The rain stopped.

Dark clouds still hung in the sky like a blanket over the world, but the rain had stopped. I was thankful for small mercies, and it made my job less miserable. It didn't necessarily make it easier, but at least I wasn't soaking wet.

It didn't take a lot of asking around to find out where Lucina has disappeared to. Unsurprisingly, Robin had turned up not long before I went to talk with Chrom, and he'd been seen following her into a nearby forest clearing. Alone. My stomach dropped at the news, and I had to keep myself from panicking. I knew what was happening. If I didn't hurry up, Robin would be dead, and his innocent blood would be on Lucina's hands. I'd made a mistake in not following her, but it was one that I was not going to repeat. I followed their footsteps to the forest clearing, my left hand on Sol's pommel the entire time.

In a straight-up fight, I'd lose against Lucina. I knew that. My swordsmanship wasn't based on finesse or technique; all I did was swing the damned thing around until the other person stopped moving. Pure strength, a bit like Chrom except not as impressive. Lucina, on the other hand, was a near-perfect mixture of raw power and technique. I supposed she got that from her mother. Pegasus Knights tended to rely on skill rather than strength, after all, but unlike them, she had both.

And yet, that didn't deter me in the slightest as I made my way through the trees and underbrush. I pushed onward, eyes narrowing as I finally came upon the clearing I'd been told about. Fallen trees lined it, as if it used to be a training ground of some sort. I saw them, right in the middle. Lucina didn't have Falchion unsheathed yet, but I couldn't hear them speaking.

That changed when I saw her remove the ancient blade from its scabbard. Her words became louder, but Robin seemed nonplussed. He didn't even move an inch. In fact, it was almost like he was being weighed down by something I couldn't see as if an invisible weight had been placed upon his shoulders. Lucina's words echoed in my ears.

"I'm sorry, Robin, but I must end you," Lucina declared resolutely. "You… you are the Fell Dragon's vessel. It's you who will bring untold destruction upon the world if left alone. Even if you do not personally wish it, it does not matter. I can't allow it. Not again."

"Do you really think killing me will bring peace, Lucina?" Robin asked, his voice sincere with not a trace of mockery and anger. "Will destroying me… will destroying me solve everything? Will it stop him?"

Lucina's grip faltered, if only slightly. "I… I don't know. Truthfully, I have doubts, but this is the only way I can think of. Ylisstol has fallen. I'm… my past self is in Grima's grasp. This may not strike him down, but perhaps it might weaken him. I don't understand Naga's powers, but I must be willing to take this chance."

"Then do it."

My lips thinned as I got ready to charge forward. I didn't even know why I was still standing there, listening. It was madness on my part, or perhaps it was like watching a train wreck; I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Lucina eyes widened. "You would give up your life so willingly?"

"Lucina, I know what I am," Robin replied, his voice cracking. "I've known for a long time, but I didn't want to face it. I will do such horrible things! I'll kill everyone, turn one of my best friends into a mockery of everything he stood for, I'll destroy the world. I-I'm… I'm done, Lucina. I can't take this anymore. I'm tired of running, tired of trying to justify my own heinous acts. Even now, I feel the urge to stop you, but I won't. I refuse to." Robin held his arms out, making himself as vulnerable as possible. "All that I ask is that you make it quick, possibly painless. A-And tell Tiki that I'm sorry."

Lucina grimaced, shielding her eyes from my view for a moment before looking back up, her gaze resolute. "Very well, Robin. You are braver than I gave you credit for. Godspeed."

I sprung forward, Sol ready. Lucina charged Robin at the same time, Falchion aimed directly at his chest, at his heart. I wouldn't let that happen. Never in a million years. I snarled as Sol clashed against Falchion, stopping the blade from skewering Robin.

"Not on my watch!" I snapped, keeping Falchion's blade within an inch of Robin's chest.

Lucina looked at me wildly, anger making itself apparent in her gaze. "Sir Alex!? What're you-!?"

With all the strength I could muster, I pushed Lucina back and stood between her and Robin.

"Alex, what do you think you're doing!?" Robin demanded.

"Protecting a friend, you fucking nitwit!" I growled, staring Lucina down. "I told you, Lucina. I'm not going to stand idly by while you try and murder my best friend."

"This doesn't concern you!" Lucina shot back, Falchion still at the ready. "Everyone will die if he lives! Don't you see? If we are to alter our fate-!"

"Fuck fate!" I snapped. "Fuck it! I don't give a damn what you saw in your future! I don't give a damn what happened to me! What matters is that we're all here now! Every single one of the Shepherds is ready to fight Grima and his minions to the bitter end! This is our chance!" I lowered my stance. "This doesn't need to happen, Lucina. Listen to me, killing Robin won't solve anything. We need him, as much as he needs us. If you can find it in your heart to trust me one last time, then please, put Falchion down. Aim it at the true enemy."

