Chapter 2: Stars Coming Out

The soft crunch of loose, grey gravel below him was all Chris could hear as he walked forward along the path—the Northroad, he remembered. Faintly, he realized he could hear some birds off in the distance as well, but decided to tune it all out as he allowed his mind to wander.

Reconsidering his decision to leave Southtown, he stole a glance behind him for what felt like the hundredth time, only to see the fading line of trees in the distance. He looked back forward, staff gripped tight in hand as he remembered what August had said as he gave it to him.

"It will do better aiding the Prince than collecting dust in the back of our storage room."

After having met up with the other Shepherds, he'd finally gotten to look at another heal staff, learning that it wasn't anything special at all. But despite that, it felt comfortable to hold. The faint static-y feeling of mana flowed through it and into his hands, a feeling he realized he didn't really mind all that much as he walked along the path.

Though that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

While he couldn't disagree about helping enough that he could accept the staff as a gift—it was a spare anyways—he still definitely didn't deserve to be a Shepherd. They were heroes. Fictional ones, but still genuine heroes. He hadn't fought them off singlehandedly like Chrom or Frederick had, or supported them way faster like Lissa. All he'd done was hit that Garrick guy on the head before Chrom finished him—

He shook his head of the next few thoughts. "Just forget it Chris," he mumbled, "it doesn't matter anymore…"

"What doesn't matter anymore?"

Whipping around to the lighter voice behind him, Chris' foot slipped on some of the loose gravel below him, gravity taking over as he fell onto the ground below him. Lissa's giggling rang out, her arms behind her back as her yellow hoopskirt shook with each snort. Trying to calm herself down, another giggle bubbled out, shaking her two blond pigtails under her cap… whatever it was supposed to be called.

"Oh, hey Lissa," he mumbled, a little more upset than he'd like about getting startled.

"Don't be like that, it was funny!" she said, "Oh come on, that wasn't even that much of a fall."

Chris blinked for a moment before straightening up. "That? That wasn't a fall, it was just a… I was dodging!"

"Pfft, dodging? Yeah right."

"No, I'm—I am serious," he answered, straightening up and pushing his most convincing voice forward. At least, as close as he remembered to his dad speaking. "Think about it for a second, let us say some bad guy is sneaking up behind you and attacks, what is the last thing they would expect. Who would ever dodge by dropping to the floor?" a pause, "nobody, not one person ever would."

He looked up to see Lissa watching him, a small giggle bubbling out of her as she gave him a confused look. "Where did that come from? And your voice too, why were you talking like that?"

"W-what do you mean? I wasn't doing a voice."

"Ehem."

Turning towards the stern voice that cut him off, Chris noticed Frederick staring at both him and Lissa as Chrom chuckled to himself. He blinked, forced to look away from his massive blue and silver armor from the sunlight it was reflecting into his eyes. Trying to avoid directly looking at the shining metal, Chris found a pair of light brown, and very annoyed, eyes staring down at him. Even though he wasn't on his horse, he still felt a lot smaller than usually now.

"If you are finished, then there is work to be done in setting the camp for tonight," he said, stepping back and gesturing to Chrom.

"Thank you. I'll be hunting for our dinner tonight. Lissa, you'll be working with Frederick and Chris to get a fire going." He turned to Chris again. "Do you have any questions?"

He paused, realizing the question a second later. "Oh, no, none at all."

"Great," Chrom said with a smile, "let's get to work."

Eyes guided by a floating ember, Chris slowly drifted his sight around the small campsite they'd made. Apparently, tents were uncommon, especially for a smaller group like the four Shepherds there and so Chris was given a blanket and pad for sleep, ones Frederick apparently had 'just in case'.

A bite.

Sitting with the thick blanket wrapped tight as a hug around him, he stared into the roaring fire once again. Its flames danced around, slowly climbing up the logs until they'd completely swallowed them. Slowly darkening into an ashy black, they'd eventually pop, each crackle sending a wave of comforting heat his way and fighting off the night's cold air.

Another, now larger.

Frederick sat tall, picking up logs he'd chopped with a smaller axe and placing them carefully in the fire, avoiding the spit in the middle. Each time he did so a calm smile formed on his face for a moment before it straightened out, usually after seeing none of the meat on the spit had fallen off.

Another, slightly chewy, but still incredible.

Chrom sat across from Chris, himself taking his meal slowly as he and Lissa took turns teasing each other. He'd say something, she'd huff, he'd laugh, she'd say something else, he'd laugh again, now harder…

Another bite, the sweet, savory flavor filling his mouth once again.

