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?

12. Chapter Ten - The Longest Night

Author's Note: Hoo, man, those last three months were madness incarnate.

Anyways, I'm back, and so is this story! Fear not, everyone, for I yet still live! 2016 did not claim me!

Before anything else, I'd just like to apologize for the unforgivably long wait, and would like to wish everyone a blessed New Year. I hope the holiday season has left you positive and hopeful and looking forward to making the best of the coming year.

Hopefully I can update this on a more regular basis, but... well, I'll try my best. I hope you'll all continue to bear with my highly irregular update schedule.

As per usual, any discussions, thoughts, feedback, questions, and the like can be sent through reviews. Rest assured I will reply soonest (and I'd like to think I'm pretty quick at that!)

This was actually quite difficult to get out, particularly the second half of the chapter as I didn't want to drag things out for too long but ended up doing so anyways because that's just the kind of horrible human being I am. That said, I hope you'll let me know what you'll think, as I still tried my best to churn out a good chapter for you all. Cheers, and Naga be with you all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Awakening or any characters, concepts, weapons, etc. that are found therein. Anything within this fic but not from the source material are my own creations.

---

Chapter Ten – The Longest Night

Location: Exalt's Palace, Ylisstol

Robin's brow furrowed as he took a step back, taking in deep breaths as he assessed the situation around him.

'Chrom might have been right to be a little worried…'

One of the Plegian axe fighters – and Robin was sure that they were Plegian even with the distinct lack of crests or markings adorning their armor or clothing – lay dead at his feet, blood pooling around the man's cooling body. Two other Plegian axe fighters and a third man shrouded in a tattered cloak – a spy? An assassin? Robin couldn't be sure with most of his form shrouded by said cloak – still lived, however, and it was they who now occupied much of Robin's attention as they spread out to encircle the lone tactician.

'Some help would be appreciated, but I guess it would be a bit much to hope for– there!'

He suddenly turned and swung his sword diagonally across his body, giving the oncoming axe head a strong shove that altered its trajectory and sent it crashing into the palace's marble floor before it could even come close to hitting him. Planting his left foot on the ground and putting the weight of his entire body on it, Robin stepped forward into a two-handed slash that cut open the axe fighter's back from his right shoulder down.

Without pausing to even check if the wounded man would stay down, Robin quickly turned to face the other axe-wielding fighter just as he raised his weapon and swung wildly. The tactician ducked the Plegian fighter's out-of-control swing, half-spinning and raising his sword to deflect a knife thrust from the cloaked man – a spy or assassin, Robin quickly concluded – before he attempted a quick counterattack that the shrouded man managed to dodge with ease.

Robin had no time to press the issue as his attention was drawn to the hulking axe fighter who was attempting to split his skull – and the rest of his body – right down the middle. The tactician quickly sidestepped the Plegian fighter's overhead swing and moved to counterattack before an enraged roar alerted him to the other Plegian – the one he'd wounded earlier – rejoining the fray.

The tactician dodged once, twice, before finding himself boxed in between both axe wielders with the bleeding man's axe coming down on him and forcing him to bring his blade up right into its path.

The impact of his sword clashing against the wounded axe traveled back up the tactician's arms, shocking his nerves and nearly forcing him to lose his grip on his weapon.

'Damn it… why, oh why does this guy have to have enough resilience to shrug off a wound like that?!'

By some miracle of willpower and focus, Robin managed to avoid dropping his sword even as the strength behind the wounded – and definitely enraged if his yells were any indication – axeman's follow-up swing against his sword took him backwards and off his feet.

The tactician hit the ground hard, that particular impact jarring him enough to do what the earlier clash hadn't been able to as his old iron sword fell from his temporarily nerveless fingers and went clattering across the floor as he skidded across the hall.

Lights exploded in his vision as he quite literally skidded headfirst into a pillar, and it was at that point that Robin subconsciously knew he was as good as dead. The sound of sharp steel slicing into flesh reached his ears, and Robin tensed, waiting for the explosive pain of an axe sinking into his chest that should have accompanied it almost instantly.

Contrary to his expectations, the sensation never came, although the sounds of battle continued on for a few more tense seconds before the world grew silent, leaving the tactician completely confused as to what had happened while stars danced before his eyes.

Shaking his aching head as he rose to a sitting position, Robin groaned as his mind resisted his best efforts to regain his bearings.

"Reckless isn't normally a word I would think to use to describe you," a familiar voice said, its blunt words cutting through the light haze that had settled over Robin's mind as cleanly as any blade.

Blinking blearily as he looked up, Robin's eyebrows rose as he found the Shepherds' newest recruit standing over him, blade unsheathed and bloodied. The bodies of the two remaining Plegians lay dead on the ground behind him.

"Lon'qu!"

The taciturn swordsman gave the tactician a nod of acknowledgement as he flicked the blood off of his katana before sheathing his weapon and offering the downed tactician a hand.

Robin frowned as he took the proffered hand and was helped to his feet. "Not that I'm looking the gift horse in the mouth or anything, but… what are you doing here?"

"The explosion," Lon'qu replied simply. "I ran into Sir Frederick and we proceeded together until we came across the princeling. He mentioned you were still holding off enemies… and the rest of it should be rather obvious and not require any real explanation."

The tactician nodded. "I see…" he murmured. "Thanks, Lon'qu. I owe you one, then."

Lon'qu shook his head. "You do not. The West-Khan holds you in high esteem and instructed me to learn and grow under your command; it is only right that I lend my blade and loyalty to your cause."

'As serious as ever… can't even accept simple thanks, can he?'

Robin frowned at Lon'qu's insistence on their relationship strictly being a professional one, but quickly decided that the myrmidon's behavior was something best left until after this whole mess had been concluded.

There were far more pressing issues that demanded his attention.

'Like ensuring Chrom, Lissa, and Emmeryn all survive the night.'

---

'It looks like the gods actually do favor me sometimes…' Leon thought to himself rather sardonically as he ever-so-cautiously took half a step backwards, edging just a tiny bit closer to Lucina and the door to the Exalt's quarters.

His crystalline blue eyes narrowed as he took stock of the situation: Behind him, Lucina still sat against the Exalt's door, chest heaving as she struggled to regain control of her breath and her clearly frayed emotions.

Leon frowned at her rather sickly pallor and the dark lines beneath her misty, clouded eyes. 'I've failed you, Luci…' he thought bitterly. 'I've failed you again.'

He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and refocused on the situation at hand. Self-pity could wait until the Exalt was no longer in danger.

Two assassins still lived, or so that was what his eyes and ears could tell him earlier; it was difficult to ascertain the number of assassins still alive now that the remaining enemies had retreated to the shadows and the only sounds he could hear were the crackling torches that illuminated the hallway in either direction.

As things stood, it was almost as if he was fighting blind and deaf – a distinct disadvantage in any battle, and one that would be almost fatal given he was already facing superior numbers in addition to having people he needed to be protecting.

He smiled grimly. 'Unfortunate that even when they favor me the situation itself is still less than favorable.'

Leon's instincts suddenly screamed at him, dragging him out from his thoughts and spurring him into immediate action. The knight set his feet and swung his sword in a wide overhead arc, his long ponytail whipping about with the sudden movements as he used his entire body to fuel his swing. The flat of his blade caught an assassin that had attempted to get the drop on him from the ceiling – how the man got up there, Leon could only imagine – and sent him flying into the shadows of the wall on the other side of the hallway, where he hit the wall with a sickening crunch.

Sharp eyes darted to the right as the rasp of metal sliding against leather alerted Leon to another assassin approaching him from his supposed blindside. The cerulean-haired knight hadn't so much as moved to meet the new attacker before a blur of blues intercepted his cloaked attacker.

'Luci…!' Leon thought with alarm as he realized his sister had somehow managed to rise to her feet and launch herself at his attacker despite her obvious fatigue and general lack of wellness.

His fears were unfounded, however, as Falchion flashed through the air with impossible speed, the gold and silver sword cutting into the cloak and the assassin it shrouded beneath. The contrasting momentum between assassin and sacred steel sent the fatally wounded man tumbling into a fall that Leon admitted would have been incredibly graceful had he not crashed on the ground in a sprawled heap.

Lucina straightened up and turned to face Leon, a tiny smile lighting up her face…

… until she wobbled slightly as her legs gave out beneath her.

Leon was at her side in an instant, steadying her with a firm but gentle grip on the upper portion of her left arm.

"S-sorry…" Lucina breathed out, her voice a harsh whisper as she seemed to flip between grasping his right forearm to aid her unsteady legs or forcing him to let go so she could – attempt to – stand under her own power.

The cerulean-haired knight forced away the frown that threatened to twist his lips downwards as he watched Lucina successfully keep on her feet despite her obvious fatigue. Were it entirely up to him, he'd set her back down in a seated position against the corridor's wall and make her get some badly-needed rest.

Even knowing that Lucina would react rather negatively to that, he was almost of the mind to do it anyway, but he decided to compromise and simply voice his concerns.

"Luci, you shouldn't force yourself," he murmured softly, concern lacing the tone of his words as he reluctantly released his grip on her arm. "Please… don't risk yourself. Let me shoulder the burden for the time being."

Of course, he fully expected Lucina to do the opposite of what he was asking; that was just the kind of person she was, never able to simply leave things to others when she could be doing her own part.

Leon resisted the urge to sigh as his sister did exactly what he expected and gave him a vehement shake of her head, sending her own cerulean locks swaying.

"I can't…" she whispered shakily. "I can't let you fight alone… when you've already had to do so much because of me…"

Leon this time did frown. "Luci…"

His sister fixed her gaze on him, mustering up all the strength and will in eyes that mirrored his own.

"Brother."

The two glared at each other for a few short moments before the cerulean-haired knight sighed in resignation, knowing a lost battle when he saw one.

'Gods damn it…'

"Alright, I can see you won't be swayed by anything I say…" Leon replied, his free hand going down to a pouch hanging on his belt and retrieving a small vial which he then held out to Lucina. "But, at least drink this before more enemies come."

