Issue 22: Five Timeless Gemstones

Ylisse

In a void full of black nothingness, Kaine finds himself floating aimlessly alone, not knowing where he's headed. He tries to speak a word but his voice is suddenly gone. He tries to move but finds his body paralyzed. Suddenly he has terrible flashes of his regretful past, back when he saw himself as nothing but a monster, killing hundreds of people during his assassin persona, even killing the one woman he truly loved, Louise Kennedy. He sees himself during his fights against Peter Parker and Ben Reilly, the latter he tortured for many months. And the times he was mutated into the monstrous Tarantula, almost unwillingly put three dimensions at extreme risk when he worked with the Masters of Evil. These nightmares, no matter how hard he tries, Kaine can never brush them away because they've been burnt into the deepest parts of his brain, that way he'll never forget.

After suffering those painful memories, Kaine gasps himself awake, sweating very heavily while sleeping on his bed, covered in bandages. '…It was just a nightmare.' He thought, panting heavily. He touches his bandaged forehead to calm himself down, then takes a look at his surroundings, finding himself in a small bedroom in Ylisstol. 'How did I get here? Last thing I remember…' Kaine thinks back to his battle against Emperor Walhart, remembering how he sacrificed himself to take a fatal hit intended for Blake. 'That's right. Walhart. That bastard almost killed me.' He said, still feeling the large wound that bandaged on his back. As Kaine rest his head on his pillow, he turns to his right to find Blake sleeping on a desk next to him. 'Blake? She's okay. But…why is she here? Where are we anyway? Heaven? Doubt it. With everything I've done, I don't deserve going to a normal hell.'

Kaine starts to hear Blake moan and slowly wake up from her nap. The cat faunus scratches her eyes for a bit before turning to see her bandaged apprentice already awake, much to her happiness. "Ah! Kaine! You're okay." She said with a warm smile.

"For the most part." Kaine said, letting out a small grunt, still in pain.

"Stay in bed for now. You've been out for two days. The healers said you'll make a full recover pretty soon." Blake told him.

"Swell. Where are we anyways?" Kaine asked her.

"In Ylisse." Blake replied.

"Ylisse? What happened to Walhart? Did we win?" Kaine asked about the Valm War.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Blake gently smiled to lift up his spirits.

"I don't remember doing much." Kaine said modestly.

"Did Walhart also give you a concussion?" Blake smirkingly joked. "You saved my life. That makes it the third time you rescued me in the past month. For a guy who hates being called a hero, you sure are good at it."

"I'm complicated like that." Kaine replied.

"That's not a secret." Blake chuckled.

There's some silence between the two for a brief moment, neither teenager having no idea what to say next, making this very awkward for them. To break the immersion, Kaine sighs and starts speaking. "Blake…" He started, getting the Huntress' attention. "I'm…sorry, if I've been such a jerk of an apprentice to you lately. I'm just…still dealing with my own problems." He said somberly.

Blake looks depress and turns her head to the side. "I understand. I haven't been a good of a mentor to you either. This is still new territory for me."

"What? You kidding? You're a GREAT mentor. I just keep ignoring what you say, mostly because I don't want you to get so close to me." Kaine honestly said. "The last time I had any attraction to a girl, I…left my mark on her, so to speak," He said, referring to murdering Louise Kennedy a long time ago. "I don't want to make the same mistake again, to you or anyone else."

"But that's why you SHOULD let me get close, so I'll make SURE you won't make that same mistake again." Blake sits down on the edge of Kaine's bed. "It's my responsibility to turn you to a better person. That's why I agreed to do the whole "mentor-mentee" thing with you, because I KNOW what you went through."

"So you've been cloned and had a cellular breakdown that mentally convinced you to kill?" Kaine asked.

"No, but I can create clones, and was once partnered with a jerk that loves killing innocent people when I was part of a terrorist group." Blake responded.

"What was his name? Adam? Yeah, that guy really is a jerk." Kaine said, implying he has met Adam Taurus at one point.

Blake chuckled. "I remember when we visited Remnant and with our luck, well, YOUR luck, we ran into him. You beat him up so much I thought he wet himself when you scared him away with your Man-Spider form."

