"Oh come on! You can't do this! We're related!" Ophelia furiously knocked on Mercer's door. "Let me in! I'm your grandniece!" Mercer didn't respond no matter how hard Ophelia banged on his door. It was like his house was abandoned.

"I'm sorry, Ophelia. Chrom is a good man. I promise you there's a hero under there. You can't give up on him."

Ophelia looked at Tiki with a determined look in her eye. "I won't. I'll get him to help me. I've come this far."

"I can't stay here, Ophelia. You know the Grimleal have a way of tracking me if I stay in one place too long." Tiki took out a sack of coins and handed it to Ophelia. "Here's some money. Buy food and supplies at the town if you need to. You can also afford to stay at an inn."

"Thank you, Tiki. I won't be leaving from this spot though. Not until he lets me in."

Tiki couldn't help but smile at Ophelia's resolve. "Goodbye, Ophelia. I'll see you soon." Tiki hugged her one last time before leaving, and Ophelia turned back to Mercer's door and pounded on it repeatedly. "You have to let me in eventually! I can do this all day!"

Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into more than half the day. Ophelia was still at Mercer's door as the sun began to set. She was leaning against it and could barely stand anymore. She could only occasionally knock. "Please!" She moaned. She meant for it to come out as a command, but it ended up as more of a whine. "Let me in!" Ophelia's legs finally gave out on her and she slumped against the door. "I'm family! Let me in already!" Ophelia curled up on the porch and watched as the sun set, and even as darkness fell over the homestead Mercer still refused to respond to her. Even though she had seen him walk into the house with her own eyes, a part of Ophelia started to wonder if he was actually home. Surely the old man wasn't completely without empathy. As several more hours passed, Ophelia's tired body finally gave up on her. She fell asleep right there on the porch.

"Get up!"

"Huh? What?" Ophelia said in a groggy tone. The man standing over her responded by kicking her.

"Who are you, girl?!"

It was now very late at night. There were two men standing over Ophelia, both of them wielding crude weapons. One had a wooden club with nails in it, and the other had a piece of metal. "Who are you people?!"

"We're here to rob the old man who lives here. Are you going to stop us?"

"What? You're robbing him?"

The two men looked at each other. "Let's just kill her. We don't need witnesses anyways." The man with the wooden club prepared to strike Ophelia, but she was quicker. She drew her personal Missiletainn tome and blasted him with a burst of icy wind. The man went flying backwards, but the other man struck Ophelia with his piece of metal. He prepared for an overhead strike and was about to strike her again when a man came up behind him. He wrapped his arm around the robber's neck and plunged a knife into his back with his other arm. The robber struggled for only a few seconds before dying. When his body fell over Ophelia was able to see who had saved her, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Th-Thanks." She stuttered. Mercer didn't respond. He simply walked back into his house and closed the door again. Ophelia followed him and pounded on the door. "Are you kidding me?! After that you're just going to ignore me again?! Let me in! I just saved your life! Those men were going to rob you! Come on! Let me in!" Ophelia slumped against the door. "Pleeeease! It's dark, and I'm hungry, and I hear wolves! Come on!" Ophelia was about to finally give up and wander into town when the door suddenly opened. Ophelia almost fell into Mercer. She turned to see his unfeeling face staring at her. "So… so does this mean I can come in?"

Mercer sighed. "Just put your things in the guest room. We'll talk in the morning."

"Is there… is there something to eat?"

"Dinner was hours ago." Mercer responded coldly. He walked into his house and disappeared into his room. Ophelia sighed.

"Well at least I'm in the house." She muttered as she closed the door.

Mercer woke up the next morning to find Ophelia sitting in a chair waiting for him. Beside her was a broken pile of wood. "Did that use to be one of my chairs?"

"I barely touched it!"

"It's alright. This place is falling apart. I just hope I go before it does."

Ophelia awkwardly tapped on her knees. "So uh, how about some breakfast? I can go to town and pick up some ingredients if you want?"

"How about you just get to the point. How do you have exalted blood, and what do you want with me?"

Ophelia wasn't overly excited about Mercer's treatment of her, but Tiki had warned her about what he was like. "Alright. I'll be direct. My name is Ophelia Dusk. I'm the chosen heroine! Cursed blood flows through my veins! The stars themselves align to give me their power! Our meeting was foretold by the stars!"

"What?"

