Fire Emblem Awakening: Lights Within Darkness

by Van24

Semi-AU: Robin woke with nothing but his name and the coat on his back, unaware of the destiny that awaited him. Two mysterious warriors crossed the bounds of time, fighting to avert a dark future even as they struggled to fight against their nightmares turned reality. Now, with the world edging ever closer to the brink of calamity, can they save not just the world, but each other?

5. Chapter Three - To the Warrior Realm

Author's Note: Hello, and welcome! I apologize it took so long before I could churn this chapter out; I've just been extremely busy with academics (as per usual, really), and I could only really set aside maybe a few minutes at a time at most to get some words in. That said, I hope this chapter is worth the wait, and that my lengthy absences aren't a cause for people to just up and leave.

Onto brighter news: I'm finally on vacation for the first time in... well, six months. By my university's standards, that's an impossibly long time to go without a break, believe me. Hopefully I can get a few more chapters out over the coming weeks before the next trimester starts (which also happens to be my final trimester, so I'll actually be graduating really soon!).

Thoughts, feedback, questions, clarifications, and everything else in between can be sent to me through reviews or through PMs (preferably reviews, as usual; let's get the counter ticking upwards!). I will be happy to answer and converse with you all over almost anything and everything.

In advance, thank you ever so much for reading and reviewing. Your support will always drive me forward to better myself.

Without further ado, let's hop right into things, shall we? Naga be with you all!

... Or, for those of you who are Grimleal out there... PRAISE GRIMA!

---

Chapter Three – To The Warrior Realm

Location: ?

The young knight woke with a start, his crystalline, sapphire-like eyes snapping open and darting around frantically as he experienced the momentary panic that came with waking to the sights and sounds of unfamiliar surroundings. He shakily rose into a sitting position, taking in uneven breaths as he shook his head to try and rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep and exhaustion.

'Where…?' he thought, his long cerulean hair draping over his shoulders and back like a curtain as he examined his surroundings. He was just on the edge of a forest, having set up his camp for the night beneath the interlocked, overlapping branches of several large trees to escape the elements. The canopy of leaves and large trunks served as a natural shelter that protected him from the snow that had begun to fall the previous day, although a few patches of powdery white had made it through and were now littering the clearing he'd camped in. The campfire he'd set up only a few feet away from where he'd been asleep had long since burned out overnight, although the flames had done their job and kept him warm throughout the cold winter night.

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, his tired mind seemed to catch up to reality as it began to recall the events of the past three days.

---

"Just go! Don't look back!" he said forcefully. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucina look at him for what seemed to stretch into a number of seconds – almost as if she were engraving his image into her mind one last time – before she turned and ran for the portal.

The cerulean-haired knight spared a moment to watch as Lucina leaped through and disappeared into the blue light before he turned his full attention back to the shambling horde of monsters that had been steadily approaching him all the while.

"Good… At least we're certain that one of us already made it through…" he murmured, tightening his grip on the longsword in his left hand. He hoped she hadn't noticed, but the searching look she'd given him after he'd fixed her hair put paid to that hope. He thought he'd hid his hesitation rather well when his fingers had run through the shortened upper layers of her hair, but apparently nothing ever escaped the watchful eye of the very person he'd known and been with his entire life.

'… That shouldn't have had to happen…'

Unpleasant memories of what Lucina had been forced to endure drifted to the forefront of his mind, bringing a pained grimace to his features. She of all people did not deserve to experience what she'd had to go through… but she did. He'd failed, and because of that, she…

He shook his head fiercely. 'Get a grip on yourself! There will be plenty of time to wallow in self-pity later!'

Eyes narrowed, the cerulean-haired knight refocused himself on the reality before him and appraised his situation. Behind him was the open Outrealm Gate that the Divine Dragon had opened, while the Fell Dragon's horde of undead warriors continued to squeeze in through the sanctuary's only entrance.

There was no way he could fight them all off, that much was a certainty. Even if he could outfight any one of them, he'd eventually be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers advantage. No, the most he could do was stall them for as long as he was able before leaping into the portal the moment it started to close.

'That does beg the question, though: How long will it last…?' he thought as the monsters continued to close in around him, like a pack of predators surrounding their prey. He narrowed his eyes as he edged back ever so slightly with every advance they made, falling back into a combat stance as he did so. He twisted his body, allowing his right side to lead as his left foot slid back by half a pace. He raised his longsword, holding it up and back in a high two-handed grip, blade angled down at a forty-five degree angle over his head and right shoulder.

As if spurred on by an unspoken signal, the first line of monsters that had made it through the door suddenly charged forward, with the monsters behind following suit several moments later. The monster at the front of the first wave – a fighter, judging by its axe and light leather armor – launched itself at the young knight, bringing its axe down with a wild, powerful swing. The knight, however, was already in motion. He took a step back and to the side with his right foot, allowing the axe to pass harmlessly through the air as his own blade came around in a quick one-handed counterattack that felled the monster in a single blow.

Continuing his motion, his left foot now swung back and around as he raised his sword into a two-handed high guard. He flicked his wrist, parrying the blade of an enemy swordmaster before bringing his longsword around to fell the creature with a strike to the spine. He drew back, left side now leading as he held his blade at his opposite shoulder in an almost-perfect mimicry of Lucina's own preferred stance. His free hand came up and struck his weapon's pommel, snapping it up and battering an axe to the side before the warrior's wild attack could even reach his inner circle of defense. The cerulean-haired knight continued the motion as he brought his weapon down and around in a circular motion that cut through the creature from left hip to right shoulder.

The knight brought his longsword back, parrying a lunge from an undead infantryman's sword before swinging his own weapon around in a quick, economical arc that cut at the monster's exposed back from an angle the undead's shield could not cover. Without pause, he thrust his weapon forward with lightning speed, his weapon spearing an enemy warrior through the chest. As the skewered enemy began to leak black miasma, the cerulean-haired knight drew back slightly and used his entire body to help swing his weapon in a wide arc, using the disintegrating warrior as a flail and sending the enemies nearest him sprawling to the ground.

Those monsters that had been knocked down were quickly trampled to death as the brethren behind them rushed forward, eager for death and uncaring over whether they had to use their own brethren as a stepping stone to get to the source of armed resistance.

Seeing the monsters rushing in, the cerulean-haired knight steadily began to give ground, using his weapon's reach to keep them at bay as he slowly backed towards the Outrealm Gate behind him. He swung his longsword in a quick, graceful arc, sweeping aside a swordmaster's blade before cutting back the same way and striking the undead creature down. Continuing the motion into a spin, he pivoted on his left foot and planted his right a step back before lunging forward, jabbing the pommel of his sword directly into the throat of another undead infantryman with enough force to crush a normal man's windpipe. The damage he'd dealt was hardly the fatal blow needed, so the knight drew his blade back and struck again, the creature's body crumpling as his longsword cut through it like paper.

His eyes cut to the left as a fighter entered his field of vision, axe raised. The knight twisted on his left foot, lashing out with a high kick that caught the fighter right in the temple, rocking it. The motion led directly into his next attack as his longsword followed through, cutting right through leather armor and decaying flesh without any resistance. Planting his right foot on the ground, he parried a strike from an opportunistic myrmidon before moving into a spin and swinging his longsword around him in a massive arc that cut through four monsters that were trying to attack him from different directions.

He quickly looked around to reassess his situation, grimacing as he quickly discovered that even the dozen creatures he'd just slain hadn't done much to dent the number of enemies he was still facing. Indeed, more and more of the undead were continuing to shamble in through the only entrance and exit of the inner sanctuary, with no foreseeable end in sight. To add to his problems, the shimmering glow bathing him in a pale blue light let him know that he had no ground left to give – Naga's Outrealm Gate was directly behind him now.

However, the way he'd chosen to fight had allowed him to create some space between himself and the Fell Dragon's horde… space that now presented him with an opportunity he'd been looking to manufacture from the very beginning.

Knowing that there was nothing left he could possibly do here, the knight decided now was as good a time as any to follow Lucina through to the past. He quickly leaped back and blindly threw himself through the Outrealm Gate, landing hard on a solid surface. As the light of the Outrealms engulfed the knight, he smiled grimly from where he lay in a heap as he watched the gateway close, preventing any of the monsters from following him.

With a few moments to spare now that he'd escaped the Fell Dragon's hordes, the knight allowed himself some time to catch his breath before he slowly brought himself back to his feet. Sheathing his sword, he took a look around, finding that no matter which way he looked he saw nothing but the same gentle blue glow. Idly, the knight wondered just how he was supposed to know where to go in something as monotonous as an endless expanse of blue light.

As if in reply, a pathway of white light erupted from the "ground" beneath him, illuminating a road forward for the knight to follow.

"… I suppose that answers that question…" he murmured, shrugging to himself before deciding that there wasn't anything better he could do but follow the path being laid out for him. With nothing else to really lose, he began to walk.

It might have been a moment, or it might have been forever, but the knight traveled through the seeming nothingness of the Outrealms without any real measure or sense of time. Only when the seemingly endless path of light came to an end did the knight stop walking. A portal of similarly white light suddenly flared into existence before him, signalling that his journey through the Outrealms was coming to an end.

The knight took a deep breath before leaping through the gateway into the unknown, the blinding light swallowing him up for a brief moment before dissipating to be replaced by endless blue skies and white clouds. He was distracted enough by the unfamiliar sight– used as he was to the desolate skies and dark clouds of his own time – that he only realized just how far he was falling when he was mere moments from hitting the ground.

He had barely enough time to twist his body into a better position and curl, allowing him to roll right as he hit the ground. The thick layer of snow blanketing the earth helped to lessen the impacts of the fall and roll, but the feedback through his breastplate still shook him badly, knocking the wind from his lungs with each impact.

The knight lay where he came to a stop for a few moments as he caught his breath, almost as if he were content to just bathe in the sunlight he hadn't seen or felt for the longest time. His expression took on one of wonder as he took in the sights around him, trying to remember the last time he'd ever seen something so bright, clear, and beautiful.

'… I can't even remember when it was I last saw such clear skies…' he thought morosely as he slowly picked himself up off the snow-covered ground. He took some time to look around, admiring his unfamiliar surroundings that nonetheless seemed to pulse with life even during what seemed to be the height of a harsh Northern winter.

However, a familiar growl snapped him out of his reverie, his blood turning to ice as it registered in his mind. 'No… no, no, no! That's impossible…!'

He scrambled to a knee and turned in the direction of the sound, finding a large group of the same creatures from his time arrayed around him in a half-circle, growling as they breathed out purple miasma.

"Even here… But how…?" he whispered as he stared in disbelief. There was no way… he'd seen the gate close! None of them should have been able to make it through!