Lucina's lips quivered slightly, and Falchion visibly shook in her hand. "I-I don't…"

I sheathed Sol, no longer seeing a point in having it out anymore. "Your father asked me to stop you. If you want, you can still go through with. You'll just have to get past me. If you do that, just make sure you tell Sev and Cordy that I love them."

Lucina's already pale skin grew as white as sheet, her expression aghast. In the end, however, Falchion fell from her grip and hit the ground. I saw the beginnings of tears trailing down her face.

"Alex…" Robin growled, looking at the crying girl. "Why… why did you do that? If she-!"

"Why did I do that?" I spun around, glowering. "What the hell were you thinking, Robin!? What the fuck was that!? You get ousted and all of a sudden it's the end of the world? Where's your fight, man?"

"You know exactly where it went!" Robin seethed, his hands clenching into fists. "You are not the one who has had to watch all his plans fall apart in a single night. You are not the one who has to tell the families of countless men that their fathers and mothers and sons and daughters are dead!" Robin ran a hand down his face, sounding hysterical. "But most of all, you should be the one who hates me the most. You should be the one who wished this would happen. Did you not see what Grima – what my future self – twisted you into? I murdered all our friends in the future, Alex, including your wife, and now my future self will do the same thing again, perhaps even using my own body, while I can do nothing but scream and shout against a fate that I cannot change. This isn't what I thought life would be, Alex, and I'm sick of it."

"Robin, say one more word, and I'm going to slap the shit out of you." I placed a hand on Robin's shoulder, my gaze unwavering. "I'll give you the fucking Whiteford treatment, alright?"

Robin grimaced. "If you were to strike me, it might kill me. So, by all means."

"Oh, please," I spat. "Quit it with the fucking pity party, alright? You pulled me out of my slump, so I'll pull you out of yours. Fate can be changed, Robin. Look at me! Look at us!" I shook him lightly. "Look at you! We're still alive! Breathing! We've had a few close calls, yeah, but most of us are still here. We can fight this, goddamnit! You lost your memories, Robin. You aren't tied down by the same bullshit the future Robin was. You're more against Grima than anyone I know. I know you. Tiki knows you. She's probably known who you are since the very beginning, but she still loves you anyway, doesn't she?"

"That's not…" Robin trailed off as I continued.

"Chrom doesn't think any less of you. Hell, he sent me out here to make sure you weren't about to get axed," I continued. "We need you, Robin. Tiki needs you. I know shit looks bleak right now, but if my life is anything to go by, it can get better. The night's dark, yeah, but there's always a sunrise, Robin. The night won't last forever."

"You say those words with such conviction," Robin said quietly. "You truly believe them, don't you?"

I shrugged, a small smile on my face. "I've got to. Keeps me from running back to Whiteford again."

Robin chuckled, wiping at his eyes. "Y-Yes, and I wouldn't want to chase you all the way back there again, would I? Ha!"

"No, that place was a bit of a shithole." I stepped away from Robin. "That's all I wanted to say, Robin. Giving in like that doesn't help. Just makes things worse. I'd like to say I know that better than most people."

"I suppose you would, wouldn't you? Your life has been filled with highs and lows, as far as I can tell. Er, not that I pay close attention to your life or anything. Just an observation." Robin looked down, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for that, Alex. I feel as if you've given me more galvanizing speeches than I have to you."

I shrugged. "That a bad thing?"

"No, not in the slightest," He laughed. "Just something to think about. Why, if it weren't for you, Tiki and Chrom I might've… well, collapsed, for lack of a better term. Er…" Robin tilted his head as he looked behind me. "Lucina…"

I blinked, turning around. I cursed myself as I saw the blue-haired future princess sitting down with her back against a fallen tree and her legs pressed against her chest.

"…We haven't been very forthright with her, Robin," I said quietly. "Nor with Chrom. I don't think Chrom minds much; he trusts us. But Lucina, she came from a much darker place."

Robin nodded silently. "Should we…?"

I put a hand on his shoulder one last time. "I'm the one she has a problem with, Robin. I should be the one to set things straight. You aren't going to hold this against her, right?"

"Gods, no!" Robin vehemently denied. "Never. We were both not in our right minds. To blame her for this would be nothing short of insanity."

I nodded. "Good. Maybe you should speak with Tiki, get your mind right."

Robin pursed his lips and shook his head. "Tiki is fast asleep, Alex. She expended much of her power in that fight. A consequence she knew of. She won't be lucid for a few days at the least."

Rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly, I whispered, "Well, uh… go talk with Chrom, I guess. He'd probably like to know you're alright."

Robin acquiesced, walking off in the direction I came from. "I will. Gods, he must be in a state if he couldn't come here himself…"

Robin's voice disappeared, and I was left alone in the forest clearing with Lucina. I took one last deep breath and approached her.

"Hey, kid," I said, standing in front of her. "Mind if I set here?"

Lucina didn't reply, and I took it as my go-ahead. Quietly, I plopped down right next to her, looking out over the forest clearing. We both sat there silently for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of the forest. Crickets chirped nearby, echoing in my ears as I thought of what exactly to say.

"…I'm sorry," I began, rubbing the back of my neck. "About the whole not telling you thing. I know I was technically right but that doesn't make it… well, right. That was a scumbag move on my part, and I'll freely admit that."

Lucina finally looked up, her pale face shining with tears. "I'm not… That has little to do with my actions, truthfully, Sir Alex."

I tilted my head curiously, waiting for her to continue.

She pressed her knees closer to her chest, looking down. "I feel useless. Powerless. For a time now, I've felt as if the world is still hurtling towards destruction, with humanity's extinction all but inevitable. Despite our actions, despite all of the events we have participated in, our doom feels nearer than ever." She looked up to the sky, her eyes glistening. "Those clouds remind me of the impenetrable smog that choked our own skies, during the final days of our failed war. Father lies in a bed, a curse choking the life out of him, and yet all I can do is fight an impossible enemy. This sword… Falchion is all I have. My entire life is nothing but battle after battle against a fate that I cannot change. It's hopeless."

"It's not." I shook my head. "It's really not."

"How can you say that so adamantly?" Lucina questioned, looking at me with narrow eyes. "You see what I see. Gods, your… your future self was even turned into one of Grima's servants. I tried to stop him, to make him come with us, but he refused, and now he is just one more person I have failed to save. A drop in Grima's uncountable army. You of all people should be alongside me in this despair, and yet you persist with this optimism. How?"

"Optimism?" I raised a brow. "Is that what you call it? I'm not sure if it can be classified as optimistic or pessimistic, but what I think is much different than blind optimism. I believe in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I'll fight with everything I have to make sure the best comes to pass. We are not powerless, Lucina. You are not powerless, no matter what you say or feel. As long as I've known you, your heart has always been in the right place. If there were more people in the world like you, I doubt Grima would even be an issue."

Lucina wiped at her eyes. "I don't think I understand…"

"Probably because I'm talking nonsense and making this up as I go along, but that's neither here nor there," I chuckled. "What's important here is hope. You just said that you felt hopeless. Powerless, even. I don't see that, everywhere I look. I look around and see people who we've saved. Think of all the Shepherds still alive right now, your parents included. We're more powerful than we've ever been, even with the setback we had today. Look, shit's fucked. Don't get me wrong. But that doesn't mean we can't make it better with our own hands." I looked down at my iron hand. "…or hand, rather."

Lucina looked at me blankly for a few seconds. "…Gods, you really are different."

"Different?"

"From your future self. The Sir Alexander I grew up with," Lucina explained, letting out a breath. "He would never say anything close to what you've just told me. In fact, most of the time he said nothing at all. He didn't have that spark in your eyes, that spark of hope."

"I'll… take that as a compliment?"

"You should," Lucina mumbled. "You served our house for most of your life, and you always put on an air of infallibility, but I could see the cracks forming. Towards the end, when you were not in combat, you would limp. Arthritis, you called it. Your body was slowly breaking down under the strain you put yourself under, and now…"

"Now my future self is a Deadlord," I finished for her, snorting. "Like the punchline of a bad joke. A fucking tragedy is what it is. Sev's still in the cleric's tent after seeing that shit. If I ever come across that asshole again, I'll tear him apart."

"Sir Alex…"

I waved my iron hand. "I'm not about to do what I did at Kamui, don't worry. I've learned my lesson from that. Still, you get what I mean, right?"

"Hold onto hope, even in impossible circumstances?" Lucina answered, unsure.

"If I had a medal, I'd give you one," I laughed. "I know I'm not the best at giving advice, but that's just what I think. It's all I can give you, really. To help you. And I know I'm definitely not the best person to be giving it, too. After all I've put you through. Still, if there's one thing I think you should know…" I looked Lucina in the eye. "It's because of your interference that I'm in this position, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. Despite these past few months being nothing but combat, I've come out of it a better person."

"I-I… I hardly think that has anything to do with my – or our – intervention," Lucina deflected, looking away. "But I thank you, nonetheless. I am sorry for the way I acted earlier. I was not in my right state of mind."

