that few people in Ylisse did not know of him. And so, they must see him for his actions and accomplishments instead of the person he truly is."

There was a long silence at the circle as they all pondered the subject. However, no one knew what else to add to the conversation.

"Since when did Robin become such an important focal point of our discussions?" Cherche asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, don't you feel the urge to help him?" Cordelia asked. "He sounds like he could use some support."

"Well, yes." Cherche admitted. "But by talking about it in a circle won't do him any good. If Miriel's suspicions are correct, then we can only trust Gaius, Stahl and Gregor at this point. Perhaps they're the ones helping Robin out right now. I say we stop this conversation and leave it for another night. We have plenty of other things to talk about after all."

"Yeah, you're right." Lissa agreed as she thought about what else they could talk about. "Hey did you guys see Lady Tiki when she fought in Fort Steiger?"

"Aye." Say'ri nodded. "Lady Tiki may seem quite gentle in appearance, but in combat she doesn't hold back… In fact..."

The female shepherds continued to discuss various other topics. Even though Lucina, and possibly a few of the other shepherds, would've liked to keep discussing about Robin, they were powerless to derail their conversation and bring up Robin again. Many of the married shepherds, although interested, did not give the topic the same importance as she did after all. Putting that much priority on the topic to bring it up a second time would rouse more suspicion than she'd like.

Eventually, the female shepherds began to talk about a variety of different topics, and completely left the gossip about Robin behind. The night grew later and later, and with most of the female shepherds engrossed in their discussion, not many of them realized when Robin's group came back from the tavern.

Lucina was one of the few that DID notice. Robin seemed to be laughing and in a good mood as he returned with the other three shepherds. The future princess felt one part joy at how happy Robin seemed, and two parts worried about the details of Robin's conversation. She hadn't known Robin for too long, at least not in this timeline. The chances that she was the one Robin admitted to being attracted to couldn't be very high, right?

"I'm going to retire for the night." Lucina was pulled out of her thoughts when Cordelia suddenly got up. She smirked. "After all, Gaius is back, I have to go make sure he doesn't accidently hurt himself or something. Who knows how drunk he is."

"Ah, the joys of married life…" Anna giggled. "Good night, Cordelia."

The rest of the female shepherds also wished her goodnight, and the Falcon Knight went off to find her fiance.

Gaius was already in their shared tent. He was busy washing his face when Cordelia walked in.

"Hey Cordelia." Gaius greeted as his fiance joined him inside the tent.

Cordelia smiled. Gaius almost never called anyone by their given name, so it was something only she could experience.

"So how was it?" Cordelia asked as she began to undress and change into her night's clothes. "You don't seem too drunk."

"Nah." Gaius dried his face off with a towel. "Robin made sure we didn't have too much to drink. He said it would be bad to do so before a large battle."

"That's Robin, I guess." Cordelia chuckled. "Always the responsible one. And how about the conversation? Did you get anything out of him?"

Gaius turned to his beloved. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, didn't you drag him off to find out who he likes?" Cordelia asked, just as she was getting finished changing. "At least, that's what Miriel deduced after Nowi revealed that you all dragged him off to a tavern."

'This might complicate things a bit.' Gaius thought to himself as he grinned. 'At least we told Gregor to keep this information from Nowi. Once that girl finds out, the entire camp will know in the matter of minutes!'

"Maybe…" Gaius eventually smiled as he approached Cordelia. He wrapped his arms around his bride to be and kissed her on the neck. "Mmm… you smell nice."

Cordelia merely giggled, as she was quite used to Gaius's antics by now. "All right then, tell me. What did you learn?"

"You know, this type of information is very sensitive." Gaius waggled a finger at her. "Tell one wrong person, and the entire camp will find out."

"So you're saying you don't trust me then?" Cordelia mock pouted. "And to think I agreed to marry you too!"

"Now, now." Gaius whispered as he caressed Cordelia's cheek. "I didn't say that. It was just a warning… I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it to yourself, all right?"

Cordelia didn't seem too happy about that. "Fine…" she eventually conceded.

"All right then." Gaius moved his mouth up to Cordelia's ear.

"The person Robin is into is…" Gaius began to whisper "...Lucina."

Cordelia's eyes bulged out when she heard this. "Are you sure?"

Gaius smirked and nodded. "Definitely."

"Could he have just claimed that to avoid telling you who he really likes?" Cordelia asked. "That seems like something he'd be capable of doing."

"He wasn't the one to say it." Gaius shook his head. "We were the ones to claim it, and he only sat there, looking at us in shock."

"He could have just been surprised by what you're suggesting." Cordelia protested. "You still don't know for sure."

"Nah." Gaius waved his hand. "You weren't there. His reaction… as well as his actions afterwards. One hundred percent genuine. I can usually tell when someone's faking, and Robin definitely wasn't faking it. He admitted it afterwards too."