Kaine laughed, probably the first time Blake ever heard him laugh. "Yeah, that was pretty funny."

"Would you look at that? We're having a decent conversation that didn't involve us yelling at each other." Blake grinned.

"That's because you weren't acting so annoying this time, or dragged me to a rodeo." Kaine said.

"You enjoyed it, don't lie." Blake replied.

"I didn't." He lied with a serious face, causing Blake to giggle after blatantly noticing he's lying. "So…you sure it's okay to…hang out with a monster?" Kaine somberly asked Blake.

Blake smiles, knowing in her heart that Kaine is definitely more of a hero than a monster, despite what he keeps telling himself, as she'll continue to push Kaine into becoming a better person until the end of time. She reaches out Kaine and gently kisses him in the lips, something he doesn't really mind one bit. "As long as you don't get on my nerves 24/7 like your brother, I don't mind hanging out with the little, shy spider monster who's afraid of girls." She joked while smiling.

"Shut up, and get out." Kaine rude told her off, clearly didn't like getting mocked. Blake giggles and leaves the room so Kaine could, for once in his reborn life, sleep with a peace of mind.


BGM-Sonic Unleashed OST-Gaia Gate

In another room inside the capital, Yang and Tiki walk in to see what kind of crazy experiments a bandaged Peter and Tails are cooking up that might help them in the upcoming battles. "Any reason why you two are messing around with a cosmic gem that could destroy the world?" Yang asked as she notices the science bros experimenting with the War Stone they secured from Walhart with some chemicals they created using special material found in this world.

"So we can SAVE the world from being destroyed. It's not that hard to think about, Point Break." Peter answered before returning to his work.

"So what are you two working on with the War Stone?" Tiki asked while Yang wraps her arms around Peter's neck.

"We're trying to find a way to defeat Morlun the next time we encounter him." Tails answered, mixing a few chemicals.

"The Inheritor?" Tiki responded.

"Yeah," answered Peter. "There's no mistaken Morlun is the toughest foe any of us has ever fought. No matter how strong we are, he's always stronger. And considering he's immortal, it's practically impossible to ever defeat him. But thankfully during our last encounter, we were able to acquire a blood sample of him.

"Oh yeah, after I decked him in the schnoz. So does he have a weakness?" Yang remarked.

"Absolutely. It's radiation!" Tails answered, holding up a jar full of green radiation they created with the Exo Stone. "Morlun's blood is like an amalgamation of every kind of cell: animal, bird, human, faunus, dragon, insect, he's got them all. The purest forms of DNA I've ever seen."

"That's why he goes after totems like me and Tiki," continued Peter. "His cells break down over time and requires a periodic recharging from a source life-form in each category. The purer the source, the stronger the charge."

"I see. And when you fight him with the radiation, he'll be weakened?" Tiki questioned.

"Heck yeah! If we mixed the radiation with our weapons, he's a joke. And if he tries to feed on me, I'll inject some radiation into my systems and he'll be force to choke on its juicy poison." Peter replied.

"But wouldn't the radiation kill you? That's a little extreme, and I love extreme choices." Yang said, a little worried for her reckless boyfriend.

"I got bitten by a radioactive spider and I'm still okay. I'll be fine. Ero will have my back since he doesn't want to die either." Peter assured her.

'You got that right,' Ero talked inside Peter's head. 'Never imagined the Inheritors possessed such a pathetic weakness. Guess they don't call you the "Amazing Spider-Man" for nothing. Good thinking, Parker.' The spider-spirit praised Peter for finding a method that will surely defeat Morlun once and for all the next time they confront each other.

BGM End


Shepherds' Garrison

BGM-Fire Emblem Awakening OST-"It appears the capital was spared the chaos"

Meanwhile at the Shepherd's Garrison, Robin, Sonic, and Ruby visit Chrom to see him by himself and sighing constantly. "Hey, Chrom. How are ya?" Ruby asked, receiving a sigh from the prince.

"I know that face…"Dueling with unpleasant thoughts," are we?" Robin asked his best friend.

"That or he smashed through the wall again." Sonic joked as he sits on top of a table.

"Quiet, furball." Chrom replied, making his friends laugh.

