DISCLAIMER: FIRE EMBLEM AND ITS CHARACTER BELONG TO NINTENDO.
A/N: Thanks for suggestions! Oddly enough, this isn't as light hearted as I had intended. I tried to mash your suggestions into a single story that made some sort of sense. Being that I made all the ideas connect rather than it being episodic, it might have not exactly been what you hoped for, but what you wanted nonetheless. Hope you enjoy!
Caws and Effect
Robin woke up to one of the largest headaches he's ever experienced. He lifted his head off of the drool soaked pillow, and realized that he had been carried inside.
His memories were a haze. The last thing he had remembered was crawling towards the door of the barracks before the break of dawn.
He pressed a hand to his pulsating head, as if trying to calm it down.
As he got up, he noticed an odd sensation coursing through his body. He did a bit of hopping, believing it to be just numbness from sleeping in an odd position.
Alas, the feeling had still persisted, but Robin had just decided to pass it off as one of many effects of his night of debauchery.
Robin peered out the window. Judging by the sun's position, it must have been around noon.
He made his way towards the sink, this time leaning his entire head under the stream of cool liquid.
He shook off the water. Given the state he was in, he could care less about any mess he might have made.
As he wiped off any excess wetness with the sleeves of his shirt, he heard a loud crash coming from the room over and headed over to see what had caused the racket.
He opened the door to find Vaike face down on top of the table. Stahl, Miriel and Chrom were pinning him down.
Broken plates littered the floor.
Robin's eyes narrowed ."You know what, I don't want to do this right now," he groaned as he turned around to leave. He really didn't feel like putting up with anymore of Vaike's antics after last night.
"Robin! Shut up and get over here! He's crazed!" Chrom yelled, his arms pressed down against Vaike's back.
Robin jogged over and held down the blonde man's shoulders.
"What's wrong with him?" Robin asked, struggling to maintain his pressure on Vaike, who had every intention of escaping his captors.
"I'll tell you after we get him tied up or something," Chrom said.
"Let me take care of this," Miriel said. She released her hold on Vaike and hopped on the table and onto his back. She reached for her tome.
"Are you crazy? You can't use your tome in here!" Chrom yelled.
Miriel adjusted her hold on the tome. "I beg to differ," she said as she slammed the book's spine hard into the back of Vaike's head.
The man ceased his flailing and went limp on the tabletop.
Stahl tore off a length of rope from one of the barrels in the corner of the room and proceeded to bind Vaike's limbs.
"Don't tell me he's still drunk..." Robin said in annoyance.
Chrom immediately grabbed the Robin by the shoulders. "Robin, are you feeling okay? You don't notice anything strange do you?" Chrom asked fervently.
Robin swatted away his friend's hands. "All I'm feeling is one hell of a hangover, if you must know. Now, you mind telling me what's going on?" Robin said impatiently.
"You see, it seems that a number of us Shepherds have been afflicted by some type of hex." Chrom explained.
Robin immediately dropped the attitude. "Hex!? Wait... was it the Valmese? I thought we had all of them subdued! What about the others?! Are they safe?" Robin spoke in panic.
"Easy there, friend. Though the situation is... bad, I can assure you that it wasn't the enemy's doing." Chrom said, looking over to Miriel.
"...It was Henry's spell. Ricken and myself are to blame to be more specific." Miriel said, closing her eyes in shame.
Robin calmed down a bit. "Okay. Would you care to elaborate?" he asked.
"Yesterday... Henry was teaching Ricken and I about the intricacies of dark magic. We began by reading through one of his books. After brushing up on the basics and theories of dark magic, we had Henry devise a trial run for us." Miriel explained.
"Your practice was aimed at us!?" Robin said in disbelief.
Miriel shook her head. "At first, he had us practice casting elementary spells, such as Flux, on dummies in the training ground. We made great strides in little time. We then asked him if he knew of any support type spells. Ones that would augment our comrade's stamina, strength and the like. He showed us a book containing a bevy of such spells, even demonstrating a few on us. Feeling their effects, Ricken and I sought to replicate some of them ourselves."
Robin gestured for her to continue.
"As I sifted through the grimoire, I came across a type of spell that could be cast upon dwellings. It would promote speedy recovery from any ailment; sores, bruises, cuts, migraines," she said.