"Erm, nevermind. Just call me Ophelia. I'm your grandniece, Chrom."

"Mercer. My name is Mercer." Mercer growled.

"Right. I'm sorry. Tiki always calls you Chrom."

"Of course she does. Do not call me that."

"Okay! Okay."

"How can you be my grandniece?"

"I'm Lissa's granddaughter. My father was Owain."

Mercer was silent for awhile. He didn't seem shocked. Rather he seemed to be eyeing Ophelia closely, as if he didn't believe her and he was just trying to look for signs of lying. "How could you possibly be Owain's daughter?"

"Well, he didn't exactly raise me. He only knew my mother briefly. She was a peasant woman. She tells me they got to know each other when he was visiting the town."

"Owain had you from a one night stand?!" Mercer exclaimed.

"Well… I'd like to think it was more romantic than that. I'm sure he would have seen my mother again. It's just that…"

"He died with the other Shepherds before he could?"

Ophelia looked down. "Yes."

"So you were conceived right before the Shepherds fell? You weren't even born yet when Owain died?"

"I think so."

Mercer got up and examined Ophelia's mark very closely. "When did you get this? When did it appear?"

"When I was a teenager."

"Well it's real. We really are related." Mercer took a deep breath. "What do you want from me? I'm not a hero anymore. I'm not going on some adventure. I won't even pick up a sword anymore."

"You won't pick up a sword?"

"I swore to never pick up a sword again after the Shepherds died. I'll fight with my fists or small knives to defend myself, but I'm never touching a sword again."

Ophelia thought carefully about what to say. "I know you don't want to help Tiki, Mercer. I'm not going to ask that of you."

"So you're not going to fight against the Grimleal?"

"Of course I'm going to! I'm not asking you to join me right now though. I just need one simple thing from you. It's not some quest to stop Grima or anything like that. I promise it's much smaller than that."

"And what is that?"

Ophelia steeled herself. "I'm not the only daughter of a Shepherd in the world. Tiki found others. There's another woman. I've known her since we were teenagers. Her name is Soleil. She's being held about twenty kilometers from here by the Grimleal, but there aren't many of them there. I'm not asking you to fight against an army. I just need you to help me save my friend."

"I was serious when I said I won't pick up a sword."

"Then just come along!" Ophelia gave Mercer puppy dog eyes. "Please don't throw me out. Please help me! I know you won't fight against the Grimleal anymore, but please just help me with this one thing! Forget about Tiki for a moment. Forget about her wanting you to train me with the Falchion. Just help me with this one task! Help me save my friend! They're going to kill her!"

Mercer sighed. "Alright. I'll come along. How are we going to get there though?"

Ophelia smiled. "Come with me." Ophelia walked outside of the house and whistled. Mercer shrugged at her. Ophelia struck a valiant pose. "You want to know how I got here? Just wait and see!" Mercer had no idea what to expect, but he never expected to see a black wyvern swoop down and land right outside his house. The wyvern roared into the sky, but it was friendly to Ophelia when she ran up to it.

"Is that a wyvern?!"

"Yep! This is my ride. It's how we got around."

"You and Tiki?"

"Of course not! Tiki can fly remember?"

"Right." Mercer slowly approached the wyvern. The dragon eyed Mercer suspiciously. Ophelia quickly darted in front of Mercer as he neared it.

"Woah, woah! Stay back! She doesn't like strangers!" Mercer ignored her and slowly walked towards the wyvern. The wyvern did nothing as Mercer cautiously placed his hand on its hide. Ophelia's eyes widened. "She… she's letting you touch her? I've never seen that happen before." Mercer turned back to Ophelia with a tear in his eye.

"I know this wyvern." He said very solemnly. "This is Minerva!"

"You recognize her! That's right, she is Minerva. She's Cherche's old wyvern."

"And Gerome's." Mercer added. "Where… where could you possibly have-"

"Tiki gave her to me. She's getting on in years I know, but she's still a capable mount." Ophelia embraced Minerva, and the wyvern nudged her with her snout. "Yes you are, girl! Yes you are." Ophelia turned back to Mercer to find him on the verge of sobbing. He trembled as memories Ophelia couldn't imagine flooded back to him. Mercer took a few steps backwards and fell over. "Gods!" Ophelia rushed to Mercer's aid and helped him to his feet. "I'm so sorry! I-I should have known that Minerva would remind you of the Shepherds! I just didn't know you'd recognize her."