"Your father was just cursed and you found out an old comrade had been turned into Grima's chew toy. Honestly, it's probably more my fault than yours."

She shook her head solemnly. "That still doesn't excuse my actions towards Sir Robin. I knew what you said was true, when I confronted you, but I didn't want to face it."

I snorted. "And how do you feel now? Did my little pathetic pep-talk get you going again?"

"Mm. Perhaps," Lucina hummed. "Perhaps a bit better. My resolve was dented, not broken. Gods, I've become a mess…"

"A mess who forgets about her own sword, apparently!" I laughed, standing up.

"Sir Alex?" Lucina looked up at me, confusion in her eyes. "What do you-? Oh. Oh…" The faintest of blushes spread across her cheeks. "I… I did not mean to leave Falchion over there. I was just…"

"Hey, I understand, kid," I began, walking over to Parallel Falchion's resting place. "Fucking two-thousand-year-old sword, this is. What else did they say about it? Something about it being blunt in the hands of the unworthy?"

"Sir Alex!" Lucina exclaimed. "Falchion is a blade of legend! Do not take it so lightly!"

"What? Not like I'm badmouthing it or anything. I mean, it's a cool sword," I supplied, grabbing Parallel Falchion by the hilt. The thing was heavier than I was expecting. I slowly, gently slashed it again my iron hand, to test it. It didn't even make a small scratch, it was so blunt. "Heh. Guess it's true what they say…"

Lucina stared at me as I approached her again, grabbing the Parallel Falchion by the blade.

"Ready to get back to work, princess?" I asked, holding its grip out to her.

Lucina looked at Falchion briefly before closing her eyes. After a quick breath, she reached her right hand out and grabbed the legendary blade. I helped her up afterward, and she sheathed Falchion. Right where it belonged.

"Yes, I am," Lucina responded, resolutely.

As much as I wanted nothing more than stay with my family, there was one thing that needed to be done before anything else: finding the last of Naga's gemstones, Vert. Taken as a form of tribute when Walhart conquered Chon'sin, it was supposedly within Valm Castle's vaults. According to the few prisoners we'd managed to capture, the doors were made of heavy wood, several inches thick and reinforced with steel. Nothing save for the largest battering rams we could muster would be able to break them.

Luckily for us, Verrat's little outburst made the doors a nonissue; they were completely obliterated along with most of Valm Castle, leaving the entrance into the vaults waiting. The tunnel traveled underground, and Robin had me take a small team within to secure it, while he helped monitor Chrom's condition.

Of Robin, the army still knew precious little of, thankfully. His identity as the vessel hadn't traveled to the rank-and-file, but it had become common knowledge among the Shepherds quickly. As far as I knew, though, no one beside Lucina took action. That filled me with a sense of pride, to be among people like that. Unconditional acceptance.

It didn't take us long to find the entrance to the vaults. I was flanked on both sides and behind by Shepherds.

"Gods' damn, what I wouldn't do to raid a place like this…" Gaius whispered, holding an oil lantern in one hand while the other stayed firmly on the dagger on his belt. "Think they'll mind if I take a few bars of gold for myself? Need it if I'm gonna get some sweets when we head over to Rudol."

"Pa, didn't ya say you'd leave that theivin' business behind?" Brady grumbled, hefting a staff. The constant clinking against the stonework was starting to drive me mad. "Last time I checked, ma was still pissed at ya."

"Nyaha! It was great! Heard all about that!" Henry cackled, holding his tome close to his side. "She looked like she was on a warpath! Thought for sure I'd find Gaius bloody, torched chunks all across Kamui's ruined walls! Ah, that would've been just beautiful! But, nah, I like you, so I'd rather you lived."

"Chuckles, still as crazy as ever," Gaius answered, warily staring at the dark mage. "And Brady, can't your old man crack jokes every once and a while? Your mother's made you a stickler."

"Ya sounded completely serious, pa," Brady grunted. "Now, don't get me wrong. If I can get myself some bullion, I'm gonna take it."

Gaius laughed. "That's the way, kid! Let your thieving blood flow through you!"

"I can't hear myself think with all of you shouting and shit. Knock it off!" I exclaimed.

Henry rubbed his ears. "What was that about not hearing yourself, Mr. Knight!? You just deafened me! I can't hear the cawing anymore! No!"

I ignored Henry and looked around at the ruined vaults. Or more like a treasury, now that we were there. Chests upon chests of gold, either stolen from conquered cities or gained as taxes, they lined the stone walls, piled high. Gemstones sat glimmering in the light of the oil lantern, appearing like stars in the night sky as we traveled onward.

"Watch yourselves," I warned, looking around more. "Gaius, think there'd be any traps down here?"