"But… isn't she Chrom's daughter?" Cordelia asked. "Surely Robin would've ruled her out as a possibility as soon as he found out about their relation."

"That's actually why Robin is so hesitant to make a move." Gaius admitted. "Robin told us on the way back that he began to develop a crush on her when she was still hiding her identity, and so it was a real shock for him when she was revealed to be Chrom's daughter. But at that point, he had already developed feelings for her."

"I…see." Cordelia nodded. "And how many others know about this?"

"Hmm…" Gaius brought a hand to his chin. "Well, I know about it… Stahl and Gregor heard from him first hand too… Stahl will probably tell Sully later tonight, and I told you. We decided it was probably for the best that we keep Nowi out of this loop, since she'll probably have a hard time keeping it to herself."

"That seems pretty wise." Cordelia admitted. "So I guess five of us then?"

"For now." Gaius shrugged. "It wouldn't be that much of a secret if everyone knows about it."

"That means Lucina doesn't know yet, right?" Cordelia asked.

"As far as I know, no." Gaius replied. "She shouldn't."

"Hmm…." Cordelia looked deep in thought. "Do you think it'd be a good idea to share this with Sumia? Maybe she would be able to find out what Lucina thinks of Robin."

Gaius blanched. "Uh… don't you think there's a good chance Chrom will find out if you tell her? They ARE married after all."

"Maybe you're right." Cordelia admitted. "What if I tried to get Sumia to find out without mentioning anything about Robin? I think I could a way to bring it up without being too suspicious."

"Hmm…" Gaius seemed to think about the idea. "I suppose that could work. You'd probably be the best person to ask Sumia about that."

Gaius stretched and gave a loud yawn. "Well, even though I didn't have too much to drink, I still feel exhausted. It's pretty late too… I'm ready to go to sleep."

Cordelia smiled. "Yes, perhaps this is something we can worry about tomorrow."

Cordelia got under the blankets of their bedroll. A few moments later, she felt Gaius slip under the covers with her. She felt an arm wrap around her waist and a warm body press into her back.

"I'm so glad you agreed to marry me." Gaius whispered into his fiance's ear. "I'll make sure you don't regret it."

Cordelia had a smile on her face as she fell asleep.

Somewhere close, yet so far away…

Basilio and his forces were busy fighting against Emperor Walhart's forces. The rain was making things even more difficult.

"Fall back and form up!" Basilio commanded. "Don't let them scatter us!"

"Easier said than done!" Flavia replied. "Their calvary is riding all over us!"

"We can hold our ground!" Basilio insisted. "I'll show you how a real Feroxi fights, woman!"

"Did I hear a crack in your voice?" Flavia teased. "Is that fear in your eye?"

"Never!" Basilio laughed. "Let's give these chumps a taste of our barbarian roots!"

"Now THAT's the oaf I love!" Flavia chuckled. Her expression then turned serious. "Wait… what was that? Our soldiers…"

A short distance ahead of them, a crimson rider slashed apart several Feroxi soldiers. It only took him one swing to kill each one.

"They're swatting our troops like flies!" Basilio exclaimed.

"Is it some form of elite calvary?" Flavia squinted. "Gods… it's just one man!"

"YOU THERE!" the crimson rider roared, pointing his weapon at Basilio. "Do you command these forces? I am the emperor Walhart, and I will make you kneel before me!" The rider charged Basilio.

"Aww crap!" Basilio gritted his teeth.

Walhart swung his axe at Basilio, and the West Khan retaliated. However, Walhart was able to severely injure Basilio, while the Warrior was unable to make even a scratch on the crimson horseman's armor.

"Such strength…" Basilio panted. "Is he even human?"

"Impressive." Walhart chuckled. "You're the first besides Yen'fay to survive past a single stroke."

"I don't stand a chance!" Basilio exclaimed. "Flavia! Everyone! Run! Run for your lives!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Flavia protested.

"He's a demon, woman!" Basilio roared back. "I can keep him occupied… while you escape. Damn… it looks like the lass was right…"

"I think not!" Flavia exclaimed. "I'm here, so that means things can be changed! Damn you oaf! You're not getting away from me that easily!"

Walhart swung his axe at Basilio again, but Flavia rushes in and blocks the hit. This gives Basilio and opportunity to swing at his opponent, this time scoring a major hit. However, Walhart, even after getting injured, didn't falter and swings at Basilio again, knocking the man down.

"Flavia…" Basilio croaked. "Give this… to Chrom. It's the gemstone… Gules."

"Give it to him yourself, you one eyed clod of a man!" Flavia yelled. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you!"

"Fool woman!" Basilio exclaimed. "I'm done here… don't let it be for nothing. For once in your life… just do as I say! Go!"

