Welcome back everyone, and welcome to the second chapter of this story! Just to get this out of the way, I'm planning on releasing a chapter every Sunday. I won't, however, name a specific time because that just depends on when I find the time to actually do so. Also, even though that's what I'm planning, I never know what life has in store for me. It's very possible that I won't have the time on some Sundays because of something random coming up or because I have a basketball game to play in. So essentially, sometimes the new chapter will be up either Saturday or a few days after Sunday. But enough of this stuff for now and on to the actual story. Enjoy!


-Nightfall-

"Uugh, my feet hurt!", Lissa complains for what had to be the 50th or so time in the last half an hour. "Besides, it's already getting dark, shouldn't we stop so-", she's interrupted by a fly buzzing into her open mouth. Coughing and weezing, she does her best to get rid of the weird feeling in her throat. "Eeew, now there's bugs out and everything!"

"Lissa, we get it. Your feet hurt, there're bugs, you're hungry and gods know what else. But wanted to get better at the whole travelling thing, right? Besides, look at it like this: the faster we walk, the sooner we'll be back home.", Chrom sighs.

"Actually, milord, I must side with milady in this matter.", Frederick states, earning him confused looks from everyone, while Lissas outdoes those of the others. "WHAT?! Frederick agrees on something with ME? Something has to be wrong here...", she begins to shout, the latter part much quieter and slightly concerned.

"She is right you know.", Robin concurs "It's not often you disagree with Chrom. That much even I can tell and I've only spent about half a day with you guys."

"Seeing as your observation skills are so advanced, you've surely also noted that I never disregard any orders, unless it would bring harm upon my lieges. That aside, I always act for a certain reason.", Frederick replies slightly irritated. "My reasoning in this case, is simply the fact that it is highly unlikely that we reach Ylisstol at our current pace before night fully breaks upon us. Fortunately, now would be a perfect opportunity to set up camp, as we have reached the woods of West Ylisse. Delving further into it would bear significant risks, such as wild animals and the possibility of our campfire causing a forest fire."

"Hmm, I guess you're right.", Chrom gives in after a short moment, slightly disappointed at having to pause their journey for the night. „We should get to setting up camp as soon as possible then. Do you wanna help me collect firewood Lissa?", he suggests.

"Bleh, bleh! Yuuuck!", Lissa spits, still trying to rid herself of the fly. „I think I swallowed it...", she bemoans sadly. "Count me out on the firewood finding, please. I've done enough 'learning' for today!"

"Well, much like Lissa, I'm starving aswell. How about we think about how to get ourselves some food?", Robin suggests, chuckling lightly at Lissas antics.

„Indeed, a bit of hunting and gathering would be in order. I suggest you clear the campsite while I take care of the hard labour, tactician", Frederick states coldly, obviously still not trusting of the newcomer.


-Some time later-

The group of four is sitting around a campfire, which provides the only light except for the moon, that by now has taken the place of the much brighter sun. „Mmpf, it's been such a long time since I last had wild bear! It's great!", Chrom exclaims, mouth half full and with a smile on his face. "What's wrong little sister? Aren't you going to eat?", he asks, waving a chunk of the cooked bear meat at Lissa. „Dig in!"

"You know, I think I'll pass. Couldn't you have hunted some rabbits or something, Frederick? You know, something normal people ACTUALLY eat?! I mean, come on! You're messing with the food chain too much! There's a reason people usually avoid bears, right Robin?", she turns to said man, hoping for back-up. She is met, however, with a sight not unlike that of Chrom.

"Yum! I never thought something as frightening as bear would taste THIS good!", he exclaims happily, while furiously chowing down on the meat of the unfortunate creature. "Ughh, I suppose you can enjoy anything after having lain in the field without eating anything for days...", Lissa concedes.

"Come on Lissa, just eat it. It's just meat at the end of the day.", Chrom encourages. "Since when does meat smell like old boots?", Lissa counters. "Eep! Never mind, I'd take any old pair of boots over this..", she corrects after raising the piece of meat to her nose, taking a smell of it.

"Now now, milady. Every experience makes us stronger, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Doubly so for the unpleasant ones.", Frederick reassures, a very unusual small smile decorating his normally stoic face. "Oh REALLY?", Lissa asks suspiciously. "Then why aren't YOU eating anything?"

For a brief moment, the knights facade crumbles, "Uhh, well... I.. had a rather large lunch. Yes, that's it. Besides, 'twould not do to ease my own needs before those of my superiors.", he replies nervously.

"Yeah right, Freddy! How did you put it earlier? 'That's a load of pegasus dung'?", she retorts sarcastically, prompting Chrom and Robin to start laughing, with the earlier nearly choking on his meal.

Frederick however, showing the slightest signs of discomfort, changes the topic, "Ahem. Well, seeing as it is already quite late, I think it a good idea to prepare our sleeping arrangements. If you would excuse me." After saying this, he stands up, to begin his work, leaving the other 3 to laugh and joke with each other.


-Later that night-

"Huh? What was.. that?", a sleepy Chrom mumbles to himself after hearing a faint rumble. He decides to go and check on what could have caused the noise, seeing as he wouldn't be able to go to sleep again without confirming that everything is alright. Yawning, he picks his blade up from the ground besides him, opens the flap of his tent and stretches before beginning the search. Before he can take even a step, two pigtails suddenly exit the neighboring tent, startling him as a groggy Lissa looks at him.