To the knight's immense relief, Lucina took the proffered vial without argument, popped the cap, and downed it in one quick pull. Her face screwed up as she did, letting Leon know exactly what she thought of the taste, but she managed to swallow every last drop of the vial's contents before making a face and glaring rather disdainfully at the now-empty container.

"… Do I even want to know…?" she asked, wincing in clear disapproval as she handed the vial back to him.

Leon shrugged. "Tonic," he replied, pocketing the vial before pulling a flask from another belt hook and holding it out to Lucina. "I'm not quite sure what went into it, but I'm willing to trust in Laurent's skills as an apothecary."

Accepting the flask with a grateful smile, Lucina uncapped it and took several swigs of precious water, even going so far as to slosh some of the water around inside her mouth to clean out what was apparently a considerable and highly undesirable aftertaste.

'Surely it wasn't that bad, was it…?'

"It was," Lucina replied, giving Leon a bit of the stink eye even as she handed him back his flask.

Leon chuckled softly at her obvious displeasure as he replaced his flask on its hook. "Was the question really that obvious?"

Before Lucina could reply, the sound of footsteps echoing from down both ends of the hallway alerted the siblings to approaching unknowns.

Lucina and Leon quickly gave each other minute nods before falling into a defensive position around the door, weapons in hand and raised in the case the new arrivals turned out to be hostiles.

"I take the left, you take the right?" Lucina called out.

Leon nodded. "… Sounds good," he added quickly when he realized Lucina would probably not have seen the gesture due to her facing the opposite end of the hallway.

The approaching footsteps grew louder, both siblings tensing in preparation for possible combat…

… Only for an all-too-familiar figure to suddenly burst out from the stairwell and stumble for a moment as he landed, an armored knight following right behind him.

Leon lowered his sword as his mouth dropped open ever so slightly in muted surprise.

'Prince Chrom… and Sir Frederick, as well…'

"Marth!" the Prince of Ylisse called out as he jogged up to the pair, Leon noting the not-so-subtle glance that both he and Frederick – the former's curious, the latter's suspicious – threw his way.

"Prince Chrom," Lucina replied. "I apologize for leaving you and Sir Robin behind, but I could not risk us arriving too late."

Chrom nodded. "Don't worry about it. I probably would have done the same myself if I'd been the faster one," he replied. "Besides… if the bodies of Emmeryn's guards are any indication, you rushing ahead of us was definitely a godsend. You have my thanks, Marth."

Lucina shook her head. "No, do not worry about it…" she started, before her brows furrowed. "By the way, Sire… where might your tactician be?"

'Tactician…?' Leon thought to himself. 'Now that's curious. Why the interest, Luci?'

Chrom ran a hand through his hair. "He stayed behind and held back some enemies so I could carry on after you," he replied, Lucina's expression darkening at the prince's explanation. "I sent Lon'qu back to him, though, so hopefully he's alright and making his way here himself."

Lucina made to reply, but the sudden commotion of axe fighters, armored but unmounted cavalrymen, and cloaked figures storming out from the stairwell further down the hallway – the one that connected the second floor to the royal apartment wing's gardens, if Leon remembered correctly – stopped whatever words had been forming on her lips.

'Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without more Plegian attackers, either…' Leon thought as he lifted his sword, hearing a similar cacophony of noise from behind that alerted him to another group approaching from the other side.

---

The sudden noise from behind prompted Lucina to turn, her eyes narrowing as she spied a second squad of soldiers approaching from the other end of the corridor.

"We have incoming on the other side!" she called out as she moved to take a defensive posture next to Leon. "You can leave them to us!"

She barely heard Chrom's acknowledgement, the problem of having to split their attention already washed from her thought processes.

Leon stepped up beside her. "Hopefully reinforcements will arrive soon," he murmured. "We've faced worse odds, but…"

'… But you're hardly in good condition, and Chrom and Frederick might not be able to handle the other side on their own for too long…'

Lucina grimaced at the portion that was left unsaid. As much as she'd continually tried to deny it, there really was no way of keeping up appearances… especially not with Leon, the one person who could read her better than anyone else in the world, living or dead.

She was in a bad way, and they both knew it.

"Let me take the lead," Leon offered softly.

Before Lucina could even muster up a reply, her brother had already sprinted forward, his white coat and translucent turquoise scarf fluttering with his movements as he crossed the gap between them and their adversaries in quick strides.

Lucina bit back a sigh and followed in after Leon, watching as he used his entire body to launch himself forward into his opening attack. His longsword came around in a graceful arc, the weapon's steel cutting through one of the axe fighters – cuirass and all – like a hot knife through butter before crashing into the marble floor of the palace.

That was as far as observations went before Lucina threw herself into the middle of the melee, everything else lost to her instincts and the heightened sense of awareness that came upon her every time she entered combat.

She took a running leap forward and vaulted over Leon's crouched form, rolling over him and bringing Falchion down onto one of the armored soldiers that had been looking to make an attack on her brother. Her blade was caught by the Plegian's lance, but it left him hopelessly exposed to Leon's follow-up attack as he rose and swung his longsword in a massive circle, the flat of his blade catching the man square in the side of his head and sending him sprawling to the ground.

Lucina rose in the wake of Leon's attack, Falchion flashing forward and spearing into the abdomen of an axe fighter before the man could even bring his raised axe down.

"Above," Leon suddenly called out, Lucina drawing her sword back and leaping away in reaction to the simple statement as her brother stepped into her place and adjusted his posture before swinging his sword in a grand vertical arc and cutting down an assassin who'd tried to drop on them from the ceiling.

Leon shook his head. "You'd think they'd have learned after that trick didn't work the first time…" Lucina heard him murmur as his sword moved to parry a spear from his blindside before she could so much as utter a warning. Nonetheless, Lucina moved quickly and seized the opportunity he'd presented, springing out from behind her brother and leaping at the knight from an exposed angle he couldn't hope to defend from.

Falchion flashed through the air as Lucina struck at the unprotected midsection that wasn't covered by breastplate or hip armor, her sword's sacred steel cutting through the knight's tunic and flesh without any resistance. The sword came away bloody as the man dropped, something the cerulean-haired girl continued to try and not to think about as she skidded to a stop before rising back to her feet and searching for her next opponent.

Noticing that Leon was engaging the remaining four enemies on his own, she began making her way towards him before she saw his eyes suddenly widen in alarm.

"Lu– Marth! The door!" he suddenly said, tone firm and raised almost to a commanding shout as he gave a forceful shove that sent a knight sprawling back before lashing out with his longsword and forcing one of the cloaked assassins to leap back and evade his swing.

Lucina's eyes widened in sudden realization as she turned in the direction of the Exalt's quarters, finding that one of the Plegian assailants attacking from the other side had managed to slip by Chrom and Frederick's defensive line.

'No, two!' she realized as she spotted a cloaked man just about hidden from view by the first man's larger frame.

Ice filled her veins as she watched repeated swings of the larger man's axe batter the lock – and the door – open, removing the last line of defense between the Plegian assailants and Emmeryn.

"Get the door!" Leon shouted again as his sword found its mark and opened up the last remaining axe fighter from right shoulder to right hip. "I can handle things here!"

Lucina let out a wordless scream as she turned and sprinted for the door, desperation fueling the cerulean-haired girl as she pushed herself to use all the speed she could muster from her tired, tonic-boosted frame even as she became painfully aware that crossing the entire distance would be impossible before the Plegian had slain the defenseless Exalt.

Lucina could only watch with wide, horror-filled eyes as the man lifted his axe and rushed in with a bellowed war cry…

'Aunt Emmeryn!'

… Only for a blast of light to blow the door wide-open from the inside, illuminating the corridor as it sent the axe fighter flying back out the doorway and into the wall on the opposite side.

Lucina quelled the surprise that blossomed inside her as she sped towards the cloaked man still standing next to the door that was now barely hanging onto its hinges. She put energy into her legs and took a running leap at the cloaked assassin, crossing the last couple of meters between them and using her momentum to fuel her midair lunge with Falchion.

The legendary blade struck true, sacred steel rending cloak and tunic and flesh all at once as her blade entered and left the man's body without any sign or form of resistance.

She skidded to a stop before the door, angling Falchion before her in a defensive posture as the axe fighter who'd originally broken in was rising to his feet, his face contorted with pain and berserker rage.

The man raised his axe, roared, and rushed forward before swinging wildly in an easily telegraphed overhead swing that nonetheless forced Lucina to roll to the side before she came up with a power swing of her own.

Surprise momentarily flitted across Lucina's face as she found the man's axe meeting Falchion head-on, the impact of sacred steel against worn iron traveling back up her limbs and forcing a grunt of exertion from her lips.

"Marth! Incoming!" Leon called out again, making Lucina glance over her shoulder just long enough to register that one of the Plegians her brother had been fighting had managed to break away from the fighting while he was preoccupied with the other assailants.

It left Lucina in a bit of a pinch, as she still had one axe pushing down hard against Falchion… and not a lot of time to come up with a strategy that wouldn't leave her open to the attack of one Plegian or the other given her limited options.

"O holy light…" a voice suddenly chanted, making Lucina's eyes widen in surprise.

'An aria?!'

Before Lucina could discern the magic verse's source, a brilliant beam of light lanced out from behind the large axe fighter she was pushing against, flying past both of them and spearing through the chest of the assassin who'd been approaching from her blind side.

The axe fighter's jaw fell open in shock as he watched his comrade fall, giving Lucina an opening she was all too happy to take advantage of as she stopped pushing against the man's axe and leaped backwards, leaving him to be carried forward into a fall by his now-unchecked momentum.

Lucina launched herself forward as soon as her feet touched the ground, vaulting over the falling axe fighter with a somersault and lashing out with Falchion as their bodies passed each other. Falchion's sacred steel struck true, its blade coming away coated in blood as it tore down the entire length of the man's back.

Landing in an awkward tumble that she hastily corrected into a roll that barely absorbed some of the impact, Lucina shakily rose until she was on one knee.

A soft touch landed on Lucina's arm, the girl looking up and coming face-to-face with the gently-smiling Exalt.

