And here it is! The latest update in the dying hours of 2019! I meant to get this out for Christmas but that didn't exactly work out. So here we are, welcoming 2020 with a new chapter!

As always, a very big thanks to all you readers out there who are still following the story. Your continued readership and patience are greatly appreciated!

Here's to 2020 when I'll maybe manage to finish this thing!


Robin hated the rain. Nothing good ever happened when it rained.

It was raining when bandits took his mother from him.

It was raining when Plegian assassins took Emmeryn's life.

And it was raining now.

Robin tried not to think about that at present. Today was arguably the most important day of his life and he promised his friends he would get them home alive. There was no point in dwelling on the ill omens of rain.

"Keep them back! No one must make it past us!"

Robin parried a blow with his sword and stabbed his attacker through the chest.

He grimaced.

War was an ugly business. Robin never really got used to the grim task of taking the lives of others.

But he had to remind himself it was all for the greater good. Always for the greater good…

Robin glanced back.

While he and the rest of the Shepherds were busy keeping reinforcements at bay, Chrom and Gangrel were busy duking it out on the other side.

Lightning flashed above, illuminating both figures when their swords clashed.

"Bwah ha ha! How nice of you to bring yourselves here all the way to my castle!" Gangrel cackled. "It saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down myself!"

"Laugh all you want, vermin. Today your life will end!" spat Chrom.

"Look at you! You're no better than your father. All you Ylisseans are the same! What would your sister say if she saw you right now?"

"Don't you ever speak her name!"

"Touched a nerve, did I? How's your side, by the way? I hear my assassins almost went two-for-two when they took care of your sister!"

Gangrel suddenly stepped aside and used his hand to punch Chrom in his side.

"Argh!"

Chrom crumpled to the ground.

"A shame my assassins didn't finish the job, but I guess this is good enough. Your weakness will be the death of you!" Gangrel taunted, bringing his sword down.

Despite the pain, Chrom rolled out of the way and got up, clutching his side.

"And you think you can defeat me like that. Ha! Pathetic!" Gangrel laughed.

"One of us will die today, Gangrel. And I promise you it won't be me!" Chrom pulled a vulnerary from his pocket, chugged it, then discarded the empty container and rushed at Gangrel.

"Oy, Robin! We could be using the assistance with the enemy!"

"Mages, keep up the pressure!" Robin ordered, his attention snapping back to the battle at hand.

He just had to concentrate. Breathe and concentrate. Keep his friends alive, keep himself alive, long enough for Chrom to put down Gangrel once and for all.

Easy enough.

Just had to buy time. Buy enough time…

Loud screeching over the sounds of rain and thunder caused Robin to look back.

Gangrel laughed. "Looks like reinforcements have arrived, which means you and your friends are about to meet a bloody, crunchy end!"

Lightning struck then, giving Robin a brief view of the outlines various wyverns descending toward them.

"Ricken! Miriel! Firewall, now!"

The two mages nodded and, opening their tomes, created a wall of intense fire separating them from the corridor full of soldiers.

"Maribelle, Lissa, heal up everyone while you can. Ricken and Miriel can only keep up the barrier for so long before they run out of energy. Tharja, be ready to step in when Ricken and Miriel exhaust their spells. The rest of you, stay alert and ready up for when the barrier falls." Robin quickly glanced through his friends, his mind making frantic calculations. "Virion and…Lon'qu, with me. Now!"

Robin took the two men to the opening where Chrom was dueling Gangrel.

"Virion, we have incoming wyverns. Shoot down as many of them as you can," Robin commanded. "Lon'qu, do everything you can to keep him alive."

Both men nodded resolutely, readying their weapons.

"Now go find a relatively safe space from where to shoot from!"

The words just left Robin's mouth when he heard more screeching.

"Go!"

As the men rushed to find a spot for Virion to shoot from, Robin turned around and gripped his spellbook, hands glowing with magic.

Robin was about to shoot the first wyvern that came at him when it was pelted with arrows.

"What the hell—"

"Good job, ladies! Now let's show how we deal with these overgrown lizards!"

Robin's ears were filled with neighing and the flap of wings.

"No…" He turned back to see Cordelia land her pegasus near him, an archer riding behind her. "What are you doing here!? I thought I told you it was too dangerous!"

"Your concern was noted, but I figured that you could use some help up here if anything went sideways," Cordelia replied. "And judging by all these wyverns, I was right."

"Damn it, Cordelia! Your squadron—"

"Will give you cover while you put down Gangrel and end this war. We all realize the risks and are all willing to do whatever it takes," Cordelia said, nodding grimly.

Thunder struck, briefly downing out the sounds of fighting and death in the air.

"Cordelia—"

"End this war, sir. We'll do everything we can to keep them off you."

With one final nod, Cordelia spurred her pegasus in the air to join her unit in combat.

"Stay safe…" Robin muttered under his breath.

"Ragh!"

Gangrel staggered back. Chrom charged to finish him but Gangrel's shot from his Levin Sword forced Chrom to dive to his side.

"Bah! Even with your flying little horses, you won't live to see tomorrow," Gangrel spat. "My wyverns will chew them where they fly, and then—"

"You talk too much."

Gangrel jumped just in time to avoid a fireball.

"You can't die here," Robin said, helping Chrom up.

"Thanks."

"Ha! You can't kill me yourself so you get your little tactician friend to help you. How pathetic! Is this the best Ylisse has to offer?!"

"He's full of hot air," Chrom muttered, getting into a fighting stance.

"Hot air and stamina with a sword that shoots lightning. Be careful," Robin cautioned, ready to provide support. "Let's do this."

The battle raged.

The longer it lasted, the more worried Robin became.

Chrom was in no condition for prolonged physical combat and even with Robin's help, Gangrel was just not doing down.

The thunder above could not drown out the sounds of fighting in the skies.

"Ha…ha…" Gangrel panted, then laughed. "You two pests are persistent, I'll give you that."

Chrom could only glare, supporting his weight on Falchion, having run out of healing potions and with his injuries impeding his ability to fight.

"But you two won't win," Gangrel continued, "I have the numbers, I have the upper hand, and I—"

A loud screeching interrupted Gangrel's taunting.

The three men had to quickly dive to avoid being crushed under a falling wyvern.

"Urgh! No, not now…!" Chrom grit his teeth, clutching his side as his injuries from the night of Emmeryn's assassination flared up.

An agonized cry made Robin and Chrom look up.

Cordelia was lying near the wyvern's head, her spear clutched in one hand as she managed to free her other from the wyvern's jaws.

Lightning flashed in the sky, briefly providing light to see the holes and blood stains on Cordelia's armor.

"Well look what we have here!"

Robin's head snapped to Gangrel, who was standing up, Levin Sword in hand.

"A little bird dropping from the sky right into my lap!"

Robin looked down at his sword and cursed, seeing it snapped in two from the prolonged battle.

"A pretty little bird, too." Grangrel grinned maliciously. "Why don't you sing for me? If you're good, I'll even consider letting you live and keeping you as my little songbird to commemorate my victory here!"

Reaching into his coat for his spellbook, Robin cursed again when he saw how worn and brittle the pages looked. Despite all his preparations, the fight to get to Gangrel virtually exhausted his magic reserves.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," Cordelia replied evenly.

"Will you, now? Even in your weak position?"

"I do not fear death. I went into this battle knowing very well it could be my last."

Robin looked over at Chrom, seeing his friend breathing heavily, leaning on Falchion to try and steady himself. He didn't look like he was in any condition to intervene.

"How very cliché of you," Gangrel said, rolling his eyes. "I suppose you know what's coming, then."

That only left him one option.

"Say goodbye!"

Cordelia prepared her good arm to try and block Gangrel's strike.

"Hargh!"

"What?!"

Through the rain, Cordelia watched in horror as Robin ran up and tackled Gangrel right over the edge of the castle wall.

"Robin, no!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You're going to get us both killed!" Grangrel shouted.

"Then I suppose I'll see you in hell."

Robin promised his friends he would get them all home alive after this battle. He supposed him dying wasn't necessarily breaking that promise. Not like he feared dying; Robin had so many encounters with death that he lost count. Throughout his profession, Robin had realized that his luck would run out eventually. And he readily accepted that fact. He was prepared to face the inevitable, whenever it came.

What Robin wasn't prepared for was the explosion of pain when his body hit something hard.

The impact took all the breath out of his body. Robin was sure that he broke all his ribs, back, and cracked his skull. At the very least.

Looking around, he saw that his fall was broken by some sort of balcony or courtyard.

Not that it mattered.

Breathing hurt. Everything hurt. And worst of all…

"Ha...ha…!"

Gangrel rolled off Robin, somehow managing to get on top during the short time they were falling.

"So...what, this was your grand plan, then?" Gangrel asked mockingly, trying to stand up. "Take us both over the wall down to our deaths? Some plan! You must've been truly desperate to do something so reckless."

Robin didn't respond.

It hurt to try and talk. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to even think. All he could do is feel the strength leave his body and look up at the rain falling down.

This couldn't be it. Robin couldn't die here and let Gangrel live to continue his madness!

Even through the excruciating pain, Robin's mind desperately ran through various scenarios and options.

"So I guess this will be the end of Ylisse's famous tactician." Gangrel grunted as he reached for his sword and used it as support. "How pathetic. Not even dying gloriously in battle, but because of his own stupidity."

Lighting flashed in the distance and the rain dripped onto Robin's face.

Robin hated the rain.

"Fate was kind to me. It was nice enough for you to take the brunt of that little fall!" Gangrel laughed. "And now it was nice enough to keep you alive just long enough for you to watch me kill you."

Nothing good ever happened when it rained.

Robin's eyes moved to Gangrel's Levin Sword as it crackled with electricity, worn from all its uses but looking like it still had a few more bolts in it.

A thunderclap followed by another lightning bolt spurred Robin's mind to one last, desperate plan.

It was raining when bandits took his mother from him.

"Prepare to meet your maker, boy."

Gangrel picked Robin up by his collar.

It was raining when Plegian assassins took Emmeryn's life.

Gangrel had a twisted smile on his face as he stabbed Robin with his Levin Sword.

"And so I get the privilege of personally ending the life of Ylisse's famed tactician. And I even get a front row seat to watch the life drain out of his eyes!" Gangrel laughed. "You were a real nuisance to me, you know."

And it was raining now, when he was going to die.

Robin tuned out Gangrel's voice. As he felt his life quickly drain from his body, Robin used what little strength he had to focus his magical energy into the Levin Sword currently impaled in him.

A bolt of lightning curved and struck not too far away from where the two men were.

Time was running out. Robin could feel his vision fading. He just had to…

"It's always special when you get to see the life drain from someone's eyes. Everyone shows something different before they die. Some show fear, some show anger, others sadness. What do your eyes show, my little friend?"

But despite all that, Robin smiled.

"They...show...this…!"

Robin's hands glowed with magic as he used the last of his energy to grab the Levin Sword.

"What—?!"

Robin smiled because the last thing he saw was Gangrel's face, shock and disbelief visible as he looked up to see a purple bolt of lightning coming down on him.


"Argh!"

Robin shot up from his bed, breathing heavily and looking around in a panic.

He was in his tent, not out there with...being…

Robin tried to steady his breathing.

It was all a dream. A very bad, vivid dream. Because even if he swore it was real, it wasn't. The battle with Gangrel didn't unfold that way. They won the war when Chrom struck Gangrel down when the latter was about to threaten Olivia. And throughout the battle, Robin was with Sumia in the air, providing cover for Chrom and the others below, not...dying with Gangrel on the ground!

"Gods…" Robin shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. He then reached for his watch.

"Great."

It was too early to get up, but too late to try and go back to sleep.

Not that it would do him any good. Robin knew from experience that he wasn't going to have any luck going back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night...or very early morning, as was the case now.

Sighing, Robin resigned himself to the fact that it was going to be one of those sleepless days. So he might as well try to make the most of it.

Robin got up and reached for his coat, only remembering it was with Anna when he saw some unfamiliar clothes in his hands.

Right. He was a man mainly of the sword now.

Grunting, Robin got dressed and stepped outside.

Although it was still dark, Robin could see the first rays of light on the horizon.

Robin waved to the night shift guards as he made his way past the various tents, trying to organize his jumbled thoughts into something resembling a coherent list of things to do.

The sound of grunting snapped him out of his thoughts.

Robin looked around to find himself at the training grounds. And he wasn't alone.

At first the flowing robes and bare legs made him think it was Say'ri, but then he saw flashes of blue.

"Lucina?"

The princess stopped hitting the training dummy with her practice sword and turned her head.

"What're you doing up so early?" Robin asked.

"I can ask you the same thing. If I recall, you said you didn't make a habit of waking up early in the morning."

"I try not to, but life apparently has other ideas." Robin laughed weakly. "What about you? Early morning training? Do you usually get up before dawn to hit dummies?"

"The night can bring some...unpleasant memories. I find training helps take my mind off...them," Lucina murmured.

"Ah. I see." Robin looked around. "Mind if I join you?"

Lucina looked startled.

"Not unpleasant memories, but unpleasant nonetheless. Dreams, that is," Robin explained. "I thought maybe I'd try my hand at your technique of not thinking about them...unless you object?"

"Please." Lucina tossed Robin a practice sword. "It would be better than hitting a practice dummy, at least."

"I would hope so!" Robin got into a fighting stance.

"I have to admit that I'm not used to company so early," Lucina said, taking her position.

"Neither am I, but I thought I might as well make the most of it and get some sword practice in. Early bird and all that."

If Robin's mind was functioning correctly, he would be questioning why he was jumping right into a sparring session with Lucina of all people before the day even started. But alas, it was not. It was sleep deprived and only at half capacity, at best.

So without any further thought, precaution, or preparation, Robin made the first move.


Owain Dark, heroic hero of legend, was a lone wolf. A lone wolf of justice, but a lone wolf nonetheless. Like some sort of righteous guardian of justice, he keeps a close eye on the world from the shadows, springing into action only at the last moment when all seems lost to save his friends from the brink of defeat!

"Take this, foul minion of evil!"

Owain hit the training dummy with his practice sword.

"Ha! Owain Dark once again stops another nefarious plot from threatening the world!"

Owain looked around at all of the damaged training dummies.

Although Owain Dark was a lone wolf, he sure did miss his comrades of justice sometimes. Having some company really did make training a lot more interesting. And it certainly got his creative juices flowing in making up cool new moves or names.

...Well, now that he thought about it, who Owain really missed was Cynthia. Of all his friends, Cynthia was the only one who shared his enthusiasm for heroics, even after they all grew up. Lucina was into it once upon a time but had other priorities once she inherited the throne, Inigo was at first too shy to partake in the art of heroics before shifting his interest to philandering, Noire and Brady didn't really have the constitution for prolonged heroics, Gerome, Kjelle and Laurent were never into it, Nah thought she was "too old for such childish nonsense," Yarne was too terrified of his own shadow to be a hero of justice, and Severa actively made fun of them when she saw them. So that only left Cynthia as his partner in heroism and official cofounder of the Justice Cabal. Man, Owain missed their days of justicing and making up cool heroic backstories and names for their weapons. He really wished Cynthia was here with him, or, failing that, he had someone who was equally into fighting for justice and making up cool heroic battlefield entrances. But who could that possibly be?

Owain thought for a moment.

