DISCLAIMER: HELLSING IS OWNED BY KOUTA HIRANO. I DO NOT ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

FIRE EMBLEM IS OWNED BY NINTENDO. I DON'T OWN IT'S CHARACTERS EITHER.

ITALICS=THOUGHTS

BOLD ITALICS=NARRATOR

(NOTE: Congratulations! You made it to Chapter 2! I must be doing SOMETHING right.)


Ylisse ~ West of Ylisstol
July 16, Age 2609 (8:10 P.M.)

After nearly an hour of marching, the last rays of sunlight began to disappear beyond the horizon. The silent road was soon a cacophony of wildlife, from the incessant buzzing of insects to the owls awakening from their slumber. Soon the dirt road led straight into the forest, the moonlight barely illuminating the path

"I told you!" Lissa complained as she trudged behind Walter and Frederick. "It's dark already!"

Walter couldn't help but chuckle as he moved beside the blonde.

"Well, that's to be expected, young Lissa. We spent much of the evening in the town," the butler explained. "Just hold out for just a bit longer."

Just as he said that, insects began to swarm the four.

"Ech!" Lissa swiped the air around her in a desperate attempt to swat the bugs out of the air. "Oh, great! Now the freakin' bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting, bugs that buzz and crawl all over you and bite you when-" she suddenly stopped talking and began spitting profusely. "Agh! Won goph in mah mouth!"

Walter shook his head, albeit with a smirk on his face, and lightly smacked her in the back. Subsequently, a glob of spit flew out of the blonde healer's mouth.

"You know what they say: hardship builds character," Chrom let out a hearty chuckle. "How about you build some more character, and help me gather some firewood?"

"Absolutely not!" Lissa emphasized every syllable as she wasted no time in planting herself down on the ground. "I'm staying right here! I think I've built more than a lifetimes worth of character just within the last hour!"

The blonde crossed her arms and squat down.

"Suit yourself..." Chrom grinned cheekily. "How about you, Walter? You seem like the kind of person that appreciates a bit of character building."

Walter shrugged before slipping his gloves on.

"Very well, I shall accompany you," the butler placed his arms behind his back and moved to Chrom's side. Frederick had meanwhile dismounted from his horse and was in the process of unpacking.

"If that is the case, I shall set up camp for the night," Frederick began pitching up the tents while a belligerent Lissa watched lazily. Walter raised a brow at Lissa's lax behavior.

"Lissa, could you perhaps make yourself useful and help Frederick set up camp?" the butler smiled devilishly. "Unless of course you'd be satisfied sleeping without a tent tonight?"

Lissa's mouth hung open. She huffed as she shot a pleading look towards her brother.

"I dunno, I think Walter's right," Chrom chuckled. "Maybe you ought to help Frederick out; the poor man can't handle all the work by himself."

"Fine!" Lissa pouted as she bolted upright to give the stalwart knight a helping hand.

Chrom and Walter smirked at the sight before heading off to complete their tasks. Not wandering too far, they went into the woods to gather firewood.

"So, Walter…" Chrom slashed at a tree branch, easily cutting it from the trunk. "Do you have a family? I assume a man of your age would have a large one by now."

Walter paused for a moment. Family, that was quite the foreign concept to him. He hadn't ever given it much thought, at least not in a long time. By the time Integra had been born, he'd come to accept that he'd never be anything other than an agent of Hellsing. Settling down was a young man's dream, and he was no longer a young man.

"Not really, at least none that I know of," Walter replied honestly. "I was orphaned at a young age, so I never really knew my parents. In honesty, I never cared to find out about them; to figure out my lineage and what not."

"Really?" Chrom slashed at another branch. "Come on, there had to be someone…" Walter shook his head.

"There may have been a time when I had considered settling down—get married and have a kid or two—but that was a long time ago. As I got older, I suppose I just dove deeper and deeper into my work until the thought of doing anything else—even having a family—faded away," the butler sighed. "I held my duty above all others; people included. After all—in my line of work—very few make it out alive, and even fewer are willing to have families for fear of the grief it would cause in the event of their death."

