"Are we almost there?" Morgan asked. Climbing the staircase of the Mila tree was no easy task.

"It shouldn't be much further now."

"Man, this tree is huge..."

"...Huh. I forgot for a moment that you've never been up here. Can't wait til you see the top!"

"It does look amazing, even from here..."

Robin smiled. "We're uh... About halfway now."

"Wait, halfway!? It's taken us, like, fifteen minutes to get here!"

Robin cleared off a step and sat down, reaching a canteen of water toward Morgan. She thanked him, took the water, and sat down next to him.

"How does Tiki do it!?" she asked. "Walking up and down that staircase all the time..."

"She can fly, Morgan."

"Oh. Right. ...I should get a wyvern."

"...Maybe for your birthday, kiddo." said Robin, ruffling her hair. "You know, you never told me how your date went the other day."

"I-it wasn't a date, dad!"

"Oh, good. I don't want you dating Brady."

"Well why not!?" she demanded, her face turning a deep red. "He's really sweet, and, and also it wasn't a date!"

Robin laughed to himself. "I'm just teasing you! You can date him if you want!"

"Hmph. Well. I... Kay..." She frowned as her face somehow managed to redden even further.

Robin grinned. "Alright..." he said, standing up. "Let's get a move on."

"This tree, dad... It's... It's enormous! It's gigantic! Ginormous! It's..."

"Breathtaking, huh?" declared Robin proudly.

Finally reaching the top of the tree, Morgan stood and stared awestruck at her surroundings. A shrine to Naga stood at the center, and leaves surrounded it on all sides. Looking down, she could see for miles. Robin had told her about it before, but this was the first time she'd seen it for herself.

"So... Lady Tiki lives here?"

Her answer came in the form of a loud screech. The pair looked up to see a giant green dragon soaring gracefully through the sky. The dragon flew towards them, causing Morgan to duck instinctively. Robin, on the other hand, stood in his place, knowing she would do nothing to hurt them. She transformed out of her dragon form as she landed.

"Robin! I knew you would return!" shouted the green haired woman as she ran up to hug the tactician.

"Tiki! It's been far too long."

Tiki winced in confusion for a moment, unable to comprehend the fact that Robin considered their, to her, incredibly short separation "too long." She turned towards the younger woman.

"And how are you, Morgan?"

Morgan bowed her head in respect. "Lady Tiki."

"Come now, Morgan. No need to be so formal. We fought together as equals, did we not?"

"I... Yes, I suppose we did."

Suddenly Tiki turned back to Robin and stared for a moment, analyzing him.

"...Robin. You no longer have it."

Morgan looked to Robin, expecting some sort of explanation. Her father merely shrugged in response, just as confused as she was.

"When we first met," Tiki continued, "I explained that you had power like mine. It's gone now. It was Grima's power."

"Ah, that." said Robin.

"...Your soul is... Different, now."

"Good different or...?"

"What I meant to say, is that the part of your soul that was Grima is gone. However, you are the same. So... Good different."

She smiled at him.

"Please, come inside!" She motioned the two towards the shrine where she lived. Robin and Morgan followed.

It was a humble home. Tiki led them to a small parlor, with a few chairs, a bookshelf, a staircase, a fireplace, and not much more.

"Can I get you something? Tea, perhaps?"

Before Robin could answer, Tiki had brought in a pot of tea and a few cups for her guests.

"So, then. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I have a favor to ask, if you don't mind."

"Please do."

"Alright." said Robin, taking a sip of tea. "This is excellent! You have to give me the recipe!"

"...Somehow, I don't think that's the favor you came to ask."

"Oh, no, of course not. Well, here's the thing. After that final battle with Grima, when I disappeared, Lucina left to go look for me. I want to conduct a divination to find her, and for that, I need your help."

"You want my talons."

"...If you don't mind." Robin was mildly taken aback by the fact that the daughter of Naga was evidently familiar with dark magic rituals, but then reasoned that she must know something about almost everything, given her age.