"Heh, judging by the raging headache I still have, I believe it's safe to assume you two failed." Robin said.
"...Yes. Henry told us, it being a more advance spell, that he would be the one to perform it, but we would see to setting it up. Unfortunately, it seemed that we made a slight error somewhere along the way. Rather than a healing spell, we made him cast a hex by mistake. We only came to know of its true nature this morning."
"Are you sure that Henry hadn't done this intentionally?" Chrom asked. He himself wasn't suspicious of the young mage, but as their leader, he had to be thorough in exhausting all possibilities.
"I reviewed the text after the first incident this morning. I can confirm that the spell's intentions were what he claimed them to be. Henry is innocent. It was we that made the error. I... sincerely apologize... for any trouble I may have caused," Miriel said, eyes cast down.
Robin walked up and patted her shoulder. "It's... alright. We'll think of something. It was an accident right?" Robin said with a soft smile, trying to ease her guilt a little.
"Thank you. I will work tirelessly to make amends." Miriel said gratefully.
Robin nodded. "By the way, what did the hex do exactly?" he asked.
Deciding that Miriel was already taking it hard, Chrom spoke up for her. "From what we've seen, its effects vary from person to person. Not everyone afflicted acted as violently as Vaike, Cordelia was just in a state of confusion. On the bright side, since it was a failed attempt rather than successful one, Tharja told us that the hex's potency was severely reduced. Not everyone was hit by its effects."
"Who has it gotten to?" Robin asked.
"So far, Virion, Libra, Cordelia and Vaike." Chrom said.
"So far? You mean to say that its effects manifest over time?" Robin asked.
"That's right, hence why I asked if you were feeling alright." Chrom said.
"...Sorry about that," Robin said sheepishly. "Then the first thing we need to do is locate everyone and make sure they're contained. Afterwards, we can focus on dispelling the hex."
Having secured Vaike, they set him down on one of the cots and bound him further, just in case.
They went around to round up the Shepherds and anyone else who stayed the night at the bewitched barracks.
They were all crowded outside, those that had been afflicted were secured inside.
After a quick head count, only Henry, Olivia, Gaius, and Lon'qu were missing.
The group was on edge over the situation, some of them unaware why there friends were in such a state.
Chrom did a brief recap of the events.
"Boy, I really hope I'm still drunk and I'm just mishearing things when you say I slept in a haunted cabin." Basilio muttered in disbelief.
"It's hexed, not haunted, you buffoon." Flavia huffed.
"H-how do we fix this?" Sumia asked.
"Where's everybody else?" Donnel asked.
"I heard this was Henry's fault! Maybe that's why he isn't here!" Sully cried.
"Sully! How could you say that?" Sumia gasped.
"Oh come on. You're telling me that he's never struck any of you as even a little odd? And he specializes in dark magic for crying out loud!" Sully retorted.
"HEY! Settle down!" Robin yelled over the restless crowd.
The group was shocked at their Tactician's outburst and ceased their babbling.
Robin cleared his throat. "First thing I would like to get out of the way is that this was not Henry's fault. It was nothing more than a freak accident. Sure, he's new and his past is very questionable, but do I need to remind you that I too was the same?" he said firmly.
Sully looked down, clenching her fist.
"Second, this hex doesn't affect everyone. So far, those who it has have been safely contained inside. Third, like some of you may have noticed, 4 of us are currently missing. We need to split up and find them immediately. If they happen to be under the hex's influence, the last thing we want is them getting themselves or the townspeople hurt. Finally, mages, I want you to find a way to fix this." Robin concluded.
"It's no use." Tharja spoke.
"Explain." Robin said.
"...This spell, though a fluke, is very complex. It's beyond anything our mages have dealt with... myself included." Tharja said grudgingly.
"Wait, I thought you were an expert in this field." Chrom said.
"Heh... You flatter me, prince... While I do take pride in my mastery of the dark arts, there's someone among us who's... better." Tharja said.
"Who?" Robin asked.
"The one who cast it. Henry." Tharja explained.
"But you said this spell was a fluke. I can understand your reasoning, but if Henry didn't know what he had done, how would he fix it?" Robin asked.
"So you really haven't heard of him before?" Tharja asked.
Robin raised a brow.
" 'The Silver Haired Boy with Great Sorcery'. He's quite famous... or infamous in Plegia. Don't let his age fool you. He's supposed to be some kind of genius or something..." Tharja said.
