We left Southtown behind not long after Robin and I officially joined the Shepherds. I retrieved my backpack from the alleyway I left it in before leaving. It wasn't long after that the sun began to set, and we set up camp in an unassuming part of the woods, just a small walk from the road we were traveling. Frederick volunteered to gather firewood and hunt for some food, and I elected to join him. The others set up the camp while we trekked through the wilderness.

"You're… enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked him, once we had a sizeable portion of firewood in our arms.

"I am." Frederick replied tersely.

He had about a metric ton of sticks and logs in his arms, and he carried it with a small smile on his face, although my clumsy attempts at small talk as we gathered the firewood were met with curt answers. Not ready to give up on at least trying to know Frederick, I went with one of the few things I remembered about him from the Support conversations. That being, his love for making fires.

"Is there a reason you're enjoying this? I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy slogging through the woods with sticks and logs in my arms as much as the next guy, but you seem to be really liking this." I continued.

"I enjoy the act of making a campfire. Is this so hard to believe?" Frederick said, looking back at me.

"No, not really. I'm just asking what about it you enjoy. Is it the process? The feeling you get from doing it? Satisfaction? I'm all ears," I pushed.

"It is satisfying. The process of building something from nothing has always been one that has fascinated me. Doubly so when you do it with your own two hands. A word I would personally use to describe it would be-"

"Cathartic?" I interrupted.

"Yes."

What an awkward Support conversation this has been. Then again, we don't really have a lot in common.

"Alex," He said suddenly, startling me and almost making me drop the firewood in my arms.

"Yeah?"

"You are a foreigner," He stated.

"Yep."

"From what country do you hail from?" He asked succinctly.

I stopped dead in my tracks, and I could feel Frederick's eyes boring into me.

"I… I'll tell you when we get back to camp. Sound good?" I said weakly.

No, it's fine, just make yourself sound suspicious as all hell when you say that. It's not like you're talking to somebody with the title 'the Wary' or anything, right, boy scout?

After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "Very well."

Frederick's question brought up something that I knew I would have to talk about eventually. It also reminded me that I was wholly unprepared to answer any questions regarding where I came from.

Somehow, I didn't think 'I'm from the Outrealms, bro' would cut it. Besides, it would be more difficult to convince everyone that I was from an entirely different world rather than just from another continent.

My musings were interrupted by a rustling in the bushes just next to us. We both stopped in our tracks again, looking at the animated shrubbery.

"Give me your firewood and I'll take it to the camp while you kill whatever the hell that is," I whispered.

Frederick nodded once. He doubled the weight on my poor strained arms while he unslung the silver spear from his back and carefully stepped towards the bushes.

I left as fast as I could, so I didn't get to see Frederick murder a poor, unsuspecting animal, unfortunately.

For the record, the bear we ate tasted very sweet, and didn't have a lot of fat in it. I didn't know why Lissa complained about it, and certainly didn't understand why Frederick seemed to turn green at the thought of eating it either. It tasted amazing to me, but that may've just been because I hadn't eaten anything since that morning. Chrom and Robin agreed with me.

Chrom and Robin sat side-by-side on a log, not far from the fire, talking about something I couldn't hear while Frederick sat with his back propped up against a tree, where he could easily see the entire camp. Robin and Chrom were in his immediate field of view. Lissa seemed to be fiddling around with the top of her staff, near them. Frederick's horse was tied to a post that we had hammered into the ground while it idly grazed on grass. I sat alone, staring into the flames of the fire.

The last bits of daylight were still over the horizon, bathing the quickly darkening sky in an orange glow. I could see the stars beginning to become visible through the orange haze.

"Alex," Frederick's deep, stern voice could be heard well over the crackling of the fire. I turned my head in his direction, noticing him staring at me.

Ah shit. Better now than later, I guess.

I walked over quickly and sat down on the ground in front of him.

"This is about where I'm from, right?"

Frederick nodded once.

I sighed, gathering the right words. "I'm from the United States of America." I said finally.

Frederick raised a brow. "'The United States of America'?"

"Yeah, it's not on this continent, I don't think. Well, at least, I hope not. But yeah. Call it the U.S. for short," I said, a little faster than I was expecting from myself.

