Reasons to Wield a Sword

He was the last one to go through the portal and he had long lost sight of Lucina. Inigo figured that it was a good thing. If he couldn't see her, then she must have already traveled far away from the future they escaped from. A shame he wasn't as lucky, but it was the choice he made.

"For you, my dear, your father and I... for you, we will walk on water."

As foolish as it was, it was all Inigo could think of, the last lines he ever heard from the lips of his mother. The fort had been overrun with Risen, just as it was being overrun here, and his parents had given him one last goodbye. He always had an idea of what it meant in words, but here, now that he was putting his very life on the line for another, one that he held a romantic interest in, he could understand her final words just a little more clearly - the will to do the impossible - and he wryly smiled.

As he ran and stumbled through the portal, the Risen momentarily impeded by Naga's magic, he could feel his head swimming. The arrow wound was stinging his arm, and though he had blocked the brunt of the strike, the axe had still cut into his front. The bloodstains began to cool, sapping him of what strength he had left. His vision had blurred more than a few times, turning the blue-green magic into one swirling mess.

And yet with each stumble, it felt as if there was a gentle push at his back, a soft pair of hands or a swell of air guiding him. It was warm, ushering him to keep moving, picking him up as he fell. Comforting, even, whispering in words and tones that only Nah might have known. For a moment he looked at his back, but he could only see the the blurry dark images of Risen, their red eyes fuzzy but glowing. That force came again, pushing him more urgently to continue this time, and he gathered his breath and broke out into his fastest run possible.

There was a light and suddenly he fell onto something cool and soft. Lots of it. Daring to look up, he saw the most vegetation he had ever seen in over a year. Vibrant flowers dotted the grass he was laying on and he gingerly pushed himself up with his good arm. But a sharp yell from behind made him turn around, looking at the portal he had come out of. As it was closing up, one of the Risen got through, falling to the ground, its groaning voice making his stomach turn.

As it stood, he reached for his sword, knowing that with only one arm and his condition it would be an uphill battle. The Risen began to lurch at him, axe raised, and his form shifted into action. Luckily it was slow, the heft of its weapon dragging it down.

His blood loss was beginning to debilitate him - he wouldn't be able to keep up if he didn't end it soon. And yet with each cut it refused to crumble to ash. But finally, with a well-aimed strike through the knee, the beast fell and Inigo ended it with a final stab through the head.

Placing his weight against the sword for the briefest moment, he could hear voices in the distance, but it was incoherent, unintelligible to him. Looking up, he saw a blurry figure standing before him. If it was another Risen, then this was it. He tried to straighten himself but his body fell over onto the grass one last time, and he could hear footsteps coming closer.

Maybe he was seeing things, but for a fleeting moment, he swore he saw an image of Lucina crying. She knelt at a body whose face and upper body was wrapped in black cloth, but he couldn't decipher who it was. But the way she cried, as broken as he had ever seen her, threatened to make his own heart crack.

To make those lips turn and laugh. It was all he had ever wanted to do, and he dreamt of Lucina laughing. With him, at him, it didn't matter.

When Yen'fay eventually recounted how he found Inigo, he told him that in spite of all the blood and wounds, he was giving off the calmest of smiles.

Chon'sin was different. It was the only way Inigo could describe it at first. The day-to-day clothes he was given seemed like it was nothing more than a glorified bathrobe. Much to his embarrassment, for the first few instances he needed the assistance of a handmaid to get the darned thing to stay on. And for the longest time, chopsticks were the worst; never had eating been such a difficult endeavor.

Even then, he was sometimes afraid to ask what it was that he had eaten. For a while they had served him this white, bland, cube-ish looking… thing that seemed to lack a flavor of its own. Tofu, apparently. He later learned that it was good for those who were recovering, but he still felt that it would have to be an acquired taste.

But the biggest difference that stood out was the hierarchical difference that seemed to separate groups of people from others. He had even observed it among commoners, based on what role they played or trade they plied. And after he was deemed well enough to explore the foreign halls of the Chon'sin castle on his own, many seemed to give him a wide berth.