… as Lissa would pout again, they'd been doing this for most of the evening as the group sat around the roaring fire, waiting for everyone to finish eating. With the sun having set a while ago there wasn't much to do other than that or sleep, and besides, there was amazing food to be had and talking to do. Who would miss out on that?

"—you still in there?" Lissa asked, waving her hand in front of Chris' face.

Looking up at her, he nodded, and immediately went back to the phenomenal slab of meat he'd been savoring for however long it'd been since Chrom gave it to him. The slight grease and whirlwind of slightly sweet yet tangy flavors giving him what felt like one of the best meals of his—

"Chris!" Lissa shouted, now right in front of him instead of next to Chrom, who himself was chuckling behind his hand.

He lowered it. "You must have been hungry. I don't think I've ever seen someone so focused on their meal before."

Lissa turned to him. "Uh, Chrom."

"Yes Lissa?"

"We saw Stahl eating last week."

"...yes we did." He nodded, his stern face held for another moment before laughing to himself as Lissa herself giggled, taking a seat next to Chris.

The four sat around the fire once more, settled into their seats and enjoying their meals, half of them were at least. Frederick and Lissa weren't eating any of it for… some reason, though Frederick did keep looking at the bear with disgust, so maybe he didn't like it?

Chris' eyes widened. "Oh right, that was a thing in the game!" he remembered. The thought bringing a light smile to his face until it suddenly dropped. "Oh right, I'm in a game."

Looking around the campsite once again, Chris tried to remember what happened in the scene, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember anything important. He felt like something was supposed to happen, but the only things he could remember about it were the four people who were supposed to be there, that and the bear meat, and the Tactician eating it happily.

Another bite, after this one he paused for a moment before he chewed.

Chris was eating into the meal happily, to the point that he was ignoring everything around him.

Just like the tactician was.

Chris stared at the fire in front of him once again, distantly feeling the previous joyful comfort as the world around him slowed to a crawl. Every detail of the last day crashing down upon him.

He swallowed. "I'm supposed to be the tactician…" The taste of it felt bitter as it went down his throat now.

As his thoughts drifted to what he remembered of the game, of an amnesiac destined to destroy the world from… Grima? Gryma? No, it was Grima. Whatever it was, was he supposed to deal with it? How could he, he—

"Christopher."

Whipping up to his left, he saw Frederick throw another log on the fire. "While I have no intention of interrupting your meal, it would be appreciated if you could answer some questions."

"Uh, yeah, sure," he answered. "It's just Chris, by the way."

"Excellent. Now, your current apparel, what is it made of?"

"Frederick," Chrom sighed, "there's no need for this. I've already told you he's earned our trust."

Turning towards Chrom, he reached for another log. "You have, though I am curious of the materials his clothing is made of, as is milady. Am I wrong about this?" Another cascade of embers flared up as he threw it on the fire.

"Oh, yeah," Lissa said, shuffling away a bit. "I guess I kinda was."

Chris paused for a moment. "I, uh, don't actually know. It should be on the back if I just" he pulled his shirt up, looking at the back of it "half cotton, half polyester, that. The jeans are, oh right! Canvas. The jeans are canvas," he said, looking around to see everyone giving him confused looks.

"Polyester? I don't believe I have heard of such material," Frederick said, moving another log closer, ready to throw it on the fire.

"It's, um, I think it's a kind of plastic," they kept staring, "Oh, right, you guys probably don't know about plastic, see it's… something with oil, I don't actually know how it's made, but that."

"You, do not know what your own shirt is made out of?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "is that weird?"

They all stared at him for a moment until Frederick grabbed the log next to him with a sigh. "I suppose I will be blunt about it."

"Frederick, I trust him already," Chrom said with a sigh, eyes thinning.

"Milord, regardless of trust, one's origins should be plain for others to see," he turned back, "Christopher, where are you from?" Another log on the fire, scattering ash into the air.

"I, uh…" Chris thought for a moment, shaking off the idea of telling them what he knew. It didn't feel right to explain everything right now, and he could just do it later anyway.

A breath later, he spoke, forced confidence filing his voice again. "Have you heard of the United States?" Frederick's brow furrowed. "I thought so."

"And what do you mean by that?"

He straightened up in his seat. "I come from a land completely different from here. One with technology far more advanced than anything I've—I have seen here so far. For example," he gestured at Frederick's lance, "the weaponry. Where I come from we have not used lances in well over one hundred—er, no some people still did. We have not used any weapons such as that as a main arm in well over four hundred years."

