Robin's mind was racing, desperately attempting to piece together the words of the mysterious adviser to King Gangrel, who, apparently, somehow knew his identity.

After taking a glance to his side, where he found his tactician staring at the spot where the Plegian king and the mysterious woman claiming to know Robin had been, Chrom decided it was best to take matters into his own hands for the time being.

"Listen up everyone! Our primary objective is to rescue Maribelle and Ricken! Since we don't have much time at hand, I won't bother giving you specific orders. Take care of yourselves and those around you, I don't want to lose any of you!"

After letting out an encouraged shout, most of the group dispersed to engage in combat, leaving behind their commander, tactician, Lissa, Lon'qu, Frederick and Sumia.

"Take your time if you need to, Robin," Chrom advised. "The last thing we want happening is our tactician being injured or dying because he isn't focused."

Shaking his head in an attempt to finally banish the countless questions clouding his mind, said blonde man disagrees "No, I'll be fine. Sumia, can you get me up there?" he asks, pointing towards the sky. "I want to assess the situation from above so I can try and formulate at least some kind of a plan."

"Of course!" the grey-haired woman answered, mounting her pegasus and preparing to take off. "Ready when you are!"

"Right. I hate to ask this of you, considering your, uhh.. stance towards those of the opposite gender, but could you keep an eye on Lissa, Lon'qu? I imagine Chrom will want to join the others at the frontlines and you're the only other person I could ask that's still around."

"Hmpf," the myrmidon grunted, displeasure in his upcoming task showing before it had even begun. "If that is an order, I will follow it. Don't get too close however, woman," Lon'qu stated, shooting a sharp glare at the young princess.

Getting on Sumia's pegasus with the help of it's rider, Robin said "I expect you'll keep her safe. And Lissa, for the love of the gods, please don't get too close to him, alright?"

"Oh, I'll try. But I can't guarantee anything when my life is in danger riiight?" the blonde girl replied with a mischievous tone.

Before he was able to say anything to that, they took off with a jolt as Sumia shouted "Here we go!"

After a few seconds of rapid ascending, the two reached a suitable altitude, at which they were able to observe the entire battlefield. "Please don't ever do that again.." the tactician pleaded, his stomach moving and bellowing in agony.

"Do what again?" the pegasus knight asked innocently, before realizing what he had meant. "Oh, you aren't comfortable with flying?"

"I'm not sure if it's flying in general or just the way you took off.." Robin replied. After taking another moment to refocus, the amnesiac let his gaze wander over the scenery beneath them. The mountain from which Plegian soldiers were descending had several platforms where some were already battling. The only way up by foot were two small paths, reaching from the top to the bottom, as the rest of the landscape was too rocky and steep to safely climb up.

On the top plateau, the commander of the enemy troops, Orton, as Gangrel had addressed him, was positioned atop of a beast unfamiliar to Robin, along with some of his soldiers. "What in the god's name is that thing?" the tactician asks, his voice a mix of curiosity and uneasiness.

Following her companion's gaze, Sumia answered "Oh, that's called a wyvern, I believe. I've heard that they are quite rare around these parts, but Plegia relies on them as they are the only flying animals able to survive in the desert."

"I see.." Robin muttered as he turns his attention to the rest of the battle.

Most of the enemy soldiers were either making their way to the middle platform or already on it, where Maribelle and Ricken were fleeing from their pursuers, the latter throwing wind spell after wind spell behind him in an attempt to gain more distance. A group of Shepherds, consisting of Frederick, Stahl, Sully, Vaike and Virion, were fighting their way up the nearer path to the second plateau to assist the young mage and troubadour, with Chrom on his way to join up with the group.

The rest had chosen a different route and took the path a good ways farther away in what Robin presumed was an attempt to face the enemy commander even before dispatching the rest of his forces.

After thinking for a moment, Robin decided on his own course of actions. "Bring us down between Maribelle and Ricken and those Plegians!"

"Are you sure about that?" Sumia asked. "That has to be around ten enemies! There's no way the two of us can take on that many!"

"I have a plan, don't worry," the blonde man informed, his voice far more determined than he actually felt.

"Well, if you say so, " the grey-haired woman reluctantly agreed. "Hold on tight!" she warned and with that they dove to the ground and gracefully landed right between the two Ylisseans and their pursuers. Robin jumped off the pegasus with his sword in his hands, entering his battle stance, while Sumia grabbed her lance and pointed it in their enemies' direction.

