Chapter Twenty-Three: Discussions of the Past

(Robin's POV)

"And that's the plan. Any questions?" I asked.

When I got down to the garrison, it was just as Frederick had said. Stahl, Cordelia, and Kellam were all here. I had gathered them all around a table and told them my plan, or rather, Frederick's plan, for kidnapping Chrom. The only thing I hadn't worked out was where we were going to keep Chrom once we snagged him.

Stahl raised his hand.

"I have a question."

I nodded.

"Why would you waste time coming up with this complicated plan when we could just have Kellam go in and grab him?"

I…actually hadn't thought of that. But I couldn't tell them that.

"Because it won't feel as satisfying if there's not a complicated plan."

Nice save.

Stahl held up his hands in surrender and chuckled.

"All right, whatever you say. You are the tactician after all."

Excellent. It was time to execute my brilliant plan.

The plan started out being totally awesome. We put on masks, we dodged guards like ninjas, we snuck through secret passages, Etc. Etc. But the throne room was where it got tricky.

"Who are you?!" Chrom demanded as soon as he saw us.

"We're here to, uh, kidnap you. So..don't even try to resist." I said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Stahl face-palming.

Chrom sighed.

"Look, I know that's you, Robin. I'd recognize your voice anywhere. Now if you three could stop clowning around, we have actual work to do."

We all hung our heads and took off our masks.

What did I have to do to stop Chrom from waging this war? Frederick had given me a chance, but I had wasted it. And from the looks of things, it seems that he's completed his plan for the complete and utter annihilation of Plegia.

Chrom was explaining the plan to us, but I wasn't listening. My mind was still trying to find some way of dissuading Chrom from doing this. But so far, I couldn't think of anything that would stop-…Wait, there is something that can stop him, or more appropriately, someone. Omofrisit!

As much as I dislike the idea of having to get help from him, it doesn't change the fact that he's the only person I've ever seen who could best Chrom. Granted his methods of beating Chrom were extremely underhanded, but he would have to do.

I rushed to the dungeon and started making my way down the stairs. To my surprise, as I was heading down, I met Omofrisit coming up with another person in tow.

I stopped dead in my tracks and Omofrisit did the same. Strangely, I couldn't find a trace of fear in him, despite being caught trying to break out of the dungeon on the day of his execution.

"Aaand where do you think you're going?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Omofrisit took a second to respond, possibly trying to formulate a plan to take me out and get passed.

"We were just on our way to see Chrom. I had something else I needed to tell him."

Omofrisit spoke hesitantly, like he wasn't sure of something.

"Well, I have something of a…request for you, Omofrisit."

Every part of my body is telling me not to trust him, but I have to.

"Oh? Considering the position I'm in, I'm more than happy to listen."

There's that smug grin of his.

"Let me get you up to speed first. Chrom has been grief stricken ever since the previous Exalt's death. He blames Hershel for it but he doesn't know Hershel's exact location, so he plans to destroy all of Plegia to kill him which, as you can imagine, is not the best idea he's ever had." I took a deep breath.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"I was hoping you could, and I can't believe I'm saying this, fight for Plegia and possibly defeat Chrom."

I held my breath, expecting him to reject my plan.

He mulled it over for a second before speaking.

"What's in it for me?"

"At this point, I'd say that it's kind of a name your price situation."

His eyes lit up at this and I suddenly had a bad feeling.

"In that case, I'd like to get a royal pardon for me and my friend here, Colm. And I'd like two horses, and as many supplies as the horses can carry, and…your soul."

I stared at him in horror. Why would he want my soul, and how exactly was I supposed to give it to him?

Wait. Was Omofrisit trying not to laugh?...He was!

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I just had to. Haha. Whoo, your face was priceless. Ohhh, that was definitely worth my time."

"Yeah, haha, funny. Now come on, I'll get you your stuff and you can be on your way." I said

"Wait! We need to shake hands to seal the deal, right?"

I looked at him for a second, was he serious? He wanted to shake hands at a time like this? He almost sounded desperate though.

I shook his hand and immediately had the strangest sensation run through my body. I couldn't quite describe what it felt like, but considering who's hand I had just shook, I felt more than a little uneasy about it.

"Okay then. Let's be on our way. C'mon, Colm."

The two of them walk passed me and up the stairs, and as they did so, I could see an unmistakable smile on Omofrisit's face, and a devilish glint in his eye. I simply stood there, wondering what I may have just done.

(Frey's POV)

I've been sitting here for hours, and I still can't figure out what to do. I suppose I could go find Omofrisit, but then again, he told me to stay right here and look for Hershel. But I already know that Hershel was somewhere where I probably won't find him. But I suppose I could try looking around the castle again.

Not in the kitchen.

Not in the throne room.

Not in the training room.

Not in our room.

Not in the hallways.

Not in the stables.

Not in the library.

And not in the dungeon.

Well, that's it then, I'm just gonna have to wait until Omofrisit gets back…But what if he doesn't come back? What'll I do then? I'll have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. No. I have to believe he'll come back. I'll just wait, for however long it takes. Please come back soon, Omofrisit.