"Sounds rough… I don't think I'd be able to do that," Chrom sighed. "I mean, the idea of distancing yourself from everyone around you for your duty, that's some discipline."

"Yes, indeed…" Walter looked down. This talk of duty brought up bad memories, memories of his betrayal.

"Maybe one day I'll be able to atone for I did…" he muttered just loud enough for Chrom to hear.

The blue-haired man was about to inquire as to what he meant when the sound of a twig snapping a few feet away caught their attention. Turning towards the source of the sound, they were taken aback by the large grizzly bear staring at them. Chrom gripped his sword, ready for a fight.

"Ah, I was hoping we'd run into one…" Walter slipped his gloves over his hands. "Now we've found dinner."

Chrom sweat dropped as the bear stood on its hind legs, standing above Walter.

"Are you sure you can take it?" he asked as he cautiously stepped back. Walter smiled as he nodded.

"Without breaking a sweat, sir..." the butler grinned.


Ylisse ~West of Ylisstol
July 16, Age 2609 (9:46 P.M.)

A light fire flickered between the four Shepherds as they ate the bear that Walter had brought back for dinner. Well, to be more accurate, Chrom and Walter enjoyed the food while Lissa and Frederick just stared at their bowls.

"Walter, what did you do to this bear!?" Chrom took no time to savor the flavor of Walter's bear stew. "I've never eaten anything this good!"

In contrast, Walter took small bites of his dinner.

"Oh, this is nothing compared to what I could do if I had the proper ingredients," the butler proudly declared. "My years as a butler have granted me a vast culinary repertoire."

"I can only imagine what you could do with the proper ingredients. Lissa, what's wrong?" Chrom paused his pig out. "Is there something in your stew?"

"Yeah, there's something in my stew! Bear!" Lissa grumbled. "Couldn't you spear us an animal that normal people eat? It's bear for Naga's sake! Who in their right mind eats bear?! Doesn't that mess with the food chain, or something?! Right, Walter?"

"Not really..." Walter continued to eat small spoonfuls of his food. "Food is food, so you really must eat it."

"Ugh, why'd I bother asking you?" she slapped her forehead. Chrom let out a light chuckle.

"You're so spoiled, Lissa," he chided. "The stew is really good, you just need to take the first bite."

"The smell says otherwise!" Lissa yelled at the top of her lungs.. "It smells like old boots! No, it smells even worse than old boots!"

"If I had the proper spices, I would whip up something that would neutralize the smell. Alas, I cannot..." Walter sighed.

"Why?!" Lissa shouted into Walter's ear.

"Because, where am I supposed to find spices in the middle of a forest?" he clutched his ear in pain. "Besides, if I did that it would mess with taste of the stew. Would you rather it smell like old boots, or taste like old boots?"

The blonde haired healer raised her hands in defeat.

"Come now, milady..." Frederick stared at his bowl of bear stew. "Every experience makes us stronger, especially those we don't enjoy..."

"Fine..." Lissa took her first bite of the bear in defeat. Her eyes widened as she began to rapidly devour her dinner. "Vhis is so goof..." she spoke with her mouth full.

"How rather unladylike of you..." Walter spoke with an amused grin as he watched Lissa devour her food. His attention turned to Frederick, who was still staring at the bear meat.

"You said that every experience strengthens us, so is this one too much for you?" he challenged.

"Well..." The brown-haired knight stammered. "I... it just so happens that I... I had a large lunch! Yes, that's it..."

Lissa snickered as she watched Frederick in amusement.

"Really? Then I suppose that this experience IS too much for you, huh Frederick?" the blonde teased.

"Lies and deceit, Frederick," Chrom took a break from his meal to observe the comedy that was Frederick and Lissa.