Before Frederick could respond, we received an unexpected visitor. "Heeeey! What're you guys talking about over here?" Lissa asked, curiously.

"I was telling Frederick about how I worship the Outer God Nyarlathotep, and how he was gonna join up as well. Whether he liked it or not," I replied dryly.

"Ah, really? That's kinda- Wait, w-what!?" Lissa sputtered, taking a few steps back.

I couldn't help but snicker, while Frederick gave me a withering glare. "I assure you this is untrue, milady. Alex was only informing me of his homeland. A place supposedly called 'The United States of America'."

"Or the U.S. for short. Can't forget that part," I added.

"Woah, really? I've never heard of a place called that before!" Lissa said.

"Nor have I," Frederick said, his expression neutral.

"You asked me where I came from. I told you," I huffed, crossing my arms. "I'm guessing you wanna know more than that, though."

"Do you have proof? I have never heard of this country you speak of, and for all I know you can be fabricating it on the spot," Frederick said, his gaze never leaving mine for even a second.

"Really, Frederick?" Lissa pouted, "Didn't you see his clothes - well, his clothes from before? I've never even seen anything like what he was wearing."

"That is true, milady; his garb was strange. I would simply like more to alleviate my suspicions," Frederick replied calmly.

"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute…" I said, rummaging through the pockets of my jeans for a second. I could have gone to my backpack and gotten the psychology textbook, but it wasn't worth it. This was easier anyway. After a moment, I pulled out my wallet, and showed it to them. "This is my wallet. Has all sorts of cool stuff in it. Like this."

I didn't miss the way Frederick's arm moved a slight bit more towards his spear, ready just in-case I did something with the unfamiliar object in my hands. Lissa stared with abject curiosity as I opened the wallet and pulled out my Learner's Permit. I never did get my Driver's License. I gave it to Frederick, who seemed to analyze its every last detail.

"If you want, I could show you my phone too-"

"I cannot read this." Frederick interrupted me. "The language on this," Frederick squinted. "Whatever this is, is illegible."

"What?" I blinked, genuinely confused.

"I can see a face with lifelike qualities that resembles you a great deal, but the words do not make sense to me," Frederick reiterated, handing back my Learner's Permit. "I am willing to entertain the idea that you are, in fact, from the 'United States of America' as you said, although I am still unsure as to why you would be so near a place like Southtown."

That was not a good sign. The fact that Frederick couldn't read English, yet we were speaking it, or what I recognized to be it, almost made me want to groan out loud. It would mean I'd probably have to learn an entirely new written language.

"Well, I guess that's all I can ask for," I sighed again.

"Hey, don't feel too bad!" Lissa said, "Frederick's grumpy like this with every new person he meets. It just takes him a while to trust people is all!"

"And I would not have it any other way, milady," Frederick replied, "Better to be cautious than dead."

"Eh, what can ya do?" I looked up at the sky and saw the last rays of sunlight begin to darken. "We should probably go to sleep. Something tells me we'll be up early tomorrow."

That's so true though, considering what is about to happen.

"Yeah, I'm beat! We could've been sleeping in a warm bed right now, but somebody decided to go hiking into the woods instead!" Lissa pouted, doing her best to glare at Frederick.

"As milord said, hardship builds character," Frederick repeated.

"Yeah, yeah… See you guys in the morning!" Lissa said cheerfully, before walking off.

I intended to walk away with her, but Frederick had other plans. Frederick turned back to me. "Before you go, Alex, I have one last question for you."

Suppressing a moan, I answered, "Yeah?"

"Why are you here?" He asked.

I paused for a moment. "Like, right here? Well, you asked me to come over here and-"

"You misunderstand what I am asking. Why are you here, with us? Why did you decide to take up milord's offer?" He elaborated, "I will not lie to you, Alex. You are not very impressive; I can see the fat that lines your stomach through your shirt, and you do not show the signs of a capable warrior in the slightest. You have seemingly lived a life of luxury before we found you. With this in mind, I ask you again: Why are you here?"

That hit a lot harder than I thought it would.

I looked down at my admittedly slightly doughy stomach and sighed, "Knowing all that, why would you let Chrom ask me to join without saying anything?" I shot back indignantly.