With that, Basilio fell over, lying motionless on the ground.

"Basilio!" Flavia roared. Reluctantly, she retreated away from the battle as quickly as possible. Some of their soldiers put themselves between their remaining khan and the Valmese emperor in order to help secure her retreat. However, they would soon meet the same fate as their fallen comrades.

The Next Morning…

Robin was in the command tent with Chrom, Frederick and Say'ri.

"Today's the day we meet with Yen'fay." Chrom said grimly. "We cannot afford to lose."

"Something concerning came to me last night." Robin began. "What if the dynasts who betrayed us attack from our backside as we engage Yen'fay? We wouldn't be able to deal with that kind of battle."

"Aye." Say'ri agreed. "'Twould be an easy victory, and they can easily curry favor with the empire without too much of a risk. That is exactly how they think."

"Which is why we need to choose the location of our battle carefully." Chrom nodded.

"Say'ri, there was that mountain slightly to our southwest." Robin said with his brows furrowed. "I've seen it smoking for hours… even last night, and yet, there don't seem to be any trees on it."

"Ah…" Say'ri said in understanding. "I believe you mean Demon's Ingle. It's no forest fire. That mountain is a volcano. It is known and feared by all of Valm. Few dare to even draw close, lest they anger the wicked fire god."

"Robin?" Chrom asked. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Robin smirked. "Only if you're wondering how fast we can get to the volcano."

"Go to Demon's Ingle!?" Say'ri exclaimed. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"I'm saying your opportunistic former friends won't dare follow us." Robin explained. "And we'd be able to use the terrain to our advantage against your brother."

"Hmm… and my brother will still come." Say'ri nodded. "His stubborn pride will still force his hand."

"Then it seems we have our strategy." Frederick nodded.

"... 'Tis a risky plan." Say'ri admitted. "But I cannot devise one better. And… you two do seem to have a peculiar talent for performing miracles."

"I'll inform everyone to get ready to march." Frederick bowed and exited the tent.

Robin frowned, seeming to be disturbed by some unpleasant thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Chrom chuckled. "Doubting yourself already?"

"No, no." Robin shook his head. "I'm confident it's the right thing to do. I'm just concerned… nevermind, I'm sure it's nothing."

"Are you sure, Sir Robin?" Say'ri asked. "'Twould be unwise to solve troubling enigmas all by your lonesome."

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "It's fine. C'mon, we have to get ready to tear down camp as well."

Chrom nodded, and the three remaining people in the command tent left to help pack everything up.

Moments Later…

Cordelia felt extremely lucky. Sumia had elected to fly instead of march with the shepherds by foot today. This made it extremely easy for her to get a chance to talk to her friend without any interruptions.

Cordelia flew Aurora up next to Sumia's Belfire.

"Hey Sumia!" the Falcon Knight called.

"Oh hey Cordelia!" the Dark Flier quickly responded. "Is there something you needed?"

"No," Cordelia said. "I just wished to have a chat with a good friend."

"Oh I see." Sumia smiled. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about YOU." Cordelia chuckled. "After all, we're about the same age. But I don't have any children yet, whereas you have a daughter that's nearly a grown woman."

"Oh stop it!" Sumia giggled. "Remember, Lucina said that you have a daughter that came back from the future with her as well. She has to be a grown woman by now too!"

"Actually, that got me wondering…" Cordelia continued, finally able to transition into what she really was after. "Since she is getting to that age, do you think Lucina has a boyfriend?"

"B-boyfriend?" Sumia asked.

"Yeah." Cordelia nodded. "She's around the age where that kind of thing begins to become important, right? So, do you know? Is she already with one of the others that came back from the future? Did she mention anything about it to you before?"

"I… I don't know." Sumia truthfully said.

"That's too bad." Cordelia sighed. "I guess I was just a little curious. There could be so many outcomes and possibilities with traveling through time."

"Maybe… maybe I could ask her and try to find out." Sumia offered. "Maybe when I have the time. She'd tell me, right? At least, I think she'd tell me. However, I'm also worried that it'll evoke some painful memories."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, what if that special person wasn't able to come back with her?" Sumia suggested. "It's possible that he might have been killed by the Risen or something in the future. If that's the case, wouldn't asking her just make her sad?"

"Oh… I hadn't thought about that." Cordelia admitted.

"Still… now that you mention it… I am a little curious myself." Sumia told her friend. "I'll try my best to get her to tell me, but I can't promise anything."

"Great!" Cordelia smiled. "If you find anything out, I'll be excited to hear from you."

"Sure." Sumia returned the smile. "No problem."

An Hour or Two Later…

The shepherds had just reached Demon's Ingle. They made their movements extremely obvious in order to make sure Yen'fay and the dynasts knew exactly where they were. Since Yen'fay's troops had yet to arrive, Chrom allowed the shepherds to take a rest, but warned them to remain vigilant in case they showed up unexpectedly.

