"Right, so, if we were to attack from here, then that could weaken these forces right here," Chrom said as he moved small rocks across a map drawn on a piece of parchment.

Chrom had insisted that he, along with Robin, Flavia, Basilio, and Frederick discuss the next course of action towards Emmeyryn's rescue in the designated "war tent". They had received some more intel on the enemy from a couple Feroxi spies, so it only made sense to discuss their plans.

Robin had also insisted that Heather and Marth join as well. He chose Heather because well, he felt bad and wanted her to feel more welcome with the Shepherds. And Marth because he had hoped she might be able to spare some useful information about the Plegians and whatnot…that and he didn't want her to try and run off like she usually did.

Robin shook his head. "No, look if we do that…then Frederick's group is left exposed to their mages. No offense Frederick, but from that far away, you don't stand a chance."

Frederick shook his head. "None taken. It would be preferable to survive this battle."

Robin nodded. He was surprised at how accepting everyone was with his whole memory-loss thing. If Robin were in their shoes, he probably wouldn't trust his life with someone who could barely remember their own name.

"Well…what if we were to move the archers here along this wall. That would give us the advantage of being near their flying squads! Then, move the knights up front right along here. Would that work?" Heather piped up.

Robin studied the board. With Heather's plan, that put the archer's at a safe distance away from the enemy. However, that moved them away from the high ground, a disadvantage that Robin wanted to avoid.

Robin sighed and shook his head, making Heather pout. Robin looked at Marth, who was standing quietly off to the side and staring intently at the board. "Marth, have any useful information you wanna share?" He asked.

Marth shook her head, "My apologies sir, but there is nothing I know about this battle."

Robin frowned. 'Not like I was expecting anything…'

At the rate they were going, there was no way they were going to get a plan formed by the next day. Robin sighed again, and decided to just take matters into his own hands.

"Alright, thanks for your help, but I think I can take it from here," He said to everyone.

"You sure you're up for that? It sure is a lot to take on all at once," Chrom said as he watched Robin start to pack everything up.

Robin shook his head, and laughed, "Ha! You underestimate me, my friend. Just you wait. I'll have a plan by sundown."

Chrom still looked unsure, but Basilio beamed and clapped Robbin hard on the back. "I knew I could count on you, boy! Just remember, I want as much action as I can get? No cheapin' out on me, ya hear?"

Robin grinned, "Loud and clear."

"Alright, let's give him some space so he can focus. After all, he has given himself quite the challenge," Flavia said as she shooed everyone out.

Marth was the last one out.

"Hey Marth!" Robin called out, causing her to stop in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare leave, ya hear? We're gonna need you for this battle, so don't go and bail on us, okay?"

Even though her back was turned, Robin could tell she was probably rolling her eyes. "Fine," she muttered, then walked off.

Robin turned back to the mess in front of him, and his heart sunk. "This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

"So, how did you know Robin?"

Lucina found herself face to face with Heather as she tried to find something to clean her sword with. Heather stared at her intently. Her eyes were curious, but also defensive, and she had her hands on her hips.

Lucina narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I met him a few weeks ago. Why do you care?" She added sharply.

Heather's eyes widened. "I-I don't care! I was just curious!" She huffed. "Gosh!"

Lucina rolled her eyes and walked past her. "Uh-huh," she said, unconvinced.

Heather spun around quickly to face Lucina. "Hey! What was that…ugh, never mind."

Lucina managed to find some spare rags in a crate. She immediately sat down and got to work cleaning the hilt of the sword, slowly working her way up to the blade. The hilt and blade was covered in sand and dried blood. Lucina frowned as she scrubbed furiously as the blade with little success.

She could feel Heather's eyes boring into the back of her head. Lucina sighed. She did have many questions for Heather. Like for one, how has she known Robin for so long? Robin has always been such a mystery to her, and for this girl to know 10 whole years of his life that he himself has forgotten…well, that opens up hundreds of questions for Lucina.

'How did I not know this girl? If she had such a close connection with Robin, shouldn't I have at least seen her face, much less heard her name before?'

"Heather, why don't you sit next to me rather than just stare at me from behind. It's unsettling."