"Do not dodge my question. It is a simple query, although the answers are varied and complicated depending on the person. Answer me," Frederick pressed.

I may've disliked myself. I disliked myself a lot, but hearing the words I'd always told myself in my head be spoken out of another person's mouth always hurt more somehow. I was able to keep my emotions in check that time, however. Blowing up in Frederick's face like a moron would only serve to make me seem apparently more pathetic in his eyes. I took a deep breath and formulated a response.

"Because I hate the way I am, alright?" After a few moment's silence, I continued, "You see this, Freddy?" I grabbed my stomach, "I hate this. You see this?" I flexed my arms, showing muscle but not a large amount. Not compared to the others, sans Lissa. "I want these to be bigger. I want to be a… I want to be a better person, okay? That's all that this is. I want to be someone that another person looks at and says: 'Look at that guy, he looks like he saves lives for a living!' or something like that! I never had the courage to do it beforehand. Nor did I have the will to do it. But here? Here, I can do it! Or, at least, I can try!"

I paused, took a few deep breaths before forcibly calming myself down. "Long story short, I want to have an interesting life. I want to be a goddamn hero, alright? And if you think I'm gonna just let you discourage me or something like that, might as well stop, 'cause I'm not going anywhere."

"That is unfortunate," Frederick said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I could almost feel my lip twitching in a snarl. "Why's that?"

"Because you are not cut out for that life," Frederick answered, "I look at you, and I see a simple boy with a spear. You have neither the instincts nor the body. It would be best for you to leave while you still have the chance."

Frederick's speech struck a nerve in me. He'd basically hit all my insecurities. However, it also opened up a route to fix all said insecurities.

"Then train me," I muttered.

"Pardon?" Frederick asked, raising a brow.

"Train me," I repeated, "Or teach me or some shit like that. Help me turn this," I squeezed my stomach. "into something better. Help me make these," I flexed my arms. "bigger. Ask me to, and I'll do whatever is necessary to make what I said earlier become real."

Frederick seemed to regard me differently then. "Are you sure of this? Any training regimen I devise for you would be harsh. Harsher than most I would give considering the state your body is in."

"I don't care, man," I replied sullenly, "I'll do anything you ask me to. Have an outrageous exercise? I'll do it. Hell, I'll do it three times. Just… give me a chance, okay? I don't really have anywhere else to go right now."

Especially considering I've just learned I can't read this world's language.

Frederick's eyes glimmered with an unrecognizable shine when I said that. "Very well. When we return to the capitol, we will begin immediately."

I blinked. I wasn't expecting it to be that easy.

"Uh, one more thing." I said.

"Yes?"

"Is there someone in the capitol who can figure out if I can use magic or not?" I asked. hopeful.

I assumed Miriel could help in that regard. I wasn't just going to touch Robin's tome after all. I didn't even know how the magic of the world really worked other than it was split between Dark and Anima magic, with staves for healing.

"Does 'the United States of America' not have a magical institute of any sort?" Frederick responded with a question. When I shook my head, he continued. "I am sure someone could. Magic can take years to learn. I do not understand why you would try to learn it now."

That's one nail in the Mage Knight coffin then.

"Well, alright then. I guess I'll go to sleep now. Good night," I said, getting up and beginning to walk away.

"Indeed. Good night, Alex." Frederick said.

I grunted. I was asleep moment later.

I was in a room. My room. A dark red light filtered in through the blue drapes covering the window, and everything looked old and rotted.

I got up, my bed splintering and cracking underneath me until it was nothing more than a pile of cloth and wood. Every step I took would cave the floor in, revealing a black hole. The house creaked and groaned louder and louder with each step I took. I reached the door to my room, which at that moment separated from the frame, free from the rusting and rapidly disintegrating hinges. I entered the hallway.

With every step I took, the house seemed to quake. The paint peeled from the walls, falling to the ground like wood shavings. As I went down the stairs, cracks formed in the ceiling, with little bits of plaster and roof tile crumbling as soon as they hit the ground. The covering an air filter screeched like a banshee, before it tumbled to the ground with a crash. The grate-like covering curled in on itself until it almost looked like a dead insect, or an extremely malformed hand. It rusted and disintegrated a moment later.