Robin and Chrom took the time to survey the area that might turn into the battlefield.

"Hmm, it looks like if we really want to scare off the dynasts, we'll have to wage our battle here." Chrom pointed towards an area on the interior of the volcano.

The ground was made of a rocky substance, and there were pits full of a glowing liquid throughout the field. Robin's eyes went wide as he recognized the scene from his dream.

"Soldiers from Chon'sin… Yen'fay…" Robin muttered to himself. He immediately turned and ran towards where the shepherds were resting.

"Hey!" Chrom called after him. "What's wrong?"

"There's something important I need to do!" Robin called back.

"I guess there must be." Chrom chuckled as he shook his head.

Robin ran past everyone, looking frantically for a certain redhead. Many of the shepherds turned towards him when they saw him run past them.

"Robin?" Lucina murmured to herself as the tactician rushed past her.

Finally, Robin found the person he was looking for. She was sitting down on the slope of the mountain, taking a drink from a canteen.

"Anna! Anna!" Robin called as he stopped in front of her. He rested his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.

"Wh-what is it?" Anna asked as she put her water away. This was something Robin didn't usually do, so there was a tiny bit of concern in her voice.

"There's something really important I need to talk to you about." Robin continued.

"R-really?" Anna asked, feeling her cheeks beginning to heat up.

'Did Gaius and the others convince him to make a move? Does this mean the person he likes is me?' she thought to herself hopefully.

"Promise me Anna…" Robin whispered. "Promise me you'll be extra careful of your surroundings in the upcoming battle. Act like someone will blindside you at every single point during the fight. And as such, fight like you're paranoid about someone striking you from your blind spots."

"Eh?" Anna asked, getting something completely different than what she was expecting. "What caused you to tell me this of all things?"

"I… I had a bad feeling… perhaps a premonition." Robin admitted. "I'm concerned that you'll get… really badly hurt during this fight."

"Awww, so you care about me!" Anna translated. "You could've just said so! In fact, I'm really glad that you-"

She was interrupted when Robin grabbed her shoulders forcefully. He gave Anna a slight shake.

"It's not a joke Anna!" Robin exclaimed. "Take me seriously! There's a chance you could be dead by nightfall!"

Anna's eyes went wide. "Isn't that the same for everyone?" she whispered as she looked away from the seemingly angry expression on Robin's face.

Robin soon realized what he had done. He removed his hands from Anna.

"I'm sorry." Robin apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you. But please, take me seriously when I say this. You really need to be extra careful this upcoming battle."

"I… I understand." Anna said sullenly. She finally forced herself to look Robin in his eyes. "Thank you… for caring about me."

"Just… stay safe." Robin replied as he turned around and began to leave. "The river of time always favors its original course."

"Wh-what?" Anna muttered with a confused expression on her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Robin!" Chrom called from a fair distance away. "Our scouts see Yen'fay's troops approaching! We should get ready for battle!"

Robin nodded, and began to sprint back over. The rest of the shepherds and soldiers got up from their rest and began to head over as well.

Once everyone had gathered around the battlefield, Robin began to give instructions.

"We'll be fighting our battle here." Robin indicated to the molten field behind him. "This is for strategic reasons. The dynasts will be much less likely to surround us with Yen'fay's troops, so we can just focus on dealing with Yen'fay. That being said…"

Robin tore out a used up page from one of his tomes. He tossed the page into one of the lava pits. As soon as the substance touched the page, the paper erupted into flames and burned away to nothing in a matter of seconds.

"This area is also extremely dangerous." Robin finished. "Falling in is the same thing as dying. Make sure you're careful of your footing, and try not to get knocked in. That being said, if push comes to shove, you can also knock the opposing troops into them. We have a slight advantage in this regard, as Yen'fay is said to control a large number of swordmasters. They are quite easy to knock around, if you can hit them that is. The ground also makes it more difficult for soldiers that rely on dodging to be as successful, but keep in mind that it also works that way for us."

The shepherds nodded in understanding.

"Due to the limited area inside the volcano, the shepherds will lead the fight against Yen'fay." Robin continued. "The rest of our soldiers will stand guard out here…" Robin gestured to the side of the mountain near the entrance to the interior. "The dynasts are less likely to follow us here, but in the event that they do, our soldiers will do their best to fight them off. That way, the shepherds can focus on taking down Yen'fay."

Just as Robin was finishing up his instructions, Valmese and Chon'sin soldiers began to file into the volcano from the entrance on the other side of the mountain. They did not hesitate to enter the molten field, and began to spread out as they advanced towards the shepherds.

"Shepherds! Stand with me!" Chrom commanded as he went forward to meet them. The shepherds roared in agreement and followed after their leader.