"Hey, remember when Lissa first brought us here? When we met all the Shepherds? And Sumia... Ha ha! Oh, what a day! ...Actually, that's my first memory, in a way." Robin said.

Ruby chuckled. "Yeah. It was. Just wished we didn't have to fight for our lives every hour."

"I know…So much needless bloodshed. So many days of pain and doubt and fighting…We would have never made it without Chrom there to guide us, you know." Robin remarked.

"Funny. I was going to say the same to you." Chrom said to his friendly tactician.

"I guess we really are two halves of the same whole." Robin smiled.

"You had our help too, ya know? Anyways, where's Fredbear and Chuckles, Chrom? Haven't seen them lately." Sonic asked while lying on his side.

"I've sent Frederick and Knuckles to search for our missing stones: Sable, the final Gemstone, the last Chaos Emerald, and hopefully the other Exo Stone here in this world. And I've been reading more about the Awakening ritual," answered Chrom. "It seems that whoever attempts the rite must brave Naga's fire. If both body and spirit survive the agony, they are blessed with the dragon's power. Otherwise, the candidate...dies." He said.

"Dies?!" Ruby responded with a shock face.

"What?! No! ...Er, that is... Father, must you attempt this?" asked a worried Lucina as she enters the room after hearing what her father said.

"Oh, hey, Lucina." Sonic casually waved to her.

"Eavesdropping, young lady?" Chrom asked with his hands on his hips.

"Forgive me, Father. I didn't intend to... I came to speak with you, but I couldn't find the right moment and—."

"It's all right, Lucina. And yes, I'll be all right, too. I will withstand Naga's fire. I'm sure of it." Chrom said with confidence.

"Hey, guys. Guess who's back?" asked Knuckles, walking inside the garrison with Frederick by his side.

"Knuckles! Frederick! Have you found the remaining gems?" Ruby asked them.

Knuckles shakes his head. "Sorry, Rubes, but we couldn't find out where the last Chaos Emerald or the Exo Stone is, but lucky we learned where Sable is. Apparently Validar has been guarding the Gemstone and wishes that he gives it to us."

"Validar…" Chrom said with suspicion.

"So Validar has the last Gemstone?" Sonic asked.

"They sent word to us, Sonic. They must have caught wind of our search." Frederick said. "In any case, Validar asks that milord visit him in person, that he might formally present it. Perhaps needless to say, milord, but I don't like this one bit."

"Neither do I, Frederick the Wary. Neither do I." Chrom said.

"Can we really trust this guy after he sent zombies to kill us?" Ruby asked him.

"No, but at best, it's selfish political maneuvering at a time when the world can ill afford it. At worst, our run-in with those Risen last visit was definitely no accident... But we will meet with him. Send word at once." Chrom ordered his trusty guardian.

"Milord, are you…certain that's wise?" Frederick asked.

"No, but we haven't time to be certain. ...And my sister never refused a diplomatic gesture, no matter how foul smelling. If he doesn't give us the stone, he may at least reveal where it is. ...Don't worry, Frederick. I'm not walking into this blindly. We will make certain everyone is armed to the teeth." Chrom replied.

"To be safe, you should probably leave the Fire Emblem behind." Knuckles suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea from the knucklehead who keeps losing the Master Emerald every week." Sonic teased, laughing when he sees the angry vein on Knuckles' forehead.

"Unless that's what Validar expects, and he comes to steal it with my best men away…No, it's safest with me, for now. We'll learn the truth of Validar's motive soon enough…" Chrom said, intending to keep the Emblem by his side.

BGM End


En Route to Valm Castle

Wanting to meet with Validar as soon as possible, the united heroes make their way to Plegia to meet with its king. Along the journey, Lucina notices a familiar-looking skull that's shaped of a dragon sitting below a ravine next to Plegia Castle. "There it sits…" She said.

"Whaddya talking about, kid?" Scarlet Spider asked.

"Is something wrong, Lucina?" Lissa asked.

"That great skull. I saw it once before, when Emmeryn was sentenced to die. Even then it reminded me of…him…" Lucina replied, looking worried.

"You mean…" Spider-Man speaks, knowing who she's referring to.