"Of course not. I would love to help you two reunite."

"Great, thank you! I'll just-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Tiki pressed a small pouch into his hands.

"...You save your toenail clippings?" Robin asked.

"Do you fancy yourself the first mage to ask me for help finding someone they've lost?"

"...Just seems a little odd..." he admitted.

"Coming from you, that's quite the declaration."

"It's true, I have seen my fair share of weird things..." he said, gesturing towards Morgan and grinning cheekily.

"Hey!" she protested, smacking her father on the shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"...You're a time traveler, sweetheart."

"So!? Lots of people are!"

"And now you've proven my point."

Morgan huffed and pouted. "...Fine."

The trio chatted for a while, with Robin catching Tiki up on their journey so far. Eventually, the topic turned back to Robin's divination.

"You can't conduct your divination here." Tiki spoke up. "This place is filled with Naga's divine magic. It would interfere with the dark magic you intend to use."

"...Right."

"There's a town not more than an hour from here. You can perform your ritual there. Will Morgan be going with you?"

Robin turned his attention to his daughter. "It's up to you, Morgan. If you did come with me, you'd be watching me watch a cloudy silver orb. Divination rituals don't work for anyone except the caster."

"If your father doesn't mind, you're more than welcome to wait here with me. I should like to get to know you better." said the divine dragon.

"I suppose I'll stay here, then, if it's no trouble."

"None at all." said Tiki.

Robin started toward the exit. "Alright, then! Thank you so much for your help, I'll be back in a few hours."

"Once you reach the base of the Mila tree, walk south. You should happen upon a road. There's only one path on it. It leads directly to the town. There, you should be able to perform your ritual with no outside interference."

"I can't thank you enough. I'll be back as soon as I find out where Lucina is. Morning, at the latest."

"Take care, Robin."

He waved and left the house, as Morgan found herself taking an interest in the divine dragon's bookshelf.

Robin had rented a room in an inn for his ritual. He leaned over a small cauldron, dropping in Tiki's talons, a lock of Morgan's hair, a frog's eye, and a few pegasus feathers. He pulled a tome out of his robe and said the incantation. Suddenly, a large orb appeared above the cauldron.

The silver orb started to clear up, until it resembled a window. Robin looked through it to see...

Himself. Conducting a dark magic divination.

He sighed. Of course. He looked back down to his tome. A divination to show one's closest living blood relative.

A small note at the bottom informed him that in the case of multiple relatives with the same relation, the spell would default to the one who was closest by distance.

At least I know it works...

He waved his hand, and the orb returned to its cloudy, silver color. Robin then pulled a dictionary of ancient speech from his robe. He quickly looked up the word for "female," and adjusted the incantation to specify that he was trying to find Morgan's closest living female relative.

The orb cleared up again, this time showing a riverbank surrounded by trees. It was serenely beautiful scenery. By the base of one of the trees sat Lucina, silently enjoying an apple and watching the river flow.

Robin smiled to himself, as tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing her for the first time in over a year, and to know that she was okay made Robin happier than he'd been in a long time.

He looked by the riverbank to see a group of flowers. Jackpot. He reached into his robe and pulled out a green tome. He focused for a moment, and then watched as Lucina's hair was pushed back by a gentle breeze.

Perfect! This'll work!

Robin refocused his attention on the flowers, then, carefully, played with weak wind magic. He was too far away to do much, but messing with flowers was well within his range.

Lucina turned her head to see one of the flowers torn from the ground and land next to her. Then another, then another. Eventually, a messy, yet deliberate, bouquet of flowers formed next to her.

She picked it up, then looked around. "...Hello? Is someone there?"

A quick breeze brushed over her hand. Over her engagement ring.

Lucina nervously placed two flowers on the ground next to each other.

"...The one on my left is 'yes.' The one on my right is 'no.' Do you understand?"

The flower on the left was blown forward a few feet. Lucina bent down and moved it back to its original position.