"Never seen traps in the treasury itself. Not in the ones I got into, anyway," He helpfully informed me. "Now it's been a while since I've been on one of my usual stints, so excuse me if I'm just a tinsy bit rusty."

"I'll patch ya'll up if it comes to it, ya know," Brady said. "Or did ya'll just forget about me already?"

"I'd never miss your face, Brady," I replied dryly.

"Hey, that's my boy you're insulting, Sailor."

I shrugged. "I never said he was ugly. He has a distinctive face, that's all. Hell, he looks tough as nails."

"I ain't never even touched a nail before," Brady groused.

I waved my iron hand. "Whatever. Henry? Make sure this place doesn't have weird shit going on. Oh, and help me find the gemstone, if you can."

Henry gave me a salute. "On it, Mr. Knight! Oh, what kinda magical traps do ya think they got down here? Maybe one of those long lost ice ones! Freeze you into block, so they will! Then you'd shatter into tiny bloody pieces. Fit for crows, I'd say!"

"I'm gonna turn you into lots of unfrozen bloody pieces here in a second if you don't help me out," I grumbled.

Henry came up beside me and pat my shoulder, that insane, perpetual smirk still on his face. "'Course you will, buddy! And when you do, make sure you do it to my good side, first!"

I wasn't going to say anything but then I got curious. "…Your good side?"

"Yeah!" Henry laughed. "Every side is my good side!"

I sighed. "Forget I said anything."

"What were we talking about?" Henry asked, somehow sounding genuine.

"Find the gemstone, goddamnit!" I shouted.

Henry gave me a sloppy salute before promptly heading deeper into the massive treasury, and I followed behind. The vault was bigger than it first appeared, with even more ill-gotten goods than I could even count. Sometimes it was as I saw earlier; all lined up in chests and other containers along the walls, barely kept from spilling over to the stoney floor. The farther we went in, though, the more haphazard things became. Piles of golden coins and bullion laid in strange positions, as if to try and block entry. Henry was disturbingly silent for our entire journey as we neared the back of the treasury.

"Ah… Ah, that's clever!" Henry reaching his hand forward. "Oh, there's a curse here, alright. A wicked hex! Nothing I can't get rid of, mind, but if ya didn't have me…"

I snorted. "Would it turn me into bloody chunks?"

"Nah, this is one of those boring ones." Henry rolled his eyes. "Though I guess ol' Wally had a few dark mages in his ranks; this ain't something any old mage or sage could cast. Amateur, but it'd get the job done. As far as I can tell…" Henry peered forward, eyes narrowing. "Ah, yeah, this'd slowly make you go mad the farther you go down. Hallucinations and stuff like that, voices, and not the pleasant kind!"

I tilted my head. "There are pleasant voices in your head?"

"Don't ask questions you aren't prepared to hear the answer to, friend!" Henry helpfully informed me, smiling. "Anyway, this is a nasty one, but it's gone now. Should be safe to go ahead. Vert should be there, too."

I nodded. "Good to know. Thanks, Henry."

"No problem, best buddy!"

I let out a sigh at that and let it slide. Traveling further down with Henry at my side, I peered around the end of the treasury. If Vert was going to be anywhere, it'd make the most sense to hide it where the best defenses were.

I saw it, then, shining in the light of my oil lantern as if it was waiting for me. Vert. It almost seemed to glow in the light I shined upon it. I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It was held up by a marble pedestal, as if presenting itself to me.

"Henry," I rumbled. "Anything around here?"

"Hmm," Henry hummed. "Not that I can see. Would've seen any kind of hex they would've come up with."

I nodded. "Gaius!"

"Oi, enough with the shouting!" The scout exclaimed back, circling around a pile of gold along with his son. "What's it you need?"

I gestured towards the pedestal that held Vert. "Think this thing is trapped?"

Gaius' expression grew serious as he searched around the structure. Inspecting it with an eye trained by years of thieving, he shrugged. "Ain't nothing I can see. Looks like it's safe."

Taking a deep breath, I looked to Brady. "If anything happens, you know what to do."

Brady tapped his staff against the palm of his hand. "Hit you over the head if ya do anything stupid. Got it."

My brows furrowed.

The priest shrugged. "It's what ma wanted me to do if pa decided to do some looting."

I shook my head and pursed my lips before refocusing on the task at hand. I walked up to the pedestal and, with only a minor amount of hesitation, reached my left hand out.

Vert was warm to the touch. That was the first thing that came to mind as I gripped it, but when I held it up, I felt different. Sharper. Keener. It was like there'd been an invisible fog surrounding me that was dispelled the moment I grabbed the gemstone. I looked at Vert, eyes wide as the dull green became more vibrant with each passing second.