The knight frowned. Regardless of how they got here, the fact was that they were here…

"If they're already here, then that means we might already be compromised… everything from this point on will be just that much harder…" he murmured, his lips curling into a bitter smile. "Heh… we just can't catch a break, can we…?"

He rose to his feet, his sapphire eyes blazing with fiery resolve. "… So be it…" he said, his blade flashing out of its scabbard and into his left hand.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll most certainly get!"

---

The young man sighed. 'Right… I'm back in the past…' he thought, looking up at the same sky that had so enthralled him upon his arrival. He rose to his feet slowly, hissing in pain as his injuries protested the action, reminding him that he'd been fighting almost non-stop since before even traveling through the Outrealms. While he was no stranger to combat and lack of rest, the young knight knew that exhaustion and injury were bound to catch up to him eventually if he continued to push himself as he'd been doing for close to three months now. He couldn't afford to get himself killed in such a way, but, at the same time, he couldn't simply let any of those undead monsters roam freely, either…

'… And I can't afford to keep Lucina waiting…'

He slowly walked over to where his sheathed longsword lay against one of the great trees he'd taken shelter under, picking the weapon up in one hand and examining it. His eyes and the fingers of his free hand ran along the prayer runes inscribed upon the sword's sheath, reminding him quite clearly of the purpose he'd sworn himself to. His grip on his beloved weapon tightened for a moment at the thought of his constant shortcomings in that regard before he swung it around and buckled it to the belt that looped over his left shoulder, the familiar feeling of his sword resting at a diagonal across his back giving him a sense of comfort even in unfamiliar territory.

Satisfied, the knight moved out from under his temporary shelter and over to the edge of the forest, gazing at the broad, snow-covered expanse that greeted him. His thoughts again wandered to Lucina, who he recalled had always loved playing outdoors after each winter's first snowfall during the days of their youth.

His hand tightened into a fist. "Lucina…" he whispered, unable to mask his worry for his lifelong companion as he looked up at the clear, blue skies. They may have been under the same sky… but that knowledge still did nothing to put the young knight at ease. She was strong, but in her current state she was also very fragile… she'd stuck to him like a lifeline since he'd managed to free her from her hellish captivity, and it frightened him to imagine how she was currently holding up without a familiar face or comforting presence to be able to turn to.

'Wherever you are… please, be safe…'

---

Location: Outskirts of Ylisstol

Robin sighed tiredly as he hefted his traveling pack up higher onto his shoulders. As he'd expected, sleep had not come easily to him last night after what he'd experienced. Only after several hours of tossing and turning was the tactician finally able to surrender himself to temporary oblivion, and even then he'd not been able to stay asleep for more than a couple of hours.

'Then again… who could really sleep in peace for an extended period of time after having seen that?' he thought to himself as the rest of the Shepherds milled about in the general vicinity, unaware of what was going through their newest member's mind.

The tactician shifted his pack again, wondering if he could figure out a better way to transport it before leaving. Granted, he appreciated how the Shepherds had been kind enough to outfit him with everything he might need for the journey to Regna Ferox and back, but he still disliked the idea of carrying this much weight on his back, especially with how it was pressing his heavy coat to his back and robbing his body of some much needed ventilation.

He looked around at the other members of the group: Chrom stood a short distance away, seemingly deep in thought as he stared at the road that led north towards the Ylissean-Feroxi border. Frederick had gone off ahead to scout the road for potential dangers, taking Sully with him. Lissa was speaking with Sumia, their hushed tones making it impossible for the tactician to discern their topic of discussion, but the occasional bouts of laughter and giggling from the two let him know that it was at the very least something that was keeping the two entertained. Vaike, on the other hand, was engaged in physical exercises, loudly counting out every repetition as if to catch the attention of everyone around him.

Virion, who was sitting on a rock nearby as he tested the pull of his weapon's bowstring using an arrow from his quiver, looked up at the spectacle Vaike was making of himself, locked eyes with Robin, and gave an amused shrug before resuming his work on his bow.

Robin smiled at the gesture, but quickly grew serious when he noticed Chrom was walking up to them, the newly-returned Frederick now present at his liege's side as was his wont when his duties did not demand he be away from the prince.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" the Shepherds' captain asked, scanning his small band of troops as the rest of the Shepherds stopped whatever they were doing to face him. "We've a long march ahead of us, so we should get a move on soon."

Before anyone could move or say anything, Robin heard yelling, along with the sounds of armor plates clanking against each other and the trot of a horse's hooves against the dirt road.

"W-wait! Hey! Wait for me!"

The small group of Shepherds turned, many wearing surprised expressions as they all saw an olive-haired knight in green armor running up to them, huffing as he led his horse by the reins. He doubled over as soon as he reached Chrom, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why… why am I the last… to hear about… this expedition… to Ferox?" he gasped out between breaths.

Chrom and Lissa's eyebrows both shot up as the siblings quickly shared a look of confusion.

"Huh? But Vaike was supposed to…" Lissa trailed off, before her confused expression morphed into one of annoyance as she turned to the bare-chested fighter of the group. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about our mission?!"

Everyone turned to look at Vaike, who immediately threw his hands up.

"H-hey! The Vaike never forgets!" he said, although Lissa's glare made him take a step back. "I… I just don't always remember, is all…"

Lissa brought a hand to her forehead as she groaned in frustration. "Ugh… I swear, you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it yourself!" Suddenly, she furrowed her brows as a thought came to her. "Speaking of which, are you SURE you remembered to bring your axe, this time?"

"Hey! That was just that one time!" Vaike retorted. When Lissa glared at him again, he quickly added, "… Okay, twice. But training sessions don't count!"

Chrom and Lissa both crossed their arms and stared at Vaike as if to question his answer, but the fighter simply grinned in response. "Anyway, I got it right here. Teach is locked and loaded and ready for action!" he said, hefting a decently-sized iron axe over his shoulder before bending over to give the olive-haired knight – Stahl, Robin reminded himself – a slap on the shoulder. "Good to have you along, Stahl ol' buddy."

Stahl, for his part, gave Vaike a defeated look. "That makes one of us," he replied, prompting Lissa to giggle to herself at Vaike's thunderstruck expression. "I was in such a hurry, I had to miss breakfast! There were muffins, and cakes, and… Well, I can tell you all about it while we march…"

As the knight straightened with a sigh, Robin walked up to him. "So… your name's Stahl, right?" he asked without much preamble.

Chrom, expression sheepish, stepped in. "Ah, right. I'm sorry for not introducing you, Robin," he said. "This is Stahl, one of our finest."

Robin nodded, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you, Stahl."

Stahl smiled good-naturedly as he shook Robin's hand. "Hello, Robin. Miriel told me we had a new Shepherd; guess that would be you," he said. At Robin's questioning look, he coughed awkwardly. "Ah… Miriel's one of our mages. She should be catching up with us shortly."

"Miriel? She's actually decided to get out of the library?" Vaike asked.

Ignoring Vaike, Chrom simply turned to Stahl. "Well, at least you're here with us now," he said. "Mount up and ride on out with Frederick. Sully should still be up the road holding station, so go on ahead of us and meet up with her."

Giving Chrom a nod and a salute, Stahl swung up onto his horse's saddle and nudged it forward into a trot, falling into position next to Frederick's own armored warhorse as the two knights rode out ahead, leaving the rest of the group to move at a slower pace.

"So, uh… Chrom…" Robin ventured when the two knights were just out of sight.

Chrom turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, Robin? No need to hesitate. Speak your mind. You are my tactician now," the prince said.

The white-haired tactician shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, still getting used to that," he replied. "Anyway… I'm just curious… why didn't Stahl simply ride his horse out here?"

Chrom paused for a moment, his mind processing Robin's question, before he suddenly burst into laughter, Lissa and Sumia coming to the same conclusion a few moments later and erupting into their own fits of laughter and giggles.

"He's… well, a little scatter-brained at times," he replied. "But I wasn't lying when I said he's one of our finest."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. 'Huh… guess that's something to keep in mind… don't ever take demeanor off the battlefield as a straight-up indicator of combat prowess.'

---

Location: The Northroad

It was approaching midday of the second day of their journey by the time the main group of Shepherds happened upon Frederick, Sully, and Stahl waiting at the crest of a hill. The three knights had served as an advance guard for the group ever since setting out, only falling back when it came time to set up camp. If they'd stopped instead of keeping the distance Frederick and Robin had agreed upon, then that meant there could only be trouble up ahead.

"Milord, look over there," the knight said, hefting his lance and pointing it down the road.

Chrom walked up next to Frederick and looked in the direction Frederick had pointed, a frown quickly crossing his features as he saw just what his knight had wanted him to see.

"Gods, have the Risen spread this far already?" he murmured, a hand gripping Falchion's hilt tightly. Indeed, down the road were dark humanoid forms – the same as what they'd fought previously in the middle of the forest fire.

Robin's brows furrowed. "Risen?" he asked quizzically, no doubt echoing the sentiments of the other Shepherds.

"We needed a name for this new threat," Frederick supplied. "So, at the council session, it was decided that we would call these undead fiends the 'Risen', based on surviving records that were kept from ages before the Great Schism."

Chrom shook his head. "It was about the only thing that everyone could agree upon," he muttered, before turning to Robin. "Well, then, Tactician Robin. The field is yours. Direct us as you see fit."

Said tactician tried to keep a silly grin from crossing his features. He failed miserably at it, something that Lissa did not fail to notice.

"Looks like someone likes the sound of his new title," she chirped cheekily, making Robin flush a light pink in response.

"S-shut up," he said, trying to salvage his dignity. "L-let's focus on the battle at hand. Frederick, what can you tell me of the enemies we're facing?"

The knight's brows furrowed in thought as he looked out at the distant enemies. "Similar in composition and number to our adversaries from yesterday," he replied. "However, there are also some lance-wielding soldiers in addition to swordsmen and axe fighters. Most of them are spread out on our side of the river, although it seems a few have still yet to cross the bridge from the other side."

Robin frowned as he absorbed this information. That… was not exactly what he'd wanted to hear. It took him a few moments of careful thought, but he was still able to work around the information and formulate a plan of action. It sounded simple enough on paper – or in his mind, in this case – but it was still rather delicate, given the large numbers disadvantage.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear him. "Frederick, Stahl, and Sully will be our mobile unit. Frederick, move into the trees on the left. Stahl and Sully, do the same on the right. The rest of us will move up and engage the main body of enemies on the road. When the Risen start to collapse in on us, the three of you will jump in and attack from the rear. Make sure you keep moving; your mobility is probably our greatest asset at the moment, so don't allow yourselves to get locked down by combat. Understood?"

