-Mount Prism-

The ground split open and, with a noxious hiss accompanied by foul fumes, Risen emerged. Not the normal rank and file Risen; armored knight with shields and spears, mounted cavaliers on ghastly skeletal horses, swordsmasters holding rusty sword and covered with bare rags. Among them were lumbering Risen, the stronger ones known as the Entombed that seemed to be able to command the others. The bodies weren't natural to the mountain, they were there for one reason. It seemed that Grima, ever malcontent without interfering, had decided to put them there as a last-ditch effort in the event it ever came to the Awakening.

There were only two men approaching the oncoming hoard, one was dressed in the blue and silver of Ylisse, and the other in the black and red of Valm. Unfortunately for Grima, while neither of them had even drawn their weapons yet, the fight was already decided in their favor. The Valmese Battlemaster chuckled as the hoard settled into place and started slowing marching towards the pair.

"Stop me if you've heard this one before." Robin said. He raised his hand and his crimson spear fell into it. The Battlemaster easily spun the crimson spear around him in a whirlwind of steel as electricity crackled to life around him. Black flames lit up around him as Robin called forth his power and focused it. "Have you ever heard the story about the time that the Fellblood of Grima and the Exalted Blood of Naga joined forces to battle an army of undead monstrosities?"

"I think I might have heard something like it once, yeah." Chrom drew his blade in a single silver flash then performed a simple flourish. He set into a basic guard position; sword pointed forward. Blue flames lit up and danced across his blade as the ancient Exalt bloodline came to life under Chrom's direction. "But I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. How did the story go, again?"

"I'm a bit hazy myself, but I think it went something like this. Ignis Nox!"

"Aether!"

With a howl and a cry, the Ylissean Exalt and the Valmese Battlemaster ran forward, directly into the staggered line of Risen. Without a pause, they hit the line and cut clean through with spear, blade, and magic.

Robin wielded the spear with two hands, letting electricity freely course through the magical weapon as black flames lit around him. He spun in circle, slicing apart the Risen around him, then used the spear to launch himself up and spun around, spear scything, to cleave a Risen on horseback in two. He landed heavily, grunting. Risen launched themselves at him.

Before Robin could respond, Chrom appeared in front of him in a flash, blue fire surrounding him. With a few quick slashes, the Ylissean Exalt made short work of the foes in front of him. Chrom turned back to him with a grin. "Can't let you have all the fun."

"So, care for a friendly wager?" Robin took a hand off his spear and made a brief gesture, blasting lightning into oncoming Risen. "I hear that's the thing to do with these team-up situations."

"It wouldn't be fair." Chrom said, neatly decapitating a Risen, before scrambling back to avoid an axe. He lunged forward and impaled the offending Risen clean through the chest. "You're all kinds of rusty from a lack of action."

"And here I was planning on giving you a handicap actually." Robin shook his head and sighed. He twirled the spear around himself with a bit of a flourish and neatly decapitated three Risen at once. "Well, if you don't want it, I'd be fine with that."

"You would give me a handicap?" Chrom said, incredulous. "You've never even beaten me in fight!"

"Yeah, but I also haven't gone soft spending the last few years play-fighting with a small girl." Robin countered. He paused, considering. "Oh, by the way, little Lucina is adorable."

"Thank you." Chrom replied. He had cut his way through a few more Risen before he realized what Robin had said. "Have you been spying on me?"

"Please." Robin said. He raised his hand and blasted electricity in a wide circle around him. "I've been spying on everyone."

"Weren't you supposed to be less paranoid?"

"Are you sure you want to accuse me of paranoia, given recent events?" Robin asked.

"...How am I supposed to have a comeback to that?"

A howl interrupted the pair's discussion as Risen approached the two from all sides, ignoring the number of dead Risen as they did so. Robin and Chrom instinctually stood back to back, weapons at the ready.

"So…" Robin said. "Before we do this, I'm up to twenty-three. How many do you want me to leave you so you can beat me?"

"Please." Chrom said. "I might only have twenty-one now, but the momentum is mine. I'd be impressed if you can even make it to thirty with the storm I'm about to unleash."