"Thank you for your aid," Emmeryn said kindly. "I hope I was not far too presumptuous when I chose to assist you just now."

'Too close.'

Lucina pulled back ever so slightly, just enough that it wouldn't be taken as a slight or as a sign of discomfort.

"Your Grace!" the cerulean-haired girl said as she straightened to face Emmeryn. "A-are you unharmed?"

The Exalt smiled softly. "As you can see," she replied gently as the two women rose to their feet. "Might I ask for your name, my lady?"

Lucina made to say something, but the sound of crackling lightning and a golden flash from her left – the side being defended by Prince Chrom and Sir Frederick – alerted her to a new arrival to this battle.

"Elthunder!" was the accompanying call of an ever-so-familiar voice as a bolt of lightning lanced in and struck one of the armored soldiers that had been occupying Frederick's attention. The Plegian's body convulsed as lightning crackled and arced over his form, his platemail serving as a conductor for the magically-produced electrical discharge that had led to his demise.

Lucina looked past the battling Prince Chrom and Sir Frederick to the source of the spell and voice, her spirits soaring ever further as she spied the now-familiar – and comforting, she almost dared to admit – snow-white hair and purple cloak that could only belong to the Shepherds' tactician, the Feroxi myrmidon Lon'qu right at his heels.

'Sir Robin… thank goodness you're alright…'

With Robin and Lon'qu arriving from the rear, the remaining enemies on Chrom's side of the hallway were quickly dealt with, leaving only…

"Lucina," Leon's voice said quietly from next to her, prompting a small jump and a sharp intake of breath from her as she turned to face her brother. She quickly glanced behind him, finding that the last two he'd been fighting were now on the floor, blood quickly pooling around their rapidly cooling corpses.

Blood was on him, too, and it made her brow crinkle in worry as she tried to discreetly examine him for any injuries that might have led to him bleeding.

Almost as if he could sense her thoughts, Leon spoke up. "It's not mine," he said reassuringly. "I'd have preferred not killing them, of course, and I would have wanted their deaths to be cleaner, but…"

Lucina nodded. "I understand, Brother," she replied, before biting her lip and looking away. "I'm… just glad you're here… I'm just glad you're alright. If I lost you, then I…"

Leon shushed her softly. "Don't worry, Luci," he said as he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

The cerulean-haired girl gave a soft nod as she leaned into his half-embrace, before her discipline took over once more and she – albeit reluctantly – pulled away.

She put on a brave face for him and nodded firmly. Relishing in her brother's comforting presence could wait until after this was finished.

There was still more work to be done this evening, after all.

She didn't notice Emmeryn giving her and Leon a curious, searching look… nor did she notice the almost-knowing gleam in her grey-green eyes.

---

'Hah… I knew it,' Robin thought as he observed Lucina's actions with the mystery knight from before… and he took particular note of how she looked ever-so-reluctant to leave his one-armed embrace. 'They're at least familiar with each other, if not actual blood relatives… and that looks highly likely given how they share so many physical traits.'

Filing that tidbit of information away for later, Robin turned to Chrom and Frederick, who were moving to meet with him and Lon'qu.

"Well met, Sir Robin," Frederick greeted. "It is a relief to see you unharmed."

The tactician smiled crookedly. "It was… a bit of a close call, I'll admit," he replied, not quite willing to let Chrom know how close a call it actually was. "Thanks for sending Lon'qu in my direction, by the way. His timing couldn't have been better."

"Ah, is that so?" Chrom said, smiling broadly as he turned to face the stoic myrmidon. "You have my thanks for saving Robin from himself, Lon'qu. I knew I could count on you."

Beside the snow-haired tactician, Lon'qu simply offered up a nonchalant shrug. "I told you, didn't I? You point, I stab. You teach, I learn. It's a simple enough arrangement."

Robin chuckled nervously at the reply, but he still felt that he could detect a faint amount of pride in the myrmidon's gruff words at having been praised for his actions.

'Maybe getting him to lighten up a bit might be one of my long-term goals in this army…'

"Chrom."

The four men turned to face Emmeryn as she approached them, and it suddenly occurred to Robin that Emmeryn – the person who was being targeted by these assailants – was standing right middle of the corridor and walking around out in the open almost without a care in the world.

"Emm!" Chrom yelped as he rushed up to her. "It's too dangerous out here, let's get you–"

The Exalt raised a hand and shook her head. "No, Chrom. Just find Lissa and get her to safety," she said evenly. "Please, while there's still time…"

The prince's lips twisted downwards. "Sorry, Emm, but I can't follow your orders. We're not leaving you. I'm not leaving you."

'Damn right we aren't…' Robin thought.

"Again, very well said, Sire," Lucina said as she and the mystery knight approached the quintet, Robin's eyes almost immediately going to the taller of the two.

Chrom gave the cerulean-haired girl a nod. "Marth. You have my thanks."

Lucina's eyes crinkled as the corners of her lips rose ever so slightly in a small smile that Robin couldn't help but find cute.

"Think nothing of it, Sire…" she replied softly, her sapphire-like eyes glimmering with an emotion Robin couldn't even hope to comprehend. "We only do what we must."

Beside her, the mystery knight seemed to have noticed Robin's gaze and bowed his head in acknowledgement, though the tactician was sure that to everyone else it may have looked as if he were merely expressing a silent agreement with Lucina's words.

'It's good timing by him, really… everyone would be none the wiser…'

Lon'qu suddenly stiffened, alerting Robin to the fact that the Feroxi swordfighter sensed that something felt wrong…

… although he was far from ready for when Lon'qu suddenly turned and sprinted towards a column, sword drawn so quickly that it almost seemed to have teleported from its sheath and into the stoic myrmidon's hands.

"Hey, hey! Stop!" a man's voice cried out as a sword came skittering out from behind the pillar, followed shortly by a ginger-haired man in a tattered cloak.

Robin's eyes widened at the man's raised hands. "Lon'qu, don't kill him!" he shouted. "He's surrendering!"

The myrmidon froze mid-lunge, his sword still poised to strike, and Robin noted that the man's arms and legs shook with noticeable effort as he appeared to be in the middle of countermanding his own natural fighting instinct and superseding Robin's order over it.

"Robin?" Chrom asked in confusion, stopping short when the tactician raised a hand to forestall any further questions.

"Not now," Robin said. "Just trust me when I say we're better off with him alive than dead right now."

The ginger-haired man – hands up behind his head – was brought before Robin and Chrom, Lon'qu keeping his sword ready to strike should the cloaked man's intentions be less than honorable.

Chrom narrowed his eyes. "So… out with it, Plegian," he growled out rather venomously, Robin noting that the blue-haired man's fingers were wound tightly around Falchion's hilt. "Why surrender now?"

"Easy, blue blood," the thief said almost nonchalantly. Robin couldn't help but admire his composure, especially when Lon'qu's sword could cut into him at any moment. "First off, I'm not Plegian; I'm a Ylissean just like you. Second, I'm not here to hurt anyone."

That certainly caught Chrom off-guard. "A-A Ylissean…?" he asked. "… So why do you run with a band of…"

The ginger-haired man chuckled. "My, you don't have any idea of what actually goes on beyond the castle walls, do you, Blue?" he asked. "Believe it or not, not everyone has it as good as you do. Some of us have to resort to some… unscrupulous activities to make a living. Can't eat if you don't work, and if you're hungry you'll do almost anything to put food on the table."

Frederick's eyes narrowed. "Milord, that is virtually an admission that he's here to kill Her Grace! And all over mere coi–"

"By the goddess, are you as deaf as you are sheltered?" the ginger-haired man commented, entirely unruffled by the accusations – and glares – being leveled at him by Chrom and Frederick. "What about 'I'm not here to hurt anyone' is so hard to understand?"

Robin held up a hand before either Chrom or Frederick could open their mouths.

"Enlighten me, then," the tactician said, giving the prince and his knight a meaningful glare that clearly said 'Back off, let me handle this'. "State your business here, and know that your truthfulness will go a long way towards what happens to you once everything settles down."

The ginger-haired man raised an eyebrow in silent appraisal, before a curious, lopsided grin twisted his lips.

"Huh. Glad to know someone here knows how to be rational," he said. "The name's Gaius. I specialize in… well, let's call it 'acquisitions'. Information, goods… anything locked behind closed doors, really."

Robin wrinkled his nose in distaste. "You're a thief."

Gaius had the gall to look insulted. "For the record, Bubbles, I don't ever take more than what I need to get by every day," he defended himself.

'Bubbles…?' Robin thought to himself, wondering where in Naga's name Gaius had managed to come up with that nickname. 'I mean, Blue for Chrom I can understand… but Bubbles?!'

The tactician was so focused on trying to figure out how and why the ginger-haired thief had decided to christen him Bubbles that he very nearly missed the rest of his statement.

"This lot said they wanted to break into some vault, which is right up my alley and why I agreed to this," Gaius continued, before his expression darkened. "Nobody mentioned anything to me about murdering the Exalt, and, while I'd swipe something from her pocket in a heartbeat if it'd feed me for a day or two, I'd much rather break contract than try to kill someone as sweet as her."

Robin cupped his chin in thought, gears turning in his mind as an outrageous idea began to present itself.

"Hmm… how willing are you to prove your words?" he asked.

His words prompted everyone to look at him with varying expressions: curiosity in the case of Emmeryn, Lucina, and the mystery knight, confusion in the case of Chrom and Gaius, and barely concealed displeasure in the case of Frederick.

"I beg your pardon?" were the words that immediately left Gaius' mouth.

Robin quite expected that reaction, although it wasn't quite as expected as the explosion from Sir Frederick the Wary.

"Sir Tactician, you can't possibly be suggesting that we–"

Robin gave Frederick a dismissive glance, enough for him to say "I am" before returning his attention to Gaius.

"You heard me," the tactician said. "We can use any help we can get in saving Her Grace's life, whether it be through another set of able hands or information you can give us on our enemies. So… let me ask you again: How willing are you to prove your words? Will you walk the walk?"