"What's going- Big brother? What are you doing? It's still dark..", she mumbles, blinking and rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.", he apoligizes swiftly, now fully awake. "It's just.. something doesn't feel right and I think I heard a weird noise. I was just going to go check if everything is alright.", he explains.

"Fine, you do that. But not alone, you won't! I'll be accompanying you!", she decides proudly, earning herself a thankful smile from the blue-haired royal, before adding, "Besides, it's not like I'm going to sleep again any time soon, thanks to a certain doof of a brother."

"Heh, I guess I have no choice but to take you with me, then.", he agrees, wondering where she got her seemingly limitless energy from.

After walking around the camp for several minutes, the two siblings delve further into the forest. "Huh, it sure is dark. And quiet. Wait, shouldn't there be tons of crickets, well, cricketing?", Lissa asks, confused as to the lack of any sounds at all.

"Crickets don't 'cricket', they chirp, Lissa.", her brother corrects. "But otherwise you're definitely right, there's something wrong here.."

As if on cue, the ground starts shaking, the intensity of the rumbles growing stronger by the second, prompting a scared 'squeak' from the young princess. "What.. is this madness?", he mutters, finding it increasingly harder to maintain his balance, before taking his sisters hand. "Stay close Lissa!", he says.

Hearing a loud sound coming towards them from his right he turns his head towards it, in hopes of identifying it. „Lissa, run.", he orders. Taken aback by the seriousness in his voice, she only manages to bring a 'huh' out, before he turns back towards her. "I mean it! Go!", he adds, a sense of urgency now accompanying the seriousness and worry.

Just as he and Lissa begin running, the ground where they stood before splits open, the side opposite from theirs rising, thus releasing red hot lava and blazing chunks of rock, some of which soar closely by past the heads of the two.

"Hey, this way!", Chrom shouts as he turns to his left, now having overtaken the slower Lissa. They continue their run to a slight drop where both jump down, fireballs landing behind them, setting everything they come in contact with ablaze. After having escaped from the immediate danger zone, they look in the direction they had come from, now observing the catastrophe in its whole, fireballs flying through the sky, treetops burning fiercely, the sky black from the smoke.

"Chrom what is THAT?!", Lissa questions, pointing towards the sky, where light gathered into an orb, forming itself into some sort of gleaming gateway, resembling the shape of an eye. Before they can further act, two howling creatures fall out of the portal and hit the ground with a sickening 'thud'. To their surpise however, said creatures get up, still howling all the same, their eyes turning a glowing red.

"Lissa, you better get back.", Chrom says unsheathing his blade. She obliges, while the creatures stumble towards them, as if drunk or crippled.

All of the sudden, the closer one lets out a thundering roar, now racing towards them with a speed they had thought impossible up to this point before leaping at Chrom, who meets the thing with a lunging slash.

Surprised by not hearing the 'thud' of a corpse falling to the floor, he turns his head to inspect his opponent, who spins his head to an inhumane degree accompanied by sickening cracks. Now spinning around, the beast locks its axe with the Falchion, matching Chroms strength.

Having enough of this, he quickly spins his blade, breaking the lock, following up with a body-check, throwing the creature to the ground several feet in front of him. Finally sensing an opportunity to slay it, he leaps into the air, landing on it's back, Falchion impaling it through the chest. Instead of remaining on the floor however, the creature disappates into purple smoke. 'What? What kind of sorcery is this?", he begins to think, before he is ripped from his thoughts by a loud scream to his right.

"Lissa!", he shouts, now noticing the second beast, which he had completely disregarded, approaching her. Seeing as she wasn't a combatant and as such wielded no weapons, she held her staff between her and the thing, trying desperately to keep distance between them, all the while slowly retreating backwards.

However, she hits a rock behind her and, realizing she had nowhere else to go, she cowers down, trying to make herself as small as possible. The creature however raises its axe, threatening to bring it down on her head. 'Damn it, I won't make it in time!", Chrom thinks.

It is at this moment, that a third figure exits the portal, this time, however, not a mindless beast, but a blue-haired swordsman. As said swordsman hits the ground, he breaks into a sprint and barely manages to push himself between Lissa and the monster, his blade leaning on his back to deflect the axe.

Chrom stops abruptly, a mixture of surprise and awe showing in his facial expression. Lissa looks up from her cowering position, surprised at the fact that she hadn't, unlike expected, been sliced in half by an axe, and is met with the face -or well part of it, as he wears a mask covering his eyes- of her savior, who is struggling underneath the strength of the axeman.

"Urghh..", he pants. "Help!"

"Right.", Chrom responds, pulled out of his stupor, before running towards the monster, Falchion brandished at his side with a battle cry leaving his lips. Noticing that these actions pulled the beats attention away from himself, the mysterious swordsman breaks free and strikes it simultaneously with Chrom, the beast also evaporating into purple smoke instead of dropping dead to the floor, while the two blue-haired finish their strikes in one and the same pose.

Quickly, the mysterious man sheaths his own blade, that bears a striking resemblance with the legendary sword wielded by Chrom, before he is addressed by him. "Quite an entrance.. What's your name?"

Before receiving an answer however, they are interupted by their two other companions. „Milord, milady! Are you unharmed?", Frederick asks.

"Robin! Frederick!", she replies, running towards Robin with tears in her eyes, tightly hugging him. Despite being heavily surprised, he decides to go just along with it. "I was so scared..", she whimpers, still trembling slightly.

