A/N: I don't really have an excuse. Oops? I haven't lost interest in this, I promise. Organizing my ideas and finding time and motivation to write has been difficult. I'm glad to see that there is still some traffic to this story, hopefully this chapter is worth the wait.

Even before leaving the vault Victoria was a light sleeper, small movements would wake her quite easily.

It was helpful.

Whether it was radroaches crawling down the walls to steal her hidden treats or Amata trying to prank her, she was usually awake and ready to handle it. Many of these "Shepherds" could not say the same.

As of this moment she wasn't quite sure what to make of them. Chrom seemed kind, but foolish and headstrong- and his sister seemed no more clever than he. Frederick was smart enough to be cautious but had no inclination to act on it. Then there was Robin…

He was quick witted, if seemingly naive. She could say with certainty that she did not dislike him, but she could not say that she found him trustworthy.

Victoria was satisfied with the conclusion that these Shepherds were no threat to her, and would be easy to dispose of if needed.

The thought left a sour taste in her mouth. She scowled- was she still so soft after everything?

Chrom shifted- he was awake.

Lissa yawned, eyes blearily blinking as she glanced over. "What's wrong, Big Brother?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you but," his gaze shifted towards the woods, "something is amiss."

Victoria knew better than to investigate any "something" that caught her attention at night. If something wanted her dead it would come on its own, there was no need to seek it out.

"Do you plan on seeking it out?"

Chrom jumped a bit before turning to Victoria, "I see I woke you as well, my apologies. I thought I would at least look around."

"Not without me you're not!" Lissa indignantly cried. How this did not wake Robin of Frederick was beyond Victoria.

Victoria stood, "Let's make it quick, I've seen many good men die to mysterious happenings at night."

Chrom led the group down the path, shifting his gaze left and right as he moved. It was quiet.

"Where did all the birds go?" Lissa hugged her staff close to her chest as she walked.

Were birds supposed to make noise at night? Victoria had no way of knowing. What sorts of sounds would they make?

Not long after that thought was there a deafening boom followed by violent tremors. An explosive? Victoria had yet to see anything like that- it seemed out of place.

"Chrom!" Lissa screeched as she reached towards her brother. Chrom grasped her shoulders to help keep her steady.

"Gods, what is this?" He shouted.

The ground began to creak and groan as it gave in to whatever force was pushing on it. Something was coming.

"We need to get moving." Victoria had already turned and began running back to camp. She heard the siblings follow soon after.

She didn't look behind her, or rather she wouldn't. She could feel the heat, she could hear the impacts but she would not look back. It would be too much to bear.

As if the flames weren't enough, a light shone from above as the sky opened. From the opening came strange beasts. Feral ghouls? They certainly sounded the part, although their movements were far more sluggish.

"Victoria," Chrom drew his sword and shifted his stance, "I trust I have your support for this?"

Lissa stepped back behind her brother, not quite having caught her breath. Victoria couldn't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to run in that outfit- it was pretty but not particularly practical.

"Got it." She drew her knife, keeping her pistol ready at her hip if needed.

Chrom rushed left to meet with his opponent, their weapons clashing loudly. These creatures did actually move rather quickly, and were far sturdier than any ghoul she had encountered. They were smart enough to block and dodge, and strong enough to knock the wind out of her. Dangerous.

At least her geiger counter wasn't going off- there was one saving grace in this after all. One not-ghoul raised its axe and swung towards her helmet, barely giving Victoria enough time to grab its arm. Using that momentum, she spun and rammed its head into the nearest tree before quickly stabbing its throat. It sputtered, bleeding a kind of black ooze before becoming limp in her hold.

Just then she heard Lissa scream, a not-ghoul somehow got past her and Chrom.

Shit.

Lissa was too far away for Victoria to help her- Chrom was even farther. She could only hope that the injury wouldn't be life threatening. Just as the axe came down it was blocked by a sword. The mysterious swordsman grunting with exertion. She and Chrom could only stare, where had this person come from?

The swordsman turned towards Chrom, "Help!" he grunted, breaking Chrom out of his stupor.

"Right" He charged, raising his blade to strike. The not-ghoul fell limply to the ground, Victoria sighed in relief. Now that the crisis was averted, they had a new focus.

"Quite an entrance," Chrom's brow furrowed with suspicion, "What's your name?"

The swordsman, or perhaps swordswoman now that Victoria could see her better, did not reply. Or rather did not have time to reply before Frederick and Robin came running from camp.

"Milord, Milady!" Lissa looked as though she might cry with relief.