Mercer didn't look at Ophelia. He seemed to be staring off into space. "It's… it's alright. I'm fine… I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah let's just… let's just go."

"Have you ever actually ridden on a wyvern before?"

"I've ridden on a Pegasus before." Mercer responded nervously. Ophelia smiled.

"That's nothing! A Pegasus flies like a horse runs for whatever reason. Wyverns on the other hand are truly built for flight. The ride isn't as smooth, but it's a lot more exhilarating!" Ophelia mounted Minerva and gestured for Mercer to follow. Mercer took a deep breath and carefully mounted Minerva. The instant he was seated, Minerva took off and ascended into the sky. Ophelia screamed in triumph. Mercer just screamed.

Ophelia had Minerva land near a small isolated shack hidden away in a forest. Thirty years ago a forest like this wouldn't have been noteworthy at all, but the vast majority of plant life on the continent had died out ever since the Fell Dragon took over the world. Even if Gangrel and Aversa had convinced Grima to spare humanity in exchange for the fealty of the entire species, Grima still took the precaution of wiping away most of the ecosystem as it did in Lucina's timeline. Grima had the power to make the soil itself die. Only the hardiest plants could grow anymore, and even then they could only grow in very ideal conditions. Grima's destruction of the food chain had lead to mass extinctions. Agriculture was only possible in certain areas of Ylisse and Plegia, and almost the entirety of Ferox had become uninhabitable. The forest Ophelia and Mercer were in only existed because the Grimleal allowed it to exist. Hidden away underneath the trees was The Rockpile, one of the most notorious of Gangrel's concentration camps. Here the Grimleal spirited away anyone that resisted their rule. When individuals became problematic, Grimleal Enforcers or landlords simply killed them. When resistance became organized, however, the Grimleal relied on camps like The Rockpile to silently break these rebellions. The horrible reality was that Grima could always choose to wipe out humanity at any time. The Grimleal had to make it look like the entire species was loyal to Grima, else the Fell Dragon might decide to simply destroy humanity to spare itself the trouble. The ugly truth about Gangrel's rule was that it was the only thing keeping humanity alive. Had Validar still lead the Grimleal when Grima was resurrected, he would have happily allowed the Fell Dragon to destroy his own kind.

Thankfully for Ophelia however, Soleil wasn't taken to The Rockpile. She was instead taken to the small shack Ophelia and Mercer had found. There she was being interrogated by one of Courtney's agents. Courtney knew that Soleil and Ophelia were connected to Tiki, and he knew that Gangrel would reward him greatly if he captured her. Courtney wasn't about to share his glory with the Grimleal agents that ran the camp; agents that reported to High Inquisitor Aversa instead of Emperor Gangrel. Inside the shack three men stood over a young woman. The man in front wore mage robes identical to the clothing Courtney wore. The men behind him didn't have any kind of uniformity to them, except that they all had the Mark of Grima tattooed on their bodies. The young woman was dressed as a standard mercenary. She had long light pink hair, and a smile on her face. She was tied to the chair so that she couldn't move her arms or legs. The lead man paced back and forth, looking at the woman the entire time. "If you just talk to us this will all be over, or do we need to get the bamboo splints again?"

The woman's only response was to laugh. "Why don't you do that. I could use the break."

The man walked over to a table and put on brass knuckles. The woman didn't even wince. The man stepped close to her. "We know you're not alone! We know you hang around with a blonde woman and a red haired Pegasus Knight, and we know that the three of you have regular contact with Tiki, the Voice of Naga. We know she is the one that sent you here. We know she's nearby." The man slammed his fist on the woman's restrained hand. She bit her lip in agony, but she didn't cry out. "Tiki is a war criminal! The Grimleal have been hunting her for thirty years! If you have any information on her, then you will tell us right now or you will never see the light of day again!" The woman looked up at the man. Her face was contorted with anger, but she was also smiling. The man looked at her with a mix of confusion and frustration. "What are you smiling at?!" He roared. The woman looked the man dead in the eye and started giggling, smiling all the while.

"I'm smiling at you, you fop!"

"Stop smiling!"

"Come on! Turn that frown upside down. Know what you have then? A smile! That's what my father used to say, my mother tells me anyways."

"I will rend the flesh from your bones!"