"Yes. Grima, the fell dragon. A cataclysmic war ushered his return…It's said he fed on the souls of the fallen before turning upon the living…" Lucina said as she closes her eyes and remembers her last, dire encounter with Grima in the future.


Flashback to the Future Past

Lucina and the remaining soldiers of Ylisse are fighting an endless army of Risen inside the castle before part of it got blown away, as well as the soldiers and the Risen, leaving a lone Lucina to fend herself against the almighty and powerful fell dragon/totem of darkness.

"SO ENDS THE HUMAN RACE," proclaimed the extremely large Grima, who seems as big as Ylisstol itself. "THE FUTURE IS BUILT UPON THE PAST…BUT YOUR KIND SHALL NEVER SEE IT." A few red lights, which seems to be Grima's giant eyes appear before Lucina. "YOUR MOHTER AND FATHER…ARE DEAD, TINY ONE." He taunted. Lucina begins to fraught with worry as the white Exo Stone on Grima's forehead glows brightly along with his ominous laughter of evil. "AND NOW IT IS YOUR TURN…" Grima reels back for an attack on the lone princess of a dead kingdom. "…to DIE!" He attacks as Lucina screams for her life with her Falchion in hand.


Back in the Present

"So Grima feeds on souls? Kinda reminds me of the Ifrit that eats Chao to grow stronger." Sonic remarked.

Ruby gasped. "The Ifrit actually ate those adorable little animals…Wait. What's an Ifrit?"

"Just some inter-dimensional, demonic fire dragon Eggman tried to release a while ago." Sonic shrugged.

"You mean Eggman Nega?" Shadow responded as he too was part of that adventure and knew it was Dr. Eggman Nega from the future impersonating his ancestor to destroy the world.

"Oh right. Keep forgetting it was him in disguise." Sonic replied.

Lucina takes a moment to process that Sonic fought a monster just as terrifying as Grima and speaks of it so casually. She sighs as she's not going to bother with that little tidbit before resuming the original topic. "...Whether these are his true bones or just an effigy, I cannot say. But I know this: we cannot let that monster come back to life."

"We'll stop him, Lucina. I promise. The future can be changed. You've proven it already. And with all of us together, we can turn the course of history." Chrom assured her.

"I want to believe that, Father. I want to believe that, more than anything..." Lucina replied, still not sure if they can truly stop or even beat Grima if he's resurrected.

"Then stop acting so worried. If you keep doubting yourself, then we'll never win. No matter how hopeless it is, there's still hope. You just got to keep moving forward to find it." Spidey encouraged the future princess.

"The boy is right. We have overcame impossible odds before. Now it's your turn to do the same." appeared Ero. "Stop acting like a shivering child and start standing like a warrior. We WILL stop that scaly bastard if it's the last thing we do."

"…Blake doesn't like that kinda talk." Kaine teased, still going along with the current running gag about Blake hating bad language.

"You know what, Kaine?" Blake gives Kaine the Death Stare, which really didn't seem like much to the grumpy clone as he smirks it off, making Lucina chuckle at their antics.


Plegia Castle

The heroes quietly walk into Plegia Castle without little to no trouble, but Spider-Man can definitely sense something's amiss all around them. "Spider-Man. Did you…?" Robin whispered to the hero with the spider-sense if he sensed any trouble as they entered the castle.

"Yeah. They're all around us. Did you see the armed soldiers hiding in the shadows as we were shown in…?" Spidey whispered back, receiving a quiet nod of confirmation from Robin. "Guess we have our answer." He whispered as they see King Validar and his subordinate Aversa walking in to greet them.

"Well met, milord." Aversa greeted the company.

"Prince Chrom! And the Legendary Spider-Man! Welcome." Validar greeted them.

"Hiya, Grandpa Valdy! Did you trim that long goatee of yours? It looks pretty nice." Spidey joked.

"I thank you of the compliment, Sir Spider." Validar smirked.

"...I was told you had something you wished to give me." Chrom said to the Plegian King.

"My my! No time for courtesy, milord? Such impatience... Do you really want it that badly?" Validar asked.

"Uh, yeah. We kinda need it for some important, world-saving business." Sun answered.

