Lucina was running frantically through the forest. She was trying to get away from her pursuers while holding Falchion in one hand, and her younger sibling, Morgan, in her other hand. Morgan panted heavily as he tried to keep up with his sister. "L-Lucy… how much longer… do we… have to keep running?"

She turns her head back briefly. "Just a little more, Morgan. We need to get away from the monsters. Then we can rest, okay?" Morgan nods reluctantly as Lucina tightens her grip on his hand. "Stay close to me." The siblings continued their run deep into the woods.

The sounds of heavy footsteps alerted Lucina that the Risen were starting to catch up to them. She quickened her and Morgan's speed to increase the distance between them. Morgan did his best to match her pace, however he tripped forcing Lucina to skid to a stop. Their pursuers were getting closer and Lucina knew that she had to fight in order to protect her brother. She unsheathes her father's sword and takes her battle stance in front of Morgan.

"I'm sorry Lucy!"

"It's alright Morgan, you have nothing to fear. I will not allow these monsters to harm you!" Lucina narrowed her eyes as she mentally prepared herself for battle.

The bushes in front of them rustled, and a Risen emerged with an axe. Lucina dashed towards the creature into a clash between their weapons. At some point in their duel, Lucina let the axe slide off Falchion and lunged into the Risen with a powerful stab. It vanished in a puff of smoke, but it wasn't long until a new one appeared this time wielding a sword. Sparks flew as both combatants traded blow for blow, and soon they entered a deadlock.

Lucina struggled to make sure that her opponent would not overpower her. Her blood ran cold when she heard Morgan scream. She turned her head to see that another one had appeared, and it was stalking towards Morgan. He tried to get away from it until he ended up backed into a tree. "No!" With a grunt, she shoved the Risen's sword away from her and delivered a quick jab to its face giving her an opening to save Morgan. She then dashed over to the other Risen from behind and delivered a jumping slash that cut it in half. "Are you okay Morgan?" she panted out.

Morgan nodded, but his face turned to fear. "Look out!"

Lucina turned around to defend herself, but the Risen's attack came out quicker than she anticipated. The swipe knocked Falchion out of Lucina's hands, and it left a sizable cut that ran across her chest. Lucina fell to the ground and tensed up in pain. Morgan crawled over to his sister to protect her. The Risen stalked towards the siblings, and they saw that more were emerging from the woods.

Morgan trembled as he tightened his grip on Lucina. The fatigue that she was already feeling from the constant running and fighting had exacerbated due to the injury. She looked up to see the creature towering over them. It let out a victory cry that its fellow kin echoed. It started to raise its sword over the siblings. Lucina could only close her eyes in defeat.

I'm sorry Father, Mother. I failed you both. I couldn't protect Morgan. I couldn't protect myself. I'm not strong like the two of you were.

The killing blow that both siblings were expecting never came. There were loud bangs followed by groans from the surrounding Risen. Lucina opened her eyes to see that all of them dropped to the ground. She noticed that their executioner had a hole through its forehead before disappearing with the rest.

Hearing movement in the bushes, Lucina crawled over to Falchion and used it to stand herself up. "Lucy don't!" Morgan begged. "You're injured!" Lucina did not listen though. She was determined to do whatever it takes to protect Morgan. Lucina readied her sword and waited with bated breath.

A man stepped out of the forest. Lucina could see that he was much taller than her. He had snow white hair that was brushed down with parted bangs on both sides. He wore an opened dark red coat with a black vest underneath, black gloves, tan pants, and black boots. Aside from the strange devices he held in his hands, she noticed that he had a sword sheathed behind his back.

The stranger gave them a smile as he got closer. "Found you." Lucina took on a defensive stance and pointed her sword at the man. He held up his hands in response. "Whoa! Relax kid. I'm not going to hurt the both of you."

"Lies…" Lucina growled. She attempted a lunge attack, but the action caused her wound to flare up and ended up collapsing. Lucina let out a hiss as she clutched the injury. She looked up to see the man in front of her with a concerned look.

"That's a nasty wound you got there." He reaches inside his coat and holds out a green star-shaped stone. "Take this and crush it in your hands." Lucina hesitated, but she took the stone and did as instructed. A green aura surrounded her, and she could see her wound begin to heal. She even felt re-energized.

"Thank you." Lucina was astonished. It was as if she had been healed by a stave. There wasn't even a scar on her chest. "We would not have survived had it not been for you. I should have tried harder." She looked down ashamedly.

The man placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself about it. You're only a kid. Kids aren't supposed to be fighting monsters, but I guess circumstances says otherwise." Lucina remained silent. "You just need more practice, and you'll be able to protect those you care about. Lucky for you two, I'm capable of that."

Morgan looked at the man with admiration in his eyes. "R-really? You can help us fight those monsters?"