Surprised by the entrance of the Ylissean tactician, the group of enemy soldiers briefly paused before realizing their advantage in numbers. "It's only two of them, charge!" one of them shouted, leading the rest towards Robin and Sumia with a war cry.

"Here goes nothing.." the tactician muttered to himself before charging the opposing group.


In the meantime, the apparently random shouting behind them caused Ricken and Maribelle to turn around, observing the situation. "Who's that with Sumia?" the young age asked . "And why are they facing all those enemies by themselves?"

"That would be the new tactician of the Shepherds of Ylisse, as appointed by Prince Chrom," Maribelle answered slightly distastefully. "Now stop standing there and let us help them!"

Lulled in a false sense of security by the sheer stupidity of the blonde man heading towards him, the first of the Plegian soldiers took a deep stab from Robin's sword to the chest as he wasn't able to react in time. The amnesiac kicked the dying man in the torso, pushing him back into his own comrades, which led to several of them falling over each other.

Robin didn't miss a beat and charged the closest soldier, locking weapons with him. During his struggle to not lose ground, his opponent's head was impaled by Sumia's lance. Another man swiped at the pegasus rider with his axe, but was unable to do so fast enough to hit the Ylissean woman before she had taken off again. As a result, he was sliced across the chest by Robin, who had swiftly retaliated and used the opening presented to him.

Unbeknownst to him, some of the knocked over enemies had managed to stand up again and one of them was in the motion of bringing his sword down on the tactician. An inch before the blade met his head, the sword was blown away by an accurately placed wind spell, shot by the young mage Ricken. Taking notice of this, Robin spun around quickly and slammed the hilt of his own sword into the now unarmed man's head, knocking him out in an instant.

Turning towards his savior, the blonde man nodded appreciatively before turning his attention to the fight once more. Two more soldiers rushed at Robin from the front and side, but the tactician focused only on the man in front of him, trusting Ricken would do what he anticipated. Thankfully, the brown-haired boy shot another spell where Robin had hoped he would and blew the man off the platform.

The Plegian in front of him slashed horizontally at his chest in an attempt to end the fight swiftly, but Robin managed to duck in time and brought his blade up and stabbed his opponent right through the chest, ending his life immediately. Next to him, Sumia drove her lance through another foe simultaneously.

The remaining three soldiers slowly backed away, struck by fear from the overwhelmingly short time their opponents had required to end seven of their comrades, before turning and breaking into a full-on sprint, only to run into the swords and lances of Stahl and Sully or be shot down by a precise arrow from Virion.

Having dispatched the enemy, Sully and Virion turned and headed back to the path leading upwards, while Stahl rode towards Robin, Sumia, Ricken and Maribelle.

"Robin!" the cavalier called out to the tactician, who wiped the sweat off his forehead and cleaned his sword with a piece of cloth he had taken from one of the fallen enemies, all the while breathing heavily. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little exhausted from that fight," Robin answered, still trying to catch his breath.

"Fine?!" Sumia shouts, dismounting her pegasus to walk up to the tactician. "That must be the single stupidest thing you've ever done! You would've died were it not for Ricken!"

After visibly flinching from Sumia's very unusual tone, he answered "But I didn't, and you could say the same the other way round. If we hadn't done anything, those two would have died instead! Besides, I didn't plan on taking them on by myself anyways. My plan was just to keep them occupied long enough for the others to arrive and help us, and that worked out just fine, didn't it?"

"Well, that is true, but still! That was unbelievably risky, so please don't ever do things like that again! There must have been some other way to resolve that situation!" Sumia countered.

Before Robin could argue against this, Stahl cut into their conversation and said "Look, I realize you'd like to keep talking about what just happened, and I have to say I agree with Sumia, but we really should get going soon. The others are still out there fighting and we should help them out before it's too late."

"You're right.." the pegasus rider gave in, feeling guilty for forgetting the situation they were currently in.

Sighing, Robin agreed. "Give me a moment and we can get going," he said. The tactician turned his attention to the young mage and spoke "So, you are Ricken, I suppose?"

"Uhm, that's right, how did you know?" Ricken asked curiously, surprised by the fact that the new tactician of the group knew who he was without ever meeting him.

"I've heard some things about you," the blonde man simply replied. "Anyways, I'm in your debt, Ricken. If it weren't for you, I would have died twice just now," he continued, offering his hand for the young mage to shake.