"I-I will never stop smiling at you." The woman struggled to say through her giggling. She suddenly broke into a full laugh. The man became increasingly infuriated. He struck her in the stomach, but still she kept laughing.

"And why is that?!"

"Because you're with the Grimleal. You control the world! You're on the winning side! Grima conquered everything and the Grimleal rule over humanity for Grima, but even after all that you can't get one young woman to tell you anything! I'm just one woman and you can't get a thing from me! You're pathetic!" The woman's laugh became a harsh cackle. "You're nothing!"

The man struck the woman a third time, causing her to bleed from her mouth. The man put his right hand on the woman's neck and squeezed. He then shifted it up and grabbed her chin as if he were trying to tear it off. He brought his face close to hers and forced her to look him in the eye. "I'm going to break you, woman! You're going to tell me everything I want to know!"

The woman stopped laughing, but she didn't stop smiling. "Maybe, but I'm going to make you work for it."

"You won't be so defiant forever. No one is coming to help you."

The woman's smile only grew bigger. "Oh really?"

As if by some act of providence, it was then that Ophelia burst through the wall with Minerva. Minerva immediately struck the lead man with her head, sending him flying against the wall. Ophelia dismounted and blasted one of the men with her Missiletainn tome. Minerva quickly grabbed the last man with her jaws and violently thrashed him back and forth. Ophelia ran up to Minerva and waved her arms. "Stop, stop! Minerva, what did I tell you about eating strange men!" Minerva looked at Ophelia while the man struggled helplessly in her jaws. "Put him down! Put him down!" Minerva hung her head and dropped the man. He was too injured to keep fighting. All he could do was whimper and moan. "Bad Minerva! Don't eat strangers! Did Cherche teach you that? Shame on you! No! Don't do that!" Minerva hung her head like a guilty dog, and Ophelia hugged her. "Oh come on, girl. Don't be like that. I'm not mad at you. Who's a good wyvern? You are. You are!" The entire time this had been going on, Mercer was still seated on Minerva's back.

"What the hell was that?!" He exclaimed. "Wha-What the hell?!"

"You told me you wouldn't pick up a sword. I had to take them out somehow."

Ophelia ran up to the woman and cut her out of her bonds. She hugged her tightly as soon as she rose to her feet. "Soleil, you're okay! I knew you'd be okay!"

Soleil blushed. "Ophelia you're uh… you're not wearing that thick robe anymore. I can see much more of you." Ophelia handed Soleil a tissue and she wiped the blood off her face. Ophelia then retrieved a change of clothes from her bag and handed them to Soleil. "Thanks! Now I can get out of these rags." Mercer dismounted Minerva and approached Soleil.

"Are you okay? They didn't do anything serious did they?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Soleil started to strip right in front of Mercer. "You're him aren't you? You're the man Ophelia was trying to find?!"

"Yes I-gaah! W-What are you doing?"

"Changing my clothes. The ones I'm wearing have too much sweat and blood on them for my tastes."

"Right in front of me?"

"Problem, old man?" Soleil asked innocently. Mercer gave Ophelia an incredulous expression. Ophelia just shrugged.

"She's not shy."

Mercer turned around. "I'm Chrom if that's what you were asking. I don't go by that name anymore though."

"Oh? What do you call yourself then?"

"Mercer. My name is Mercer."

"Don't call him Chrom." Ophelia added. "Trust me. You want to call him Mercer."

"It's so nice to meet you… Mercer. Tiki has told us so much about you."

Mercer turned to Soleil, only to find that she was still half naked. "So who are-gah!" Mercer turned around again, the slightest signs of blushing under his weathered skin. "I can't talk to you like this."

Soleil rolled her eyes and finished putting on her new clothes. She now wore a combination of leather and plate armor. She had a shield on her arm, and she wore armor on her arms and legs. Mercer turned around to see that she looked eerily reminiscent of Inigo and Severa. She also resembled another Shepherd, but Mercer couldn't put his finger on who it was. He just knew there was someone she reminded him of. "Are you like Ophelia? Are you the daughter of a Shepherd?"

Soleil's smile grew until she was grinning from ear to ear. "Yep! Can you tell who?"

Mercer's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Olivia! Y-You look just like her! Your hair! Your face! I… you look…" Mercer's lip began to quiver. "Oh gods." He said to himself. "You look just… you look just…"

Soleil almost frowned. "I uh, I haven't heard of her. Was she a Shepherd?"

