A/N: For the one-year anniversary of this fic, I present unto you the completed epilogue. I'm still working on SoS as well as another project will be released in a few days, but for now, I present the final chapter of this story. One note on the cannon status of this story - within the Rise of the Crimson Tactician, this is not the definitive epilogue, just one epilogue out of main possible ones. I always knew how the story would end, but the epilogue to me was always changing and evolving through many possibilities, though note that many of the story elements to this have been foreshadowed in earlier chapters. For the one-year anniversary, I thought this would be the most appropriate of the epilogues, a kind of 'farewell' note for all the original readers who have come back and read this part. If you feel that this doesn't fit the same ending that the fic ended off on for the actual ending, well, perhaps this never happened at all. But, if you feel like there was always one missing chapter of the Rise of the Crimson Tactician... well, perhaps this is it.

There won't be an author's note at the end, so for one last time, thank you all for reading and for all the feedback and support, even if it was just in views.

15 YEARS LATER

"Hello?" The door swung open on well-oiled hinges, making barely any noise. A young man with pale, almost silver hair, stepped inside of a musty old bookshop. The shop was kept well enough that there was no cloud of dust which rose up to meet him, but the smell of so many old books in one place was almost as overwhelming. "Anyone here? Ravena?"

There was no reply. Silber sighed and he walked into the bookstore, stepping past the empty front desk which looked like it hadn't been used for the better part of a year. He stepped in front of one of the bookshelves to the back, counting the shelves and books until he got to one in particular.

Silber looked back towards the front, noting that the windows were blocked and the door was closed behind him. Silber reached towards a book and pulled it back before releasing it. The bookshelf slid to the side, revealing a rope and a thin chute.

Silber swung down the rope, hearing the bookshelf slide back into place behind him. He summoned a small ball of flame to act as a torch from one of his tomes and the young scholar walked down the passageway, one of many which acted as a way to get to Ravena's hidden study. She'd told him to meet her in the bookshop, but this wouldn't be the first time that he'd had to go to the study.

Silber reached the study after walking for a few minutes and sighed, surveying the scene. Ravena, the Valmese Empire's Battlemaster, was asleep at her desk, having fallen over it. A half-filled cup of dark liquid was next to her, as well as the remains of a half-eaten meal.

"Ravena?" Silber sighed and looked over the desk. There was a small journal opened in front of the woman, turned to the last page. Silber slowly reached for it, recognizing the diary. It had belonged to Ravena's predecessor, a man that had been good friends with Silber's parents. Ravena had been reading the diary of Robin Obsidian.

"Wake up, Ravena." Silber picked up the book, more out of curiosity than anything else. He knew what it said – he'd read it before. Silber frowned as he looked over the last page, added in Ravena's handwriting.

"What time is it, kid?" Ravena asked sleepily as she opened her eyes. She noticed the cup of dark liquid and drained the cold coffee.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Tough. I'm your godmother, I get to call you what I want." Ravena yawned and sat up. "Must have fallen asleep at my desk. Wish I could say it was good reading material, but … eh. I've read it before."

"It's incomplete." Silber noted.

"Incomplete is a matter of perspective, son of Argeni. I would have thought you'd known that, given that you've inherited everything from her save your gender." Ravena said, cleaning up her desk. "Besides, what would you want me to write? Everything is either public knowledge or a state secret."

"Aren't I training to be your apprentice?"

"Hopefully not. I really want to be the last Valmese Battlemaster." Ravena said. "Still … I see your point, kid. That is why I called you here, after all."

"What do you mean?"

"As you've pointed out, the stories of the characters in that book don't end there." Ravena nodded to the journal. "That's merely the end of that story, and there are more of them. I think it's time that I've caught you up to the current day."

"Alright."

"I should warn you, though. As you said, most of it is a record of public knowledge. Some of it isn't. So, let's start with my group, shall we?" Ravena said. "Of the five of us, your parents are the easiest to start with. Zulas resumed his spot on the Council, with your mother choosing to support him without actually taking on any great power or titles herself. Then they had the brilliant idea of making me the godmother of their eldest."

"And the rest?"

"Vermillion retired for good. He's mastered ice magic, which he's surprisingly good at. Supposed its just applied thermodynamics." Ravena said. "But he's sworn off the military for good. Officially, I haven't spoken to him for about eight years at this point."

"I saw you two on a date last week."

"Did you? Huh. Your stealth skills must be improving." Ravena shrugged. "Dant is … well, I'm not sure. I haven't heard from her since she disappeared alongside the rest of the Future Children."

"Was she really from the future?" Silber asked.

"She was me from the future." Ravena said. "Who else are you curious about? The Ylisseans? The Feroxi? The Plegians?"

"Ylisse is the same old, same old. Chrom is Exalt, Olivia is his wife. Lucina is his heir, and they have a son named Inigo who's training to be the next West Khan." Silber said. "And he's really annoying. Kept trying to get me to be his 'wingman'."

"He has that effect on people." Ravena chuckled. "An accurate summation. And Plegia?"

"She's your aunt."

"I wasn't aware I was the one being interrogated." Ravena said.

"You brought me in here for a reason, didn't you?"

"Right." Ravena said, tapping the diary. "So … let's get to the crux of the matter then. there's one last tale. One that even I didn't put in. The final part of Robin's death."

"He's dead."

"Or is he?" A small smile flickered over Ravena's lips. "Valm's Battlemaster is not above faking his own death, you know."

"I know that. But I also know he's dead. I read that journal, and I know he died against Grima. I don't believe in rumors." Silber said. "What's the tale?"

"What do you know about Pheros?"

"The Empress? Not a lot." Silber admitted. "I mean, not a lot more than the official biographies. I've met her on a few occasions, but those were mostly during events."

"It's rather unfortunate, but the Empress is a rather busy woman." Ravena yawned and agreed. "I'm getting tired just thinking about it. Maybe I'll see what I can do to properly introduce you to her. She'd love to meet you, she's just really busy."

"I'd take you up on that." Silber said. "I also know that she suffered from a debilitating sickness about a decade back. She seems to have recovered, though."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"She has a number of unexplained disappearances and cancelations from around that time, lasting almost a year."

"Oh. That." Ravena chuckled. "Heh. You're not entirely wrong, but I'm glad that the cover-up worked so well."

"Cover-up?"

"Yes, the cover…" Ravena trailed off. There was the sound of two pairs of footsteps scurrying through the tunnels. Silber started at the sound. As far as he knew, Ravena's secret study was only used by a handful of individuals and he couldn't image what anyone else of those who knew would be doing here. Not to mention that the footsteps sounded almost … childlike.

"They're here early." Ravena sighed. "Of course the twins are here early."

"Twins?"

"Ravena!" Two young children burst out of one of the openings in the room and ran to either side of the woman.