"Instead, we have mostly developed different technologies such as guns and other weapons for warfare, yet you still use melee weapons such as that," he finished, finally breathing again as he did so.

"Oh, also magic, we don't—do not have that where I am from. So there, I am from another world."

Chrom doubled over, choking on whatever chunk of bear meat he'd been eating as Lissa blurted out, "You're from another world?!"

"Uh, yeah? I thought I mentioned that at the start of that whole thing. Didn't I?"

Chris turned over to Frederick, noticing his glare that shot through whatever confidence he'd been faking before. "No, no you did not."

"Oh, uh, yeah. I meant to start with that… oops," he mumbled, slowly shrinking back into the log under him.

The group was silent for a moment, with only the crackling fire to break it. Minutes passed as the logs popped and embers flew through the air. Slowly, his eyes drifted down at the bone in his hands, his third helping of bear, of all things.

"So…" Lissa started, breaking the silence, "how'd you get here?"

He looked over at her, lightly tossing the cleaned bear bone into the fire. "I, don't really know, I just went to sleep last night, and the next thing I know I'm in Southtown. I also think I went on a bike ride at some point..."

"And you just woke up here?"

"Yeah, I don't even have a clue where home is, compared to here at least."

Rising up, Chris set the blanket he'd been wearing to the side and stretched his arms. "It doesn't really matter though, I'm here now, and that's that," he ended, sitting back down and wrapping the blanket around himself again.

He turned back to her, only to be met with a confused face. "You don't want to go back?"

"Nope, even if I could figure it out I wouldn't—well, I just don't really think I can go back there."

"Oh, okay…" she mumbled, turning back towards the fire.

Another moment passed before Chrom stood up. "I think that's enough talk for tonight then. Chris, you can take the first watch for the night, I'll take the second, and Frederick, you'll be taking the third as usual."

"Of course Milord," Frederick answered, scattering the fire's coals.

Chris stepped up to Chrom. "I'm just supposed to watch out around the place?"

"Yes, I'll tell you when we'll be switching out. Make sure to keep your pack and stuff ready by wherever you're going to rest. I had to find that one out the hard way, and may have hit a branch or two my first time out under the stars"

"Oh, thank you."

"Think nothing of it," he smiled, turning back around, "good night Chris."

"Yep," Chris nodded, "and goodnight to you too!" he answered back before spotting a hill nearby.

"Sitting up there might give me a better view of the area."

Chris looked around the view of the area, once again soaking in the finer details. "Yep, this wasn't a bad choice," he mumbled with a light grin, breaking the comfortable silence around him.

He didn't climb the hill for the quiet anyways.

Cool nightly air flowed around him, a gentle breeze keeping him awake with an occasional light shiver. He moved his hand to the blanket under him once again, pulling it back as he reminded himself of the last time he'd wrapped it around him. While he was tired, he also had a job to do. It wasn't much, but it was something he could do.

The grass around him was covered in a tiny, almost unseeable layer of dew, something he'd noticed early into his watch when his hands shifted and came up slightly wet. He'd taken the folded-up blanket beside him and rolled it out to stay out of it; the idea reminding him of a picnic, but without the food… and anybody else.

Without the Shepherds awake, the forest had gone even more silent than before. While he could faintly remember the distant sounds of birds chirping in the background earlier in the day. The only thing that seemed to break the new silence around him was the occasional cricket whenever it chirped.

Slowly, he looked up at his reason for being atop the hill. While he realized it would be safer if he was near the fire, a place that would have probably been better for actually watching the Shepherds instead of the treetops around him, it would come at the expense of this view.

And what a view it was.

Glittering above him, thousands upon thousands of lights shined in the night sky, enough that Chris could easily make out his surroundings despite the moon not being out tonight. The sky itself still had the simmering Milky Way, but slightly different, a little bit wider, and with more blue than he remembered. Next to that line in the sky were two other massive clouds of stars, two separate seas of burning suns, bright enough to be their own night skies themselves. He wondered what they were briefly, looking back on everything he knew about space before shaking the thought away, allowing old memories to wash over him.

Looking around deeper, he tried once again to find the constellations he'd remembered his dad telling him about just a few days before. Each one and their location sketched into his mind as clear as the back of his hand. A mental map he'd gained from what felt like countless nights of stargazing. But no matter how hard he looked, he failed to find anything, once again adding to the unfamiliarity of his situation.