"Final score, Robin: fifty-seven." Robin cleaned his blade and stabbed it into the earth. "Chrom: not even close."

"Chrom is at a magnificent thirty-nine, thank you." Chrom sheathed Falchion and stretched. "That was a good workout. You've really improved since the last we fought."

"I like to think so." Robin said. "The black flames don't make me any stronger than the red ones, just faster and more precise. It's taken work to learn to use it to well, but I've had a lot of Risen to practice on. If I was using my blades, it would be even faster."

"Your blades?"

"I had a pair of them custom-forged for carving through Risen." Robin explained. "Not as useful against human opponents. I didn't know what to expect here."

"It's really an insult." Chrom said. "This is land sacred to Naga, you know. Risen shouldn't be here."

"Risen shouldn't be anywhere." Robin said. "I killed so many of so things during the last five years. Everywhere I went, more blasted Risen. Aversa really had no idea what she was doing with that one. The good news is that we only should have to put up with it for a few more years."

"…and the bad news?"

"Well, the bad news is she was saying the same thing five years ago." Robin shrugged. "I think Grima's interfering with the natural death of the spell, so once we kill him, we should be fine."

"Once we seal him." Chrom corrected. "The Falchion can't kill him."

"Right." Robin gave a guilty smile. "Forgot about that. So… where is this shrine of yours?"

"Up there." Chrom gestured. "See that temple carved into that mountain?"

"The one about an hour and a half of hard hiking away?" Robin said. "I don't suppose that you'd be amendable to, oh, warping there?"

"Journey before destination, my friend." Chrom grinned. "Not much point of a pilgrimage unless you actual make a pilgrimage. Besides, it builds character."

"Builds character." Robin flatly repeated. Chrom shrugged and started walking at a brisk pace, forcing Robin to jog after him, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. "Builds character. Do I need to build character? I don't need to build character. I'm Robin of Valm, I've got more character than anyone else does."

-Ten Minutes Later-

"Hey, Chrom?" Robin asked. "So … about that character thing…"

"Robin, I was joking." Chrom sighed. "I'm going to walk, but if you want to teleport, I'm not about to stop you from doing that. I'm not some fanatic, alright?"

"No, I get that. It's just …" Robin sighed. "Chrom, I need you to give me a straight answer here. Am I a good person?"

"…Oh." Chrom said. "I see. You're still feeling bad about yourself, aren't you?"

"What gave it away?" Robin asked dryly.

"Well, I've told you that you're a good person. Several times, actually." Chrom said. He smiled. "It's not that I don't believe that people can be evil, or that I believe that everyone would be good given the choice. But I do believe that everyone can become a good person, and you're doing pretty good."

"Chrom, I've had nightmares for the past five years." Robin said. "Nightmares that I stopped holding myself back and I fall, I fall completely to the darkness within me. I return to Valm and I become the Grand Emperor of it, conquering and ruling the world with an iron fist, obeying no will other than my own. I met that nightmare a week ago, and he called himself the Fell Dragon Grima."

"That wasn't you, Robin." Chrom shook his head. "That was Grima."

"I know that. I know that wasn't me." Robin said. "But what he said wasn't wrong – well, most of it was, but some of it wasn't. I really could have joined him and ruled over everything very easily. And I came really close to it, too. Most people's dark sides are them wondering if they should steal some money from whatever job they work at or if they should burn down their neighbor's field out of spit. Admittedly, bad things. Mine is to rule the world with an iron fist. My dark side isn't really a shadow so much as it is an abyss. And it's not some unattainable goal, either."

"But you're not in the abyss, are you?" Chrom said. "Don't let him get in your head."

"The nightmares I've been having weren't his doing, Chrom." Robin looked at him. "They were mine. I didn't need an evil dragon coming to tempt me, I was plenty tempted already. Those were my nightmares. All Grima just did was angle the mirror so I could see myself properly. I've been looking into the abyss this whole time, and right now, the abyss looked back at me. You've never had an abyss look back at you, have you Chrom?"