Once I reached the ground floor, I saw them. The house was completely collapsing now, but I could still see them. My friends. My family. They sat on a decrepit, molded couch, looking at me with eyes like those of a dead fish.

I walked so slow towards them it was like I was trying to trudge through a river made out of molasses. I reached out to them.

Then they started melting.

It was like they were made of wax that had a heat lamp on it. Their skin, their clothes, their everything melted and congealed onto the ground in a muddled brown puddle. It flowed like water into the cracks in the floorboards, occasionally taking a floorboard with it.

All I saw was red.

I didn't wake up screaming or anything clichéd like that, but I did abruptly wake up with a start, with sweat covering almost every part of my body. I looked around wildly, my head moving from left to right over and over again.

I realized where I was a moment later. It was at that point that I realized a part of me wanted what had happened to be a dream. Rationally, I knew that it was too real. The way I had bashed a bandit's head in with a rock, the way I had stabbed through that other bandit's torso until he stopped moving, it was all too real.

You can't get out of it that easily, boy scout. It'll be with you forever.

The dream was already fading away from memory, but the pit I felt in my stomach and the heaviness in my chest did not go away when I remembered my murders. I tried my best not to dwell on those thoughts. I would have time later, when we weren't about to be attacked by horrid monsters from the future.

Speaking of horrid monsters, I looked around our campsite. There was a rotation of people who would watch the camp while everyone else was asleep and considering I could not see Chrom or Lissa anywhere, the Risen were probably only a few minutes from showing up at most.

"Well, shit," I mumbled to myself, looking around for my backpack. It was just a couple feet away from me, and the spear that I had taken from the bandit stuck out of it from between two zippers rather haphazardly. I scooted over until I was right next to it, abandoning my sleeping bag.

Robin slept like a log across from me, his sleeping form only visible from the few remaining embers of the fire. Frederick looked nearly as still as a statue, sleeping right next to a tree, looking like he could spring to life at a moment's notice, still wearing his armor.

I waited for what felt like an eternity, listening to the sounds of the forest. I found myself staring at the stars in the sky as I waited.

…I've never seen a clear sky like this before.

It was stunning. Beautiful. I felt myself calming down just by looking at it.

Then the world began to split a part.

It began with a rumbling in the earth, and I reached for the lance in my backpack as soon as I felt it. Just moments later, in the distance, I saw a giant mass of land rise into the sky. The glow of magma was visible even from where I was.

And then the sky split open.

A dark void divided the sky in two, like a piece of paper torn in the middle. A shockwave that nearly caused me to roll across the ground, making the trees shake with the force, shot through the air. A sound, a cursed sound that felt like somebody running their nails across a chalkboard and distorted with echoes reverberated throughout the whole forest. It almost made me feel like my ears were going to start bleeding. The moment I saw an eye staring out of the dark void, I looked away.

"By the Gods!" I heard Frederick shout. I didn't know he had woken up. "What is happening!? Milord! Where are you!?"

"I dunno, and I dunno!" I shouted back, lying through my teeth. I began putting on my backpack and staring at the treeline, ready to warn the other two if any Risen decided to attack us. I saw Robin still on the ground in his sleeping pack. I rushed over to him and shook him as hard as I could.

How the fuck could he sleep through what just happened!?

"Robin!" I shouted at the albino amnesiac. "Robin, you bastard, wake up!"

"H-Huh? What's happening!?" He asked, his eyes groggily opening before opening so wide it looked like his eyelids would rip apart. Kinda like the sky did.

"Like I told Freddy, haven't got a fucking clue!" I lied loudly, pulling Robin to his feet forcefully. I turned back around to see Frederick quickly get on his horse, untying it from the post and calming it down as fast as he could.

"We need to find milord and milady immediately! Both of you, get on!" Frederick ordered.

I took one look at Frederick's armored horse. "Can that horse support one giant armored guy plus two normal guys?" I'd always heard that the amount a horse can carry on their back has been greatly exaggerated in fiction.

Frederick looked at me as if I had said something so stupid he almost couldn't comprehend it. "Jagen has carried more than all of us combined on his back before, and so did his fathers! Get on now!"

Wait, his horse's name is Jagen!?