The brown-haired boy accepted the offer, but was unable to bring out another word as he was at a loss for words from the feeling of overwhelming pride welling up inside of him.

Robin let go of his young opposite's hand and regarded the formerly kidnapped noblewoman. "I know you aren't exactly fond of me, but nevertheless, I'm just glad you are safe," he stated.

"Oh, it is not as though I particularly dislike you. It is just that-" Maribelle began replying. "Have I really just considered justifying my actions to a simple commoner?! I.. I am thankful for your help however, do not be mistaken."

"It's fine," the tactician calmed her. "Stahl would you mind staying around these two? Ricken may be quite the capable mage, especially for his age, but I fear he still lacks the experience to be left alone in a situation such as this."

"Sure, no problem," Stahl obeyed with his signature smile and closed eyes.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Robin said gratefully. "Let's go Sumia, we've kept the others waiting for way too long as it is."

The grey-haired woman nodded and helped Robin with getting on the pegasus once more. "Hold on tight!" she warned and they took off with even greater speed than the first time. Again, the tactician's stomach started rumbling and making disturbing sounds.

"You really need to stop doing that, Sumia.." the blonde-haired man mumbled.

"You'll get used to it, I promise!" the Ylissean pegasus knight replied with a giggle.

"That implies I'll be doing this again in the future, and as of right now, I don't really see that happening."

Breaking away from their friendly conversation, the two focused on the state of the battlefield. In the time they had been fighting their own fight, the rest of the Shepherds had made progress of their own. Sully and Virion were nearing the top plateau after having met up with Frederick, Vaike and Chrom.

At the same time, Miriel, Kellam and Donnel had reached the second plateau with relative ease, as the majority of the enemy forces were concentrated elsewhere. Still, more and more troops moved their way the further they progressed.

Seeing as both of the groups of Shepherds were faring well on their own, Robin considered going for the enemy commander with just the two of them, but that thought left his mind very soon, as he saw something huge and dark flying towards the two at an alarming speed in the corner of his eye.

"Sumia, dodge!" the tactician warned as fast as he could.

The pegasus knight obliged without asking why, or what she was supposed to dodge, as she sensed the urgency in Robin's voice. The grey-haired woman pulled on the reigns of her mount, signaling it to rise, barely evading the attack.

"What was that?" Sumia asked worriedly, looking in the direction their foe had flown off to. "Is that another wyvern? I didn't see any earlier!"

"I think so.." Robin confirmed uneasily. "I should've seen this coming, damnit.." he muttered, frustrated in the lack of thought he had put into this threat.

"Well, it's too late for us to think about it, we have to eliminate it! If we don't, somebody is going to be harmed by it!" the tactician ordered.

"Alright," Sumia obliged, starting to pursue the newly appeared wyvern. "How are we going to get rid of that thing though?" she had to shout to overcome the sound of flight wind whistling around them.

"Try and get as near to it as possible, I'll shoot it down with my magic!" Robin advised while struggling to take the lightning tome out from his coat.

"What?" the grey-haired woman yelled. "Are you sure you'll be alright? I don't really see you being able to pull that off seeing as you don't appear too comfortable with flying!"

"Trust me, it'll work as long as I'm close enough!" the tactician assured, finally having pulled the magical book out. "Just don't get too near or we will get slapped out the air!"

Trusting his sense of judgement, the Ylissean woman obliged and kept on making up ground on the enemy wyvern.

"Alright, this is close enough, I'm going to shoot now!" Robin yelled, positioning himself.

'Here goes..' he thought to himself, concentrating on the pegasus he was on, it's rider and the enemy as hard as he could. After a moment, he conjured his lightning spell and fired.

The moment the spell left the tip of his fingers Robin lost his grip on the equine being below him and would have fallen off it had Sumia not instantaneously reached out to grab the tactician's hand, keeping him on.

After she pulled her companion back into a steady sitting position, Robin asked "Did it work?"

"You nearly plummeted to your death and that's the first thing you can think of?" Sumia asked, slowing her pegasus' flight. "But yes, it did work. You hit one of the wyvern's wing, the lightning shot right through it. With a hole in it's wing, it couldn't hold itself in the air and it started falling.." she stopped there, not wanting to think of what happened after that.

"Let's try not to let things like that get to us, it'll only end up hurting us or our friends," Robin said, trying to comfort her at least somewhat. "And thanks for saving me there."