At first he wondered if it was because of the guards that were assigned to him. Only later did he find out that Yen'fay, the ruler of nation, had marked him for something else. Through his broken knowledge of the language, words he picked up from his father, he was able to catch snippets of conversations between those in the castle.

They were calling him Tien Sen. At first, he wondered if that was as a title that was given to him. But when a servant called upon Inigo with his name, he dove deeper into the words and discovered the meanings behind it.

On one hand, it meant birthday. But that couldn't be right, as he hadn't shared that fact with anyone in the castle. Looking into the literal meaning of the characters though, he found that the words roughly translated into 'skyborn'. Or 'born from the sky', both seemed to make sense.

Not long afterward, Yen'fay had brought him into his chambers for questioning, and he withheld nothing. Lying had never been his strong suit. He told him of how Valm would lead the continent to war, the tide of red spilling over onto Ylisse. To the man's surprise, he spoke of how Lady Say'ri survived and was vital in ending the conflict.

And he spoke of his true origin and his purpose, despite being in the heart of enemy territory (was? is still? Inigo hadn't the heart to ask for the date).

The man was silent, taking the information in. His eyes were closed, and Inigo hesitated to wonder if he had fallen asleep on him. But he eventually spoke.

"Such a tale. Had I not seen you fall from that portent of Naga, I would have doubted you at every turn. And yet… the things you say ring very true. It has been several months since some of the things you mentioned have… come to pass." Yen'fay looked up at him, "And whenever you mention this Lucina, your eyes light up." Heat rose up his cheeks and Inigo turned away sheeply.

"Who is she to you?"

His gaze fell to his kneeling form. Shaking his head a little, he looked back up at Yen'fay. "She is.. She is someone who I care for very much. For her… I will walk on water."

Silence fell across the room, and Yen'fay gave him a look of mild surprise. He took a deep breath, and for a moment he looked older, remorseful. "You utter famous last words."

"Excuse me?"

"'I will walk on water'," the man slowly repeated. "The common way to say it in Chon'sin is 'I would'. You say 'I will'. There is a world of difference."

Curiosity got the better of Inigo. "What sets it apart?"

Yen'fay closed his eyes again, and when he opened them his gaze seemed far off, wistful, and a little aloof. "Back during the warring states, before Chon'sin was fully unified, there were two brothers who were generals. Their father, the ruling warlord of their area, passed away and named the younger son as his successor, which was considered to be very unorthodox at the time."

"The elder sibling paid no heed to such tradition, and served his younger brother faithfully, for the two had forged a strong bond throughout the wars. However, those who wished to gain power used this unusual choice and drove a wedge of distrust in the younger one. So great was this distrust that one night, when they were traversing down a flooded river in a barge, the young lord approached his older brother."

"'If you are loyal to me, then kill yourself. That way I can at least stop worrying that you will stick a knife in my back.'"

Inigo stiffened at the tale. Yen'fay must have seen it, for he tilted his head just a little, but continued.

"This is where history, myth, and legend meld into one. Some sources say that the elder brother cried at the younger's feet, kneeling and begging for mercy. Still others say that he lashed out at him. But the most popular and well documented conclusion is that the elder merely laughed before staring into his eyes, smiling, and saying 'For you, my brother… for you I will walk on water.'"

"And then right afterward, in armor, swords, and everything, he about faced and walked off the side of the ship. The younger brother rushed over to the edge, but all he could hear was a splash, and the elder brother was never seen again."

Impossible seemed like such a silly notion now that the fully story was laid out at his feet. This wasn't just about bravery or becoming superhuman. It was the concept of sacrifice. To do the impossible in the face of death.

"Now that you know the story, can you still stand by your words?"

But… hadn't he been doing that already? Hadn't he, Gerome, and Laurent been doing that when they passed her their gifts? It didn't change anything - his own death didn't put fear into his heart. He didn't want to die, but the end goal was so paramount that everything else seemed small in comparison.

Inigo shook his head before looking back at Yen'fay. "From where I had come from…" he gestured to his surroundings, "even in this short period of time, all of this was unimaginable. We had nothing. And for her to have everything she desires with this mission… I won't let myself be afraid to return to that state."