"Shh, it's alright.", he whispers while patting her head to comfort her. "Are those things normal around here?", he asks Chrom after being sure that Lissa had at least somewhat calmed down.

"They're not from Ylisse, that much is sure.", Chrom replies with a shake of his head.

"No one is injured then?", Frederick questions, visibly concerned. Receiving another shake of Chroms head as an answer, he breathes a short sigh of relief. "Thank the gods.."

"Thank the masked man for that!", Lissa replies, now calm enough to raise her head . "If it wasn't for him I'd be..", she starts shaking slightly once more. Drawing another pat on the head from Robin, she speaks again, „Where is he, by the way?"

Looking around, Chrom noticed he was, indeed, missing. „That's weird, he was standing right there a second ago.."

"'Tis of no matter for now. We can ponder the whereabouts of this mysterious man AFTER ridding ourselves of these... things.", he cuts in. „Eyes open, now. We know nothing of this new foe after all.", he adds, gaze directed at Robin, who nods.

"Right. Let's move.", Chrom orders.


After wandering for a little while, encountering only the occasional monster, which is swiftly taken out by the combined forces of the group, Robin notices a set of walls in the distance. "What are those?", he asks, pointing in their general direction.

"Ah, those would be the remains of the forts that were ravaged during the first quarrel with Plegia. As there was no use for them after the end of the war, they were never repaired and were eventually forgotten. They aren't even marked on maps anymore.", Frederick clears him up.

'I see.. Should we us this area to dispatch of the rest of our enemies then? It could provide us with a significant advantage. But there could also be enemies hidden by the walls. Maybe it'd just be best to stay away from them..', Robin begins thinking before being pulled back to reality by the horrific groans of a dozen or so of the monsters spread out in the clearings and less dense patches of trees in front of them.

"Prepare to fight!", Chrom orders, unsheathing his Falchion, determined to eradicate their mysterious foes.

"Wait!", Robin warns, just in time to prevent his hot-headed companion from rushing head-on into the fray. „You can't just rush at them! We're outnumbered one to three, possibly even worse! If we want to have any chance at surviving this, we'll need to be smart about this!"

Begrudgingly, Chrom obeys. „So what do you think we should do?", he asks, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, ideally, we'd want to pull one of them at a time from a distance with my magic, but that's not really an option. One miss and I could set everything around us on fire. Our best course of action is probably to try a flank. Seeing as these, whatever they are, aren't exactly the smartest guys around they'll probably just swarm the nearest enemy, so a simple flank should do the trick. So, Chrom and Frederick, you two fight together while I circle around them and look for an opportunity to strike.", he shares his thoughts with his companions.

"Then we'll do that. Seems like a good enough plan to me.", Chrom agrees. He receives a small nod from Frederick as well, giving him all he needed.

"Alright. Lissa, you stick with Frederick and Chrom, but stay a bit behind them, will you? Likewise, you two will fight primarily to protect her.", Robin finishes. „Let's go then!" With that he turns and heads for the bushes to their side to get the proper angle for his flank.

Looking to his side after 40 or so yards, he sees Chrom and Frederick engaging an undead swordsman and his axe-wielding companion. While the mercenary is ran through by Fredericks silver lance and instantly evaporates, the axeman provides slightly more trouble for the duo. He knocks Chroms blade aside, making him lose balance shortly, before attempting to strike Fredericks horse. This proves to be a fatal mistake, however, as the mount raises it's front legs smacking the creature in the head with its hooves, cracking it's skull with ease.

'It's going well so far..", Robin thinks to himself. 'I'm glad I didn't tell them about the risk of more of those things being hidden in the trees around here, or else Chrom wouldn't have agreed with this at all. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that though'.

While his next few yards do indeed go without interruptions, he hears a rustle in the bushes around him after running for about 20 seconds, followed by 2 undead axemen and a sword-wielder erupting from the underwood.

"Damn it, where the hell did these things come from all of a sudden?", he questions, cursing internally at jinxing himself as he brings his sword up to deflect the incoming strike of the monster nearest to him. While he does succeed in doing so, the remaining two axes come closer by the second. Realizing he was pretty much out of options, he tries to replicate the sensation from his first battle, where time had ground to a halt, giving him time to think clearly. „Crud, this is bad!", he curses as it doesn't work.

"Move!", an unfamiliar voice suddenly warns. Deciding not to question it for the time being, he obliges and a blue blur whips past him, slashing one of the two creatures behind him in an instant. With the blue-haired swordsman from earlier distracting the other beast he was currently fighting, he eliminates it swiftly by twirling his blade around, dislodging the axe from the hands of its owner before slicing it's head off.

The creature left remains unfazed by everything that had happened in the previous few seconds, swinging it's sword horizontally in an attempt to cut Robins body in half. "Watch out!", he hears, causing him to turn his head to his attacker. Once more realizing he had no way to dodge, he simply closes his eyes, preparing himself for the inevitable pain.

Much to his surprise, however, it never sets in. Instead, he feels himself drop to the floor, now additional weight resting on his body and hears a, surprisingly not-so-manly, yelp of pain. Opening his eyes, Robin is met with the swordsman lying on his torso, a bloodied gash at his side.