A sigh left him as he leaned back. Whatever comfort he'd been in for the past hour or so melted away by the same invasive thought, that one he'd been interrupted from so many times.

He shook them off again, what happened had happened. He couldn't change it now. He didn't want to anyway.

Staring up into the sky once more, he found the rest of his thoughts lost in the lights above him. He simply listened to the silence and watched the night go by, waiting out for Chrom to take his shift so he could finally end the day. Quietly groaning, he stretched his limbs as he shook the day's events out of his head.

Slowly, he heard a few soft pats thump out behind him. Turning towards what he assumed were footsteps he found Frederick approaching him, instead of Chrom. His arms rested at their sides as the heavy armor shifted with each surprisingly quiet step up the hill.

"If it would help in the future, a night watch is usually most effective when they are nearby the campsite," he commented, coming to a stop a few steps away from him. "Especially so when you choose to watch the campsite itself, as opposed to the skies above it."

"Yeah, you're right. But," he pointed up towards the sky, "you have to admit, it's a pretty great view."

"Yes, I suppose it is," he agreed, "though I have seen many a night sky, this one is no different than the others."

"That's how it should be," he muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He pushed off of the blanket, meeting his eyes far above him. "So Frederick, you wanted something?"

"Yes, I wish to ask you some more questions, hopefully without you attempting to dodge them as you seem to be fond of doing."

"Wait, I don't dodge—I mean, what questions?"

Frederick sighed. "You claim to have traveled across worlds from a time far different from our own. The only backing of this absurd claim being the clothes on your back. One's which, while convincingly foreign enough, are not hard evidence that you are telling the truth."

"Then there is the other matter of your position in the Shepherds," he continued, "If you are from some other, far-off land, one which none of us have ever heard from before, then why are you here? This will not be easy, I can tell by simply looking at you that you are unprepared for this kind of life. You may very well lose it with us if you chose to join our cause."

Chris sat still, trying to think of the best response he could before coming up blank. Another moment passed before he straightened himself out again, taking a deep breath of cold air before he spoke again.

"Do you see those stars up there? Each and every one of them is massive, far larger than us on a scale so unfathomable that it is nearly impossible to understand it. Yet even with their enormous size, none of them truly stand out. Any one of them could vanish in an instant and yet none would ever be noticed by most people. And yet, without all of them, the night sky would be empty, a meaningless void instead of the sea of stars it is now. And how disappointing would such a thing be? Every night, a blank void is all that is there is to meet you as you—"

"Christopher."

A pause. "Uh, yes?"

"With our current pace, we will reach Ylisstol within the next two days. I would highly recommend you get to whatever point you are trying to make before then," a sigh, "Now, if you could please quit stalling the question and answer it without your usual dancing it would be much appreciated."

"Well you see I—" he started, freezing under Frederick's glare, sharpened to a knife's edge. Any faked confidence from before leaving him as he answered, "I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know, okay. I just saw Chrom after—after everything at Southtown. Then he asked if I wanted to come with him to help, and then everyone at the church told me I should do it. So, I did. I don't know where else I could go, maybe back to the church, but seeing someone think that I was worth anything made me feel like I was, I don't know, someone important, I guess."

A shaky breath left him. "But I'm not. I'm just some kid who can barely even heal people. Actually, most people can do that, I'm nobody. I'm not some kind of hero, I'm not a fighter, I shouldn't be a Shepherd! I'm just some guy who woke up on a roof with no clue how he got here. I'm just… Chris."

"I'm just Chris," he repeated. Slumping back down into the blankets again.

Frederick stared at him with a blank expression, his eyes slightly wider than before as Chris finally caught his breath. Deep and steady as he slowly took in what he'd just said. "So there, you can tell Chrom I'm not worth being a Shepherd if you want, you'd be right too."

He lay there, still in the deafening silence around them. Even the crickets seemed to have left from the weight of it all. His head facing down towards the cloth, the cold weight of the day's events leaning on him once more.

"You woke up, on a roof?"

He looked up. "Yeah? What about it?"

"I" he shook his head, "never mind that. If you doubt yourself so, why stay with us at all? From what you just said, Southtown would have graciously accepted you, why not stay there?"

Chris raised a finger, attempting to respond before he backed away. "I, uh… I guess I just, liked feeling important here."

"What do you mean by that?"

He looked up at the stars again. "I, well, you guys fight bandits and save people, right? Well, I guess I just, wanted to try and do that too."

"Did you not just say that you do not think yourself worthy of this?"