"You're Inigo's daughter aren't you? I can see so much of him in you, and I can see his mother in you too."

"Yes! That's me! I'm Soleil! They call me the smiling mercenary! Someday I'm going to be the hero that my father was!"

"Did you know Inigo well?"

"Well… no. Not exactly."

Mercer sighed. "I didn't think so. Did he even know you were born?"

"I don't think so. I know how great a man he was though. My mother spoke highly of him."

"Who was she?"

"Just a peasant woman. Wait no! I didn't mean… I mean, I didn't mean she's just a peasant woman like it's a bad thing. So was I really. It's just that she was so different from my father. He was a big hero off saving the world… and mom was left behind."

"I'm sure he would have come back if he knew, Soleil." Mercer frowned. "Except we didn't save the world… and he didn't come back."

"Do you really think so?"

"It's hard to imagine Inigo as a father, but it's also hard to imagine that he would abandon his daughter. I'm sure he would have loved you and your mother if… if things had been different."

"Things can be different! We have you now Chrom, I mean Mercer. I can't believe it's you!" Soleil looked Mercer up and down. "You're so rugged. I wish I was rugged. Girls just aren't as attracted to more feminine things."

"Girls?"

"Some women just want a man that looks like he could tear down a tree with his bare hands. I wish I was rugged like you, Mercer. Then maybe I'd have a chance with them."

"Uhh, that might have something to do with you also being a woman."

"Some people swing both ways." Soleil started staring blankly into space. "I wonder what it would be like if I had a beard. Ha! A light pink beard! Could you imagine?"

Mercer turned to Ophelia. "They tortured her and she's acting like it's any other day?"

"I don't think I've ever seen her really unhappy."

Mercer and Ophelia looked to see Soleil retrieving her sword. She brought her blade to the neck of her interrogater, who had been trying to sneak away. "Things aren't exactly going your way anymore are they?" Soleil said menacingly. There was a dissonance to her threat though, as it came out of a seemingly warm and friendly smile. The Grimleal agent looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Y-You can't kill me! Do you know who I am?!"

Soleil pressed her blade against the man's neck, almost cutting him. "I've killed members of the Grimleal before. So did my father, and his father and mother."

"Soleil, he's beaten! There's no point in killing him." Ophelia said nervously.

"If you kill him then Grimleal enforcers will come to investigate his death." Mercer added. "If you let him live though, he'll crawl back a defeated man. He would be humiliated. They might even punish him."

Soleil finally relented. The man scurried out of the shack and ran into the wilderness. She turned to Mercer and Ophelia. "Let's just get out of here."

The group made their way back towards Mercer's town. As the sun set they landed in a clearing in the forest about seven kilometers away from Mercer's home. The three set up camp and prepared to spend the night. Mercer watched as Ophelia and Soleil shared snacks by the bonfire. Ophelia noticed him looking and walked over to him. She held out her bag in front of Mercer and he silently took some food. "Thank you." Ophelia smiled and returned to sitting near the bonfire. Mercer continued to stare at the two women though until Soleil finally looked up at him.

"You okay over there, old man?" Soleil asked nervously.

"So Tiki recruited you two because you're Owain and Inigo's daughters?"

"That's correct." Soleil said cheerily.

"And she's going to do what exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?! I'm asking what the hell you think you're doing! I'm sure Tiki filled your heads with stories about saving the world, but you're going to get killed!"

"But we have you now Ch-I mean Mercer. You can teach Ophelia to wield the Falchion. You can help her defeat Grima."

"Woah, woah! You do not 'have me'!"

Soleil's cheery expression abated slightly. "What do you mean?" She turned to Ophelia, and she received a worried look.

"Remember how Tiki said he would be reluctant to help?"

"Yes?"

"He doesn't want anything to do with us. I could barely get him to help me rescue you, and even then he refuses to fight with a sword."

Soleil turned to Mercer and gave him a look of poorly suppressed agitation. "Y-You're kidding?! We come all the way out here, and I get tortured, so that he can just refuse to help?!"

"I helped save you didn't I?" Mercer shot back. "I'm just not going to go on a foolish quest to save the world! Neither of you know what you're doing!"

"We have Tiki to guide us. She's the voice of Naga!"

"Tiki is misguided. She doesn't understand how fragile normal humans are. She doesn't understand how to defeat Grima. Naga didn't know how to defeat Grima! You two don't have a chance! If you listen to that lizard, you'll die."