"I wouldn't say that." Chrom stopped walking and sat down. He patted the mountainside beside him, and Robin reluctantly sat down beside him. "I lost my sister, you know. She meant the world to me. She meant the world to all of Ylisse, but she meant a lot to me especially. She was my role model of how I should act, and she sacrificed herself doing something she believed in. I loved her, but I also hated her for it. She could never be selfish, not even for me. That was waiting for her, at the end of her ideals."

"I'm so sorry."

"That was the abyss that stared at me." Chrom said. "My sister's death. But I came to accept it. Because it worked. Her sacrifice, her one selfless act, changed everything. With that sacrifice, the war came to an end, a lot less bloody of an end it would have otherwise. We've both suffered in different ways, Robin. But you can't let that change you."

"That's part of the problem, Chrom." Robin said. "Maybe it would be best if it did. Or… at least change me from what I am right now. It's not the changing that scares me. It's what I currently am."

"What do you mean?"

"Lucina tried killing me, you know." Robin said. "Not current-Lucina. Your daughter from the future. The first time we met, once she realized who I was, she tried killing me. The world she came from is one where I became Grima."

"Not voluntarily!"

"You don't know that. Lucina doesn't know that." Robin corrected. "All she knows is the rumor that I killed you, and that the two of us went to confront Validar alone. Beyond that, she doesn't know. Chrom … Fate is a complete ass when it comes to sticking to events. Even with all that I've done, a lot of events have played out with similar conclusions."

"I wouldn't be sure about that…"

"When I look in a mirror, I see him. I see my abyss." Robin said. "And, from what I know, while I was on Ylisse's side in Lucina's original timeline, I wasn't much better. I was in Ylisse, not Valm, true, but I still ended up becoming Grima. For all we know, possibly deliberate. I don't have my memories, and it's possible that Lucina's Robin planned to join forces with Grima the entire time. My history – my past – it's full of people who are close to me being corrupted and dying. You've been lucky. But that luck won't save you forever, you know."

Chrom threw back his head and laughed.

"Hey!" Robin said. "This is no laughing matter! Chrom, who am I supposed to be with that kind of a shadow looming over me? I was doing my best to try and get clear of it, and then I found out that in an alternate timeline, I've become the closest thing to an embodiment of evil this world has! As far as I'm concerned, I shouldn't even be going back right now."

"Are you serious, Robin?"

"I don't want to put my friends in danger. I don't want to put my family in danger." Robin said. "And I especially don't want to put her in danger. She had a close enough call as it happened, with Grima attempting to kill her. As much as you believe everyone could be good, Chrom, I might be-"

"Lucina told you nothing, then." Chrom shook his head. "And Grima didn't tell you anything either. Robin, you couldn't be anymore wrong if you tried. Who do you think you were in Lucina's time?"

"…Some mercenary tactician, who helped Ylisse defeat Plegia, more out of spite against Plegia than anything else?" Robin offered. "I know I wasn't as good at fighting back then, so probably someone who just commanded from the rear, ordering armies around like pawns on a board."

"Like I said, couldn't be more wrong." Chrom said. "Robin, you were a Shepherd."

"…I was a what?"

"You were a Shepherd, and you were my best friend. You were our Grandmaster, a fighter on the frontlines with us as well as our tactician." Chrom said, smiling. "Lucina said that the two of us were close friends. In the time that she came from, you were recruited into the Shepherds when a town got attacked. You stepped in, we stepped in, one thing led to another, and then suddenly you were the tactician for the Shepherds."

"A Shepherd? Me?" Robin tried speaking further, but he couldn't get the words out of his dumbstruck mouth.

"You personally trained most of the Future Children, Lucina especially. Lucina apparently idolized you quite a bit. You taught Morgan everything that she knew and gave her explicit orders to her to support Lucina the same way you supported me." Chrom continued. "The rest of the Shepherds treated you as a comrade-in-arms. And, most importantly, you didn't harbor any grudge towards Plegia. Validar, yes, but from what Lucina told me, you let go of your anger against Plegia by the time you joined us."

"I've never heard this." Robin said. "Tell me more!"