Frederick frowned – clearly he still didn't fully trust Robin – and turned to Chrom. The prince nodded to indicate his assent to Robin's plan. Satisfied for the time being, Frederick motioned to Sully and Stahl, the three mounted knights breaking away towards their assigned clusters of trees on either side of the road.

Robin sighed. 'Looks like Frederick's going to give me a bit of a hard time…' he grumbled internally, but quickly pushed it aside. There would be time for complaining about uncooperative, paranoid knights later.

"Right, now that that's taken care of…" Robin continued, dropping his pack as the rest of the Shepherds did the same. "Chrom and Vaike will be the vanguard; I'll follow as the second line, while Virion will advance a few paces behind us and provide some covering fire. Sumia, stay with Lissa at the rear and guard her if anything gets past us or if she needs to move up and provide some healing."

A chorus of acknowledgements went around as packs were dropped and weapons were unsheathed and readied. The Shepherds hastily took to the positions Robin had outlined, forming around Robin, who stood at the formation's center.

"Alright, everyone, remember what we're up against!" Chrom said as he stepped up to the front of the formation.

Vaike grinned as he took his place next to the Ylissean prince, hand reaching over his shoulder to grasp at his weapon. "Mya ha! They'll be remembering ME once I drive my axe into their…" Vaike trailed off, his confident grin morphing into a confused expression. "Wait… my axe. Where's my axe?!"

Chrom turned to look at the other man. "Vaike, this is no time for jokes…" Chrom growled out.

Vaike's expression grew panicked. "I'm serious! It's gone, but I just had it with me a second ago! It's got to be around here somewhere…"

"Is he serious?" Robin asked, his stunned expression quickly transforming into one of absolute disbelief as he watched Vaike search his person and his surroundings in almost comical fashion. "H-he's actually serious…!"

Lissa half-sighed, half-groaned to herself as she put a hand to her forehead. "Ugh… Vaike… I can't even say I'm surprised anymore…"

"I don't even know how many times this makes it now…" Sumia mumbled to herself.

Chrom felt his eye twitch. "Vaike! Look, if you don't have it, then keep to the rear with Lissa!" he commanded, clearly not in the mood for the other man's antics. Suitably chastised, the weapon-less fighter withdrew to the rear of the formation, leaving Chrom as the only man in front.

Robin, however, stepped forward to fill in Vaike's spot. When Chrom shot him a questioning look, he shrugged. "Change of plans," he replied easily. "It doesn't change our overall strategy, but Vaike not having a weapon means we'll just have to adjust and make do with the manpower we have right now."

The blue-haired prince nodded, but his lips still twisted even further into a frown. "Risen this far north doesn't bode well, though…" he said, an undertone of worry lacing his words as the group began a steady advance. "We've already received word of Risen sightings in other areas of Ylisse, especially to the east… It concerns me that we never received a report from the platoon we had patrolling this area."

"Try not to worry too much," Robin replied. At Chrom's questioning look, he continued. "Think about it. They're a platoon, and they're in charge of patrolling a fairly large area. Maybe they haven't come across this group just yet. It wouldn't surprise me considering the sizes of both the unit and the area. We can at least do our part on the way and make sure these Risen can't bring harm to any of the citizens."

Chrom nodded, seemingly placated by Robin's reasoning.

It only took minutes before the group happened upon the Risen that they'd spotted from the crest of the hill. Just as Frederick had reported, there were about a dozen of the creatures spread out on either side of the bridge the Shepherds needed to cross. Most of them looked the same as those they'd fought yesterday: leather armor covered gray, decaying flesh, while masks that depicted faces frozen in enraged expressions covered their heads, leaving only holes through which one could see their glowing red eyes. However, a few among them were equipped with the chain and platemail armor typical of lance-wielding infantry, something Robin would need to take into account as they engaged in combat.

'Damn it, Vaike, why'd you have to go and forget your axe?' he thought to himself, throwing a sharp glance over his shoulder at the chastised fighter sulking to the rear of the formation.

However, unlike the Risen from yesterday, these ones were simply milling about without aim. Robin briefly wondered why before a quick glance revealed that they didn't have a larger "chief" among their number like the one that had nearly killed him two days ago were it not for Marth's aid. Perhaps they required the presence of a higher ranked monster in order to gain all their functions? It was certainly something to think about, the tactician surmised, before he pushed the theory to the side and refocused on the battle at hand.

"Alright, listen up!" Robin said. "Remember to cover each other out there! As much as possible, no one should be fighting alone!"

With his piece said, the tactician turned to lock eyes with Chrom. The pair exchanged grave nods, before Chrom raised his sword.

"Shepherds! Attack!" the Ylissean prince cried out. He quickly broke into a sprint, Robin falling into step just a couple of paces behind him. The Risen seemingly perked up at their approaching presence, and instinctively rose to meet their attackers.

Robin flipped his tome open, runes flaring to life around him as he channeled mana into the spell. "Fire!" he called out as he threw his arm and hand out, letting loose a single ball of flame that blasted a Risen fighter, the monster dissipating into fog where it stood. As Chrom leaped into the melee, Robin closed his tome and drew his sword with his free hand before following the other man in, catching an axe before it cleaved into the prince from the side.

The tactician pushed hard against the Risen fighter – its axe grinding against his sword as they fought for supremacy – before an arrow buried itself into the creature's neck. Its resistance faltered, allowing Robin to shove the axe aside before cutting it down. Turning away from the dissolving creature, Robin sheathed his sword once again as he opened his tome, runes once again coming to life. He raised his hand, a bolt of lightning shooting out and spearing through the chest of a Risen swordsman. A second Risen attempted to blindside the tactician, but another arrow from Virion pierced deep into its elbow, preventing it from finishing its attack and allowing Robin to turn and blast the creature in the chest with a bolt of lightning.

Nodding his thanks to the archer, who returned it with a casual salute, Robin allowed himself a brief moment to scan the battlefield for immediate threats, but the commotion caused by the three knights' ambush had quickly tipped the odds in the Shepherds' favor. Spotting a Risen lance soldier charging at Chrom, who was too focused on the enemy in front of him to notice, Robin immediately gathered his mana and focused on his spell, willing it to charge faster as his hand began to crackle with lightning.

"Boo-yah!" Vaike yelled as he suddenly barreled headlong into the Risen soldier, bowling the creature over before bringing his axe down into its chest. Blinking in surprise, Robin nearly lost focus on his spell as Vaike charged into the fray next to Chrom, letting out excited whoops and yells as he swung his axe with wild abandon alongside the prince.

Searching for another target, Robin quickly loosed his primed spell at an axe fighter that was harrying Sully, while a pair of fireballs incinerated another lance soldier that had been pressuring Stahl.

Robin frowned. 'Wait a minute… we don't have any other mages…' he thought. He turned to look, finding a red-haired woman calmly walking up to him, a red-covered tome in her hand. She wore a dark robe, baggy deep green trousers and brown leather traveling boots. A wide-brimmed, pointy hat sat upon her head, which along with her robes marked her as a mage.

"I apologize for the delay," she said, her free hand going up to adjust the spectacles resting on the bridge of her nose. "Allow me to assist you in extirpating these brutish creatures."

The tactician blinked at her odd choice of words. "Er… thanks? I think?" he said. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Ah, perchance you are the tactician Robin, yes?" she replied. "I am Miriel, a scholar and mage serving the Ylissean royal family. I also undertake duties as one of Prince Chrom's Shepherds when the need for one with my set of skills arises."

Robin nodded. "I see. Well met, Miriel," he said. "I take it you were the one who brought Vaike his axe?" He'd normally have been less inclined to engage in a conversation with someone while in the middle of battle, but the majority of the Risen this side of the bridge had already been dealt with, allowing him the opportunity to quiz the new arrival.

Miriel frowned. "Quite right, tactician," the mage replied. "While I'd not thought such dereliction permissible or possible amongst the Shepherds, it would have been remiss of me not to return the implement to Vaike, however much of an ignoramus he might be."

The tactician couldn't help but chuckle at Miriel's overly academic words. "Judging by what I've heard from Lissa and Sumia, this isn't the first time this has happened, too."

If anything, Miriel's frown deepened. "Indeed. I may have to conclude that the time for stern words of disapprobation is over," she replied, fixing her spectacles once more. "Perhaps I will go and offer to cast an affixation spell to bind his axe to his hands… permanently. Please excuse me."

Robin laughed lightly as Miriel took her leave, no doubt to try and do something about Vaike's chronic carelessness. He wiped the mirth from his face as Chrom approached, relief crossing his features when he saw that no harm had befallen the prince. Not a moment later, Frederick rode up to the pair, with Robin somewhat disgruntled to see that, once again, the man's armor had somehow managed to remain spotless in spite of the dust, blood, and grime of battle.

"What next, Robin?" Chrom asked, resting his sword Falchion over his shoulder. "Guide our swords as you see fit."

Frederick frowned in thought. "Might I advise patience, milord?" he said. "Robin has proven himself thus far to be a fine tactician for our needs, but we have still been working him rather mercilessly ever since finding him in that field. No doubt even one as brilliant as he is would wear themselves thin; even the best of us need a moment's rest, after all."

Robin felt his eyebrows rise at Frederick's comments. '… Well, I'll be damned…' he thought. 'Frederick, you just might be an okay guy, after all…'

"Yes, of course… I'm sorry," Chrom said, directing his apology at Robin.

The white-haired tactician shook his head. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it, Chrom," he replied. "You put your faith in me, and so did Exalt Emmeryn. I won't betray that trust."

"I'm glad I can rely on you, Robin…" Chrom said, trailing off as he stared at something across the bridge. Robin did the same, and whatever good cheer he may have had instantly melted.

There, in the midst of a group of now-growling Risen – as large in number as the group they'd just fought and exterminated – stood the "chief" that Robin had been searching for earlier. The larger Risen hefted a wicked throwing axe in one hand and let out a blood-curdling scream, the rest of the monsters surrounding it raising their own weapons and letting out a cacophony of cries before they all started grouping together.

'Well, I guess that's a point towards my theory…'

Robin turned to Chrom, his eyes voicing his unspoken question. The prince simply nodded, and Robin took his cue and began shouting orders.

"Alright, close up formation! Vaike! Get yourself next to Chrom, hurry!" he called out, the fighter hurriedly taking his place next to Ylisse's prince. "Frederick, Sully, and Stahl, take point! Wait for my signal, I'll need you to charge in and break the enemy's cohesion, then circle around and resume hit-and-run attacks when the rest of us move in! Miriel and Virion will provide everyone with long-range support! Sumia, keep Lissa safe and escort her if she needs to heal someone! Everyone, move!"

The Shepherds quickly regrouped around Robin, the three mounted knights in the lead. As they slowly made their way forward, the tactician looked over his shoulder, catching the eye of both Miriel and Virion.