Frederick sighed as he took his first bite of the bear meat.

Walter had a perfect score from the judges that night.


Ylisse ~ West of Ylisstol
July 17, Age 2609 (1:22 A.M.)

Chrom's eyes fluttered open as he tossed and turned in an attempt to get comfortable.

Crack!

He shot up from his sleeping bag and quickly grabbed his sword. He noticed that the faint light of the—now small—fire was dully casting a shadow onto his tent. Chrom slowly poked his head outside to see Walter staring up at the sky.

"Walter?" he called out.

The aged butler acted as if he didn't hear his question. Walter merely continued to stare at the moon, brows furrowed.

"I... there's something wrong..." Walter finally spoke up.

"What?" Chrom stepped out of his tent.

"I... I grew up with constant fear and unease surrounding me; got good at sensing it, I suppose..." the butler's eyes darted from tree to tree, scanning his surroundings. "There's something in these woods…"

Suddenly the fire went out. No sooner had it gone out did the ground begin to shake.

"What's going on!?" Lissa stumbled out of her tent as she gripped her staff tightly.

"Are we under attack, milord!?" Frederick seemed to leap out of his tent.

The ground began to crack beneath the four of them. Smoke began to erupt from the fissures, like a volcano. The molten lava could be seen through these small openings, giving reason for panic.

"Run!" Walter used his wires to toss his comrades out of the danger zone. He quickly followed in suit, tailing behind Chrom.

A large chunk of land exploded into the air as fire illuminated the sky. Flaming rocks erupted from beneath the Earth, forcing the four to skillfully dodge their way around them. Once they made it a safe distance away, they turned to see a blazing inferno.

"Look!" Lissa pointed at the sky as a large black hole seemed to appear. Ghoul like creatures seemed to pour out of them in vast quantities.

Ghouls? Walter raised an eyebrow. No, they look similar to them though.

He quickly commanded his wires to intercept the horde of 'Risen', he so dubbed them. Much to his shock, they didn't seem to be very affected by them. Chrom and Frederick charged the Risen, with weapons in hand. Like Walter's wires, their weapons proved to be very ineffective against these undead creatures.

Walter summoned up more wires and attempted to cut them down once more. This time he aimed for the head and the heart and, to his pleasure, managed to actually bring some down.

"Aim for the heart or the head!"

"AHHH!"

Walter's eyes widened as he turned around to see Lissa under attack. Quickly, he attempted to guide his wires toward the Risen surrounding her, but found himself unable to do so. Looking back, he saw his wires hadn't fully cut through the undead he'd attacked earlier, and were now being held back.

"Lissa!" Chrom shouted, seeing his sister's plight. Charging—Frederick beside him—Chrom made a break for his sister. However, before they could reach her, they were cut off by more Risen.

"Lissa!" Walter said through grit teeth as he continued his vain attempt to regain control of his monofiliment wires. Unfortunately, try as he might, he couldn't seem to shake the undead creatures' hold on them.

"Damn, why now of all times!?" Walter seethed as he watched helplessly as Lissa was cornered.

Lissa prepared for the worst when she caught sight of something. It looked like someone was coming through the portal that the Risen originated from. In the blink of an eye, a man wearing a mask leapt out of the portal, deflecting an attack meant for her.

"A bit of support would be nice," the masked stranger grunted.

Walter noted that he sounded almost feminine. He quickly ignored his observation and focused on the task at hand. With one exhausting push of strength, he finally regained control of his wires.

"Finally…" Walter smirked as he began to twiddle his fingers. The wires followed the command, and began to rapidly revolve around him.

"Get down!"

Upon hearing this Chrom and Frederick quickly hit the ground. Lissa and her mysterious savior followed in suit.

"What's he going to do?" the masked man asked.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out..."Lissa held her hands over head.