Ignoring the fact that Frederick's horse was probably some sort of god-like entity considering it could hold all three of us, I ran up to Frederick and got on the horse, helping Robin get on as well. Frederick… did something with his legs, and we were off like a speeding bullet.

"Gods, more horseback riding…" Robin mumbled grumpily.

"Not a fan, I take it?" I asked back, trying to keep my voice over the sound of the wind in my ears.

"There's something about the motion, the way the horse is moving… My stomach feels like it is flipping around inside of me," Robin elaborated. He almost looked green.

"Well, let's hope we find Chrom and Lissa soon, then. Frederick! I saw them head towards the direction of that wall of lava over there, just before everything went to shit!" I directed, pointing in the direction of the giant wall of rock with magma spewing from the crack in the earth it made.

Frederick didn't even say anything as his horse galloped in that direction. We had a few close calls with trees, but Frederick's horse always instinctively knew when to move. On top of super strength, it also had hyper-awareness.

Just what kind of horses do they breed in Ylisse!?

We turned around the giant trunk of a tree on fire and saw our first Risen.

I'd mentioned it several times when I first met Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and Robin, but up to that point, I'd barely been able to recognize that they were the characters themselves based on looks alone. 2D interpretations of people, especially in the anime art style Awakening had, did not translate completely well to real life, or at least not in ways that you'd expect.

The Risen, the creature, looked like the very definition of a zombie. It wore the standard soldier army from the game that you'd sometimes see in portraits, only rusted, and looking like it would fall apart at any moment. Its face was a rotten purple, with no visible nose. Its eyes glowed a blood-red and I could feel them boring a hole into my soul. It stared at us from across a small patch of field, frozen like a statue. Frederick's horse stopped in its tracks, and Frederick seemed absolutely astonished at the creature that stood in front of us. Robin gasped audibly when he looked at it.

Then, with slow, stilted movements, the abomination looked to the sky, and howled. It sounded like a deaf person screaming in pain. I had an appropriate response in kind. I cowered behind Frederick's massive form.

Some brave hero you are.

I peeked from behind Frederick, to see the Risen running towards us. It ran faster than a human ever possibly could, a sword held in one hand. I swore I could hear the crunching of bone as it pushed it's dead, decaying muscle to the absolute limit just for a chance to murder us horribly.

Frederick grunted, and his horse charged the undead monstrosity. He held his spear forward, ready to impale the creature.

I'd almost forgotten you're an absolute badass, Frederick. I'm sorry.

The lance connected with the Risen, and its chest exploded, splattering the grass with viscera and black blood. The red eyes vanished slowly, glaring at us with absolute hatred before the husk that was once a human fell to the ground, disappearing along with the gore into a purple mist. Soon, it was like it was never there at all. The only thing that even gave a hint that something was there was the footsteps the Risen took to reach us. It was sprinting at us so powerfully it dug the earth away every time it took a step.

It was a good few moments before any of us spoke.

"A-are such creatures common in this country?" Robin asked shakily.

"No," Frederick replied flatly.

I said nothing.

We ended up finding Chrom and Lissa only seconds after our first Risen encounter. Chrom had Falchion unsheathed, and Lissa looked like she was about to start screaming at any moment.

"Milord! Milady! Are you hurt!?" Frederick said, genuine fear in his tone.

"Frederick! Robin! Alex!" Lissa shouted in relief as we approached. "Thank goodness…!"

"We ran into a… creature on the way here," Robin said, climbing off of Frederick's horse. "Chrom, did you see one as well?"

"One?" Chrom echoed. "No, we saw dozens. Only two came after us. We were able to fend them off with the help of… Huh?" Chrom looked around incredulously. "Where did he go?"

"Milord, the whereabouts of whoever helped you can wait. We must destroy these creatures while we still can," Frederick said, looking around at the dark forest all around us.

"Yeah, and get absolutely torn apart in the process," I commented, trying to get off Jagen before getting my foot caught on something. "Shit, sonuva-!"

I fell to the ground face first. I could hear Lissa giggling but other than that, nothing. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Blondy."

Always use humor to take the edge off, bucko.

"Oh, who are you calling 'blondy'? Your hair is almost as blond as mine!" Lissa laughed. At this, even Chrom chuckled slightly.