"If you ever get the opportunity to take out the big one, make the most of it," he said. "The Risen seem to lose cohesion without their pack leader, so if we can take the alpha out, then that should make dealing with the rest a bit easier."

The two nodded their assent. "You can count on yours truly. I shall fell the beast with but a single arrow from my quiver," Virion replied.

"Indeed. Our strike will be quick and surgical," Miriel added.

Robin smiled grimly. "Good to hear. I'm counting on you," he said, before turning to the front once more.

His eyes narrowed as the Shepherds approached the bridge and the growling Risen that awaited them on the other side. He unconsciously held his breath, waiting, waiting, waiting… until Frederick's warhorse took its first step onto the bridge.

'There!'

"Frederick, go now."

The knight glanced back and nodded before kicking his horse into a gallop, Sully and Stahl quickly following suit but a moment later.

"Chrom, Vaike, follow them in!"

The two front-line fighters surged forward in the wake of the three knights, Robin suiting action to words and following them into the fray. Frederick quickly outpaced the rest of the Shepherds as he charged right into the middle of the Risen, swinging his spear left and right and splitting the group in two. Sully and Stahl followed the heavily armored knight closely, covering his flanks as they added their own swings of spear and blade to further open the battleground up.

Robin released his primed thunder spell, a bolt of lightning flying out and scorching a Risen fighter. A pair of fireballs flew in from behind him, crashing into the ground between a pair of undead swordsmen and causing an explosion that sent them flying. One of them dissipated mid-air, while the other landed in a heap on the ground, only for Virion to snipe it with a well-placed arrow right between the eyes.

Joining in the general melee, Robin drew his sword and leaped into the fray, catching an axe with his sword before it could cleave into Vaike's unarmored back. The tactician flicked his wrist, wrenching the axe to the side as he took a step in the other direction. With nothing to arrest its momentum, the Risen stumbled to the ground, Robin's blade quickly scything through its back and ending its existence.

"Robin, look out!"

The tactician's head shot up in alarm, his danger sense screaming at him to move. Instinctively, he turned around and raised his sword…

… just in time to deflect the Risen chief's thrown axe, the impact between the two weapons sending the axe spinning skyward and the tactician back several feet. Robin landed roughly on his back, but his presence of mind allowed him to take action by digging his sword into the earth and twisting his body into a roll, coming up on one knee with his free hand supporting his weight.

The Risen chief grabbed its spinning weapon out of the air and charged the downed tactician, letting out a feral roar as black miasma spilled from its lips. Robin left his sword planted in the ground and brought out his tome, snapping it open as lightning began to crackle in his free hand. As the by-now-familiar magic circle and runes formed around him, the tactician dimly heard Chrom yelling something at him, but he pushed it from his mind and kept his concentration and gaze firmly fixed on the oncoming Risen.

He raised his hand and quickly fired off the quick Thunder spell he'd charged, a golden lightning bolt leaping out from a magic circle and striking the Risen chief, tendrils of energy arcing over its grey skin as it staggered slightly and roared in pain and rage. Robin continued to pour mana into his tome, its pages flipping wildly as he pulled his sword out of the ground and brandished it in a one-handed grip.

The white-haired tactician narrowed his eyes as the Risen chief recklessly bull-rushed at him and brought its axe down in a crushing blow, forcing him to dive to the side. He continued the motion into a roll, swiftly rising to his feet even as the undead axe fighter turned around and lashed out with its short axe. Robin quickly raised his sword and deflected the staggeringly powerful blow, using the motion to push off the axe and create some more distance even as the jarring impact knocked his sword from his hand.

As Robin fell back, he felt his tome pulse with energy, letting him know that his spell was now primed and ready. He ground his heels into the dirt, sliding back as lightning began to crackle within his right hand. He narrowed his eyes as the Risen chief raised its short axe and prepared to throw the weapon. As it drew back, a pair of fireballs suddenly slammed into the monster and the ground, scorching the monster and throwing it off-balance with the force of the blast.

As the Risen staggered, an arrow flew in and pierced its hand, forcing it to drop the weapon and giving Robin an opportunity he would not waste. The tactician raised his right hand, calling upon the thunder he currently held within, and thrust his open palm forward as it continued to crackle with mana.

"Elthunder!" he called out, three bolts of lightning lancing out from his outstretched hand and striking the Risen head on. The Risen froze as the bolts speared through it, its growls suddenly turning into a whimpering moan as its arms fell limp at its side. The red glow left its eyes as it staggered forward, dissipating into black miasma before it could even hit the ground.

The remaining Risen suddenly froze for a moment, the loss of their leader having an apparent effect on them as they seemed to lose all sense of aggression. Chrom, Vaike, and the three mounted knights wasted no time in overpowering them, cutting down the monsters where they stood before they could regain any of their earlier function or sense.

With the battle winding down, Robin searched out both Virion and Miriel, giving them his thanks for their earlier help. Virion had merely chuckled and waved it off, saying that the archest of archers would never do anything as dishonorable as let down his allies in their time of need. Miriel had been more taciturn about it, claiming that the battle had helped her gather more data to compile into a report she would publish at a later date, but Robin simply left that one up to her academic personality.

As the Shepherds regrouped and Lissa began walking around checking on everyone's injuries, Robin allowed himself to run through the battle as it happened, reliving each moment and all the decisions he'd made throughout that battle. His first battle as a Shepherd had been a fairly small one overall – closer to a skirmish than a full-on battle – so the room for error was a fair ways larger than it normally would be given the number of belligerents on both sides. Still, he was glad that he couldn't see too many opportunities for improvement in this particular battle, but it paid to always analyze ways by which he could hone his craft.

'The more skilled I get, the more likely it is that everyone can come home at the end of each day,' he thought to himself as he picked up his sword from where it had fallen, giving it a once over to check its condition before sheathing it.

"Glad that's over. Good riddance, I'd say," Chrom said as he walked up to Robin, snapping the tactician out of his thoughts. "That was some fine work, Robin. That last stunt looked a bit reckless, but I'll let it slide since it worked."

The tactician shrugged easily. "We all had our roles to play, Chrom," he replied. "It might have been a very different story had we not all done our part. I'm sorry if I worried you, but I'd not send someone to do something I'm not willing to do myself. I just needed everyone to see that."

Chrom nodded, his expression turning thoughtful. "They weren't as difficult a fight this time around, though," he said.

"Perhaps," Robin replied. "But we've also got greater numbers this time. And we're actually wide awake."

A chuckle greeted the tactician's droll reply. "There is that," the prince replied, before he grimaced. "But if they're appearing this far up the Northroad…"

"Then no path is safe," Frederick finished as his warhorse trotted up to the pair. "We'll need to stay wary as we advance."

"Indeed…" Chrom murmured. "I'm also worried that we haven't come across the patrol yet. I hope nothing's befallen them, but…"

"All we can do is keep moving," Robin said. "The sooner we get to Regna Ferox, the sooner we can petition them for aid."

Chrom could only nod in reply as his tactician set about giving orders once more.

---

After about another hour of walking, the Shepherds finally happened upon the platoon that was supposed to have been patrolling the Northroad. Robin had suspected something was amiss when the three knights had come into view, clearly waiting for the rest of the group as they gazed at something to the side of the road.

"… We found them, milord…" Frederick reported, unable to tear his forlorn gaze away from the sight. "It was a massacre."

Ten soldiers lay dead where they had been felled, sporting horrendous wounds all across their bodies. Blood spilled from jagged gashes and tears in their flesh, staining the vibrant green field red. There was evidence that pointed to fallen Risen, as well, and Robin realized why the initial group they'd fought hadn't given them as much trouble as the ones they'd fought previously.

'The Risen chief and the ones accompanying it had been caught up here…' he thought to himself. 'These soldiers had no idea we were coming… but they made our lives a lot easier than it would have been had we faced all of them at the same time…'

Robin could see the Shepherds' differing reactions: horror from Lissa and Sumia, anger from Sully and Vaike, and helpless frustration from Chrom and Frederick. Even Virion and Miriel showed hints of regret at the discovery of the patrol's fate. He felt similarly – a loss of life was always tragic, after all – but he kept all but the barest hints of distress from his features. It was one of the primary tenets of being a tactician: one always had to be in control of his or her emotions. It was something he had remembered while in the privacy of his own thoughts, and he found that it was a guideline he wanted to keep close to his heart whenever he was at work.

"… We should gather the bodies up and give them a funeral pyre," he said, his voice quiet but still loud enough to snap everyone out of their various distracted states. "There isn't enough time for us to dig any graves, and we can't afford to sacrifice manpower to deliver a message back to Ylisstol… but we can at least do this for them before carrying on our way."

As everyone wordlessly set about the grim task, Robin could only watch as Chrom picked his way through each of the corpses that hadn't been moved yet. A teary-eyed Lissa silently followed her brother as he checked each body in what was an obviously hopeless and futile search for survivors.

'Chrom…' Robin thought, shaking his head and moving to turn away, but he caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. 'Hm?'

The tactician stopped and looked again, brows furrowed. He began walking in the direction where he'd seen a flash of white, ignoring Chrom and Lissa's confused calls as he gingerly stepped through the bloodied blades of grass.

As he made his way around a large rock, his expression lifted slightly. "Well… what have we here?" he said, feeling a little cheer at his discovery. There had been a survivor. It wasn't human, but it was a survivor nonetheless.

"Hey, is that what I think it is?" Lissa asked as she peered around the tactician.

Leaning against the rock was a wounded pegasus, clad in light armor that marked it as a mount belonging to one of Ylisse's pegasus knights.

Chrom frowned. "It's a pegasus, all right," he said as he looked around, noticing several marks on its armor. "It looks to be hurt. We should at least see if we can help it any…"

He moved in closer and reached a hand out, but the pegasus suddenly reared up and whinnied in what Robin thought was a combination of anger and fear. It lashed out in a frenzy, its hooves nearly flattening Chrom as it tried to keep the man away.

"WHOA! Down, girl! Easy there!" Chrom yelled as he quickly backed off from the enraged animal.

"Captain! One moment!" came an unexpected voice. The trio looked to see Sumia approaching them, the normally clumsy girl wearing an urgent expression on her face. She made to say something…

… but she tripped over her own feet and planted herself in the ground face-first with another cringe-worthy thud before she could even get the words out.

Chrom, alarmed by Sumia's fall, rushed to her side. "Sumia! Are you alright?!" he said as the rookie Shepherd picked herself up off the ground and dusted her uniform off. When he found she was alright, his face softened into a relieved expression. "… Those boots of yours again?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean…" Sumia stammered out before she sighed in resigned embarrassment.

Robin couldn't stop the amused smile that had twisted his lips upwards as a distinct sense of déjà vu washed over him. Lissa was not quite so controlled, giggling at the scene before her. Both the tactician and princess thankfully remained ignored by the pair.