"I—yeah I know that. It's just," a sigh, "I don't know. I just felt like maybe I could make a difference and help people if I went with you guys. I know I'm not much, and I'm not good at, well, any of this. But still, if I could maybe help out, even just a bit, then…" he paused, searching for whatever felt lit the right thing to say, but only managing to mumble out, "I—I've never been helpful before, not like that anyway."

Frederick stared at him, a stressful second passing before he hummed. "I suppose that is all for now."

"Wait, you trust me?" Chris said, lifting himself up from the ground. "Just like that?"

"I don't believe I've ever mentioned trust, though this does clarify some… confusing decisions you have made. If you are curious then I doubt you could be a threat, at least, to anyone other than yourself. Though, ironically enough, however threatening you are is something I may need to amend later." He gestured to the blanket. "Though that is a future matter, I do believe that for now, you should get some rest. I'll keep watch until milord awakens."

"Oh, thanks." Chris stood up, picking it up as he asked. "Wait, have you slept yet?"

"No," he answered instantly, "Is that all?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for this," he added.

A nod. "If you ever see yourself in need of improvement, it is my duty to provide it, and I do believe you will need it."

"Oh, yeah, and that too then. Good night."

"To you as well, Christopher."

He stopped, turning back as he said, "Oh right, it's just Chris."

Picking up a log from atop the hill, Frederick turned back to him. "I much prefer to avoid nicknames whenever possible—"

"No, Christopher isn't my name, it's just Chris. Nothing else."

"Oh, truly?" A nod. "I see, then good night to you… Chris. That is quite the strange name."

"I mean, it's just what I'm called, nothing cool like Christopher."

"Hm, well then is that all?" he asked, balancing the log on the top of the hill.

"Yeah, thanks." He waved back before finally making his way back down the hill. Blanket bundled up in hand as he found his small spot by the old firepit.

Settling into his own stiff sleeping pad and blanket, he looked around the site one last time. Lissa was shuffling around, probably trying to settle into her own bedroll. As she did, Chrom slept like a rock. Not in the usual way, he was sleeping directly on the ground, something that reminded Chris where he'd gotten the spare bedding from.

"I'll have to thank him tomorrow…" he thought, finally allowing sleep to take him once and for all.

Chris shuffled in his sleeping pad, looking around the campsite to find what had woken him up, only to see nothing of different. The cold air greeted him as he did so, reminding him why exactly he was hiding away in the first place.

"I," a yawn, cold air flooding into him and giving him a shiver, "I guess I woke up for nothing then. Alright, I'll head back in," he mumbled.

Laying in his bed, he briefly opened his eyes again. After a second of thought, they snapped open. Looking across the firepit at Chrom's sleeping area, and the completely empty patch of dirt that was there.

He shot up, looking around and noticing Lissa's bedding was empty, clumsily folded over and left open on the ground. Looking around more, he could see Frederick sleeping next to the firepit. Still in full armor, facing away from Chris as he sighed in relief. "I wasn't left behind, er, alone."

He kept looking around at the site, absorbing every detail he could. Making note of the shuffled footsteps traveling across the road from their site as a thought came to him. "Wait, wasn't something important supposed to happen toni—"

The ground shook violently, sending Chris onto the dirt as lights suddenly erupted from the forest far off across the path. The warm glow of fire coming to him as he remembered what was supposed to happen tonight.

Frederick shook awake as his horse came into view, he snapped over to Lissa's sleeping area before his attention shot towards Chris. "Where is milady?"

He pointed where the footsteps lead. "Uh, I think Chrom and Lissa went that way?"

"Milord is gone as well—" he quickly looked at where Chrom had been sleeping, he sighed, "I suppose that is better than the alternative. They must be together then." He grabbed his lance, hopping on his horse before gesturing to its back.

Chris stared for a second before pointing at himself. "You want me on there?"

"Unless you can outrun a horse, it would be faster if you did so," he answered, nodding over at Chris' staff. "Now pick that up, we may need it."

Quickly snatching it up, Chris marched over to Frederick. He made one attempt at climbing the horse until Frederick huffed and picked him up, placing him behind on the saddle.

"Hold on, we'll find them before anything else catches fire." He whipped the reins, spurring his horse into action. Galloping into the forest faster than Chris thought a horse could run.

Not that he'd ever actually seen one before today.

Looking down at the horse as they moved, he tapped Frederick on the shoulder. "Uh, where was your horse before this anyways?"