Of all the people in camp, Robin was first and foremost in his mind. Owain thought he could try and rope Robin into the world of heroics and legendary weapon biographies. After all, the Robin of the future was the reason Owain started on his heroic journey in the first place. And the current Robin seemed amenable enough to be Owain's heroic partner-in-justice. Then again, even Owain recognized that trying to rope in the army's tactician into naming every weapon in their arsenal was maybe not the most useful way to spend the tactician's time, even if weapon naming was a very important task that needed to be done! Owain didn't go to Lucina with all of this stuff, and Robin had more on his plate now than she did!

So what Owain needed was someone who shared Robin's enthusiasm for heroics but had a much more open schedule to partake in said heroics. But who…?

As soon as the answer became clear, Owain, like a bolt from the heavens, shot his way past the camp to find his destined partner.

Owain ran far and wide, searched high and low, lifted mountains and the heavens themselves (read: several crates) and communicated with the gods themselves (read: asked his parents) to divine the location of his fated partner!

"Ah ah! I...found you...at last!" Owain panted, running up to the person in question.

"Oh, hey, Owain," Morgan said, looking up from her papers. "Sorry, were you looking for me? And what's got you so out of breath? Has something happened?"

"Aye, it is! The second I first saw you, something wondrous happened! A charge coursed through my body with the electrifying force of summer lightning!" Owain declared dramatically.

"...What?"

"Though you wear a different face, I knew you for my fated ally! Across a thousand thousand lives have we shared the fortunes of war!"

Morgan wasn't following. "...Seriously, what?"

"You and I are partners, bound tight by the red string of fate since time immemorial. If we join forces once more in this life, no foe could hope to stop us!" Owain cried, striking a dramatic pose.

Morgan remained silent before bursting into laughter.

"H-hey, what's so funny?" Owain was not prepared for this reaction.

"You are! That was amazing. Is it from a play, or did you write it yourself?" Morgan asked.

"I wrote it myse—" Owain began before correcting himself, "I mean, uh, no! I didn't write it at all! I'm saying it because I mean it!"

"But how could you possibly know we were partners in a previous life?"

"My sixth sense bespoke it to my third eye."

Morgan laughed again. "Oh gods, that's brilliant! You really have a gift for this, Owain."

"But I'm not…! This isn't just…" Owain was definitely not prepared for this turn of events. Could his instincts about Morgan being his fated partner have been wrong?!

Morgan giggled. "Okay, okay. So if we WERE fated partners, can you prove it?"

"Of course! Name your challenge!"

"Okay. Well…" Morgan's stomach growled. "I got it! No incarnation of me would ever settle for a partner who couldn't cook."

Owain deflated. "...As in food?"

"Yeah! There is something wonderful about one person preparing food for another. It shows they care, and in turn gives the other person strength."

"...So be it! I shall cook a meal fit to dispel any doubts of our star-linked fates!"

This was more like it! Owain would've been a bit disappointed if Morgan just up and accepted his proposal without question. Of course there had to be some challenge or obstacle to overcome. And like all heroic epics, Owain would go through many trying trials in order to ultimately succeed against all odds and in the face of the most adverse adversities! He would create the ultimate meal for Morgan that would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were destined partners, thus beginning their heroic origin story.

Man, this addition to his backstory basically wrote itself!

Owain was so giddy that he zoomed back to find ingredients, even if he had no idea how to cook.

"Hee hee! I can't wait!"

Morgan, meanwhile, was just happy she could get a free meal. Although thinking about it, it would take Owain a while to whip something up. And Morgan was hungry now!

A heavy sigh to the side caught her attention.

"Hey, Inigo!"

"Hmm? Oh. Hi, Morgan," Inigo greeted, uncharacteristically subdued.

"What's wrong? You look like you're wilting. Ooh, let me guess! You hit on a pretty girl, and she shot you down?"

"Ha! Everyone thinks they know Inigo. Well, they don't know squat!" Inigo said indignantly. " ...But, yes. That's what happened. Honestly, all I want is one lousy cup of tea! Is that really so much to ask?"

"That doesn't sound like the Inigo I know. What happened to 'this game isn't over!' or whatever it was you said?"

Inigo sighed dramatically. "The beginning turned into a middle, which became an end. Now it's a loss."

"Ouch. This really has you down, huh?" Morgan's stomach growled again. "...Oh, all right. You can win this one."

"Huh? How do you mean?"

"I'll go out with you."

— Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp —

Robin suddenly shivered as he felt a cold feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. This feeling was followed by a violent anger directed inexplicably at Inigo.

Unsure as to why he suddenly felt like seriously and repeatedly hurting Chrom's son and knowing only that this violent urge needed to be directed somewhere, Robin unexpectedly kicked out. This sudden move caused Lucina to lose her footing.

Robin used this brief respite to go on a punishing offensive. So now instead of Lucina using him as her punching bag like in all of their sessions, Robin actually put her on the defensive.

He still didn't know why he felt so inexplicably angry, though. And with Inigo, of all people. The boy wasn't even here!

— Elsewhere —

Inigo blinked. " ...I suppose this is the part where mummers burst out of the bushes and laugh at me?"

"No joke, Inigo! I'll give you a date, but on one condition," Morgan said. "I don't remember anything about food, and I'd like to learn about new cuisines. So let's skip tea and jump straight to the main course! Buy me dinner."

"Dinner? We didn't even have breakfast…"

"Well, think of it as an advance on today's dinner. Or an addition to yesterday's dinner!"

"That...doesn't make any sense."

Morgan pouted. "You're being awfully picky to a girl basically asking you to ask her out."

"You're absolutely right!" Inigo cleared his throat. "So, where do you want to go? Within reason, of course! Ha ha!"

And here Inigo thought this day was off to a lousy start. He thought he'd get up before everyone and sneak away to practice some dancing. On his way back he just so happened to see a bunch of girls on the road. Who knew there were so many fine young ladies up so early! Although all the rejections really dampened his mood. Still though, with Morgan letting him take her out, this day went from being a bummer to being awesome! Nothing could possibly—

"Why not tell me how much you have, and I'll pick the best spot you can afford!"

"Er...that sounds expensive…"

Very expensive...

Morgan rubbed her hands together. "Ooh, I'm so excited!"

Inigo laughed nervously. "Oh dear…"

"Inigo! We need to talk."

Morgan and Inigo looked to see Severa approaching.

"Oh boy, she looks pretty mad…"

"That's how she always looks. Hey, Severa," Inigo greeted. "What brings you to our side of the camp?"

"We need to talk, Inigo. Now."

"Oooh, she sounds maaaaad," Morgan remarked.

"As much as I'd love to, I kinda already made plans with Morgan, so…"

"I think you should go with her."

Inigo's head snapped to Morgan.

"I mean, this clearly sounds more important that our little early/belated dinner date," Morgan explained. "Besides, I think I can wait a bit for food. As long as you guys don't take so long it actually becomes dinnertime when you finish."

"But—"

"Great. Let's go, Inigo." Without waiting for a reply, Severa took Inigo by his ear and dragged him off.

"Ow ow ow! Severa, my ear!"

"Don't keep him too long!" Morgan shouted as Inigo was led away. "Heh, wonder what that's all about?"


"Ow! Severa, seriously!" Inigo cried once they were in a secluded area. "What was that all about? I was right on the verge of scoring a date!"

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Severa demanded.

"Huh?"

"I mean, I thought you were pathetic already, but asking some girl who you know nothing about for a date? Are you a complete idiot?"

"That's kind of what asking girls out is all about…" Inigo said, before pausing. "Hey, wait a minute! Are you saying my philandering is pathetic or am I?"

"A little bit of A, a little bit of B. But that's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"Do you even know who she is?"

"Morgan? Yeah, she's Robin's dau—oh." Inigo's eyes widened as he saw where Severa was coming from.

Severa frowned. "Exactly."

"Look, Severa, I'll be the first one to admit that Robin now isn't as we remember him. As you know, he was the person I was most terrified of when we were little."

"Inigo, you were terrified of everyone when we were little."

"That's...not true! I had no trouble talking to people with Lucina...for the most part."

"Oh yeah, real brave of you to hide behind your big sister when meeting new people," Severa said, rolling her eyes.

"As fun as it is to bring back painfully embarrassing childhood memories, I don't think that's the topic at hand here," Inigo stated flatly, trying to change the subject.

"No, it's not. Tell me what you think of this 'Robin' and what you've seen." Severa looked intently at Inigo.

"I...truthfully? I don't think you need the quotes, Severa. Strange though he may be, there's no way that it's not Robin."

"How can you be so sure? He's—"

"Putting aside the whole difference in character, he has several points going for him."

"Like?"

"Well, first and foremost, he has Lucina's trust."

"True, but Lucina's nature means that she tries to see the best in people. Getting her trust isn't all that unless she has reason to doubt you."

"You forget Lucina's mission. As all of us, she came back to stop Grima's rise and prevent a repeat of the events that led up to our future. That meant keeping Father alive, which meant finding his killer."

"Yes, I remember. So?"

"So that meant she had to look at everyone here with suspicion since none of us, including her, knew who killed Father. She's spent over two years here in the past trying to find his killer, keeping one eye open for any sign of treachery. And after all of that, she trusts Robin, which means she doesn't view him as a threat to Father or our family. She trusts him, Severa. Which means she has concluded that Robin isn't a threat to Father or our mission. And you know how important that is to her."

Severa remained silent.

"And I've been told that Robin has stuck with the Shepherds and Ylisse for several years now. If he wasn't really Robin, he had plenty of opportunities to do harm to Father, Mother, the Shepherds and Ylisse. And now, several years after the war with Plegia, he's still here, leading the Shepherds and keeping all of us safe."

"I guess that's true…" Severa admitted grudgingly. "But it still doesn't explain his behavior! He's all weird and talks nonsense and is all crazy!"

"Yeah, he's really all that, but he's not malicious or anything. And he's no less of a tactician than the Robin of our time, so…"

"But that doesn't make any sense! If he's really Robin, why is he acting all weird and crazy? Why is he so different than the man we knew and remember?"

"That's a great question. And one I can't even try to answer," Inigo said. "All I know is that he has everyone's trust, including Lucina's. That's good enough for me."

"Easy for you to say. All your parents and relatives act as they should and conform to the tales we heard of them when they were young," Severa grumbled.

"Well…" Inigo tried to think of something comforting to say. "At least your mother is still the same…?"

Severa grunted.

"Look, I don't really know what to say here…" Inigo said, rubbing the back of his head. "This whole situation is way beyond me and my limited understanding. Maybe talk to Lucina about it? Or Laurent. He's all about reading and theories and stuff. Surely he'll have an explanation or hypothesis ready?"

"Yeah. I guess. Maybe I'll see him next. And the others. Have to get a better picture and understanding of this Robin."

"So you've accepted he's Robin, then?"

"I...I don't know. We'll see, I guess. After I talk to the others."

"Guess I can't blame you for wanting to investigate further." Inigo cleared his throat. "Now, if there's nothing else, I have a date to attend to!"

"Hold it!" Severa, after becoming more somber as their conversation went on, flared up. "Putting the whole issue of Robin aside, what the hell?!"

"What?"

"So Robin acting all weird and crazy is already super crazy, but now some girl comes along and claims to be his daughter and everyone just, what, accepts that? And to top it all off, you're going on a date with her?!"

"Severa—"

"How does that make any sense!? There may be some sort of explanation for Robin's weird behavior, but Morgan is clearly lying. How can she be his daughter? She wasn't in the future with us and we all know each other and who we came back in time with. She has to be some sort of spy...or something! Robin didn't have any additional children in the future!"

"I—"

Having Severa rant at him and ask him questions he didn't even remotely have answers to, Inigo was acutely aware that he risked being stuck here for a while and, more importantly, he risked Morgan losing interest in their date and running off somewhere!

"Right. So I guess you should really ask Laurent for his explanation for this stuff, then! Is that all? Okay, great! Bye!"

And without waiting for Severa's reply, Inigo darted out of there.

"Hmph. He may be a mindless flirt, but he does come up with good ideas from time to time. Laurent should have some sort of explanation for all of this…" Severa muttered. She then decided to take Inigo's advice and went off to look for the mage.


Chrom stared at the condition his daughter and best friend were in.

"...Do I even need to ask?"

"It was just some simple sparring," Robin said nonchalantly, wincing as he spoke.

"It seems you two have taken on an entire Valmese platoon," Chrom stated flatly.

"...Okay, some intense sparring."

"Robin was a lot more aggressive today," Lucina said. "He put me on the back foot on several occasions. And given how seriously I take sparring, I responded by redoubling my efforts and attacks. And the end result was, well…" Lucina trailed off, letting hers and Robin's condition (covered in bruises and bandages) speak for itself.

"Yeah, I don't know where that came from. In the middle of our match I just felt a burst of energy that I used to go on the offensive. Guess we might have overdone it a little bit," Robin said.

"I'll say." Chrom wasn't amused. "I don't want to be the one to tell you two how to spar, but I hope you don't make this a habit. I don't want my daughter and my best friend pummeling each other to the point they need serious medical treatment every time they spar."

"It wasn't that serious…" Robin muttered.

"Lissa said she had to use an entire healing staff's worth of magic to fix you two up."

"...Huh. I don't remember there being that much pain…"

"Regardless, your concerns are noted, Father. We apologize and promise to show more restraint when we spar," Lucina said.

"Yeah. I don't think I'll be able to get another burst of fighting energy like I did today again. I don't even know where or how what I did today happened."

"For what it's worth, it was a very useful exercise, Robin," Lucina said, turning to the tactician. "You don't usually show such aggression or force when we spar. I believe today was the closest I've experienced a real battle situation. It also showed me that I needn't hold back and allowed me to try some techniques I was otherwise hesitant to, although I must apologize if I got a little carried away…"

"Heh, well I guess that makes two of us!" Robin laughed before wincing in pain.

As fun(?) as it was all out sparring with Lucina, Robin didn't want to make this something normal. Although he did manage to hold his own and not have Lucina completely kick his ass, the end result was that Lucina upped her game and he ended up even more banged up than he usually did. The only upside(?) was that Robin didn't really feel the pain during sparring because of all the adrenaline. It just all came crashing down after the match…

"Right. So that settles that. No more of that kind of sparring." Robin cleared his throat. "So, uh, we're having our strategy meeting now, right?"

"The others should be here shortly," Chrom said.

And so it was that Say'ri, Virion, and Morgan entered the tent. Although Robin was surprised to see the new girl come in. So was Lucina, based on her facial expression.

"What?" Severa asked.

"Nothing. I guess I just wasn't expecting you to show up for this strategy meeting," Robin said.

"It's not like these things are classified and only for you higher ups, right? They're open to anyone to listen in and contribute. So here I am!"

Robin shrugged. "Okay. Just, you know, don't be disruptive."

Severa was about to retort, but a pleading look from Lucina quieted her down.

"Right. So, we're on the outskirts of Chon'sin, yeah?" Robin said, looking at the maps laid in front of him. "Say'ri, how go the preparations for your arrival?"

"Aye. I have alerted my agents of our arrival. They have meticulously planned our route directly to the capital through safe locations so as not to alert the Valmese of our presence until it's too late."

"So what's the plan?" asked Chrom.