Gaius shrugged easily. "Bubbles, if you're asking if I'd be willing to help you and yours, you could have just said it straight up," he replied. "Of course I'm willing; it's a better alternative to siding with people who'd want to kill the Exalt."

Robin felt a smirk begin to tug at his lips. "Good, then–"

"… Of course, you'll have to sweeten the deal if you want me to work."

Robin's jaw shot open. 'Oh, hell's fire, are you serious?'

Gaius cracked a smile. "What's with the look, Bubbles?" he asked teasingly. "You should have seen this coming. I side with people out of the goodness of my heart, sure, but that doesn't mean I'll work for free."

'I hate you, Gaius. I really hate you right now.'

"You scoundrel…" Chrom growled from next to Robin, his hand fumbling at his belt for the gold pouch he always kept on his person. "Fine, if you want gold, then gold you'll–!"

In the process, the pouch of candies that he'd received from Lissa through Robin came loose from its hook and hit the ground.

"Heh, sounds like you dropped… some… thing…" Gaius trailed off as he spied the pouch's contents, exposed as they were by the string holding the mouth closed coming loose.

The thief's eyes widened, his gaze snapping up to Chrom.

"Blue… are these… candies?" he asked, his voice shaking with what Robin could only describe as barely-restrained excitement and anticipation.

Chrom, bewildered by the change in reaction, nodded. "Yes, but…"

"SOLD," Gaius said hurriedly as he immediately scooped up the pouch of candies and popped several pieces into his mouth. "You have yourself a deal."

Robin blinked. "You… you can't be serious…"

Chrom was no better, staring at Gaius as the man happily chewed away at the sugary treats.

"You'll… risk your life… over candy?" the prince asked in genuine bemusement.

Gaius shrugged. "I said 'sweeten the deal', didn't I?" he asked rhetorically.

Emmeryn, who'd thus far remained silent while Chrom and Robin did much of the talking, let out a soft chuckle.

"He did indeed," she commented, and had she not been the Exalt Robin would have been more than half-tempted to direct a scathing glare in her direction.

'Exalt, please…'

Gaius cracked his neck. "Hey, don't get me wrong, I'll take the gold, too," he said, pausing in thought for a moment before adding "Unless you've got more of these."

The ginger-haired thief leaned in closer to Chrom. "Do you have more of these?"

Had he not had the mental discipline he did, Robin was quite sure he would have been floored by now.

'He… he's really serious about this… he's actually going to fight for candy!'

Based on the utter confusion etched on Chrom's face, the prince wasn't exactly doing much better.

"Um, I'll… be sure to ask Lissa later," he said, looking at Robin and silently asking for help.

The tactician would have been more than happy to leave the prince with the eccentric sugar-happy thief, but the sounds of fighting from the lower floors reminded him of the job he – they, actually – still had to do tonight.

"Alright, that's enough mucking around," he said, his voice taking on a more stern and commanding tone that caught even Gaius' attention.

With everyone's eyes and ears on him, Robin began to feel that familiar sense of unease building in his gut again, but he forced the butterflies down through sheer force of will.

"Chrom," he began, the blue-haired prince perking up at the sound of his name. "When we're done here, take Frederick with you and get down there to the lower floors. If the palace guards are engaging more intruders, they'll certainly need some direction and a morale boost, and your presence will go a long way towards that."

Without waiting for the other man to acknowledge his orders Robin turned to the stoic myrmidon standing next to him, the man straightening ever so slightly as he came under the tactician's scrutiny.

"Lon'qu, I want you to go and find Lissa," he instructed the Feroxi swordfighter. "Get her to a more secure position, and if that means you have to keep her with the rest of the Shepherds, that's fine by me. Just make sure she's up and moving and not stuck in an obvious location like her room – it's on the opposite end of the wing one floor down, if you need to know. Haul her out of her bed if you have to."

The myrmidon nodded… a little stiffly, Robin noticed, but he washed that unimportant detail from his mind as the Feroxi swordsman turned to leave and accomplish his task.

Lon'qu's orders given, Robin then turned his attention to the two cerulean-haired swordsmen standing near the back of their little group.

"So, Marth, and… um…" Robin trailed off, suddenly realizing he was at a total loss for a name to pin to the face.

The young man blinked once, slowly, before his lips moved in a syllable Robin would probably not forget for a long while.

"Kris."

---

"… You may call me Kris," Leon added, and it took Lucina a fair amount of her willpower not to react at the name choice.

'Brother…'

Robin, too, seemed just as taken aback as Lucina was, though whether it was because he noticed the name's connection to her own false identity she couldn't tell.

"Right… Kris, then," the tactician parroted, although Lucina could easily see the questioning look in his hazel eyes. "If you're willing to listen to my orders…"

Leon shook his head gently. "Worry not, Sire," he replied softly. "So long as Marth aids you, then I too shall do the same. Please… guide my blade."

Robin blinked. "Um… right!" he said. "In that case, can I entrust the Exalt's safety to you two?"

Lucina watched as Chrom whipped about to stare at the tactician with wide eyes that looked ready to pop out of their sockets.

"Robin?!" he asked, and Lucina had to consciously stop her lips from turning upwards at the slowly-growing stress evident in the prince's voice and face.

For his part, Robin merely sighed and ran a hand through his snow-white hair.

"Before you ask, yes, I am serious," the tactician said. "Remember, Marth was walking all over you for most of that duel you had in Arena Ferox. If Kris here is anywhere near that same level, then that puts the two of them miles ahead of any of us in terms of fighting skill. If we can trust anyone to keep the Exalt safe, I'd be willing to put my bets on them."

The corners of his lips quirked upwards in a smile. "Besides, for all that she refuses to tell us things we'd probably be better off knowing in the long run, Marth's not given me – not given us – a reason to distrust her. I mean, let's not go too far back – she did save you and me from those assassins earlier in the gardens."

Lucina's heart thumped happily at the continued show of trust and faith Robin was giving her.

'Sir Robin…'

Chrom frowned deeply. "Look, Robin, I know you must ha–"

"Very well, Sir Robin," Emmeryn suddenly cut in. "I will trust your judgement."

Chrom nodded vigorously. "Yeah, see?! Emmeryn gets i– wait, what?!"

Emmeryn glanced at her younger brother. "You cannot tell me that Tactician Robin's logic is not sound, Chrom," she said. "He is right in saying that we require a commanding presence where the fighting is taking place, which means that is where you must be. And, what Tactician Robin has mentioned about the happenings in Ferox aside, I was able to witness Lady Marth's and Sir Kris' skills with the blade… which I must say are certainly not inconsiderable."

Chrom ground his teeth together in obvious displeasure, but he managed a terse nod to indicate he'd go along with it.

Robin, too, nodded, before he turned his attention to Lucina.

"Are you alright with this arrangement?" he asked.

Lucina couldn't quite help the frown that crossed her lips. "Not quite," she said. "I want to know what you will be doing."

Frederick nodded. "Indeed. I, too, wish to know what you are going to attempt to do in the meantime if you will not be coming with Milord and myself."

Robin sucked in a breath, and Lucina immediately knew this wasn't entirely going to go over well with everyone else.

"I'm taking Gaius with me, and we're going to go after the assassins' leader."

As expected, Chrom just about exploded. "No! Absolutely not!" he all but shouted. "I'm willing to trust you with Marth protecting Emm, but this is just stretching things too far, Robin! I'm not letting you go off like that without any of us backing you up! And especially not with a money-grubbing thief we can't trust!"

Lucina grimaced. This had the makings of a nasty argument if someone couldn't calm the prince down, and they lacked the time to spend arguing on anything.

"Chrom," Robin said simply. It was said evenly, without any real inflection that could clue anyone into what sort of thoughts were running behind the tactician's hazel eyes… and that in itself was what made that short statement – a mere call of the prince's name – so striking. The tactician spoke with such a level, grounded tone – a tone that was clearly reflected physically in his schooled features – that it seemed to carry more weight because of how understated he was.

Said tone was, incidentally, what managed to grab Chrom's attention and defuse his growing anger before it could explode in everyone's faces.

"R-Robin?"

The tactician sighed. "Are we calmer now?" he asked.

Chrom blinked, and then suddenly seemed to realize what it was Robin was referring to.

"A-ah… right… yeah," the prince hurriedly said. "Sorry, I lost my head there for a moment."

'Clearly.'

Robin shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said, waving it aside like it was nothing. "Anyway, as much as you might not like it, this is the best way to do things. The sooner we take out their leader, the quicker the enemy loses direction and cohesion, and the faster we can rout them. It's our best chance at victory tonight."

Lucina watched as Chrom stared at Robin, who calmly met the prince's searching gaze with his own even one.

After a few tense moments, the prince sighed and relented.

"Alright, I can see you're not going to be swayed," he said. "Just be careful, alright?"

Chrom then directed a rather meaningful glare at Gaius. "And you, Gaius. I certainly hope you've some honor in you, or there'll be hell to pay."

The thief shrugged. "Blue, just because I'm a thief doesn't mean I don't have morals. When I said I wouldn't want to harm the Exalt, I meant it, and I'm not about to kill someone who just gave me some candy, either."

Robin couldn't help the smirk that crossed his features. "See? I'll be fine," he said. "All it takes is a promise of sugar and we're good. He'll be easy to keep under control."

'Sir Robin, you do realize he's still right there, don't you…?' Lucina thought, the question almost begging for her to ask it for real.

Chrom still looked unconvinced, but if he had something he wanted to say he was doing a very good job of keeping it to himself.

Robin nodded. "Right, then. If no one else has any questions, concerns, clarifications, objections, or violent reactions, then I suppose we should all get going. The enemy isn't going to be waiting around for us to start moving."

As if to punctuate the tactician's statement, a crash from down below reached their ears up on the third story of the royal apartment wing.

"Like I said," he added, although there was no longer any amusement lingering in his expression.

Lucina nodded, and made to turn towards Leon and the Exalt, but a sudden warmth coming from her right hand made her look down…

… only to let out a gasp of surprise as she spotted a faint blue light emanating from the hollowed-out teardrop-shaped hole in the middle of her sword's guard.