"Enjoy your leisurely stay in the afterlife," Walter spoke in a cold manner as all of the Risen began to flock towards him. With the swipe of both of his hands, Walter's wires seemed to dance their way across the battlefield, cutting down all Risen in their path. When the wires finally stopped, all of the Risen were bloody bits and pieces; all that was left slowly disintegrating into dust. Chrom stood up and laughed at Walter's handiwork.

"That's some attack, Walter." he smiled at the butler, though his smile faded when he saw Walter breathing rather heavily. "Walter?"

Concern overtook Chrom as the butler collapsed onto the ground.

"Walter!?" Chrom rushed over to the elderly man.

"I... what...?" Walter mumbled, slightly delirious, as he stared up at the sky.

"Are you alright?" Chrom sat the butler up. "That was one hell of an attack you dished out there, Walter." Walter chuckled as he began to regain control of his body.

"Indeed, though it seems I pushed myself a bit too hard there..." he managed to gasp in some more air. " Sometimes I forget that I'm not as young as I once was..." Walter muttered as he took a deep breath.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Walter assured. "Just deal with the rest of these creatures."

Chrom nodded as he ran back into the fight.

"Chrom..."

Chrom stopped in his tracks.

"Aim for the heart or the head," Walter advised. "I find it much more effective than blindly slashing at them."

The blue haired warrior gave him a thumbs up as he went to deal with the threat.

Meanwhile, Frederick was busy spearing the Risen with his lance, on horseback. He stabbed through one with his lance, only for it to continue its assault.

"They just keep coming!" he grit his teeth in frustration.

"Frederick!"

The stalwart knight turned to see Chrom cutting down a bunch of Risen that he had missed. Briefly taken off guard—due to has lapse in focus— he was suddenly knocked off his horse. Rolling onto his feet, he discarded his lance, opting to use the sword at his hip instead.

"Milord!" Frederick was quick to engage more Risen, standing back-to-back with Chrom.

"Walter suggested that we aim for the heart or the head! At the very least, try to aim for more vital areas!" Chrom quickly beheaded several of them. "It's much more effective!"

"Is that so?" Frederick followed in suit, impaling and beheading several Risen. Unsurprisingly, they quickly disintegrated into a purple vapor. "Remind me to thank Walter for the tip, milord!"

The blue haired swordsman chuckled as he clashed with his undead foes.

Meanwhile, Lissa stayed by her masked savior's side as he battled the Risen. Watching in awe, she witnessed the mysterious swordsman battle these undead monsters with ease. It was almost as if he had done so hundreds of times before.

"Stay back!" the masked man told Lissa as he decapitated three more Risen.

"R-right..." Lissa nodded as she kept a safe distance from the fighting.

As the Shepherds battled with the undead, the faint sounds of horse hooves graced their ears.

"Captain Chrom!" Chrom turned around to see a red-haired woman on horseback joining them in their fight.

"What took you so long Sully?" he inquired. The cavalier named Sully speared a few of the Risen.

"The fires were just peaking over the horizon, sir," she deflected an incoming throwing axe. "They sent me to investigate."

"A fire of this size would warrant more than an investigation, Sully," Frederick scoffed. The red head chuckled.

"Ol' Vaike thought it was just a bunch of misbehaving teenagers," she speared a few more Risen. "Not the first time he's been wrong."

"Aim for the heart or the head. It kills them quicker!" Chrom shot her a smirk. Sully nodded as she jabbed her lance into another Risen. Unfortunately, she failed to notice the one crawling up behind her.

Whoosh!

A well placed arrow intercepted the creature before it could do any damage.

"Hold, milady!" a man with silvery blue hair hopped out of a tree, bow drawn. From his attire, he seemed to be a noble like Chrom, though he looked far more snobbish.

"Huh?" Sully turned to see the Risen he so easily sniped.

"Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting!" he spoke in, what Walter could describe as, a French accent mixed with a British accent.