His lips quirked up a bit as he stroked his horse's armored mane. "Fiona is always close by, and I trust her well enough to come to me at a moment's notice. Exactly as she did."

"Huh, she's a good horse," Chris added, looking forward as they passed under the first of the flaming tree they saw, one which clearly wasn't alone.

All around them the fires spread, the night's chill now gone as Chris heard a branch fall some distance behind them. Occasionally, the pair would gallop by a fissure, once even needing to jump over one to reach wherever they were going.

He looked up at Frederick's back, still trying to find a decent grip on him. "So, where do you think they are?"

"I'd have mentioned it if I were aware, however, we cannot delay our search to plan ahead."

Chris closed his eyes, trying to recall whatever chapter of the game this had happened in. He loosely recalled Lucina, or 'Marth' as she called herself, those zombie things called Risen; the boss for that chapter was especially annoying, Chris'd only won it because of—

"Are there any buildings around here?"

Frederick thought for a moment before nodding. "There are a pair of abandoned forts nearby, do you believe that is where they are?"

"The forest is on fire, so if I were them, a fort would probably be the first place I go." Another crash, now louder than the first. "We'll just have to hope they thought of it and go there, If they didn't, uh, well I hope they did."

Frederick pulled his horse to the right and they continued into the forest. Once or twice a downed tree or fissure would stop them, but they were making progress. Eventually, they entered the clearing and saw multiple figures ahead of them.

"There they are!" Chris yelled as Frederick whipped the reins, pushing Fiona faster towards them.

At least until he slowed down again. "Chris, get ready." He reached for his lance, its metallic shine glistening clean in the firelight.

"Wait, why?"

He pointed his lance forward, taking hold of the reins once more as Fiona sped up again. "Unless Milord and Milady have found friends, there should not be eight of them."

"Wait what do you—"

A mangled roar bellowed out, silencing Chris as the figures came into focus.

Eight human-like shapes in the distance had turned towards them, breaking into an unnatural sprint. Each one had their axes, lances, and swords raised high, ready to run the pair through as their red eyes glowed in the smoke around them. Some kind of purple haze escaped their masks as they roared, the demonic, metallic sound screeching in his ears.

Frederick pulled back his lance, skewering the first one mid-charge while Fiona trampled another. Chris tried to hit one with his staff only for it to bounce off, not even managing to get the mask off.

Pivoting quickly, they regrouped and charged again. Chris hesitated to look at the bodies until he noticed they weren't there anymore, only their weapons left behind as a purple haze rose into the sky.

"Oh, right, Risen…"

Readying himself again, Frederick parried a lance before slashing wide across a Risen's chest with his own. Another sword slashed his leg, making him hiss before Fiona kicked the creature back, giving Frederick enough time to block and counter an axe.

Remembering his job, Chris focused on where he thought the wound was. Light pouring into Frederick's injured leg just as he finished the last of the Risen off, with Chris hoping he'd sealing the wound as well as he could.

"Gods, what were those things?" Frederick asked.

"I, uh, don't—do not know," Chris lied, earning him a raised eyebrow from Frederick before a shout rang out from their left.

"Frederick! Chris! What are you two doing here?" Chrom said as he approached, Lissa waving a little bit behind him.

Fiona slowed once the two groups met up, or they would have if the two hadn't kept running. Frederick attempted to speak up until Chrom yelled back at him. "There are more of those things, too many to fight off! We need to go, now!"

Before he could protest, a wet thud came from Frederick as an arrow landed in his side. The two looked over and saw dozens of Risen rushing at them, almost trampling themselves as they ran forwards. Taking the message, Frederick grunted and snapped the reins again. As they passed by, he grabbed Lissa and placed her in front of him.

He turned towards Chrom. "Milord, where should we go?"

Chris perked up when he saw one of the abandoned forts from the game. "Over there!" he yelled, pointing at it. "We could hide out in that fort! It's even a decent distance from the forest, we'll be safe there!"

"Won't we just be trapped?" Chrom asked.

"It'd be better than sitting out here!" he yelled back, looking behind at the shambling horde behind them.

"I—fine, we'll stay there for now, but we will kill these things. I won't allow them to attack any of them to attack some helpless village."

Frederick nodded as he gunned for the fort. A large, wooden double door greeted them as they got closer. The lighter stone walls stood tall with a few windows slotted into them, each one a thin slit, curved and facing out towards the field. Dozens of wooden beams supported the walls running up towards the roof where the stone walls ended in a classic castle-top pattern, whatever it was called.