A few in the crowd raised their own brows, surprised to learn such a man was in their ranks.
"So you're saying Henry can fix this? I'll go find him. All of you split into groups and look for the others."
Some stayed back to look after those inside. The rest scrambled into 3 parties and headed out.
Robin who had went inside to grab his gear, had finally left, making his way into town.
As he jogged through the streets, he felt someone had been trailing him for the last 2 blocks.
He spun around to find Lucina right behind him.
He stopped. "What are you doing? You were supposed to go with the others." he said.
"Why is it that only you get to go after Henry?" she asked.
"They're panicked. Their friends are sick and despite my pleas, they've already got the idea in their heads that Henry was to blame. The last thing I want is for them to hurt him over a misunderstanding. " Robin explained.
"I knew Henry in the Future. I'm well aware that he would never do this." she confirmed.
Robin looked at her, unsure.
"Besides, if Henry himself is afflicted by the hex and he goes through what happened to Vaike, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be caught alone with him." Lucina reasoned.
Robin sighed. "Fine. Let's hurry."
Somewhere across a town
"Gah! Clear out! They're insane!" a man yelled.
The crowd dispersed from the commotion in the center of the street.
A certain Feroxi Myrmidon and sweet toothed thief were currently embroiled in a fierce showdown.
"Idiot! I order you to cease this nonsense immediately!" Lon'qu growled as he got up from the floor.
Gaius walked through the remains of the vegetable stand he had just thrown the Myrmidon through. His eyes bore into Lon'qu.
"Y-y-you're not getting away fr-from me! This could be the biggest score ever!" Gaius yelled, pointing his blade towards his fellow Shepherd.
Lon'qu raised his Killing edge. He gazed upon his friend's face and noticed something was off. His eyes showed not anger, nor contempt. 'Doesn't look like I've pissed him off... Rather he looks... hungry?' Lon'qu thought as he leapt back from Gaius, who had just swiped at him.
Gaius flipped into the air and struck down at Lon'qu once again.
Lon'qu lifted his blade to block and held it up with both hands.
Gaius's blade crashed down onto his Killing Edge.
"W-why ya playing hard to get? I just want to have some fun!" Gaius said, almost drooling.
"Imbecile!" Lon'qu spat, as he kicked Gaius in the chest, sending him flying back.
It did little to stop the thief, who had instantly regained his footing from the flight. Gaius charged at Lon'qu again, unleashing a storm of slashes.
Lon'qu backed up steadily, repelling the strikes.
Lon'qu's quick judgement had decided that this was not the Gaius he knew. This one's fighting style was sloppy and unrefined. He was berserk.
He decided he had enough of playing on defense. Lon'qu rolled to the side, immediately spinning back towards Gaius. He flipped his blade around to its dull back side. That way, he could fight back without inflicting any mortal wounds on his crazed friend.
Lon'qu parried an incoming slash and struck Gaius across the chest with his dull edge.
Gaius coughed as it slammed into his chest.
"Gaius! What's come over you?" Lon'qu asked.
Gaius looked up and smiled. "Awesome... I-i-it even knows my name! Yo-you've got to be the greatest chocolate bar ever!" he wailed in delight.
Lon'qu's jaw slacked, almost dropping his blade. "You... dumbass! Is that what this is about!? " he fumed.
"That's right, it's all about you and me..." Gaius said as he lunged forward once again.
Lon'qu sidestepped and spun as he slammed the back of his blade into Gaius's back.
Gaius fell forward into a roll. As he rolled onto his feet, he jumped forward and kicked off of a wall, leaping into the air while turning back towards Lon'qu.
The speed of Gaius's recovery allowed him a slash into the side of Lon'qu's shoulder.
Lon'qu punched the man in the gut, sending him on his back.
Gaius reached for his sword then got back onto his feet. He dashed for the Myrmidon.
But before he could reach Lon'qu, the side of his head was struck by hard pouch of bullion.
Gaius and the pouch fell to the floor, the coins rolling across the pavement.
Lon'qu looked to the side to see Sully stretching her arm. Stahl and Kellam were with her.
"Not bad, eh?" she grinned.
"Indeed." Lon'qu said, sheathing his blade. "Care to fill me in on what exactly... that is!?" he asked, pointing to the unconscious Gaius, drooling on the floor.