"…Huh," I felt Gaius shiver. "That's… strange."

"What's strange, pa? The fact I feel like I could break the neck of every Risen with my bare hands or how everything feels so… clear?" Brady asked blearily.

"Nyahahahaaaa!" Henry cackled, nearly doubling over. "So this is what it feels like! I heard what one of these gemstones could do! Read about it, too! Hahaha! If we didn't have to give this thing up for such a noble caws, then I'd almost be tempted to take it for myself! This is the power of the Geosphere!"

I stepped away from the pedestal, Vert in hand as I turned to my companions. "I don't care what this thing is doing to us. We need to get out of here and back to Chrom."

Whatever Vert was doing to us didn't go away as we exited the treasury. It didn't grow stronger, but its effects didn't wear off no matter how much time past. I could've put it in my pack, but I didn't want to. Didn't want to… well, I didn't know why I didn't want to, but that wasn't important.

I endured the cackling of Henry and groaning and grumbling of Gaius and Brady as we left the ruins of Valm Castle. I headed straight to Chrom's tent, allowing the three others with me to go wherever they wished.

When I made it to the tent, outlined by the gloomy sky that still hung over us days after the battle, I took one last look at Vert. Still as vibrant as it had been when I picked it up. With it, the Fire Emblem would be complete, and we would be guided closer to Grima's defeat.

Not if Chrom dies, first.

I shook that thought away, and entered Chrom's tent.

The light within was moody and uninviting. I could see several people within. Chrom and his family for one, plus Robin and-

Tharja. Lissa.

"Heal him again." Tharja ordered, dark eyes focused on the exposed lord. Chrom laid out on his bed, his chest bare. I would've been impressed if I couldn't see his veins turning black beneath his sheet white skin. It looked as if he was on death's door.

"R-Roger that…" Lissa mumbled, holding her staff over Chrom and casting an earthly green light upon him. The blackness receded, and some color returned to his skin. I hadn't noticed it, but his eyes seemed… darker, somehow. There was definitely less fire in them. "Gods, Chrom…"

"Hmm. I see. So that's how it is," Tharja commented cryptically, suddenly closing the book she'd been holding. "This follows the pattern of a withering curse, but I've never seen anything quite like this one. Not this… severe." A dark giggle left Tharja's lips. "You're in quite a bit of trouble if I do say so myself."

"To be laughing at a time like this," Robin groaned. "Hardly appropriate."

Tharja sniffed. "I'm still helping you, aren't I? After you so easily spurned my advances, you should grateful I don't leave him to die." Tharja knelt beside the lord, studying him. "Luckily for you, I have my own future to protect now. And it does not involve that Fell Dragon."

"Can it be cured, Lady Tharja?" Lucina queried, her voice heavy.

Tharja shook her head. "Not by my hands, no. And I doubt Henry would be able to, either. This is too… advanced. As I said, I've never seen anything like it."

Sumia gasped. "D-Does that mean…?"

"No!" Cynthia pounded her foot against the floor. "This isn't happening again! There has to be something we can do!"

Accepting the fact that they were too engrossed into their back-and-forth to notice me, I hung back waiting for an opening.

"Hmm. Perhaps," Tharja hummed, pacing. "It appears healing staves are able to restore the damage done to him. Withering curses work the same way if a staff acts upon them. However, that is not a viable long-term solution."

"Why not?" Lissa asked quietly, holding her staff close to her chest. "Am I not good enough?"

"It's not a question of 'how good enough' so much as it is a question of 'how long can his body sustain itself'. The curse will take its toll on him, weakening him until he's but a withered skeleton of skin and bones. Chrom is strong, I can tell. He could go on like this for weeks or months, but either way, his body will eventually give out; the curse will eat him from the inside out."

"Gods!" Chrom exclaimed before coughing into a fist. "A single moment was it all it took, huh? To make me this… this weak?"

"You should be proud of yourself, Prince," Tharja continued, staring down at the blue-haired lord. "How many can say they can live for months with a curse that would take a few hours to kill a weaker man?"

"Somehow, I don't find that fact comforting," Robin shook his head and crossed his arms. "We need to find some way to get it out of him. By any means possible."

"If our healers can't do anything in the long term about it, Robin…" Chrom began, his voice tinged and rough. "Please, I want you to-!"

"Stop talking like that," Sumia demanded, forcefully grabbing Chrom's hand. "You'll be fine. We'll find a way, I promise. You won't… You won't die. You can't! I don't want to…! Please, don't…!"