"You weren't the one who was responsible for my death." Chrom said. "Lucina was very clear about this – you would have never chosen to voluntarily betray us, and especially not have chosen to betray your daughter Morgan. You were possessed against your will, Robin. That's not an abyss staring at you, and it's not a reflection either. It's a crude charcoal drawing at best. Someone pretending to be you."

"You're sure that was what happened in Lucina's timeline?"

"Robin, who are you going to believe?" Chrom asked. "Lucina, or Grima? Inside you isn't some evil dragon. You're a Shepherd, Robin. And you're one of my friends. There are better men than you that have spent their lives believing they were worthless and evil, but I'm certainly not going to let that happen to you."

"That's … that's …" Robin inhaled deeply, breathing the fresh mountain air. A look of peace appeared on his face. "The weight on my chest …. It's a lot lighter now. Thank you, Chrom. Now, I guess, I do have something to work towards."

"Glad to help. That's what friends are for." Chrom got to his feet and extended a hand, helping Robin to his feet as well. "Now, let's go. The mountain isn't going to climb itself."

-Naga's Sanctuary-

The temple was chiseled into the side of a mountain, not an elegant marble temple that might be created by a group of worshippers. This was carved into the mountain by force, almost as if it gouged out by a massive dragon. Which it probably was.

Chrom led the way, Robin following him slightly cautious. He felt a prickling in the back of neck, like he was walking somewhere that he had absolutely no business being. He attributed it to the fact that he was part Dark Dragon and not his overdeveloped sense of paranoia.

The temple wasn't exactly like Robin as been expecting. It wasn't much of a temple at all. There was only a single room, ornate, but sparsely decorated. There was a single altar-like structure in the back with a dragon behind it, but Robin didn't get the impression that this had been built for worship purposes.

If I had to guess, this is actually a sanctuary for Naga and her chosen ones. Robin thought. Nothing like Grima's Dragon Table, thankfully.

"So, you have the Fire Emblem?" Chrom asked.

"I thought I left that with you." Robin frowned. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Yes, I'm joking." Chrom chuckled and produced the shield-like object, inset with all five of the Gemstones. He gazed at it. "Legend says that this has the power to grant the wish of whoever uses it."

"That's a lie. We both know that." Robin said. "It's just a key to power. A catalyst meant to facilitate the creation and destruction of seals. Not to mention the thing's cursed."

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"I … ah. It would make sense that you don't know." Robin said. "Apparently, whenever the Shield of Seals is given, the one giving it gets afflicted with a curse of some fashion. That's what happened to Nyna, apparently. And … to Emmeryn as well."

"She never told me." Chrom sighed. "She knew I wouldn't accept the Fire Emblem if I'd known about it."

"She made her choice. You can't stop it. All you can do is come to terms with it."

"I know." Chrom nodded. "I know. Well, are you ready to perform the ceremony?"

"I'm trying to figure out if I should run while I still have the chance." Robin said. "I don't think I'm in any danger just being here, but I like taking precautions. It's saved my life a few times. No. I think it's best if I remain here. Well, that means that the show's all yours, then."

"Alright." Chrom stepped forward and held out the Fire Emblem. "Hear me, Naga! I bring proof of our sacred covenant! Baptize me in fire, that I may be your true son!"

Robin took a step back and braced himself. White fire lit up in the center of the room, but it didn't wash past Robin like one of Vermil's explosions. Instead, the aura seemed to gather and center around Chrom, bathing the Ylissean Exalt in a pillar of white flames. The effect seem to gather everything towards the center of the room, and Robin found himself bracing the other way to avoid being sucked in closer.

At the center, Chrom was held aloft within it. He drew his blade with slow, methodical motions, almost as if he was being controlled. Then he held it aloft, allowing the fire to gather within it. The blade started glowing, and as it did so, blue flames lit up all over the Exalt. And, as it did so, Chrom let out a howl.

"Greetings, child of Marth. Greetings, scion of the fell dragon."

Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. The white fire faded, and the blue fire died down back into Chrom. As it did so, a woman appeared, taking on a spectral blue appearance, with long green hair like Tiki's. But there was no mistaking who she was.