"Well, come no closer," Chrom commanded, holding his arms out to try and prevent Sumia from getting past. "This beast is crazed!"

Sumia shook her head and smiled lightly. "It's okay, Captain," she said, pushing Chrom's arms down and moving past him. "I can handle this…"

Robin could only watch as Sumia carefully approached the injured pegasus as it lay on its side, watching her with eyes that showed a mix of both anxiety and curiosity.

"Shhh… easy now, girl…" she cooed and whispered gently as she approached the pegasus. "I won't hurt you…"

Much to the amazement of the three, the pegasus did not display any of its earlier panic as Sumia approached. Eventually, she made it within arm's reach and reached out to test the waters. When the pegasus made not a single sound or movement that could be interpreted as a warning sign, Sumia smiled as her hand laid itself upon the animal's neck, stroking it softly.

"Shhh…" she whispered again as she embraced the pegasus, caressing both snout and neck as she leaned her head against the creature.

'… Wow. Now that is a gift.'

Robin crossed his arms. "Alright, that was impressive, I'm not going to lie," he said. "How did she manage to calm it down so quickly?"

Next to the tactician, Lissa was bouncing with excitement. "Wow! That was incredible, Sumia!"

Chrom nodded. "It certainly was," he said softly, looking at the girl in a new light. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"Oh, its… it's nothing. Really," Sumia said softly, a smile on her face even as she blushed from the praise. "I just have a way with animals, I guess."

"I should say so!" Chrom said.

Lissa snickered as she moved forward to help Sumia. "She definitely does," she said lowly, bursting into giggles when the tactician beside her let out a bark of laughter.

As the two girls tended to the wounded pegasus, the rest of the Shepherds had finished bringing the deceased Ylissean soldiers together. Chrom had gone over each one, seemingly etching their faces to memory as he closed their eyes and placed their hands together over their chests.

Robin watched him with sad eyes. It was a hard reality to face as a leader. How were you supposed to console a man such as Chrom, who – judging by his demeanor – took every death as a personal failure? How was he supposed to behave? These sorts of things were foreign to a man with no memory. Granted, he may have experienced grief at some point in time during whatever life he'd had before, but he had nothing to fall back on. All he could be – all he knew how to be – was the anchor that kept Chrom rooted to the ground.

"I know you feel like you failed them…" he murmured. "But you didn't. They did their duty, just as we're doing ours. That's all we can do to honor their sacrifice."

Chrom nodded mutely, and Robin took that as the signal. He and Miriel lit the funeral pyre with basic fire spells, the old wood catching fire quickly as it began to consume the bodies of the fallen. The Shepherds watched on for a few minutes, some like Frederick with their heads bowed in prayer, others simply watching with distant looks on their faces.

As much as he'd have wanted to allow them all the time to reflect, Robin knew that time was of the essence and made the call to prepare to move out.

While the rest of the Shepherds set about packing what extra supplies they were able to salvage from the corpses and getting their own equipment and supplies in order, Robin noticed Lissa sitting on a nearby tree stump, chewing on some dried jerky from her rations and washing it down with water from a flask.

'It's to be expected, though,' Robin mused. 'The healing arts, while usually just as taxing as combat magic, can drain a person's mana much faster if constant application is needed to treat serious injuries. I'm also pretty sure that Lissa's still new to all this, so she probably hasn't had much opportunity to really build up her mana reserves.'

Robin frowned, wondering where that piece of information had come from, but filed that away for some other time. It was still useful to know.

The pegasus looked to be in much better shape than earlier, Sumia having not left the creature's side. It seemed they'd already formed a bit of a connection, which Robin took to be a good sign. Perhaps he might be able to make use of Sumia as a pegasus knight sooner than expected, something which he admitted to himself would be a welcome addition to his strategies.

Chrom, on the other hand… Robin decided he'd stick to the man for the time being. He might be showing a strong front, but the tactician could tell the prince was still bothered by the loss of life. He'd have to talk to him sometime soon, and make him see that it actually wasn't his fault. For now, though… all Robin could do was keep an eye out for him.

"Will the pegasus be fit to travel, Sumia?" Chrom asked as he approached. 'Speak of the devil…'

"Not just yet. You all should go on ahead, Captain," Sumia said as she continued to tend to the pegasus. "Once she's fit for travel, we'll catch up to you. We can make up ground easier since she can fly, so we probably won't lose too much time."

Chrom frowned. "I'm sure we can make time to wait for you," he offered. Robin raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly asking what logic the prince had used to come to that conclusion.

Sumia ducked her head, hiding her burning cheeks. "Thank you, Captain," she said. "But I'm a pegasus knight-in-training, and a Shepherd. I can manage on my own." She looked up at Chrom, the prince faintly surprised to note the steel in her gaze. "Every moment is precious when all of Ylisse is in danger."

Robin put a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "She's right, you know," he said. "We really don't have much time; we've already used up what little we had to spare in combat and building up the funeral pyre for the fallen soldiers."

"… I know," the prince replied reluctantly. Deep down, Robin could understand why the man was conflicted: he'd just lost an entire platoon of soldiers, and the lives lost were clearly weighing on him. With Risen prowling the lands, and both Ferox and Ylisstol days away, he didn't want to risk leaving Sumia out here on her own. However… at the same time, Chrom could understand and respect Sumia's wishes just as much as he understood that he had his own duty to fulfill.

Meeting Sumia's eyes, Chrom nodded. "Right, then… Be safe, Sumia. I'll see you soon."

This time, she rose to her feet and saluted smartly. "As you command, sir," she said, and suddenly to Robin she looked every bit the pegasus knight she was training herself to be…

… Until she smiled a smile that made her look like she'd been given her Yuletide presents early.

Robin sighed. 'I swear to Naga, the only thing I've seen from these two is them dancing around their obvious mutual attraction… then again, since I can't remember anything, maybe I should be paying more attention.'

As he turned to head back to the Shepherds, Robin could have sworn he saw the pegasus shrug helplessly when it locked eyes with him.

---

Location: The Longfort

Chrom's worries ended up being unfounded, happily enough, as the Shepherds had managed to reach the base of the mountainous region that separated Regna Ferox and Ylisse within another two days and without any other disturbances or Risen attacks. In spite of the delays, Robin found that they were still making good time, which was good because they'd be forced to slow their travel as the road began to narrow and slope upwards.

The air cooled dramatically the further along the road the Shepherds traveled, making Robin very glad that he'd kept his coat on as the others dug out thick cloaks from their traveling packs and wrapped them around their shoulders. Vaike had been insistent that he didn't need his, but the moment snow began to fall and a mountain breeze began to blow was the moment that Chrom and Robin had forced the man into his cloak, unwilling to even entertain the risk of the man suffering from frostbite just to satisfy his ego.

Even with the cloaks, though, it was clear to see that the Shepherds were still struggling with weather they were unaccustomed to.

"Brrr! F-F-Frebberick!" Lissa stammered out as she shivered within the confines of her cloak. "I'm f-f-freebing!"

The knight chuckled, urging his steed to trot alongside Lissa. "Stand beside my horse, milady," he said, remaining unflappable as always. "She'll shelter you from the wind."

Frederick's horse whinnied, almost as if it were agreeing with its rider's words.

Robin was about to make a quip, but his words died in his throat as an enormous structure came into view, dwarfing anything he'd seen save perhaps for the Exalt's Palace at Ylisstol.

"Wow…" he breathed as he gazed up at the giant fortress that greeted the Shepherds. The massive stone walls extended both ways along the snow-capped mountain region, stretching as far as the eye could see and beyond that as they disappeared into the mountain ranges that marked the Ylisse-Ferox border.

Turning to Chrom, he found the prince staring up at the fortress' massive iron gate with a distant expression.

"So this is the fortress you mentioned to me before?" he asked, snapping the other man from his thoughts.

Chrom nodded. "Yes, the Longfort," he replied, a puff of mist escaping his lips with every spoken word. "It's a border fortress that stretches along the entirety of Regna Ferox's southern border. It's a reminder of a time when relations between us were less than pleasant. Now it serves as a checkpoint for entry, although the Feroxi still maintain a full complement of soldiers to keep up appearances."

Robin turned back to the fortress. "Appearances or otherwise, I'd hate to have to try and lay siege to a place like this in a time of war…" he murmured, more to himself than the others. Aside from the fortification itself, the terrain made the Longfort a natural stronghold that was difficult to assault and easy to defend.

The tactician glanced at Chrom out of the corner of his eye. "Hopefully they'll let us pass without much fuss."

"As long as I let them know who I am, they should let us in without much trouble," Chrom replied.

Frederick brought his steed towards the pair. "The khans of Regna Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners as of late," he said as he joined the discussion. "Still, one shouldn't mistake the lack of hospitality for open hostility, milord. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy and patience."

"I'll admit negotiation is hardly my strong suit," the prince replied, frowning. "However, for Ylisse and for Emm I'll do my best to stay patient and calm. As the Exalt's emissaries, our actions will reflect on her and on Ylisse as a whole, so we should all try to be on our best behavior."

The group continued to make its way forward, Chrom and Robin in the lead as they approached the clearing before the huge gate.

Frederick's eyes narrowed as he watched for movement from the fort. "Trouble in the wind, milord," he said lowly. "The Feroxi Guard are mobilizing."

"What?! Why?!" Chrom asked, clearly startled by the knight's statement.

Indeed, just as the knight had said, there was plenty of activity on the fortress walls and within the gate. Robin could see soldiers clad in mixed and matched leather and steel armor rushing to and fro. Swordsmen as well as lance-wielding light and heavy infantry all readied themselves, while archers took position on the battlements, bows and arrows poised and aimed at the Shepherds. Some of the infantry broke off from their compatriots and joined the archers, hefting lighter spears geared for throwing at distant targets.

'This could be trouble…' Robin thought to himself as he began mentally listing out possible tactics and strategies that might get them out of this mess.

"Who can say? But they certainly look ready to fly at a moment's notice," Frederick replied. "We'd best prepare for combat, just in case. Loathe as I still am to trust him, Robin may offer us some valuable insight…"

Robin rolled his eyes and pretended to ignore Frederick's words. 'Sweet Naga, really…?'

Chrom frowned. "Well, he is our tactician, after all," he said, before turning to Robin. "So, do you have anything in mind, Robin? Any suggestions would be most welcome."

Before Robin could say anything, a strong voice rang out from the top of the fortress wall.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

'You cannot deny that those are some serious lungs,' Robin thought as the source of the yelling appeared on the battlements alongside the archers. Said source was a woman in heavy platemail armor, with plain, harsh features and short straw-colored hair that were no doubt weathered by the equally hard weather and the combat-centered culture of Regna Ferox. Her armor was polished to a dull sheen, but Robin could see that it was also quite worn and aged, undoubtedly having seen plenty of use and abuse in its time.