"We will make our way to Chon'sin and meet my agents in this border village," Say'ri explained, pointing to a dot on the map. "Our route to the capital shall take us through these villages here and down these roads."

"Do the Valmese suspect anything?" Robin inquired.

"Only what information we have fed them," Say'ri responded. "I made sure to entrust our plans only to whose loyalty is certain. As far as the Valmese are aware, there have been 'sightings' of us in the west. I have reports informing me that the authorities have diverted the majority of their resources to try and locate me there. This should increase our chances of infiltrating Chon'sin undetected."

"Sounds good. What's the plan once we're in?"

"Once we are in position in the capital, we shall give the signal and march on the palace. Our reports indicate that the city's garrison is not willing to defend this occupational regime and will gladly join us, as I am now the rightful heir of Chon'sin. My agents are in position to…"

Severa listened intently and observed the scene. More importantly, she observed Robin. While her first impressions of him were that he was an absentminded, rambling weirdo, Severa was surprised at his behavior during the strategy meeting. No longer talking nonsense and being the bumbling fool, Robin now looked serious, listened attentively to Say'ri's plans and even asked sensible questions. He seemed calm, focused, and exactly what a tactician was supposed to be. Exactly as she remembered him. Exactly as he was when…

Severa's heart ached as distant childhood memories surfaced in her mind.

"That's my girl!"

Snapping back to reality, Severa felt an ugly, violent sensation in her chest when she saw how Robin smiled and tousled Morgan's hair.

Who the hell was she? What did this random kid do to deserve Robin showing her such obvious pride and showering her with his affection? There was no way she was his real daughter! It was impossible!

Lucina must've noticed Severa's expression since she made her way over to her friend.

"Severa? Is everything okay?"

"Peachy," Severa deadpanned. "Just taking in this scene and trying to reconcile like five different, contradictory and seemingly impossible things together to try and make some sense out of them. You know, the usual."

"Severa, I understand things may be a bit confusing now, but perhaps you should try to focus your attention on one thing at a time?" Lucina suggested. "Believe me when I say that you will find yourself overwhelmed if you try and make sense of everything at once."

"Yeah, no kidding. I've been having a headache every time I think about all of this." Severa rubbed her temples.

"Understandable. I have been in that exact situation many times," Lucina said sympathetically.

"So take things one at a time, huh? That sounds reasonable. All I need to do is find where to begin…"

At that moment, heavy footsteps were heard approaching. They stopped at the entrance of the tent and where followed by a gentle rapping on the entrance flap.

"Milord, permission to enter?"

"Granted," Chrom called out.

Parting the tent flap, Frederick and Cordelia entered.

"Apologies for intruding and our late arrival," Frederick said, saluting. "Cordelia and I were heading for our meeting when we received these latest reports."

"Is there anything of note?" Chrom asked.

"I...believe so, yes."

"Frederick?"

"See for yourselves," Cordelia said, passing the latest reports.

"Seems like...bandits," Chrom stated, skimming over the report. "Bandit activity from up north."

"It's always bandits," Robin said dismissively. "Probably terrorizing villages and stuff as bandits tend to do."

"Indeed. Curiously, these particular bandits usually conducted their activities in the north. However, these latest reports indicate that they've been gradually moving southward," Cordelia reported.

"So? I don't see how this has anything to do with us," Robin said.

"Well, based on these and other reports, the trajectory of these bandits will bring them to our general vicinity soon enough."

Robin remained silent, waiting for further explanation.

"And you're right that this wouldn't ordinarily concern us, however…"

"Yes…?"

"These reports state that these bandits are led by an individual calling himself Chrom," Frederick concluded.

Severa's head snapped up at this bit of news.

"Well that's clearly a lie," Morgan spoke up. "I mean, they can't be led by Chrom. We're led by Chrom!"

"That we are, indeed. Pray tell, did they fool anyone with this pretense?" Say'ri asked.

"I would say so. According to scout reports, the impostor has at least managed to get down Chrom's likeness enough to convince villagers and passersby to 'contribute' to his 'war effort.' Either that or forcibly make them pay," Cordelia said.

Severa walked to the table and looked over the reports. She then traced the bandits' sightings on the map and their predicted route/destination.

"Oh no…"

"I guess it can't be that hard. I mean, Chrom's got wanted posters with his face plastered in probably every city and town. All you have to do is get one of those posters and put on some makeup or magic to get you to look like the guy on the poster," Morgan pointed out.

"That's a good point. So there's some bandits out there claiming to be me and collecting money/extorting people in my name." Chrom turned to Robin. "What do we do about it?"

"We have to go stop them."

Everyone turned to Severa.

"I mean, they're bandits! Preying on the weak and innocent and all that. Isn't it our job to stop them?"

"As...fun as that sounds, I'll have to disagree," Robin said. "I actually don't think we need to do anything about this."

Chrom raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Firstly, I really don't want to divert our precious time to bandit duty. We have a plan that we need to stick to, Chrom. That means getting to Chon'sin, establishing control and then getting as much done as possible before the Valmese regroup enough to bring their remaining forces down upon us. Secondly, these idiots were stupid enough to impersonate you and loudly pronounce thier presence when doing their bandity things. You, who has a sizeable bounty on his head."

"Okay…?"

"If we know where they are, that means that others do too. Others, including lords who want to brownose their way to Walhart's graces by capturing the infamous Chrom, of the Ylissean League."

"Ah, I see. So you're saying that we leave these bandits to whoever is looking to collect the bounty on my head."

"Exactly. Remember that we had to cut through the desert because there was a sizeable search party after us. I don't doubt the same will be true for these people. And it'll actually work out for us. Like, when they capture 'you' and pat themselves on the back on a job well done, that'll take the heat off of us! All the time they're spending chasing this impostor is time they're not using chasing us."

"We can't sit back and do nothing!"

Attention shifted back to Severa again.

"Unless you give me a very good reason, I don't see why we should waste precious time chasing some random bandits," Robin said.

"Well...I…" Severa bit her lip. "We can't just leave them to the other rulers to just capture and return to Walhart. Besides, we're going to be close enough to put an end to them, why wouldn't we take that opportunity?"

"Because it'll be a waste of time and we have a schedule to keep," Robin stated flatly.

Severa grit her teeth and frantically tried to come up with a good reason for this detour without mentioning Cynthia.

"...Reputation!"

Everyone looked at her curiously.

"I mean, yes! That's it." Severa smirked confidently. "You guys have an image to maintain as the good guys who've come to liberate Valm and all that stuff. And here you have some smelly bandits dragging your name through the mud by stealing from people and whatever. Are you really going to let that go?"

Robin considered her words.

"...I'm not sure that's really our problem," he said after a while. "What's done is done and we have a schedule to keep and a country to liberate. Besides, these people will be caught eventually and everyone will know they were frauds. Well, that or Valmese sympathizers would announce that they've caught 'Chrom' and rejoice, giving us cover since everyone will think Chrom has been caught. Either way, I don't see any need to waste our time with this."

"It's not wasting time!" Severa snapped.

Not understanding why Severa was pushing so hard for this but seeing how desperately she did, Lucina decided wade in and assist.

"I disagree, Robin. I believe it is important for us to confront these outlaws and maintain our reputation."

"Really?"

"Indeed. Our mission here is to defeat Walhart and liberate the land. I believe that task will be that much harder if the people believe that we are nothing but lying raiders. If anything, that will push them to collaborate with Walhart's forces."

"Hm…"

"They're right, Robin," Chrom said. "We can't risk losing the support of the people at this critical part of our campaign. If the Valmese announce that they've caught the leader of the Ylissean League, people will lose hope and inspiration. Even if we know the truth, we need the wider population to believe in our cause so they can aid us and our allies. We can't have them believing that Walhart will be overthrown and replaced by some raiding bandit. Besides, it's not like us to just let innocent people suffer, especially if they're being preyed upon by someone posing as me."

"Of course you'd feel that way…" Robin rolled his eyes. "Say'ri?"

"Aye?"

"What do you make of all this? You're leading on this operation and it's your land we're liberating. What is your preferred course of action?"

"I...agree with the others."

Robin raised a brow.

"Your friends put forth very convincing arguments, Robin. Although we have achieved some military victories, Walhart's army is still vastly stronger than ours. Our only advantage is that most people have no love for Walhart or his empire. They long to see their lands free and thus offer us their aid in our mission. The people's goodwill is our greatest asset and we cannot afford to lose it to some opportunistic bandits."

"So...you don't mind if we make a slight delay to liberate Chon'sin, then?"

"The delay should not be all too great." Say'ri looked at the map and the reports. "GIven our projected routes, we are to cross paths with these impostors in a few days. It should not significantly impact our current schedule, if at all."

Robin sighed. "Then I guess it's decided. We'll be on bandit duty. Again. I'll draw up some plans for our little encounter, although I'll need more intel to see what we're up against. Cordelia, I'll need you to…"

"I didn't need your help, you know," Severa said once this was settled and the others began discussing their preparations. "I could've handled this myself."

"I know," Lucina replied.

"But, uh…" Severa cleared her throat awkwardly. "I...appreciate it. What you did for me, I mean."

Lucina smiled. "I know."

Severa took a deep breath.

And here she thought she had it bad when she got roped in with Nelson and his gang. Cynthia was now involved with some smelly bandits pretending to be Chrom and the Shepherds! Gods, what the hell did that girl get herself into? Hopefully she could hold up just a little longer until Severa could get to her. Gods, Cynthia getting into trouble and Severa having to bail her out. It was just like when they were children. The memories almost brought a smile to Severa's face…


Ruger smiled as he observed his latest haul. Quite a few pretty coins from grateful villagers wishing him good luck fighting Walhart. Ha! If he knew people were so gullible, he would've started impersonating important people years ago! At least it was easier now, what with all the wanted posters around. A little makeup here, a little magic there, and he looked enough like the man in the poster to fool (or intimidate) suckers into giving him their valuables for the 'war effort.'

Ruger sighed, contented.

Life was good.

"Chrom? Sir?"

Of course, life wasn't perfect. And sometimes it was very, very annoying.

"Chrooooom!"

Or, it was annoying a lot of the time.

"What is it, girl?" Ruger asked tiredly.

"I've come to report more gifts from travelers for the war effort!" the strange girl reported, dumping a big back overflowing with coins at Ruger's feet.

"The generosity of the people never ceases to impress." Ruger nodded approvingly. "Put it in with the rest."

"Yes sir!" The girl saluted. "Say, Chrom?"

"What else?"

"Thank you for listening to my suggestion on our route! I know it may have been a bit strange trusting the word of some girl who came to you one fine day—"

"You can say that again…"

"—I promise that your faith in me will not be wasted!"

"Well this route you've suggested has more opportunities for 'donations' than my usual operating area, so at least you've got that much going for you…"

"Yeah! And it'll get better when we meet up with Severa! Although I don't know if she'll be there, I just have a feeling that—"

And the girl went off again on her weird tangent of time travel and all that nonsense.

"Right. Severa. Okay." Ruger could feel a headache setting in with all of this girl's crazy rambling. "I'm sure we'll meet your friend all in good time and whatever. Meanwhile, why don't you put our latest haul in storage, yeah?"

"I'll get on it right away!"

The girl saluted and dragged off her bag.

"...Why do you even tolerate her?" asked one of Ruger's henchmen.

"Because having a cheerful girl helps put people at ease and increases the chance they'll willingly part with their valuables for us. And she has a pegasus, which is useful for scouting duty. So it's worth the occasional headache and nonsense future rant."

"...Occasional?"

"...Frequent, but the point remains. Now help me count our haul."


The heroes stood on a desert cliff overlooking the enemy capital. After countless battles, death, carnage and suffering, they were on the verge of ending the awful war they found themselves in.

The fearless leader, his cape heroically blowing in the wind, looked back at his soldiers and said

"...'Cape heroically blowing in the wind'? Come on, this isn't some children's story."

A piece of paper was crumpled and tossed aside.

By some unforeseen turn of events, the heroes were now undertaking some aggressive diplomacy in a foregin land. And this involved taking part in a tournament where the participants had to fight to the death!

"...That's a bit dramatic. Also not true at all."

More paper crumpling and a frustrated sigh.

"Gods, why is this so hard? I was there during all this! I should know how to accurately retell events!"

A brief silence and a furtive look around.

The war was over and the land finally knew peace. During the final battle, the Prince had finally found the love of his life in the form of a foreign dancer that had joined their army before the final battle. The love that blossomed between them was passionate and instantaneous.

"Sumia? Are you there?"

And the Heroine was happy for them both. Yes, it was true that she had longed for the Prince's heart once upon a time and tried to take little steps in the hope of winning his affections.

"Sumia, I hear you inside. I'm coming in."

But during the war, the Heroine found that her heart was slowly being won by another. The mysterious stranger with an unknown past and an eye for tactics. He had kept their army alive through the war and seen them through the most gruelling campaigns. But equally important was the fact that he had taken the time to spend time with the Heroine. Undeterred by her lack of experience on the battlefield and her more dire lack of skill off it, the stranger spent countless hours with the Heroine, mentoring her, bonding with her and slowly getting her to believe in herself. Under his guidance, the Heroine dared believe in herself for the first time.

Although somewhat eccentric, the stranger was kind, patient, encouraging and nurturing. Also handsome. That is why

"Sumia? What're you doing?"

"EEK!"

Sumia was so engrossed in her writing that she didn't notice Cordelia enter her tent until the latter was hovering over her shoulder. And in her surprise, Sumia threw all the papers in front of her into the air.

"C-C-Cordelia?! When did you get here?"

Instead of answering, Cordelia curiously plucked a sheet from the air.

"Cordelia, no! Don't read that! It's, uh, classified!"

"'Unhand her, you villains!' shouted the Prince. 'Ha ha ha! You worms aren't in any position to tell me what to do!' laughed the Villain King. 'Now hand over your [do I use the Fire Emblem or think up a substitute name?] or else!'"

"Cordelia, noooo!" Sumia got up and tried to rip the paper out of Cordelia's hand.

Unfortunately, Cordelia deftly dodged her attempts and kept reading.

"'Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the [Shepherds or alternate name?]' You already know Fredericson [heh. Note to self: revisit this to keep or change] and…' Oh. This one seems to just end there."

"Cordelia, please!" Sumia tried to reach over but Cordelia kept her away with her hand on Sumia's face.

"'I know that this may seem like madness, but I have to let you know. My heart won't allow me to go on in silence any more!' declared the Prince. 'W-what is it, milord?' asked the dancer timidly. '[Olivia?], I have to declare to you here and now, that I love you! Ever since I laid my eyes on you, it was as if I was hit with an Arcthunder spell. My every thought was consumed by you! I longed to reach out and hold you in my arms and—'"

"Cordelia, stooooop!" Sumia tried to reposition herself but slipped on a piece of paper on the ground and fell on her face. "Ow…"

Cordelia finally decided to take pity on her friend.

"Here, let me help you up."

"No, just leave me here. Now that you've read my little secret works, I don't think I'll ever be able to leave my tent. Just let the ground swallow me whole."

"Someone's being a little dramatic. Here." Cordelia helped her friend up.

"I can't believe you caught me in the middle of my...thing…" Sumia muttered, her face beet red.

"What was that, anyway?" Cordelia asked, looking at the paper in her hand and the others littered around Sumia's tent.

"You...you promise not to laugh?"

Cordelia put her hand on her heart. "Promise."