"Did you just-", he begins to ask before noticing the undead standing above them, preparing to end both of them with a downwards stab. Grabbing the shoulders of the person on him, he rolls to the side, narrowly evading the attack and jumping to his feet in a single, fluid motion. Not taking a beat, he lunges toward the monster, impaling it's heart. Seeing as the thing still moves, he twists his blade aroung and brings it up, effectively halving it from the middle of it's torso upwards.

He turns around immediately to regard the injured swordsman. "Are you alright?", Robin asks dropping to his knee at the side of the laying man , now beginning to think about the sound he had made. 'Was that him? No it can't be.. that was way too feminine. But then who-'

"That doesn't matter, right now, I'm fine. There are others that – ugh- need your assistance more!", he breaks his train of thoughts, pointing towards Chrom and Frederick who are struggling with a group of about 6 undeads.

"Damn..", Robin mumbles with a grit of his teeth, not willing to leave the injured man alone, but also not wanting to make his other companions fight by their lonesome. "Fine.", he gives in after a few seconds. "But you get into the bushes for safety until we're done dealing with them. And take this vulnerary, it should help with that wound for now until Lissa can treat you.", he orders, taking out said medicine from a pocket on the inside of his coat.

"I told you I'll be fine, I don't need any-", he begins only to stop at an angry glare from Robin. He sighs shortly, instead getting to his feet, takes the vulnerary from his counterparts hands and heads towards the bushes, a hand on the wound on his side at all times.

Somewhat satisfied with this, Robin gets up aswell and turns to the scene of the battle, thinking about his next step. 'Now to helping those guys..'


His brain now in full-on battle mode, he analyzes the situation before him. Frederick is battling two of the five creatures, an axe-wielder and a swordsman. Normally, he wouldn't have a problem dispatching two or even 3 enemies at once, but in this scenario he has to be extremely cautious of the brute strength of his opponents, meaning he is forced to fight defensively for the meantime.

Chrom however, was faring much worse. His opponents were a lancer, whose range provided him with a massive advantage against the sword-using Chrom, and another swordsman. Furthermore, an arrow protrudes from his shoulder, rendering it useless for the time being.

'Wait a sec, an arrow? Where-', Robin begins thinking as an arrow flies past a few feet in front of him before zipping closely by the blue-haired. 'That solves that question.', he judges, following the path of the arrow towards the archer standing just a few yards in front of him, outside of the bushes he was in.

Deciding it best to dispatch of the ranged threat, he dashes through the underwood, careful not to make too many sounds that could give away his location. As soon as he is in melee range of his target, he leaps out of the leaves, slashing in a wide arc in front of him, cleaving the undead beasts upper body off.

"That's that.", he murmurs to himself, turning to check on the others. While Frederick apparently managed to finish off the axeman, Chrom was still struggling with his opponents, at least managing to cut of the head of the spear but in turn gaining a few cuts from the swordsman across both arms.

Realizing just how dire the situation is for the two of them, he decides to go against his initial plan and pulled out the fire tome from his coat. 'Alright, alright.. I just need to concentrate.. If I focus hard enough, I'll hit the swordsman and not Chrom or Frederick. This'll be fine. My line of fire is completly free.', he thinks, closing his eyes in order to focus better. Unlike before, he actually managed to get the desired result, the action now slowing to a crawl, just like in the first battle.

Reopening his eyes, he fixes his gaze on his target. Taking a deep breath, he aims and waits for the perfect moment to release his spell. Again, he feels as if an eternity passes before he acts, while in reality only a few seconds pass. Sensing the optimal moment, he shouts "Fire!", unleashing the glowing red ball of magic. It soars towards the sword-wielding monster, hitting it square in the back, engulfing it in magical flames, causing it to burn until nothing but purple smoke remains.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he tucks the tome away again and starts running towards his friend.

'What? Was that Robin?', Chrom thinks. Despite his surprise, he immediately seizes the opportunity manifesting itself before him, lunging towards his remaining enemy slicing its head off. Having spent the last of his energy, he collapes to his knees, panting heavily with blood trickling down both his arms.

Much like his liege, Frederick too acts immediately, crushing the axeman beneath the hooves of his steed.

"Chrom!", Robin shouts concernedly, finally reaching his comrades, immediately rushing to Chroms side. "Lissa, get over here!", he orders desperately, fearing for the well-being of his friend.

"I'm here!", she replies swiftly tending to the cuts and gashes on his arms. "Robin, you're going to have to pull that arrow out, before I can fix that wound."

Nodding, he turns to face Chrom. "Right. This is gonna hurt, so you better prepare yourself. Give me a nod when you're ready.", he warns.

Chrom closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and grips the grip of his sword tightly, causing his knuckles to go white. As soon as he gives his nod, Robin yanks the arrow from his shoulder in one pull, prompting a pain-filled scream from him. The pain subsides nearly immediately, though, as Lissa immediately begins healing the wound after Robin removed the arrow.

"You alright?", Robin asks, standing back up, offering his hand to him.

"Honestly, I've felt better. But, I've also been way worse.", he replies with a chuckle, taking his hand and pulling himself to his feet.


-Before the enemys were defeated, about 100 yards away-

"Captain Chrom! Hold on just a little longer!", a woman with short, red hair shouts. Realizing he can't hear her, she mutters, "Damn it, I knew I shouldn've left 'em". Preparing to charge the monsters with her horse, she adds another shout, "All right you ash-haired freaks! Which one of you wants to die first?"

"Hold, milady!", a man with light blue hair pleads, panting heavily from chasing the woman atop her horse by foot for several minutes.