Lucina was a bit taken aback, and a bit scared, but... Something told her this was important. Whatever entity this was seemed to be cooperating, and didn't seem to have any intentions of harming her... In fact, its sole action up to this point was to give her a bouquet of flowers.

"...Are you... Someone I know?"

The "yes" flower moved forward again.

...Flowers... Who would give me...

"...Robin?" she whispered in disbelief.

The flower on the left once again moved a few feet forward.

Lucina smiled and covered her mouth in excitement. She quickly put the flower back into its position.

"...Are... Are you alive?"

For the fourth time, the flower on the left was blown forward.

Lucina began laughing to herself. After so long, he was alright! Her search was nearing its end!

"You're far away, though, aren't you?"

Yes.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she asked another question.

"But... You're in this world? You're not communicating with me from some other world? Some Outrealm?"

Yes.

"...That might have been worded a bit confusingly. Can we meet each other in person? Face to face?"

Yes.

"You're not a ghost of some sort?"

No.

"...Is Morgan with you?"

Yes.

"...And... And she's alright?"

Yes.

"...I... She must hate me..."

No.

"...Robin... I have an idea, to help us communicate. Can you meet me back here in an hour?"

Yes.

"...Okay, Robin. I'm holding you to this. ...I'll see you in an hour. If I don't... I'll head back to Ylisstol castle. Meet me there. I love you."

Lucina started away from the clearing, as Robin smiled to himself, overcome with joy. He cleared the orb in front of him, and a small spark flew in the cauldron, burning up the ingredients he'd used. An hour, he thought, setting up an hourglass he'd brought with him. Glad I brought spare ingredients for another ritual. ...An hour, and then we can talk again.

...Actually, I have enough here for two more rituals...

Robin set up the cauldron again for another go, placing the necessary ingredients inside. However, this time he substituted a lock of his own hair in for Morgan's. He adjusted his incantation once again to specify who he was looking for.

This was something he'd been curious about since Validar first mentioned it.

Suddenly, the silver orb reappeared above the cauldron. Unfortunately, no matter how many times Robin said the incantation, the orb retained its silvery color. He waved the orb away, and the ingredients in his cauldron burst away in a spark.

He couldn't say he didn't expect that reaction. Rituals like this were rather easy to block if one knew how, and a woman on the run from the Grimleal would be blocking any dark magic thrown her way. Barring that, Robin had no idea if his mother were even alive.

Robin had mixed emotions about her. On the one hand, he couldn't say he loved her. He hadn't the slightest recollection of her

On the other hand, he was frustrated. His mother was the woman who'd saved his life, who'd given him the chance to be something other than Grima's vessel. He believed he would love her if he could remember anything about her.

He began to wonder if that was how Morgan felt about Lucina, too. At least, at first.

Lucina... He laid down and stared at his hourglass.

Fifty more minutes...

...Wow, this tome must be... Hundreds of years old! thought Morgan. ...I don't suppose Lady Tiki will mind me taking a look... Just a peek... She doesn't need to know...

"Oifey was a brilliant tactician. I can see why you'd be interested in his work." said Tiki.

"GAH!" shrieked Morgan. "I was just- I was just taking a look!"

"It's alright! Why would I have books if I never wanted them read?"

"I-I... It just... Looks so old and rare..."

"You can keep it, if you'd like."

"WHAT!?"

Tiki laughed. "Morgan, how long ago did Oifey live?"

"...Nearly three thousand years, from what I've read of him."

"Does paper last that long?"

"No! Not usually! Th-that's why I can't take this diary! This book must be as old as you!"

"Do you believe that Oifey personally authored that book?"

"...It says it's his diary..."

"And that it is. But he didn't pen that copy."

Morgan raised a finger in protest, before realizing she didn't exactly have any way to tell Tiki where her own books came from.

"Morgan, I have my entire library transcribed into new tomes every two hundred years or so. That book in your hand is probably, oh... Three hundred years old, by now? The point is, I have another copy of it. So giving it to you is honestly no problem at all!"

"...Oh..."

Tiki smiled as Morgan sheepishly slid the tome into her robe.