Stahl chuckled. "Long story short, some of us were accidently hexed."
"You don't say. That would explain why he thought I was... candy." Lon'qu said irritably.
Kellam and Sully let out a laugh.
"Oh, man. Can't wait to tell him as soon as he comes to." Sully said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Whatever, let's just get him back." Lon'qu said.
Stahl picked the thief up and carried him over his shoulder as they made way back to the barracks.
Along the beach
"Gee, sure is nice out today." Henry said happily as he strolled along the shore.
"Y-yes, it sure is." Olivia said. She blushed as she stole glances at the silver haired mage beside her.
"So what you feel like doing? I hope there's another dog around! Ooh, ooh, maybe they'll let us adopt one this time!" Henry said excitedly.
"...Actually, I was hoping we could try it again..." Olivia said nervously.
"What? You mean trying to 'express' myself? Well what the hex, we've got nothing better to do anyways." Henry said, stopping.
Olivia nodded before turning her lips downwards. "Uhh... when you're sad, you go like this.."
Henry cocked his head before trying it himself. "Rike dis?" he asked, pulling the sides of his mouth down.
Olivia shook her head. "N-nope. Try again, this time without your hands."
Henry removed his hands and attempted yet again. It looked more like a downwards grin than a frown.
"No, you have to mean it." Olivia explained.
Henry groaned, as he let himself fall back onto the sand.
"You're giving up too early!" Olivia said in frustration. "Life's like dancing. You can't just mimic the moves, you have to feel them! If you can't even laugh or cry from the heart..."
"You compare everything to dancing. It's hilarious! " Henry laughed.
Olivia pouted as she laid down beside him on the sand. "It's not funny Henry! I'm trying to help you out here... so don't act like it's someone else's problem..." she said, looking up at the sky.
Henry turned his head to her. "Thanks for being considerate of me like this. It's just.. I don't quite understand this expressing emotions thing. I mean, is it really bad to smile all the time?" he asked.
Olivia turned to face him. "Yes, it is! If you smile all the time, how can you tell when you're being sincere? Ho- unghh... Aghh.." Olivia had curled up into a ball and was clutching her chest.
Henry sat up and poked her back. "Hey, Oliva? W-what game is that?"
"Urghh.. Ungggh." she moaned in pain, wincing.
"Olivia! What's wrong?!" Henry yelled as he lifted her up onto his lap.
"Ughh.. My chest... it's... crushing me... Can't breathe..." she said, tears streaming down her face.
"...It's a curse... I know, hold on just a second!" he said as he got up.
He circled around her, tracing a pattern into the sand with his foot.
After it was complete, he slammed a hand down onto the sigil.
Nothing.
"Come on!" Henry yelled, repeatedly slapping the circle.
Still nothing.
Olivia rolled over to face Henry.
"O-Olivia!?"
She reached her hand out, but it fell before it could meet him.
Henry grasped her hand as he scooted closer. "Olivia... No! Y-you can't die! ...Please don't die..." he said. Unbeknownst to him, his grin had faded in place of a quivering frown.
His hand trembled as he gripped hers tightly.
Olivia's eyes slowly began to shut, the oxygen in her lungs depleted.
Suddenly, the sigil flashed with a white light, and Olivia gasped.
The force on her chest had been expelled. She shot up and panted, catching her breath.
Henry immediately threw his arms around the pink haired dancer and squeezed her close to him
"H-Henry?" Olivia stutterd, red as an Elfire tome.
"It worked! Thank goodness, huh?" he yelled with joy, his usual smile had returned.
Olivia, feeling a bit daring, deepened the hug. "...At least you were able to show me your feelings.."
Henry looked down in confusion. "...I did." he said, realizing.
"Thank you... for saving me." she said as she nuzzled against him.
Henry laughed as he rubbed her head.
A distance away, two figures stood atop the pier watching the couple.
Lucina smiled sweetly at the two.
Robin smirked "Wow, princess, didn't know you were the romantic type."
Lucina narrowed her eyes, "Well I know for sure that you aren't. Do you even know how to talk to a girl?" she said slyly.
Robin's eyes widened. 'No... She didn't see that...' he thought.
"As much as I'd love to see you squirm about your insecurities, we need to get Henry to fix this." Lucina said.
"Yes, ma'am"
Lucina could've sworn that she was with Donnel for a second, but dismissed the thought.