Meanwhile…

Yen'fay stood facing the shepherds. His troops had already begun to take the field and the fight was just about to begin.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light next to him as an all too familiar sage warped in.

"Why, General, there seems to be a melancholic air about you today." Excellus noted. "Whatever is the problem?"

The short, round sage pretended to think about it for a second. "Oh, today is the day you face off against your beloved sister, am I right? Dear me, of course it is! Well of course you'd be in a foul mood then…"

"She is a rebel and a traitor to the empire." Yen'fay calmly declared. "I have no sister."

"Oh, very good! Very good!" Excellus conceded. "Right out of the book, General Yen'fay!"

He leaned in close to the swordmaster. "And I commend your acting ability." the sage whispered. "It's very convincing! I think all your soldiers heard you too."

Excellus then retreated his head back a reasonable distance. "In any case, I'm SO glad I can trust you not to take it easy on her ragtag little troupe."

Yen'fay said nothing, and his expression gave little away.

"Yes, we BOTH know that you would never let any of her comrades escape, don't we?" Excellus cackled. "Oh, I know it must be so difficult, General! But think of it this way: You still have a family! A big one! Why, the whole imperial army is your family now!"

Excellus sighed, still not receiving any reactions from Yen'fay.

"Well, I must be going now." Excellus finally said. "Do tell your sister I say hello! Ta ta!"

With that, Excellus left just as quickly as he had arrived.

"You little toad…" Yen'fay muttered under his breath once the sage had left. "My service to you and the imperial army ends today."

He turned towards the battle, where his troops, receiving few instructions from him, were currently being slaughtered under the careful guidance by the tactician from Ylisse.

Yen'fay smiled. There was a reason he had put the Valmese soldiers towards the front for this battle. He turned to his personal followers who were standing protectively around him.

"Don't fight unless you're personally threatened." Yen'fay instructed them. "Also, if I were to fall in this battle, I want you all to retreat. Afterwards, do whatever your hearts desire."

"General Yen'fay!" one of the swordmasters exclaimed. "Please! Don't even joke like that! There's no one that could possibly take YOU down."

"Just follow my instructions." Yen'fay replied. "Whether I can be killed or not is irrelevant."

The swordmaster sighed. "Yes sir!" he replied.

"Good." Yen'fay nodded. "The Ylisseans will be here soon…"

With Robin…

The battle was going extremely well so far. However, the battle within his dreams was also the same. In fact, the two battles were eerily similar to one another. Robin swore that he recognized patterns and skirmishes in the current battle that were exactly the same as the one in his dream.

He tried giving instructions based on what he saw from his dream, and found out that everything was working out the way he remembered. In fact, this battle made his skills seem even more terrifying, because it was as if he could see the future as well as understand exactly how to go about winning the battle.

'There!' Robin thought to himself. He saw Kellam strike a sage with his lance while simultaneously pushing a swordmaster into a fiery pit with his shield. It was something he had noticed within his dream, and not something that is easily forgettable.

Robin turned towards the other side of the field. Right on schedule, Sully and Stahl worked together to kill an enemy Paladin that was too overextended.

'That means…' Robin thought to himself. He frantically scanned the battlefield, trying to find where Anna was. To his dismay, he saw the redhead in the middle of combat. Although she had a Levin sword instead of a killing edge this time, the scene looked all too familiar. Robin snuck a glance at his Hekseer, and noticed the Griffon Rider that would have killed her beginning to approach.

"Not good!" Robin said out loud as he suddenly ran away from his post towards the Trickster.

"What?" Maribelle exclaimed. "Where are you going?"

Robin temporarily ignored her and ran towards Anna as fast as he possibly could. He hoped he would get there in time.

However, it seems his fears were beginning to become true. The Griffon Rider was able to sneak up on Anna much faster than Robin, who was busy running over the unstable ground.

"Anna!" Robin shouted in alarm, causing the redhead to look back at him in surprise. Her eyes widened as she saw Robin beginning to aim a spell towards her.

"Are you mad!?" Anna exclaimed, not wanting to believe that Robin was about to blast her with a magic spell. Robin seemed to not hear her as he finished casting Thoron. The laser of electrical energy flew towards her. She closed her eyes, feeling both scared and betrayed, and waited for her death.

She felt nothing of the sort. Instead, there was the feeling of something moving quickly by her. She opened her eyes, and saw a Tomahawk embedded into the ground next to her. She turned around to see that Robin had hit the Griffon behind her. This caused the beast to suddenly change its course and for its rider's swing to miss.

Anna quickly reacted and slashed her Levin sword across the Rider's neck, killing him. It wasn't the way the weapon was designed to work, but the serrated edge of her sword meant it was still possible to slash someone up at close distance.

She turned around to see Robin give her a smile before running back towards his original position.