"...Thank you so much, Lady Tiki." she said, once again bowing.

"Morgan..." Tiki frowned. "I thought I told you not to be so formal."

"R-right." she replied nervously. "It's just... You're the daughter of my goddess. It's hard to not be intimidated when I pray to your mother..."

"I am not my mother." Tiki responded calmly. "Besides, your father killed a god. Perhaps I should bow to you, instead?"

"M-milady!" Morgan shouted back in shock. "I could never ask such a thing!"

"Then you now know how I feel."

Morgan sighed in defeat.

"So..." continued Tiki. "Equals, then?"

"Equals." the younger girl agreed. "You, um... You knew my ancestors?"

"I've likely met many of your ancestors, though I assume you're referring to the Hero-King?"

Morgan nodded.

"Your mother is so proud of that. Yes, Mar-Mar was the dearest friend I'd ever known. Both of your parents resemble him greatly. Your father for his kindness, and your mother for her leadership skills."

"Do... Do I?"

"...You are more like his wife, Caeda. She was so headstrong, that woman. Always putting her loved ones before herself. She was... Perhaps a bit childish, too."

"Childish!?" she demanded. "I am not childish!"

"I meant no offense! I find your curiosity and energy to be great qualities!"

"I'm sixteen! ...Ish..."

"Yes, and I'm three thousand ish."

Morgan once again sighed in defeat.

"...So, what can you tell me about Marth?"

"He was a kind man, always looking out for his friends. He was-"

"No no no! Not that! I wanna know about his tactics!"

"Couldn't you learn that from a book?"

"S'not the same. You were a soldier in his army! I gotta know what made him tick!"

"Well, I'd be glad to share some of what I know with you. Here..." she said, walking toward her bookcase. "Take this book. It was written by another soldier in Marth's army. A tactician, like you."

"Battlefield Tactics of the Altean Army, by Lady Katarina of Altea. I've... Never heard of her."

"Many of the history books eliminated her. The fact is, she once fought against Marth before joining his side. The historians decided that a Marth that offered mercy to his enemies didn't fit into the myth they were building, so many of the records of her deeds were eliminated." Tiki said with just a hint of bitterness.

"Was she Marth's chief tactician?"

"No, that was a man called Jagen, during the war. Afterwards, the role passed on to a man named Cain."

"The Bull of Altea? Sully told me about him!"

"Right, exactly! After the war, Katarina continued to serve Marth. She became another general of Altea. She wrote that book, recounting the strategies Jagen used during the wars, and her own personal suggestions on their use."

"...Tiki, what inspired people to fight for Marth?"

"That." the divine dragon responded, not missing a beat.

"...Huh?"

"You called me Tiki. Not Lady Tiki, as you had tried to earlier. You're treating me as your equal."

"...Huh." Morgan responded, nodding and putting her hand under her chin.

"There were no nobles, or royalty in Marth's army. Everyone was Marth's brother or sister, and he treated everyone exactly the same. As family. That is how you inspire people to join your cause."

The tactician furrowed her brow in thought.

"Your mother and grandfather have the same quality." the older woman continued. "That's how they're able to be such effective leaders."

"...My mother..." she repeated. "...I wonder what she's up to right now..."

Lucina walked back into the same clearing, this time carrying a bag. She dumped the contents of the bag, revealing twenty eight hand carved wooden blocks. The kind used to teach children to spell.

Twenty six of them were labeled with the letters of the alphabet, while two had the words "yes" and "no" sloppily carved over whatever they had said originally. She laid them out in front of her, with yes first, then no, and then the letters arranged alphabetically.

She pulled a notebook and a pencil out of her coat pocket, and, hesitantly, spoke up again. To some extent, she still couldn't believe it. She didn't understand how, but Robin was communicating with her through the wind. It would have seemed unbelievable to most, but something in her gut told her it was true.

Besides, this was exactly the sort of thing Robin would think of...

"...Robin? Are you here?"