Sumia took a deep breath. "You remember back at one of our book sessions where we heard about the future and stories about us?"

"I...seem to recall something of that nature, yes."

"And you remember I decided to write our real story down after hearing that historians of Lucina's time made me sound like some madwoman?"

"Ah yes. That I do remember. So...this was you doing that, then?"

"In a way, yes. I started writing something like an autobiography/retelling of events, but then I decided to do some additions and embellishments here and there and, well, it ended up in some weird place where it was half real life and half fiction. And I can't decide which way to take it!"

"Ah, I see. I guess that explains all these notes in the stories. Also why you're not using our real names."

Sumia nodded. "I want it to be as true to events in real life as possible! ...But I'm also tempted to make my own little additions and interpretations and, well, it's just a big, stupid-sounding mess!"

"Come on, Sumia, it's not that bad."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better…"

"I mean, I've only seen, what, a page? And it was mostly what looks like excerpts. Nothing to be ashamed about. For an amateur with no writing experience, I'd say you've got off to a pretty good start!"

"I hope to get better! And want to get things down now while they're relatively fresh." Sumia then tried to quickly change the subject. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Just coming in to fetch my training buddy," Cordelia said, motioning to some training tomes she had with her. "You ready?"

"Ah yes, we were doing that, weren't we?" Sumia nodded. "Right. Let's do it!"

Sumia then quickly led Cordelia out of her tent.

Gods, it was embarrassing enough that her friend caught her in the middle of her hobby! The only bright side was that Cordelia didn't see Sumia's more Ribald Tales inspired stories. Sumia was pretty sure she would have to leave everyone and create a new identity for herself if anyone found out she was writing explicit fictional stories featuring characters that were (to various extents) based on people she knew. Especially the ones with the heroine and the stranger with a mysterious past and a heart of gold.


Owain Dark was a man of legends, a hero of heroes, one who did not let any obstacle stand between him and his objective! And in this case, his objective was his fated partner through the ages, Morgan! ...Or, proving to her that she was indeed his fated partner through the ages. That was his objective! And the obstacle was Morgan's trials for the Scion of Legend.

More specifically, it was the fact that Owain was tasked with making his esteemed fated partner a nice bowl of...food. As in, cook something himself. Well, it probably didn't need to be a bowl, but it did need to be something he whipped up himself. And it also had to be good enough to convince Morgan to buddy up with him. The only problem was that Owain didn't know the first thing about cooking. The only cooking knowledge he had was that he knew he liked his mother's. And Sumia's on those special occasions she made her legendary pies.

But his lack of anything related to cooking wouldn't stop him from making something so mind-blastingly amazing that Morgan's taste buds would be blown away and would demonstrate once and for all their fated bond!

So that's what Owain was doing: looking through cookbooks and trying to figure out how to make something without totally wasting their limited resources.

"Hnnnnrrrggghhh!"

The sound of someone struggling took Owain's attention off his pressing task.

"Whoa, Noire! That's an awful heavy load you've got. What are you up to?"

"Eep!" Owain's questions seemed to catch Noire off-guard. " ...O-oh! Hello, Owain. I'm just bringing some ingredients back from the market."

"Geez, they look heavy," Owain observed. "Here, lemme help you."

"Um, but...are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure! Just drop 'em there, and let your white knight take over!"

"I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you," Noire said gratefully.

"I'm a lone wolf by nature, but the call of an innocent in distress still—" Owain was interrupted when he tried to lift the bags. "By the red hair of Eliwood! This really is heavy! Is all this stuff for tonight's dinner?"

"No, not exactly. I thought I'd try my hand at confections."

"Ah! And what do you have to confess? Go on now, you can tell old Owain!"

"Er, no. Confections. Baked sweets. Little cakes and the like? So I've got flour, milk, eggs, honey, and a few random fruits."

"Wow, I didn't know you were such an amazing cook!"

"Um, well, I haven't cooked anything yet. Actually, this is my first attempt. But maybe you might...try it? I mean...if you...want?" Noire asked shyly.

"I'd love to! My sword hand is always hungry for conventions!"

"Um, 'confections.' It's pronounced…" Noire was about to correct Owain before changing her mind. "N-never mind. Thanks, Owain. I'll try not to let you down."

"I have full confidence in your culinary skills, Noire. Hey, maybe you'll even let me watch you make the cake!"

"I mean, I can, although I'm not sure it'll be terribly exciting…"

"It's more for me to take some pointers."

"Oh? Are you interested in cooking, Owain?"

"In a way. I've been presented with a heroic challenge and I have to overcome it in order to link up with my fated partner!"

"...But Cynthia isn't here…"

"What? No, not Cynthia. Well, I mean, yeah, Cynthia is probably my best and longest partner in justice, but given the fact she's currently somewhere in action that's not here, I figured—"

"I should've guessed this was where all the shouting was coming from."

Owain and Noire looked over to see Severa approaching.

"Hoy there, Severa!" Owain greeted. "It's good to have you with us! Slowly and surely it seems that our merry little band is coming together."

"Hi, Severa." Noire waved timidly.

"Yes yes, hi and whatever. Have either of you seen Laurent?"

"I can't say I have. I think he was going on a procurement run or something," Noire said.

"Great. I've been trying to find him all this time but he's always away doing some nonsense!" Severa shook her head. "Whatever. Might as well talk to you guys about what I want to talk to him about."

"Tell us what ails you and we will lift your spirits back to the heavens!" Owain proclaimed.

"Stop that. This is serious, so no being or talking weird!"

"Hey, it's not weird! It's—"

"None of that!" Severa snapped. "Anyway, you guys have been with everyone here for a while now, yeah? Got to know your parents and stuff?"

"Yeah…" Noire said slowly.

"And I also assume you've spent some time around Robin."

"Oh…"

"So I'm just going to cut the the chase: the Robin in this time is clearly different from the one in ours, acting all weird and whatever. I'm sure you've noticed this for yourselves. So, having spent some time fighting under him and given what you remember from him in the future, what do you guys think of this Robin?"

"What do we think?"

"Yeah. Like, do you think it's really him? Does his behavior in this time weird you out? I need to know what you think."

"W-well—"

"He is every bit the hero that we have heard about in the legendary tales of our parents!" Owain proclaimed.

Severa raised a brow.

"I've heard of his heroic feats during our time and also had the fortune of watching how he operated...er, operates, here in the past. And it is truly a sight to behold! Robin has the eyes of a hawk and a wit sharper than even Falchion. He commands respect and with his Aura of Authority, he gets a massive boost to his authority stat which also grants bonuses to allies that are adjacent to him."

"...What?"

"Oh yeah, it's totally in unit stat/biography that I'm currently drafting. You know, to fill in the characters surrounding Owain Dark on his heroic adventures in daring and heroism."

"Listen, you moron, this is serious!" Severa said irritably. "We're not here talking about your delusional hobbies or whatever, so cut it out! I asked you a serious question and I expect a serious answer!"

"...Right, sorry. Guess I got a little carried away there," Owain said sheepishly. "But the first part of what I said is totally true. Robin's every bit the tactician that the tales had you believe. And he seems to generally line up with what I remember of him."

"...He does?"

"Yep. If you recall, he was the one who got me into making my character and crafting epic and elaborate adventures to make life more exciting. I remember when he used to help me with my lore when I was little and lacked the boundless knowledge and creativity I do now."

"And he still helps you with...all that?" Severa asked slowly.

"Yeah, although not as often. Then again, I guess my adventures are already rich in lore and stuff so there isn't as much that he can help me out with. So he mostly listens when I come and tell him the latest entry in my saga."

"I'm genuinely shocked he has time to listen to your ramblings. Aren't we in the middle of a war?"

"Ah, but what kind of tactician can't multitask? Robin seems most attentive when I come to him when he's drafting battle plans!"

"You...you go to him with your stories while he's drafting battle plans?! ...And he just lets you?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Owain said nonchalantly. "It's him there looking over maps listening attentively while I tell him about how I defeat entire armies of evil by myself and how generally awesome I am. And he contributes with little pearls of wisdom like 'ah' and 'hm' and 'is that so?' I can tell he's enthralled by my latest adventures and always wants to hear more. Sometimes he listens for entire stretches without saying anything, so blown away is he by my heroics. If I didn't know better, I'd say he wasn't listening!"

"Right." Severa rolled her eyes. "And you haven't really noticed any differences in Robin's behavior, then?"

"Nothing radical," Owain replied. "Why?"

"I guess expecting you of all people to notice anything was too optimistic…" Severa shook her head. "Noire, please tell me you've noticed differences."

"I, uh...suppose there are some differences…" Noire said slowly.

"Thank gods," Severa muttered. "It's weird, isn't it? How different he is?"

"It's certainly...something."

"You sound like you have something more to say."

"I…" Noire picked her words carefully. "Look, Severa, I know how weird this must be for you of all people, but, um, I don't think you're going to like what I have to say…"

"Try me."

"Well…" Noire took a deep breath. "I like this version of Robin."

Severa's eye twitched.

"I-I told you that it wasn't something you'd like to hear!" Noire squeaked and then hid behind Owain.

"Come now, Noire, there's no need to hide! Not like Severa's going to lash out or anything!"

"...It's true," Severa managed to say after taking a deep breath. "I just want to know why."

"W-well, it don't know if you remember, but Robin in the future was a bit...intimidating."

"No he wasn't! I mean, yeah, he didn't really talk as much as some of the parents and he did look a bit worse for wear because of all the staying up and planning, but—" Severa paused. "Wait a minute. You are saying Robin was intimidating. With your mother being, well, your mother?"

"Oh I'm well aware of how scary Mother could be. Especially after Father died…" Noire shivered. "But at least it was the intimidating I knew, you know? As far as I can remember, Robin was always holed up in his office and we weren't allowed to go in there, so I guess it was kind of like a scary forbidden place. And when he did come out, he didn't really say much and looked so austere all the time. And he was very strict as our teacher. So I guess all that added together made him seem a bit intimidating to me. You can understand that, right?"

"Yeah…" Severa admitted reluctantly.

"Say what you will about the man, but he did really want us to take our studies seriously," Owain said wistfully.

"A-anyway," Noire continued, "I guess when you compare that to how Robin is now, he's a lot less scary. I mean, yes he's different, but he's much more talkative and helpful, I guess?"

"He was always helpful in the future!" Severa protested.

"I'm not saying that he wasn't!" Noire said quickly. "But he's now more open about helping you instead of doing things in the background, you know? He even asked Sir Virion to help train me with my bow! And convinced my parents to let Sir Virion train me despite their misgivings. I feel like my skill with the bow has really improved! Sir VIrion really knows what he's doing when it comes to archery."

Severa listened silently.

"And he's much more approachable now, too. I don't feel intimidated coming to talk to him about things. So I guess what I'm saying is that I don't know how or why Robin is different here in the past than he was in the future, but I...like him here in the past."

Severa frowned.

"I'm sorry…"

"Why the sour face?" Owain asked. "Do you not like Robin as he is in this time?"

"I...don't know. There are just way too many things that don't make sense and I'm not even sure this is Robin even though everyone says he is and I'm just trying to figure things out." Severa shook her head. "He's just so different now it's almost like that isn't him. But there has to be an explanation. There has to!"


"I wonder why Lucina wanted me to meet her out here of all places…" Robin thought aloud as he wandered away from the camp.

It was a bit odd, having Lucina walk up to him and say that she had something to discuss and that he should meet her in this location that didn't seem like a very obvious place to discuss things. If Robin didn't know better, he'd say she was setting him up to get attacked by assassins or something!

Robin shook his head.

Perhaps he read too many thrillers in his time. Besides, Lucina was a straight shooter and not one to sneak around and do things behind people's backs. If she did want to kill him for whatever reason, Robin figured she'd tell that to his face. And then even maybe give him a chance to defend himself.

Not that she'd have any reason to kill him! They were all friends here and no one had any reason to kill anyone!

Robin did his best to prevent the scenes from his desert delirium from resurfacing.

...He had to find better things to think about.

A sigh of frustration caught Robin's attention.

Who else was all the way out here? And doing what?

"Urgh…"

And by the sounds of it, not doing it very successfully, whatever "it" was.

Making his way over to the source of the frustrated voice, Robin saw a clearing. And standing in the middle of the clearing was Cordelia, looking very annoyed at the book in her hands.

"I really need to devote more time to this. Hopefully no one notices how many training tomes we go through…" Cordelia muttered. She then took a deep breath and assumed a casting position. After reading some incantations from the practice tome, Cordelia tried to cast a spell at the target on the other end of the clearing. When nothing happened, Cordelia growled in frustration. "Argh! I can actually feel the magic but there's still something missing. What am I doing wrong?!"

"Well your form's all wrong, for one."

"Wha—?!" Cordelia spun around to see Robin approaching her. "Oh…"

"Well don't sound too excited to see me," Robin remarked, seeing how Cordelia deflated when she saw him.

"N-no, it's not that, it's…"

"Also, is there any reason you're sneaking away to do what looks like practicing magic in this space that's a ways off from camp? We have perfectly functional training grounds for that, you know."

"Well I...that is…" Cordelia tried to come up with an excuse before sighing in resignation. "I suppose you caught us so there's no use hiding it."

"...'Us'? 'It'? Cordelia, what in Naga's name are you talking about?"

"If you must know, Sumia and I have decided to try and better our abilities in magic. We've been meaning to ever since you determined that we were capable, but we didn't have many opportunities to practice given everything that's been going on."

"Okay…" Robin said slowly, still not entirely understanding.

"And with everything going on, we thought we'd try to do so on our own, without bothering anyone else with our novice questions. We did ask some questions on the basics, of course, but we couldn't really ask the others to train us from the ground up, you know? Not when they have their own training and schedules to keep."

"And I'm guessing from all the frustration that the training hasn't been going very well."

"I...Sumia went to get more training tomes after we burned through all of the ones we initially brought with us…" Cordelia admitted, embarrassed.

"You know, there are qualified and magically adept instructors in the camp who would be more than happy to show you the ropes and stuff. In fact, one such individual is standing right in front of you," Robin pointed out.

"Robin, you were the last person we would've wanted to bother with this."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're probably the busiest person in camp with much more important things to do than teach magic to novices."

"Hey, I may have maybe a hundred different things I need to do during the day, but that doesn't mean I don't have time for friends and fellow soldiers. In fact, I even make time during the day to train my daughter! Granted, that includes sword training as well as magic and she's not exactly a novice, but the point still stands!"

"And Sumia and I knew you would insist if we went to you with this," Cordelia said. "Which is why we tried to train on the quiet."

"And you were right. Because I do insist on overseeing you two. Starting right now. Show me your fighting stance."

"Wha—?"

"Right now, Cordelia."

"Robin—"

"Cordelia, you and Sumia wasted I don't know how much time trying to learn magic without proper supervision. Worse, you wasted I don't know how much time trying to learn magic without my supervision. You'd be shooting lightning bolts out of your hands with your eyes closed by now had you come to me at the first instance! All that time, wasted…" Robin shook his head. "But we can still save this. I'm going to personally take you and Sumia under my wing and make sure you can cast spells like competent mages before we take on Walhart. Now show me your fighting stance."

Cordelia opened her mouth to object.

"Refusing my help is not an option," Robin said sternly, crossing his arms.