"Robin... " Anna murmured. "You were right."

The Trickster recognized how close to death she had been. She had been too careless, and had forgotten about Robin's warning. However, this brush with death vividly reminded her. Anna went about the rest of the battle extremely cautiously, and didn't put herself at as much risk as she had before.

The rest of the battle went fairly smoothly. Robin began to feel the natural unfamiliarity and uncertainty of how his opponents would act and it began be feel normal for him to conduct the battle once again. The shepherds slowly inched their way forward, and crushed the Valmese and Chon'sin troops one by one. Robin felt pleased to see that Anna was beginning to fight much more cautiously. He still kept an eye on her, because there was a chance that something else would kill her in this battle. He had to listen to his own advice, after all.

Eventually, the shepherds made their way across the molten field, taking down all of the imperial soldiers. They began to surround Yen'fay and his closest followers in a half circle. Lucina took the opportunity to find a place to stand next to Robin. There was little risk for doing so. She could just play it off as a coincidence if she needed.

"General Yen'fay." Chrom said as he stepped forward.

"Aye, that is my name." Yen'fay replied, mirroring the Exalt's actions. "What would you have of me, Ylissean?"

"I would like to ask why a famed swordmaster would sell his honor to Walhart." Chrom said back to him.

"That is not your concern." Yen'fay calmly replied.

"Are you truly your sister's brother?" Chrom asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. "Even knowing Walhart's strength, she has fought on valiantly. Are you so deluded to actually consider her your enemy? Or are you simply afraid of your master?"

"Afraid?" Yen'fay managed to let out a chuckle. "Yes, I suppose fear plays its part, I cannot deny."

"Then you admit it then?" Chrom accused. "You are craven!"

"I did not say it was fear for MY life." Yen'fay snorted. "That my reasons exist is not cause for me to explain them to strangers."

"If there is any honor left in you, say it now." Chrom demanded. "You could still join us…"

Yen'fay hesitated, as if seriously considering it for a moment. He looked around at all of his closest men.

"The bones have been thrown, lad." Yen'fay eventually sighed. "All that remains is to see where they fall."

"So be it then." Chrom nodded as he drew his Falchion. Yen'fay responded by drawing his Amatsu.

"Wait!" Say'ri exclaimed as she ran forward. "Sir Chrom! Please, let me be the one to take him down."

"Say'ri…" Yen'fay had a look of surprise on his face.

"Are you sure?" Chrom asked, but Say'ri nodded earnestly as she drew her killing edge. Chrom nodded, and put his sword away, he stepped backwards, rejoining the rest of the shepherds.

"Brother…" Say'ri turned and brandished her sword at him. "I won't ask you why… we are well beyond that point now. I will speak it plain: I can neither forgive you, nor let you live.

"I've asked nothing of you, sister. Least of all, forgiveness." Yen'fay retorted.

"But you will have justice, like it or not!" Say'ri exclaimed. "You who stood in silence while everyone suffered! While villages were razed and fields were burned, you watched but said nothing. When mother and father were murdered… you said nothing! Nothing before you ran into the arms of the man responsible for all of it! Your silence is maddening… and even now… you have nothing to say."

Yen'fay stared at her sister, but kept his mouth shut.

"Damn you, Yen'fay!" Say'ri exclaimed. "Then I shall make your sword answer for you!"

"None of you interfere." Yen'fay said towards his followers. "Remember what I told you at the beginning of the battle."

Say'ri charged her brother.

The sibling pair swung their respective swords around, parrying and striking at each other with precision. To an untrained eye, it seems as if they were both taking the fight extremely seriously.

Lucina however, felt that there was something wrong. Yen'fay was supposed to be a renowned swordmaster, and yet he was not going after the small openings in Say'ri's fighting. True, they were small openings, but they were openings nonetheless. If someone as young as her could see them, there was no way Yen'fay with all of his experience could miss them. She let out a gasp of surprise without even meaning to.

"So you've noticed it too then." Robin suddenly said from next to her. "I think Lon'qu and I have come to the same conclusion."

Lon'qu nodded from the other side of Robin.

"That swordmaster isn't even trying." he confirmed. "My style is originally from Chon'sin. I would not be anywhere near Yen'fay's level. There's no chance he doesn't see the openings he's been given. He's trying to throw the fight."

"How did you notice then?" Lucina asked Robin.

Robin shrugged. "I understand the theory behind using almost every weapon. The reason I am unable to wield most of them is due to the lack of experience in combat. It wouldn't be practical to learn every weapon after all. However, observing someone fight and understanding exactly what they SHOULD do is another story."

"I… see." Lucina murmured as she turned back towards the fight.

To the dismay of Yen'fay's followers, it seemed as if their leader was beaten back by his younger sister. After fighting for a few more minutes, Say'ri managed to knock Yen'fay's sword aside. She took the opportunity to run her killing edge through her brother's stomach.