"Now ya see, I can pull it off better than you… can…" I trailed off as I looked at the forest behind Chrom and Lissa. At seeing my face, both of their faces fell.

"Alex? What's wrong?" Chrom asked.

Robin looked to where I was staring, and his red eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. "C-Chrom! Behind you!"

The blue-haired lord turned around, Falchion at the ready. In the treeline, just beyond where the light touches, were a pair of glowing red eyes. They just stared at us. Menacingly.

I saw Robin turn his head, looking away from the red eyes. His eyes narrowed at something in the distance. "Chrom, is that an abandoned fort over there?" He pointed where he was looking.

Chrom briefly glanced in the direction Robin pointed. "Yes. There are many of those in this part of the country."

Just as Chrom said this, more eyes seemed to open and glare at us openly. It was like looking at a night sky full of red stars.

I don't remember there being quite that many Risen on the game map!

"Chrom, there's a lot of them!" Lissa said, voice shaking.

"Forts present a distinct tactical advantage in battle," Robin said, voice level, "Although, in this case, it would be an excellent position to hold out from."

"You are proposing we trap ourselves?" Frederick said critically.

"It's either that or we take them on in open battle. And in case you haven't noticed…" Robin trailed off as a Risen began walking slowly out of the treeline, a slight limp in its step and a sword dragging on the ground behind it.

Like the Risen I'd seen before, the thing was easily one of the most viscerally disturbing things I had ever seen in my entire life. It wore the shredded clothing of what I assumed was a villager. Its purple head seemed to be caved in on one side, and black blood oozed out of the wound.

Zombie movies and stories are entertaining until you live in one.

"I support the tactician's position. We need to get the fuck outta here," I hissed, hands gripping my lance so tightly my hand were completely white.

Chrom's head snapped back to us. "Alright… Alright! Everyone, to the fort, now!" He ordered.

"At once, milord." Frederick said.

Just before we began running, the Risen that had stepped out into the open screeched like a banshee. All hell broke loose. The Risen that had apparently gathered in the forest ran out of it in a stampede. There were dozens of them, each and every one just a grisly and horrible to look at as the last.

We ran like the wind, with Frederick leading the charge. The fort wasn't very impressive, but its walls looked like they were in good condition. There were few, if any, ways for the Risen to climb the walls. The stone archway entrance also seemed to have a heavy wooden door.

It didn't take us long to reach the vicinity of the fort, but there was a very big surprise waiting there for us when we did. Someone was struggling to close the wooden doors of the stone archway. Someone with blue hair, a tiara, and a mask. Marth/Lucina was one of the few people I was able to recognize almost instantly.

She didn't seem surprised when she saw us. Granted, it would be hard to tell considering she was still wearing that mask. She instantly stopped trying to push the doors closed and motioned for us to go faster. "Come on!" She shouted, in that fake voice of hers.

I was the last person in our little running group. Having Chrom and Robin able to outrun me did not make me feel too bad, considering they'd probably had years of conditioning. But Lissa was outrunning me. In a frilly dress. I didn't count Frederick because he was on a horse.

I only feel slightly emasculated. Don't worry.

Something possessed me to look behind us. An ocean of Risen were on our heels. Rusty and broken weapons clashing against each other and the ground made my teeth rattle. The growls and snarls that came from the crowd of undead nearly made me piss my pants in fear. Darkness began to cloud my vision. I pushed my legs to go as fast as I possibly could, still feeling like I was getting nowhere. It felt like the Risen were gaining on me, no matter what I did. I was certain I would be caught before I reached the gates, and they would either tear me apart or turn me into one of them.

hApPy ThOuGhTs.

"He's in! Close the doors, now!

I made it just in time. The others had made it through the stone archway just before I did and were already ready to close the doors when I made it through. With Frederick and Robin on one side, and Chrom and 'Marth' on the other, the doors closed with what sounded to my ears eerily like a thunderclap. A sturdy wooden plank was put on two outcroppings on each side of the door, keeping it from opening. The Risen slammed into it just a moment later. The door groaned with strain, but held.