Soleil was incensed. "How dare you?! Do you know how highly Tiki thinks of you?! You can't abandon us, Chrom!"

Mercer exploded. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" His voice thundered through the wilderness, obliterating the still silence of the night air. "Call me that one more time, girl! Call me that ONE MORE TIME! See what happens!"

Soleil was almost shaking with anger, yet even then she still wore her smile. "You're supposed to be a hero. You're supposed to be someone we can depend on. Are you telling me that one of the greatest heroes in history is now nothing more than a bitter old man?!"

Ophelia threw herself in between the two. "Stop! Both of you! Please!" Ophelia turned to Soleil. "Please just give it some time. He's not so bad when you get to know him. Tiki wouldn't want you fighting with him, and he did help me save you." Soleil sighed and sat down. Ophelia turned back to Mercer. "I know you don't think highly of us, but give us a chance. Let's just… let's just not worry about Tiki's plans right now. Let's just sit down and get to know each other, huh?"

Mercer scowled. "Get to know each other?"

"I'm sure you have questions for Soleil."

Mercer sat down. He turned to Soleil, who was staring daggers at him. "Fine. So how did you and Ophelia meet each other?"

Soleil and Ophelia smiled at each other. "It's a long story, but it's a good one. There's something you should know about me though… Mercer. When I show you this, just remember that you found me being tortured by the Grimleal. I'm not like this anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

Soleil pulled up her sleeve. The Mark of Grima was tattooed on her upper arm. It seemed to stare ominously at Mercer, and he jumped up. "Why do you have that?!"

"Because I was a soldier for the government once, Mercer, and the Grimleal is the government."

"You were with the Grimleal?!"

"Hear me out. I was a peasant girl. I was bored. I wanted to go on adventures. I wanted to be a dashing heroine. I wanted all the girls in the land to swoon at the sound of my name."

"You really are Inigo's daughter." Mercer muttered to himself.

"Do you know how hard it is to hit on a woman when you're wearing a mud soaked peasant dress? On the other hand every woman loves a man in uniform. I figured they might like a woman in uniform too. I joined the Grimleal to become that valiant figure that all the girls would fawn over."

"You joined the Grimleal to pick up girls?!"

"That's all I ever wanted! I didn't know what they were like."

"So what happened?"

"I didn't exactly go on many adventures. I mostly went around collecting rent and dealing with dissent. I slowly started to realize that this wasn't the life I wanted. I didn't do anything about it though until I met Ophelia. She had been causing trouble. She was stirring up resistance against the Grimleal, telling people stories about Lucina and Emmeryn and… well you, Mercer. My CO had her taken into the center of a town. I was ordered to beat her into unconsciousness as a lesson to the people in the town." Soleil looked solemnly at Ophelia. Ophelia smiled at her and silently urged her to finish the story. "When I looked into her eyes… I saw nothing but defiance. She wasn't afraid. She wouldn't be bullied. She knew that she was in the right, and we were monsters. As I gazed into those eyes I realized that her will was greater than mine. I realized she was right. I drew my sword and plunged it into my CO. I helped her escape, and we've been together ever since."

"I'm… I'm not sure what to make of that story."

"I'm not with the Grimleal anymore, Mercer! I'm helping Ophelia and Tiki now. We're trying to fix things. I'm not some jackbooted thug anymore." Mercer stared contemplatively at Soleil and Ophelia. Soleil's nigh eternal smile almost faded completely. "Please tell me you're not angry with me?"

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I'm not going to hold your past against you." Mercer looked down. "It's just that… you two turned out so much like your fathers."

Both Ophelia and Soleil perked up. "R-Really?" Soleil inquired. Mercer smiled.

"You especially, Soleil. You're like a more intense version of him."

"B-But I'm like my father too right?" Ophelia asked.

"Definitely. Your talent for magic, your personality, your mannerisms, it's almost exactly like him. You might have even ended up speaking like him if he'd raised you. You're also very much like your grandmother. I… I can almost see her in you."

Ophelia took a deep breath. "Well while we're on the subject… umm…"

"What is it?"

Ophelia looked at Soleil and seemed to urge her to ask Mercer. Soleil rolled her eyes and nodded. She turned to Mercer. "We know that you don't like to think about your past, Mercer, but… Ophelia wanted to know-"

"Hey!"