"Oh! S-Sorry!" Heather squeaked, and sat across from Lucina.

Lucina sighed as Heather sat there unsure of what to do. Lucina remembered the knife she had been holding the first day she met her. Surely cleaning her knife could do Heather some good.

"Let me see your knife," Lucina said.

Heather furrowed her brown, "My…knife? What would you want with that?"

"It's probably filthy. And based on your battle experience, I wager you've never actually cleaned your blade before, now have you? I could teach you how."

Heather pouted. "Hey, I've cleaned knives before!...Butter knives, but that's pretty much the same thing!"

Heather then pulled out her knife and started to inspect it, but the blade and hilt looked as good as new. In fact, it looked like it's never been used before. Ever. Lucina frowned.

Heather shook her head. "I think it looks fine. Here, what do you think, Marth?" She said, and held the knife.

Lucina stared at the shiny blade. She pursed her lips and looked up at Heather. "...You've never…done it before, have you?"

"Yes, Marth, I have cleaned knives-"

"I'm not talking about knives, Heather," Lucina said darkly.

Heather looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about, then?"

Lucina ignored her and turned her attention back to her sword. She frowned as another thought popped into her head. A thought that made sense.

'Maybe the reason I don't know who this girl is…is because she didn't survive long enough for me to know her.'

"Ughhh this is useless," Robin groaned as he stared darkly at the map in front of him.

"Robin, the sun has gone down and everyone is getting ready to eat. Why don't you explain your plan to us at dinner," Chrom said as he peered into the tent.

Robin's eyes widened. "What already?! Seriously?! Dang, I didn't know it'd set so soon…"

Chrom walked inside and arched an eyebrow. "Robin, it's been over five hours… and judging by your face, you weren't able to come up with anything, I take it?"

Robin sighed and shook his head. "Everytime…I come very close to success…but it alway will lead to a casualty of a Shepherd."

Chrom's expression softened. "Robin, we all appreciate everything you've done for us. That being said, if there's anything that I can help with, please let me know."

Robin forced a smile. "Heh, yeah I'm not sure there's much you can do…anyways, I think I'll pass on dinner for now." He gestured to the maps scattered across the table. "I have tactician work to do...It's uh, kinda my job now."

Chrom thought about this, then sighed. "Very well. Just…don't overwork yourself too much, okay? We do have a big battle tomorrow, and I'll need you in top shape."

Robin gave Chrom a thumbs up and returned his attention to the maps.

"I'll have someone bring you food later, okay?" Chrom said as he walked out the tent.

Robin grinned as his stomach growled in response. 'Maybe there will be bear meat tonight…'

"Woah! Can we seriously have all of this?!" Heather said as she stared in awe at the plate of food handed to her.

Sumia chuckled. "Why of course, dear. What? Did you think we'd just tease you with it?" She said jokingly.

Heather was practically drooling as she stared at her plate. Her plate consisted of a boiled potato lathered with butter, a porkchop, a scoop of green beans and a roll of bread.

Sumia laughed, "C'mon, let's go find a place to sit. You know, I think you'd really get along with my dear friend, Cordelia."

"Okay!" Heather said, and followed Sumia over to a seat next to Cordelia and Frederick.

Lucina sat as far as possible away from the Shepherd's as she could. She had settled for a small rock nearby the dining area, but far enough away for no one to notice her secludedness.

She sighed and stared up at the Plegian stars. "Tomorrow's a big day," she whispered anxiously, "I wonder if you all are looking up at these stars, too…"

The savory aroma of hot food wafted over to her direction, making her stomach grumble.

Lucina scowled. She had vowed to keep the interaction between her and the Shepherds to a minimum. However, her stomach's relentless pleas spoke louder than her mind, so she got up and began to make her way over to where everyone was happily eating.

The delicious smells got stronger, making Lucina even more hungry. "I'll just grab a small plate of food then be on my way…"

"Marth, perfect timing," A familiar voice called.

Lucina turned to face Chrom making his way over to her with two plates of food. She frowned.

"I'm assuming you haven't eaten anything yet," He said, and held out a plate of food to her.

"What makes you say that?" Lucina said as she stared longingly at the plate in front of her.