They headed down onto the sand, towards the two.
Olivia immediately broke the hug as soon as she saw them approaching.
"There has been an incident," Lucina started. "Henry, you cast a hex on the barracks yesterday... Several of us were hit."
Henry's eyes almost widened. "Me? I don't remember doing anything like that!"
"Don't worry, it was an accident. Miriel said that she and Ricken had made an error in preparing the spell. You merely cast it." Robin said.
Henry looked down guiltily. Normally he would have just laughed it off, but knowing that it was he that had hurt Olivia...
Henry got up, dusting his robe. "Don't worry! I'll fix this!" he said as he ran back to the others.
Olivia got up and chased after him.
"Those two, huh? I must say, it happened quite... fast." Robin said.
"But I'm happy it did." Lucina stated.
Robin looked to her. "So... those two were together in the future?" he asked.
Lucina nodded. "Their son was among the friends I grew up with."
Robin did a mental equation on what a child with both Olivia and Henry's qualities would be like. He was stumped. 'E-e-excuse me? ...M-may I please hex your blood?' he pictured the mystery child saying.
Robin thought it best not to linger on the subject.
"Let's get back." Lucina said walking ahead.
Robin followed.
As they walked through town, Robin felt the odd sensation from this morning surge through him. His head pulsed.
Lucina walked until she noticed the footsteps behind her had stopped.
She turned around to see Robin staring at the floor. "Robin? Did we forget something?" she asked.
Robin's gaze remained fixed on the ground.
"Robin."
Robin slowly looked up, face flushed.
"What happened? Are you feeling well?" she asked.
"You're so... beautiful..." he said as he looked at her, lovestruck.
Lucina deadpanned. If she hadn't known better, all earned respect for the tactician would have been out the window.
Robin walked closer and threw his arms around her.
Lucina struggled in his grip.
She moved her face away from his, which was inching closer by the second.
"Tell me... what's your name?" he asked in a daze, his forehead pressed against hers.
He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss the princess.
Lucina jerked her head back and headbutted him. As soon as his hold on her was released, she punched him hard in the gut.
Air jetted from his mouth as he crumpled forward against Lucina.
Lucina caught her friend, struggling to keep him from falling down. 'I figured that was the problem...' she thought bitterly.
She turned around and lifted him onto her back, carrying the passed out tactician piggyback to the barracks.
Henry counted over the various materials on the table.
The Shepherds and Khans were inside the barracks, as they needed to be inside the affected area as the hex was lifted in order to rid themselves of it.
"Why do we need all this?" Ricken asked Henry. "Olivia said you cured her at the beach with only a magic seal."
Henry shook his head. "That was only a temporary fix. It would have cured her if the hex's purpose was only to rob its victim of their air. Turns out that this one's effects are random." he said in a hurry.
Ricken nodded.
The doors to the barracks opened, revealing Lucina carrying Robin inside.
Chrom rushed over. "No.. Him too?" he groaned. "Lucina, you aren't hurt are you?" He asked as he rubbed his daughter's cheek.
"No, father. The spell that hit him was more... amusing than dangerous." she smirked.
Chrom decided not to pursue the meaning behind his daughter's sinister smile, as he picked up Robin and set him down on a cot.
"Is this all that is required?" Miriel asked, as she double checked the materials on the table from what the book said.
"This is all of it... except for one..." Henry said slowly.
"What else do we need?" Miriel asked.
"A particular plant. But it only grows in the deserts of Plegia..." Henry said.
Chrom overheard. "Plegia!? How the hell are we going to get that?" he yelled.
Henry looked down. "Don't worry. I can still do it," he said as he looked up to grin at Chrom.
Chrom sighed. There was no other choice but to trust the mage.
After going over the materials, Henry decided that he was ready to begin the ritual.
He told everyone to stand back as he cut up the ingredients and meticulously placed them at the center of the tabletop.
Henry pulled out a knife and carve 3 circles around the materials. He inscribed a few symbols between the rings.
He then pricked his thumb with the knife, dotting the pattern with spots of his own blood.
Pulling out a small piece of paper, he quickly ran outside to light it on the bonfire in the yard.
He hurried back inside and lowered the flame to material at the center of the seal.
The material were swallowed by a purple flame, and as they shriveled to dust, a shockwave coursed through the barrack.