Cordelia saw she wasn't getting out of this. Sighing, she took a fighting stance.

"Not bad," Robin remarked. "Although the stance could use a little work. Anyway, do you feel it?"

"I feel something," Cordelia said. "Although I feel it's just out of my reach."

"I see." Robin nodded in understanding. "Let's get back to the basics for good measure. Close your eyes."

"Okay…" Cordelia did as she was told.

"Do you feel the elements? The heat of the sun, the wind against your skin?"

"Yes."

"The power behind the magic is all around us, Cordelia. But only a select few have the ability to translate that power into offensive spells. It's up to us to translate that energy in the environment, with the help of our spellbooks, into something we can use offensively. And we do that by letting our bodies act as conduits. We feel the raw energy around us and use it, channel it, inside."

As Robin was talking, he slowly dragged a finger down Cordelia's arm.

Cordelia could feel goosebumps at his touch.

"And this is where all the magic happens, no pun intended," Robin said, patting her chest.

"Robin—!"

"Keep your eyes closed and concentrate," Robin said sternly. "Now I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of magic theory, but what I do know is that your heart is the key to transforming raw elemental…"

If Robin were anyone else, Cordelia was sure he'd get a hard slap on the cheek. At least. It reminded her of her cadet days when she was constantly hit on by the regular soldiers or particularly brave citizens. She was a bit awkward around them at first, not accustomed to so many empty compliments and shameless philandering (and completely unprepared for the touchy-feely ones). Luckily for her, her fellow knight-sisters were more than willing to shoo away the wannbe philanderers (sometimes using force for the more persistent ones). Cordelia eventually learned to take it in stride and politely yet firmly reject the romantics.

Of course, that was in her early days as a cadet. After the war with Plegia and the ensuing peace, she was promoted to Sky-Commander and was one of the highest ranking military personnel in all of Ylisse. Her newfound status probably contributed to the steep decline in the amount of men who hit on her. They probably thought she was now out of their league and it would be too disrespectful to try their luck with the Sky-Commander of Ylisse.

So while Cordelia trained the new cadets, she also observed how they got hit on my soldiers from the regular army. It made her a bit jealous, in a way. Although the mindless flirting was at first unexpected and awkward, Cordelia did appreciate the thought behind them. That and the compliments. Who doesn't like being told how pretty they are from time to time?

But now that she was Sky-Commander, the only people of equal or greater rank who could possibly pull that off where Chrom, Frederick, Virion, and Robin. And of those four, the first was married, the second was married to his job, and Cordelia wouldn't give the third the time of day.

So that only really left Robin. And Cordelia did enjoy it when he gave her his playful, borderline flirtatious comments. Playful banter between friends it might've been, but it did make her feel better.

"—hich means you need to change your stance. Here."

"Wha—? Robin—!" Cordelia's eyes shot open when she felt Robin push his body against hers.

"Keep your eyes closed and focus," Robin told her seriously, grabbing Cordelia's arms and adjusting her stance.

Despite their familiarity, Cordelia still blushed at how Robin casually pressed himself against her, all the while explaining his understanding of magic theory.

It was a good thing they knew each other so well, otherwise Robin would've suffered the same fate as other particularity bold philanderers who invaded her personal space to cop a feel!

"I gave you a brief rundown on the basics of magic theory as I understand it. You have magic affinity and you've told me you feel something when you practice, which is good. I think all you need is a little push," Robin said, grabbing her hand in his and turning it upward. "Now see if you can't conjure me a fireball."

Cordelia fought down her blush and the closeness of their bodies to focus on her task.

She thought about everything Robin just said and focused on her environment and the heat of the sun against her body. Interestingly enough, she felt the same tingly feeling she did when she was practicing before, but it was...different this time. Almost closer.

As if reading her thoughts, Robin said, "Now, open the practice tome and use the incantations."

Cordelia nodded and turned to her practice tome. Taking a deep breath, she recited the spell for a simple fire spell.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Cordelia felt an electric feeling through her body. She could almost feel all the heat from the sun concentrate in her chest, and then shoot into her outstretched hand.

Cordelia gasped as a small fireball ignited above her open palm.

"There we go," Robin said smiling, his body still pressed against hers. "You did it."

"I...I really did, didn't I?" Cordelia looked at the fireball over her hand in awe. "...Wait a minute, you didn't secretly conjure up a fireball and then transfer the magic to me, did you?"

"What, me? I would never!" Robin said, disengaging and putting his arms up innocently. "And even if I did, I'd be the first to tell you. But I don't need to, because this is all you."

"Thank you, Robin," Cordelia said gratefully.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"It feels wonderful! I can't wait until I can get good at this."

"It'll feel even better once you start casting the really good spells."

"I—"

Cordelia was interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Cordelia, I'm back! And I've brought more practice to—oh!" Sumia froze as she saw Robin. "R-Robin, what're you doing...here...?"

"Helping you two with your magic training."

"Magic training? I don't know what you're—"

"Sumia, he knows."

"...Oh." Sumia deflated. She then noticed the fireball in Cordelia's hand. "Oh, Cordelia! You—!"

"All thanks to our instructor over here," Cordelia said, adding, "At his very firm insistence."

"Yes, and don't you think you're getting away from me. From now on, I'm taking over teaching you two the ins and outs of magic! I'll have you shooting lightning bolts at the bad guys in no time!"

"But Robin—"

"Sumia, don't bother. I've ran all our arguments past Robin already," Cordelia said wryly. "If anything, it makes him even more determined."

"...Oh."

"Great. Now that we got that settled, come on, Sumia. I need to see where you are with the magic so I can get a feel for what you need from me."

"What, now?" Sumia said, surprised.

"Yes, now. I want to have you being able to at least call up a small fireball before the end of today. Cordelia's already there, so come on."

"O-oh. Okay, then. If you don't mind…"

As Robin was giving Sumia the same rundown, Cordelia marvelled at the fireball in her hand. Maybe Robin was right and they should've come to him for training straight away, his hands-on approach notwithstanding. Gods, Cordelia was blushing even thinking about it! It was a good thing Sumia showed up when she did and not sooner. It would have been really awkward otherwise.

Cordelia noticed that her heart was beating faster. She supposed that was a side effect of finally getting the hang of magic, if only a little bit.

Unseen by anyone, Lucina smiled to herself behind a tree as she observed the scene in front of her. Severa's appearance had forced Lucina to become a little bit more forceful in her plans. Hopefully it would all work itself out before it got any more awkward…


"—pplies are running low, which is why we need to resupply before we engage in these impostors," Robin reported.

"Any news on nearby settlements or caravans?" Chrom asked, walking alongside his friend.

"A few here and there, although our latest reports seem to suggest that the bandit party is actually smaller than initially estimated."

"How much smaller?"

"A dozen or so men."

"Really? Tha—ACK!"

"I know! This guy's disguise must be really good for him to fool so many people into believing he's you and parting with their valuables. Anyway, I've come up with several options which I need your opinion on. Chrom?" Robin looked to the side only to see his friend not walking beside him. "...Chrom?"

"Ah ha!" Morgan jumped out of the bushes nearby with a triumphant look on her face. "I totally got you, Dad!"

Robin blinked. "Got me? Got me what?"

It was Morgan's turn to blink. "...Dad? What're you doing out here? You're supposed to be down there!"

"Down where?"

"In my pitfall trap!"

"...Pitfall trap?"

Robin looked behind his daughter to see a hole in the ground.

"...Oh. Huh. I didn't even notice that thing was there."

"And you shouldn't have! I was super careful in disguising it. It didn't look suspicious at all," Morgan said proudly. "But you managed to not fall in anyway! How?"

"I...don't know. Was too busy discussing plans. Must've sidestepped that thing reflexively without noticing."

"Dang. I'll get you next time, Dad!" Morgan declared. "By the way, as long as you're here, mind helping me fill this hole in? If someone fell in by accident, they could really hurt themselves."

"Hurt themselves? How deep did you make it?!"

"Uh…"

Morgan was saved an awkward answer by groaning coming from inside her pitfall.

Robin's eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"


"Sorry…" Morgan said sheepishly. "In my defense, you weren't supposed to fall in that pitfall trap. It was totally meant for Dad."

"Morgan, that's not the point," Robin said disapprovingly. "While I commend you for the quality of the pitfall, look at what it did to our commander!"

"Right. Sorry…"

"Don't worry, you two. No real harm done," Chrom said as Lissa finished patching him up. "As long as you give some warning next time. And don't make the trap so deep."

"But what's the point in a surprise trap when—" Morgan began when Robin elbowed her slightly. "I mean, right. Got it. Warning and not too deep next time."

"Although I gotta hand it to you, kiddo, the thought of you catching my brother in a pitfall trap is preeeetty funny," Lissa snickered. "Give me a few pointers for my own pranks?"

"Uh…" Morgan looked uncertainly at her father.

"No tips for pranks," Robin said firmly. "I'm not having my daughter give you tips on how to make people's lives more difficult. Besides, didn't you outgrow your pranking phase?"

"A little sister is never too old to prank her brother," Lissa said sagely. "Him and his closest companions."

"Well just remember what this companion said last time. Prank me again and I'm never speaking to you again," Robin warned. "Prank Chrom in your own time, but don't let your little sibling feud reach me. Oh, and don't involve my daughter either. I don't need you negatively influencing her."

"Hey, I'm not a negative influence!" Lissa protested. "If Owain's anything to go by, I'm a fun, positive influence on all around me!"

"Sounds like a full house in here."

Everyone in the medical tent turned to the new voice.

"That's right, it's everyone's favorite merchant!" Anna said, walking in the tent. "And I bring good news!"

"You got my coat cleaned already?!" Robin exclaimed.

"Er, not yet. I bring okay news, then."

"Oh." Robin sighed. "Figures."

"Hey, in my defense, did you see the things you spilled on you coat? Some of those stains require some heavy-duty cleaning materials, time, and lots of both."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Will you have it ready before we take on Walhart?"

"That depends. Do you have an estimate of when that'll be?"

"Uh…soon...ish?"

Anna crossed her arms.

Chrom cleared his throat. "Anyway, you had some news for us?"

Anna immediately brightened up. "You bet I did! A little bird told me that you were in need of supplies."

"What? How'd you get wind of this?" Robin questioned.

"Client care, hon," Anna answered, winking. "We Annas pride ourselves on having the best client care in the world. And that means knowing when your clients need new gear and, more importantly, coming to them with fresh new stuff. Now, let me give you a brief demonstration on our newest line of weaponry!"

Anna snapped her fingers and Donnel rushed in with several training dummies.

"You got Donnel to help you with your demo?" Lissa observed, amused.

"More than that, why do the training dummies have what looks like heavy armor on them?" Robin asked. "A bit redundant, no?"

"Oh you'll see," Anna said mysteriously.

"All done, Miss Merchant!" Donnel announced, having finished lining up some dummies.

"Thanks, kid! As a reward, you can be part of the demo and try out these exclusive new weapons I'm bringing you!" Anna cleared her throat. "Now, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you're fighting a particularly tough foe with your regular sword and it's just not cutting through that thick armor of theirs?"

"No," Robin said flatly, "because I just zap those guys with a lightning bolt and move on...or at least, I used to when I had my coat that could keep my spellbook on me…"

Anna pouted but continued her sales pitch. "Well for those not fortunate enough to be able to shoot lightning bolts from their fingertips, I bring you a solution! Behold, our newest line of weaponry!"

Robin watched as Anna pulled a funny-looking sword from her bag.

"Ta-da! The guys back in R&D noticed that sometimes your hardest just isn't hard enough. So what did they do? They came up with a way to increase how hard you hit, that's what!"

Morgan looked at Anna curiously. "They did what?"

"Using some classified and newly patented technology, they have found a way to exponentially increase the damage you deal with your weapon. Not all the time, mind you, but if you hit juuuuust right, you're guaranteed to cut through anyone who stands in your way!"

Robin, Morgan, Chrom and Lissa didn't look convinced.

"I can see from your expressions that you have your doubts. But that's why we're doing this little demonstration! Now, watch as our helpful volunteer here attacks these dummies with a regular silver sword."

Anna nodded to Donnel, who proceeded to hit some of the training dummies with his sword.

"As you can see, the sword does leave marks, but not enough to penetrate this thick armor," Anna continued after Donnel finished striking the dummy. "Now watch as our volunteer demonstrates what our new line of weapons can do!"

"So, uh, Miss Anna? Do I just...up and swing this here sword like usual?" Donnel asked, unsure as to what to do.

"Just swing it as you would normally."

"But how will I know when it's workin' as you said?"

"Oh you'll know. Now go on."

"Uh...right, then. Here I go!"

Robin watched as Donnel swung his sword with no noticeable difference. He then turned to Anna.

"Give it a moment," insisted the merchant. "We can't guarantee heavy hits with every swing, but it'll kick in eventually."

"Look, Anna, with all due respect, we don't have time for—"

"Yeeeeeehaw!"

Robin turned just in time to see Donnel strike the fully armored dummy with a particularly fierce strike. He was then astonished to see the dummy split in two.

"You were saying?" Anna said, noticing his expression.

"Wow." Morgan was clearly impressed.

"Dang, I didn't even know I had the power to strike so hard!" Donnel exclaimed, looking at his sword with awe.

"You usually don't, but our sword here ensures that can...from time to time," Anna said.

"How's it do that?"

"Sorry, hon. Trade secret."

"Okay, so that was sort of impressive," Robin tried to sound casual. "And you're saying you have an entire line of weapons capable of this?"

"You bet! We've got a whole line of weapons, including spears, lances, axes, and bows!"

"Wow, really? Bows?"

"You bet! And I'll have my second assistant demonstrate!"

"And who better to demonstrate the newest bows than the Archest of Archers himself?" Virion announced, walking into the tent.

"How very fitting," Robin remarked dryly.

"Now, if my first assistant would please line up the dummies like we discussed?" Anna requested.

"Right away!"

Donnel proceeded to line the dummies in a row, one behind the other.

"Now, let us compare the differences between the bows, shall we? First, the standard silver bow."

Virion shot a few arrows into the first training dummy.

"Effective enough on its own, sure, but now watch in awe at how our newest bow compares!" Anna continued her sales pitch.

Virion picked up one of Anna's new bows.

"Observe how I demonstrate the abilities of this new bow with style and grace!"

Robin rolled his eyes yet kept watching.

Virion took a deep breath and notched an arrow.

"One for the bards!"

Robin watched as the arrow shot from the new bow penetrated the armor of the first dummy and kept going through the ones lined behind it until it lodged itself in the last dummy in line (and one with extra thick wooden slabs tied to it).

Lissa whistled, impressed.

"So," Anna said, turning to her audience, "Need I say more?"

"Robin, you gotta get us some of those," Lissa said immediately.

"You did say we were running low on new weapons," Chrom pointed out.

"Dad, think I can have one of those cool swords?" Morgan asked, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

"These weapons will no doubt be a very useful addition to our arsenal," Virion commented. "The bow is light and easy to use. I can see one using it with a little bit of training."

"A ringing endorsement from everyone around, it seems," Robin noted.

"Wonderful!" Anna clapped her hands. "And to show my appreciation for your continued business, I'll throw in the following for half price!"

"Wow, there's more?" Morgan said.

"You bet!" Anna reached into her bag. "For being such good and bulk buying customers, I have for you...this!"