"Muh?", she replies, dumbfounded.

"A lifetime may be long, however attraction is fleeting! You needn't fight, only wage love! It would only be befitting of a beauty such as you! Now, would you grace me with your company?", he attempts to charm her, his voice practically oozing with confidence.

"... Who the hell are you?", she asks blankly.

"Ah, but of course you would be intrigued in my humble self! 'Tis only natural, considering it is myself we are talking about! I am a living legend, a myth amongst men, the 'arch' in archer, if you will! I, dear lady, am Vi-"

"You're an annoyance, that's who you are. Sorry, Ruffles, but I don't have the time for this!", she interupts him, fed up with his endless blabbering. „Onwards!"

"Virion! That's, uhh, my name. W-wait milady! I beg of you, at least share your name with me!", he pleads.

"Huh.", she sighs, annoyed. "Sully. I'm a Shepherd.", she introduces herself curtly.

"Ahh, Sully! A name reminiscent of the gods themselves! As beautiful as the woman bearing it, truly! Will you bless me with the bond of marriage, oh Sully?", he continues his flattering sweet-talk.

"Will I WHAT?", she asks , annoyance slowly turning to anger. "Wait, I finally understand. This is a joke, isn't it? And the punchline is your head meeting the underside of my boots!", she threatens.

"Ah, 'tis common for a lady such as you to be confused by the brilliance of my noble bearing and manly figure! Please, do not feel pressured into making a decision right away!", he boasts.

"Oh that so?", she feigns understanding. "Then how's THIS for an answer!", she shouts, ramming the blunt edge of her lance into Virons stomach, causing him to double over, the air knocked out of his lungs.

"Oof! Quite the punch you pack.. P-please milady! Allow me to accompany you, at the very least! Without you, my world is dark an empty, void of meaning! Give my life meaning, and in turn, I shall be a servant to you, available to be commanded to do anything you wish for!", he pleads once more, adding a bow, hoping to finally convince her to let him accompany her.

After a moment of contemplating, she agrees with a sigh. "Alright, but I'm only doing this so you finally shut that darn mouth of yours!", she answers, the annoyance in her voice clearly showing. Despite this, Virion still smiles widely and proceeds to stare at her. „What? Quit staring at me like this!"


-Present time-

"Captain Chrom!", Sully shouts once more, this time reaching the ears of the blue-haired warrior.

"Sully! There you are, I've been wondering where you've been.", Chrom replies.

"Well, I would have been here sooner if it weren't for a certain annoyance.", she admits, casting a short but murderous glare towards Virion, who visibly pales at this.

"Is that so?", Chrom asks, slightly confused, not noticing the the short interaction between the two newcomers. "Well, no matter. Sully, I'd like for you to meet someone.", he says, pointing towards Robin, who, until now, had kept himself from the conversation in order to not interrupt. "This, is Robin. He's an amnesiac we found laying in the fields. We took him with us and it turns out he's a great fighter as well as a brilliant tactician."

Where any other person would have questioned the sanity of their leader for taking in an unknown man, who they didn't know anything of, Sully simply regards Robin for a brief moment, before breaking out into laughter, slapping Robin on the back, causing him to nearly fall over. "Ha! That sounds just like something Chrom would do!", she shouts merrily. "So, are you really as gifted as he says?"

"While I still do not fully trust the man, I must admit that his tactics and combat ability have been of significant help to us, even in the short amount of time he has been accompanying us.", Frederick reluctantly agrees.

"Yep, you should've seen him earlier! He came up with a great plan to subdue a group of bandits in Southtown yesterday and even saved my life!", Lissa chirps as well.

"Oh, that so? That's some high praise right there! And coming from a guy like Frederick no less! I already like ya!", Sully muses.

"It- it was nothing much, really. I just did what I had to..", Robin murmurs looking down, trying to hide the blush appearing on his face.

"Well, until your reputation proves itself wrong, you can command me as you wish! But enough of the formalities, okay? I'm itching to fight some more!", she offers.

"Right.", Robin replies, realizing once more their battle wouldn't just win itself. "With the addition of Sully, I believe we can take a bit more straightforward of an approach to finish this up. Essentially, I'll have Sully and Frederick spearhead. There's still 6 of those things left, but it should be fine. Don't necessarily aim to kill them yourselves, though. All you have to do is stun them or, if possible, disarm them. Chrom and I will be rushing in behind you to finish them off, so don't worry too much and don't slow down."

Everyone nods. "Just watch out for one thing. That guy there, with the hand axe. There's something... different about him.", he adds.

"Excuse me, goddesses and gentlemen, but may I have your attention?", Virion blurts out, much to the surprise of all present.

"And who might you be?", Chrom asks, an eyebrow raised.

"Ah, but of course you would ask who I am! 'Tis only normal to be in awe in the presence of I, Virion, the archest of archers, if you will!", he says, confidence returning to his voice after finally being noticed by the others. „And as such, I shall be of great assistance in this battle, no? After all, should something go wrong, I could simply dispatch of the threat from a distance!", he proclaims proudly.

"Hah!", Sully spits. "A man who speaks of himself as were he a god, but isn't even brave enough to directly face the enemy! What use would we have for you?"

"Actually, he's right. At least with the providing cover part", Robin stops her. "That isn't actually a bad idea. I don't think anything should go wrong, but having him as insurance definitely wouldn't do us any harm. So yeah, you can do that I guess."