"This concerns me. The Gemstones and the Fire Emblem can be...treacherous artifacts. A fact Plegia and the Grimleal sadly know all too well..." Validar responded.

""Sadly?"" Lucina responded. "You speak ill of when the first exalt used them against the fell dragon?"

"Yes I do, intruder!" Validar pointed to the time-traveler.

"…Intruder?" Lucina questioned with a confused, yet slightly worried look that Validar somehow knows she's from the future.

"You are not supposed to be here. You must be destroyed!" Validar declared.

'How did this guy find out Lucina's from the future?' Peter asked in his head.

"You wouldn't dare!" Chrom said to Validar.

"Give me the Fire Emblem…Give it to me!" Validar demanded.

"Not unless you say please." Yang said.

"You know that'll never work." Weiss told her.

"I can always try, can I?" Yang replied.

"You mad scoundrel! This is a declaration of war!" Lucina said to the Sorcerer King.

"I will only ask one last time: give me the Emblem. Now!" Validar demanded one more time until he is forced to use extreme methods to retrieve the Fire Emblem from their dead corpses.

"Sorry, your majesty, but you're not laying a finger on our Emblem. Go buy a replica online. I hear they're cheap nowadays." Sonic joked.

"Then this parley is over. Guards! Seize them!" Validar ordered his men to kill his foes and take their Emblem.

"Just as we thought…" Chrom said, knowing full well this was going to happen.

"Chrom, everybody, this way! Quickly!" Robin shouted, gesturing everyone to follow him through a hallway so they could escape.

"Robin had an escape route all planned out…How preciously clever of him. You should be proud." Aversa said to her master.

"Hmph. If he had half the wits of his father, he would know they've already lost." Validar laughed.

BGM-Spider-Man: Edge of Time OST-Fighting Enemies

Following Robin's escape route, the heroes fight their way through any Plegian they come across as they make their way to the exit of the castle. "We have to get out of here now! Cut down anyone who gets in the way!" Chrom advised while slashing down a few Plegian swordsman to the ground.

"Good job thinking of this escape plan, Robin!" Spidey said while web-swinging.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna need your Spider-Sense in case there are sudden changes to the plan!" Robin said, blasting thunder magic at enemy mages.

"Got it." Peter nodded. Not seconds after, his head starts ringing like crazy, "Speaking about Spider-Sense, I'm picking up a storm!" As they continue traversing through the castle, they all notice the hallway they're in starts to crack with a mysterious white light, and in an instant, the simple hallway transforms into a room filled with lava pits and intense acrobatic challenges involving Plegian Wyvern Riders.

"W-What in the world?!" Cordelia asked in complete shock to the sudden room change.

"How the heck?! The pathway just changed into an obstacle course!" Spidey remarked.

"What form of magic can cause THIS?" Lucina asked.

Tails quickly takes out his Miles Electric to learn about the sudden room change. "This is terrible! A time distortion just changed this entire room!" He informed everyone.

"A time distortion?! How did that happen?!" Ilia responded to that bizarre information.

"I suspect it might have to do with the Exo Stone that can control time. Its energy signature is spewing everywhere in the castle." Tails replied.

"Does that mean Validar also has the Exo Stone?!" Chrom asked.

"Maybe. I didn't pick up a reading from him, but it's definitely somewhere close by." Tails replied.

"Let's worry about escaping first before we search for it! We have enemies incoming!" Robin said, working together with his friends to traverse this obstacle course so they could continue escaping this time-distorting castle.

As they continue their escape, another time distortion changes a hallway to a spiked wall. "Time is definitely not on our side today!" Spidey said as they head to another room to find another time distortion already in the progress of teleporting a variety of Grimm into this world.

"Grimm?! They're here too?!" Weiss asked, surprised, as they begin fighting the outworldly Grimm.

"The time distortion must have brought them here from another timeline." Tails said, spin attacking a Creep into submission.

"Urgh! I'm starting to hate time travel." Lissa remarked, finishing off the last of the Grimm before they continue their escape into another hallway that starts to close in on them from both sides because of the time distortion.

"This is gonna be a crushing way to die." Spidey quipped.

"If we don't die from this, your puns will," said Lon'qu while trying to find a way to escape this wall-crushing scenario.