Chrom shrugged and smiled. "I think you're becoming easier to read. Your face is contorted with a frown and a scowl. My guess is that it is your hungry face." Chrom said smugly.

Lucina looked at him bewildered. "Since when does that mean I'm hungry?" But she took the plate from his outstretched hand.

To her surprise, Chrom handed her the other plate. "Um, would you mind taking this to Robin for me? He's kinda preoccupied at the moment, so he couldn't join us, but I'm sure he's probably starving by now."

Marth nodded and took the plate. "Whatever you need, sir." Then she turned to walk towards the war tent.

"Uh, thanks?" Chrom said as she briskly walked off, and turned to join the other Shepherds for dinner.

"I think I…wait…yeah! I think I actually did it!" Robin said triumphantly. His desk was littered with pieces of parchment, each one scribbled top to bottom with notes. He did it. After about seven hours of hard work, he had finally came up with a fool-proof plan for the battle the next day.

He grinned, then stood up to stretch. "I guess I should probably share this with Chrom and the others…" He mused.

Robin started to gather up his belongings when a voice called from outside the tent.

"Sir, are you in here?"

Robin's heart skipped a beat. "Marth?...Can I help you with something?"

Marth appeared in the tent entryway, holding two plates of food. She scowled at him. "Prince Chrom requested that I bring you this," She said, and set the plate down on a nearby crate.

Robin gazed at the food as the savory smells wafted towards him. "Oh uh…thanks!"

"Think nothing of it," She said, then briskly turned to walk away.

Robin lost his fixation on the food as one last thought crossed his mind. "Uh, one last thing before you go!"

She paused, and glanced curiously towards him "Yes?"

"Thank you for earlier-at the dunes I mean! You and Heather were a big help!" Robin said.

Marth cocked her head to the side. "I do not understand, sir."

Robin blinked. "What do you mean? You saved part of my squad…remember?"

"Last time I checked, you and Prince Chrom were the ones who saved us," Marth replied.

Robin hesitated. "...What?"

Marth shook her head and continued to walk. "Enjoy your food, sir." Then she was gone.

Robin stared at her retreating figure. 'If it wasn't her who saved Frederick's squad…then who else could it have been?'

Robin's stomach growled.

He shrugged. 'No use worrying about that now.'

He gathered his things, then went off to go explain his plan.

Lucina walked across the camp towards her tent, which was graciously given to them, meaning her and Heather, by Chrom and Lissa.

Nearby, she could hear the voices and laughter from the Shepherd's. She could faintly see Heather having a very animated conversation with Sumia, Cordelia, and Lissa. She could also see Robin, holding a plate of food as well as maps and notes tucked under his arms, while simultaneously eating as he walked. Heather and Chrom happily intercepted him, and the trio went off to go sit down.

Lucina sighed, and balled her fists in frustration.

Friendship.

Something she didn't need in this world…but something she still wished she had.

"Enough of that, Lucina," She scolded to herself. "This is no time for such irrelevant thoughts."

She forced her gaze away from the lively Shepherds and back to darkness in front of her. She yelped in surprise.

In front of her was a dim figure. The figure walked closer to her, and she instinctively stepped back.

However, as the figure drew nearer, Lucina could see that the person in front of her was only Frederick.

He scowled. "Where are you off to at a time like this?"

Lucina recovered herself. "I-I was just going back to the tent you allowed me to have to…rest," She lied. Truthfully, that is where she was indeed going. However, she didn't care about resting. In fact, resting was at the bottom of her list of things to do. She was just trying to avoid the Shepherds. Specifically Chrom.

"I heard Robin came up with a plan. You are fighting with us tomorrow, are you not? I advise you to join us," Frederick said, narrowing his eyes.

Marth shook her head. Keeping secrets is one thing, but lying is totally different. She knew Frederick wouldn't let her off the hook easily, so she had to think fast.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm just not feeling well. It'd be best if I went back," She said.

Frederick just looked at her unconvinced. Lucina shuffled her feet as she thought of what to say next. Then she thought of a trick that her best friend, Severa, taught her once. "'You can only use this trick with guys, Lucy. Girls won't care. In fact, I'm sure they'd only roll their eyes and tell you to 'suck it up'…'' Severa had once told her.