That begged the question of how can you have a French accent with no France. Walter rolled his eyes. He was still exhausted, so he chose to ignore that one for now. Ghouls are one thing, but a man with a French accent—when there is no France in this world—was too much to ponder.

"Would you leave me in your sweet dust?" the French man, but not French man because there is no France, continued. "Leave war to warriors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need wage only love."

"He even talks like the stereotypical Frenchmen..." Walter sighed as he watched from a distance.

"…" Sully was silent, as if trying to process what was going on. "The hell are you?!"

"Ha! Is the lady intrigued?!" he slicked his medium length hair back. "Of course you are. It's only natural. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across the history's greatest-" a large tomahawk nearly made contact with his face, had Walter not so generously intercepted it with one of his wires.

"This is a battlefield!" Walter yelled as he continued to sit back and regain his stamina. He wasted more energy than usual just saving Mr 'Legend'.

"Er... yes... of course..." the man smiled sheepishly before regaining his boisterousness. "My name is Virion! The man who puts the "arch" in-" Sully interrupted by giving Virion a boot to the face.

"Can it Ruffles! There's a battle going on!" she fumed. Virion rubbed his cheek in pain.

"At least give me the courtesy of telling me your name," he asked, pleadingly. Sully rolled her eyes in frustration.

"I'm Sully, and I'm one of the Shepherds."

"A beautiful name befitting of you," Virion got down on one knee. "Will you marry me, my dear Sully?"

It was safe to say that Sully did not respond well. She proceeded to give Virion the boot once more. Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere at that very moment, Virion decided to focus on aiding these strangers he'd come across. With any luck, he'd be able to woo the fiery woman by proving his mettle.

Chrom and Frederick, who were on task, continued to finish off the remainder of the Risen horde. However, without warning, Chrom was taken off guard by what seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Hello ugly..." Chrom charged at the beast, only to be met with the swing of it's axe. Frederick attempted to stab it, but missed.

The Risen Chief charged at the duo, giving them little time to devise a strategy. Frederick took a direct hit from it's axe, causing Chrom to retaliate with an attack of his own. Much to the blue-haired warrior's chagrin, all of his attacks were deflected. As he fought off the beast, Lissa snuck to Frederick's side. Holding her healing staff over the injured knight, she began to mend his wound.

"Come on big guy..." she muttered. "Don't go dying on me here..."

As she healed Frederick, Chrom slowly forced the Risen Chief onto the defensive. Maneuvering the chief away from his allies, he kept his assault up. Spinning and twirling—building momentum—he began to bat away at his foe's defense. With one final slash, he attempted to behead the monster. His attack failed however, as it was blocked. A dark aura surrounded the Risen Chief as it began to regain the advantage. It's attacks became heavier, and Chrom began to lose his grip on his sword. Eventually—with one final attack—his blade was launched from his hands.

As the Risen Chief went in for the kill, the masked man intercepted it. This gave Chrom ample time to retrieve his sword. The duo began to quickly overwhelm the monster. Walter noted the fact that Chrom and the masked man were mirroring each others' moves. With one last attack, they brought the beast down. Chrom wiped the sweat from his brow—watching the Risen Chief disintegrate into ash—before turning to his helper.

"Those were some nice moves there, friend," Chrom shot the mysterious man a smile. The man remained silent, only giving him a nod in return.

"Forgive me milord..." Frederick lifted himself off the ground, and bowed. "I failed my duty to you, sir. Had this young man not come to your aid, you'd have fallen..."

"Easy there Frederick," Chrom gave the great knight a reassuring smile. "He was not by my side all throughout the battle—you were, Frederick. If it really helps you though, just know that Lissa and I think you go above and beyond as it is." Chrom patted Frederick on his shoulder before turning back towards the masked man.

"Thank you for saving the life of my sister and I," he gave a small bow. "My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

The masked man hesitated for a moment before answering.

"You may call me Marth..." he replied demurely.