"No problem!" Sumia replied, trying her best to be as upbeat as possible. "What's next, Robin?"

"Hmm.." the amnesiac mumbled, looking at the battlefield once more. The Shepherds had made even more progress, now having pulled every single remaining Plegian soldier to one of the sides of the battlefield, leaving their commander on his lonesome on the top plateau of the mountain. "We have two options, I'd say. The first would be to help one of the groups of Shepherds get to the top and take on their commander afterwards," the tactician revealed.

"Alright, that sounds like a reasonable idea," Sumia replied, giving Robin her best accusing look.

"That's why I still have a second option prepared, " he counters, with a cheeky smile. "Which would be us taking on Orton by ourselves."

"You have to be kidding me Robin," the pegasus knight said, dumbfounded. "Why would we do that when we could have the help of everybody else?"

"Because there's a possibility that he'll flee when he sees that his troops were defeated. In the time we finish helping the others out, he could already be halfway to Plegia," Robin explains, his voice back to serious.

"That's.. actually a good reason.." she admitted. "But still, shouldn't we play it safe?"

"I'm not sure I can do that, if I'm honest. There's something bothering me and he might be able to give me some information about it.." the blonde man reveals with an unusual, much darker than his normal, cheery facial expression.

"If you say so.." Sumia finally gave in, unwilling to argue with Robin in his current state.

"I'm going for a gamble this time, so just close to him and land," the tactician said.

"What does 'gamble' mean, exactly?" the Ylissean woman asked uneasily.

"I'm going to try and provoke him into fighting me on the ground. I'm assuming that he'll be much more skilled at fighting in the air than the wyvern rider we faced earlier from the fact he's a commander. As such, we wouldn't really stand a chance on his playing field, so we have to even the odds a bit if we want this to work," the amnesiac explains.

"Alright.." the pegasus rider complied reluctantly before guiding her mount to the spot Robin had pointed out where she let her companion dismount.

"Go help out the others, I'll be fine here."

"Are you sure? I can help if you-"

"No. I've got this, trust me. The others will need you more than me," the tactician insisted, a serious, but determined expression supporting his statement. Seeing as she sensed there was no way she could convince him otherwise, the pegasus rider took off to assist the rest of the Shepherds, as was told her to do.


"Oh, what's this?" Orton snarled. "There's actually somebody stupid enough to face me on his own? That's surprising."

"On my own?" Robin asked with a taunting smile. "If anything, you're the one who is on his own. By the time I'm done with you, my comrades will be here to witness how I utterly humiliate you."

"Ohh, you not only have the balls to stand up against me alone, you also are brave enough to try and provoke me. Or no, wait. That's called being delusional!" the Plegian commander cackled, making his wyvern start to flap its massive, scaly wings by kicking it in the side.

"Oh, so you're going to hide your sorry self behind some massive animal, huh?" Robin continued his provocations, hoping he could still achieve his goal. "So you're too scared to take me on in a fair fight? But that's fine, I suppose. I'll just shoot you out of the air when you take off." Robin let a sphere of lightning appear on his fingertips to support his last statement.

Orton squinted and growled before replying "You're starting to piss me off, you know that?" Signaling his wyvern to settle down, he stepped to the ground and got his weapon ready. "I'm not gonna ask for your name, Ylissean. Only your life!" the Plegian growled, ready to charge at his provoker.

"Let's see about that, shall we?" the blonde man counters with a confident smile while pulling his sword from his coat.

With this last statement, Orton began running at Robin, only to stop after a few steps, much to the surprise of the latter. The commander raised his axe behind his head and threw the weapon straight at the tactician. Despite being caught slightly off guard, Robin managed to block the incoming projectile by swinging his sword in an upward arc, letting the axe clang off harmlessly into the direction it had come from.

During this scene, his opponent resumed his charge towards him and kicked the blonde man in the chest, sending him flying backwards and knocking the air out of his lungs in the process.

Orton caught his axe from midair and turned toward his stunned adversary. "Aren't spitting any half-assed provocations anymore, are you now?" he mocked, thinking that the fight was already won." The Plegian stepped towards Robin slowly, as he no longer saw any danger.

The amnesiac did his best to get back to his feet, but wasn't able to do so fast enough. As Orton reached him, he raised his axe behind his head once more, this time to bring it down upon the crouching man. Again, he managed to block the attack and rolled backwards afterwards from his crouching position, dodging another kick. Using the momentum from his roll, Robin lunged forward, striking with a vertical slash that managed to connect with Orton's shoulder.