Yen'fay grunted as he spat out some blood. "Go!" he roared. "Remember what I asked of you."

His closest followers wiped away the tears beginning to form in their eyes as they ran off, away from Demon's Ingle.

"Say'ri… you have grown… so strong." Yen'fay stammered towards his sister as he began to felt his strength leaving him.

"Do you mock me!?" Say'ri retorted. "I have seen your best swordplay, and that was not it! You went easy on me! But why!?"

Yen'fay let out a slight smile. "What I could not say to you in life… I say with my death."

"Yen'fay!?" Say'ri's eyes widened.

"You have found… strong comrades." Yen'fay managed to get out. "I no longer need… to fear for you… I can die in peace."

"Yen'fay!" Say'ri exclaimed. "What do you mean!? Don't leave me with more silence! Not this time! Yen'fay!"

However, the swordmaster's wounds were too severe. He died in his sister's arms.

Say'ri closed her brother's eyelids and stood up.

"Our victory is secured, and Yen'fay has fallen." she said grimly. "I will never understand why he joined Walhart… his reasons die with him."

However, a bright flash of light appeared and Excellus warped in next to the shepherds.

"YOU!" Chrom roared as he drew his Falchion.

"Ah, but what a death it was!" Excellus giggled, completely ignoring Chrom. "Did you see the grief etched onto his face? The mix of longing and pain in his eyes? He has become an accomplished actor, but that was all too real!"

"Excellus…" Say'ri gritted her teeth. "What would you know of my brother, you loathsome toad!?"

"More than you, it seems, princess of Chon'sin!" Excellus cackled. "And I would watch that pretty little mouth of yours… I am honoring Yen'fay's sacrifice by not killing you now… but even I have my limits."

"What do you mean by 'sacrifice'?" Say'ri demanded.

"Oopsie!" Excellus giggled. "Did I just spill the beans? I'm so sorry, but I promised your dear brother I would never tell…"

"Explain yourself, snake! Or die!" Say'ri raised her killing edge threateningly.

"Ha! As if YOU could harm ME!" Excellus scoffed. "YOU only live by MY grace, you ungrateful wretch. I could have killed you countless times, if not for him!"

"Explain what you mean!" Say'ri demanded.

"Oh?" Excellus smirked. "Did Yen'fay not groan out the truth as he got slashed into pieces? No, I suppose not. He was always the quiet, honorably type. And yet, he swallowed his pride and cast away his honor… all to protect his beloved kin." Excellus let out a laugh. "That's right! He did it… to save YOU!"

"What?" Say'ri's eyes went wide. "You're lying!"

"No, I'm telling you the truth, which I admit is a rare treat, so you best shut up and enjoy it." Excellus countered. "Before you met these Ylisseans, I could have had your head with a word. In Chon'sin… across the continent… at Valm harbor… did you really think yourself so elusive? You were my leverage for Yen'fay. Unwitting and unbound, but a hostage all the same. I let you live; he fought for us. That was our deal. And he kept his end, right TO the end!"

"No… NO!" Say'ri exclaimed, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

Excellus pretended to wipe away some sweat from his brow. "Well I don't know about you, but I feel MUCH better after getting that off of my chest! Maybe I will resolve to telling the truth more often! Yes, I'll try to do so! In any case, goodbye friends! I wish you safe travels, and I'm so sorry about Yen'fay! Oops! I've broken by resolution twice already!"

Excellus giggled manically as he ported away.

"N-no… this can't be…" Say'ri whimpered as she fell to the ground on her knees. "Yen'fay…"

"Say'ri…" Chrom began.

"Naga… the things I said to him… the things I did…" Say'ri continued. "I have wronged him beyond imagining."

"I have some share of the blame." Chrom admitted. "I did say things that… were perhaps not appropriate during our exchange."

"If only he had spoken!" Say'ri exclaimed as she began to cry. "I could have joined the ruse! I…"

Say'ri continued to sob. "I have repaid his kindness with death! Oh Yen'fay! Please… forgive me… please…"

Robin felt a nudge from behind him. He turned around to see Nowi looking up at him with a pout on her face. "Go!" the Manakete whispered to him. With that, Nowi gave Robin a larger push, and he stumbled out of formation. Robin gave the Manakete one last frown, and Nowi winked back at him. However, Robin understood what Nowi was asking of him. He sighed and walked up to Say'ri. Almost no one saw Nowi's actions, however.

Say'ri suddenly felt two arms wrap around her into a hug from behind.

"You did all that you could." Robin comforted her. "Your brother knew that. You were blameless in this. Excellus and the empire are at fault here… and they will be made to answer for it, I promise you."