Robin runs up to the end of the hallway and knocks hard on it to find the wall weak enough to be broken through. "I'm gonna need some heavy hitters here!" He shouted. Working together as one, the heavy-hitters of the heroes broke through the wall leading to another room.

"C'mon, let's go!" Knuckles gestured everyone to hurry out of the crushing chamber before it lived up to its name.

"Are we done yet?" Spidey asked, only for the universe to mess with him and cause a time distortion that drops them down to a make-shift elevator, taking them up.

"No disrespect, Spider-Man, but you can learn to keep quiet when we're not in danger?" Libra asked him.

"When there's two Spider-Men with abysmal bad luck, we're always in danger." Spidey replied.

"And this is why I hate existing." Scarlet Spider responded, just as a time distortion summons a group of Eggman's Egg SWATs, badniks that are a fusion between Egg Pawns and SWATbots, into the elevator.

"Badniks! Incoming!" Sonic and the others dodged their number of lasers until they found the time to strike back. After about a minute, they destroyed all the robots just as they reach the elevator brought them to their destination.

"Good. We back on the original course. Let's hurry for the exit!" Robin said.

BGM End

Everyone runs as fast as they could as they get closer and closer to the doors leading outside the castle. "Almost there! The exit is just-Wait. Do you feel…" Chrom asked his friends.

At that moment, Peter's head tingles to another great storm that's headed their way. "Uh-oh!" Without no warning whatsoever, everybody but Robin find themselves frozen in time, unable to move but still able to speak about their current predicament.

"Guys! What happened?!" Robin asked his time-frozen friends.

"We're frozen in time! A power stronger than even Chaos Control!" Shadow proclaimed, struggling to break himself free from his frozen prison.

BGM-Fire Emblem Awakening OST-"Run all you like, you can't escape fate!"

Somewhere close by, they here a menacing laughter that sounds all too familiar to the D-Avengers as it belongs to their greatest enemy. "It would seem that no matter how hard you try, one cannot simply outrun fate with such measly power." Dr. Victor von Doom himself walks in with Salem to greet the frozen heroes.

"Dr. Doom! Salem!" Spider-Man recognized his inter-dimensional enemies.

"Long time no see, Avengers." Salem maliciously smiled.

"So you're the other villains Spider-Man warned us about!" Chrom spoke.

"You are correct, Prince Chrom. It's an honor for the Latverian King to meet another royalty, especially one from another dimension. But you're only the second of royalty Doom have met in my brief time here." Doom said, just as Validar warps in to his side.

"Hoho! It seems you have already captured them." Validar commented.

"You guys been working with Validar?!" Ruby said to the two Masters of Evil members.

"Yes, to retrieve the Fire Emblem and the Exo Stone of time." Doom shows the frozen heroes that he has retrieved the white Exo Stone, which explains all the weird time distortions happening to them lately.

"You've recovered the Exo Stone?!" Sonic responded.

"This is the Genesis Stone. As you've already experienced, has the power to bend time to my liking. The past. Present. And future. All timelines, Doom can control, crossing them together to my will." Dr. D said.

"Now hand over the Fire Emblem. Give it freely, or it will be taken." Validar demanded.

"We're kinda frozen in time, remember Valter-Man?" Spidey reminded him.

"Heh heh…That is no matter…Robin!" Validar starts messing with his "son's" head, who was the only one deliberately not caught in the time bubble for this very purpose, causing Robin to stagger and clutch his head in agony.

"Robin?" Chrom barely turns to see his dear friend experiencing excoriating pain.

"Seize the Emblem and bring it to me." Validar commanded.

"Nngh, no, I…Aarrrgh!" Robin falls under Validar's mind control and walks over to Chrom.

"Robin…What are you…doing?!" Chrom asked as Robin steals the Fire Emblem from him and gives it to Validar so the dark sorcerer could insert Sable and complete the Fire Emblem at last.

"Well done, my child. At last, the Fire Emblem belongs to me. And with my Gemstone, it is complete!" Validar raises his precious relic up into the air, laughing manically.

"Now, we must head to the Table, and perform the ritual…" Using the Genesis Stone, Doom teleports himself, Validar, and Salem out of the castle. Without the Genesis Stone in the vicinity, the frozen heroes are free from time and are able to move freely again.