I watched as Sumia began breaking down, the mask she wore to hide her feelings the past few days crumbling as tears streamed down her face. I looked down, ashamed at witnessing the event in front of me. Vert caught my eye again, and I was reminded why I was there in the first place.

"Uh," I walked forward, making sure my footsteps were as loud as possible. "Is this a bad time?"

Several pairs of eyes focused on me, making me want to run right the fuck out of the tent, but I persevered.

"Alex!" Robin exclaimed, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he moved towards me. "Do you have it? Vert?"

I held up the green otherworldly gemstone, a small smile on my face. "Nah, couldn't find it. Found this neat paperweight, though."

Robin took Vert from my grasp, but the feeling I had since I grabbed ahold of the thing didn't leave me. He held it up to the light, watching the orb for several moments before letting out a sigh of relief. "I should've known it was the real thing, but I just need to make sure… The Fire Emblem is complete, then."

"After all this time," Lucina breathed out. "We were never able to assemble the full Emblem in our future. Sable was always lost to us, forever within Grima's grasp. With this, there is hope, after all."

"What did I tell you?" I grunted, walking over to Chrom. "How're you feeling, man?"

Chrom wiped his sweat-soaked forehead, looking up at me with dull blue eyes. "Like death, Alex," He murmured. "Like death. But I'm not going to die. Not here. There's too much… too much at stake." He looked down at where Sumia still grasped at his hand. If it were anyone else, her grip would've broken his hand. But Chrom wasn't just anybody. If there was anybody who could beat death itself, it was him.

"Having the full Fire Emblem is all well and good," Tharja began, continuing to pace. "But it's useless if there's no one to wield it. If Chrom were to succumb to this illness, who would wield the Falchion and Fire Emblem in his stead. Would it be you, Princess?"

Lucina looked down at her feet. "I… Should it come to it, I would need to take up the call. Whether I want it or not."

"But he's not going to die!" Cynthia rebutted, hugging Chrom's arm close to her. "He's not! W-We'll find a way, father, I promise!"

I looked at Robin. "Much as I hate to admit it, Tharja has a point."

"Hate to admit it, hmm, Sir Alex?" Tharja hummed, her dark hair casting a shadow over her eyes. "Am I really so despicable to you?"

I waved my iron hand dismissively. "Not right now, Tharja. Not right now."

Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I had a theory. A shaky one, but if we could get him to Mt. Prism and perform the Awakening…"

"That's a world and a half away, Robin," I pointed out. "And if what Fauder and Verrat said was true, then Grima's going to have almost the entirety of Ylisse under lockdown. I doubt we'd be able to make it there without taking heavy losses."

Robin shrugged exasperatedly. "And what choice do we have, Alex? Leave Chrom to wither away into nothing?"

"Of course not!" I replied vehemently. "But we… Fuck, Robin. I'm just trying to help."

"Do I have no say in this?" Chrom asked from the bed. "I'm the one who is dying of a curse over here."

"Chrom, please stop moving!" Lissa pleaded. "Every time you do, it looks like your veins… Gods, that's so weird-looking!"

Chrom barked a laugh. "It is, isn't it? Please, keep telling me how bad I look, Lissa."

"Y-Your head's full of rocks, you know that?" Lissa sniffled. "I didn't mean to say that."

"By all means, Chrom," Robin gestured to the blue-haired lord. "If you have something to say, say it. We're in a bit of a rut at the moment."

"I say to leave me behind," He rasped. "If I can live with this curse for months, then I'll gladly do so if it means I won't slow you down. Go to Ylisse. Save it. Save my… save my daughter. Please."

I pursed my lips and looked away as another round of arguments began. We were getting nowhere; we just kept going in circles, arguing about something we had no easy way to change. It was maddening and exhausting. At that moment, I felt more tired than I had throughout the whole Valm War.

The entrance to the tent ruffled as someone else entered. I looked up and my eyes widened as green eyes stared back at me.

"Well," I whispered. "Wasn't expecting you."

"I am full of surprises, Alex," Tiki replied quietly, moving past me. "Then again, these past few days have been filled with a great many surprised, I am sure."

I snorted. "Can say that again. I'm sure Robin'll be happy to see you."

"Indeed." She smirked before yawning. "Ah, but this will be exhausting…"

"Huh?" Robin whipped around, ignoring whatever argument he'd been having as Tiki made herself known. "Gods…! I thought you were-!"

"Still sleeping?" Tiki raised a brow. "I very well could be, should I have wished it. But considering what happened in Valm Castle, I thought it prudent to… speed things along, as it were." Tiki yawned again. "Be warned: I am still very, very tired, and prone to bad decisions. So should you decide to sneak off with another woman again, I'm not sure how I will react."