Leon turned to face her fully. "Lucina? What's wrong?" he murmured lowly, his voice low enough that she was probably the only one who would be able to hear her clearly.

"Brother… it's Falchion…" she answered back just as quietly. "It's… it's gleaming…"

Her brother's brows furrowed in thought. "Gleaming…?"

Before Lucina could reply, another voice cut in – one the cerulean-haired girl admitted she could probably do without right now.

"Marth?" Chrom asked, clearly having heard her mutter something that caught his attention. "Is something the matter?"

'He might have heard something that sounded quite similar to 'Falchion'…' Lucina thought as she cursed herself for the carelessness of her comment. 'Damn it, this isn't something he needs to be able to know about right now.'

She quickly shook her head in dismissal. "No, it's nothing," she replied, sounding a little more hurried than she might have wanted. "You need not concern yourself over it."

The prince's brows furrowed as a displeased frown crossed his lips. "It seems like everything is something I shouldn't concern myself over when it comes to you. Will you ever give me a straight answer?"

A pang of guilt shot through Lucina's heart, prompting her to look away as she bit her lip.

"My… my apologies…" she whispered.

Chrom hesitated for a moment, almost as if whatever it was he'd planned to say died before he could say it, before he let out a reluctant sigh – yet another one, Lucina realized; it must have been quite the night for them – and gave a small shake of the head.

"Don't be, you did nothing wrong," he said tiredly. "If anything, I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to be so accusatory. I just… I really wish I knew more than I did about what was going on."

'Believe me when I say I wish I could say more than I've been able to.'

Lucina swallowed against the lump rising against her throat. "No, it's quite alright… you have every reason to be distrustful of me for everything I refuse to say. Do not trouble yourself over how your distrust might make me feel."

Chrom had no reply to that, instead looking decidedly uncomfortable before he turned away.

"Please watch over my sister, Marth," he said simply. "We'll handle the rest."

Lucina nodded. "Of course…" she murmured, grimacing as she watched the prince turn and begin to walk down the hallway, Frederick, Robin, and the thief Gaius turning to follow.

"Chrom, please… if the situation turns unfavorable… you must flee," Emmeryn tried to plead one last time, causing Chrom to stop and turn back to face her. "You all only have one life, and I do not wish any of them be weighed against mine."

The prince simply shook his head. "I'm sorry, Emm, but I can't do that," he replied. "You may not realize it, but Ylisse needs you. Lissa needs you. I need you. We'd all be lost without you to guide us."

Emmeryn could only frown as her brother turned away once more, before another voice cut in from behind Lucina.

"I knew there was wisdom in slipping in with those rogues. As expected, you man-spawn claw at each other like savages."

The cerulean-haired girl stiffened in reflex as Chrom and Emmeryn whipped about, the former of the two royal siblings with his sword drawn.

There, standing in the middle of the hallway almost without a care in the world, was a woman who would have appeared perfectly normal by Feroxi standards – tanned skin, hard lines, toned muscles, and the like – were a pair of human-scaled rabbit ears not poking out the top of her mane of long, dark hair and flopping down almost comically on either side of her face. Adding to the appearance of her not being wholly human were patches of similarly dark fur encircling her wrists and waist like a pair of wristbands and undergarments. Even her choice of wardrobe would leave many people wondering as to her origins, as she was clad in purple leather armor that covered most of her torso and legs while leaving her feet and the entirety of thigh, lower belly, and waist entirely exposed.

All in all, she was a very odd sight, even by the same Feroxi standards that would have declared her an attractive woman, and in this night of stressful situations it was only one other unneeded surprise… not that it surprised Lucina a great deal in the first place.

Chrom, however, was an entirely different story, and he rushed to place himself between Emmeryn and the beastkin. "Another assassin?!" he asked.

The woman's dark eyes narrowed in displeasure at Chrom's hostility, only for them to just as quickly widen as Lucina moved to place herself between the two.

"Hold, Prince Chrom," she said. "Lady Panne is not your enemy."

Chrom frowned, a flicker of doubt flashing across his features, but he did lower his sword regardless.

'I suppose he still holds some semblance of faith in me, cryptic as I've been…' Lucina thought to herself rather wryly.

The prince placed his free hand on his hip. "I suppose you know her, Marth?"

"If she does, the reverse is definitely not the case," Panne said from behind Lucina, her voice smooth and silky had it not been hardened by distrust. "Tell me, man-spawn. How do you know my name?"

Lucina licked her suddenly dry lips as she turned so she could acknowledge Panne while still conversing with Chrom.

"I know… of her…" she said, the pause she took not helping her appear entirely too convincing as she answered the Ylissean Prince's query with what she quickly realized was yet another cryptic reply. "I also knew she would be here tonight to aid your cause."

Chrom raised an eyebrow at that, but it was Robin who spoke up in response.

"Well, you're quite the prophet, now, aren't you?" he asked meaningfully, the hinting tone matched by an almost-knowing gleam in his eye. "It makes me wonder how you happen to know all these little things before they're meant to happen…"

Lucina felt her blood turn to ice. 'Does he know?!' she thought in barely-controlled panic.

The cerulean-haired girl allowed – forced, really – the corners of her lips to turn up in a wry smile that she hoped appeared convincing enough to not be seen through.

"Perhaps I am," she replied casually, hoping she could deflect the veiled accusation hiding within the tactician's casual words. "But that does not change the fact that Lady Panne is an ally. This much, I swear to you."

Robin chuckled. "Like you and your friend here are?" he asked rhetorically, his eyes boring into Lucina's meaningfully and almost forcing the cerulean-haired girl to look away lest she give anything more away than she already had.

By the mercy of Naga, though, Robin for whatever reason seemed to be satisfied with what he saw as he relented and allowed a smile to cross his lips.

"Well, if you say she is, then I guess that should be good enough for me," the tactician said easily, hazel eyes twinkling as he nudged Chrom in the side. "Right, Chrom?"

The prince shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I'd rather Marth didn't keep dodging so many of these questions I'm burning to have answered," he replied. "It's not exactly given me the best of impressions… not that it's gotten any better with her introducing me to her mask quite intimately back in Arena Ferox."

Lucina looked away, guilt bubbling up within her as Chrom reminded her of her loss of self-control.

"But you're right, Robin, her word is good enough. So long as she helps us, I suppose we can just leave her be."

The cerulean-haired girl's eyes widened and she lifted her eyes up to look at Chrom in utter surprise.

At his shoulder, Frederick was much the same. "Milord? Are you certain?"

Chrom shrugged again. "She enjoys her secrets, but I think she's earned the right to keep them," he replied. "Just look at how many times she's saved us from danger. I would think that speaks well for her intentions."

Lucina couldn't help but allow her lips to curve upwards in a tiny smile. "Prince Chrom… thank you."

The prince shook his head. "No, thank you, for all the times you've helped us out," he said, before another crash from below reminded him that they still had things they needed to be doing instead of standing around talking.

Chrom turned to regard the group as a whole, his expression grim.

"Right, I suppose we should get to the matter at hand: driving these scoundrels from the castle," he said, before he focused his attention on the enigmatic half-human standing a short distance away. "Lady Panne, if you would assist us in protecting the Exalt, I'll see to it that you are rewarded greatly for your efforts."

Panne snorted in half-amusement, half-disdain. "You may keep whatever reward you had in mind, man-spawn," she said. "As much as I abhor the idea of aiding humans, I must repay my warren's debt of honor to your Exalt. Trust me when I say our association will only go as far as that."

Chrom seemed taken aback by Panne's blunt, barely-veiled hostility, but he couldn't even get another word in before she'd turned and stalked off into the shadowy corridors.

The prince sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well… I suppose we should all do what she did and get going," he commented.

"Just be sure to do as I've instructed," Robin added, before the group began to disperse.

However, Lucina noticed that the tactician lingered for several moments, his hazel-eyed gaze seeming to make sure that everyone was moving as discussed… but she knew better. The tactician's gaze was searching… searching for her own, and those hazel eyes of his just seemed to light up when they found her own sapphire.

Judging from the look on Robin's face, he had many words that wanted to be said, but Lucina knew that he couldn't quite risk any sort of connection being drawn between them, especially given what he already knew from their prior encounters in Arena Ferox.

So he did the one thing he could do, and settled for simply letting his eyes do the talking for him.

'We'll talk later,' she could almost imagine his eyes saying, and she had a feeling her own eyes were saying much the same thing.

Then the fleeting moment was gone, and the tactician's expression had returned to one of pure focus as he turned away and headed off together with the ginger-haired thief Gaius in search of the enemy commander.

Chrom and Frederick quickly followed suit and headed off to join the battle downstairs, leaving Lucina alone with Exalt Emmeryn.

'No, not alone…' she chided herself as she turned to face Leon, her lips curling upwards in a barely restrained smile as she finally took the time to drink in his sorely-missed appearance. His expression was as cool as it always was… although the twinkle in his eyes let her know that there were emotions he definitely wished to express but was holding back due to the current situation.

Leon offered her a nod, his lips ever so slightly lifting upwards in the most minute of smiles, before he turned to face the Exalt, who was gazing at them with an expression that was equal parts patient and curious.

'If anything, she might have been noticing some of the subtle gestures and looks,' Lucina thought to herself. 'But… surely she can't infer a great deal from them even if she did notice them… can she?'

Her brother and Emmeryn exchanging words snapped her from her internal monologue, and once again the cerulean-haired girl chastised herself for losing herself within her own thoughts.

" –nderstand you are a capable wielder of magic, Milady, but might I suggest you return within the sanctuary of your quarters?" he asked softly. "While Marth and I may be confident in our skills, it would ease our fears for your safety if we could eliminate the number of avenues of attack available to those who seek to harm you."

Emmeryn nodded. "Of course," she agreed. "But do not think that you two are going to be forced to stand alone should the enemy come. I will aid you if need be."

Leon blinked, surprise clearly etched on his features – surprise that Lucina herself felt at the Exalt's words.