Lucina took in a deep breath, and shook her head. "My apologies, sir, but I really don't think I can make it. It's that time of month…" Frederick still looked unconvinced, so to make a point she hastily added, "Girl stuff."

Though it was dark, Lucina could tell he was blushing. "O-Oh! U-Uh s-sorry! Um…go ahead, Miss!' He said, and stepped aside.

Lucina smiled and walked past him. "Thank you, sir. You don't know how difficult it can-"

"Yep yep! Enough said! Go one ahead…please," Frederick pleaded, and quickly walked off.

When he was out of earshot, Lucina laughed. "Wow, I didn't think that'd actually work. On Frederick of all people! Sev would get a kick out of that," She whispered to herself. She shook her head in disbelief and walked towards her tent.

"Great, you're here," Robin said as he watched Frederick make his way to the Shepherds. They were currently all huddled around a table, displaying a large map of the Plegian capitol and a few lists.

"You good there, Frederick ol' buddy?" Vaike asked. Frederick looked quite flustered…a sight that was foreign to Robin.

Frederick cleared his throat. "Erm…well…yes, I'm fine. Please, commence," He added hastily, and waved for Robin to continue.

Robin shrugged. "Okay, well, now that everyone's here," He paused and glanced around.

'Not everyone…'

"...Wait, is Marth here?"

Everyone looked around, and there was a low murmur of no's and nope's.

"Ah, she told me she wasn't feeling well…" Frederick said.

Robin cursed under his breath. 'If she slipped away I'll…' He let that thought go and decided to continue.

"Whatever, it's fine. I'll fill her in tomorrow. For now, I'll explain the plan for tomorrow's battle," Robin said. Once he had everyone's attention, he continued. "Alright, so, the actual plan itself is pretty basic, however, it's the timing that is crucial. If we are even a couple minutes off, there's a possibility we'll lose."

"Oh please. Don't worry 'bout us, boy. Ain't nothin' we can't handle," Basilio said grinning.

Robin chuckled. "Alright then. Now, this plan is based purely on speculation," there were murmurs of confusion, but Robin continued. "Meaning, that this plan could change while we're in the middle of a fight."

Lon'qu furrowed his brows. "I thought you said you had a plan."

Robin nodded. "I do have a plan. However, with limited information on where the enemy will be exactly, I will have to make changes on the field."

"So what's with the 'crucial timing' crap, then?" Sully asked.

Robin sighed. "I was about to get to that, but first let me explain the situation." He pointed at the center of the map. "This is where Emmeryn is supposedly going to be executed. Our top priority is to take out the executioner first, and any other possible threats that are near her. And that," He moved three pieces close to the center of the map. "Is where the timing is key."

Robin then proceeds to place various stones all across the map. Each stone had a different initial on it.

"Each of these stones represent a different squadron. For example, the stone with a K represents the knight squadron, and the stone with the letter P represents the pegasus knight squadron." He turned his attention back to the center of the map. "Virion, this is you," He said, pointing to one of the pieces he had placed close to the center, labeled with the letter, A. "This is a very important role. Can I trust you?" Robin asked.

Virion nodded with pride. "Why of course. All you need to do is ask, my friend."

Robin nodded. "Do you think you can take out the executioner from down here, and with only one arrow?"

Virion studied the board for about a minute. He smiled, and looked back up at Robin. "I think I can do that, yes."

Robin grinned. "Alright. I'm counting on you, Virion."

Virion nodded, and Robin continued. "The goal is to surprise them, so we can't draw much attention to ourselves. That being said, as soon as Virion takes out the executioner, it will draw a lot of attention to our group, so we'll need to act fast. The fastest way is if we move in smaller numbers."

"S-So will we won't be one big group?" Sumia asked.

Robin shook his head. "No. Ultimately, if everything goes according to plan, then we will end up as one big group. I'll explain each of your roles in one moment. First, let me explain what happens right after Virion fires that first arrow."