"Arghh!" the Plegian grunted in pain. "You'll pay for that!" The commander was now even angrier than before and unleashed a barrage of strikes from different angles, forcing Robin to either match or dodge each one, else he would have lost a limb. Occasionally, the tactician would be able to take the offensive himself, but was still unsuccessful in damaging his opponent, as Orton was able to easily block the few attacks Robin was able to launch.

After a minute of this, Robin recognized there was no way he could keep up with his foe if the fight kept on as it was due to growing fatigue, so he attempted to somehow shift the momentum in his favor. Instead of simply blocking the next diagonal slash, the tactician put all his strength into a strike of his own, in order to increase the time Orton would need to attack again. The blonde man used this time to jump back a few feet, stab his sword into the ground in front of him and pull out his tome.

"Lightning!" he shouted, firing off a sphere of lightning at the Plegian commander, hitting him in the right leg, which went numb from the electricity and forced him to fall to his knee. Robin grabbed his sword from the ground and lunged at the stunned man in front of him, burying it deep in the shoulder of the arm holding the weapon.

"GRAAAHH!" Orton shouted, blood trickling from his wound and pain spreading through his right side. In an attempt to free himself from his more than disadvantageous state, he tried to grab the Ylissean tactician's arm.

Robin, panting heavily, kept his grip tight and pushed his blade a bit further into the Plegian's body, making him shout even more. "Stop resisting or I'll be forced to harm you even further," he warned.

Begrudgingly, the commander obeyed and stopped his struggle. "So what are you going to do with me?"

"I have questions I want answered," Robin revealed. "That woman who was with Gangrel. Who is she?"

"Aversa?" the defeated man asked. "Hell if I know. She's just some witch who appeared a few years ago. Ever since Gangrel started becoming more aggressive."

"Started to become? He wasn't always like he is now?"

"No, initially, his goal was to simply restore Plegia. He said he had great things in mind for our country and managed to win over the people, but ever since Aversa showed up, he became more and more focused on the war," Orton explained.

'How does this all make sense? If Gangrel's personality really did change so suddenly, how was she involved in all of it? And that also doesn't explain how Aversa would know me..' Robin thought, trying to piece together the information given to him.

"You shouldn't have been so complacent. There's no way I would've just told you all of that!" the captured Plegian snarled. "Now DIE!" he shouted, pulling a hunting knife from his side and stabbing at Robin in a swift motion.

'Crap! I won't be able to block in time!' the tactician cursed internally, bringing up his arm to try and somehow keep the blade from hitting him in the chest.

Millimeters before the sharp metal object could pierce it's target's skin, it stopped. Surprised by the lack of pain, Robin looked at the man in front of him and was met with a pain riddled face, eyes ripped wide open and mouth slightly ajar. As his gaze wandered downwards, he saw an arrow protruding from Orton's heart and the dead body dropped to the ground.

"A marvelous shot, befitting of the archest of archers, if I may say so myself!" Virion marveled at his own skill, posing dramatically.

"Never mind that, are you alright Robin?" Chrom asked while walking up to his tactician with Sumia and Lissa following close behind him.

"I'm entirely fine, Chrom. No need to worry."

"You may say that, but to be frank, you look horrible," the prince countered, examining his companion from top to bottom. "Sumia told me everything that happened, care to explain?"

Robin glared sharply at said grey-haired woman before answering. "What is there to explain? I took out the enemy commander before he could flee."

Chrom's eyes narrowed, indicating his foul mood. "That's not what I'm talking about. You risked your life, fighting a pointless fight. Without any reliable information about your opponent, you recklessly rushed in. Alone, as well. Do you realize what could have happened?"

"I am well aware of my actions, Chrom, but I hardly think you are in any position to belittle me. You would have done the exact same, or am I mistaken?" Robin replied, he too growing increasingly frustrated.

"Maybe I would have, but that is of no importance in this matter! What matters is that you, the tactician of this army, let his emotions get the better of him in a life or death situation! You of all people should be aware of what the correct way of approaching things is," the Ylissean lord rebuked his tactician.

"Do you even understand anything you're saying? How would you-"

"ENOUGH!" Chrom shouted, catching everyone around by surprise with his sudden outburst. "As much as I'd would love to keep this going, this is NOT the time, nor the place for it." Turning to the other Shepherds, he continues "Listen up everyone! We will be heading to Ylisstol as swiftly as possible, so get your things together and get moving!"