Silber got a good look at them. They were dressed in identical red-lined dark robes, like the tactician robes Ravena wore, just smaller. One was a girl with messy white hair and a sword strapped to her waist. The other one, a boy, had shorter blond hair with a custom tome holster.

"Hey, who's he?" The young girl spoke up first, noticing Silber.

"Ooh, I bet he's one of Ravena's apprentices!" The young boy said.

Ravena just flashed him an apologetic smile as the two twins quickly conferred with each other behind her back. A few moments later, they stood on either side of Ravena.

"Silber Alberts, eldest son of Zulas Alberts and Argeni di Cratez. A skilled commander in Valm's mages battalion and a Dire Wolf candidate, before mysteriously retiring."

"Since he took his father's name, he also has no plans to inherit from his mother's line of succession, preferring to give it to his younger brother instead."

"Popular speculation claims he was recruited by Valm's spymaster, but…"

"…it seems that Valm's Battlemaster got to him first."

The twins talked in tandem and gave their rapid-fire identification and assessment of Silber.

"Who are you two?" Silber asked.

"She's Morgan, a skilled swordfighter, currently in tryouts to join the Shepherds."

"He's Marc, a skilled mage, currently in tryouts to join the Shepherds."

"And we're twins!" the pair finished, chorusing together.

"These adorable little scamps are in my charge for the week. They are also important to my story." Ravena said. "Do you two mind if I tell Silber about you? He's supposed to be my successor, and Argeni keeps dropping hints."

The twins faced each and started a rapid-fire conversation.

"Argeni does hate keeping secrets from her family, doesn't she?"

"I knew that telling her about us was a bad idea."

"No you didn't. We weren't born yet, dummy."

"Well, it justified the decision to keep her out of the loop about Walhart's death."

"We don't mind at all, do we?"

"Not for family, I don't think."

"Is he family, though? Is she family?"

"…Adopted. We can call them adopted. Everyone in our family is adopted."

"Except for us!" the pair chorused again.

"Yeah, yeah, you're very clever." Ravena sighed and massaged her temples. "This is why you two were supposed to come in after I explained who you were. Now. Let's talk about the final epilogue for the tale of the Crimson Tactician of Valm, hmm? It starts five years after the final battle with Grima, in a land forgotten and a rather curious trio were exploring a temple, a temple some might consider best left alone…"

-Forgotten Desert Temple-

Three figures entered the temple. The first, the group's leader, wore a dark green cloak with a hood up, keeping her face concealed. The second figure, a bit shorter than the leader, wore a crimson cloak inscribed with runes and spells all over it, evidentially a mage of no small power. The last member of the group wore a royal blue cloak and clearly had a sword belt on, though the sword was still stowed in the sheath.

The leader held up a hand as the trio entered the temple, indicating for them to stop. She removed her hood to reveal short black hair, as she took in the surrounding ruins, turning around to get a better look at them. She then withdrew a slim tome from her cloak marked with the personal seal of the Valmese Battlemaster and opened it up, reading the journal entry therein.

"This entry is from Robin's second year in self-imposed exile. 'It was there I made the most remarkable discovery. The only legends the locals had of the place was that it was called 'The Wellspring of Truth', a place where one's true self came to life. I came here seeking perhaps to find a way to restore my missing memories, but I could not be prepared for what came. It seems that the legend had been confused, or perhaps had underestimated just what enchantments were wrought upon the spring. The ruins were easily identified – the green stone floors are what gives it away.'" Ravena read the passage aloud. She lowered the book and looked around. "It seems that we've finally found it, ladies and gentlemen."

"Good." Vermillion lowered his hood as well and looked around the ruins. "I can't even imagine how old this place is. The magic here feels ancient."

"Draconic?" Ravena asked.

"…Maybe. It's definitely nothing I recognize, though." Vermil shrugged. "Could be something else entirely. Still, I really want to get a look at the water from that spring. You said Robin found it, right?"

"Hmmm. Let me see. Ah, yes. 'Once I found the ruins, I did find the pool, but it was guarded by the most mysterious of foes – me.'" Ravena raised the book and continued reading. "'It seems that when the legends spoke of finding one's true self, it may have been literal. The spring created a doppelganger of me, one with all my knowledge, strength, and abilities. Curiously, he did not have my weapons. I'd abandoned Gungnir and was using a modified Levin sword at the time, but my duplicate wielding silver sword and a Thoron tome.'"

"Perhaps the magic wasn't sophisticated enough to duplicate weapons?" Vermil offered.

"Or, more than likely, this spring was designed to fight against those who did not need such weapons," the last member of the group offered. She removed her hood as well, letting her long blue locks cascade out and around her. At seventeen, the Ylissean Crown Princess was significantly younger than the other two, but that didn't mean she intended to fall behind them. "Perhaps this was meant to fight dragons."

"Mmm." Ravena nodded. "I think so too, Lucy, but I just want to make a slight correction. Not 'fight', 'test'. This was meant to be a trial of some kind. Weapons, after all, are an afterthought, compared to the true power held by the wielder. Very rarely are there those whose strength come solely from their weapons."

Vermil coughed loudly.

"Vermillion excepted, naturally." Ravena corrected herself. "It's one of the reasons I asked him to come along, after all. And, remember, Vermillion – our goal isn't the Wellspring, tempting as it may be. It's the guardian themselves that the journal speaks of."

"So, we'll each have to face a guardian?" Vermil said. "It's not going to be like that time with Grima, right? They aren't going to reveal out darkest secrets and try to demoralize us, right?"

"Given that we've already been through, I would have expected you to find that welcoming." Ravena said. "Besides, honestly, we don't have any secrets of that magnitude anymore so I really wouldn't mind if that was the case. But, no, I don't think so."

"What do you think, Ravena?" Lucina asked.

"The journal indicates that the trial is merely a straightforward fight." Ravena said, directing her attention to the relevant passage. "Robin says so himself. 'I fought my doppelganger in an attempt to get my memory back, but sadly, over the course of six hours, we fought to stalemate. Perhaps I could have won if I had used Gungnir, or dipped into my bank of Spectrum techniques, as the mirage I fought seem to possess neither of those aspects. But to use such a method seemed … crude. If this really was a test of overcoming one's inner self, then cheating would defeat the purpose and render a victory irrevocably hollow. Perhaps in a few years, I'll have amassed the strength to be able to.'"

"Oh. Joy of joys." Vermil sighed. "Robin couldn't beat it, and we're supposed to be able to?"

It's supposed to be a doppelganger of us, not him, right?" Lucina said. "So we'll just have to fight ourselves, which should be a lot easier. Though … I've never really seen the Battlemaster fight. Would we really stand no chance?"

"Just the three of us? Nope." Vermil shook his head. "It took twelve of us to take him out last time."

"I remember Father telling me those stories." Lucina nodded her head.