"Naga." Chrom knelt. "Truly, it's an honor."

Robin paused, debating whether or not to kneel alongside Chrom. It wasn't like he was a believer in the Ylissean's faith in Naga, but he wasn't a Grimleal either. He didn't like kneeling before other people, really the only person he'd kneel before with no protest was Pheros, but Naga wasn't exactly a person, was she? She was the last of the true Divine Dragons. Something more akin to a force of nature than a person.

"Divine dragon, it is my pleasure to be in your presence." Robin decided, ultimately, to kneel. He was a scion of the fell dragon, and thus represented Grima – at least, on a small level. And, as a representative, he was determined to humiliate the Fell Dragon as much as possible. Grima would no doubt be livid if he found out. "Thank you for inviting me."

"There's no need for flattery, Robin of Plegia." Naga said. "The two of you have come so that Chrom could receive my blessing."

"That's why he came." Robin said. "I … have questions, and you're the only person alive who could know the answers to them. But they can wait."

"Chrom, blood of Marth, you have passed my test. Your blade was Awakened, and you have been granted the means with which to wield it."

"Thank you, Naga." Chrom said. "Will this give me the power to kill Grima?"

"No. Even in his diminished form, he retains some of his attributes. He cannot be killed by humans, and all I can grant you is my power, which is also insufficient to kill him." Naga said. "It saddens me to say this. All I can grant you is the power to seal him. Fortunately, he is weakened by the partially Awakened Falchion wielded by Inigo Lowell, so that task will be trivial."

"That will be more than enough." Chrom said. "Thank you, Naga."

"Wait. Pardon my interruption, divine dragon, but is there truly no way that he can be killed?" Robin asked. "I will admit that I've spent time during the last five years researching various ways to end him for good, among other things. I tracked down every single lead I could get a hold off, but there's nothing. If there's a way for him to be killed, it's not something that any human knows. But they can be killed – I know that for certain. Mila and Duma were killed."

"And you want to know the secret."

"Yes." Robin said honestly. "If you don't want to tell me, I understand that. But to be honest, I'd rather kill him once and for all."

"…You chose to wait after I underwent Awakening to ask that?" Chrom raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't want to distract you. Besides, will all probability, even if Naga knows the answer, it's not something I'll be able to make use of. My luck isn't that good." Robin shrugged. "Something Grima said to me in passing led to believe … well, we'll just see. But I thought it'd be best to use as a backup plan."

"What did Grima say to you, Robin of Plegia?"

"He said that there was no being alive that could slay him against his will." Robin said. "A tactician looks at that statement and instantly see both win conditions. The first win condition is that there could be beings that are capable of killing him but those don't exist presently or if they did, Grima isn't aware of them. The second win condition is that creatures exist that could kill Grima if Grima wanted to."

"You are awfully well informed, I see."

"As I said, even before I knew about this whole 'Future Grima' thing, I was trying to figure out how to kill him. I really don't want to leave the world at risk from that creature." Robin said. "I'll take any possibility, however, slim."

"You are correct in your logic. It is possible to kill Grima." Naga said. "However, as I have told you, the Falchion, even when fully Awakened, will not be able to kill Grima. Only seal him. But God I am not, and neither is Grima. We are not immortal, and, to my knowledge, there are only two ways of killing him, and they are both as you suspect. The first is that a force truly greater than him snuffs him from existence – however, I possess no such knowledge of such a force being alive today. There are elders among the manaketes that I knew of during my youth that would be able to perform such deeds, but they no longer reside on this plane. You may attempt to search for it if you desire, but I do not know what kind of luck you will have."

"Alright. We'll call that 'Plan B', then. What about the second way?" Robin asked. "I mean, I suspect it'll be futile if it requires Grima agreeing to die, but I want to hear you tell me that it's a way to kill him."

"There is a being that can kill Grima if Grima allows him to do so, but that being is himself. Grima can be destroyed with his own power. If the Fell Dragon ever decided to stop existing, than he could kill himself and destroy his power once and for all." Naga said, slowly. "That's the only way to destroy him once and for good. However, I do not believe Grima would ever choose this."