Walter watched the conversation from a safe distance, feeling it unnecessary to get involved. Once again, he noted that the masked individual—now identified as Marth—sounded too effeminate than what was natural. He's heard men with feminine voices, but Marth sounded more like a woman trying to put on a masculine tone.

"Hmm..." Walter narrowed his eyes as he joined Chrom.

"Marth?" Chrom seemed shocked. "Like the heroic hero king of old?"

Walter raised a brow.

"That doesn't sound redundant at all..." Walter muttered under his breath. Neither Chrom nor Marth noticed the butler's comment, or at least didn't acknowledge it.

"You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with the sword?" Chrom inquired.

"I'm not here to talk about me," Marth replied derisively. "This world teeters at the brink of horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude."

The masked man was about to walk away, but stopped. Walter felt as if the stranger was watching him, sizing him up. In fact, he was certain that—underneath the mask—Marth's eyes were focused solely on him. With a frown, he met the perceived glare with his own. Marth hummed as he turned away, ending the nonverbal exchange.

"You have been warned..." Marth muttered as he disappeared into the forest.

"Not much for conversation, is he Walter?" Frederick scoffed. Much to his surprise he was met with no answer. "Walter?"

Much to the group's surprise, Walter had seemingly vanished into thin air.

"Where'd he run off too?" Chrom rubbed the back of his head.


Ylisse ~ West of Ylisstol
July 17, Age 2609 (3:04 A.M.)

Marth made haste to get as far away from the group as possible. She wanted to make sure that she didn't meddle with time too much. Coming to a cold stream, she halted her retreat. Lifting her mask off her face, she dipped her hands into the stream and splashed water onto her face.

"I mustn't get off track..." she muttered to herself. "This timeline already has some differences—that elderly man for example. My father never mentioned someone like him, and he told me all about his fellow Shepherds..."

Breathing deeply, she sat back and took in the night sky above her. The sounds of the forest—crickets, frogs, and cicadas—were soothing. It was a peace that she could scarcely remember. It was...nice...

"I can't believe that I made it..." she sighed. "Being here is... surreal..."

"Is that so?"

Marth's hand darted for her mask—which she quickly reapplied, albeit crooked—and her sword. She scanned her surroundings, looking for the source of the voice.

"There's no need to be so jumpy; I'm not here to hurt you."

Marth looked up to see Walter standing on one of the many tree branches. Without breaking a sweat, the aged butler graciously dived off the branch—acrobatically landing on his feet.

"Quite the acrobat for someone of your age..." Marth quickly slashed at Walter, only for her blade miss its mark. She stabbed at him, a strike which Walter sidestepped effortlessly.

"How does a man old enough to be my grandfather retain such agility and reflexes?" she grit her teeth as she kept up her offense. Walter very easily swayed through the barrage.

"Well... I usually start my mornings with a nice jog and a healthy protein shake..." Walter replied snarkily. Stepping forward, he caused Marth to flinch. The bluenette ended up tripping over a tree root, landing on her behind.

"Besides..." Walter crossed his arms, a smug smirk on his face. "I'm not that old—I'm only sixty-nine."

Marth lunged at him again, Walter sidestepping her with his foot out. Tripping over his foot, she landed on her face this time.

"Enough—I told you—I'm not here to hurt you..." Walter signed.

"You..." Marth picked herself off the ground. "You instigated a fight by following me..." she said bitterly.

"May I remind you that you attacked first?" Walter sighed with a raised eyebrow. "I did say I wasn't going to hurt you young lady."

Marth did a double take upon hearing Walter call her a young 'lady'.

"How did you-"

"…know that you were a woman?" he finished for her. "Unlike the others, I wasn't in the midst of combat. That gave me ample time to observe you. Also, you just admitted it," Walter grinned

"Your voice is far too feminine. I've heard men that sound like women, but your voice was so obviously a farce that it never even crossed my mind that you were like them," he continued. "Your figure, while not as... shapely as others, is still decidedly female. Men have much broader shoulders, and a man with a physique like yours wouldn't be growing small breasts anytime soon."