Robin pointed to two pieces right behind Virion's piece. "This is Flavia and Basilio. As soon as Virion fires that arrow, you two are going to lead the Feroxi army down here," he said, and pointed to a wide open area. "From there, each of the Shepherd's squadrons will close in around Emmeryn, and possibly Gangrel if he's brave enough to show his face."

Chrom crossed his arms and nodded. "Ah, I see. You're prioritizing saving Emm first, then taking down Gangrel."

Robin nodded. "Precisely. I mean, the chances of Gangrel fighting alongside his men is close to none. Besides, the goal of this mission is to rescue Emmeryn, so once we get her out of danger, then we won't have to split our attention towards two things at once."

Robin continued to go through each of the Shepherd's roles. The meeting went on for about another hour. Once everyone understood their jobs, they all decided to go back to their tents to get some rest.

He had paired himself up with Chrom again, and they would be fighting at the front lines like usual. He had also paired Marth and Heather up, but he kept them in the midlines. He knew Marth could take care of herself on the field…but he had his doubts about Heather.

Heather hung back while the Shepherd's filtered out the tent. Once everyone was out, she made her way towards Robin, who was busy packing everything up.

"Robin, there's something I need to tell you," She said flatly.

Robin glanced up, and yawned. "Yeah?"

Heather scowled. "It's about Gangrel."

Robin clenched his fists. "What about him?"

Heather paused as she thought about how to phrase her next words. "Listen…I-I know you may think he's just a cowardly man but…he's dangerous."

Robin scowled. "Yeah, I know he's dangerous."

She shook her head. "No, I mean he actually is dangerous. I know he seems like a spineless man who only cares about himself…well yeah, I guess he is selfish-but I mean he is very dangerous! I've seen him kill before, Robin. I know what he's capable of, and what he'd do if he had the chance to-"

"Heather, I know he is dangerous, and evil, and selfish. Maybe I haven't seen what you've seen, but I'm not naive. I'll be careful, okay?" He said.

Heather sighed. "Alright, fine. But promise me you won't do anything too stupid!"

Robin nodded. "...I'll be careful."

Heather nodded. "Alright, I'm holding you up to that, Robin. If I hear that you did something stupid, well, you've got another thing coming!"

Robin smiled. I was quiet for a short moment. Robin thought back to when he met Heather, which was only earlier that day. Robin still had so many questions for her, and she was more than happy to answer any of them. However, he had decided to wait until after saving Emmeryn. Robin was afraid that those thoughts of his past would cloud his head, and he was willing to wait for a few days

…

'Are you sure there's nothing you want to know. Like not even something like your favorite color?' Heather had asked.

Robin grinned. 'Heh, thanks, but I think I can figure that one out on my own. I just don't want to get distracted while on this mission. Emmeryn is kinda important, and her life rests in my hands. If I were to get distracted on that…well, I just can't risk anything.' Robin replied.

Heather sighed. 'Oh, alright, fine. I guess that makes sense.'

...

"You better get to bed. It's getting late, and we've got have a big day tomorrow." Robin said to Heather.

Heather paled. "R-Right…yeah we do. Um, I'll be off then! See ya tomorrow!" She hurriedly made her way out the tent.

Robin watched as she quickly left the tent. He yawned again. 'Tomorrow is probably gonna be the biggest day of my life…so I should probably get some rest, too.'

And with that, he packed up and went back to his tent to get another dreamless sleep.

AN: Yay! I'm so glad I finally got this chapter out! I'm slowly trying to weave in my own creative touch to this story (which I'm sure you noticed). I'll probably go through and make some edits, but I just wanted to get this chapter out. I've been so busy as of late, (mostly sports and school) so chapters are still probably going to come out like once a month (maybe). Actually, a random funnyish story: the whole scenario with Lucina and Frederick actually happened to me a few years ago haha. It's a long story, and no, I didn't use it to get out of anything. I don't know, I guess that being a girl, I never had a problem with that kinda stuff, or got like embarrassed about it when the topic came up, however throughout the years I did learn that dudes have totally different reactions towards it. And being the immature teen that I am, I get a real kick out of it sometimes. Anyways, thanks so much for reading! Let me know if you have any suggestions/questions on the story! Hopefully you'll hear from me soon! Have a great day!

-LittlePuppers