"One final entry regarding these doppelgangers - though Robin seems to have referred to them as 'phantoms' or 'mirages' as well." Ravena said, looking for the relevant passage. "'Note to self: I haven't experimented, but it seems to me that the Wellspring of Truth is capable of producing a number of copies equivalent to those who came, each with the same powers, but not the same weapons, of the one who came. Fortunately, the presence of an original is needed to create a duplicate, so despite the fact that my doppelganger could use Ignis, I don't have to worry about him becoming a host for Grima.'"

"Hmm. It would be too easy if we could just find Robin's duplicate, right?"

"That wouldn't be my father, anyway." Ravena said. "No, we'll need to find my duplicate."

"So, is there going to be a duplicate for each one of us?" Lucina asked.

"Yes. That's why I limited our number to three. Among other reasons." Ravena stepped forward, followed by the other two. Sure enough, after just a few minutes of walking, they saw a pool of water in the distance. Even as they approached, though, three figures seemingly made out of mist rose up from the pool and stood in front of them.

"Phantoms?" Lucina asked, slowly easing her sword out of her sheath, watching as the Parallel Falchion, a gift from the future Lucina, that the young Ylissean noble wielded started to slowly glow.

"Wait-!"

As Lucina drew her weapon, the three opposite mirages shifted. In their place stood three people.

The first one, the one directly opposite Lucina, changed first. She looked identical to the Ylissean crown princess but wore the royal garb instead of a blue cloak. Instead of the Falchion, though, she held a single silver sword in her hand, identical to the grip and stance of Lucina.

Opposite Ravena was a woman who shared her exact looks. Instead of a Ravena's cloak, though, the doppelganger instead wore a tactician's cloak. She had a silver sword belted on one side, with a Thoron tome on the other, clearly ready for battle, though the weapons hadn't been drawn yet.

Vermillion's doppelganger was the most similar to him. He also wore a mage's cloak, bright red, and was holding a powerful Bolganone tome. His face was the same as Vermillion, but didn't hold quite the same expression, the same mostly-blank look that the other doppelgangers had.

"Sorry…" Lucina said.

"It's fine. We needed them to be the opposites of us, anyway." Ravena said. "Listen, we aren't here to fight."

"…" Ravena's doppelganger made no reply, just looked at her curiously.

"My name is… well, you know my name, you're a copy of me. The point is that I need your help." Ravena said. "My companions and I need your help. Can you help us?"

"I am the reflection of your true self." Ravena's doppelganger said.

"What do I need to do to get your help?"

"Face me. In one of our deaths, the truth may prevail."

"No, I-" Ravena was cut off as her double lunged for her, drawing the sword in a single smooth motion. Ravena raised her hand, stretching it out as if to grasp a weapon. "Screw this, I don't want to fight you, but believe me, I will!"

A spear dropped right into it, a magical crimson spear that lit up with lightning as it met her hand. Once Walhart's crimson axe, then reformed by Robin to become his crimson spear, the weapon now belonged to Ravena. She brought the blade around and blocked the attack of her doppelganger.

As soon as her duplicate attacked, the other two did as well. Lucina's duplicate lunged forward and the two were quickly engaged in a dance of Ylissean swordplay. Vermillion's duplicate, for his part, simply started launching magic attacks, which were quickly matched spell for spell by the real Vermillion.

"My father didn't want to use this because he wanted to overcome the challenge under his own power. That's because he wanted to be sure he deserved the truth. But I don't seek the truth." Ravena let her magic run loose and the spear lit up, blasting her double back. It went flying and crashed into the floor. "I want your power. I want my power."

"I am a reflection of your true self."

"You're more than that. A guardian of some kind?" Ravena shook her head. "No… not a guardian. A gatekeeper. You exist to make sure only the worthy receive the Wellspring's power. And the Wellspring gives the power of truth, doesn't it?"

"…" The double got to her feet and shrugged, drawing a tome to counter Ravena's spear. "I am a reflection of your true self, Ravena Nameless."

"Ravena Obsidian! Daughter of Robin Obsidian!" Ravena said. "If there's any part of me in there – any part of me at all – then you know what I want. I need your power, doppelganger. I don't seek the truth, I swear it on my name."

"Hmm." The doppelganger paused. "It is true. You, Ravena Nameless, do not seek to find out the truth. The truth about your identity, the truth about your last name, the truth about your family."

"That's what the Well will give me?" Ravena narrowed her eyes.

"Among other things. But I must die for that." The double said. "It is your choice."

"Not even tempting. My father took care of me. He comes first."

"Wait, you're talking to yours?" Vermillion asked, slowly walking up beside Ravena. "I didn't know you could do that."

"That was fast. You killed yours?"

"Easily. We both know how reliant on weapons I am, and Bolganone isn't a particularly compelling weapon. Well. Not to me, anyway." Vermil cracked his knuckles. "I'm not really sure there's anything in the pool that interests me. Last time I learned the truth - well, I didn't really enjoy it."

"Well, stay back. And don't kill mine." Ravena reached inside her cloak and pulled out a single amulet. "Pheros doesn't know that I have this, and she won't be very happy when she finds out."

"Her necklace?" Vermil sighed. "I knew you were leaving something out, but I didn't think it was this bad."

"Robin gave it to her." Ravena said. "It's the last of his Spectrum abilities. Pheros tried using it to bring Robin back to life, but it didn't work. All it did was create a doll of Robin – nothing more than that. The doll didn't even last that long. After that, she just wears it."

"I know of this necklace," the doppelganger said. "I am a reflection of your true self, after all. What does this have to do with your desire, Ravena Nameless?"

"Right." Ravena said, focusing on it. "Those with shadowgift can bend and break the laws of the universe. My older sister, who is really me, is gone and I can't find her if she doesn't want to be found. Aversa is the other one, and I don't think she'd be willing to help me. I need someone who can help me with this. I can't reactivate the spell. Not by myself. But two of me can."

"Is that what you desire?"

"It is! With all my heart!" Ravena said. "It may not be my father … but it's got to be close enough. Close enough for what I have in mind."

"Very well. Instead of granting you the truth, this will be granted instead," the doppelganger said. "Face me, and you will gain the power you seek."

"Deal. But we unlock the amulet first. If I kill you, then you can't help me unlock it, can you?"

"But if I kill you, the amulet is still unlocked."

"Hmm. When you say it like that, it does sound like a problem. But it's not something that I even considered planning for." Ravena grinned. "You see, I have no intention of dying to you."

"…Very well. Your arrogance is accepted." The doppelganger raised her hand forward.

Ravena did the same opposite her and placed the medallion within their shared grasp. Twin circles lit up beneath their feet as the identical mages activated their shadowgift abilities.