Chrom put on his best business face and stepped forward, keeping his composure even as the archers trained their bows on him.

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek an audience with the khans!" he called out.

"Not another step, my bold lad!" the reply came, surprising Chrom and stopping him in his tracks. "I've lancers and archers at the ready!"

'Way to point out the obvious.'

"Hold milady!" Frederick called out. "We are not your enemy! Exalt Emmeryn sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest!"

The woman scoffed. "Hah! My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"

Frederick bristled, his face growing red with anger. "B-brigand?!" he ground out. "Now see here–!"

"You think you're the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border?" she spat. "I have the authority to fell imposters such as you where they stand!"

The normally unflappable knight had just about had it at this point. "How dare you speak to milord in such a manner?!" he exploded, losing all sense of composure for the first time since Robin had met the man. "You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, the Exalt's own blood! He is royalty!"

"Ha! Indeed, and I'm the Queen of Valm!" the woman replied. "You do realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes?"

Chrom had no response to her words. He was rooted to the ground he stood upon, almost in shock at how callously his claims – legitimate claims – were being tossed aside.

The woman suddenly hummed to herself in thought. "Mmm… though, perhaps there may be a way to test your claims," she said, snapping Chrom from his stupor. Smirking, she accepted a spear from one of her soldiers. "We'll settle this the Feroxi way! You claim to be the prince of Ylisse? Then prove it on the battlefield!"

Chrom grimaced. "Rrgh… Emmeryn won't like this…" he murmured. "Is there really no other way…?"

He drew himself up to his full height and decided he had to try one final time. "Please, good lady!" he called out once more. "If you'd just listen–!"

The woman cut him off with a swipe of her spear. "I have heard quite enough!" she said. "Attack!"

Before anyone could realize what was happening, four spears were suddenly in mid-flight, aimed right for the Ylissean prince. Robin hadn't even needed to shout orders; everything happened far too quickly for him to have done so. He surged forward with Frederick, the pair of them trying to find a way to shield Chrom from harm even as the man twisted his body in a feeble attempt to protect himself using his shoulder guard.

Robin knew that their efforts were futile; he was quite sure Frederick knew that as well, but it wasn't the sort of knowledge that would stop either of them from trying to save Chrom. There was no conceivable way they could reach Chrom and prevent his death. Even shielding him with their bodies wouldn't be enough; the javelins would punch right through and spear through the prince anyway.

A shadow suddenly passed overhead, shielding Robin from the sun for a brief moment and making him pause in his mad dash to save Chrom. He looked up just in time to see a blur of white – a pegasus, he quickly realized – streak through the air at full speed, aimed right for Chrom. Its rider – a familiar brunette in bronze riding armor – reached a hand out and took hold of Chrom's arm, hoisting the prince onto the saddle behind her with jarring force that Robin was sure would have wrenched a normal man's arm out of its socket.

'Sumia!'

The javelins slammed into the snow-covered field where Chrom had been standing, missing the prince entirely as the pegasus rose to the sky with the prince firmly saddled behind its handler.

---

Chrom opened his eyes, wondering how in Naga's name he hadn't been skewered yet… and why he was now riding a pegasus that was a couple of dozen feet up in the air. However, that all paled in comparison to the surprise he felt when he realized just who was holding the reins of the winged beast.

"Sumia…?" he breathed out, unable to believe his eyes. Sitting in front of him, hair fluttering in the wind as one hand held onto the pegasus' reins and another hefted a slim iron lance, was Sumia.

"Better hold tight, Captain," the brunette replied as she deftly steered the pegasus through the skies with a practiced ease. "Things could get a little bumpy."

Chrom blinked, his mouth working to try and get words out as his mind still struggled to process his situation.

"Uh… right…" he finally mustered.

Sumia glanced at him over her shoulder and gave him a reassuring – and charming, he admitted to himself – smile. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll be fine."

Chrom watched Sumia as if seeing her for the first time. She was… different. Gone was the clumsy, uncertain girl that he'd known on the ground, to be replaced by a calm and confident pegasus knight. Now that she was finally in her element, she seemed to be a completely different person. She'd finally become the knight that both he and Wing Commander Phila had always believed she could be.

He was jolted by his thoughts, however, when movement from the fortress wall caught his eye. Looking in the Longfort's direction, he found archers on the battlements taking aim at them, making his blood run cold. However, before they could so much as loose an arrow in their direction, arrows and spells from the ground flew in, preventing the Feroxi guards from attacking and forcing them to dive for cover.

"Sumia, take us down!" he called out, shouting his words so they could be heard over the rushing wind. Robin had given them an opportunity to get to safety, and it was best not to waste it.

"Right!" came the reply from Sumia. She urged her steed into a gentle dive as they moved out of range of the Feroxi archers, angling their descent towards where the rest of the Shepherds had gathered before the fort's main gate.

---

Robin would have cheered Sumia's timely arrival, but the sight of the archers on the fortress wall raising their bows skyward and aiming at the pegasus knight spurred him into action.

"Miriel, Virion! On the archers! Give Chrom and Sumia some cover, but try not to kill if you can help it!" the tactician called out as he drew his tome from his coat. "The rest of you, keep Lissa safe and make sure to stay out of range until we can clear the wall!"

Runes quickly flared to life around Robin and Miriel as the two began preparing spells, pages flipping wildly as mana crackled and sparked from their magically-charged tomes. Virion stepped ahead of the tactician and mage, drawing three arrows and letting them fly in quick succession. The Feroxi archers were quick to duck Virion's attack before shifting their aim towards the trio on the ground and returning fire.

'Good, we've managed to get their attention…' Robin thought, watching Chrom and Sumia from the corner of his eye as they began their descent towards a lower altitude. He hissed as an arrow grazed his left arm, tearing through his sleeve and the flesh beneath it, but he kept his nerve and focused on the task at hand.

Lightning crackling within his palm, Robin raised his hand and threw his Elthunder spell out at the archers perched on the battlements of the Longfort. Miriel's own fire spells flew out to join his assault, the lightning bolts and fireballs blowing chunks of stone from the fort as they slammed into the battlements with explosive force. A few of the Feroxi were caught in the blast, sending them flying through the air, but the rest were still able to scramble away and duck for cover.

"Alright, good work, you two. That should buy us some time to regroup," Robin said, keeping a careful watch on the wall as Sumia brought her pegasus to ground level where it made a surprisingly gentle landing. Chrom nodded his thanks and gripped Sumia's shoulder before sliding off. He landed a little unsteadily, but waved away any concerns from Frederick as he found his feet and straightened up.

"I'm so relieved that I made it on time, Captain," Sumia said, smiling as she caressed her pegasus' neck.

Chrom broke out in a grin. "That goes double for me," he replied, before a frown suddenly creased his brows as he took a closer look at Sumia's mount. "And this… wait, is this the same ornery pegasus we met on the road?!"

Sumia's smile grew as she gave the animal a scratch on the ear, something which it clearly enjoyed as it raised its head to allow its rider easy reach.

"Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she?" she asked, prompting Chrom to give her a look of disbelief. Upon seeing the look, she chuckled nervously and added, "… Once you get to know her, that is…"

Chrom could only chuckle at that. "I see. Well, many thanks to you both, then."

The pegasus whinnied happily, almost as if it were delighted to hear Chrom's words of gratitude.

Lissa giggled. "Aw, I think it's blushing!" she cooed, reaching out to pat the pegasus on the snout.

"And I think we had best focus on the situation at hand!" Frederick snapped. Undoubtedly the knight was still on edge after the blatant disrespect Chrom had been shown earlier.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Shepherds, on your toes. Here they come…!" he said lowly, watching as the Feroxi guards began to funnel out from the stairwells behind the main gate. Curiously, he noted that the Feroxi guard captain was not amongst their number… but all their archers were filing out and rushing down the left side, while most of the melee fighters were on the other side.

'That's tactical suicide…' Robin thought incredulously.

"Alright, then the Feroxi way it is!" Chrom said, drawing Falchion from its sheath and raising it high.

Robin nodded, his mind already analysing the battlefield. "Frederick, Sully, and Stahl, take the left flank," he called out. "Use your mobility to keep the enemy tied down, particularly the archers. Chrom, Vaike, you're on the right side. Virion and Miriel will back you up. Lissa, stay with the rear line. Sumia, stick with me. I've got a plan in mind, but we should wait until their archers are occupied and not a direct threat to us."

As most of the Shepherds moved to obey his orders, Robin couldn't help but notice that Chrom's brows had furrowed in thought.

"Chrom? Is something wrong?"

The prince shook his head. "I don't know why… but I feel like I'm being watched," he said.

Robin frowned, but before either man could say anything, a voice called out to them. "Um, sir?"

Both Chrom and Robin straightened up, eyes wide. "Sir! Right here, sir!" the voice called out again.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" the prince shouted as he looked about wildly, gripping Falchion tightly. Behind him, Robin held both sword and tome at the ready, prepared to defend his friend and employer.

A shape near them suddenly resolved itself into a large, heavily-armored man that had a hand raised. "I'm standing in plain sight, sir. Right he–"

"BWAAAAAH!" both Robin and Chrom yelped in surprise, leaping away from the figure and nearly drawing their weapons before realizing the newcomer meant no harm… and – in Chrom's case – that the man was actually one of his Shepherds.

"Oh… oh! I-is that you, Kellam? When did you arrive?" Chrom asked, recognition dawning on his features as he visually attempted to calm himself down.

Kellam frowned in confusion. "The same time as the rest of you. I've been with you the whole time," he replied, his expression growing more anxious as Chrom gave him a perplexed look. "Er… I am still a Shepherd, right? It's quite the honor to serve under your direct command, after all. I'd hate to lose my place. Sometimes I–"

"Of course you are, Kellam. Don't think you aren't," Chrom interrupted rather hastily, putting on as reassuring a smile as he could manage. "Forgive me. It's just that sometimes you're so quiet that I completely–"

Kellam smiled in relief, waving off Chrom's apology. "It's quite alright, sir. Quite alright. I've been told I'm easy to miss."

Chrom sighed. "Well… it's a good thing the Feroxi didn't find you."

The larger man's shoulders sagged. "I've been calling to you and waving for several minutes…" he said dejectedly. "I don't think they've so much as glanced this way."

Robin had to raise an eyebrow at that. "You almost sound disappointed," the tactician remarked.

Kellam shrugged. "Well, I just…" he trailed off, before he shook his head and straightened up. "I'm just glad you finally saw me! Just try to keep an eye out for me from now on?"