Lucina looked ready to curl up into a ball on the floor again as Tiki looked at her, her green gaze unwavering. Robin, on the other hand, pursed his lips and wiped his forehead. "I'm… What happened was…"

Tiki held a hand up. "I know, Robin. You do not need to explain yourself to me. Not about this." She walked up to the white-haired lord. "I should have awoken much earlier, knowing what was revealed during the battle. You needed me, but I wasn't there. I am sorry for that. But even then, you of all people should know that you being the Fell Vessel means little. I knew the instant I met you, and have you seen me act any different?"

I looked around, noticing everyone else was as silent as me.

"I… suppose not," Robin replied slowly. He looked around and his face turned a shade of crimson. "Should we really be doing this here? In front of everyone?"

"Let them. I need to say this right now," Tiki answered adamantly. "Hmm. Perhaps you need a reminder of what you would be leaving behind, should you fall?"

"What do you-?"

In an instant, Tiki pressed herself closer to Robin, wrapped her arms around his neck, and brought his face close to hers. A moment later, her lips were against his. I looked away, then, smiling.

Goddamn, Robin. You know how to pick 'em.

I saw Tharja roll her eyes and look away, going back to her pacing. Honestly, I was surprised she had such a… uninterested reaction, considering her track record. Chrom smiled, chuckling a bit as he saw the couple. Even Sumia was able to smile a bit, though she still seemed wracked with grief. Cynthia giggled, although was otherwise quiet. Lucina opted not to look, instead deciding to sit down and wait it out.

Lissa, on the other hand, was not nearly as respectful as the rest of us. "Oh, wow! Heh. Should we all leave to give you two a little room?"

I chuckled along with Lissa before turning to look at the couple, who were just beginning to part.

"Do not ever do that again," Tiki ordered quietly. "Do you hear me, Robin?"

Robin, whose face had turned a shade of red I hadn't thought possible, nodded dumbly.

Tiki smirked. "Good. Oh, and Lucina…"

"Y-Yes, Lady Tiki?" The princess stammered, looking up.

Tiki's gaze softened. "I do not blame you for your actions. You were desperate, searching for a way to alter a future you felt as if you couldn't change. Rest assured, it has changed. I can feel it. Just make sure you do not perform any more rash actions in the future, hmm?"

Lucina bowed her head, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. "I will… take your words to heart Lady Tiki."

The Divine Dragon nodded. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I'm guessing you didn't just come here to kiss Robin silly."

"You would be right, Sir Alex," Tiki replied. "I heard what all of you have heard: Ylisstol has fallen, and Mt. Prism has been taken ever so far out of our reach. There might be, however, another place where the Awakening can be performed."

"I'm not the most well-versed in your religion," Tharja mumbled out. "But isn't Mt. Prism some holy place? The holiest? What other areas could be used to perform such a ritual?"

"The Divine Dragon Grounds. In this era, I suppose they would be south of Rosanne's capital," Tiki answered easily. "The history behind the area is complicated; it is said that the Valentian Falchion, the Kingsfang, was shattered there millennia ago. That was before I called this continent my home, but I have visited the grounds, and there is power there."

"Why didn't we go there, then?" Sumia asked, her eyes clouded with uncharacteristic suspicion. "We could've… Gods, we could've gone there long before we traveled here!"

Tiki shook her head. "I didn't mention it when we first met because I have no idea if it will work. The dark mage is not wrong; Mt. Prism is a holy place. The First Exalt performed the Awakening there a thousand years ago. I saw it happen with my own eyes. The Divine Dragon Grounds are unproven. There is no guarantee it will work. Naga might not even manifest."

"But there's a chance?" Robin said, pressing on. "Tiki, please, tell me. Would the Awakening cure Chrom? Can it save his life?"

"I suppose anything is possible," Tiki responded. "I merely wanted to let you all know of the option. Hope seems in short supply these days, after all."

I snorted. "Can say that again."

Robin seemed quizzical, but he nodded his head and turned to Chrom all the same. "Well… Chrom, if there's even a chance that we can save your life this way…"

Chrom grunted as he sat up the best he could. His blue eyes seemed sharper than before, brighter. "A chance is better than no chance," He rasped. "Call the war council, Robin. We will devise a plan… and then we'll be going home."

My God, man. Since Valm's over, I find myself enjoying writing these chapters a lot more than I used to. Thank fuck that slog is over. If I had half a mind, I wouldn't have done it in the first place, but by the time I realized that it was already too late.

In any case, we have a small mini-arc taking place over the Winter in-story, then it's straight to the endgame. By God, I'll be one of the few Awakening SI stories to be completed. Mark my words!

Here's a link to our Discord: discord .gg/9XG3U7a

Hope you have a good rest of your day.