Everyone leaned in to see what Anna was showing.

"A...game board?" Morgan observed.

"Not just any game board! This here is a special, prototype game board that we're hoping to roll out. Compatible with a certain card game!"

Robin and Morgan both immediately perked up at the mention of "card game."

Anna smirked. "Thought that'd get your attention. Anyway, I've noticed the increasing popularity of a certain card game and how your little troupe seems to spend lots of money on decks, so I thought you'd be the best people to appreciate this."

"Get to the point," Robin said impatiently.

"Hmph. Fine. I'll cut through the sales pitch and get straight to the point. After reading through several suggestions and listening in on several conversations, I thought this would be a good opportunity to team up with the creators of this card game and enhance the experience of you players! And cash in while I'm at it. So with that thought in mind, I present to you our prototype card game board!"

"What makes it so special?" Robin asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Anna rolled out the board. "Come on, put on a card down here. Any card."

Robin and Morgan looked at each other curiously before shrugging.

"Morgan, why don't you handle this. I can't carry my deck on my person ever since I had to get my coat in for cleaning."

"Sure thing."

Morgan reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a Sigurd card.

"What, Sigurd? When'd you manage to pull him?!" Robin exclaimed.

"A while back." Morgan paused. "Oh man, I totally forgot! That was one of the secret cards I wanted to bust out to catch you out! Now the surprise is ruined…"

"Just how many rares do you have?"

"Too many than I know what to do with," Morgan answered honestly.

"Sure, rub my face in it…"

"Sorry, Dad."

Morgan proceeded to place her card down on the board.

As soon as it made contact, the board lit up. Then something seemed to materialize out of the light.

"Whoa, look at that!" Morgan exclaimed. "It's Sigurd, only on the board! Like he came out of the card!"

Indeed, there for everyone to see was a miniature version of Sigurd on the board standing above his own card.

"Yep. Works like a charm," Anna said proudly. "Behold! To enhance your card playing experience, we've whipped up this special board that's compatible with all Heroes of Legend cards. Whatever card you play will generate an accurate depiction of them just as they are on their artwork on the card. And, we've made it so that they come with all sorts of moves! Here, why don't you put a card on the opposite side?"

"Okay…"

Morgan placed a Bartre card on the opponent's side of the board, conjuring up an image of the warrior.

"Now initiate an attack."

"Okay. I use my Sigurd to attack this Bartre."

Morgan and the others watched as the Sigurd on the board raised his sword in the air and then galloped toward the Bartre, striking him, causing the Bartre to fall down and the image to shatter.

"Wow!"

"Yep. We got all sorts of moves for all the units in the Heroes of Legend card game. Attacking, taking damage, getting eliminated, etc. We even created magic card effects."

"Dad." Morgan turned to her father with a determined look in her eyes. "We have to have this."

"Don't have to tell me twice. Anna, how much for the whole set? Board and weapons."

"I'm so glad you asked! I even have the contract with the pre-set prices and quantities for the entire stock right here. All you need to do is sign on the dotted line and—"

"Oh no you don't!"

Anna cursed under her breath as Cordelia rushed into the tent.

"You aren't selling your wares at overinflated prices and under unequal terms to my gullible friend here if I have something to say about it!" Cordelia said sternly before adding, "And don't think I don't know it was you who ran all that interference to keep me away from here."

"I have no idea what you mean," Anna said innocently.

"Don't make me invoke Section Fifty-Two of our Master Supplies Contract on you. Because I'll do it," Cordelia threatened.

Anna narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

Cordelia met her gaze evenly. "Try me."

The two women stared daggers at each other.

"Ladies, let's play nicely," Robin felt compelled to say in order to prevent something unpleasant from taking place in the medical tent. "Cordelia, Anna has been good and punctual in providing us with supplies and it would be a major hassle to try and change suppliers now. Anna, I hope you're not playing games with us because while that wouldn't be cause to pull a Section Fifty-Two, it will be cause to invoke Section Sixty-Five, Subsection Six point Nine One B. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Anna responded evenly, gaze still locked on Cordelia.

"Good. Then I suppose I'll let my friend here take over negotiations on our behalf."

"And to pay you back for making me run and put out figurative fires around the camp, I'll make sure not to make this easy for you," Cordelia said with a smile that conveyed nothing but hostile intentions.

"As if you made it easy before…" Anna muttered, mentally clearing her schedule for the day. "So, shall we?"

"By all means."

The two women walked out of the medical tent.

"They're, uh, not going to kill each other or something, are they?" Lissa asked after the women left.

"Lissa, please. Cordelia is a professional. She's had plenty of experience haggling with Anna," Robin responded dismissively. "It's why I let her do it in the first place."

"I dunno. They seemed awfully close to coming to blows just then…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, we got this sweet new board to try out while they iron out the details of the sales contract."

"We sure do! Dad, let's test this thing out right now. I demand a match!" Morgan declared, dramatically taking out her deck.

"Uh, Morgan? I don't have my deck on me, remember? No coat and all."

"...Oh yeah. Here, let me get it for you real quick, then. It's in your tent, right?"

"Yes, but I don't think we—"

"I'll be right back!"

And before Robin could say anything further, Morgan rushed out of the medical tent.

"She sure seems eager," Chrom commented.

"Heh, isn't she always? Although I have to say that I'm also curious as to how far this magic board can go. There's a lot of cards in circulation."

"I'm actually curious myself," Lissa said, looking at the Sigurd on the board. "This actually seems pretty cool. Would actually get me into this game."

"You totally should get into it. The more the merrier!" Robin paused. " ...As long as you don't have better luck than I do."

"Knowing you and your luck, I'd have to be pretty unlucky to have worse luck than you."

"Lissa, I swear I'll quit this stupid game forever if you start getting rares from the get-go…!"


"Laurent!"

"Severa," greeted the mage. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Don't give me that!" snapped Severa. "Where the hell have you been all this time? I've been trying to find you for what feels like forever!"

"I have simply been carrying out my various duties around camp," Laurent responded patiently. "Making note of our inventory, observing the state of everyone around camp, doing procurement runs."

"Wow, sounds like someone got the short end of the stick when it came to chore duty."

"Not at all. In fact, I decided to undertake all these tasks at my own volition."

Severa stared at Laurent incredulously.

"I try my best to be helpful and lighten the load Robin has to deal with, if only slightly," the mage said simply.

"Sure, whatever. Anyway, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you abou—"

"Oy, is Lucina's friends! Come, Lucina's friends, we have fighting to do!" Gregor said, walking up to them.

Severa raised a brow. "Fighting? What fighting?"

"Fighting of bad men who pretending to be Chrom and be sullying Chrom's clean name. We have, how you say, nailing down their location and are about to teach them some mannerisms!"

"Right. We'll be right there." Once Gregor walked away, Severa turned to Laurent. "I'll need to speak to you after we get back from all this, so don't go off disappearing like you did before!"

"I will ensure I am present at camp after our engagement."


"Heh heh, another fine haul. Long live the great Chrom!" Ruger laughed, counting all his latest gold.

His good time was interrupted when someone came very loudly rushing in.

"Chrom? Sir? Pegasus Knight Cynthia, returned from patrol, sir! I—Whoops!" The weird (and very loud) girl tripped and fell right on her face. "Oof! That one's gonna leave a mark... S-sorry for my clumsiness, sir! I promise not to trip against for at least a day!"

"That'd be a new record…" Ruger muttered. "Now out with it, girl! What did you see?"

"A suspicious band of travelers have been making inquiries in town, sir."

"What of them?"

"They call their leader Chrom, sir."

This got Ruger's attention.

"I suspect they are impostors posing as you! They must be stopped at once!"

"Er, riiight. Posing as...me. But, uh, we don't have the men to battle these impostors right now. Best swallow our pride and exercise the better part of valor for now."

"Levelheaded and humble as ever, sir! Allow me to draw their attention while you retreat to safety!"

"Yes, yes, of course. A fine plan."

"I won't let you down, sir!"

And the girl ran off.

Ruger sighed. "She's dumb as a brick, that one. Still, full marks for enthusiasm. Maybe she can keep these fools busy while me and boys make out with our haul…"


"So that's where we got sightings of 'Chrom' and his merry little gang, then?" Robin asked, looking at his surroundings.

"We have reason to believe they are in this vicinity, yes," Frederick replied.

"Great. So let's go find this guy, beat him into the ground and call it a day. We still have a schedule to keep and a country to liberate."

"Are you sure it was wise leaving Say'ri and some of the others back at camp?" Chrom questioned.

"Not all of us are needed and Say'ri can better use her time to plan our arrival in Chon'sin. Besides, reports say that these impostors are few in number so we should be more than capable of wiping them out quickly and efficiently." Robin squinted. "Look, I see movement in the distance. Must be our friends. Ready up, people! Prepare to engage!"


So the skirmish was going about as well as Robin expected, right up until a band of mercenaries showed up and started fighting them on behalf of "Chrom." Then Robin had to upgrade it to a full fledged battle since those mercenaries tipped the odds against the Shepherds and were more skilled than some petty bandits. It was a good thing Robin was an expert scale tipper and odds-even-outer, otherwise this turn of events would've really worried him! He supposed it did help that his friends were all seasoned veterans with years of combat experience.

Robin just finished zapping a nearby mercenary when he heard a flap of wings nearby. Looking up, he saw a pegasus knight above him.

"Tremble, evildoer, as your days of doing evil are over! You face Cynthia, righteous warrior of justice and goodness! You better surrender unless you want to face the justice end of my lance!"

Robin watched in confusion as the girl on the pegasus shouted her weird nonsense. It was weird because he could've shot her off her pegasus in all the time she spent yelling her shtick. With her lines about justice and evil, Robin was having a bad case of déjà vu, as if he was stuck listening to yet another one of Owain's tales of how awesome he was.

Well, at least the girl stopped now after she struck what Robin supposed was a dramatic pose. And now she was looking at him expectantly, as if he was supposed to say something in reply…

Robin could've shot her off her pegasus right then and there. But then not every enemy was nice enough to give a long intro dialogue, leave themselves wide open for an attack while giving said intro dialogue, and then give Robin the chance for his own little bit.

Robin supposed he could humor her.

"Er, right. Hail, righteous warrior of justice known as Cynthia!" Robin didn't miss how her face lit up with excitement at his response. "Before I strike you down with expert skill and precision, answer me this: how come a self-professed warrior of justice fights with these petty bandits?"

"How dare you, sir! I fight with Prince Chrom, hero of heroes, Commander of the Shepherds and leader of Ylisse!" the girl known as Cynthia shouted indignantly. "What I should be asking you is why do your and your band of petty bandits impersonate Prince Chrom!"

"Hey, I'm here fighting with the real Chrom. Yours is obviously the fake."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

Robin couldn't believe how this conversation was going. He should've really just blasted her out of the air and be done with it.

"If you're fighting with the real Chrom, then prove it!" Cynthia said.

"Hey, I don't need to prove anything. My Chrom is the real Chrom. If anything, you have to prove that yours isn't a fake!"

"Hey, I asked first so the burden of proof is on you!"

"...Fine. My Chrom has Falchion. You know, the super special blade that's only supposed to be with his family? Cuts wyverns real good? I bet yours doesn't have one of them."

"He does too."

"Does not."

"Does too! He even showed me it when I asked him where it was, although it didn't look as fancy as I thought or remembered it…"

"He probably showed you some boring sword and told you it was Falchion. Meanwhile, my Chrom actually has the Falchion, gold blade and tear-shaped hole in it and everything."

"I…" For the first time, Cynthia looked uncertain.

Robin decided to press his advantage.

"Also, I bet your Chrom doesn't have his chief tactician and best friend by his side, does he? Goes by the name of Robin?"

Cynthia's head immediately shot up at the name.

"W-well, my Chrom said that Robin was out on a super secret mission and he didn't know when he'd be back…"

"Ha! An obvious lie if ever I heard one! Meanwhile—"

"Take this!"

Robin deftly side-stepped a slash by a mercenary before casually shooting a gust of wind at him, knocking him headfirst into a nearby tree.

"As I was saying, MY Chrom, the REAL Chrom, has his friend Robin by his side like always. In fact, he's standing right in front of you, because he is me."

"Huh?"

"That's right. You stand in the presence of Grandmaster Robin, chief strategist of the Shepherds, best friend of Chrom and the best tactician there ever was." Robin flashed her a cheeky smile and bowed. "That convince you?"

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "Don't try to deceive me with your lies, villain!"

"Wha—? I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are! You may have tripped me up with your whole 'I have the real Chrom' trick, but I know for a fact that you aren't Robin."

"How can you possibly know that? You haven't even met me!"

"I have my ways. For example, your hair is all wrong."

"Why does everyone go on about my hair?!"

"Aha! So I'm not the only one you tried to trick and who didn't fall for it!"

"Hey, that's not—!"

"AND, everyone who's anyone knows that the real Robin has his trademark awesome campaign coat, which you do not."

Robin looked down at his swordmaster's outfit and cursed.

"For once in my life I submit my coat for cleaning and suddenly I have people questioning my identity. I'm never parting with it ever again…"

"Ha!" Cynthia laughed triumphantly. "So the rays of truth and justice pierce your veil of lies and deceit! Are you ready to admit that you aren't the real Robin and just some smelly, lying bandit?"

"That's it! We're putting and end to this stupid argument right now! If you won't believe me, then—"

Robin ducked underneath an attack from an incoming mercenary and then punched his assailant in the stomach, enhancing his hitting power with a wind spell. When his opponent crumpled to the ground, Robin conjured a small gust to toss the assailant in the air before blasting him into the tree on top of his friend.

"—we're going to talk to Lucina right now so she can tell you who I really am!" Robin finished as if nothing happened.

"Wait!" Cynthia looked at Robin suspiciously. "How do you know Lucina?"


"Damn it!" Severa punched her opponent in the face and scanned the battlefield. "Where the hell is she?"

"Hey, Severa, you okay?" Morgan ran up beside her. "You look distracted."

"Oh. You. I'm just on the lookout for someone."

"Ah." Morgan casually shot a fireball at an incoming knight. "Can I help?"

"What you can do is—" Severa was about to tell Morgan to leave her alone before rethinking. "Actually, tell me if you see any enemy fliers."

"Fliers, huh? Can't say I've seen any of those today."

"Figures."

"Although last I saw there was something in the air headed toward Dad."

Severa bristled at the word "Dad."

"Can't say for sure, though," Morgan continued obliviously. She then turned and squinted. "Looks like there's someone hovering near Dad right now. I…think it's a pegasus knight? But Sumia and Cordelia are—whoa! Severa, where are you going?"


"…Of course I know Lucina! She's Chrom's daughter from the future come here to the past to prevent the events that led up to her terrible, horrible future from happening! And I know that because I'm Robin, Chrom's best friend and basically the guy who runs the Shepherds and so must know what's going on!" Robin insisted angrily.

"But if you're…that means…but…" Cynthia looked torn. "Where's your coat? And why's your hair all wrong?"

"For the last time, there isn't anything wrong with my hair!"

"Sure there is! It's all white and stuff when it should be blond."

Robin's eye twitched.

This stupid conversation was going in circles and starting to give him a headache. So he decided to end this suffering by finally blasting this annoying girl out of the sky.