"I am at you service.", Virion states, adding a bow.

And so they begin their plan, Sully and Frederick riding ahead with their lances outstretched towards the enemy, Robin and Chrom following shortly after, swords at the ready. Lissa and Virion remained around 30 yards away from the targets, Virion already having an arrow at the ready, aiming at the head of the nearest monster.

When the two mounted knights hit the group of undead, the first two disintegrate instantly, as they take the brunt of the charge. The two behind them are knocked aside, sword and axe flying out of reach. However, they don't survive for much longer, as Robin and Chrom finish them off, the former simply slicing off the head of the beast, while the latter goes for a jump followed by a stab through the chest. In both cases, they explode into purple smoke.

The last undead, that no one has yet reached begins to run towards Sully, attempting to knock her from her horse with its lance. It stops dead in its tracks however, an arrow sticking out from in between its eyes, causing it to fall forward and ending its existence.

The last obstacle now removed, Sully and Frederick continue their charge towards the presumable leader, that doesn't wait for them to reach it but instead leaps forward with a unearthly gnarl, slashing in front of him with its handaxe. This however, is parried by Frederick with ease, pausing his movement momentarily, though. Sully however, isn't fazed at all and strikes the monster with her lance, knocking it back a few feet as well as dealing a deep wound to its shoulder.

Before it can recover, an arrow embeds itself in its torso, causing it to lean back, roaring with anger. Despite having been wounded, it bounds towards them again, as if nothing had happened. By now, Robin and Chrom arrive as well and attack in a pincer movement. Somehow having increased its strenght, Sully and Frederick barely manage to block its next blows with combined forces, giving their two sword-wielding companions the opportunity to stab their swords into its back, reaching all the way through its upper-body.

Finally, it falls, and its body crumbles to dust, leaving behind 4 panting warriors and a princess and a light blue-haired noble heading towards them.

"What was- that thing?", Sully pants.

"Whatever it was, here's hoping it was one of kind..", Chrom wheezes, concern clearly audible in his voice.

"That's unlikely.", Robin states confidently, earning a confused look from Chrom.

"How can you be so sure about that?", he asks.

"It's.. I don't exactly know. I'm just getting the feeling this wasn't the last we've seen of those things.", he replies honestly.

"Hmm. Well then, we should get going to report this incident and the danger of more of them appearing as soon as possible.", Chrom decides.

"Wait, what? You believe me? Even though I have no evidence for any of this?", Robin asks, confused by Chroms trust in him. "We've barely known eachother for a day and you believe everything I tell you just like that?"

"While I must agree with you, that it is most foolish of milord to trust in your every word, your instincts and 'feelings' have all proven to be correct until know.", even Frederick concludes. "Furthermore, you have shown that you do not wish to harm milord, otherwise you would have earlier."

"Well, I don't know much of anything about you, but what I do know, is that you know how to lead and that you're strong. That's enough for me.", Sully says.

"Indeed, you are most definitely a man of significant tactical prowess, and perhaps even as sublime a fighter and man as I.", Virion concurrs.

"Yeah!", Lissa agrees enthusiastically, showing off her trademark grin. „There's no way anyone of us wouldn't trust you! You've saved all of us!"

"See? I'm not the only who trusts you.", Chrom says with a smile, patting Robin on the back. "Besides, think about it. You lost your memory, got picked up by a group of people you didn't know, who, for all you know could've just put you in jail. But you didn't decide to run away but chose to fight for the innocent and helpless instead. Any man who acts like that, I'd blindly trust."

"Thanks guys.", Robin replies softly. „It means a lot to me."

"You got it. But now let's go, we have a task at hand." Chrom reminds.

"Wait here for a minute. There's something I have to go check on. I won't be long.", Robin says, turning to head to where he last saw Marth.

"Marth!", he calls. „Marth, where are you?". No response. "That's weird, I swear he was here somewhere..". Little did he know, that at this moment the person he looked for was hiding behind a tree just a few feet away from him."

"Robin!", he hears Lissa call out. „We're leaving, you should come now!"

Reluctantly, he obliges and turns around to meet up with his companions.

'That was too close.', Marth thinks, letting himself slump to the ground, still holding his wound. 'I should find a river or a creak to clean this out..'. He stands back up and slowly but surely heads to the north – the same direction the group that the tactician who had fought alongside him was a part of. 'Who was that?'


-Several hours later, around noon-

"So this is the capital, Ylisstol, huh? It's.. a lot bigger than I imagined. I don't think I've ever seen this many people in one place..", Robin says in awe.

"That's to be expected though, considering your amnesia and all.", Chrom replies with a laugh, clearly taking pleasure in his friends reaction.

"It would seem the capital was spared of the catastrophe that fell upon the western woods. Thank Naga.. In that case, the great quake we beared witness to must have been limited to the forrest. We haven't come across any evidence of it since we departed from there.", Frederick analyses.

"That's a relief! Finally, some GOOD news after all that happened in the past day!", Lissa goes along with the knight.

"Indeed, that is nice to hear. Still, we have to make sure that the incidence is reported. We can't risking that happening again, not without being prepared.", Chrom admits.

"Look! It's the exalt!", an old villager proclaims pointing to a figure surrounded by a group of soldiers.