"Damn it, Doom! Should've figured he's been working with Validar from the start!" Spider-Man said, berating himself to not have seen this coming.

"Ah! Nngh...ahh... What have I... done?!" Robin asked himself, as he berates himself for easily falling under Validar's influence.

"Robin! We must go!" Chrom helps him up his feet.

"Chrom, I'm sorry! I don't…know what came over me…I'm so sorry!" Robin apologized, feeling incredibly responsible.

"Stop beating yourself around the bush! This isn't over!" Spider-Man told him.

"…Understood." Robin slowly nodded, but still feels really terrible.

As they all regroup to make sure no one was missing or seriously injured when they were ambushed by Doom, the main heroes have a little conversation regarding Robin. "What I did…It's…It's unforgivable." Robin said, terribly, terribly depressed

"That's enough moping around, Robin. We're gonna need you at you're A-game if we want to track them down." Sonic said to his friend.

"No, I... You must leave me behind. He could use me again... I can't be trusted! This cursed blood in me must somehow give...my father...dominion over me..." Robin said.

"But he never had full control over you! We can tell you were fighting him, all the way." Ruby said.

"You can fight it, Robin. And if he expects you to blindly obey, that might be the surprise we need." Chrom said.

"Chrom, you…you put too much faith in me." Robin replied, still feeling depressed.

"Get back on that horse, Robin. You can't give up now!" Frederick told him.

"But you're not listening! I told you, I'm not-!"

"Who CARES?! You're still coming along with us. If you really want to make it up, help us find Doom before it's too late!" Spidey said.

"All right. I'll…I'll try." Robin reluctantly agreed to still help them stop the Masters of Evil. But as they start to leave the castle, Lucina stays behind for a bit, silently staring at Robin for a while. After a while, she makes up her mind and heads out to meet with the others.


Outside of camp, during a beautiful sunset, Robin walks to the fields alone to have a moment by himself, clearing the dark thoughts that continue manifesting in his head. As he stands by his lonesome, he is met by Lucina, who seems to want to talk to him. "Beg pardon, Robin. Might I have a word?" She kindly asked him.

"…Lucina. What is it?" Robin asked her curiously.

"It's about my father. I have memories of him, you know. From when I was little. Before he…died." Lucina somberly said, still in distress over the death of her own Chrom.

"I see…"

"He was courageous, and kind, and everyone spoke fondly of him. People say he was brave right up until the very end. I always yearned to know him better. And now that I do... I can see that the world will be robbed of a very great man. ...I won't allow that to happen." Lucina told him.

"I understand. You love him…We all do." Robin said to her.

"Robin, I…Please, forgive me…" With simple hesitation sprinkling in her right hand, Lucina draws out her sacred blade, and her target is…Robin.

"Lucina?!" Robin questioned why she has her blade pointed at him.

"Stay where you are, Robin! I have no choice. I must kill you." Lucina told him her mission.

"What?! What madness is this?!" Robin asked.

BGM-Fire Emblem Awakening OST-Id (Sorrow)

"In my future, you…You are my father's murderer." Lucina believed she's confronting the killer of her father.

"No! That's insane! Why would I kill Chrom?" Robin retorted.

"I was not certain myself, until now... I knew he had been killed by his closest friend. Having witnessed your bond with him, I doubted it could be so... But today's events make it clear. You are at Validar's mercy. I suspect it's he who forces you to take my father's life, and very soon..." Lucina brings her blade closer to Robin's face.

"Lucina, wait." Robin told her.

"If my father is right, then we can change our fates. If this dark future is to be averted, sacrifices must be made. I am sorry, Robin! I know this is murder, I…I know that…" Lucina said, knowing full well this is a bad idea, but it's the only idea to save the world from total destruction.

"Lucina, you don't have to-."

"Don't make it harder!" Lucina shouted at Robin. "Don't resist, and your death will be swift and painless. If you hold any love for Chrom, then let this be done..."

Robin thinks about this: Accept Lucina's judgement, sacrifice his life to save Chrom's, or reject her extreme idea for a more, bloodless solution. In the end, he made his choice. "…Very well. I forfeit my life." Robin fully accepts Lucina's judgement for his death, stretching his arms out, leaving the tactician utter defenseless so he could make his sacrifice quick and painless.