"We, who possess the gift of the shadows, do hereby decree our will upon this ruined world. We seek to right the injustice that we have seen and we seek to mend the broken before our eyes. We call upon our power to bypass the rules that others believe in. Now, bereft of power, spell, and catalyst, we seek to force our will upon this plane." Ravena and her doppeleganger paused mid-chant, looked at each other, and nodded. "Contain this power once more – the Forbidden Threshold of Resurrection, Aum."

Without another word, the two released their hands and drew them back, allowing the now-recharged amulet to fall onto the floor between them. Ravena flicked her hands and twin daggers appeared in them. The doppelganger, likewise, flicked her hands as well to produce identical daggers.

Ravena attacked first, springing forward with twin extended blades, slashing at her opponent. The doppelganger countered, using one blade to sweep aside the attacks and aiming the second one at Ravena's exposed wrist. Ravena spun one dagger to a reverse grip to block the attack on her wrist and used the other one to clash against the doppelganger's sweep, locking the pair in place with clashed blades.

Ravena grinned and transitioned into a sweep kick which the doppelganger gracefully flipped over, leaping backwards. As she did so, she let the pair of daggers in her hands fly at Ravena, who batted one of them aside, but was unable to stop the other from scoring a thin red line across her left shoulder.

The doppelganger landed, smirked, and drew twin blades again, but Ravena threw a dagger before the doppelganger could get a guard up. The doppelganger narrowly dodged it by diving to one side, only to have Ravena dash past her and deliver a wicked slash with her single dagger, drawing a deeper cut than the one inflicted on her. Ravena flexed her hand and a new knife dropped into it. The doppelganger made no comment and charged at Ravena, locking the two of them in combat as they exchanged knife blows against each other, opening up crimson lines as they did so.

Vermil, despite all his inclination otherwise, stood still and watched the two battle it out. As he was standing, an out-of-breath Lucina came walking up next to him.

"So, you defeated your copy?"

"Thanks to Falchion, yes. I did not expect to find, or for that matter fight, a copy of myself when I woke up this morning." Lucina said, breathing hard. "Is this always what it's like among the Dire Wolves?"

"This is a first for me too. I wouldn't use this as the gold standard of the Dire Wolves." Vermil sighed as he watched Ravena suffer yet another cut, this time a thin line across her forehead so blood started flowing down it as she fought. "Of course, she really likes taking risks, though. It's why she's fighting with knives."

Ravena staggered backwards, twin knives in her hands, blood dripping off of them. She had dozens of cuts all over her body from the exchange, one of which was leaking blood into her right eye, forcing her to shut it. Across from her, her doppelganger bore a similar collection of cuts, and a mirrored cut above her left eye. Ravena laughed as she spun the knives in her hands, and her double reciprocated, only without the laugh.

"One last exchange." Ravena said and dashed forward. The doppelganger responded with a mirror attack and there was a ring of steel on steel as one pair of knives clashed and the two flew by each other. The other knife of each pair went as a clean sweep, but as the two emerged, only Ravena had a bloody knife as the doppelganger wordlessly collapsed.

"Bravo." Vermillion clapped.

"Thank you, thank you." Ravena spun around and gave a theatrical bow. "I perform every fifth anniversary of my father's death, feel free to come again next time."

"Now hold still and let me heal you." Vermil withdrew a healing stave from his pack and started healing the numerous cuts all over Ravena's body as the woman winced from the pain.

"Was that wise, Ravena?" Lucina asked.

"No, Lucy." Ravena shook her head. "Knife fighting is nasty and ugly work, and knife against knife is even worse. It can get really ugly even if you win and even when you're better than your opponent, wins aren't guaranteed. Do not become a knife fighter."

"So, why did you…?"

"Because she lives by the creed of 'Do as I say, not as I do'." Vermil said. "I've been with her long enough to know that while it's actually a good idea to listen to what she says, it's basically impossible to get her to change her mind. In other words, while she's a good teacher; she's a terrible role model."

"The trick to the fight was the cut above the eye, made possible by one of my knife combination attacks. My move scored a line above her left eye; her move was a mirrored version of mine, so it was above my right eye." Ravena tapped her fading wound. "When I was younger, I trained to fight like my father, so I know how to fight with only my left eye. I haven't the faintest idea of how to fight with only my right eye, which is why my doppelganger missed on the final clash and I hit her."

"But why knives, thought?"

"It felt right." Ravena shrugged. "Besides, I don't mind putting my life on the line every now and then. Especially considering what we're up against."

"What are we up against?" Lucina asked. "You didn't actually tell me, you know. You just dragged me out here."

"Operation secrecy." Ravena and Vermil chorused, Ravena with a cheerful tone and Vermil with a more resigned one. Ravena continued. "What we're doing isn't exactly … sanctioned."

"You're the Battlemaster, aren't you?" Lucina said. "How could this possibly be non-sanctioned?"

"Aside from the fact that we stole Pheros's necklace and that I, a civilian archmage researcher, is involved in this?" Vermil asked. "Gosh, it makes me wonder."

"That … isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things." Lucina said. "Why do I feel like this is going to end up being something far worse?"

"Step one is completed." Ravena tossed the necklace into the air and caught it. "Now, we move onto step two. We need to go back in time. Fortunately, we have the two ingredients necessary – the Parallel Falchion and Mila's Timepiece. Lucky for us that it was left with you, eh?"

"I'm sorry, I could have sworn I heard you said, 'go back in time'."

"Well, technically, we're not going back in time…" Vermil blinked. "No, wait, hold on, that's exactly what we're doing. Let me try that again. What we are doing is visiting the past. What we aren't doing is changing the past. So – more of a 'look but don't touch' thing, except we're going to try to touch as hard as we can."

"I don't think we should fool around with time magic!" Lucina said. "My future self changed the past so that Grima was destroyed. If we go back in time, don't we risk making Grima win?"

"No." Ravena and Vermil chorused.

"How are you so sure?"

"Don't worry, Lucy. We couldn't change the past, even if we wanted to." Ravena reassured her. "We don't have enough power to do it."

"It's complicated, but I'll help you visualize it." Vermil said. "Think of time like a boulder…"

"No, don't listen to him. He had a tendency to make things too complicated." Ravena said. "Okay, Lucina. Let me explain it like this: When the future Lucina from the bad future came back here, that created a second timeline, right?"

"Right…" Lucina slowly nodded. "I know that. Her own timeline is where Grima came from and it still technically exists – at least, the Robin from that timeline said as much. So?"

"So her actions created a second universe!" Ravena said. "That's the power of time travel. In other words, a second Falchion, a second Grima, a second Lucina – she created doubles of everything. Magic is pretty good at giving thermodynamics a run for its money, but even something like that takes too much power for run-of-the-mill magic. It requires the power of a dragon, but not just any dragon – one of the Origin Dragons."