The 'yes' block turned over, pushed by the wind. Lucina quickly reoriented it and smiled.

"Where are you?"

'M' turned over. Then 'I.' Then 'L.' Then 'A.'

Lucina jotted down the letters in her notebook as they turned.

"Mila!? You're near the Mila tree!?"

'Yes' turned over.

"That's...!" Lucina began laughing to herself out of sheer joy. "That's a little over a month's journey from here!"

She reset the blocks, then noted some of them begin turning over.

W-H-E-R-Y-O-U

In that order. The fact that she had brought only one of each letter caused small problems in communication, but it was too late to rectify that.

"There's a town north of Valm Castle called Mycenia. I'm only a few minutes outside of it. I bought these blocks from a woodcarver there."

As soon as the blocks had been reset, they began turning over again.

Y-O-U-A-L-R-I-G-H-T

"Yes, Robin. I'm fine. Better than I've been in a long time, actually."

S-A-M-E

If her smile could have gotten any bigger at that point, it would have. She pulled out a large sheet of paper she'd been keeping in her tunic and laid it out in front of her.

"I have this map... Let's see... If you're by the Mila tree..."

She traced her fingers over the land.

"Here. Duma. It's just under three week's distance from both of us. Can you and Morgan meet me there? On... Say... The sixth of August? Three weeks from today?"

Yes.

"Good. ...I'm so glad right now... I'm almost expecting to wake up and realize this is all a dream..."

N-O-D-R-E-A-M

"...Will you stay with me? The sun will be setting soon. We can watch the stars together."

Yes.

She leaned back against a tree, dipping her feet into the water in front of her.

"Thank you. I'll see you soon. I love you, Robin."

L-O-V-E-Y-U-T

She chuckled, realizing he couldn't finish the message.

"I'm sorry! I should have gotten more blocks!"

She reset the blocks and laid back down, feeling a warm summer evening breeze cross her face.

"It's funny." she said, taking her engagement ring and twirling it between her fingers. "I was... I was beginning to lose hope I'd ever see you again. I thought this ring might just end up being a nice piece of jewelry, nothing more. But then... For the past hour, I've found myself thinking of our wedding. ...It's so close, Robin. ...So here's the plan: we meet up in Duma on the sixth at noon, in front of the town hall. Does that all sound alright?"

G-R-E-Y-C-L-I-F

"...Greycliff? That's... That's a city, isn't it?"

Yes.

"Okay... So... We'll meet there instead?"

Yes.

She took out her map and spread it out on the ground again, then traced her fingers to Greycliff.

"It's um... A bit farther for you, but that should still work out. Everything else can stay the same? Town hall at noon on the sixth?"

Yes.

"Perfect."

She once again laid down on the ground, closed her eyes, and smiled. "Soon, Robin."

"So how'd it go?" asked Tiki.

"She's alright! I managed to use some wind magic to communicate with her. We'll be meeting in Greycliff on the sixth."

"Greycliff, huh?" she remarked. "It's a beautiful city."

He smiled. "Good, that's what I was hoping for. Every time we've stopped in a town, I'd ask around for the most romantic city the people had ever been to. Greycliff came up once or twice."

"Well, I'm sure Lucina will love it."

"Say, Tiki... Would you mind doing us one more favor?"

"Not at all."

"How quickly can you make it to Ylisstol?"

"Oh..." she thought for a moment. "It's perhaps a two day journey from here. For me, anyway..."

"Would you mind terribly delivering a message for me, then? I feel like Lucina's family should be kept informed of the situation."

Tiki narrowed her eyes at Robin. "...You want me to be your carrier pigeon?"

"Not just a carrier pigeon! The world's fastest carrier pigeon!" he teased.

Tiki laughed at him. "You'd not be asking this of me if it were just a simple message to inform Chrom that she'd been located."

"You're right." he admitted sarcastically. "I was actually going to send Chrom a ransom note. You've foiled my diabolical scheme to take over Ylisse!"

