Chapter 7

(Connor)

Noah and Cordelia spent the next half hour or so outside the barracks talking. At first, it sounded as if they were coming up with a plan. Though eventually, the sounds of laughter indicated that the conversation had become more casual, and so the other Shepherds decided to have some fun.

"50 silver says the two of them hook up after all this is over," Sully said.

Connor chuckled. "Two gold says he doesn't tell her."

"Ooh! Ten gold says he at least gets her to stop fawning over Chrom," Lissa commented, shooting her brother an evil grin.

Chrom just smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, so that's why she was staring at you for that entire meeting," Connor realized. This earned a round of laughter from everyone in the room except for Chrom.

"Why do you think Noah won't tell her Connor?" Robin suddenly asked.

"Look at it through his eyes. He's a stranger from another world with no status or standing here, and she's a member of Ylisse's most prestigious knight order. He probably thinks she looks down on him. Plus, she's got a thing for Chrom, and it's hard to compete with a prince," Connor reasoned.

"So, Connor, how do you two know each other?" Chrom asked, trying to change the subject.

"The better question would be how he knows me, and the answer to that is a bit of a long story. As I'm sure you all have figured by now, Noah and I aren't from around here. How can I put this in a way that you all would understand…" Connor pauses, pondering. "The best way to describe it is this: I'm the future fulfillment of a prophecy from his time." Of course, by prophecy, Connor meant video game, but that bit of information wasn't important.

"That's badass," Sully said in amazement, earning several murmurs of agreement from the other Shepherds.

(Noah)

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but the planning Cordelia and I were doing derailed rather quickly.

"Thank you for this. It really helped calm my nerves. I'd very much enjoy spending time with you again after this is all over," Cordelia told me with a smile.

"I'd like that too," I replied, blushing slightly.

"It's a date then," she said with a smirk that could only mean she was on to me. "Now, let's inform the others of the plan."

Well, that went much better than I expected, I thought to myself as I followed Cordelia into the barracks.

Two hours later, Chrom, Robin, Connor, Cordelia, and I had a final plan ironed out. "Does everyone agree on our current choice of action?" I asked. There were nods from everyone at the table and a snicker from Connor. The plan was for Cordelia and I to get a room at the Green Dragon Inn, which was also a front for a Duvali brothel and place that Kesel Duvali liked to frequent. Hopefully, the chance to grab both of us would be too much for the crimelord to pass up, and he'd make a move allowing Connor to capture him. Chrom and Robin would be on stand by in case something went wrong.

"So, you two have any big plans for when you get to the Green Dragon?" Connor asked through stifled laughter. Cordelia looked away immediately and blushed furiously. I blushed too, which only served to make Connor laugh harder.

"Anyways," Chrom began, saving Cordelia and I from our embarrassment, "if we want to do this, we need to do it now."

Forty-five minutes later Cordelia and I were in a room at the Green Dragon. The innkeeper must have recognized us as people that were wanted by Kesel, because our room was on the highest floor and at the end of the hall as far from the stairs as possible, with the only window facing the street. This meant that if we wanted to escape, we would either have to risk injury jumping three stories out the window or fight our way down the entire hallway. As soon as we reached the room I pointed this out to Cordelia.

"I noticed that as well," she said solemnly.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence.

"Welp, we don't know how long we're going to be here, so we might as well talk," I stated with a slight sigh.

"Yes, let's." She pointed to the words U.S. ARMY my jacket. "Tell me, what is the military like where you are from, and how long have you been in it?"

"Oh, I'm not actually United States Army. This was my father's, from when he was in the military. I have considered enlisting on multiple occasions though."

"United States? I've never heard of such — different world, right."

I nodded. "Things are very different there, but from what I've seen this world is a lot like what mine was centuries ago, at least in terms of societal and technological advancement."

"What is your world like now? Is it different enough that adjusting will be hard?"

"Yeah, adjusting will definitely be a challenge. As for what it's like, it's not perfect, but the country I'm from — the United States of America — is far better off than many other countries. Anybody can own land, education is free, government officials are elected by the people, we have devices that can let us access almost the entirety of all human knowledge, as well as talk to people all over the world at the same time, and they fit in the palm of your hand."

"Wow, it sounds wonderful."

"Unfortunately I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back. I wouldn't mind staying here though."

Cordelia smiled. "Well then, allow me to formally welcome you to this world!"

I blushed at her sudden outburst. "Thank you Lady Cordelia."

Now it was her turn to blush. "Please, call me Cordelia."

"Alright then. Thank you for the warm welcome Cordelia!" I exclaimed, making her laugh. Her laughter was contagious, and soon I was laughing along with her. We both stopped though when we heard voices outside. Cordelia shot me a look as she grabbed her lance, and I nodded in response as I raised the futuristic fusion rifle Connor had given me and took aim at the door.

AN: In case anybody has noticed I don't really have a plan for this story outside of completing the main story of the game, so I'm kind of just winging it. If this gets to be super obvious I might create an outline. Anybody who spots the reference in this chapter gets a virtual cookie. Also, I've updated the characters section for the story now that the new Destiny characters I requested were added (the list was seriously lacking and VERY out of date).

Now for some review responses!

OnePunchPlayer: I hadn't considered how Connor's experiences might have been emotionally different from ours. I'll try to keep that in mind, but I don't want to change his snarky character too much. I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far though! I don't plan on stopping until I finish the story of the main game, and I've even thought about doing an original sequel story set after the events of Awakening.

Tech nerd: Yes! I do plan to introduce the Taken at some point (one of the only things I've actually planned out), as well as other elements of the Destiny universe. As for Grima, who's to say he's still just a dragon? You never know what could happen when Vex time travel is involved!

As per usual, if you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review! I love getting feedback on my writing, as it helps me grow. Until next time! May the Traveler's Light be with you.