"That is, a pure-blood Nabatean. The ancestors of the dragon race. Only Naga, and possibly Grima, has the power to change the past. It's not something just any manakete can do, and not even Lady Tiki could do it. We're just humans." Vermil said. "We can't change the past. But that's what we're counting on."

"What's the point of visiting, but not changing anything?"

"Well…," Vermil and Ravena swapped looks. Vermil swallowed. "We're not sure exactly what the restriction of 'no changing' is. Take the example of a tree falling in a forest and no one is around to hear it. Does it make a sound?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Well, you can't prove it does, right?" Vermil said. "No one can. So, with no proof, what actually happened You don't know, right?"

"I don't see where you're going with this…"

"Everyone of us saw Robin die." Vermil said. "But what if we didn't? What if that's just what we've been made to think, and really, something else happened in the interim period?"

"What Vermillion is asking is that how do we know for sure that the events we saw on that day, 10 years ago, is what actually happened?" Ravena said. "For all we know, it could have been something else but something which looked like Robin's death."

"Let's call the scenario of Robin dying 'A' and the scenario of us being tricked and seeing 'A' when it didn't really happen 'B'." Vermil said. "We can't discern between 'A' and 'B' right now, so if we go back in time and cause either one to happen, have we really changed the past?"

"Okay…" Lucina said. "I think I get it. And a headache trying to understand it. But do you really think that'll work? It seems like you're tricking the universe."

"It had better." Ravena said.

"Ah. So it's a long shot." Lucina said. "But it's better than nothing, I guess?"

"This will work. It has to."

"How far back in time?"

"5 years, to the day." Ravena said, fishing inside her tunic for something else, and withdrew an old, battered, pocket-watch like device. "This will help us. If we combine the power of this and your Parallel Falchion, alongside the Emblem, we should be able to whip up enough power to send two of us back in time to 5 years ago."

"…And then what?" Vermil said. "Whenever we discussed the plan, you assured me that once we got back in time, you'd know what to do from there."

"Well, it's pretty simple." Ravena said. "All I have to do is use the amulet to resurrect Robin, except I'll have to then kill him before he dies and Grima dies because then the magic will fail,."

"Oh. Is that it? Because I was worried it was going to be hard."

"No one said this was going to be easy." Ravena said. "But I do have an advantage. Remember – I can't change time. In other words, what is going to happen is what everyone remembers happening. We can swap out Robin with a dying duplicate, because at that point everyone will be fooled."

"Does it really work like that?"

"I'm really hoping it does." Ravena said. "Vermil, would you be a dear and set up the necessary spellwork?"

Vermil withdrew a large scroll from his robe and laid it out on the floor. It was covered with circles, diagrams, pointed stars, and various formula and arcane symbols. Ravena carefully placed the device on an empty circle as Vermillion focused his magic on the rest of the scroll. Twin circles appeared beneath Lucina and Ravena.

"Just the two of us?" Lucina asked.

"Can't be helped." Vermillion said. "Someone has to stay back and anchor the spell in this time. Ravena, make it back alive, alright? I want to save Robin as much as you do, but he wouldn't want you to die to save his life."

"I'll take it under advisement. Stab the hourglass, Lucina!"

-Robin's Death-

The two time-displaced women tumbled out into the cavern. Lucina got to her feet first, rolling and bringing Falchion around in an attempt to guard herself. By contrast, Ravena took her time to slowly get to her feet.

"Oh. I forgot to mention that time is paused for us." Ravena said. "Don't bother trying to hide from anyone or changing anything."

"You could have mentioned that earlier." Lucina said.

"Consider it a test for your leap of faith." Ravena said. "I wanted to make sure that I could trust you to follow my lead."

"…" Lucina wasn't satisfied with the answer, but she chose not to pursue the point.

"It's exactly how I remember it." Ravena walked forward through the cavern, taking note of the battle that had just been fought. The remaining members of Robin's friends and allies had all gathered around him at the edge of the cavern, save for one.

Robin, the Ylissean Grandmaster, stood back, a slight grimace on his face. He must have known that he was dying but chose to conceal it to allow the Battlemaster a proper send-off. Lucina, given that she was from the current timeline and wasn't the future version of herself, had only heard about it, so she was taking in the scene as best she could.

"We're going to use your Falchion to get back." Ravena said. "You'll need to pulse to Vermillion using your Parallel Falchion – like your healing abilities – and that'll tell him when we're ready for him to cut the spell. Though, of course, it's more complicated than that."

"Can we…?" Lucina stared at the Ylissean Grandmaster hopefully. "Two men died this day, you know."

"I'm sorry, Lucina." Ravena placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulders. "That's beyond even my capabilities. I can't save two lives for the price of one. Maybe if the events of the day had played out different, maybe if Robin hadn't chosen to sacrifice himself, both might have survived what had occurred, but as it stands, only one Robin can live."

"What do we do?"

"What you should do is stand there and wait for my signal." Morgan withdrew two objects, the necklace from Pheros that had been repaired and a dagger that had been a present from her father with a faint inscription carved on the wooden blade. "If this goes wrong, possibly a lot more than that, but hopefully it won't come to it."

"So, I'm useless right now."

"If not for the blood in your veins, I wouldn't be able to get here. And if not for your bravery and determination, the blood in your veins would be useless." Ravena said. She walked past the group and noticed her past self, frozen in time. Ravena kept walking until she was next to Robin.

"Forbidden Threshold of Resurrection, Aum."

The spell woven into the necklace activated. A black swirl shot out of the gem set in the middle of it, growing into a cloud of darkness. Then, suddenly, it bloomed. Like a giant closed flower, the darkness shot up and formed a cone made out of dark petals.

The flower stood there. Then, as Ravena watched it, slowly the flower opened, the petals falling to darkness and then disappearing as it did so. When that happened, a single figure stood in the center of the petals, eyes closed. He was wearing the same armor that Robin had last worn in his battle against Grima, the red and black of the Valmese Battlemaster.

Ravena caught the body as it fell out and gently set it down. She manually opened the eyelids and checked the pulse. As before, the body was alive – it just had no soul to inhabit it. Robin's last spell created a perfect copy of himself but bringing the dead back to life was beyond him. Fortunately, in this time period, he wasn't dead yet. And Ravena knew exactly what she needed to do in order to save Robin. She'd seen it happen before.

Ravena gently set the necklace around the copy's neck and use a bit of her magic to keep the spell running. Now it would act as a beacon. She withdrew the knife and spun it around her fingers, approaching the almost-dead frozen-in-time body of Robin.

"By my power as a mage, by my father's authority, by my hand and by my will, I reclaim that which has been done before." Magic flowed out from her as it coated the dagger. The necklace had been Pheros's present, but the dagger had been hers, a secret gift from father to daughter. "Forbidden Return of the Lost, Cloned Spectrum."