The divine dragon merely grinned in response. "Well, I will deliver your ransom note in exchange for rule over half of Ylisse. Do we have a deal?"

"The northern half. I'm much fonder of the south."

"Oh, fine." she sighed. "We can work out the details later."

"Great!" he said, laughing. "Where's Morgan? I'd like to tell her that I've found Lucina."

"She's asleep. Shall I go get her?"

"...Well, first, I have a few questions for you."

"Go for it."

"...When you said that I no longer had power like you..."

"Grima is gone completely." she responded. "I see no possible way he can ever return in this world."

Robin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods... The other day, I exhausted my magic completely. Morgan explained that I no longer had access to Grima's power like in the war."

"She's right. You're likely still among the most powerful human mages alive, but you can't pull off nearly what you could during the war."

The young tactician started laughing. "But see, that's just it! The most powerful 'human' mages! I'm human now! I don't have to deal with being a god, or a vessel of a god, or whatever I was ever again! I was relieved when Morgan told me that!"

"I can see the appeal in that." she said. "It's something I've thought about at times as well. To be human..."

"Um... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologize, Robin. It's only a passing fancy. Nothing I actively wish for, more something I muse on a bit. Wondering what it would be like..."

"...Right..."

"My power and my longevity are both a blessing and a curse. I will outlive you, Robin. Just as I've outlived almost everyone I've ever known or cared about."

"...Almost?" he asked in confusion.

"My friend Bantu, from Marth's time, still lives. I don't get to see him very often, but every now and then we cross paths. He is somewhat like a father to me."

"Another Manakete, then?"

She nodded.

"And Nah and Nowi... Both are still so young. I imagine the three of us will be friends for a long time yet."

"I see..."

"But there are very few Manaketes left. And most of those whom I have loved have been humans. One day, Robin, you'll pass me by. Then Morgan will, then her children, and her children's children, and I'll look exactly the same as you see me today... Honestly, it's lonely. Despite that, I'm glad. Because when I tell you about Marth, I keep him alive, in some small way. And some day, I'll tell your descendants about you. Human lives go by so quickly, but I'm glad to be a part of them. Do you understand?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah... It's a bit surreal to think that people thousands of years from now will still be talking about me... I mean, someone I know, even!"

"Robin, you rid the world of Grima. Even without me telling the tale, I doubt your legend shall ever die."

He sighed and turned away from her. "...You think I did the right thing, then?"

"I know first hand the pain of losing someone you love. I know what Lucina and Morgan went through. But I also know what you saved millions of others from in the future."

He nodded. "...Thanks, Tiki."

"There is, however, something you need to seek Lucina and Morgan's forgiveness for. You left them without an explanation. No letter, no final speech... You didn't even tell them definitively what you were going to do beforehand."

That stung him. But only because it was true, and only because she was right. They did deserve an explanation.

"...I was... I... Hadn't completely decided to kill Grima until just before that last battle..."

"No excuses, Robin."

He sighed. "...You're right, Tiki. You're right. That was unforgivable, but by the gods, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to them."

"The gods have seen fit to give you a chance to apologize. But Lucina will never confront you about it. She tends to take all of her emotional burdens on herself. And Morgan thinks too highly of you to ever bring it up. So you will need to be the one to start the conversation."

He nodded and sighed again. "...I... I told them I wouldn't do it... What kind of man am I? ...What kind of man keeps something like that from the people he loves?"

Tiki placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile.

"...You're only human, Robin."

A/N: Not too much to say today. These past couple of weeks have been SUPER busy for me.

To Zallow: See, I love Inigo with Noire. Those supports are BEAUTIFUL. "Blood and thunder, mortal! My emotions are not to be trifled with! NOW FLIRT WITH ME!" What part of that is not amazing?

I also really like Inigo/Morgan... I just like Inigo in general. All of his pairings except Nah are pretty great.

To everyone else... Thank you so much! As you can see, we're closing in on the end here, but don't worry! I've still got at least four more chapters, and then my plan is to do an epilogue and a sequel. See you all soon!