"Alright, alright. Ophelia and I wanted to know more about the Shepherds."

Mercer didn't say anything for several seconds. He seemed to be frozen in a mixture of shock and sadness. "I… I don't know." Ophelia gave him the same puppy dog stare that she had given him when she thought he would throw her out of his house. Mercer gave in again. "Alright, alright." He said slowly. "I'll answer some questions."

Ophelia and Soleil both smiled from ear to ear, and they wasted no time in bombarding Mercer with questions. "What was Lucina like?" Ophelia asked.

"How did you guys recruit Walhart?" Soleil chimed in. "Wasn't he trying to kill you?"

"How did you guys eat?"

"Who did the laundry?"

"Did you guys bathe regularly?"

"What did you do in the winter?"

"If the second generation Shepherds touched their younger selves, would it have created a temporal paradox?"

"Did anyone ever get leave?"

Mercer put his hands over his ears and shook his head as the questions overwhelmed him. "Argh! No more! Too many questions! Just pick one, both of you!"

Soleil and Ophelia looked at each other and nodded. "What were our fathers like?" They both asked simultaneously. Mercer thought for some time. The question made him uncomfortable, but he tried his best to answer it. He had a feeling that the questions would never end if he didn't respond to the ones the girls really wanted answered.

"Well… uh they… they were… uh-" Mercer had Ophelia and Soleil's complete attention, and he knew he had to answer them. He sighed. "Well, Ophelia, your father was very… energetic. He was strong and… um, brave. Soleil, your father was very good with people. He was strong and… erm… brave."

Soleil shook her head. "That's a cop out!"

"I'm trying my best!"

"No you're not!"

"I don't want to think about them okay!"

"Why not?! We never knew our fathers, Mercer. You're our only way to learn more about them. Why can't you just tell us?"

"Because they died with all the others, and I don't want to relive that!" Mercer yelled. He buried his face in his hands and fought back tears. "I'm sorry." He said in a very soft tone. "I know you two want to know about them, but please, please don't make me relive that."

Soleil and Ophelia both looked at each other and silently decided not to press any further. "We're sorry, Mercer." Soleil said. "We didn't want to make you upset."

Mercer took a deep breath and calmed himself. "No I'm sorry. You just want to know more about your fathers, and I can't give that to you. I'm letting you down." Mercer was silent for a long time. "I just… I just can't relive those memories. There's too much pain there. I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

Mercer spoke up. "But… there is something I want you to know. Your fathers, Owain and Inigo, they were very upbeat. Lucina… she's, she was, I mean… I loved her. She was my daughter. I would love her no matter what she did or what happened to her. It's just that she was so grim. When you were around Owain or Inigo, they were always lighthearted. When you were around them you didn't feel like the world was about to end."

Soleil smile grew even wider. "Thank you, Mercer. What was Severa like?"

"W-What? Severa? Cordelia's daughter? Why would you want to know about her specifically?"

Soleil turned to Ophelia. "You didn't tell him?"

"I could barely get him to let me into his house! I was going to tell him eventually."

"Tell me what?" Mercer asked, an urgency hidden in his tone.

Soleil turned to Mercer. "We're not the only two Tiki found. There's another woman in our merry little band. She's like us. She's the daughter of a Shepherd. She's a Pegasus Knight. In fact she's the last Pegasus Knight since the Grimleal purges. Her name is Caeldori."

Mercer thought about what Soleil said. "Caeldori? Cael-C-A-E… C-O-R… that name is eerily similar to the name of a woman I once knew."

"It's not a coincidence, Mercer. She's Cordelia's granddaughter."

Mercer looked at Soleil like she'd just turned into a dragon. "What?" He barely managed to speak, his words coming out in a very flat tone.

"She's Severa's daughter."

"Y-You're lying! You're messing with me!"

"I'm not lying, Mercer! You'd see the resemblance if you could take one look at her."

"Severa was a woman! Women give birth!"

"... I'm aware of that."

"It makes sense that Inigo and Owain could have had kids without knowing, but how could Severa have a child without knowing? She couldn't have been pregnant for nine months without anyone noticing!"

Ophelia thought about what Mercer was telling her. "Then she didn't die."

Mercer's eyes widened as he realized the significance of what Ophelia was saying. "What?!"