In the short pause that followed, Yen'fay rose from his position and approached a small shrine built on the the side of the room. On it were images of a man and woman. Perhaps his parents.

"And what about me?" the man eventually asked, staring hard into the portraits. "What role do I play?"

Inigo swallowed. "You are defeated and your sister ruled Chon'sin afterward."

After a brief pause, Yen'fay, the most powerful man in Chon'sin turned to Inigo and gave him a small smile.

"Then let us make that outcome a reality. Chon'sin will be free."

One week later, when much of his battered body had healed, the lord approached him and laid out Inigo's schedule.

The first time she went to bed after the burning, Morgan had shaken Lucina out of her sleep.

"Is… Is something wrong, Morgan?"

He was clad in his undershirt and a thin pair of pants, wringing his hands as he knelt by her bedroll.

"Oh, no… I'm fine, it just… it… it looked really bad," he glanced away, guilt and uncertainty gnawing away at him, as if he should have had a nightmare as well. Instead, he quietly spoke, looking at the ground.

Any other night, she would have tried to comfort his unvoiced concerns over his amnesia. But at that moment, she could only remain in silence. Any semblance of sleep was lost.

The next day, Chrom had arrived with the remaining forces. His gaze across the field was solemn, drinking in the carnage, the charred corpses. He blinked once before walking across the damaged roots, his greaves kicking up ashes. Robin trailed behind him, her eyes locked down at his feet as the dust began to coat her dark robes.

No one had followed them. From a distance, Lucina could make out their lips moving, speaking, but unable to discern what they were saying.

Then, in a move that she had never seen her mother do, Robin slowly knelt down on both of her knees and touched her forehead to the ground, like how she had seen some commoners react to the presence of royalty. She could tell that her father was mildly uncomfortable with the gesture, but ultimately he dismissed it and had her rise, a reassuring hand clapping softly onto her shoulder.

Doing her best to move closer and straining her ears, Lucina caught the last bit of their conversation before they started to come back.

"You're able to make the decisions no one should ever have to make. As unwelcome as it may be, it's a gift in its own right."

The Ylissean forces left the Mila Tree not long after they searched the corpses and believed that Cervantes was not among them.

The war had so far taken a turn for the worse after that.

Lady Tiki, the manakete thousands of years old, though relatively unharmed, seemed distressed and annoyed at Robin. Though the ancient dragon agreed to assist with freeing the land, she wasn't anything like the Lady Tiki she knew of back in her time.

Then, Fort Steiger had been a disaster. Her own personal knowledge of the battle was limited, and she wondered if it had actually even taken place. So many things had changed, after all, and the Valmese War had gone on for much longer. For all Lucina knew, they were off the map. And right when it was appearing to be a swift victory, a faction of Say'ri's resistance had betrayed them.

It was her mother's concerns coming true, and the Chon'sin Princess had been so disheartened at the image. To make matters worse, Khans Flavia and Basilio had to be left behind to secure their escape, cutting away a pair of strong leaders from the planning table.

"No… No, these moves… none of them make any sense."

And whatever pedestal Lucina had set Robin on had been swept away in a sea of fire. Once a figure of composure and cleverness, it had all fallen away to an image of deception. She wondered what other lies that Robin had crafted in her time, what battles she had mercilessly won with misdirection. Though she knew the importance of such lies, such misrepresentation, she was such a stark contrast to her father, who seemed to live in and pursue the light.

She thought of her own lie she was living, cowering behind the eyepatch because she was too scared to imagine a world that knew what she had done. Meanwhile her mother had done something heinous and yet moved like it was nothing.

"Yen'fay's flank is exposed, the supply chain is going to be horrendously inefficient with the layout… he can barely even reinforce his main line, which is where he has been spotted. And that doesn't explain why he ignored the supplies we had to leave behind."

Once again she was in the war tent, but this time Lucina kept her thoughts to herself. Where she would normally try to offer approaches or ideas, her lips were thin and she could only thumb the sweaty eyepatch in her pocket. The heat from the volcano's peak wafted over their location, and with the spring slowly giving way to summer, it was difficult to focus.