"Fighting monsters is my job kid!" The man guffawed. "I can teach you all I know about fighting! I'm a jack-of-all-trades! Just give me a weapon to use, and I can master it in no time!" This managed to get a laugh out of Morgan. Lucina, on the hand, held some suspicions.

"Um, sir?" The man turned to Lucina with a curious look. "We appreciate you saving our lives, but what's your reason for wanting to train us? I apologize if this sounds rude, but I can't just trust you immediately."

"I'm a mercenary you see. Someone told me about this situation and wanted to hire me to fight those monsters and protect you kids."

Lucina rose a brow. "Who was it then?"

"That, I'm afraid, is something I can't tell you." Lucina was about to protest but stopped when he raised his hand. "At least not right now. Secrets aren't really my style, but you'll know when the time is right."

"… are you really doing this because you were hired to?" Lucina asked after a moment's hesitation.

"I'd have done it anyways without me asking."

"Why though?"

His eyes softened as he crouched to her height and his voice adopted a somber tone. "I understand what you're feeling right now. Losing your home. Losing your parents. Having to fight terrifying creatures. Not having the chance to live a 'normal' life. It's not fair is it?"

This shocked Lucina since that was how she felt on the inside. She tried convincing herself that he only said that out of pity. The look in his eyes told her otherwise. Lucina was fighting back the tears that were slowly forming until she noticed that Morgan was already crying. He held his arms out for a hug which she reciprocated without hesitation and let her emotions take over. The man respected their privacy and waited for them to calm down.

He looks to the horizon. "Looks like the sun's starting to go down. Come with me. I got a camp set up somewhere safe. Your friends will be glad to know that I found you guys." The siblings perked up at the good news. "I got ya buddy." He picks up Morgan and sits him on his shoulders. "You must be sick of walking huh?" Morgan nods eagerly and he lets out a laugh. Then, he turns to Lucina. "When morning comes, how about you and me do some training? Could be fun."

Lucina smiles. "I would be most grateful. Thank you…" She realized that she never asked for the stranger's name. "Sir? What is your name?"

He was about to answer until Lucina saw him tense up. He sets Morgan back down and stood in front of the siblings. "Guess the party's just getting started," he spoke with a hint of excitement. Lucina was confused at first but then realized what he meant. From the corner of his eye, he noticed her pulling out her sword. He turns to her with a grin. "I can take care of those monsters no problem. Just sit back and watch alright?"

"What if some of them get past you?" Lucina questioned.

"Trust me, they won't. Not a single one is going to lay a finger on either of you." He puts away his devices before reaching back to take out his own sword and getting into a battle stance. Seeing how confident he was, Lucina sheathes Falchion.

Three Risen had emerged from the forest; all of them wielded broadswords. One of them immediately charged at the group. The man dashed at the incoming creature with his sword drawn. The Risen wasn't prepared for the burst of speed and it was swiftly cut in half by the man's large sword. The man then performed a follow-up combination that left the other Risen little time to react as well and they were quickly defeated.

"That wasn't enough for a warm-up," the man spoke disappointedly. In response to his taunt, more Risen had appeared and this group was larger than the previous one. They circled around him with their weapons at the ready. A grin appears on his face as he reassumed his stance. "Alright, now that's more like it! Come get some!" The hoard charged at him and he jumped into the fray once more.

….

The final Risen was fading away as the man pulled his sword out of the creature's chest. He waited to see if the familial sensation that he got from them was still lingering in the area. Once he felt the presence disappear, he twirls his sword and rests it on his shoulder. "That's enough fun for one day." He walks over to the royal siblings with swagger. "Told you I could handle it. You two enjoyed the show?"

Morgan was bouncing up and down. "There were so many Risen, and you beat all of them! You looked so heroic! Can you teach me and my cousin your tricks?!"

The man chuckled as he ruffled Morgan's hair. "We'll see kid." Morgan beams at him.

Lucina was in awe as well. Even though he was completely outnumbered, he easily defeated fifteen Risen and none ever got close to her and Morgan. His movements made it difficult for them to land a hit. His swordsmanship was unorthodox but effective at dispatching the Risen. The man even threw out insults at the creatures whenever he defeated one or dodged their attacks.

The man's voice snaps Lucina out of her thoughts. "Come on, we better get moving before it becomes darker." Morgan grabs Lucina's hand and they follow the mercenary back to his camp. As they were walking through the field, he remembered something from before the fight. Oh right, she asked for my name. He turns back to the siblings with his trademark grin. "By the way, my name is Dante."

Author's Note: This was a one-shot that I had written for an event on the FE Amino a while back. The Dante in my original draft was post-DMC4. Now that 5 has come out, I suppose this one is now a post-DMC5 Dante. Not only that, but I did change around some passages in the old one and I'm a little more satisfied with how it turned out. I had actually been sitting on this for a while but was hesitant to publish it. A talk with a good friend of mine on here convinced me otherwise. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it. Some feedback would be appreciated.