Chris got off as Lissa worked on Frederick's arrow wound. He tried pushing the door open, using as much force as he could. At least until Frederick tapped him on the shoulder, yanking the door open and allowing Lissa, Fiona, and then Chris into the fort. After another moment Chrom made it in, slamming the door shut behind him.

Looking around for a light, Frederick got to work lighting the torch with a flint and steel he apparently had on him. Once the light flooded the room, he took to lighting up the other torches as Chrom barricaded the doors. First with a large wooden plank that slotted into the middle of it, and then by placing a group of barrels nearby on top of that.

"There, that should keep us safe for now." He turned back to Chris and Frederick, his hand resting on his sword's handle. "Not that I'm complaining, but how did you find us?"

Frederick gestured to Chris as Lissa checked over her healing again. "It was Chris' idea to search for these forts, they were the only shelter from these fires nearby."

Turning over to him, Chrom nodded. "Well, that's good. Though does anyone have an idea as to what we should do now? They'll be on us before long—" a crash rang from the door as it pushed out, Chrom jumping away at the sound as one of the barrels fell over.

"... and there they are."

The four slowly backed away from the door as Chris scanned the room. Outside of a table, chairs, and some wall-mounted shields, there wasn't much inside. A wooden staircase wrapped around a corner, most likely to the roof of the building for whatever defenders would do up there. The wall torches casted shadows towards the door, each barrel hiding the ones behind them in the dark, other than the one that had tipped over.

Another crack, then more, dozens of thuds echoed through the small room as they slowly backed away from the door. Chris turned over to Chrom. "How long until they get through?"

Chrom walked over to the table with Frederick, sitting down as he said, "I don't know, though I don't believe we'll have much time."

"Is there anyone that could come help us?" he asked, stepping away from the slowly growing black puddle coming from the tipped-over barrel.

"Milord," Frederick interrupted, "Sully was supposed to meet us on the trail tomorrow, was she not? While unlikely, it is possible that she might find our fort and assist us from the outside," he finished, another crack shooting through the cold room.

Lissa slowly backed away as Chrom inched closer to the door, ready for it to burst at any moment. Frederick took to one of the windows and stabbed outside, a few mangled roars echoing from outside each time he did.

Chris looked around the room, searching for anything they could use. "If gets here, what would she do?"

"I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to have her," Chrom sighed, stepping away from the door as he readied his sword.

"Maybe she'd yell at them to follow her?" Lissa said. "So we could get out and, uh, I guess that wouldn't help much, would it…"

The group went silent for a moment, with only the Risen's attack on the door pounding through the room to break it. Another barrel thudded onto the wooden floor, this one pouring more of the black sludge out as the smell of gasoline filled the room.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" Chris asked, pointing towards the puddle.

"Oil, I believe, most likely left behind from the war." Frederick stepped back from the window, glancing at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, what if we poured it on them? I remember that being something done in sieges. Though that could've just been made up."

He shook his head. "We'd have no way to heat it, there is no cauldron here."

"Oh, no. I mean pouring it on them and lighting it on fire," he said, walking over to one of the barrels and struggling to lift it up.

Frederick thought for a moment. "No, that would not help us, unless of course you intend on setting this fort alight alongside those monsters. Though perhaps they would slip on it if we doused them…"

Checking the entirely wooden supports as well as the wooden flooring and stairs, Chris realized that Frederick was definitely right. Adding in the fact that they were already surrounded, their only hope would be to maybe drop the barrels on them.

There were definitely too many Risen for that to work through. Looking around once more it'd probably be more effective if he just let them into the fort and burned it down. That had its own problems though, mostly that everyone else would still be inside the fort since it wasn't like he just had another fort to burn down—

Chris' turned towards Frederick, eyes snapping open. "Hey Frederick, where's that other fort?"

"This fort should be facing it in the woods, do you think that perhaps Sully has taken shelter there?"

Chrom shook his head. "No, she wouldn't have retreated like that."

Lissa mentioned something about a blue swordsman before Chris tuned them out. Nodding to himself, he committed to his new plan, looking down at his staff before setting it down.

"Won't need that if this goes well… or even if it doesn't."

"Milady, I am sure whoever this person is is perfectly fine on their—," Frederick stopped as he turned towards Chris, "Chris? What are you doing with that torch?"

"Make sure those two don't follow me," he answered. Ready for what he was about to do as he pivoted on his foot.

