Robin did a final check of his gear as they waited for the call to enter the arena. While he really was not sure why they did not just go to the West Khan, he supposed it was not his place to say anything. For all he knew there was some political aspect to it that he was not privy to, but he was uncertain.

Regardless, he now found himself among the Shepherds that Chrom would be taking into the arena. In the past few days he had the chance to meet the "Shepherds," which was apparently some sort of elite military group led by the prince himself, and despite their quirks, he liked them. They were the closest thing to a family that he had at the moment which made him all the more determined to make sure that they made it out of this alive first and foremost, but also that they succeeded in their goal.

With that said, there was not much he could do until he saw what they were up against. So he started evaluating the competition as soon as they entered the arena while the others talked amongst themselves. Overall the enemy force looked capable if not a little ordinary. If their leader was about the same, then he doubted that they would have too much…Robin froze mid thought as he finally noticed their commander standing silently at the far end of the combat area.

Robin slowly nudged Chrom to gain his attention before pointing over to the masked swordsman with a serious expression. Chrom mirrored his expression once he noticed what the tactician was pointing at. He approached the center of the arena despite the protests of Robin and Frederick while "Marth" did the same.

Robin rubbed his temples as the two began to exchange blows while Sumia came up behind him, "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Yeah," Robin sighed as the two finally seemed to have calmed down, "Chrom!" He cupped his hands and yelled at the prince causing him to look back, "We need to discuss strategy." With one last glance at "Marth" Chrom nodded his head and headed back to the others.

"What was that all about?" Robin asked as Chrom rejoined them.

"His, his sword," Chrom looked a little unsure, "It looks just like mine."

While the others looked on in varying degrees of shock and/or confusion, Robin looked unimpressed, "Okay…."

"Right, I guess you wouldn't know," Chrom prepared to explain, "Falchion is one of a kind. It was forged ages ago and cannot break and does not wear. There is only one Falchion. At least there should be."

"So he may have gotten a replica."

"It's not just that," Chrom looked somewhat troubled, "His fighting style seemed…familiar."

"Familiar?"

"I don't know, it reminded me of the royal style, but it was different."

"Perhaps we might ask him when we are finished here," Frederick offered.

"Right," Chrom agreed, "Well, Robin?"

Lucina gritted her teeth as she fell back from her battle with Chrom. It was reckless, she knew, but she was eager to get a chance to spar with him. Still, that was no excuse for telling him as much as she did; she would have to be more careful in the future.

However, there was more to her mission than to fulfil her childish wish to go against her father in his prime. This battle was the key to saving the lives of two Shepherds. Lon'qu was injured in this battle in her timeline. Nothing mortal, but it slowed him down enough that he was unable to get to the two Shepherds in question in time to save them. Now that he would avoid harm, he should be able to get there in time.

As the battle began, Lucina silently signaled for the others to begin their assault. She did not expect them to win, but she did not want them to get in the way. She had made sure that Ylisse would get the alliance should she win, and since the Shepherds lacked the experience that would make them heroes, she considered that she might do well, but she would still be outnumbered once she reengaged.

Once the others had been taken out, she braced herself as Chrom approached her.

"Your father, who is he?" Chrom asked with sword already drawn.

Lucina grimaced slightly; she knew she should not have said that, "I've said enough."

"Fair enough," Chrom assumed a battle stance, "Our swords will do the talking."

Chrom charged ahead and brought his blade down with impressive force, but Lucina deflected the blow. She had more than enough experience defeating foes with far superior physical strength; the trick here was not to kill him. She decided to try a little harder and pushed her father onto the defensive with her superior speed.

Just when she found a potential opening, she felt a sharp pain in her neck before falling to the ground. She looked up in time to see an iron sword directly over her masked face.

"Impressive, if not a little surprising," The audience erupted into a roar as Lucina was forced to surrender. As Flavia came to greet her champions, Lucina decided that it was a good time to make herself scarce. There was no need for her to stay any longer; she had lost.

As she walked around the outer wall of the coliseum, she fidgeted with her mask while contemplating removing it for the time being. That was, until someone's voice caused her to reflexively draw her blade and point it at the intruder. The "intruder" as it turned out, was none other than Robin.

"You know," He said as he pushed the blade away from his face, "Some people may take offense at having a sword shoved in their face."

"Hmph," She sheathed Falchion again, "Perhaps you should not sneak up on me. Now, why have you sought me out?"

"I'm just curious as to what your endgame is."

"Endgame?"

"Yeah, what are you trying to accomplish?"

"I already told you–"

"Yes, the end of the world, but how exactly do you plan on stopping it?"

"That is for me to worry about."

"I'm afraid the end of the world concerns the rest of us too. Now, normally I would just chock it up to the ramblings of a mad person, but what happened in that forest leads me to believe that you may know something that we don't. If you were to share that, then maybe we could help stop whatever it is you want to stop."

"I cannot do that."

"Excuse my bluntness, but why not?"

"I cannot afford to tell you anything more than is absolutely necessary. Continue as you would normally. I will handle the rest."

"I suppose I have no choice but to trust you. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Lucina nodded and made to leave quickly before Robin spoke up once more, "Oh, and Marth."

"Yes?" She turned her head back.

"Good luck."

Well, that was certainly different. Robin may not have gotten all of the answers, but he did get a clue. Marth's sword's blade was in perfect shape; freakishly perfect. Even the best blades got small chips in them, but Marth's was virtually perfect along the blade. That left two possibilities. Either someone figured out how to make another Falchion, or it was the same sword, but that was impossible...right?

"What have I gotten myself into?"