"I see." Chrom said. "Well, I guess we'll just have to seal him."

"Wait." Robin said. "Naga, does that apply to me? If I destroy Grima, will that destroy him for good?"

"Interesting. You have not been Awakened, and thus you do not possess his full power. However, you are of his blood." Naga said. "Yes. I believe that if you attacked him, then that would destroy him for good. However… it would come at a cost. All of Grima includes you, after all. Grima can be sealed without any ill effect. But if you were to kill Grima with your own two hands, you would certainly die."

"That cost is more than acceptable." Robin said.

"Now, wait a moment." Chrom said. "Robin, you'll die if you do that."

"And…?" Robin sighed and gave Chrom a reproachful look. "Yes, I'm aware that I'm going to die if I sacrifice myself. I said, the cost is more than acceptable. It's a price I'm prepared to pay. It's a price I've always been prepared to pay."

"And you think it's right?" Chrom demanded. "You think it's right for you to die? Robin, you shouldn't sacrifice yourself, and it's not like we have any other options. We can seal him away!"

"We can seal him for a meager 1,000 years. Roughly 25 generations, Chrom." Robin said, facing him. "And then what!? Then he reawakens and gets loose upon the world!"

"Then they can reseal him away. The ones living in that time. We pass down our knowledge and our weapons." Chrom said. "If we can seal him, others can to."

"And what if they don't? Or what if they do, but it takes them a war to do it?" Robin said. "How many lives is it going to cost if I decide not to sacrifice myself right now? Even your optimism isn't potent enough to ignore something like that."

"Well, if you want to be a pessimist like that, how many lives would be lost anyway?" Chrom shook his head. "You can't give me 'what-ifs', Robin. You have a life, right here and right now. That's a concrete life. It's not something that you should just sacrifice for the future, because maybe it will save more lives down the line. And you can save lives, and you can train people who can saves, while you still live."

"Heh. You're caught up in the moment and concerned with it exclusively." Robin said. "It's very much like you, Chrom. That was the same rationale behind your choice to exchange the Fire Emblem for your sister's life. You needed Emmeryn at that moment, but you didn't need the Fire Emblem. Unfortunately, much like that situation, this isn't your choice to make."

"That's … that's not fair, Robin."

"That's the point, Chrom!" Robin snapped. "No one claimed that life was fair. It would be great if it was, yes, but it's not. And you have two choices – either realize it and work with it or choose to whine about it. Now, while you try everything you can to make this world better, we have different ways of going about doing it. Do you understand what asking a tactician to ignore the future means? Do you?"

"I don't want anyone else sacrificing themselves for me." Chrom said, looking away. "I don't, alright? And what I'm saying is true. It's not a choice between your life and other lives, Robin. It's your choice between your life right now, and something which hasn't happened yet in the future."

"And does that make their lives any less important?"

"Are you saying that you couldn't figure out a way?" Chrom accused. "Robin, if you spent the remainder of this life working with people, do you think that you couldn't save lives that way? In one thousand years, you'd have 25 generations of children and apprentices, all with the knowledge that you could pass down. And that'd be lost as well."

"Even still, the prospect of ending this, once and for all." Robin said, gritting his teeth. "It's too tempting. And, as you put it, the future is uncertain. Here's the certainty – I could spend my life and permanently rid the world of a great evil. Actually, two great evils, according to some."

"Now's not the time for a joke with that poor of a taste." Chrom narrowed his eyes. "You aren't a great evil."

"… You're right, Chrom." Robin said, swallowing. "I'm … I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry to me, Robin." Chrom said, laying a comforting hand on Robin's shoulder. "Just remember. You're better than you think you are."

"Even still. This conversation isn't going to get us anywhere." Robin sighed. "What do you expect me to say, Chrom? Do you want me to promise that I'm not going to sacrifice myself? Because I'm not going to do that. There's no point of a promise when we both know that I'll be lying."

"If I may interrupt." Naga said. "Robin's death is not necessarily sealed in stone."