"Sir Robin…" Say'ri whispered, enjoying the embrace immensely. "Pray, forgive me. You have done so much for this land while I can offer nothing in return. Or worse… what little I thought I could offer ended up turning against us."

"WE'RE the resistance now." Robin smiled. "We've yet to lost a battle. Yen'fay would be proud, and he'd want us to fight on… to make his sacrifice worth something. And we will keep fighting, Say'ri, until this land is free."

"Aye, sir." Say'ri smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you. I owe my life to you all… and to my brother. I swear to you.., and to him… that I will make the most of it."

Lucina looked on at them feeling one part sorrow at Say'ri's loss, and one part jealousy from Robin's actions. She snuck a look at Anna and found a similar expression plastered across her face as well. She let out a sigh. It wasn't as it Robin hadn't helped her in her times on need either. Robin was just being Robin after all.

Soon, the shepherds began to clean up the battlefield. Although the shepherds hadn't suffered any casualties, some of the soldiers standing guard outside on the side of the volcano did. Yen'fay's soldiers had approached the volcano from all sides, but the Ylissean and Feroxi soldiers were able to fight off the ones that had approached from their rear.

When everything was gathered up, they made their way down to the base of the volcano, where they decided to make camp for the evening. They were all tired from the battle, so marching a long distance was impractical. After all, even if the Valmese knew their location, there was no way for them to launch an attack. They had no other troops or organizations large enough in the area.

Once camp was set up, Robin met with Chrom, Say'ri and Frederick in the command tent. They were just about to continue discussing their plans for the war in the near future when one of the soldiers standing guard suddenly rushed in.

"Milords!" the soldier exclaimed frantically. "Khan Basilio! He's been killed in battle!"

"No!" Say'ri exclaimed.

"Damn it all!" Chrom gritted his teeth. "Are you certain?"

"I am." Flavia said as she walked into the tent herself. "I saw it with my own eyes. He's gone."

"Flavia! You're injured!" Chrom exclaimed. "Frederick! Fetch a healer at once!"

"I'll be fine… damn me!" Flavia said, even as Frederick rushed out of the tent. "Damn me for outliving that one eyed clod! That big, bald oaf! I'll kill him! I swear I'll cut that dastard Walhart down myself! I swear it before the gods!"

"Flavia…" Robin began. "For now, you need to rest and heal. When the time is right, we'll avenge Basilio. You have my word."

"Then I will hold you to it…" Flavia sighed. "But there's something else. Basilio asked me to give this to you…"

Flavia handed over the red gemstone, Gules over to Chrom. Chrom accepted it with shaky hands as he placed it onto the Fire Emblem on his shoulder.

"I… can feel a power resonating through my entire body…" Chrom gasped.

"It's Gules, one of the gemstones you need." Flavia sighed. "Don't ask me why the oaf hid it from you. He always did love his surprises, damn him."

"Whatever his reasons, I gladly accept his gift." Chrom nodded sullenly.

"It's hard to believe he's truly gone." Flavia sighed. "The larger the man, the larger the void left in his wake."

"And khan Basilio was a titan." Robin nodded. "There's no replacing him. But… his sacrifice will not be in vain. After all, we've defeated Yen'fay. Beating Walhart is in our near future!"

Suddenly, Frederick entered with Maribelle. The Valkyrie quickly tended to Flavia's wounds, while Frederick addressed the rest of them.

"The scouts have reported back." The Great Knight informed them. "Walhart's army has retreated to the imperial capital."

"Retreated!?" Say'ri exclaimed in shock.

"And the turncloak dynasts are withdrawing their soldiers as well." Frederick continued.

"I don't believe it…" Chrom whispered.

"For Steiger and Yen'fay have fallen." Robin noted. "It's no shock that Walhart will pull back to regroup. And perhaps the dynasts are beginning to see the cracks beginning to from in the empire as well."

"Maybe they'll reconsider who they will fight for?" Chrom suggested hopefully.

"Possibly." Say'ri nodded. "If they see an advantage in it for themselves. With them or not, it would seem a decisive battle will soon be upon us."

Chrom chuckled. "To think, how fast our fortunes seem to have shifted…"

"We have Basilio to thank for it. It's all become possible because of his sacrifice." Robin sighed. "If there only was another way…"

"No second guessing!" Flavia exclaimed, even as Maribelle was in the process of healing her. "Basilio would have hated that. You did your duty as best as you were able to, and he did his. Now clear that clever head of yours, because we're going to need it. The fate of Valm and all of our homelands… it rests upon the upcoming battle."

"For the sake of our fallen comrades and for the sake of history… we will bring this empire crashing down!" Chrom declared.

Robin nodded. "You're right. For tonight… we should let everyone rest and recuperate. However, starting tomorrow, we'll begin to make our way towards the capital."

Chrom nodded. "Yes, sounds like a plan to me."