"She didn't die, Mercer! It's the only explanation! You're right. She couldn't have carried a child to term without anyone noticing. She must have survived, or else Caeldori could never have been born." Ophelia's eyes lit up as she realized the implications of what she was saying. "She didn't die, Mercer! Severa didn't die! If she didn't die, then maybe others lived too!"

"Ophelia." Mercer responded weakly.

"What if there are other Shepherds that are still out there!"

"Ophelia!" Mercer shouted. Ophelia still didn't hear him.

"If we could get them together, we could rebuild the Shepherds!"

"And maybe they had kids too!" Soleil added.

"We could rebuild the Shepherds. We could defeat the Grimleal! We could save the world!"

"GIRLS, SHUT UP! Just shut up! It's not happening! They're dead! It's over." Mercer rose to his feet. Ophelia and Soleil looked hurt, but Mercer didn't relent. "I don't want to hear another word! Neither of you say anything. Not one more word! I don't care what Tiki told you. I'm not that man anymore. I'm not the hero you think I am! Chrom is dead! He died with his children… and his wife… and his sisters… and his friends. I'm just an old man. All I want is to die!"

"You're lying!" Soleil snapped back, though her tone was shaky. She was trying to convince herself of the truth of her words as much as she was trying to convince Mercer. "You could have killed yourself long ago. You won't do it because there's still part of you that cares!"

Mercer glared at Soleil so intensely that she couldn't maintain eye contact. "The only reason, the ONLY reason I haven't killed myself is because if I died… no one would remember the Shepherds as they really were. If I died… their memory would die too. I just want the pain to end. I don't deserve to live. I should have died with them… but I didn't. Now I just drink and wait for my body to give out. I leave it in fate's hands now." Mercer looked down at his feet. "Everyone dies eventually but… but I can't end my life now. I can't let the memories of the Shepherds die. I drink to forget them yes, but I still have them. If I died before Naga intends for me to… I'd be dishonoring them all. All I can do now is drink and pay the rent until my body finally gives out."

Soleil and Ophelia stared at Mercer for a long time, neither of them saying a word. Mercer just stood there looking at his feet. Finally Ophelia spoke up. "Tiki said you were a hero once. The things she told me… to see you like this now… what, what did they do to you?"

Mercer's anger faded. He gave Ophelia a dejected look. "They broke me." With that he turned and wandered off into the wilderness. Soleil and Ophelia had no idea if he was going to come back, but neither of them particularly wanted to talk to him anymore. Soleil turned to Ophelia.

"Hey Ophelia?"

"Yeah?"

"This might have been a waste of time."

Everything that Ophelia was wanted to disagree with Soleil, but it was hard to argue with her as she watched Mercer disappear deeper into the wilderness.

Mercer walked seven kilometers back to town by himself. Though Ophelia and Soleil did eventually catch up to him, he refused to have anything to do with them. Reluctantly the two women went back to Minerva and flew back into town. Mercer reached the town square by morning. There he found a small crowd gathered around the square. He lightly pushed and shoved his way to the front of the crowd to find the objects of their morbid fascination. The corpses of Conrad and his very young daughter were lying in the street. They were stripped completely naked, and there were clear signs of beating on their bodies. Both corpses also had the Mark of Grima carved into their backs. Donald the bartender eventually emerged from the crowd near Mercer. He put his hand on Mercer's shoulder and slowly rocked him, though Mercer barely seemed to notice his presence. He just stared in shock at the town square.

"Mercer… I'm sorry about what happened. The Grimleal came back to Conrad's house and dragged him and his little girl into the town square. They beat them to death in broad daylight, and then they did that. They say they'll kill anyone that tries to bury them." Mercer didn't turn to face Donald. He only groaned lightly. "Look Mercer, we're friends. You trusted me with your secret. I know that you wouldn't have stood for this thirty years ago. I know what you're capable of. I know that this makes you angry. Don't do anything stupid though! If you retaliate, they'll come back for the whole town. Just forget about it."

Mercer finally spoke up. "How can I possibly forget about them when they're lying right there in the square." Mercer said in a low and threatening tone. Donald just patted Mercer on the shoulder again.

"You try really hard." Donald walked away and Ophelia approached Mercer. He turned to her.

"It's good to see that you made it back. We were worried about you after you wouldn't let us give you a ride. Did you… did you know them?"

Mercer looked Ophelia dead in the eye. "Ophelia?"

"Yeah?"

"Get me a sword."