Following this order, the group scattered to obey and get ready for the march back home as fast as they could to not anger their captain further. "And YOU" the blue-haired noble said, pointing at Robin "Get yourself checked up by Lissa or Maribelle as soon as we arrive at the castle. You are to attend the war council immediately after."

"I understand," the tactician mumbled, gritting his teeth to keep himself from lashing out once more.

"And I suggest you take some time to reflect on what happened today," Chrom added before turning around and leaving.

Robin exhaled sharply and closed his eyes before rubbing his temples.

"Umm, are you alright, Robin?"

"Oh, I'm absolutely great, thanks for asking, Lissa," the blonde man replied.

"I've never seen Chrom get THIS angry at one of his own... You two should talk it out? I'd hate for you two to let something like this get between each other.."

"We should get going. The others seem ready to depart," he said, seemingly ignoring the blonde princess, and started following the rest of the Shepherds.

"O..k.."


-At Ylisstol, the next day-

Robin was standing in front of the doors to the throne room after having let Maribelle and Lissa make sure he really was unharmed. The blonde man nodded at the guards, who opened the doors for him to pass through and he made his way into the large halls.

"-have no other choice, Emm!"

The meeting had already been underway for a while and Emmeryn, Chrom, Phila and Frederick were currently in what seemed to be a heated discussion.

"Ah, Robin. How kind of you to join us," the Exalt spoke out, shifting the attention of all present to the newcomer.

The tactician reached the large table with maps and the like atop it in the back of the room and bowed to the regent of Ylisse before respectfully nodding at the others. "Of course, milady. What have I missed up until now?"

"We just finished discussing the counteractions to the impending mobilization of Plegia's forces. Commander Phila's pegasus knights will fortify the borders, while I, as captain of the royal troops, shall be overlooking the rest of our armies as well as making sure that the new recruits are receiving proper training," Frederick elaborated.

"I see.. How long will that take?"

"My knights must be arriving at the border as we speak. Only I and a select few are remaining here to protect Lady Emmeryn," Phila explained.

"As for the rest of our army, it will likely take some time to assemble all of our troops. Furthermore, I fear the recruits may not quite be ready for the battlefield. They will need some time to accustom themselves to the life of a soldier."

Robin nodded appreciatively and turned to Chrom. "What were you saying just now?"

"I'm trying to get Emm to listen to reason!"

"Chrom, I cannot leave my people in times such as these. They need me, just as I need them," the Exalt stated.

"I don't see how that matters when your life may be in danger!" the blue-haired prince countered. "What will we do if we somehow lose you?"

"I have you, Phila and the Shepherds here. I will be safe, please, do not worry."

"But-"

"Please, Chrom. No more of this," she interrupted her younger brother. Turning to Robin, she continued speaking. "Robin, I have a something to ask of you."

"What is it, your majesty?" he asked.

"There is no need for such formalities. You may simply call me by my name, if you wish," the Exalt explains.

"I understand.. Emmeryn," Robin replied hesitantly.

Smiling, she continued. "I would like to ask you to take the position of tactician of the Ylissean Army,"

"What?" the tactician asked, shocked by the proposal. "Mila- I mean, Emmeryn, I am hardly qualified to take such an important position. Are you sure of this? Surely there must be more suitable candidates!"

"While there certainly may be others who are qualified for the position, I believe there is nobody more suited for it than you. While I am aware you have recently had an argument with my brother, I know he still trusts and highly respects you. Additionally, everybody I've talked with has spoken highly of you and your capabilities. Even Frederick has praised your tactical prowess," Emmeryn explained.

"Is.. that so?" Robin questioned, looking at the mentioned knight.

"Indeed. While I also reiterated the fact that I still feel you cannot be trusted entirely, your mind for the tactical and the battlefield is unrivaled amongst those familiar to me," Frederick confirmed.

"In that case.. I accept. I will do my best to further my knowledge and strategies to provide this nation the best chance to win this war that I possibly can. I hope your trust is not misplaced," the now tactician of Ylisse's Army stated.

"Wonderful!" Emmeryn rejoiced with clasped hands. "I believe that is all, is it not?"

"I have nothing requiring discussion, Milady," Phila confirmed.

"Neither do I," Frederick agreed.

"Then, if you would please excuse me," the Exalt said before leaving the room, followed shortly after by Phila.