"You know what, fine. Fine! Don't believe me if you don't want to. I don't care, because soon you'll—" Robin remembered he didn't have access to his hardest-hitting spells and was confined to basic tier magic. "…Okay, you won't be dead or anything, but, uh, you'll have an unpleasant gale hitting your face?"

Robin really hated no being able to cast his more devastating spells.

"Hey, hey! Hold it!"

"The hell…?"

Robin looked back to see Severa making her way to them.

"Severa, what are you—"

"SEVERA!"

Robin grimaced.

Damn, this Cynthia girl was loud…

"That's…right…" Severa panted. "You…it's me…so don't…do anything stupid…either of you…!"

"Good timing, Severa! You can help me with—" Robin paused. "Wait a minute, do you two know each other?"

"I—"

"Severa! Ohmigosh I can't believe it's you! I can't believe we're reunited again!"

"Cynthia, wait—OOF!"

Severa was interrupted as Cynthia rushed to hug her, taking them both to the ground.

Robin looked at the two girls, then back to the pegasus, which was now on the ground instead of in the air.

"How did she manage to land her pegasus and dismount so quickly…?"

"Cynthia…get off me…armor…crushing ribs…!"

"What? Oh! Sorry!"

Cynthia quickly let go of Severa, who coughed and tried to get some air into her lungs.

"Heh, sorry about that," Cynthia said sheepishly. "I was just really happy to see you and—"

"Idiot! You almost crushed my lungs!" Severa coughed a few more times before getting up and brushing herself off. "Think next time before charging your friends head-on in full armor!"

"I said I was sorry!" Cynthia suddenly paused as a thought occurred. "WAIT! Sev, if you're on that side, that means—!"

Robin opened his mouth to make a snarky remark.

"Ohmigosh. My Chrom is a FAKE! Oh, I am going to KILL him for this! I'm going to plant a flying hoof right in his stupid liar face!"

And before anyone could say or do anything else, Cynthia was already spurring her pegasus into the air.

"…What the hell just happened?" Robin asked aloud as he was watching Cynthia fly off. "One minute we're arguing over who has the real Chrom and the next she's rushing off to go kill her own."

Severa sighed. "Yeah, always a new headache with that one. Come on."

"What? Where are we going?"

"To make sure she doesn't do anything stupid and get herself killed, duh!"

"Why do we have to play babysitter? She seems eager enough to handle things on her own."

"Because all the eagerness in the world won't save you if you get stabbed. And if anything happens to her I'll never forgive you!"

"Me? Why is this suddenly my fault?!"

"Just shut up and let's go."

"What has my life become…?"


And so the Shepherds were victorious over the impostor bandits, even with the slight hiccup of all those mercenaries showing up all of a sudden. But, again, expert scale tipper and odds-even-outer Robin ensured that his side always won despite unfavourable odds.

He and Severa also had to run hard to catch up to Cynthia as she went after the fake Chrom.

Severa was right in that they really did need to keep an eye on Cynthia as the fake Chrom was surrounded by his remaining lackeys. Robin didn't think Cynthia could've walked out of such an engagement in one piece if she were alone. Luckily for her, he and Severa managed to engage the fake Chrom's lackeys, leaving Cynthia to go and pummel the fake Chrom.

During the fighting, Robin noticed several things.

The first was that fighting with Severa felt weirdly natural. The girl had a fighting style that was either a very close variation of his own or heavily inspired by it. Granted, Robin had to slow down a bit given that his new fighting style demanded quick strikes and either fighting solo or with a partner equally as fast/nimble, which Severa was not. But she did do an admirable job keeping up with him, because swordmasters fought faster than the average soldier even if they did slow down a bit.

Severa was clearly talented despite her acidic personality. Robin made a mental note to follow up on this and see what exactly she was capable of.

The second thing Robin noticed was that Cynthia was fast. Granted, he should've really come to this conclusion back when Severa showed up and Cynthia went from being on her pagasus in the air, to tackling Severa to the ground, to flying full speed to the fake Chrom before Robin even had a chance to notice. And now she was using her pegasus to maneuver and attack the fake Chrom with equal speed and precision.

A skilled rider if ever he saw one.

The day's events didn't really make sense to Robin, but he made a note to himself to go talk to Severa to get a better understanding of what the hell was happening and why he was fighting alongside her for this girl.


"Sev!" Cynthia rushed again to hug Severa once the battle was over.

"Ah, no, not again!" Severa extended her arm to stop Cynthia in her tracks.

"Aw, but we haven't seen each other in forever! I missed you…"

"Yes, I missed you too, etc, etc. Now let me ask you one thing before I let you hug me."

"Shoot."

Without warning, Severa smacked Cynthia on the side of the head. "Are you a total idiot?!"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"How could you possibly think that smelly bandit was Chrom? He didn't look anything like Chrom!"

"Well, yeah, he didn't after I skewered him and his stupid evil magic spell wore off. But before that he totally did! Even if I didn't exactly remember what Chrom looked like…"

Severa facepalmed.

"Besides, everything worked out, no? We two heroes have been reunited with eac—"

"None of that!" Severa interrupted. "Do you know how worried I was when I was the one who ran into our parents? Very, is the answer! Because if I was with them, that meant that you were gods know where. Alone. With an increased chance of doing something stupid and/or getting yourself killed. And I was right!"

"Hey, I was doing perfectly fine before you found me, you know!" Cynthia said defiantly.

"You were about to head off and face the local criminal gang all by yourself," Severa pointed out flatly. "'Storming the base' or whatever you called it."

"I would've totally won, too! We just ended up doing it your way because you had me in a headlock and refused to let me go unless we went with your plan!"

"I did have a way of getting what I want," Severa said smugly before scowling again. "Anyway, I was right. Do you know I probably got several grey hairs worrying about you. Especially after hearing that there were bandits pretending to be Chrom in this area!"

"Aw, you do care!"

"Of course I care! Mother made me promise to be the responsible one and not to let anything happen to you. Her and Father both. I swear they'd come back to haunt me and I'd never hear the end of it if you went up and died on my watch."

"…So that's the only reason, then?"

"Yes!"

Cynthia put on her best "kicked puppy" face.

"…Well, that and the other thing."

"What's that?"

"…I'm not saying it out loud."

"But how will I know what you mean when you don't say it?"

"Look, I was worried, okay? So…so that's the most you're getting!"

Cynthia was going to push her luck when she decided to change the subject.

"Hey, speaking of Dad…"

"Oh boy..."

"You know back there I talked to a funny guy who claimed he was Dad and he was with the real Chrom. At the time I obviously didn't believe him, but how things turned out…"

"Okay, look," Severa sighed, rubbing her temples, "There's a lot I don't understand right now, but the short and simple version is that yes, we have the real Chrom and everyone's parents here and now, and I'm working to determine whether he is or isn't the real Robin."

"…What?"

"That's as far as I understand it now."

Cynthia stared at Severa blankly.

"Please don't make me try and explain. I'm getting a headache even thinking about it…"

"So…bottom line is that guy isn't Dad?"

"I don't see how he could be, despite the fact he's got most people here fooled."

"Including Luce?"

"Lucina's word is the only reason I haven't cut him into ribbons for being a lying sack of lies."

"Well." Cynthia thought for a moment. "I guess I'll have to talk to him and see for myself."

"Wha—?" Severa wasn't expecting this reaction. "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"Well, you're giving me a bunch of conflicting information so I figure the best way to resolve this and come to my own conclusion is confront the problem head on! And that means talking to this 'Robin' and see what about him's got everyone all convinced and you confused."

"That's—"

"So off I go!"

"Just like—hey! Don't walk away while I'm talking to you! At least wait for me, damn it!"


"Feel kind bad for those mercenaries, to be honest," Robin confessed. "They come along, get roped into fighting for 'Chrom' and being rewarded only to run into us and get their asses kicked."

"To be fair, we only killed some of them," Chrom said. "The others were only hurt. Granted, some of them almost died, but the main point is that most of them survived."

"I guess. And we did give them the loot that fake Chrom stole as compensation for their troubles. So I guess that does make me feel a bit better."

"Heh, they certainly were more understanding when we showed them the gold."

"Gold is the universal language of making things better," Robin said matter-of-factly. "Now if you excuse me, I have some things I need to be doing."

"Your post-battle rounds?"

"You know it."

"Then I guess I'll leave you to it."

The two men parted ways.

Robin began reaching for his notebook inside his pocket before remembering again that he didn't have his coat on him.

"I swear, this pocketless life sometimes…"

So he headed off toward his tent to retrieve his notebook.

Robin turned the corner to where his tent was only to find someone there already. More precisely, two someones.

"Oh hey, exactly who we wanted to talk to!" exclaimed Cynthia.

"Well I would hope so, us all being, you know, in front of my tent and all," Robin said dryly. "Can I help you?"

"We—"

"Actually, what are you even doing here? Last I heard you were some girl with a bad case of mistaken identity syndrome. Mistaken identity of those you were working with, not of who you are, because…" Robin shook his head. "Anyway, why are you here and what do you want?"

"…You're right, he definitely doesn't seem like Dad…" Cynthia whispered.

"Told you," Severa replied.

Cynthia cleared her throat. "We are here to verify reports whether or not you are the real Robin."

"That's…" Severa facepalmed. "I told you to let me do the talking!"

"What in the…? What reports?! There are no reports because I am Robin! I know that, Chrom knows that, Lucina knows that, everyone knows that! The only one who apparently doesn't is you!" Robin pointed an accusatory finger at Severa. "Oh gods, this is your doing, isn't it? First this one believed that bandit was Chrom, now, after probably several words from you, she doesn't believe I'm Robin!"

"To be fair, she didn't believe it at first either."

"That was probably your fault too!"

"How was that my fault?! I didn't even talk to her before then!"

"I don't know, but it is! You are the only person in the world who doesn't believe I'm Robin. And now there are two of you! And you pushed really hard for us to help this one here, who just so happens to not believe me either. This some kind of weird conspiracy, isn't it?!"

"The only conspiracy here is you passing yourself as Robin, villain!" It was Cynthia's turn to point an accusatory finger.

"How do you people still not believe that I'm me? I've got the tactics, and the quick wit, and the charming good looks! And before you say another thing about my damn coat, let me tell you that I'm upset as you that I don't have it. More upset, actually, since that thing's such a major sticking point for you two to not believe I'm me!"

"It's not just the coat," said Cynthia.

"Look, I don't care what color hair I had in the future, okay? My current hair is white and I don't really think I can change that. Hell, me trying to change my hair was what got me the white hair in the first place!"

"So basically what you're saying is that you don't have any proof that you're Robin," Severa said, crossing her arms.

Robin felt like pulling his hair out. "Why is it so hard for you to accept that I'm me? You've been with us for…a time. You've seen how I worked and stuff AND you've seen me crafting brilliant strategies for war. What more do you want from me?"

"If Severa can't accept you, then that's good enough reason for me not to accept you either!" Cynthia declared.

"Why are you even here?" Robin asked irritably. "We killed your little impostor friend and whatever. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, off on your way or something?"

"If you must know, my mission is to fight evil in the name of justice! And my place is here with my friends and my family!"

"Your friends and your…?" Robin looked between the two girls quizzically. "She's another one of Lucina's gang, then?"

"Well duh. What did you think? We did mention Lucina out on the field today, didn't we? How would I know her if I didn't come back to the past with her?"

"…I forgot about that part with everything that was going on today," Robin admitted.

"A real tactician wouldn't forget such an important detail," Severa remarked tartly.

"Question my abilities as a tactician one more time and I'll show you what this 'fake tactician' can do!" Robin growled.

"Okay, wait!" Cynthia interjected, seeing this was getting out of hand. "Despite the fact that I don't really believe anything you're saying, my dad said that everyone deserves to be heard and make their case."

Severa's head snapped to Cynthia.

"So we're gonna give you a chance to do just that."

"Why all this now?" Robin questioned. "You were all too happy to not believe me before. You don't even believe me now."

"I just remembered that saying from my dad."

Robin and Severa looked at Cynthia incredulously.

"What? Dad said a lot of stuff, okay? You can't expect me to remember everything all the time!" Cynthia said defensively. She then cleared her throat and turned to Robin. "So. Prove to us you're really Robin."

"And how do you expect me to do that without my coat or 'proper' hair?"

"I don't know. Oh! Why don't you tell us something only the real Robin would know!"

"What only the real…? You've got to be kidding me."

"It wouldn't be too hard if you were the real Robin…"

"For the last time, I am the real Robin! And I also happen to say and know a lot of things! You can't expect me to just, what, pull one of those things from the air and tell you it, do you?"

"Cynthia, this is stupi—"

"Shhh!" Cynthia waved Severa off. "Come on, this is a chance for him to prove or disprove who he really is!"

Robin scoffed. "This is the stupidest damn…"


"Morgan, do you have a minute?"

"Hey, Lucina! Sure. What's up?"

"Have you seen your father, by chance? I have some matters I wish to discuss with him."

"You know what? I haven't. It's the weirdest thing!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It's after the battle now and he should usually be doing the rounds. You know, checking the state of our equipment, making sure everyone's okay and all that? I'm even here with my notepad to help out! But I haven't seen him yet for some reason."

"That is odd. Do you have any idea why?"

Morgan shrugged. "I dunno. Last I saw, he and Severa were chasing after some girl."

"Some girl?"

"Yeah. You know, blonde hair, has pigtails, rides a pegasus?"

"Rides a pegasus…?" Lucina's eyes widened in horror as she realized who Morgan was talking about. But maybe it wasn't her. After all, there were plenty of women with blonde hair riding pegasi—

"Yeah. Was very loud too, from what I recall. I could hear her shouting something about justice and retribution from all the way where I was!"

…So much for that theory.

Lucina tried to keep her breathing steady and not panic.

"Thank you for that, Morgan. Do you happen to know where this girl went?"

"No clue. Dad and Severa were really chasing after her, so maybe she's with them? I'd bet they'd be waiting for him at his tent and—Lucina! Where are you goi—aaaaaand she's gone. Man, what is it with people and running away from me mid-sentence? Is that today's theme or something?"


Lucina had to stay calm and not panic.

Yes, this had the potential to be an unmitigated disaster, but so did Severa's introduction and that turned out…not especially bad. Or not as bad as it could've been, anyway. Perhaps her luck would hold and this would be like that. And if she were really lucky, she'd be able to get to Cynthia before Robin could and—

Lucina's hopes of that happening were dashed as she heard loud, angry voices the closer she got to Robin's tent. Familiar angry voices.

So much for her luck holding.

Lucina prayed that she could resolve this whole debacle before it could get worse…if it wasn't already.

But all her expectations and worst fears did not prepare her for the scene that she saw in front of her as she turned to corner to where Robin's tent was.

"Take it back. Take it back!"

"Ngh, never! Not even torture will make me say it!"

Because right there, in front of Lucina, were Robin, Severa, and Cynthia, locked in what looked like some post-combat scenario. Or, more specifically, Severa and Cynthia were sitting on top of Robin, who was lying face down on the ground with Cynthia sitting on his back holding his arms underneath her while his feet were bent and being held by Severa, who sat on his bottom half.

"We can do this all day if we have to!" Cynthia threatened.

"You know, I could easily get out of this, but there's a chance you two could get very, very hurt in the process!" Robin said defiantly.

"What in Naga's name is going on here?"

All three looked up at Lucina's intervention.