"Your Grace, but that's…"

Emmeryn shook her head. "There will be no arguing the point," she replied, tone still gentle and yet carrying with it steely undertones that, as she had just stated, would brook no arguments. "While I detest fighting and warfare, I will not stand by and simply watch others risk their lives when I can be doing something to aid them."

Leon threw a quick glance Lucina's way, and, while he kept any distress from his expression, the look in his eyes made it very clear he was torn between acquiescing to the Exalt's wishes or fully respecting Chrom and Robin's orders to keep her safe regardless of what the Exalt herself might have wanted.

The cerulean-haired girl gave Leon a slight shrug, the white-clad knight sighing in an obvious sign of resignation before turning back to face Emmeryn, who stood waiting patiently through the entirety of their short exchange.

Leon grimaced in clear displeasure, before his expression gave way to another sigh.

"… I understand, Your Grace," he replied in reluctant acceptance of the situation at hand. "But, rest assured, we will still do our utmost to ensure you do not have to make any such efforts that will go against your beliefs."

The Exalt nodded. "I am glad we understand each other," she replied, a sense of satisfied accomplishment lacing her words as she turned and beckoned the pair towards her quarters. "Now, come along. Even if we must remain alert, I wish to use the time we have now to speak. I would like to know a little bit more about my brother's mysterious helpers beyond just their names and their appearances, and something tells me that you may be a fair bit more forthcoming with answers without my brother around."

Emmeryn gave a kind and serene smile then, and Lucina couldn't shake the feeling that the Exalt's smile hid the fact that she knew far more than the cerulean-haired girl would ever be comfortable with her knowing.

'Like your brand…' a traitorous voice residing in the dark shadowy corners of her mind whispered delicately, nearly making Lucina freeze up as the thought of the Exalt discovering that particular fact filled her veins with ice.

Her heritage couldn't be discovered. It just couldn't.

She stood to lose everything – and so did they – if that knowledge ever got out.

---

'It looks like Chrom has everything under control…' Robin thought as he followed Gaius through the shadows of the palace's corridors.

He and Gaius were taking a more roundabout route through the palace that skirted around where most of the fighting was taking place, avoiding contact with the enemy without sacrificing too much time as they made their way towards where the ginger-haired thief had said they'd infiltrated the palace.

Hardly any enemy commanders ever took to the front themselves; if the leader of this lot was like any other, then he'd probably be waiting at their staging area until his subordinates brought word of the Exalt's demise.

"Not if I have anything to say about it…" he growled under his breath.

Gaius tossed the white-haired tactician a quick glance over his shoulder. "You say something, Bubbles?" the thief asked.

Robin shook his head. "Nothing you need to hear or worry about," he assured Gaius as they continued to glide down the hallway towards the gardens. "Are we close?"

"Yeah, just a little bit more to go," the ginger-haired thief replied. "What's the plan when we get there?"

The tactician frowned as they approached the garden area. "Well, I was hoping you'd–"

He suddenly stopped talking, his hazel eyes widening as a – familiar – feeling of dread washed over him and his mage's sense picked out a particularly strong presence.

'What is… this…'

Acting on instinct, the tactician reached out and grabbed Gaius' cloak, pulling the thief back with him behind a pillar.

"Bubbles! What gives?!" the thief whispered harshly, his green eyes directing a rather uncharacteristic glare towards the white-haired tactician.

Gaius' words flew right over Robin's head, the tactician swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as the source of the malevolence seemed to draw closer.

'Why… why do I recognize such a horrible feeling…?'

Almost against his better judgement, Robin risked a small peek from behind the pillar.

What he saw solidified an icy block in his gut.

Standing in the center of the corridor, almost without a care in the world, was a tall, lanky man with ebony hair and dark, gray skin that sent Robin's blood curdling. His face was long and features gaunt, his sunken eyes shadowed by what Robin somehow knew to be makeup rather than just simply the shadow cast by his prominent brow. The man's high hairline led back to wild, shockingly unkempt hair that splayed out up and to the back of his head, while a thin moustache and long goatee framed a pronounced jaw and a mouth set in a malicious grin that Robin eerily found all-too-familiar.

While the man's face and features struck a resonant chord of familiarity within the white-haired tactician, that wasn't quite what had his rapt and near-undivided attention.

What did was the dark man's clothing – assorted robes of blacks and purples punctuated with gold lining, armor pieces, and jewelry that indicated he was someone of status and which reminded Robin not just of Aversa but of someone much closer to home.

The tactician risked a glance at his sleeve to confirm the horrible truth that had already dawned on him, his stomach plummeting as he eyed the similar black cloth, vibrant purple patterns, and gold lining of his coat.

Robin pulled back and turned to Gaius, whose earlier ire had subsided in favor of an odd curiosity.

"Is… is that him?" the tactician asked the thief shakily. "Their leader?"

Gaius peeked out for a moment before quickly drawing back, face pale as he wordlessly nodded his affirmation to the tactician.

Robin bit back a vicious curse as his mind began racing for a new plan of action.

"Alright, change of plan," he whispered, licking his dry lips to wet them. "Double back and get help. I'll stall him for as long as possible."

Gaius' eyes widened. "Bubbles, are you mad?! Just look at that guy! I may not be one of you seasoned warrior types, but we street scoundrels still have some pretty good survival instincts, and all of mine have been telling me he's bad news ever since I first saw him!"

Robin shook his head. "That's exactly why we can't risk him getting any closer to the Exalt," he replied coolly. "It's reckless of me, yes, but I don't think we have any other alternative. Besides, I can hopefully buy enough time for you to get back with help."

The thief's jaw worked as he seemed to consider the tactician's words.

"… Alright, I'll do as you say," he replied after only a few moments of thought. "But I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Bubbles."

Despite himself, Robin chuckled. "Believe me, I do, too."

Gaius nodded. "Good luck, Bubbles. Don't die before I get back here with help," the thief said before he turned and slunk back into the shadows.

Robin watched him disappear and let out a short bark of laughter. 'For all his talk of being a rogue who steals for a living, either he's got a surprisingly kind heart… or is an incredible actor who's just led me to my potential doom.'

Shrugging the thought aside and steeling himself for combat, Robin brought out his tome and flicked it open, whispers of mana beginning to flicker about his free hand as he whispered the incantations for a spell.

'I need to strike fast…'

Spell primed, the tactician rolled out from his hiding place and held his hand out, a faint green light floating within his 'grip'.

'Elwind!' he thought – unable to verbalize the spell's name lest he risk the element of surprise – as the light in his hand erupted into a blade of wind that raced in at the dark man.

Robin held his breath in the few seconds between when he fired off his spell and when the spell reached its target…

… Only for him to be thoroughly disappointed as a wall of purple flame – doubtlessly the product of dark magic, Robin quickly analyzed – erupted from a magic circle on the ground, consuming his wind spell in an instant.

"Hmph, did you think I did not sense the magic flowing through your body?" the newly-identified sorcerer asked as he turned to face the white-haired tactician, peering at him with hooded, blood-red eyes that seemed to emanate some sort of unnatural pressure that had Robin's nerves screaming at him to flee.

Initially disdainful, the dark man's heavy gaze suddenly gave way to one of recognition as his lips twisted into an unnerving smirk that made Robin's blood run cold.

"Well, well…" he commented in a deep voice before he erupted into dark, amused laughter. "Hahaha! Oh, I know you…"

Robin's eyes widened in shock. 'What…?'

"Who are you?!" he snarled angrily, his shock quickly giving way to anger. "Do you really know me? How?!"

The sorcerer's grin grew even wider. "Oh, yes, I certainly do!" he replied, seeming almost gleeful with how he was taunting the tactician with information that was just out of reach. "Submit yourself to me, and perhaps I might honor you with the truth, boy!"

Robin's only reply was another spell – this time a fire spell – that the dark man easily consumed with the same barrier of dark flame from earlier.

The tactician grit his teeth as the flames receded once again, revealing the sorcerer unharmed and unmoved. His expression had soured, his grin morphing into an angry scowl.

"Impudent boy," he growled. "I do need you alive, but that does not mean I can't instill some discipline in you before you are returned to where you belong."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Just try it!"

The sorcerer had an ugly look of angry displeasure on his face as he threw his hand forward, sending a stream of dark flames rushing at Robin. The tactician dove to the right, continuing it into a roll and coming up onto one knee as he unleashed his own spell. Golden bolts of lightning erupted outward from his hand and streaked in towards the sorcerer, who with the simple flick of a wrist raised his barrier of flames to once again absorb the incoming attack.

'Wait, what?'

The dark flames once again prevented Robin's spell from reaching the sorcerer, but he quickly noticed that his lightning spell – unlike his earlier wind spell – wasn't immediately consumed by the sorcerer's flame barrier. The golden bolts slammed into the flame barrier, crackling and arcing over the wall of dark flames as it attempted to force its way past the flames before finally dissipating.

'That's interesting… but why is it…?'

Robin didn't have much time to ponder that observation before he was moving once again as several fire spells were thrown at him in quick succession from behind the sorcerer's barrier.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he ducked and weaved through the relentless barrage of spells before a blast of flame erupted in front of him, forcing him to double back and seek shelter behind one of the corridor's pillars. Dark flames struck at the pillar, quickly beginning to eat away at it as the tactician struggled to find a way out of this mess.

As if sensing his distress, the pages of his tome flipped rapidly until they settled on a new page. Understanding of the runes etched within it filled Robin's mind, and with that understanding came a near-automatic reaction as he turned to place his free hand against the pillar.

Closing his eyes, Robin faintly muttered a quick incantation, pouring mana into the pillar and strengthening it against magical attacks as another wave of fire slammed into the pillar.

Much to the tactician's relief, his simple warding spell seemed to have done the trick… for now, at least.

'Huh… that was easier than I thought, given that the warding spell is normally channeled through a staff…'

His brow furrowed in thought as the contents of his own mental statement registered in the conscious portion of his mind.

'… More importantly, what in Naga's name is a warding spell?'