Chrom exhaled loudly and placed his hands onto the table with a sunken head. "Frederick, would you please give us some time to talk?"

"Of course, Milord. If there is anything you need, I will be around the recruit's barracks, working on their training," the knight obeyed and left.

"Listen Chrom, I-" Robin began but was stopped by the blue-haired prince raising a hand in his direction.

"Let me apologize first. I was angry after everything that happened, so I said some things I didn't mean as a result," the lord revealed, lifting his head.

"Still, you were right."

"Huh?"

"It was reckless of me to take Orton on by myself. I didn't care for the risks involved because of my personal feelings. I let that woman's words get to me and it could have cost us heavily. For that, I apologize. I promise not to let anything like that happen in the future and I will make sure to repay your and your sister's trust."

"Heh, it seems we both let our feelings take over for while there, didn't we? In reality, I'm just happy we managed to get out of there in one piece," Chrom concluded, his jolly side resurfacing as he walked over to his companion, put his arm around his shoulder and the two left the throne room.

"Well, if it weren't for Sumia, I would be a splatter of blood somewhere in those mountains," Robin revealed.

"Is that so?" the lord asked.

"Oh yeah, her flying was magnificent. You should have seen it, there's nothing quite like it!" the tactician continued, suppressing his unpleasant memories of the pegasus rider's way of taking off.

"I imagine it was.." Chrom said slightly absently.

Being the cunning man he was, Robin swiftly noticed this and decided to poke some fun at the blue-haired captain of the Shepherd's while they were still roaming the halls of Ylisstol. "Thinking of something else than flying, are you?"

"What?! No, I was.. umm I was.."

"Oh wait! Isn't that her right there?"

"What?! Where?"

"Hey Sumia!" the blonde of the two men shouted to get said woman's attention. "Over here!"

After a moment, the grey-haired woman was directly in front of them and all three stopped for a bit. "Hello Robin and C-c-captain!" she stuttered.

"Hey there Sumia! We were just talking about you! Isn't that right Chrom?" Robin said.

"Yes, that's right. We were discussing your performance in the last battle actually," the lord confirmed after regaining his composure.

"I-is that so?" Sumia questioned. "A-and what did y-you think of it?"

"Robin says you were fantastic. He particularly praised your flying, so we were talking about that a bit. And just that," Chrom confirmed, putting extra emphasis on the last part of his statement.

"My flying? But Robin, didn't you-"

"Absolutely love it? Of course! It was a great experience. You should go out for a fly sometime, Chrom. You'd love it, I guarantee."

"That's a great idea. Why don't we do that Sumia? We'll have some off time in the next few days anyways, so why not spend some of that way as pleasantly as possible?" the blue-haired prince agreed.

"Ifyou'dreallyliketodothatIwouldgladlycomply!" the grey-haired lady brought out nervously.

"You know, what, I just remembered I had something to do! I'll leave you two to it then!" Robin said all of a sudden.

"Wait, wha-" Chrom began.

"See you!" the tactician dismissed himself and vanished around the next corner, leaving his two companions on their own.

'That worked out pretty well!' he thought to himself as he made his way to the library.


Before anything else, let me apologize. I am honestly deeply sorry for taking this long to produce a new chapter and especially for not informing you ahead of time. As long as I can do something about that, I'll make sure I never have that happen again.

Onto the reviews real quick!

Gallian Squad 7: Thanks for the quick information, and I hope this chapter is better quality-wise than the previous, if so, then most credit definitely goes to BlooperFiction for helping me out big time! As always, glad to hear I was able to do well in capturing the various characters of Awakening so far, that's always one of the harder things to write in my opinion. And I definitely agree with you, I absolutely cannot wait to hopefully progress the plot somewhat quickly so I can finally write Cordelia and some of the stuff I have planned for later updates, so look forward to that if you're still interested!

P.S.: Hope the change to past change actually did something, let me know if it really is better!

Riku Uzumaki: After actually looking at Gangrel's dialogue from the game, I do have to agree. Next time he makes an appearance, I'll do my absolute best to try and portray his 'humorous' side in addition to his other, mad/malicious one!

Massive s/o to BerserkNinja, 055, frozenseed, loststar613, OtakuOfBritain, Phoenix Skyfire, pkmn2112, Windninja1000 and xGlacies for following despite the extremely long break!

I wish you all the absolute best and hope you enjoyed the chapter, so see you all again whenever I get done with chapter 10!

- D4v3Hunter