Oddly enough, the only things affected by the wave were Henry, who was thrown back, and a few shattered windows.
Ricken and Miriel rushed over to help Henry up.
One by one, those afflicted began to snap out of their state. Those knocked out, woke up.
Chrom headed over to the mages. "Is it done? You got rid of the hex?" he asked.
Henry grinned. "Yes and no. Although everyone's cured, I couldn't get rid of that hex, so I just replaced it with the one we were supposed to cast."
Everyone gathered around the mage.
"You said we lacked one ingredient. I assume you substituted it for something else?" Miriel asked.
Henry laughed. "Nya ha, that's right. Since we couldn't get the plant, I used my own life instead! About 3 whole years probably!"
Everyone gasped.
"Henry! How could you do that to yourself?" Chrom asked
"Hmm? It was my fault to begin with," he said casually.
Miriel spoke up, "No Henry, it wasn't. It was ours."
"No it wasn't lady, I'm the one that let you make the mistake. It's my fault" he said.
"But to give away years of your life..." Sully said guiltily.
"Hah, well listen up because I'm only saying this once," Henry said. "I've never had a group of friends quite like you guys. Heck I've never had much friends! That's why I can't just go and let you die on me. Besides, if anyone's going to die a glorious death, it's me!" he said happily.
Everyone was taken back by the mages words.
"That's right Henry, we're you friends." Chrom said, smiling.
The Shepherds slowly closed in on him, pulling him into a large group hug.
"H-hey? What's the big idea?" Henry said, as he squirmed in their grip. "If you don't let go, things are gonna get bloody!" he cried.
The morning after the hectic day, the Ylisseans were preparing to leave town and continue their march.
Many of the townspeople gathered at their encampment, leaving behind thousands of flowers in thanks.
The Shepherds stood outside proudly, accepting the gifts.
Chrom explained to the townspeople of what had happened earlier with Gaius and Lon'qu. Fortunately they all laughed it off, saying no one was hurt.
The boy from yesterday presented Lucina with a large bouquet this time around. Lucina kissed the top of the child's head before he disappeared back into the crowd, blushing like crazy.
Robin received a surprising amount of flowers from many young women. They said something about overhearing that he was indeed single.
Robin glared at Vaike, knowing something must've happened during their day of intoxication.
Even the girl that Robin had attempted to hit on the previous day had come up to give him a warm hug.
Lucina walked up to grab the arm full of flowers from Robin to set them over with the rest. "You're lucky you're a hero..." she muttered as she walked away.
Robin didn't know what she meant.
After one final feast, the Ylissean forces departed the town, headed towards whatever dangers loomed ahead of them.
A/N: Woo! It's over! I had a load of fun mashing your ideas into one story.
Let me run through the list:
Death-Prince-3- As you can see, your idea played a large role in the plot of this chapter, yours being the first suggestion and all. Rather than just Robin, I made several people targets in order to accommodate the other requests.
ShadowRogue- You've got your small fight between the two. Granted it wasn't a true fight with Gaius all crazed and what not, but I definately plan on making a 'true' rematch later on! If it makes it better, Lon'qu technically killed Gaius 'twice' during the fight, had he not used the back of his blade.
LuminaDawn- You've got your Henry/Olivia moments here! I even incorporated their A Support in this chapter! Not to mention Henry being warmly welcomed among the Shepherds.
Ventrust Westwind- You got your flowers ending, complete with super pimp Robin. I made Lucina poke fun at Robin earlier in the chapter. For the record, at the end, she wasn't jealous Robin was receiving the attention. Instead she was annoyed that she wouldn't be able to jab at him for failing to woo the girls.
Let me say something about the Henry/Olivia moment here. As you can tell, I changed the dynamic of their support conversation away from their English translation and made it so that Henry really was smiling because he couldn't express anything else. Before anyone spears me for this, I'd like to say that in the 'original' Japanese support, Olivia was in fact correct about Henry's problem. I chose this route as I genuinely like Olivia, and her English support kind of made her to be a controlling jerk. Plus, it makes their relationship all the more endearing.
Regarding the various embarrassing things that happened to the Shepherds, I fully intend to reference and make jokes about them in the future. (Especially Gaius and Robin)
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was fun to write!
Next chapter... Future Children?! or Mila Tree? or..
Til next time!