Marth blushed slightly. She was slightly conscious about her appearance. She was always seen as a bit to mannish looking for her age. This begged the question of how Walter easily saw through her masquerade when everyone else had fallen for it?

"I take it I have your attention?" Walter moved a few strands of hair out of his face. Marth nodded slowly.

"Good..." the butler smiled. "Now, I have a few questions for you, and I'm going to want them answered immediately, understand?"

The bluenette thought for a moment.

I don't even know if I can trust him. For all I know he's in league with Grima... her hand hovered over the hilt of her sword.

"I know you don't trust me; the feeling is honestly mutual," Walter frowned. "You seem the kind of person to be hiding something; after all, normal people don't parade around trying to hide their gender. Is 'Marth' even your real name?"

Marth was quiet, glaring defiantly at the butler.

"I owe you no answers, blackguard..." she growled. Walter's temper flared.

"Blackguard?" he grit his teeth.

With a single swipe of his hand, his monofiliment wires sprang into action. Marth attempted to flee, but was stopped. Walter's wires wrapped themselves around her body, dragging her across the ground. The bluenette let out a yelp of pain as she felt the wires tighten around her, inhibiting all of her movements.

"So I'm a 'blackguard', hmm?" Walter glared.

He tightened his wires around the girl. As the wires grip became deadly, Marth began to turn red as she gasped for breath. Walter felt rage, rage at being called a 'blackguard'.

Imply I'm a dishonorable craven... he seethed.

He balled his fists tightly, the wires following suit. Soon they were so tight that Walter drew blood. The butler was taken aback upon seeing tears run down Marth's cheeks. Suddenly, his rage faded, replaced by remorse.

"What the hell's wrong with me...?" Walter shook his head, horrified by his own actions. He instantly released his grip on the woman, wires retracting back into his gloves.

As Marth was released, she began gasping for air. She coughed violently, hyperventilating slightly. It took her a few moments, but she finally managed to regain control of her breathing. Lying down, she just sighed with relief—thankful she wasn't killed so soon after arriving. Attempting to push herself off the ground, she felt a stabbing pain shoot up her arm. Looking down, she saw blood dripping down her arm's length; soaking into the ground beneath her.

"I'm sorry..."

Marth looked up to see Walter kneeling beside her. The bluenette woman relented briefly, wishing to get as far away from this monster—this demon—as humanely possible. He had to be, this man was definitely the man she was looking for—the beast that killed her...

"Huh...?" Marth stared at Walter as he pulled out a handkerchief from within his waistcoat. Dipping it into the nearby stream of water, he then used it to gently clean the gash. Further to Marth's surprise, he was carefully rubbing her back, attempting to soothe her.

"I don't know what came over me..." he spoke with genuine remorse. "I had no right to attack you, especially since I told you I wasn't going to."

Walter dipped the handkerchief in water once more and continued to wash the wound with it. All apprehension Marth felt faded as Walter continued.

"I've been called worse than blackguard, but..." Walter spoke as he worked. "I guess being called something akin to a traitor made me... irrational..." the butler muttered.

Never again... Walter sighed. Never again...

"Traitors are the worst of people, after all..." he continued. "They deserve no mercy..."

Marth felt herself suddenly staring at the older gentleman. She saw scars on him, scars left by a troubled past. The bluenette shook her head minutely as she watched him dip his handkerchief in the stream a third time.

No... she thought to herself. He's not the man I'm looking for... he's too... remorseful...

It was a minute before the bleeding stopped and her wound was completely cleaned. Marth attempted to stand, but still had trouble doing so. To her surprise, Walter supported her and helped her onto her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern. Marth could only nod quietly in response.

"That's good..." the butler smiled, relived that he didn't hurt her too badly. "I'm sorry for acting the way I did; I've no right to have harmed you..."