Chris dashed up the stairs, ignoring their shouts behind him. Once he got up, Chris noticed the fort's bare roof, with only the blocked walls of the edge around it to separate it from a completely flat surface. He readied himself, not even caring to look over the ledge as he took another breath. The dry, warm air filled him as he took off, only barely hearing a shout behind him as he ran.

Chrom reached out, "Chris what are you—!"

He jumped.

With the heated wind in his hair, Chris found himself barely over the horde, landing into a trip as he stood back up again. Picking up the torch next to him, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Come on! I'm right here!" Taking off into a sprint.

He wondered if he'd gotten their attention for a second. A thought ended once he looked back and saw almost the entire horde behind him, his eyes widening as he kicked ahead faster. Each step pounded on the grass as he bolted, the growling mass behind him slowly getting louder and falling back every time one or more of them tripped over another. Ashy air filled his lungs as his focus left him, letting the rush of the moment guide him across the ashy field.

Slowly, he saw a grey mass forming behind a small line of trees. His heart lept as he felt more energy run through him than he'd ever felt before, ignoring the light thump behind him as he let out a laugh. "I'm almost there—!"

A sudden punch slammed into his shoulder, knocking him off balance as he ran. Swiping there, his hand was stopped by something and he hissed from a jolt of pain. He looked behind himself, seeing a feather following him in front of the horde.

Realization set in as the real arrow shifted again, forcing a tear from his eye as two more landed near him. Chris stomped on the ground, the shock breaking him out of whatever pained thoughts he'd had as he took off towards the fort, faster than ever.

Grabbing the door handle, the metal was uncomfortably cold in Chris' hand as he yanked it open. He tried slipping though, only for burning pain to stab through him as the arrow got caught on the door. He turned back, closing it behind him before backing off. Wiping his eyes, he found the locking plank or whatever it was and picked it up, his arm giving before he could slot it in, forcing him to push it into place.

He took a few steps away, the pounding pain in his shoulder throbbing as he slumped into one of the chairs. He briefly thought about taking the arrow out, before shaking his head. That'd just make the wound worse, and he had something more important to do before anything else.

Chris stood up as he wiped his eyes again. Looking around, the room was almost identical to the other fort, with the same wooden floors and another stairway leading to the roof. The stone walls had slightly more wood in them, lining the windows as well instead of just supporting the walls.

The only exception was the door across from him, shadows filling in scratches as the torchlight glistened off of the metal frames of it. Staring at it, Chris couldn't help but shudder slightly, though he didn't know why.

That door, and the complete lack of any oil.

Clenching his teeth, he slowly approached the door. Grabbing the handle, its colder metal failing to calm his nerves, he pushed it open.

Inside, he spotted a light, a warmth washing over him as he stared at it. Wiping his eyes again, the pain seemed to calm a little as he finally got a good look at the room.

A table sat nearby as he slowly walked inside, his feet shuffling across the floor with each step as he entered. Looking at the light, he noticed that it was a small, yet bright campfire. A few sticks burned inside a small fireplace, with a larger bundle of both hay and sticks next to it. Slowly walking in, he briefly wondered why there weren't any chairs near the table before he turned left.

A tall woman sat next to the door, two thick strands of snow-white hair ran down below her shoulders as a large ponytail flowed behind her head. Grey eyes scanning him up and down before they stopped at his shoulder. Her hand dropped from the sharp blue-green sword she had drawn at some point as she looked at him.

The coat she wore felt familiar to Chris, a different feeling from the rest of her as he absorbed its black fabrics, golden outlines, and purple designs. The sleeves each having a trio of three golden eyes staring at him, not moving, but looking as if they'd blink at any moment.

The exact same coat was wrapped around some other figure as the same hair fell off of the lined-up chairs, the back of it looking as familiar as the woman's—

His eyes widened as his next thought dawned on him, remembering where exactly he remembered the cloak from.

"Who are—never mind that. We need to get that arrow out of your shoulder," the tactician said.

Huh, a bi-weekly schedule. Could be better, but that'd mean writing these in less time, which is hard.

Anyways, stuff is happening, a big thanks to Dakota for beta-reading this chapter, and an even bigger thanks to Sushion (aka Bunni) for her help making this chapter what it became as well. And to add to that, y'all should go read her fic "Pale Blue Awakening". It's fairly different from PAtS, but still quite good and going through a rewrite I'm helping with as well, so yeah.

Anyways, as before, the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server (server code 9XG3U7a) is a pretty great place where I'm around almost all the time, so if you want to pressure me into writing more you can head on over there and, uh, do that.

So yeah, this was shorter than the previous AN, which means I'll call it a success.