A fireball slammed into the pillar, making the tactician wince as the warded structure shook from the force of the spell's impact.

Robin shook his head. 'We can worry about figuring that out later,' he thought as he checked what little field of vision he had while hiding behind the pillar – that is to say, not much at all.

He couldn't see the sorcerer, but he could certainly hear him well enough to detect the sneer in his voice.

"Hmph! Forced into hiding already?" the dark man taunted, his words laced with barely-veiled contempt. "It appears your challenge was nothing more than empty bravado."

Robin bristled at the sorcerer's words, but repeatedly reminded himself to keep his head. Losing his cool would be playing right into the dark man's hands, something he could ill afford given the distinct disadvantage he already found himself at.

'What can I do, though…' Robin wondered as he took stock of his situation. As he moved, a weight swinging at his waist reminded him that he still had his sword strapped to his belt.

Looking down at the weapon, the tactician took on a thoughtful expression as the beginnings of an idea began to form in his mind.

Sorcerers were among the trickiest opponents to fight, and it wasn't simply due to their unique mastery of the formidable dark arts. Being highly-skilled practitioners of ancient magics – particularly curses and hexes – they tended to possess knowledge of enchantments that could be applied on clothing the same way Robin himself had applied a warding spell on the pillar he was currently using as cover… except these were much more long-lasting, and were equally suited to defending from both physical and magical attacks.

It was something the tactician was intimately familiar with given…

Robin's mind nearly froze as the rest of the thought solidified in his mind.

'… given the fact that my own coat carries similar enchantments…'

He swallowed thickly. The similarity could have simply been entirely by cance. Had it been any other situation, he very well may have just figured that someone had his coat enchanted by a dark mage so he could be better protected in whatever it was he did.

But there were just too many things that his body and mind instinctively recognized and knew for it to simply be that.

The recognition shown by both the dark man he was fighting and the Mad King's adviser, Aversa.

The markings, colors, and patterns his own coat compared to that of the clothing worn by both Aversa and the dark man.

His instinctive knowledge of a sorcerer's curses and hexes and how they were used to strengthen clothing.

Had it just been one of them, he would have passed off as mere chance. Two, he would have said it was but a coincidence.

But three times? That… that was a pattern.

Robin felt ill at thought that he in his previous life might actually possess some links to a darker part of Plegia he'd rather not think about… but the signs were all there.

It couldn't just be paranoia on his part or his mind playing tricks on him. Everything – including the possibility of his origins – was far too real.

'Stop it!' he screamed at himself as he shook his head violently, clearing the traitorous sentiments from his mind. 'Focus! You have people counting on you right now!'

Equal parts determination and desperation managed to sharpen the tactician's mind as he refocused his thoughts on finding a way out of his predicament.

'Trying to attack with magic seems to be pointless with that barrier of his, so I'll have to use my sword… but how can I…'

His eyes widened as a sudden realization crossed his mind.

'Hold on…'

His thoughts quickly turned towards his earlier exchanges of spells with the sorcerer, and quick observations on the dark man's spells – observations he'd not thought much of earlier – began to expand into the beginnings of what he quickly recognized was a foolhardy plan.

"But… maybe foolhardiness is what's needed to tip the scales back in my favor…"

Robin's hand released his tome, the book falling to the ground as the tactician reached down and unsheathed the sword from its place at his waist. Gripping the blade tightly in his dominant hand, the tactician took a deep breath and allowed his mana to flow into his empty left hand.

'Here goes nothing…' he thought, before he quickly dove out from behind the pillar and rapidly charged and fired as many Thunder spells as he could at the sorcerer, who seemed almost surprised to see the tactician go on the offensive with tactics that had already been proven to not work.

As expected, Robin's barrage magical attacks were repelled by the barrier of dark flames… but that was exactly as he'd expected, and well within the quick calculations he'd done for his attack strategy.

Robin smiled grimly as he raised his hand back and charged up another spell, the green glow of wind-based mana focusing itself as a ball of energy in the palm of his hand.

Just because magic couldn't be used to deal damage didn't mean magic was going to be entirely useless in this scenario.

The barrier began to lower, and Robin quickly saw his chance.

'Now!' he thought as he took a running leap forward, releasing the accumulated mana in his hand and propelling himself forward through the air using the wind spell's knockback.

Before the sorcerer could even raise his hand or begin incantations, Robin was already well within the charred ring that indicated where the dark man's barrier sprouted to life.

Robin drew his sword back and thrust it forward for the sorcerer's heart. His perception of time seemed to slow down as his weapon eliminated the gap between itself and the sorcerer's chest… but it was in those few fractions of a second when the tactician saw the dark man's lips curl up into sinister grin.

The dark man's other hand came up, dark energies crackling in his palm, and Robin's eyes widened as he realized that he'd grossly underestimated the man's spellcasting speed and mental multitasking capabilities.

'Oh, shi–!'

The dark fire spell detonated in Robin's face, the sleeves of his magically-enhanced coat the only things that kept him from being incinerated as he threw his arms up protectively before his head. The force of the blast launched Robin back the way he came, sending him flying right into the pillar he'd used as cover.

The tactician hit the structure back first with a sickening crack, his coat once again the only thing probably saving him from a more severe injury, before he slid down to land in a crumpled heap at its base.

Despite the pain flaring throughout his body both front and back, Robin still tried to rise to his feet as the sorcerer approached to stand over him.

"You are quite the disappointment, boy. I expected much, much more from you," the sorcerer said as his tall form loomed over the tactician. "… Although I will at least commend you and your merry band of fools for being a thorn in my side up to this point. The Exalt was supposed to be an easy target, but you and your merry band have certainly proven to be quite the nuisance for interfering in my designs to the extent that you have."

The sorcerer's right hand came up, another spell flickering to life as he cradled it in his palm. "But, your playtime is over, and I shall be having back that which belongs to me."

He raised his hand, dark energy crackling within, and Robin shut his eyes as he tensed for the pain that was sure to come.

Before he could release the spell, the sorcerer's torso suddenly jerked forward as the sound of sharp steel piercing flesh reached Robin's ears. The dark man looked down, Robin opening his eyes and following the man's gaze with his own before stopping at the sight a familiar sword of gleaming silver-white and gold that had run the dark man through from behind.

The dark man looked over his shoulder at the same time Robin did: Lucina stood behind the sorcerer, her cerulean blue eyes more tired than ever but shining so brightly with determination that Robin could have sworn the left eye that held her Mark of Naga was alight with blue flames.

"No… this is… all… wrong…" he gasped out as Lucina pulled her blade out from the man's body, making him stumble forward. "How could… you have known the plan…"

Using what little strength was left in his gravely injured body, the sorcerer raised a hand and opened a portal before him with a shaky flick of the wrist before falling through it.

"Dastard…" Lucina bit out lowly, although whatever hostility she had in her vanished when she lay her eyes upon the downed tactician.

She was on her knees next to him in an instant, her Falchion forgotten as it slipped from her fingers to clatter to the ground next to her.

"Sir Robin! Are you alright?" she asked, the concern all-too-evident in her words and in her expressive sapphire-like eyes as she examined him for injuries.

Robin tried to lift himself up, but another flash of pain made him decide staying where he was would be a better alternative for the time being.

"… Well, a lot of things hurt…" he mumbled, groaning with the effort. "… but I'm alive, and I guess I'll take that any day…"

Lucina looked down and let out a sound that was half-sob, half-chuckle, though whether it was from relief or as a reaction to his poor attempt at a joke the tactician didn't quite know.

Robin looked up at her curiously. "Why…?" he croaked out, voice cracking as another bout of pain shot through his torso.

The cerulean-haired girl lifted her gaze from the ground to regard the tactician with a look of confusion.

Robin swallowed and tried again. "Why are you here? Weren't you…"

"That would be my doing, Bubbles," another voice cut in.

Robin craned his head over to see Gaius emerge from the shadows of the corridor. "Did just as you asked and brought help from where I was sure I could find it."

The tactician turned to Lucina, who nodded in reply at his unspoken question.

"Worry not, Sir Robin. Exalt Emmeryn remains unharmed," she assured him. "There were several who attempted to get to her, but L – Kris and I were able to keep her safe."

Robin let out a sigh, some of the tension easing out from his body, before it gave way to another groan.

"I see…" he said, before looking past Lucina at the thief respectfully standing a few steps away. "By the way, Gaius… if you don't mind doing one other thing for me, would you mind finding Chrom and letting him know I'm fine…?"

The thief snorted. "That'll cost you extra," he replied, though the cheeky grin plastered on his face let the tactician know that it was – probably mostly – meant as a joke.

That didn't mean Robin wouldn't make sure the ginger-haired thief would cooperate.

"Look, if you hurry, I'll put in a request to the kitchen for some sugary treat as your reward," he said, almost chuckling when the thief's eyes lit up at the words 'sugary treat'.

The ginger-haired thief tossed him a salute. "Done!" he said quickly. "Just stay right where you are, Bubbles. I'll be back before you know it."

This time Robin did laugh, and he did so rather heartily as the thief disappeared down the hallway with a rather noticeable spring in his step.

"That was well-handled," Lucina complimented, reminding Robin that the girl was indeed still here with him.

The tactician gave her an appreciative smile. "I said so earlier, didn't I?" he said. "So long as I can keep finding ways to sate his sugar needs, he'll behave."

Lucina returned Robin's smile with a charming one of her own that had the white-haired tactician nearly gasping at how the simple gesture just lit her features up and added to her natural beauty.

"So you did," she affirmed, before her smile dimmed and the sparkle disappeared from her eyes.

The change in her mood did not go unnoticed by the tactician, who suddenly gazed up at Lucina with concern.

"Lucina?"

The cerulean-haired girl shook her head, sending long locks of her hair swaying with the motion.

"I'm simply glad I made it on time, Sir Robin," she replied, an emotion Robin couldn't quite identify filling her eyes. "If I hadn't, and, because of that, you… then I…"

She hiccupped before swallowing thickly, and it took Robin all of two seconds before he realized what it was he saw in those glistening sapphires.