The woman he is looking at is clad in green and white sage robes, her long, blonde hair flowing down her back and, strangly, the same mark that can also be found on Chroms shoulder is on her forehead. Robin decides to ask about that later, as he notices how the mood of the crowds surrounding her has shifted with her arrival. She seemed to emit an aura of tranquility, causing those around her, even those who were formerly arguing or angry, to relax and smile, turning to her and waving.

"So that's your ruler, the exalt?", he asks, intrigued by the figure before him.

"Indeed. Her name is Lady Emmeryn.", Chrom answers.

"Is it really safe for her to be walking around with commonerslike this?", he asks, worried at the many possibilities it would provide an assasin.

"The exalt is a symbol of peace – Ylisses most prized quality. A long time ago, the world stood at the brink of destruction by the hand of the fell dragon. However, the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and sealed the beast away. Exalt Emmeryn is the very embodiment of the peace our people fought for back then.", Frederick informs.

"With Plegia at our door and the brigand problem increasing, we need her. She is a beacon of hope, calming those around her with her presence in a time where most would call for war.", Chrom adds.

"Well, it seems your people are lucky to have her then.", Robin admits

"Aand!", Lissa begins. "She is also the BEST big sister you could ever wish for!"

"I'd believe that.", Robin says with a smile, not immediatley noticing what Lissa implys. "Wait a second.. did you just say-"

"Yup, she's our sister.", Lissa repeats, amused by Robins reaction.

"But then- That means-", he stutters.

"Milady Lissa and milord Chrom are the princess and prince respectively of the realm.", Frederick finishes for him. "You remember his name, but not his status?", he adds, an eyebrow raised.

"But- You said you guys were shepherds! I mean, you said you were shepherds, your highness!", he blurts out.

"And that we are. We just have a very big herd. Metaphorically speaking.", Chrom agrees nonchalantly.

"Please forgive my horrible manners, Prince Chrom! I had no-", Robin begins, but is stopped by the noble raising his hand.

"Just Chrom is fine. As you might have guessed by now, I'm not really one for formalities.", he waves off.

"The prince and princess..", Robin mutters. „That would explain why Frederick puts up with your constant teasing.."

"Thihi!", Lissa laughs.

"So it is. The sacrifices a true knight must make for his realm.. They are numerous and can, at times, be extraordinarily unnerving. However, I shall fulfill my duties, no matter how tall an order they may be at times.", Frederick states.

"It looks as if Emmeryn is returning to the palast. You want to meet her?", Chrom asks. Recieving a nod from Robin, the trio makes their way to the castle.


-Inside the castle-

"Chrom! Lissa! You've returned!", the exalt greets as they enter the throne room. "Oh, and good day to you as well, Frederick. How was your trip?"

"It went fine. There won't be any problems with bandits anytime soon.", Chrom answers.

"And what of our people?", she asks concernedly.

"They are all as safe as can be Emm, don't worry.", he waves off. „However, we have to remain vigilant at the borders. We found documents on the body of their leader proving they came from Plegia."

"Forgive me, milord.", a blue-haired woman in battle armor joins the conversation. „My pegasus knights should have intercepted them at the border."

"No Phila.", Chrom disagrees. „Your duty lies here, with Emmeryn. Seeing as you kept her safe in our absence, you haven't done anything wrong."

"And besides, we had plenty help!", Lissa adds, stepping forward while pulling on Robins arm.

"Ah, you're speaking of your companion, are you not?", Emmeryn enquires.

"This is Robin.", Chrom clears up, placing his hand on his shoulder. „He has fought valiantly and was of vital importance in protecting our people. I was thinking of making him a Shepherd, actually."

"Is that so? I seems Ylisse of a debt of great gratitude to you then, Sir Robin.", she decides.

"Not at all, milady! I simply acted as any person in my shoes would have.", Robin waves off humbly.

"If I may, your Grace.", Frederick interrupts. „Robin claims to have lost his memory, but it is simply that: a claim. We have no way of knowing if he speaks true. As the situation is, we cannot rule out the possibility of him being a Plegian spy."

"Frederick!", Chrom exclaims, clearly offended by this statement of Frederick.

"And yet you have allowed this man into the castle. Does he have your trust then, Chrom?", she asks, calm as ever.

"Yes. I saw him risking his life in order to protect those in need. What's more, he saved Lissas life!", he replies confidently.

"It seems you have Chroms trust, Robin. As such, I will do the same as him.", Emmeryn declares.

"I thank you, milady.", Robin expresses his gratitude with a bow.

"In any case, thank you for your prudence, Frederick. I hope these two show their gratitude for your being their guardian every once in a while.", she says to Frederick.

"They do show something resembling of gratitude occasionally, Your Grace.", he admits. „But there are more urgent matters that require dealing with. Phila, I trust you have heard of the undead creatures we have encountered?"

"Indeed we have, Frederick.", there have been sighted all across the halidom since this morning.", she confirms.

"We were about to hold a council, Chrom. Would you join us?", Emmeryn requests. Receiving a nod from her brother, the two of them head towards a door at the back of the throne room alongside Frederick.

"Aaaand that's our cue to leave, Robin!", Lissa exclaims excitedly, pulling on his arm once more. „Let's go, there's somewhere I want to show you!"


-In the barracks-

"And there we are! The Shepherds' barracks!", Lissa proudly states.

As Robin looks around the room, he takes note of the many weapon and armor stands, confirming his idea that the Shepherds were some kind of militia. Furthermore, there were a set of people present. The first to approach them was a fancy looking, blonde woman.

"Oh, hey, Maribelle!", Lissa greets her nonchalantly.