"Are such horrific creatures commonplace in this land?" Robin asked as he frantically flipped through his book. Magic book? What were they called?

"They're not from Ylisse, I promise you that." Chrom replied.

Continuing his role as tactician, Robin paired the shepherds into groups for added defense. Frederick was to protect Lissa, who had stationed herself in an abandoned fort with her staff at the ready. Chrom was the vanguard, rushing through faster than the not-ghouls could react. Robin placed himself somewhere in the middle, with Victoria guarding his back as he shot bolt after bolt of electricity. In the chaos Victoria heard a strange distorted sound. If she had to describe it, it would be like a scream muffled and distorted by water. Looking towards the sound gave her a familiar sight.

That was definitely a ghoul. It wasn't strong and sturdy like these not-ghouls, it was the same sickly shrunken ghoul that Victoria was familiar with. She only saw one, but there had to be more.

There were always more.

Before she could think much on it she watched as the ghoul began shuffling towards Robin, screeching. She may not know much about this world, but what she's found thus far is a total lack of radiation. Robin has no resistance. Victoria harshly grabbed Robin by the arm before yanking him behind her, his cry of protest muffled by the sound of gunfire. The ghoul shrieked pathetically as it fell, still clawing its way closer. Using the power armor's strength she kicked its head, putting a heavy dent in whatever was left in its skull.

Did she overreact? Probably. But feral ghouls were truly the bane of her existence, no suffering of theirs could be considered unnecessary.

"That one looks different," Robin observed as he returned to his previous position.

More people soon arrived, "Captain Chrom, wait! I'm coming!" A red haired woman came, mounted on some sort of animal. Was it similar to a Brahmin? Victoria did not pay much more attention to her or the blue haired man that followed, more support was a good thing that she never questioned.

With the added support the not-ghouls were cleared of swiftly without much incident. Which was great, Victoria has had quite enough at this point. She could clear everything easily on her own, but the collateral damage would be extreme and would place her under more suspicion than she was already subject to.

Robin does not bring up the ghoul. Yet. Victoria was certain he would eventually, but as of this moment the focus was on the swordswoman from before.

"My name is Chrom," he smiled widely and he stepped closer, "Might I ask yours?"

She crossed her arms, "You may call me Marth" She replied.

The pause that followed suggested some weight or perhaps history attached to the name. This was soon proven correct, "After the heroic king of old?" Chrom continued.

'So it's a pseudonym,' Victoria mused to herself.

"I'm not here to talk about me," 'Marth' stated, interrupting whatever Chrom had begun to ask. "This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude."

"You have been warned." Marth turned and left the group with that.

Was there some kind of code or law requiring prophets to be so horribly vague, Victoria wondered. It seemed too frustratingly common otherwise. Lissa seemed to share her sentiment.

"Not much for conversation, is he?" Robin muttered.

Frederick nodded, "His skills lie elsewhere, it would appear. For now I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste."

The trip towards the capital was for the most part uneventful, which Victoria was grateful for. That was until Robin moved to walk beside her.

"What was that thing," he began, not bothering with pleasantries.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, I've seen a great many things as of late." She hummed, yet it lacked any hint of emotion. Robin was clearly not pleased with her answer.

"I think you know just as well as I what I'm referring to. You reacted differently with that thing than you did with the others."

"It was different than the others"

She could tell Robin was getting frustrated, yet he smiled. It was a kind of exhausted smile that hinted at fondness. It reminded her of her father when she and Amata would play pranks.

"You play the game well, I see. Fine. I will get my answer eventually." Robin laughed.

"Let's hope that you do." Victoria couldn't help the smile that broke beneath her helmet.

When was the last time she had smiled so earnestly, she wondered. Over the horizon she could just see tall ornate buildings. That must be the capital Frederick spoke of.

A/N: And that seems like a good place to end this chapter. I wanted to make this one a little longer since I made y'all wait for so long but it kinda felt like it was dragging on. Anyway I hope y'all enjoyed, every view and review means the world to me. I'd also like to answer some questions I saw.

Yes, I will definitely include Dogmeat. I love that dog so much, how could I not? And thank you x-x-TheBurnedMan-x-x, I hadn't thought to include the Mysterious Stranger. I think I'll have him make an appearance in later chapters!

Finally I have a question for y'all, would there be any interest in a side story about married life between Robin and Victoria? It would be more of a slice of life kind of deal. I have ideas for it that I could theoretically include here, but I'm impatient and it would take several chapters for me to write to that point.