"And there's a lot of no man's land in between. We can't approach safely, and neither can they…"

Thankfully, her mother was wise enough to give her a wide berth - Robin hadn't revisited the right hand topic since their time in the healer's tent.

That didn't mean, though, that at times it was easy to be in her presence. Rising from her seat, she excused herself, catching the concerned glance from Robin and looking away from it. With faster steps than she had anticipated, she pushed the flap away and moved out, welcoming the slightly cooler air.

Ignoring her mother wasn't right. But with her mind still in turmoil over what happened at the tree, she couldn't quite bring herself to speak with her - not when she still lacked a clear conclusion. Walking towards the edge of the camp, at a raised hill above the rest of the camp, she could see the peaks of enemy tents on the lower ground. While strategy books favored the higher position, numbers were still important - there were only so many arrows and other things they could hurl down before the fighting would get ugly. And from the amount of tents visible, it was not to be an easy fight.

There was a crunch of rocky earth behind her, and she turned around.

"Owain."

"Ah, my dear cousin," the young man smiled a little bit, tapping just below his left eye. "No eye patch today?"

She took a breath of air before huffing it out. "It's been an eyesore, recently."

He hummed in response. "Still bothered by the tree, huh?"

Lucina turned to look him in the eye, her hands grasping her elbows. "And you aren't?"

"No need for hostilities, Lucina," he said plainly, that small smile on his lips again as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just looking out for you. All of us were a little shaken, but we could all tell that you were having it the hardest."

"... It's that obvious, isn't it?" Turning back to the enemy camps, she kicked a rock down the dirt hill, watching it settle with a solid clunk. "Just… seeing my mother give that order has changed a lot of things."

"We all wanted to take after our parents, wanted to aspire to our dreams," the swordsman began, taking a low tone, "but you idolized yours. It's a whole world of difference."

She remained silent for a moment. "I would hardly consider coming back to save the world a mistake… but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy some of the things I've learned."

"You know what they say, Lucina, history is written by the victors. Though they won in our time, who knows what they had to do to do it."

She wondered about the families that the opposing forces had, the lives that they left to protect their own nation. "Reading and hearing about protecting Ylisse is one thing. Seeing our military might unleashed upon man to do so is another."

She felt herself stiffen as an unwelcome thought came to her mind.

"Do… Do you think they did what they did here? With the Mila Tree in our time?"

It was a question neither moved to answer.

Finally, Owain broke the silence between them. "I found Morgan crying the other day. He said he was worried about you."

"... I ought to apologize soon, shouldn't I?"

"I think he understands what you're going through. Maybe you don't need to apologize, though. Once you've come to a conclusion and move on, I think that will be good enough for him. Anyway, here."

Lucina turned around and Owain stepped up to, pulling some dried meat and fruit from his pouch and peeling the cloth back from it. "You've been in that tent all day so far. I wasn't sure if you had anything to eat."

A small smile came to her face. Reaching out to take it, she began to speak, "Thank you, Owain. I can always..."

But she found herself hesitating. Owain had been with her since the first day of their plan to return to the past. But now, with her own resolve hesitating at the sight of having to fight men in what could be unsavory ways, she feared for herself.

She looked at him in the eye. "Owain, please... don't lie to me about this," She started, quickly adding more before he could interject. "If I… If I begin to make decisions and choices like my mother, choices that get us what we want, but feel wrong… will you still stand beside me?"

And what of the others? Would they follow her?

Owain took a breath and shook his head, that reassuring smile returning to him. "Lucina, all of us have made our own decisions that might not sit well with us, but we all know that we've come this far because of you. There might have been some ugly repercussions or consequences that we couldn't have predicted for, but blind luck would have only brought us so far. As long as you can keep both eyes open when you're forced to make those choices, I don't think a single one of us could step away."

It was like a weight had lifted off her chest - to know that she wasn't alone. "Thank you, Owain."