I was on the ground, feeling nauseous. I gulped down air like it was the most precious thing on the face of the planet. Robin seemed to be in the same camp as I was, if him slumping to the ground with his back against the wall was anything to go by.

"Is everyone alright?" Chrom called.

"I am fine, milord." Frederick said, dismounting.

"J-just a little outta breath, Chrom. This stupid dress made running a little… hah, hard!" Lissa breathed.

"A little winded, but otherwise nothing wrong here," Robin commented.

"I feel like I'm about to cough up my lungs, but I won't let them, don't worry." I gasped.

Chrom chuckled. "You have a strange way of putting things, Alex."

I sat up and held my arms out like I was challenging him. "Foreigner, remember?

"Oh, really? What else have you been keeping from me?" Chrom asked, smiling.

"I'm also a prophet of Slaanesh, but don't tell anyone," I murmured conspiratorially.

Chrom shook his head, before turning to the silent 'Marth'. "It seems I owe you for helping us twice. Might I know your name?"

After a brief moment of silence, 'Marth' spoke. "You may call me Marth."

Ah shit, here we go again. Front row seat to a cutscene.

"'Marth'? After the Hero-King?" Chrom asked curiously.

"Marth, hah!" I wheezed, waving my hand in the air. "Either your parents had zero creativity, or you're a time traveler."

That may have been a little too on the nose, boy scout.

'Marth' looked at my waving arm strangely, but seemingly ignored my comment.

Before anyone could speak, another 'bang' came from the wooden door.

"Uh… How long is that door gonna last?" Lissa asked nervously.

"It is a sturdy oaken door, even if old," Frederick supplied, "They will hold for now."

"Good. I have a feeling we will wait here for a while. If we blindly charge at them now, we'll be torn apart," Robin said, standing back up and dusting off his coat. "Unless, of course, this fortress has an escape route. That might actually be worth checking out… Chrom?"

"Go ahead, Robin. If you find anything, let me know." Chrom said.

As Robin entered the fort's main building, I spoke again, "So, what if he doesn't find anything here? We just gonna wait those fuckers out?"

"I don't see any other way out of this. Robin's right; there are too many out there for all of us to take down." Chrom replied.

"We're gonna stay in this dusty old fort all night?" Lissa whined.

"That would be ill-advised, sir," 'Marth' finally spoke again, "Those creatures do not tire. They will be here until we are either gone or dead."

"You seem to know a lot about those creatures, Marth," Frederick said.

"I have been fighting them all my life, sir," 'Marth' responded grimly.

Chrom seemed to think for a moment, before apparently coming to a decision. "I sent Sully out to patrol a nearby village. With any luck, she'll be here soon, and we can come up with a better plan."

"Christ, it's just like Helm's Deep," I muttered.

Chrom looked to me and raised a brow. "Helm's Deep?"

I waved a hand. "I'll tell ya later, man. When we aren't about to be murdered by a bunch of purple-skinned abominations."

"I'll hold you to that, Alex," Chrom smirked. "For now, I think we should rest. Prepare yourselves just in case they break through."

I had my back against the wall, my legs splayed out against the ground in front of me. My spear was on my lap, still clutched tightly by my hands. It had been a few minutes since Robin had gone into the fort to look for an escape route, but somehow, I doubted he'd find one. Frederick guarded the door to the fort like a watchdog. He didn't even jump when the door sounded like somebody slammed their whole body against it. Chrom and Lissa went to go find Robin, and for all I knew, they were planning a strategy involving Sully right at that moment.

Which meant that the only free people in the fort were 'Marth' and I.

She approached me first, standing in front of me like she was trying to block the moonlight from hitting me. I just sat there, looking up at her awkwardly.

"Uh, 'Dear Diary, creepy masked man stared at me today and it really made me feel uncomfortable. I wish he would stop'," I japed.

This did not affect 'Marth', in the slightest.

I held my head in my hands, groaning. "Look, man. I've had a hell of a day. So unless you've got something to-"

"You know who I am," 'Marth' said simply.

…Oh shit.

That sent my mind into overdrive. I looked up carefully, directly at 'Marth's face. "Do I?" I replied carefully.

'Marth' nodded. "You told us everything."