Ignis magic flared to life around her. The final of the Ignis Spectrum techniques – a modified variant which let the user reclaim and reuse any cast Ignis Spectrum technique. Robin had bound it by his own blood and Ravena's blood to allow her to carry and use the knife if she ever needed it.

Five years after Robin's death, the knife was worthless. Robin was dead, after all, and Grima's power alongside it. But in this very moment, Robin was very much alive. And Ravena intended to keep it that way.

"Forbidden Call of the Dark, Shatterpoint!"

With a single swift attack, Ravena sliced Robin's soul clean from his body, normally an action that would kill him, but at that moment, Aum drew him to the copied body. If Ravena's theory was correct, she'd successfully used the combination of Spectrum skills to remove Robin's soul to a fresh body while leaving Grima behind, similar to a scalpel of skilled surgeon.

Only instead of removing the sickness and leaving the healthy part, we removed the healthy part and left the sickness. The irony was not lost on Ravena. Well, this is an assassin's technique, so I guess it makes sense.

"Ravena?" Lucina called. "Did it work?"

Ravena walked over the body and looked at it, waiting. Something dark and crimson flashed within it.

"Get over here, quick!"

"Did something go wrong?"

"I don't know." Ravena watched as the copied body twitched suddenly. Scars and injuries started appearing on the body. "I've never done this before so I don't know whether what's happening is right or wrong."

More injuries appeared and then suddenly Robin's right eye burst open in a spray of blood before fire erupted and cauterized the wound, then slowly healed its way into a scar.

"Ravena, that doesn't look alright!"

"Yeah…" Ravena nodded. "We need to head back."

"Already on it." Lucina held the glowing Parallel Falchion aloft and focused on it.

-Forgotten Desert Temple-

There was a brilliant flash and three bodies appeared where two had just disappeared. The old watch-like relic broke apart and disintegrated and the magic circles slowly started disappearing. Vermil looked up to see Ravena, Lucina, and a body with them that looked like Robin's, but was rapidly taking injuries.

"Vermil, heal him, quick!" Ravena summoned forth her magic and started working on it as well. Vermil copied her, using his own staff to help heal the injuries as they came up, but they couldn't do anything. Ravena turned to him. "What's happening?"

"I think the soul is acclimating to the new body." Vermil said. "These are all injuries that Robin's sustained over his life. I think it's a good thing."

"Okay. I'm not panicking." Ravena tried reassuring herself. "So if we keep healing him, he'll eventually recover, right?"

"We can only hope." Vermil trailed off as a nasty series of wounds started appearing on Robin. "These are from the time he fought the Shepherds. We're getting closer."

"He almost died from those." Ravena poured more of her power into the wounds, despite the fact that they seemed to be self-recovering. She wasn't going to take any chances. "Lucina, can you do anything?"

"I wasn't trained for anything like this!"

"Neither were we." Vermil said grimly. The injuries stopped. "Okay. We should be past the worse of it, right?"

"I think we – no! NO!"

Black flames slowly rose around Robin. Ravena had seen those flames before. Those weren't the flames of Robin's Ignis Nox. They were the same flames that had cost Robin his life the first time.

"This shouldn't be happening!" Ravena said. "We did everything right! Grima's already destroyed and I only took Robin's soul. This can't be happening!"

"Robin's soul was too interwoven with Grima's." Vermil shook his head. "And it was already being destroyed when we removed it. We couldn't take it any sooner without changing history, and even now … it may already be too late."

"I can't let it end like this!" Ravena poured her magic as a dark wave over Robin, desperately trying to keep the flames away. She looked around wildly, looking around for something – anything! – that could potentially save his life. Her eyes ran over Lucina and then locked onto her sword. Ravena's eyes grew wide. "Lucina! Your sword!"

"Ravena, don't!" Vermil said.

"He's going to die anyway! We have to risk it." Ravena said. "Lucina, Falchion can seal away Grima's power. If you stab him with Falchion, we might be able to seal away whatever is destroying Robin. Now that Grima is dead, there's no need to worry about him, so quickly come over here and seal him away."

"Vermillion is right, Ravena." Lucina said, softly. "You aren't thinking clearly. Maybe the Exalted Falchion could do it, in the hands of someone who has Awakened, but this can't seal away Grima's power."

"Well, Chrom isn't here, so he can't help!" Ravena said. "I need your help, Lucina. You can't possibly make it any worse now, hurry and stab him before he dies!"

"I… alright." Lucina slowly stepped forward towards the body now almost entirely consumed with flames. "If we have no other choice."

"It's like I told Robin a long time ago." A hand moved in and stopped Lucina from drawing her blade as the Ylissean Exalt stepped past her. Chrom drew his own Exalted Falchion in a single swift motion. "There's always another choice. I think it's best if you let me handle this."

With those words, Chrom knelt and stabbed Robin in the center of his lower stomach, blue flames radiating off of him and soaring down Falchion to counteract the black flames that had almost consumed his body.

"Father!?" Lucina stared at him, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't act so hasty, you three."

Ravena winced at the new voice chiding her. "And her as well, it seems."

"Did you really think you could keep secrets from me?" Pheros asked, walking forward. "You weren't the only one who knew about this temple, you know. And that was my necklace you stole. But it's a good thing we're here."

"Pheros, I'm trying to-!"

"I know, Ravena. As are we." Pheros said, looking at Chrom's blue flames. "Let us help you."

"It's finished." Chrom said, lifting the Falchion from Robin's body, leaving no trace of a wound behind as he did so. The blade had only damaged the darkness within Robin, leaving him untouched. "I've sealed away Grima's power within him."

"We did it!"

"No, Ravena." Pheros shook her head and walked to the body, gently lifting Robin head up as she sat to place his head in her lap. "Your plan was a stroke of genius. But death is too strong of an obstacle to surpass with genius alone."

"We haven't failed!"

"I'm sorry, little bird." Pheros said. "I accepted Robin's death a long time ago, and you should do the same if you wish to move on. Your efforts have been noble, but-"

"He's alive, Pheros! Look at him!" Ravena turned to Chrom. "You believe he's alive, right?"

"I hope so." Chrom knelt by the body and checked the pulse. "It's like he's sleeping. He seems to be alright now – he's not getting worse at least."

"But the mind hasn't returned." Pheros said, gently placing fingers on Robin's head and closing the eyelids shut. "Ravena, I want your father back as much as you do. But you must let go."

"I won't!"

"I'm not asking you to let go of your memories of him, or even of the hope of seeing him again. But you have to understand that there are things out of your reach." Pheros said. "Even if he does wake up, it may not be the same Robin that you once knew, or he might have suffered through a lot."

"Even if he does wake up? So you admit there's a chance!"

"I want him to wake up as much as you do." Pheros said. "That's why I had Chrom come here. But all I have is hope. Vermillion, can you see if there is anything there is that we might be able to do?"