"Godspeed, Robin." Lucina reels her blade to her side and prepares to stab Robin in the heart, but just as she's ready to kill Chrom's best friend, a quick webline yanks her blade from her hand. "What?!"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to stain your father's blade with the blood of his best friend?"

Lucina turns around to see Spider-Man repeatedly tapping the Falchion in his hand while standing beside the other D-Avengers and Chrom. "That, young lady, will get you grounded for life, and my disappointment." Spidey finished.

"…I can explain." Lucina told her friends and father, starting to regret her decision.

"That's gonna be impossible." Yang quipped.

"There's no need. You're not the only one who can eavesdrop. We heard every word. Lucina, I know your heart is in the right place... But I trust Robin. You cannot shake my faith in him." Chrom walked up to her future daughter.

"This is not about trust! He'll be the death of you!" Lucina told him.

"Robin and I have held fast through good times and ill... We swore to be two halves of a greater whole. You underestimate the strength of those ties, the bonds we share. I believe in them more than some foretold "destiny." Chrom replied.

"That is easier to say when you haven't seen it yourself…" Lucina responded.

"Lucina, aren't our ties stronger here now than they were in your future?" Chrom said, reminding her of an earlier conversation between father and daughter. "You said so yourself. In this flow of time we are bound tighter than ever, you and I. Not just as father and daughter... But as friends. We can change things—we already have...and we will again."

"Yeah! With all of us working, as long as we keep on believing, nothing can beat us, not even fate!" Ruby said, with her friends agreeing with her statement.

"…Very well, everyone. I would ask your forgiveness, Robin, but I cannot expect it." Lucina apologized.

"I do forgive you, Lucina. You needn't speak of it again." Robin replied.

"I pray... That is, I trust all of you will prove me wrong. And that this future will fall to pieces before your bond ever would." Lucina hoped.

"As long as I'm here, no bonds will ever be severed. That's my special Semblance after all." Spidey said.

"GUYS!"

Everyone turns around to see Amy running to them. "Amy? What seems to be the problem?" Sonic asked as she takes a moment to catch her breath.

"You have to come see this!" She said, gesturing them to hurriedly follow her to what she discovered.

BGM End


The united heroes follow Amy to the ends of a cliffside somewhere in Plegia where they are surprised to see a mechanized Little Planet floating in the sky and chained up to a rock formation. "What the?! Is that Little Planet?!" Sonic asked in surprise.

"Yeah! I was taking a little walk until I looked up to the sky and saw Little Planet." Amy explained.

"What is that? It looks like a miniature version of our world floating in the sky." Chrom commented.

"It's called Little Planet. It's supposed to appear only in my world one month every year. In fact, it just made its annual return not too long ago, but I don't know how it wound up here." Sonic explained to his Ylissean friends.

"Doom's Genesis Stone. He must have brought it here and took over the planet. That must be where the Masters of Evil and Validar are hiding." Blake deduced.

"Yeah. You're right. I can feel Validar over there through my blood." Robin told them.

"You're not the only one. My Spider-Sense is picking up a lot of strange mojo happening over there." Spider-Man remarked.

'It's the ritual.' Ero said in Peter's mind. 'They're beginning the ritual to revive Grima. His power is already starting to boil. We must act now, before they revive that bothersome cretin.'

"Round up everybody! We're moving out! We have to stop the Masters of Evil before they do something crazy! Let's go!" Spidey ordered everyone to prepare to leave for the mystical, but mechanized Little Planet.


Beast OST-Next Episode Preview

Spider-Man: Sup! I'm your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man! Using the Genesis Stone, Doom brought Little Planet into this world and are intending to revive Grima at any moment. We can't let that happen. We're off to the Dragon's Table to put an end to this. Let's end this now before we suffer from any more time travel.

Next time on D-Avengers: The Fell Awakening:

An Ill Passage

Spider-Man: I really hate time travel!


KFX Here: Brief Description of the Genesis Stone:

Primary power: Manipulate all of time

Secondary power: Manipulate the element of earth