"Hey, Lucina!" Cynthia greeted.

"Lucina! Thank gods. Quick, you have to help me! Your friends are totally crazy! Not only do they not believe who I am, they also insist that the Fates series of books is the best one in the Stories From series!"

"Uh, just to clarify, I have no strong feelings about this topic one way or another," Severa said. "I just find myself in this situation because—"

"Because this faker says the Jugdral series is the best and that's obviously wrong!" Cynthia finished. "So then we got into a heated debate about it which resulted in, well…"

"Hey, I want it on the record that you were the one to initiate hostilities," Robin said. "I just was just defending myself and would have done so a lot better were I aiming to really hurt you! You just got lucky since hand-to-hand combat isn't really my specialty when the situation isn't lethal!"

"Hmph. What kind of tactician doesn't know how to defend himself when unarmed," Severa remarked mockingly.

"The kind that would otherwise have shot lightning bolts in your faces!" Robin retorted. "But I may yet grant you your wish if you keep questioning my tactical credentials!"

Lucina sighed.

"Severa, Cynthia, please get off Robin."

"But Lucina—!"

"That wasn't a request, Cynthia."

"That's right! Listen to Lucina. More importantly, listen to Lucina while I can still feel the blood running to my feet!" Robin cried.

Cynthia looked at Severa, who just shrugged.

"Fiiiiine."

Both girls got off and Lucina helped Robin up.

"Thanks for the assist, Lucina. I was maybe five seconds from giving these two a little lightning strike."

"Robin…" Lucina gave him a disapproving look.

"Not enough to do any damage!" the grandmaster said defensively. "Just enough to cause some numbness and mild discomfort."

"Like a little numbness and discomfort is enough to stop me. That's child's play for a veteran hero like me!" Cynthia declared.

Robin gave her a quizzical look before turning to Lucina. "So who is she and what's her deal?"

"Robin—"

"Lucina! This guy here claims to be Robin!"

"Cynthia—"

"And that's obviously untrue, but when we gave him a chance to prove himself, he up and says Jugdral is the best in the Stories From series!"

"That's because it is the best in the Stories From series!" Robin snapped. "That was when the books had plot, characters, weren't afraid to tackle mature subject matters and weren't dumbed down to an insulting degree like Fates was."

"Hey, you take that back!"

"Everyone, let's take this conversation inside, shall we?" Lucina suggested.

"Yes, and then we can move on from this stupid subject," Severa muttered.

"But you're the ones who brought it up," Robin said, entering his tent.

"No, you brought it up. Cynthia here just decided to aggressively defend it."

"Let's move on from this entire topic, shall we?" Lucina said once everyone was in the tent. "To address some of your concerns, Robin, this is Cynthia. Yes, she is another of my friends from the future, no, I cannot tell you who her parents are. Cynthia, this is Robin. Yes, he is somewhat different from what we remember of him in the future, but he is still Robin and we can trust him as such. Yes, he is single at this point in time, no, I don't know how that makes sense."

"And yet, he still has a daughter," Severa added.

Cynthia looked at Severa, then at Lucina, confusion written all over her face.

"…I really don't know how that makes sense," Lucina repeated.

"Yeah, me neither. So I'll give the advice I give to everyone when this topic comes up: just don't think about it too hard. Or at all. Saves you a lot of headache," Robin advised helpfully.

"But…none of this makes any sense!" Cynthia exclaimed.

"Listen to my sagely advice and don't think about it…"

Cynthia felt like her head was going to explode trying to piece together everything she just heard into something that made even a remote amount of sense.

"Yeah, I've been there too," Severa said sympathetically, patting Cynthia's shoulder. "It gets better. Somewhat. As long as you don't think about it too hard or all at once."

"Ooh, that's good too. I'm totally stealing that." Robin scribbled some things down. "Not to think about it a little, at all, or all at once…"

"So…that how you kept your sanity, Lucina? Just by not thinking about it?" Cynthia asked.

"Honestly? Yes. Granted I've also had a lot more time to try to wrap my head around this entire situation…"

"If it helps, I've been trying to track down Laurent to see what he comes up with," Severa whispered. "If anyone can find a logical explanation for all this, it'll be that egghead."

"Hey, speaking of this situation, how come you have trouble believing I'm me?" Robin asked. "Lucina did. Everyone else did…okay, maybe not everyone else. But then again, Gerome doesn't really talk to the rest of us much and does his 'lone wolf' thing. And it's hard to see what he really thinks underneath that mask. But he hasn't said anything so I'll take it as acceptance."

"If you must know, I have a very good reason for having my suspicions," Severa answered.

"And that reason is…?"

"I can't tell you."

"…You can't be serious."

"I really wish I wasn't…"

Robin gave Lucina a frustrated look.

"I'm afraid she really can't," the princess confirmed apologetically. "At least not until some things clear themselves out."

"…What."

"Trust me, it's frustrating for all involved…" Severa muttered.

"It's stupid is what it is," Robin huffed. "So I guess the only way for me to really prove who I am is to just get my coat back?"

"It'll be a small step, I guess. Will have to be one of many…"

"I still can't believe the tactics didn't do it. Also that you're still questioning my abilities after all I've done."

"I've yet to see anything brilliant from you yet," Severa said dismissively.

"Well excuse me for not having anything but bandits to fight!"

"Please try to get along, you two…" Lucina said tiredly.

"I'm doing my best, but it's hard when you have people questioning your very identity."

Severa just crossed her arms.

"Also, hey, Lucina here's also got a different attire and I don't see you questioning who she is."

"That's because Lucina isn't known for any one piece of clothing she has put a lot of emphasis on."

"You're not going to take her side and constantly question who I am too, are you?" Robin asked Cynthia tiredly. "Because you might as well give me advance warning now so I can mentally prepare myself to justify everything I do to two people."

"I don't even know anything anymore. Severa says you aren't you, Lucina says you are. I don't know what to think!" Cynthia rubbed her temples. "The only thing I know is that my head hurts…"

"You and me both. This is why I tell people not to think about this!" Robin closed his eyes and inhaled. "So what are we all here for? As far as I can see, this entire meeting solved absolutely nothing!"

"That's not entirely true. We did establish that you need to work on your unarmed combat skills," Severa noted.

"Do you want a lightning bolt to the face?"

"You'll never be able to hit me."

Robin narrowed his eyes while Severa smiled with smug confidence.

Lucina, meanwhile, looked between the two and sighed. Did she have to supervise them every time they were in the same space together…?

"Right, so to recap: you don't believe that I'm Robin and won't tell me why, I can't prove to you that I'm Robin because you won't tell me how, and no one tells me anything because you just can't make things easy for me, is that right?"

"Robin, we're not doing this on purpose, it's just circumstances, they…" Lucina felt compelled to explain her actions.

"Yeah, time travel shenanigans, I know. Still doesn't make all this not explaining things any less annoying." Robin took a deep breath and decided to change the subject. "So what's your deal, then?"

Cynthia looked up. "Me?"

"Yeah. You're pegasus knight, right? A quick one, from what little I saw of you in action."

"That's right! I'm the fastest knight that ever took to the skies! They called me the Lightning Bolt from Ylisse, the Swiftest Sparrow that ever Speared, the—"

"Yeah, she's fast," Severa interrupted, putting her hand over Cynthia's mouth.

"Well that's handy. Feels like Cordelia and Sumia were the only fast fliers I have under my command sometimes," Robin commented idly. "I assume you're familiar?"

"You bet I am! If fact, they're—"

"Yes, she's familiar," Severa interrupted again, silencing Cynthia with her hand.

"Would be interesting to see what tips and tricks you can give them…" Robin muttered scribbling some things down in his notebook. "…I don't suppose you have any magical capabilities?"

Cynthia mumbled something behind Severa's hand.

"What?"

"I said, you bet I do!" Cynthia confirmed enthusiastically, removing Severa's hand. "Aside from being a speedy mounted bruiser, I can sling spells with the best of 'em! …Okay, maybe not as good as Laurent, but still good enough to rain fireballs at bad guys from the air."

"See, now that's something I want to hear!" Robin said approvingly. "A speedy flier with magic. About time we got something new. You'll be a great addition while Sumia and Cordeila are still getting the hang of magic."

"How are they not proficient at that yet?" Severa asked. "Aren't you people in the middle of a war?"

"It's because they didn't come to me first and decided to try their hand at it themselves," Robin muttered disapprovingly. "I'd have had them conjuring tornadoes by now if they came to me first…"

Severa and Cynthia exchanged glances.

"Right. So this has turned out to be a lot more productive than I initially expected," Robin remarked surprisingly cheerfully. "Now if you excuse, I believe it's time for dinner."

"Is that really all you have to say?" Lucina asked, surprised.

"I mean, there's only so much I can ask with you people refusing to tell me the details that answer the really important questions," Robin pointed out. "And without those answers, we're kind of stuck in this unsatisfactory situation."

"I see…"

"You're going to tell you friends to at least listen to me on the battlefield, right? I mean, it's annoying enough that they don't believe me when I say I'm me, but the last thing I need soldiers not listening to me in life-or-death situations."

"Robin, I can assure you that they will obey your commands, like all of us do."

"Good. I'll leave it to you, then."

And to everyone's surprise, Robin abruptly left.

Severa and Cynthia looked at the tent flaps before turning to Lucina with questioning stares.

"…I suppose you may have some understandable questions…"


"Okay, what's wrong, Robin?"

"Mmarf. Nothing's wrong. Why does something have to be wrong?"

"Because you eat your food with such vigor only when you're starving, or when you're upset," Cordelia noted. "And given that there hasn't been anything that made you skip dinner, I'm assuming it's the latter."

Robin didn't respond, choosing instead of shovel mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"…I can tell it's at least bothering you to a…moderate extent."

"They don't believe who I am, Cordelia!" Robin exclaimed. "Can you believe that? After all this time and everything I've done, they question whether I'm really me!"

"Who's questioning whether you're you?"

"Oh boy, more trouble on the horizon?"

"There's always trouble on the horizon," Robin grumbled, ripping into a chicken leg as Sumia, Olivia, and Chrom sat down next to him. "But most of the time I can stab it until it goes away…"

"Tell us what's wrong, Robin," Olivia said gently.

"I'm sure it'll make you feel better," added Sumia.

"And if not, we can always laugh about it since odds are it'll be something crazy that can only happen to you," Chrom finished.

Robin finished his chicken leg and downed his drink.

"So you know the new girl?"

"Red hair? Twintails? Looks angry all the time?"

"No, the other new girl."

"There's another one?"

"Yeah! Funny story. See, today when we were…"


"Look at him. Talking to Mother so casually. And worst of all she's listening to his nonsense!" Severa growled, watching from several tables away.

"He sure seems familiar with all of them despite not being Dad," Cynthia concurred beside her.

"There has to be a reason behind all this. We just can't see it."

"Severa, as promised, I—ah! Cynthia, is that really you?"

"Heya, Laurent!" Cynthia waved. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Indeed. The last time we saw each other was—"

"Okay, we can talk about the good old times later," Severa interjected. "Laurent, sit. We have some very important things to discuss."

"Very well." Laurent sat down next to the girls. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I'll cut straight to the point: it's Robin. More specifically, we all remember how he was like in the future, yeah? Very unlike how he is now. And given the differences and no possible explanation for this, me and Cynthia find it hard to reconcile the differences."

"And we were hoping you could use that noggin of yours to help explain why this one acts all weird, and how that came about," Cynthia added.

"I see. I have actually given much thought about Robin's drastic change in behavior in this time and have come up with a theory."

"Yay! I knew we could count on you, Laurent!"

"Full disclaimer: this is just a theory and without concrete proof could be completely and utterly incorrect."

"I'll take that over the nothing we have," Severa said. "What've you come up with?"

"I believe you've already heard his explanations behind the lack of coat and hair color, yes?"

"Yeah. They seem real unbelievable, but yeah."

"Given they are within the realm of possibilities and the lack of explanations to the contrary, I have chosen to accept those explanations."

Severa and Cynthia looked at him skeptically.

"You could always ask others for conflicting reasons," Laurent suggested. "Now, as for the difference in personalities, my theory is that this is due to the events relating to the war with Plegia in this era."

"What about them?"

"In this time, the war with Plegia was brought to a much swifter conclusion thanks to Exalt Emmeryn's selfless sacrifice, thus demoralizing the Plegians and allowing the Ylissean Alliance to head directly toward Gangrel."

"…All that really happened?"

"Ah, forgive me. I sometimes forget others have not spent as much time here in the past as I. But yes, that is a quick summary of the war as it occurred in this era."

"Wow. Things sure turned out differently in this time…" Cynthia commented thoughtfully.

"Indeed. By contrast, we were taught that the war with Plegia in our time lasted many years, ushering much devastation and misery."

Both girls nodded.

"My theory is that the prolonged war has affected not only Robin, but all of our parents such that they much more somber when we were growing up."

"I mean, that may be true, but to this extent?" Severa said, pointing at Robin who was waving a chicken leg in the air as recalled the day's events.

Laurent adjusted his glasses. "While I cannot be certain, I would give it a tentative yes. After all, the Robin of our time was the one in charge of strategy and implementing it on the front lines. He must've witnessed unimaginable death and destruction during the Plegia's campaigns against Ylisse and Ylisse's counter offensives. I can't imagine anyone being the same after having lived through years of that."

"I…suppose that makes some sort of sense…" Severa admitted reluctantly.

"And we have no knowledge of his personality before the war and before we were born, correct? For all we know, he could've been exactly as he is in this time before years of the Plegian War took their tole on him."

"Come to think of it, I don't think we knew what Dad was like before we were born…" Cynthia tried to remember. "Mom always said the usual things, like he was always kind and caring and stuff, but I guess that can apply to any time."

Severa grunted. "I hate how this actually makes sense."

"I have merely provided you with my thoughts on this matter as you have requested. I have not promised that you would like it," Laurent said.

"…No, it's okay. It gives us something to think about, I guess…"

Both girls looked thoughtfully to Robin's table.

"Please tell me that will allay your fears and concerns," Lucina said as she sat beside them.

"It gives us something to think about," Severa repeated. "But I suppose it does provide a plausible explanation as to why this Robin acts as he does…"

"So you don't doubt his identity, then?" Lucina asked hopefully.

Severa remained silent, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I think I'll have to do an investigation on my own before coming to any conclusions," Cynthia said. "And I'll have to do that by getting to know this Robin better!"

Everyone looked at her quizzically.

"Dad always said to know your enemy. And while this version of him isn't an enemy, the thought is still the same. I'll have to get close to him and see how he really is to see if he could be Dad but in the past."

"That seems a sensible course of action." Lucina turned. "Severa?"

"We'll see," Severa said noncommittally, still deep in thought.

Lucina sighed.

She supposed that would have to do for now. At least she was successful in minimizing this potential disaster.

Cynthia and Severa were at least not viewing Robin with suspicion bordering on hostility anymore. Hopefully they would come to accept him as he is the more time they spent with him. And maybe later…

Lucina glanced at Robin's table, where Sumia and Cordelia were watching with amused smiles as Robin gestured dramatically.

Something had to happen there. Preferably sooner rather than later.

Maybe Lucina would have to step up her interventions…


Surprise Cynthia to welcome 2020.

Apologies to everyone expecting Yarne. He'll come, I swear!

Happy New Year!