"I'm sorry, Empress." Vermil shook his head. "But it's out of my hands."

"No." Ravena shook her head and growled. Before anyone could stop her, she placed both hands above Robin's heart and summoned forth all the magic she had left inside her, counting on her shadowgift to help Robin. "Not just yet! Not just yet!"

-?-

"Not just yet…"

Robin woke up with a start to find himself in dimly lit room, asleep at a table. He got up, alarmed, but as he looked around, something appeared at the other side of the table. Sitting on a chair next to him, casually reading a thick tome, was his other self from a destroyed timeline.

"You're awake." Ylissean Robin said. "Took you long enough."

"I'm dead." It was a simple statement that Robin made.

"Mostly."

"And you're dead, too." Robin said, frowning. "No. You're also 'mostly' dead, as am I. But death doesn't care about 'mostly', does it? That means that there's nothing we can do from here."

"I wouldn't say that."

"So what would you say?"

"The short version is that you have some very good friends who are doing their best to bring you back to life." Ylissean Robin said. "The long version is they're failing miserably."

Robin frowned.

"Hey, I'm telling the story. I get to decide which is the long version and which is the short version." Ylissean Robin chuckled. He turned a page in his tome. "Anyway, they did a pretty good job. They ripped you clean from your dying throes of agony to a time where Grima's power no longer exists and then they used the Falchion to seal that dying aspect of Grima. Well, not Grima per se. More like the darkness within you that was killing you. Grima's already dead. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that."

"How?"

"Ravena used your necklace, the Parallel Falchion, an old charm made by a certain Divine Dragon, and another copy of herself. Chrom then stabbed you with Falchion." Ylissean Robin said. "Ingenious really. Just… not enough. You died already. They can restore your body, but not bring you back to as things are established now, anyways."

"Because my bonds aren't strong enough."

"Correct. They are not." Ylissean Robin closed his book with a snap. He turned towards Robin. "And neither are mine. All I have from this world are the Future Children, and they aren't from this world to begin with, so I do not much in the way of bonds. I know you hoped that I might survive where you couldn't, but it turns out neither of us could do it."

"I'm sorry for that." Robin said. "I would have done it regardless, but I truly wish it didn't have to end like it."

"Don't be. Thanks to you, I got vengeance." Ylissean Robin said. "And it was satisfying. Not quite in the way I had hoped, but I certainly enjoyed it at the time. And I was worse than dead before you stepped in. I'm perfectly content with how the change of events have played out."

"So…"

"So… what now? Is that what you're wondering?"

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "Are you waiting around here to take me somewhere?"

"Hmm. Like some kind of ferryman, taking lost souls to the afterlife?" Ylissean Robin considered the prospect. "No, but maybe I should apply for that kind of a job. Seems like it would be fun and challenging work. Of course, I'd need to get Chrom and the others with me, because I'm not really sure that I'd want to be apart from my friends, but maybe I could do it."

"You were good friends with Chrom, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Him and the rest of the Shepherds." Ylissean Robin nodded. "It's been a long time, and I hope they forgive me for … well, you know."

"If your Chrom is anything like the one I know, he'll be tripping over himself to forgive you."

"I can only hope." Ylissean Robin agreed. "But let's talk about you for a moment. I'm tired of talking about me."

"I suppose I'll go with you." Robin said. "Do you think we'll end up … well, wherever we end up … together, or apart?"

"About that… I have no intention of letting you come with me."

"Oh." Robin said, shaking his head. "No. No. No. I know what you're planning."

"Great minds think alike."

"I died, Robin!" Robin said. "There's no coming back from death, and I don't deserve it!"

"Excuse me? Who exactly do you think you are that you can decide who's 'worthy' of life and who isn't?" Ylissean Robin said. "There are a great many people that have been wronged and you have no authority to bring them back to life. What gives you the idea that you deserve to decide such a thing about yourself."

"But… you'll die." Robin shook his head. "You don't have to die, Robin. That's why we're here, isn't it? One of us lives and the others dies. Between the two of us – between the two of us there's enough bonds to have one of us come back to the body that Ravena and the others have made. Ordinarily impossible, but thanks to what she's done, there's a chance for one of us to return."

"And that one of us is you."

"But it doesn't have to be." Robin shook his head. "I chose to die. I did that willingly you. You chose to kill Grima, yes, but that was only after you were in a situation that I put you in. A situation that Grima put you in. In your original timeline, you've done nothing to deserve death. But I can hardly say the same."

"The link is to your soul, not mine."

"But we're similar enough," Robin countered. "With my help, you could do it. I know its true, just as I know that with your help, I could return. But I'm not going to do it willingly. I refuse."

"You're in no position to refuse me." Ylissean Robin gave a small grin. "Besides, you're the one who chose to sacrifice your own life. Surely you can't begrudge me the same opportunity?"

"I can! And I will." Robin said firmly. "I'm going to stay here."

"If you're doing it because you believe yourself unworthy of coming back to life, you're wrong." Ylissean Robin said. "What would Pheros say about it? You know she'd tell you that your life has meaning and that you deserve to live. As it stands, true, this is a unique opportunity afforded to you, but that's no reason to refuse it."

"But my acceptance means your death." Robin said. "I want to go back to land of the living. But I'm not going to do so if it means your death."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"That's the thought of 'My life is worth more than someone else's life'." Robin said. "That's the thinking of someone who doesn't care about others. That's wrong. All lives are of equal value."

"It's funny that you should say such a thing, when you don't believe it." Ylissean Robin asked him. "Or am I wrong about that?"

"No. Maybe you aren't. Maybe I don't believe that all lives are of equal value." Robin said, softly. "After all, I did sacrifice my life. But in my mind, that was to save the human race, and I think any price is worth paying for that."

"You didn't do so because you feel your own life is worthless?"

"I don't know." Robin honestly answered. "I know that Pheros would want me to say that my life is the same as anyone else's. I feel more conflicted, but even still, I made the decision I did because I wanted to save the human race from the scourge of Grima. And, maybe I wouldn't have done it if it weren't my life on the line, but I suppose that I won't know without the choice placed it front of me but maybe I would have. And, honestly, it's a choice I'm very glad I wasn't forced to make."

"I see." Ylissean Robin inhaled slowly. "So you've decided that you aren't going to go back?"

"Not if it means your death."

"Even though your refusal could mean the both of our deaths?"

"That's your decision." Robin said. "My decision is to not take your life in place of my own."

"That's not how a tactician thinks, you know." Ylissean Robin said.

"Then I think I'm done being a tactician." Robin said, flexing his hand. "I've earned that right at least, and no one is going to argue with me over that. So, now that we've established what I'm never going to do, what choice do you make? Are you going to go back, or are you going to choose to die?"