(Hershel's POV)

A rush of wind circled around the room, coming from seemingly nowhere. It persisted for a few more seconds before dissipating.

In the space of however long I was working on it (it's hard to keep track of time in a dungeon cell with no windows.), I had managed to use wind magic! Of course, I couldn't use it offensively yet; I had just managed to make the air move. But learning to attack was the next step in the book.

Okay, let's see what it says…Um…mhmm…okay. Easy enough. Apparently, I just have to concentrate really hard and speak the incantation written in the book.

I began concentrating, but before I could speak the incantation, the wind began to strike the wall in front of me relentlessly.

Huh, that's strange. I didn't even say anything yet. Not like I'm complaining…but still…

I set down the wind magic book and picked up the fire one. After reading through a bit of it, I realized that the basics of fire and wind (and presumably thunder as well) were the same. All I really had to do was figure out how to concentrate my magic energy into the form of fire instead of wind.

Hours later and through much trial and error, I finally managed to shoot a small fire ball. It wasn't much, probably only enough to singe eyebrows, but it was progress. A few more hours and I'd have it perfected…But then I'll have to work on thunder…bleh, it's gonna be a long day.

(Omofrisit's POV)

Haha! Well isn't that something. Colm and I have been released out of necessity! And now we're riding safely back to Plegia to pick up Frey and Hershel and then we're getting the heck out of dodge.

Colm still seemed to be pondering something though. He had this really concentrated look on his face and he kept glancing at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, Colm. You got something to say?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you keep looking at me funny. So what's the deal?"

He took a deep breath and paused.

"Fine, I've been meaning to talk to you anyway. But before anything else, I have one question: Are you Lyon?"

I was worried he might notice. If I tell him the truth, it could cause some major problems. But if I lie, he'll ask even more questions. What to do, what to do…

"I am."

"I have more than a few questions for you. First off, how are you still alive? I was there at the Black Temple, I saw you die by Ephraim's hand."

"Don't mention Ephraim! At least, not now." I said. "I do not wish to be reminded of the events that transpired that day.

"I am a Necromancer and I made a pact with the Demon King, this enabled me to keep my consciousness alive even after my body died and decayed. As nothing more than my own mind, I survived in a…void until I had amassed enough power to recreate my body and return to this world.

"Now, if you don't mind my asking, how are you still alive? If I remember correctly, you survived the war. But even so, it's been quite some time, and from the looks of it, you're not hundreds of years old."

"After the war, I returned to my home village. But after a while, it got dull, there was nothing left for me to do there, so I started walking. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I continued walking anyway. Eventually, I happened upon something known as the Outrealm Gate, it was a large blue swirl standing upright inside of a gateway. I didn't know what to make of it, I tried to touching it, and I was immediately sucked in and fell unconscious somewhere along the way. When I came to, I was in an unfamiliar place, and no matter where I went, I could find no trace of the people or places I once knew. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never get back. It was a few weeks later that I saw you during the Exalt's assassination attempt, and I became hopeful that there was a way back. Now here's my second question: Is there a way back?"

"…There is. But it requires the power of a god, or the power of the Demon King. And if you were telling me the truth, it's possible we could use the Outrealm Gate as well." I said.

"You said 'we', like you were going to go back as well." Colm commented.

"I…was planning on going back, but I have some business to attend to before I can consider that."

Colm looked at me suspiciously.

"What type of 'business'?" He asked.

"I have some friends that are in need of my help, and I can't go back until I have helped them."

Colm shrugged his shoulders but still seemed to be suspicious.

We rode in silence for the rest of the ride to Plegia.

It wasn't entirely clear, but I was pretty sure that Colm was trying to decide whether to trust me or not. I couldn't blame him, considering what our history was.

Something was bothering me though; if Colm had found the Outrealm Gate and come here, could others from our time have made it too? Could Ephraim and Eirika…? Only time will tell.

We arrived at the palace and we had no problems getting into the castle, but once inside the castle, it was apparent that something was wrong. Not two minutes after we entered, Frey came running towards me in a panic.

"Omofrisitthankgoodnessyou'rebackIwasworriedyouwerenevercomingbackIwenttolookforHershelbutIcouldn'tfindhimandthenIwenttoaskthekingifheknewwherehewasandhesaidhehadn'tdonenythingtohimyetandIdon'tknowwhattodo!"

"….I beg your pardon?..." Colm said.

"Okay, Frey. Just calm down and tell me what's wrong." I said.

"Okay, okay, okay." He took a deep breath. "You told me to find Hershel and stay with him. I looked for him everywhere, but I couldn't find him. So then I went to ask the King, and he just laughed and said that he hadn't done anything to him yet. And that's when I panicked, but I couldn't do anything until you got back."

He took another deep breath and started to calm down.

"All right. I guess I'll have a word with the King then." I said.

I began walking towards the throne room. Colm and Frey followed behind me.

Hmm, depending on the King's answer, this might get messy.

A/N: Woohoo! Good length chapter….I think.

Let me know what you liked and didn't like about this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated. PM me if you have a question.

Also, let me know if you actually read the author's note, because I get the feeling nobody does.

But anyway. Thanks for Reading!