"'Oh, hey' yourself!", Maribelle snaps back. "I've been sitting here worrying about you since you departed and the first thing you do when you see me, is 'oh, hey' me! I think I've even sprouted a dozen of grey hairs!"

"Aww, you shouldn't have worried. I can deal with a battle or two.", she says. "But bugs and bear barbecue? Ughh.", she shivers

"Oy squirt!", a bare-chested man with spiky blonde hair shouts as he too approaches them. "Where's Chrom at? I be he had a real rough time without ole Teach and his trusty axe around!", he states confidently.

"Oh, so it's 'Teach' now? Last week it was 'Womanizer', wasn't it?", Lissa teases, a sly grin upon her lips. "Hee hee! Here I was thinking people were born without a brain. I didn't realize that could be taught! Silly me!"

"Haha!", he laughs triumphantly, obviously not getting the joking insult. "You can always count on Teach to- Wait was that an insult?"

"Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?", a grey-haired woman in pink armor cuts into the conversation.

"Poor Sumia.", Maribelle sighs with a shake of her head. "She's been beside herself with concern, even more so than I have. Not a minute passed without her gazing off into the horizon. She probably would have injured herself less had she trained blindfolded!"

"Aww, Sumia, it's so sweet of you to worry for Chrom!", Lissa says in a bubbly tone.

"Worry? Well, I.. I- He's our captain after all! And our prince! Of course I would be concerned with his welfare!", she replies in a flustered manner.

"Anyway, who's the stranger?", Vaike asks.

"No one is stranger than you..", Lissa sighs. "But THIS-", she says excitedly, pointing at the topic of conversation, "-is Robin! He just joined the Shepherds! Chrom's appointed him as our new tactician! He has many talents and lots of tricks up his sleeves! You should've seen when he-"

"Oh yeah?", Vaike interrupts. "Can he do this then?", he asks, unleashing what had to be the longest, loudest and most horribly stinking burp of the year.

"I'm afraid I have to admit I appear to lack in the art of belching. Perhaps you could advise me, Teach.", Robin admits with a smile. "In any case I'm glad to meet all of you.", he adds, bowing.

"Goodness, must you plebeian brutes pollute even the air with your ridiculousness?", she snaps. "And you, Robin! How dare you encourage him! I'd hoped you were of finer cloth. Hmpf." With that she stomps out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Robin.

"Oh don't take that too seriously, Robin. She needs time to warm up properly to people.", Sumia reassures him.

"But only a fraction of that to burn you!", Lissa quips.

At this moment, Chrom enters. "Ah commander! I've- I mean we've awaited you return!", Sumia states, before striding towards him only to slip on a piece of paper.

'Did she just.. fall because of a piece of paper?', Robin wonders but is interrupted in his thinking by a worried Chrom.

"Are you alright, Sumia? Those boots of yours again?", he asks, while Sumia gets up and dusts herself off.

"Yes, I mean no- Yes..", she answers, sighing at the end.

Obviously not realizing the reason for her clumsiness and inability to correctly express herself without stumbling over her own words, Chrom continues in what he wanted to do.

"Alright, listen up everyone", he orders. „First thing in the morning, we're heading out to Regna Ferox."

"Regna Ferox?", Robin asks, unsure as to the meaning of the words.


A/N: Aaand that's that. A much longer chapter this time, but this was all stuff I wanted to fit in. Also, a lot of dialogue, which I hope didn't bore you to death (If so, I'm very sorry, feel free to send me the funeral bill). Before anything else though, on to the reviews!

Prescribed-Madness: Glad you enjoyed it, I've done a lot more spacing out this time around, I hope it makes it that much more readable as well. Again, thanks for all the help, it means a ton!

Gallian Squad 7: After looking over the chapter again, I noticed just how bad the issue you pointed out was, so thanks for that. I guess I just didn't notice initially because I came up with it and all, but that's no excuse. I made it a point to keep from doing that again this time around, hope I did better this time! As for the LissaxDonnel pairing, I've been thinking about it. You're definitely right when saying it's not the most common one, but I must say it's good nonetheless. I'm not 100% sure yet, but I'll be keeping it in mind, thanks for the suggestion!

csihawk: Again, thank you for pointing out that issue, it should have been resolved entirely this chapter. If not, let me know! I definitely agree with you about the RobinxCordelia thing, she's way up there for me too, the only other pairing I like about as much as that one is RobinxLucina. Should you ever write a RobinxCordelia story yourself, be sure to let me know, I'll be the first to read it!

warrior of six blades: Happy to hear you liked it so far! I'm really glad that the beginning appears to have been readable, firstly, because it's my first writing project and all and secondly because I personally find the beginning to be one of the most important parts of the story because as the author you have to somehow get the reader interested to motivate them to continue reading!

PersonaUserOrpheus3245: I apologize if this wasn't really for you or it just wasn't unique enough. Sadly, the beginning of Awakening doesn't really let you do much different from the game if you want to follow the general storyline (in my opinion at least).

Thanks a bunch everyone who reviewed or even favorited and of course to the people who found this interesting enough to follow (Awake24hrs, Azubi, Gallian Squad 7, L7urel, Mistfiredragon, Prescribed-Madness, and of course mjstimpson)! It means a lot, knowing that I at least didn't mess up too badly.

This has been D4v3Hunter, and, once again, thanks a bunch for reading and I hope to see you all next chapter as well!