"You are right that I would need to cooperate with you in order for me to return to life. But that's only because of how much of a gulf I'd need to cross. With you, you're almost there. All you need is a gentle nudge in the right direction." Ylissean Robin smiled. "And I don't need your permission to give you that nudge. I have the choice. You do not."

"You can't be serious!"

"It's time for me to make my own sacrifice. Goodbye, Robin. I'm glad to have this one final meeting with you, face to face. And I'm very glad to see the conclusions that you've come to in your answers."

"If that's true, you could have sent me back this whole time from the start! You were planning this all along, weren't you? This was all just a set-up to get answer out of me, wasn't it!?"

"I wanted to see how far you've come along. You have only yourself to blame for being outmaneuvered. You're the one who said he was done being a tactician." Ylissean Robin gave one last smile and waved, releasing something from his hand as he did so. "Oh. I don't think she's around anymore, but if you meet Morgan, tell them that I died saving one last life and I don't regret it."

"I won't forgive you for this!" Robin howled as the world crumbled beneath him.

"Of course you will. You'd do the exact same thing if you had the choice…"

-Forgotten Desert Temple-

Robin woke up with a start, jolting back into conscious and a world full of pain. His body was on fire from dozens upon dozens of wounds, and though most of them were indistinct, he could feel the fading pain of losing his eye, as well as the wounds he sustained during his duel to the death with Chrom. Still, Robin grit his teeth and stared straight out.

"Father!" Ravena was on her knees right in front of him, two hands on his heart. "You're back!"

"Ravena…"

"Yes, it's me! And you're alive!" There were tears in her eyes. "I did it! I did it!"

"You did." Robin took her hand gently and held them, letting her feel him for the first time in a while. The contact brought a fresh wave of tears to the young woman's face. "You did. Thank you, Ravena. You've done what I couldn't."

Chrom and Vermil were both behind her, alongside a young woman who Robin could only assume to be the grown-up version of Lucina from this timeline. Chrom smiled and shook his head. "There are better places for taking a nap then on the ground, you know."

"How long as it been?"

"Five years." Ravena said slowly. "You've been gone for five years."

"Then I think I'm entitled to a little nap." Although he didn't want to, Robin felt exhaustion overtake his body. Even with the healing energy he was being supplied with, coming back to life was far worse than waking up and his head went back. He expected it to hit the hard floor beneath him, but instead his head fell on something softer.

Robin looked up and was treated to a beautiful view of Pheros, looking down at him. She'd placed his head in her lap and was looking over him. She brushed a hand across her face to wipe away her tears.

"Hey, you." Robin said. "It's been a while. What am I doing in your lap?"

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"How could I possibly be uncomfortable?" Robin asked. "I'm not late for our wedding, am I?"

"You missed the whole thing." Pheros smiled sadly, struggling to hold back the tears.

"I was looking forward to it, too." Robin said. "Well, when's our anniversary? I owe you something then, I think, don't I?"

Robin reclaimed his energy and sat up properly, taking the now-weeping Pheros in his arms as he slowly got up. He gently placed her head against his chest, letting her rest there as she needed, soaking his uniform with tears as she quietly wept, putting his arms around her to complete the embrace.

"Now isn't the time for that, my love." Robin said, gently. "Dry your eyes. I'm back."

"For good this time?"

"For good this time." Robin and Pheros separated. Pheros got up and helped Robin to his feet, catching him as Robin stumbled on his way up. Robin winced.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm alive." Robin gestured with his hands a faint shower of sparks came forth as he tried to summon the magic he could normally command. "Most of my magic is gone, I think, along with Ignis."

"I don't love you for your martial prowess, you know." Pheros carefully went to Robin's right side and slipped his arm over her, helping him stabilize himself. Robin, for his part, couldn't see her, but her presence was good enough.

"I know." Robin looked out towards the group. "Ravena, I'm sure you've quite the story for me. This was no small feat."

"I can't claim all the credit." Ravena looked down. "I didn't include Chrom and Pheros in the plan. I thought they might try to stop me, and if it went wrong – well, I didn't want to get their hopes up."

"I understand, Ravena." Pheros said. "You don't need to keep justifying yourself. Robin's back – and that's all that really matters, anyway."

"So, how did you end up here?" Robin asked.

"We were tipped off." Chrom said.

"By me." Vermil raised his hand. "I mean, its kind of obvious, given that I'm the only one aside from you who knew the details of what we were planning."

"You did this?" Ravena looked at him.

"Yeah." Vermil looked aside. "Sorry, Ravena. I'll understand if you're mad at me, but I – mmph!"

Vermil was cut off as Ravena launched herself at him, knocking the mage to the floor and sealing his mouth with a fierce kiss. Vermil reflexively tried fighting until he realized what was happening, and then just gave up and let his girlfriend continue the assault.

"How could I possibly be mad at you?" Ravena asked, breaking it off as she got to her feet and helped Vermil do the same. "You help me save my father and your judgement was better than mine."

"Well, that's certainly a sight I didn't think I'd wake up to." Robin said dryly.

"Um, Ravena? Could you stop your father from trying to kill me, please?" Vermil's face turned the same color as his robes and he quickly looked away.

"It's fine. I owe you my life as well." Robin said.

"It's an honor to meet you." Lucina walked in front of Robin and bowed. "I am Lucina Lazuli Lowell, Chrom's daughter."

"Thank you, too." Robin paused. "Actually, come to think of it, I have something very important to ask you."

"You do?"

"Why is your middle name Lazuli and not Emmeryn?" Robin said. "It's been bothering me for a while."

"Mother named me Lazuli after the color of my hair." Lucina said, coughing and hiding a blush. "And she said that alliterative names are cute."

"Oh. That makes a lot of sense." Robin said.

"What was that about?" Pheros asked.

"When I first met the future Lucina, I already knew the planned name of the Ylissean princess, and I thought something funny was up. But Chrom assured me that the girl's middle name would be Emmeryn, and since there's no connection between Lazuli and the royal family, I bought into the story that the names were just a coincidence." Robin said. "Of course, I learned the whole story later, but I never could figure out why 'Lazuli' as a middle name. Now I know."

"That's what you care about?" Pheros said. "You're missing for five years and the first thing you ask about is Lucina's name?"

"I was curious!" Robin protested, getting defensive, only for Pheros to calm him down with a quick peck.

"Of course you were. You're always curious."

"How have you been, Pheros?" Robin asked. "I'm sure the others would tell me, but I would like to hear it from you. How has the world been?"

"I am fine. Better now. And the world seems to be in good order." Pheros said. "I can't guarantee it, of course, but it is slowly acclimating to the new way of things. Are you looking to make a return to it?"

"No, I don't think so. The time of the Crimson Tactician is over." Robin said. "All I am right now is Robin. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"And that's good enough for me." Pheros said with a smile.

FIN