"Hmm?" Robin turned to her. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's possible for Robin to survive, in theory." Naga said. "If Robin had bonds strong enough to those present on this world, then he may survive Grima's death and be pulled back from the brink of death. I say in theory, of course."

"But I don't have those bonds."

"No." Naga's eyes were filled with sorrow as she shook her head. "I am so sorry, Robin. Your life was filled with many hardships, and it was hard for you to get close to people. Such bonds are not something you possess."

"But I'm friends with him!" Chrom protested. "And I'm sure that the Shepherds…"

"Thanks for the attempt. Really." Robin shook his head. "Don't take this the wrong way, Chrom, but we don't have that strong of a bond. And I'm certain the Shepherds would accept me, given time, but that hasn't happened yet."

"I am not here to criticize, Exalt, nor to pass judgement. I am merely pointing out the reality." Naga said. "Bonds are not merely something that can be forged from single interactions. Even the strongest of Robin's bonds is weaker than the vast majority of yours."

"I suppose that's what I get for being a hermit." Robin chuckled. "Naga, what are you suggesting?"

"It's possible that you may someday have a descendant that will be capable of killing Grima and possess bonds strong enough to survive it. It may even be possible that you will gain the ability to do so later in your life." Naga said, attempting to mediate. "Thus, I see no reason for you to push the issue right now. Would you accept that as a compromise, Robin?"

"…" Robin closed his eyes. It's not a bad thought. "Agreed. I'll stay my hand for now. But, Chrom? There's no need to tell the others for now. It might make them nervous or throw them off their game if they find out about our argument, or if they have to worry that I'll try to take my own life. We'll them after this is over."

"Promise me that you won't do it."

"Of course." Robin looked at Chrom. "I promise that I'll allow you to seal away Grima, without myself or any of my allies interfering, and that I won't sacrifice myself to kill Grima, no matter how tempted I am."

"Great!" Chrom said, smiling. "I'm glad you see this my way, Robin. Now … where to next?"

"My castle, of course."

"The one in Valm?"

"Not exactly." Robin grinned. "You'll see."

A/N: Rant time! Settle in, because there's an important announcement at the end. (Or don't, and just skip to the end to miss all the context.) In-game, at this point the game asks you whether or not you want to promise Chrom that you won't sacrifice yourself. This has no impact – but it's followed up in a choice in Endgame which does have an impact: whether or not you (Robin) sacrifice yourself. Now this isn't implemented that well – it's actually a false choice. True, your choice has an effect on the outcome, but one outcome is better than the other. Sacrificing yourself is always better because Grima dies and Robin ends up surviving. It's kind of dumb. I don't mind having a perfect ending, but it should at least have some kind of a check involved – like, say, in order to get the golden ending, Robin needs to have at minimum a C-rank support with every Shepherd, at least five A-rank supports, and an S-rank support. Otherwise, no dice – Robin's bonds aren't strong enough to come back to life and he stays dead.

That way, without the requirement, it's an actual choice between two options – one has Grima dead permanently, but the other one has Grima sealed for 1000 years and Robin survives. And I think there's an argument to be made for the second case (Chrom certainly makes it!), not necessarily that I would agree with the argument or pick it, but it's a choice which only has meaning when Robin dies in the other option.

To that end, reader, I present to you the same choice! (I'm probably going to end up regretting this, but I think this will be fun.) Right now, you aren't just the reader, I'm putting you in the shoes of the player, and you will be able to pick one of two options. I will not tell you the outcome of the options, but I will tell you this – they will not lead to equal outcomes, nor will there be one option that is clearly better than the other. Furthermore, while this will affect the ending, this is not going to affect Robin personally and force him to do something out-of-character – I can't really say more without giving away my intentions. And, yes, there will be a major effect on the storyline as a result of this. That's right. It's up to you.

Votes can be submitted to me using the link: www. strawpoll. me/ 20287362 (just remove the spaces because FFN hates links, or go to my AO3 version which has the link). They can also be submitted via comments on AO3, or DMs on , though if you choose those options, I'd really appreciate a comment or review to go along with that vote. Voting is open until Robin actually has to make the choice, so ... get voting!