He flashed her a quick grin before thrusting out the food to her again. "Pretty sure you should have let Laurent or Gerome be the ones to help you out here, though I'm pretty sure I can at least get away with giving you a hug."

She rolled her eyes as she let his arms go around her, scoffing just a little bit and ignoring the small red splotches creeping up her cheeks at the mention of the two.

"Hey, Lu-ooph! Lucina!"

Another set of footsteps raced across the red dirt before coming up behind them with a small thud. Turning around to the source, she spotted Cynthia brushing the red dirt off of her armor. Knowing that the young pegasus knight was always somewhat cheery, the princess took note that the redhead seemed even brighter than usual. "Yes, Cynthia?"

"Gerome and I were flying intel today. He says that there seems to be a change in the formations of the tents. While we don't know why it's there, it seems to create a possible weakness since they're moving their supply tent. We've got a window where they won't be able to resupply as easily."

Reaching into her pouch, Cynthia pulled out a spyglass and handed it to her. "It's towards the southeast, so if we can find a way to target that it might be useful for us."

Putting it to her eye and looking into the distance, she could indeed spot troops moving the supplies out of the tent and piling armors and weapons to the side. To do so now in a battlefield, right when facing the enemy, was considerably folly - one risked tiring soldiers while also decentralizing the supplies.

"Not sure what they're trying to do. They could be goading us for all we know."

"Oh, and uh, one more thing," Cynthia's smile seemed to grow even wider when Lucina turned to her. "See if you can spot people giving a wide berth to someone. You should be able to spot Yen'fay if you follow that trend, but you might be able to see someone else too."

"Someone else?"

Cynthia winked at her, and she felt herself be taken back a bit. She was unsure how to approach the subject. How long had she known? And how did she find out? "Cynthia-"

"Damn it, just look already!"

"Okay, okay!"

Taking the spyglass again and looking through the camp this time, her eyes began to trace the subtle movements of people. She was easily able to spot Yen'fay, further confirming the reports that he was on the front lines. Swirling through the campsite, though, it took her a longer time to find another instance. Whoever it was, his head was turned against her, but it was a young man with black hair. His clothes were standard soldier garbs, not unlike what she saw some of Say'ri's personal guard wearing. A robe-like top tied together at the waist, leading to pants that were tucked into medium height greaves. Similar to her cousin's clothes, but just a different hue.

A soldier on the side quickly gave him a short bow. The young man she was following turned to the side before awkwardly returning it, allowing to see the side of his face.

Her heart pounded and she nearly dropped the spyglass.

"See? What'd I say?"

Retightening her grip, she glanced at the man again, and there was no doubt in her mind. "It's Inigo!"

This changed everything.

They would need an extraction method. They couldn't just risk a confrontation anymore, not one when of her own would be caught in the middle of it. She would need some way to pull him out, to send a message that was recognizable to him after how many years of isolation.

But then after, they would have to be able to fight back and win on the mountainous landscape. The two would need to coincide with the other.

If she could just draw Inigo out, to get him to stand and be present in front of the armies, then-

Wait.

Her hand clutched the shield on her arm.

If there was one thing Inigo would recall, it was the present he had given. And if he recalled giving the present, he would recall who he gave them alongside with. He would move forward to meet them.

And seeing how that soldier had bowed to him, it was obvious that Inigo was respected for one reason or another.

An old lesson came to the back of her mind, and suddenly she realized she was sprinting back to the command tent.

"Hey, Lucina, where are you going?"

She didn't answer as she ran by bewildered soldiers. She nearly knocked over boxes and tripped over others. Apologizing as she went, she finally burst through the canvas, nearly out of breath.

"Mother!"

Robin looked up, a look of surprise followed by a small smile.

Pushing back the surge of odd feelings that briefly bubbled back to the surface, she began to speak. "I… I have an idea to get them to attack. It's crazy, but I think it'll work."

The queen remained silent at first before tilting her head to the side. Finally, she spoke, offering a quick and knowing wink at her. "You have the biggest smile I've seen in months. You've found him, haven't you?"