Chrom chuckled. "I'll be sure to do my best, Kellam. I'm always glad to have you with us. Don't think you aren't a welcome addition to the Shepherds."

Kellam smiled at that, then turned to Robin. "So, your orders, Robin? I'll do whatever you need me to."

"Take Chrom's place on the right side," Robin said, patting the larger man on his plated shoulder. "Your heavy armor will let you be a good focal point for the rest of them to fight around." Looking around, he clapped his hands. "Alright, don't forget that the Feroxi are technically our allies! I don't want any unnecessary bloodshed if we can avoid it! Now, let's get a move on, people!"

Frederick gave Robin a grave nod and spurred his steed into action, again taking Stahl and Sully with him as per what was quickly becoming a standard tactic of Robin's with the Shepherds.

Chrom glanced at his tactician. "Whatever this plan of yours is, I hope it isn't anything too stupid," he said, watching as Vaike and Kellam rushed towards the enemies approaching from the right, Virion and Miriel taking position behind them.

'That makes two of us…' he thought as he gazed up at the fortress wall, almost expecting more archers to pop up and start showering them with arrows

Thankfully, no more archers appeared on the battlements, which meant that all of them had been deployed to ground level on the left side. For what reason, Robin couldn't even begin to fathom, because there was absolutely no real tactical incentive to doing such a thing. It just made absolutely no sense.

"Robin?" Sumia ventured, pulling Robin from his thoughts. "Is anything the matter?"

The tactician shook his head. "Sorry, I was just overthinking things," he replied. "Don't worry about it, Sumia."

Chrom frowned as he folded his arms over his chest. "I'm curious why you had Kellam switch out with me, Robin," he said. "I'm not the type to wait in the back while people do the fighting for me."

"I know you are, Chrom, but trust me on this," Robin replied. "I intend for the three of us to go straight for our friendly Feroxi guard captain. If we can force her to stand down quickly, then we can bring this battle to an end before either side incurs too many casualties."

Knowing Chrom would object, Robin raised a hand to forestall any comments. "Look, I also know you probably don't like being away from the main fight, but think about it for a moment," he added. "If we spill Feroxi blood here, we'll not be helping our cause considering we want to petition the khans for aid. It will make for a very poor bargaining chip when we have to get down to the business end of things."

The prince sighed, and Robin could tell that he knew his tactician was right even if he didn't exactly like it.

"… Alright," he relented. "How do we do this?"

Robin almost smiled. "That's where you come in," he said, addressing Sumia. "You'll be ferrying us up there one at a time. I'll go in first – I'm more expendable than Chrom is, after all – then you come back down to bring him up afterwards. Between the three of us, we should be able to handle whatever enemies are still up there."

Chrom nodded in understanding. "You seem to have thought this through," he commented, before frowning. "I don't like that you're calling yourself expendable, though."

"It's my job, Chrom," Robin deadpanned. "I'd assume that's what you'll be paying me to do." He suddenly paused as a thought came to him. "… You are going to be paying me, right?"

The prince punched the white-haired man on the shoulder. "Just get going, will you?" he said, managing a good-natured smile.

A smirking Robin swung over onto the saddle behind Sumia and threw his leader a sloppy salute. "Yes, sir!" he said, his tone more indulgent than anything else. "Take us up, Sumia. Frederick should have their archers occupied by now."

The pegasus knight nodded. "Just hold on, these northern winds could make this trip a little bumpy," she said as she eased her pegasus into flight. Robin was instantly on the lookout as they rose into the air, much as he wanted to be distracted by the absolutely wondrous sensation of flying.

'Keep your head in the game, you dolt. I'm sure you'll be able to ask Sumia for a ride at some point in the future.'

Robin watched the battle unfold from his vantage point, noting that neither group of Shepherds seemed to have made any semblance of progress towards the stairwells on either side of the gate. He surmised that as formidable as the Feroxi combatants were, the main reason for the lack of progress would probably still have to be his order to avoid causing any deaths if possible.

'Which is all well and good… the last thing we need is us having an entire outpost's worth of Feroxi blood on our hands.'

As Sumia took the pegasus in a gentle arc over the fort's battlements, Robin could see the Feroxi captain and a single swordsman standing alone in front of the gate keep, seemingly unaware of what was approaching from above. He tapped Sumia on the shoulder and pointed in their direction.

"Just do a fly by. I'll jump off the moment you break to the side."

Sumia turned halfway to give Robin an incredulous look. "I really hope you know what you're doing," she said, but nonetheless coaxed the pegasus into a dive towards the two Feroxi.

'I hope I know what I'm doing, too. Believe me.'

Robin pulled out his tome and began charging a spell as they swooped in. The Feroxi captain and the swordsman both looked up, surprised expressions crossing their faces as they noticed the pegasus streaking in right towards them. They both raised their weapons, letting Robin know that they fully expected the oncoming pegasus knight to charge directly at them.

Unfortunately for them, that course of action was the furthest thing from what Robin had in mind. Sumia pulled to the right at the last moment, barely keeping out of reach of the Feroxi guards' spear and sword. Robin swung himself over towards the left side and dove off the pegasus as it streaked past the two Feroxi, tackling the mercenary to the ground and sending the other man's sword sliding across the floor.

The two struggled and wrestled on the ground, Robin losing his tome in the grappling match. The swordsman flipped the smaller tactician over and mounted him before delivering a solid cross across Robin's cheek. Stars exploded across Robin's vision, but the tactician kept his nerve and slapped the swordsman's follow-up punch away. The Feroxi man yelped in pain as his fist collided with the cold stone floor, giving the tactician the opportunity he needed. He slammed a palm against the swordsman's neck and discharged a small amount of lightning magic into the other man.

The swordsman collapsed in a nerveless heap on top of Robin, clearly paralyzed by the tactician's lightning magic. The tactician shoved the prone man off and untangled his legs from the other man's before scrambling to his feet, hand already reaching for his sword.

The Feroxi captain stood still, almost appraising Robin's foolhardiness, before she set her feet and raised her steel lance and kite shield. However, she was content to simply wait for Robin to come to her, which meant she knew he'd lost his tome in the earlier scuffle.

Robin cautiously rose to a full standing position and discretely examined his surroundings for his tome, spotting the discarded book sitting a short distance away… but much closer to the Feroxi captain than to himself. Clearly she'd moved herself in that direction deliberately to prevent him from retrieving it.

'Looks like I'll need to find a way to lure her away from it…' he thought, trying not to be distracted by the sounds of fighting still drifting up from the bottom of the fortress wall.

"You fight well, boy," the Feroxi captain said. "Let our battle sound out the truth of your words!"

Robin wordlessly raised his sword up and to the side in a two-handed grip and charged forward. The goal was clear: retrieve his tome, and take the advantage from long-range combat. He was sure the Feroxi captain knew it, as well.

The captain hunkered down behind her kite shield and thrust out with her lance to ward off Robin's advance. The tactician, however, twisted his body and brought his sword up and around, catching the lance just behind its head and sweeping it aside before continuing the motion into a spin that allowed him to continue his advance. Undeterred and aware of what Robin was trying to do, the captain brought her shield aside so she could swing her lance at him in a wide sweeping arc.

Robin dove to the side, the lance passing just over him as he rolled on his shoulder and rose to his feet in a single smooth motion. His instincts screaming at him, Robin brought his sword up into a guard position before he could really think about it, a move which may have saved his life as his blade met the Feroxi captain's oncoming lance thrust and pushed it aside. The lance barely missed a direct hit on his torso, but still managed to painfully nick his left arm ever so lightly.

The tactician stumbled back from the glancing blow and dropped to a knee. However, before the heavily armored woman could press her advantage, a yelled war cry pierced through the air. Both combatants turned to see Chrom drop down from the Sumia's hovering pegasus and charge forward into the fray, blade already drawn.

The Feroxi captain turned her full attention to the prince and met his sword swing with her shield, allowing Robin a brief moment to catch his breath. Fortunately, his movements meant that his tome now laid only a few paces away, which would allow him to rejoin the battle quickly if he was still needed.

Looking at the fight, the Feroxi captain was holding her own against Chrom and Sumia, using her shield to take the brunt of the prince's more powerful attacks while she was fine to allow the lighter blows from Sumia's lance to glance harmlessly off her thick steel armor before she forced the pair back with wide swipes of her lance.

The deadly dance continued for a time, until finally a lucky swing from the Feroxi captain's steel lance caught Sumia before she could fully retreat out of range. The lance's shaft hit the pegasus knight across her flank, sending her flying from her pegasus and landing on the ground in a heap, where she coughed and wheezed as she tried to recover the air that had been knocked from her by the jarring blow.

"Sumia!" he heard Chrom cry out, before the prince refocused on the battle and began to attack even more ferociously than before. However, his flaring emotions left him more and more careless, and more prone to leaving openings as he continued his relentless attack.

Robin's eyes widened when Chrom was suddenly caught off-guard in the middle of his onslaught by the Feroxi captain, who smashed her shield into the prince's torso and sent him sprawling to the ground several yards away. The prince shook his head as he slowly rose up, not wholly aware that the Feroxi captain was rushing up towards him to finish him off.

'Damn it, no!'

Urgency fuelling his body, Robin rose to his feet and lunged for his tome, scooping it up in one hand and cracking it open. The pages flipped as they answered his will, Robin not even thinking of what spell to cast and just giving himself over entirely to his instincts. A green light glowed in the palm of his hand as he raised it, runes and magic circles flaring to life as he let his spell fly loose.

"Wind!"

The magic-infused gale of wind erupted from Robin's palm and quickly washed over the pair, sweeping the heavily-armored guard captain off her feet as she charged the downed Chrom and sending her tumbling to the ground in a sprawled heap. She tried to scramble to their feet, but the tactician of the Shepherds was faster, crossing the distance in a matter of seconds and managing to get a foot on the Feroxi guard's spear before levelling his sword at her neck.

"It's over," Robin said, breathing heavily from the exertion.

He heard and felt Chrom get back up behind him, before the prince levelled his own weapon at the guard captain's neck.

Finally getting a good glimpse of the weapon at her neck, the guard captain paled.

"Then your claims were… true…" she whispered. "You truly are Prince Chrom…"

The prince nodded, keeping his blade steady. "Indeed. Now, will you cease your hostilities? I don't wish any blood to be spilt on this day, in spite of your actions."

---

The battle had ended shortly thereafter, the Feroxi guard captain – whose name was Raimi, Robin had learned – having ordered all her troops to stand down and cease all hostile actions.

Robin had been pleased to see that there were no casualties on either side, and that the Shepherds had more or less made it through unscathed. He was still kicking himself over the fact that Sumia had been injured thanks to his strategy, but Lissa had assured him that the pegasus knight only had some bruised ribs that would heal quickly after a few days.