Marth looked down. This man was definitely not the killer. Mentally, she berated herself for jumping to conclusions. She was lucky that she was unable to kill him, as she would've almost definitely have killed the wrong man.

"You needn't tell me anything, not after what I did to you, " Walter breathed deeply.

Marth's brow furrowed. She felt an inclination of sorts; the inclination to tell the butler something. She didn't know why she felt it, she just did. The blunette, hummed as she decided to take a risk and act on this instinct.

"Can I trust you?" she asked. The butler was mildly surprised by her question. Taking a moment to compose himself, he nodded.

"I won't tell anyone of this meeting," he swore. Marth nodded, gathering her courage.

"Lucina..."

"What?" Walter raised a brow.

Marth lifted her hand to the mask on her face. Removing it, she revealed a set of beautifully vibrant blue eyes that matched her midnight-blue locks. Her pale milky skin shone in the moonlight, surprising Walter. She was most definitely a woman; an ivory skinned maiden.

"Lucina is my real name," she repeated. Walter nodded, a kind smile on his face.

"Walter Dornez," he introduced.

"Well..." Lucina returned the smile. "It's been... a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Dornez."

"Likewise..." Walter bowed his head.

A full minute of awkward silence passed before Lucina spoke again.

"I best take my leave. I've some things I need to take care of," Lucina turned away, replacing the mask on her face.

"Indeed, it's getting late," Walter yawned. "Chrom is probably wondering where I am right now, so I best return to his side. Will we see each other again?"

Lucina hummed, craning her head towards him as she wandered into the forest.

"Yes..." she replied cryptically. "We will meet again..."

Walter raised his brows as Lucina dashed into the woods, disappearing into the shadowy darkness of the trees. Standing by himself, he gripped the bloodied handkerchief he'd used to clean the woman's wounds.

"I wonder what her goals are..." he muttered to himself.

Turning around, he could see the faintest of smoke rising into the sky. Knowing that was probably a campfire that Chrom and company had set up, he began making his way back. As he walked through the night dimmed forest, his thoughts remained on the mysterious woman named Lucina. He wondered why she was so secretive that she'd hide her name and gender. Additionally, her cryptic warning of the world being on the brink of calamity was cause for concern. Whatever it meant, Walter was certain that he'd find out soon enough. Yes...

...he and Lucina would meet again.


Writer's notes

This was a much easier remastering than the last one. Most of it was me just going in and rewriting a few sentences, fixing some the more clunky dialogue, and taking out anything unnecessary. This chapter was overall less bad than the first chapter, but still possessed a lot of quirks that I've grown out of since writing this part.

As with the first chapter, how about I reveal some secrets about this chapter?


Behind the keyboard

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Walter sitting out - The reason I had Walter out of commission for the battle was because I wanted to establish the fact that Walter wasn't always going to be an overpowered protagonist. It was also set up for one of the main obstacles that Walter has to face for the rest of the story.

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Lucina being revealed very early - Most people know that Lucina doesn't reveal her real name until halfway through the game. I chose to reveal it early because I wanted to be able to use her more freely as a character. I wouldn't be able to utilize her if I stuck completely to the game's sequence of events, so I gave it away. Anyone who's just going back to check out the remastered chapters—and is all caught up with this fic—will probably agree that this was a fairly smart choice that led to some interesting moments in the story thus far.

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Walter is triggered - in the original version of this chapter, Walter lashed out at Lucina because he was getting impatient. I changed it so that it better pertains to the conflict that Walter is feeling at the moment — dealing with the fact that he betrayed Hellsing. Anyone who's had to deal with some form of trauma that sticks with them will probably attest to the fact that being reminded of it is not fun; doubly so when the wound is as fresh as it is for Walter.

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With Lucina's warning of a calamity in the future in mind, how will Walter respond to this supposed danger? What was wrong with Walter during the battle? What are the Risen, and where do they come from?

Find out the answers to these questions next time!