'Loss…' he realized. 'She's seen loss… and a lot of it…'

His lips twisted downwards as he wondered how he hadn't noticed the signs before.

'Is that why she's so…?'

Robin let out a small breath as he reached up to place a hand on her forearm, making her start.

"Hey, what matters is that you weren't too late," the tactician said, giving her a comforting squeeze on the arm. "I'm still alive, and I owe that fact to you. So, at the very least, let's smile about that, alright?"

Lucina's sapphire eyes widened in what Robin could only describe as a look of wonder, before she gave him a tearful – if incredibly shaky – smile.

"Right… you're right…!"

Robin saw Lucina's smile waver, but still she held firm. He was sure she herself knew how fragile her smile was, and her continued bravery in smiling only served to deepen his respect for the young girl. It also made the tactician realize that her smile was a beautiful sight, and one he could only hope he'd be able to see more often.

With all the hardships she'd probably already been through, she more than anyone deserved to have something to smile about.

---

"Emm!" Chrom yelled, prompting Leon to turn as the Prince of Ylisse came rushing through the door and shattering the tranquility that had settled over the Exalt's residence. "Emm, are you alright?!"

'Seems like everything's been taken care of…' the young cerulean-haired knight thought as the prince immediately made a beeline towards where he and Exalt Emmeryn were standing in the middle of the receiving room of the latter's large residence.

He almost let out a smile. 'Good… it appears we've made progress.'

The prince quickly placed his hands on Emmeryn's shoulders as soon as he reached her, his worried blue eyes scanning her for any injuries.

Emmeryn gave Chrom a gentle smile. "Yes, Chrom. I am perfectly well."

"Oh, thank the gods," he whispered as he brought her in for an embrace. "Thank Naga you're safe."

The Exalt tenderly returned her brother's gesture. "I have you, Lady Marth, and Sir Kris to thank for that."

Further commotion occurred as Phila and a cadre of royal guards filed into the room.

"Your Grace, Milord!" Phila cried out as she skidded to a knee before the Exalt, the guards moving about and beginning to organize the bodies of the dead that still lay where they had fallen. "I beg your forgiveness. My duty was to protect the Exalt, and I have failed. Those assassins should have never even been allowed to make it into the castle, and yet here we–"

Emmeryn lowered herself to kneel before the distraught falcon knight. "Peace, Phila," she said. "You could not have known someone would try and strike at the palace."

Chrom snorted. "Right. Only Marth could…" he trailed off, before he took a quick look around. "Speaking of, where is Marth, anyway?"

"Right here."

All eyes turned to the doorway where Lucina now stood with one of Robin's arms slung over her shoulder. The Shepherds' tactician was leaning heavily against the cerulean-haired girl's much smaller frame, but he was most definitely conscious and alert.

Leon, however, couldn't help but frown at the minute differences in Lucina's usual stance. Much as she continued to remain as regal, strong, and composed as she always presented herself to be, there was something… different about her body language, like she was hiding something she'd rather nobody be able to see.

He glanced past the two new arrivals, gazing pointedly at the night sky for a brief moment to gauge the time.

'It's not been that long… is her exhaustion reaching the point where even Laurent's tonic can't…?'

Chrom was at the pair's side in mere moments, quickly taking the tactician from the cerulean-haired girl and bringing him over to rest in a padded chair.

As the prince – quickly joined by a staff-carrying Exalt – fussed over the tactician, Leon used the opportunity to quietly approach Lucina and steer her away to the side of the apartment where they likely wouldn't be eavesdropped upon or disturbed for the time being.

"Luci. Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly as he noticed a wave of exhaustion wash over her entire body.

Lucina nodded once, slowly. "… I am unharmed, Brother," she replied easily, her words taking just a little too long to come out for Leon to be completely comfortable.

"Just… a little… tired…"

Lucina's eyelids drooped as her words trailed off, and she very nearly collapsed against Leon's frame had he not steadied her by the shoulders with both his hands.

The cerulean-haired knight couldn't help a faint smile from crossing his lips.

"An understatement if I ever heard one," he replied gently as he shifted their positions so the entire length of Lucina's body was leaning against his right side. He let out a soft sigh of relief as he felt Lucina's weight press against him, letting him know that she'd allowed herself to relax her guard and not try to keep up any appearances of strength.

Naga knows she'd already stubbornly pushed herself to her limit just by insisting on taking part in the latter part of tonight's battle.

"Brother?" she called out, the vulnerability and smallness of her tone prompting him to look down.

A pang of guilt shot through Leon as he finally had the time to examine Lucina's features closely without the threat of a battle looming over their heads. Her complexion had grown more pallid than it was the last time he'd seen her before today, her eyes – while seeming to have regained a tiny bit of their former life and luster – were unfocused and highlighted by dark circles that told Leon just how little rest she'd managed to get since their journey through the Outrealms.

"… I'm sorry…" she breathed out as she blinked, tears suddenly pooling at the corners of her eyes as she did so. "I'm sorry for being such a burden… for always having to depend on you."

Leon simply held her even closer. "Don't be. You're not – and never will be – a burden."

She sniffed, almost as if the tears were about to come spilling out, but a voice cut in before that could come to pass.

"Um… I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but…"

Leon's head whipped around, the hand that wasn't supporting Lucina automatically going for the sword strapped across his back before he stopped himself as he remembered where he was.

Several sets of eyes – those of the tactician Robin, Prince Chrom, Exalt Emmeryn, and the falcon knight Phila – gazed at the cerulean-haired knight with various expressions, especially given how he'd angled himself protectively before Lucina and almost immediately gone for his sword.

Prince Chrom in particular carried a look of concern and alarm as he noted just how tense the tension present in Leon's frame and stance – something the cerulean-haired knight himself was only beginning to realize.

Closing his eyes, Leon took a deep breath before letting it out long and slowly to try and bleed out some of the stress he hadn't quite noticed was there until the Ylisseans' collective attention made him aware of it.

"Um… Kris, right?" Chrom tried again, prompting a short, wary nod from Leon as he unconsciously shifted Lucina a little bit closer to him.

The Prince raised his hands placatingly. "Easy there. I just wanted to ask if there was anything we might be able to do to repay you for your help tonight and even previously. You and Marth have saved us and our friends time and time again. Is there anything I can do in return? Some favor or boon I might be able to grant? It isn't much considering what you've done for us, but there has to be something."

Lucina smiled tiredly from where she leaned against Leon, traces of happiness present in the faint curve of her lips.

"That you've offered is more than reward enough, Sire," she replied easily. "We have accomplished what we've come to do, and rewritten history. We could ask for nothing more than that."

Robin's features took on a puzzled expression. "Rewritten history?" he asked as he sat up just a little bit straighter. "And what history, pray tell, have we supposedly just averted?"

Both Leon and Lucina's expressions darkened considerably at the query, Lucina even moving to stand on her own power and gaze intently at the group arrayed before them.

"I mentioned this to you before, Prince Chrom, but I – we – have seen a future where Emmeryn met her end here. Tonight," she said. "What I haven't mentioned yet was that you, Sire, would also be gravely injured… and the national treasure, the Fire Emblem, would be stolen. All three of these events would lead to…"

The cerulean-haired girl hesitated, and Leon knew images she'd rather not think about were coming to the forefront of her thoughts – they certainly were in his own mind.

Robin licked his lips. "… Lead to what…?" he asked, voicing the question Leon was sure everyone else wanted to ask but simply chose not to.

Lucina looked away, an action which Leon took as a cue for him to take up finishing the rest of their story in her stead.

'There's no need to have her remember more than she has to…'

"The events of tonight would have led to a great war, one that would have split Ylisse in two were it not for the heroic efforts of a select group…" the cerulean-haired knight quietly continued for Lucina. "However, that war would only be the opening act in a series of events that would lead to the end of the world – to the end of mankind – as we know it."

He then chuckled hollowly. "… Of course, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that everything we're telling you now sounds like absolute madness."

A pregnant pause followed his declaration, one that would only be broken by the white-haired tactician leaning forward in his seat and gazing at the pair intently.

"I admit it does seem a little… farfetched," Robin started, no doubt choosing his words carefully.

Leon heard Lucina gasp, his sister no doubt imagining that the words to follow would be the tactician's admission – however reluctant or otherwise – that this was probably as far as his trust could extend.

The knight closed his eyes. 'I… can't blame him, really…' he thought. 'If it wasn't for the fact that I lived through what we're saying, even I might have a hard time believing our story…'

If this was where he decided to draw the line, then…

"… But that doesn't mean I won't trust in your words."

Leon's eyes snapped open, the young knight unable to keep the surprise from his features as he regarded the tactician with a look of sheer confusion.

Robin smiled, before glancing at Chrom. "Isn't that right, Chrom? Exalt Emmeryn?"

The blue-haired man nodded. "Right. As strange and as unbelievable as your story may sound, Marth, you've proven your trustworthiness to me – to us, really – time and time again."

Emmeryn offered the pair a reassuring smile. "As my brother has already mentioned, we owe you two a debt of gratitude," she added. "While our continued faith in you may not suffice to fully repay that which is owed to you for everything you have done for us, I hope that someday we might be able to do so."

Lucina shifted on her feet, prompting Leon to gently place an arm around her shoulders and give her a comforting squeeze.

"Perhaps one day, you will," she said with the faintest of smiles before she turned her gaze up to Leon. "Shall we?"

Leon nodded even as he noticed something off in her eyes, and gently began to steer Lucina towards the door before he quickly noticed that she wasn't taking any steps, her feet instead shuffling about unsteadily as if trying to find proper purchase on the floor.

"Luci…? What's wrong?" he whispered, before his eyes widened in sudden realization and he quickly shifted his position so he was standing before her.

Leon was not a moment too soon as Lucina pitched forward, the cerulean-haired knight managing to catch the smaller girl's entire weight using his own body. He stumbled back from the full-on contact, shock coursing through his system as thoughts quickly began to process in his mind – thoughts that the only things keeping her standing at all were his frame and the arms that were currently wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

'Luci!'