'Still… I should at least check up on her as soon as possible…'

He shelved his thoughts as Raimia walked up to Chrom – who had been standing a short distance away with Lissa and Sumia – and gave a short bow.

"Once again, a thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand impostors," Raimi said respectfully. "However, no frauds could have ever waged a battle as you just have! I will send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally as way of apology once preparations have been made to depart."

"Thank you. That would be most appreciated," Chrom replied. Raimi nodded before she turned to take her leave, heading back for the gate keep.

Robin watched the Feroxi guard captain leave, more than a little astonished at the difference compared to the person that had greeted their arrival earlier.

"Amazing," he murmured. "Her whole demeanor changed once we were able to prove who we are."

"I'm not wholly surprised," came Frederick's voice, prompting Robin to turn and face the knight as the larger man approached him. "In Ferox, strength speaks louder than words." The Shepherds' normally stern second-in-command suddenly looked shamefaced. "I should have known better than to overestimate the value of diplomacy here…"

Robin grimaced internally. He could tell that the near misses that had nearly gotten Chrom killed were weighing heavily on the other man's mind.

"None of us could have known any better, Frederick," he said, choosing his words carefully as he placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder plate. "You were looking out for Chrom and for Ylisse, so it's understandable you would try to emphasize diplomacy above all else. We just have to learn from our experiences and mistakes."

Frederick regarded Robin steadily for a moment before nodding. "… You make a point there," he conceded. "Also…"

Robin watched as Frederick hesitated. He waited patiently for the other man, who clearly seemed to be struggling with something.

After a while, the knight finally pressed on, but in a much lower voice.

"… I would also thank you for saving the life of milord, Sir Robin," Frederick said, looking rather crestfallen. "Three times now have you placed yourself in harm's way for his sake, and each time you've nearly died for it. My behaviour… may have been less than fair to you."

To say Robin was shocked would be an understatement. 'I swear, I must be dreaming. Frederick's apologizing to me?'

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Frederick," he replied. "As you've said time and again, you were doing your duty. I wouldn't have trusted me, either, if I was in your place."

Frederick sighed. "Yet–"

"No, Frederick," Robin interjected. "I know it wasn't anything personal. You had every right to be suspicious and wary of someone who had claimed to have absolutely no memories whatsoever – regardless of whether he spoke the truth or not."

'It did begin to grate on my nerves after the first couple of days, I'm not going to lie… but there's no need for you to know that right now.'

He ran a hand through his white hair. "Look, I'm not asking you to be friends with me straight away. I never have, and I never will. I just want you to be able to give me the chance to earn your trust as a tactician. We both want the same thing: to help Chrom and keep him safe in spite of himself. Why can't we help each other do just that?"

After several moments of thought, Frederick gave a slow nod. "Yes… I don't see why we can't do that."

Robin chuckled dryly. "That's a relief to hear," he said, watching as Chrom hovered over Sumia like a concerned parent.

'Or lover…' Robin thought, smirking inwardly at the thought. 'They're both so obvious and oblivious about how they act that it's almost painful to watch.'

He turned to Frederick once more. "They're worth protecting, Frederick, and I intend to do all I can to ensure their safety."

The knight didn't respond for a long moment, but when he did it was short and simple. "I understand," he said, giving the tactician a firm, respectful nod before leaving.

When Frederick was out of earshot, Robin sighed.

'That was probably one of the hardest conversations I can remember having…' He smiled wryly to himself. 'Not that I can remember much.'

"Alright! All done!" Robin heard Lissa say, making him refocus his attention back on the royal siblings.

The Ylissean princess rose from Sumia's side, patting her dress clean before she stretched her arms up over her head. She let out a small, distinctly un-princess-like noise of pleasure as she reached up as high as she could go to work out the kinks in her shoulders and back.

"Thanks, Lissa," Sumia said as she gingerly refastened the lower straps on her breastplate.

Lissa grinned cheerily at her friend, before turning to her brother. "So, now that that's done, can we get going yet, Chrom?"

The prince blinked out of his stupor, his cheeks reddening slightly as he realized he'd been caught staring at Sumia.

"Y-yes, let's get inside," he said. "I-it certainly isn't getting any warmer out here."

Robin grinned as the flustered prince moved to Sumia's side, gently helping the pegasus knight to her feet.

'Oh, Chrom… even after a battle where you had two near-death experiences, her well-being's still the first thing on your mind…'

The tactician couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he followed the trio in.

What a job this was turning out to be.

---

Location: Arena Ferox

Lucina backpedalled rapidly, her sword moving like lightning as it deflected attacks coming in from her opponent's furious offense. The swordsman she was fighting against pressed his attack, unwilling to give her even an inch of breathing room as they duelled in the center of a huge arena.

There was only a very small audience right now, but that made the match no less important or tense as the pair continued to exchange blows and sword strokes as they had been for nearly half an hour now.

Unwilling to allow her opponent to retain the advantage, Lucina planted her left foot and suddenly stood her ground. Her sword came up in a particularly vicious parry that deflected the swordsman's single-edged blade – its design identifying it as a sword from the nation of Chon'sin, she absently noted – but allowed him to carry his momentum forward into her.

When they were just within arm's reach of each other, the swordsman took in a sharp breath as his dark eyes suddenly widened in shock and – dare Lucina say it – uncharacteristic fear. Lucina knew what it was that had shocked her opponent. He'd subconsciously noticed something about her, and Lucina knew exactly why that knowledge had made him suddenly freeze up mid-lunge.

It was the reason she'd allowed him that close to begin with. If it were any other situation and against any other adversary, they would never make it into her inner circle of defense, but this… taking a psychological advantage such as this was an exception she could make.

'I'm sorry for taking advantage of your condition in such a way… but I have something I must do!'

Lucina's lithe form twisted around her frozen opponent, the swordsman only remembering where he was when it was already too late and Lucina had taken a decisive advantage. He attempted to turn and raise his blade, but the masked swordswoman had already struck a decisive blow with the flat of her blade.

The swordsman fell forward, his blade falling from his nerveless fingers and clattering across the arena floor.

Lucina huffed and let out a calming breath before she flicked her sword to the side.

She stood tall over her downed opponent, who lay flat on his stomach a short distance away from her. The swordsman was uninjured – physically, at least – though that didn't stop a pair of attendants from coming in and tending to his unconscious form. Lucina hadn't hit him hard enough to do any more than knock him out, so she was sure he'd be in perfect health when he awoke. However… she wasn't quite so sure she'd be able to say the same about the other man's pride as a swordsman once the defeat sank in.

"Yes… yes! Very good!" a large, dark-skinned man said as he rose from his seat in a special box. "That was some show, young lad! Your swordsmanship is exemplary!"

Lucina turned to the box and raised her blade in a salute before sheathing it and offering the man a bow. She seemed the very image of calm and surety on the outside, but hearing that man's voice again was like a knife cutting into her.

'No, it isn't…'

"I am humbled by your words, Sire," she said, trying to keep her emotions in check as the large man descended from his box and entered the arena pit.

'Don't talk any more… please…'

The large man came to a stop before her, putting his hands on his hips. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the Hero-King himself, what with the way you fought! Would you like to become my champion and represent the West-Khan in the upcoming tournament?"

Lucina straightened up, but kept herself from meeting the West-Khan's one good eye. "It… it would be an honor to fight on your behalf, Sire…"

'No… I'm no hero… I'm a complete failure… I'm nothing!'

The Khan grinned, though Lucina didn't see much of it, distracted as she was by her own conflicted thoughts.

"Well, that's fantastic!" he said, grinning widely. "With skills like yours, it looks like I'm going to remain in charge for a while to come yet!"

'Please, just stop talking…!'

The Khan motioned for another pair of attendants to come and help take the unconscious swordsman to the infirmary before he took his leave through a side exit, his hearty laugh booming from it.

Lucina felt ill as she took her own exit, heading back for the quarters the Khan had been generous enough to provide her.

She took one shaky step after another as she navigated the hallways of the large arena, unable to focus her thoughts. The Khan's laughter was everything but hearty to her. It almost felt like she was being mocked for her previous failures, for her own weakness…

It wasn't long before another laugh replaced the Khan's, this one seemingly dredging itself up from the deepest, darkest corners of her mind. Lucina unconsciously began to walk faster, as if trying to outrun the laugh that echoed in her mind, before eventually breaking out into a panicked sprint. She heard the voice whispering after her as she ran… calling her weak… pathetic…

'No, don't fall apart here… she's not here… they're just memories… don't let your memories get to you…'

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Lucina finally made it to her quarters. She weakly opened the door and slipped in, hurriedly bolting the door shut behind her. She swallowed thickly, trying to bring her emotions back under control as she leaned against the door and slid to the ground. She took in deep gulps of air, suddenly feeling incredibly spent from the prolonged duel and her flight back to her quarters.

Lucina thought she'd been prepared to see yet another familiar face… but the memories were still too fresh, too raw.

It's because you're weak, little girl…

Lucina's eyes widened in fear behind her mask as the words filtered into her mind, spoken in the same voice that had been mocking and laughing her earlier. She felt herself go completely cold as something dark reached for her from the darkest depths of a place she'd not wanted to even think about, disrupting her carefully crafted emotional control as it lovingly caressed her psyche and began to pry open old wounds she'd tried so desperately to hide and forget.

She felt herself being unraveled entirely, as memories of those dark times continued to be pulled up for her to relive over and over again. She placed her hands over her ears and shook her head, trying to blot out the voice that continued to weave its way into her mind, whispering sweet, honeyed words that attacked her where she was weakest…

Tears came unbidden to Lucina's eyes, her hand moving to wipe at them only for her shaking fingers to bang against her mask.

The voice laughed again, as if to mock her for her blunder, and she could only scream in fear and frustration as she tore her mask off and threw it across the room as if it were suddenly the most offensive item in existence. She tried to blink the tears back, but her actions only served to make them fall faster.

Her eyes were wild and unfocused as they stared at images only she could see… Images of a burning castle she'd once called home… of the corpses of her family… of herself in chains within a dark room… of those wicked, gleaming, golden eyes and that mocking, insincere smile… of that sugary sweet tone of voice that haunted her memories, taunting her as it whispered suggestively into her ear for her to give in… to acknowledge that she was weak, that she was nothing without him…

"NO!" Lucina screamed, trying to block it all out. She was shaking uncontrollably, unable to contain the images that continued to pour in without remorse. She hugged herself, no longer trying to stop the tears that were already uncontrollably streaming down her pale cheeks.

"Help me…" she whimpered. "Help me, please…"

She was in utter despair. She was lost. She was weak, and unable to prevent the dark thoughts and memories from flooding her mind and heart.

For the second time since traveling to the past alone, Lucina could do nothing but let herself go.

Lucina could only cry.