A/N: Did you know that in the past thirty-some days, I have made five updates? A new story, a oneshot, and three chapter updates. Usually my schedule somehow turns out to be about once a month. What a difference being better makes, I suppose. That, or I was sitting on so much stuff or got so motivated in some situations that I just had to sit and churn it out.

Anyway, not as much action happens in this chapter, though it does set up the stage for the next one. In exchange, we get character development for both Lucina and Inigo. I almost felt a little bad over this part because Inigo's little intro portion thing is a bit past three and a half pages - about a third of this chapter. Laurent's portion was only just a bit past two pages, and Gerome only had one. I think it's because I had to explain both his time travel experience as well as go over Chon'sin. Then again, we did have ten chapters in between where everyone was wondering where he was. I suppose it was long overdue.

Speaking of Chon'sin, I know that a few of you were surprised at the development. I was actually thinking pretty hard on that last bit in the previous chapter where we reveal Inigo. On one hand, I wanted to reveal his presence in the story, and on the other I wanted to try and clarify that Inigo and Yen'fay are working together from the inside. Yen'fay's original line was going to start off as "As planned, we are too late...". However I felt that it might have given away too much at the time, so I shortened it. That way it wasn't an information overload, and it makes this chapter's contents a bit more "full" so to speak - we're revealing information to the readers, but not giving so much away that it overwhelms and kills the pacing.

Another concern I had for this chapter was Lucina's conversation with Owain. While it was planned out for the most part, I was unsure if Lucina ever learns of her Plegian heritage if fRobin is her mother, or if she knew about it prior to her return to the past. I feel like with how open most Shepherds are with each other, it would be common knowledge between them. However, it could be a top-secret fact that needs to be maintained. And so while most Robins might share that idea, our Robin in here is known to be a deceiver of sorts. So in the end I have withheld that information. I'm not sure how canon that is, or how feasible it may even be, but with lack of information from the source itself I'm going to err on the side of caution and say that she doesn't know.

I'm also surprised at how no one has called me out on including Cynthia in what appears to be every other chapter since she was introduced. I can't help it, though - pegasus knights are certainly useful. She's also a blast to write, so you'll have to forgive me on that.

Anyway, reviews! And there's quite a bit. Perhaps I should write more often about the catastrophic and horrible acts fRobin will do. Or just include Inigo more. One or the other.

Zeltra: Sorry to scare you there - I guess it was a bit of a jarring transition. Regardless, hope this chapter clears up some Inigo concerns.

potatoman098: I wouldn't go so far as to say that the fRobin here is without morals, as we see in here and the other chapters that she does have values. It's just that some values cannot be portrayed or indulged in due to the nature of her role. This will, however, come to a head later down the road, so look forward to it!

Aiur: Yep, Kellam was also one of the guys that caused that Valmese lieutenant to trip. Yarne just assisted with the other part.

squish13: Don't worry, just because he's won the poll doesn't necessarily mean he'll win the game in here. But we'll have to address that part when we get there.

Masterelite28: Nope! Tiki doesn't die. The tree is pretty big, is still alive, and is surrounded by a body of water. The damage is done, however.

Acqua Sole: Glad to see that came through. This Robin is vastly different from how most authors would portray her, so I'm glad that there seems to be a good balance between being moral and being effective.

DoNotGetMeWrong: Yeah, Cervantes might have come off harder than in the actual game. But at the same time, I don't think it detracts from the overall situation - they are at war, after all. I didn't intend for it to look like he was going to attempt to capture the Shepherds at the end of the parley. It was only to show that he was taking offense at the situation.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Things are starting to pick up, and I think after Inigo joins we might just have finally hit the halfway point. Took a long time to get here too. Also, I wonder if anyone can spot the Starcraft reference in this chapter. Let me know if you spot it!

Also, I forgot to take down the poll. During that time, Gerome shot up with four votes while Inigo got another two. So it looks like all the Gerome shippers decided to start voting. Inigo is at 19, Laurent at 10, and Gerome and 9. With that, I will end the survey and will put up another one.

I do not own Fire Emblem, and I appreciate all comments and criticism.

See you all soon!