"…Well, shit," I sighed, messaging my temples. "Look, yeah, I know everything. About you, and about your time travelling groupies. Happy? Future me tell you 'everything'? Or just everything?"

"You told us everything." 'Marth' repeated.

"Well, then, why are you talking to me, Lucina?" I whispered harshly, "Your father is just inside the goddamn fort. Go talk to him if you want stimulating conversation. I'm practically useless to you as I am now."

"Even now, I still have trouble believing everything you told us in the future," Lucina said, "But this is quite the experience."

"Yeah? Tell me about it," I laughed awkwardly. "Seriously, though. Why aren't you talking to your father? It'll be a while until you can talk to him again."

"I am… trying to keep it that way," Lucina replied, "It is best I don't interfere unless absolutely necessary."

"And yet here you are, talking to the biggest outside-context problem in history," I muttered, "Okay, I'll bite, princess. Why're you talking to me, specifically?"

"You need to leave," She said curtly.

"Not gonna happen, considering the fucking wights are outside," I responded, irritated.

She shook her head. "I mean leave the Shepherds, Sir Alex."

I paused then. "Why?"

"Because you are not meant for this life," She answered, "Joining the Shepherds of your own volition was an admirable thing, but it will only hurt someone like you."

"The hell brought this on?" I asked slowly, "You only know me from the future, so you must be basing what you said on what happened to me in the future," I paused again, "…What happened to me?"

Lucina didn't speak for several moments. She may have been deciding whether she should tell me or not, but eventually she spoke again, "You became a bitter, cold man," She said.

"Well shit, I guess nothing's changed," I said, half-seriously.

"From what I have seen of you, you are almost nothing like the Sir Alex I know. Why would you say something like that?" Lucina demanded.

"Just a joke, kid. Jesus. Anything else you wanna say to try and persuade me?" I asked.

"You… Hmph. Sir Alex served the Ylissean crown for many years. Fought in countless battles. But he was a broken man. In all the time I knew him, he never once smiled. I… would rather not have the same thing happen again."

I looked Lucina dead in the eye, or mask, or whatever. "…Did this 'Sir Alex' have a wife?"

"That is a question I refuse to answer," Lucina said instantly.

"And there it is," I mumbled. I thought for a moment, before finally replying, "I'm not leaving."

"But why? Do you not have family back in your home country? What would they think if they saw you in the state I described?" Lucina queried, confused.

"Either I really didn't tell you everything in the future, or you're really trying to pull the family card on me. It'd probably work in any other situation, but I'm stuck here. In Ylisse. There's no going home for me. Chrom's group is the one I know the most, so I'm going to stay with him. Not like I'd have a better chance anywhere else, honestly." I said.

Can't forget your little idealistic bullshit as well, can we?

Lucina looked a little… shocked? It was hard to tell, again, because of the mask. She seemed to process my words for a moment. "Is there truly no way to persuade you, Sir Alex?"

"I've already murdered two people," I said quietly, "If I just leave now, then what was that for? Not sure I'd be able to take it honestly. Besides, your whole shtick is about 'challenging your fate', right? Well, guess I'll do the same thing, huh?"

"Very well," Lucina said, looking down. "I will not try to remove you by force. Goodbye, Sir Alex. I wish you luck."

"You ever need to talk about the future or shit like that, I'm available. Probably the only other person who understands what you're going through other than your friends," I said, just before she walked away.

She didn't give a sign that she heard anything I had said.

I sighed, rubbing my palms against my face. So much had been left unsaid in that conversation it was honestly astonishing. Future me, since I knew there was a future me, apparently couldn't keep his mouth shut. I only hoped nothing came about from that information. Or that if there did, it wouldn't be detrimental.

I groaned.

Things are gonna get a lot more complicated now, boy scout.

So, how was that? Have I scared any of you off yet? Hopefully I haven't but you never know.

Not really a lot to say about this chapter, other than I was surprised at how I portrayed the Risen. They're more like the wights from GoT then they are like the Risen from the game. And as we can see here, a lot more numerous as well.

Anyway, hopefully this chapter was up to snuff. If not, then I accept full responsibility.

Edited on 2/5/21. Just some grammatical mistakes and a whole lot of tense errors fixed. Man, nothing quite like fixing almost two year old errors in my writing.