A/N So um… this is cool. I've already gotten a quarter of next chapter written too, so that's… cool as well. I'm actually pretty excited because I have no idea how this will turn out. The plot just reveals itself under the right moods and right circumstances when writing. I don't own Fire Emblem or any of its alternate timeline forms.

"So… where are we anyways?" Robin asked casually. He was strolling along a dirt-trodden path with Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick. The blonde healer hummed thoughtfully in response before nodding her head to her older brother. The knight threw him suspicious glances every other five seconds, but the white-haired man did his best to ignore it.

The prince in question replied, "We're a little ways off from Southtown, in the southern region of Ylisse. Ylisse is a country by the way, one that my older sister, Emmeryn, rules over as the standing Exalt."

"Ah," said Robin. He idly observed some pebbles lying on the ground on the side of the road, noting how they all seemed to be stacked up in little, separate piles. The road itself was surprisingly pebble-free. Another question struck him. "Another question. If you and your sisters are all royalty, why is it that you and Lissa are down here with only a single guard?"

Next to him, Frederick crossed his arms. "Milord… he's fulfilling his spy duties as we speak…" he grumbled, looking ruefully at the ground.

Chrom shook his head, an amused expression on his face. "It's quite all right, friend. If he's to travel with us, he deserves to know what we're doing," chastised the prince. He turned back to the newcomer. "We're shepherds."

"Telling me you tend sheep doesn't exactly fix my confusion," Robin deadpanned jokingly.

"We don't tend sheep. We tend people, in a sense. Frederick, Lissa, and I, we travel around the country resolving conflicts and helping anyone who requires aid. After all, it is the duty of a ruler…"

"...to take care of the country's citizens, make sure everyone is safe," finished Robin, the words coming to him out of seemingly nowhere. He blushed lightly and put a hand behind his neck. "Sorry, didn't mean to cut in like that."

A smile had grown on Chrom's face as he spoke, putting his passion for the work on display. "No, that was exactly what I was about to say," he said with a grin.

Then the curves of his mouth morphed into a frown. "Lately however, we have been receiving reports at Ylisstol about attacks along our borders. These assaults have occurred on our western front-the border we share with Plegia-but there have been complaints of raids in the southern regions as well," Chrom continued. "It's terrible. The citizens are in a growing panic as their homes and lives are uprooted by strangers. They scatter and lose their way like sheep amongst wolves."

"Still, I hope these allegations are false. Up until now the perpetrators of these attacks were common bandits preying on the weak, but the occurrences have been too frequent to dismiss as the mechanisms of a smaller force. I hope for the people's sake that Plegia isn't trying to start another war with us after such a hard-won peace between our nations."

After Chrom had finished explaining, the remaining three had grown silent in contemplation. "Do you understand, Robin?" asked the prince softly. So he was one of the "sheep" that Chrom personally took responsibility for. Something inside of him protested in indignation, but the cloaked man quickly tamped it down under layers of gratitude.

"Yes, I believe I do. Thank you," Robin replied.

Lissa yawned, coughed a little, then stretched her arms behind her back. From Robin's position behind her, it looked as if she was reaching for the sky. "This is taking forever and my feet hurt! Are we almost there, Frederick?" she exclaimed tiredly, traipsing along the path.

Frederick never reached for the map in the bag he carried. "Almost, milady. We are but four miles away from Southtown to restock supplies." With a metal gloved hand, he carefully brushed off the sweat that had accumulated on his brow.

"Ughhhh," she moaned, and slouched over. "I can't last that long! My legs are going to break!" Chrom gave his little sister a partly-reproachful, partly-entertained look. Frederick though, turned to her seriously and asked, "would it help milady if I were to carry her?"

The other two men were too tall to see Lissa's face, but Robin was closer to the girl and closer to the ground, allowing him to see the full extent of her blush. "Y-yeah… that'll be okay I think," Lissa muttered.

She didn't face anyone as the knight hoisted her unceremoniously on his back, hands under her knees to hold her in place. Her dress hiked up scandalously-high to accommodate the position, but Lissa showed no concern over it. She didn't seem the type of girl to be very lady-like to Robin.

"I apologize for any lack of comfort. It will not last long. Once we walk past that tall hill over there-" he gestured his head towards the steep slope of the land, unfazed by the girl riding him "-Southtown will be within viewing distance. It's really not too far."

"I just wanna lie down and sleep," grumbled Lissa. She was already drowsy on the armored man's back-she had probably done this before.

There was a few moments of silence as they all began their uphill ascent before Robin said, "I'm afraid you're not going to want to be asleep for a while, Lissa. Look." He pointed. Even from far away, Robin could already-very faintly-taste a dry harshness on his tongue, and now he knew its cause.

In the distance, a blazing fire had taken over a huddle of buildings. From the fires stemmed a thick, dark miasma of blacks and greys. The smoke plumes corrupted the once-pristine blue of the sky and the air.

Beautiful, is it not? Let it burn. It'll save you a lot of… trouble in the future.

He turned, aghast. "Chrom, do you really mean that?" he demanded. His fists were clenched at the prince's sudden change in tone. Was this man really so two-faced?

But Chrom shared his expression of disbelief. "What? I didn't say anything," he said, confused.

The prince then gave him a dismissive glance before turning his attention again to the burning chaos. "Everyone! Hurry! There are people there who need help!" He sprinted towards the fires with Frederick and Lissa in hot pursuit.

But... I was so sure you did, Robin thought. Confused, he ran after them.

When they arrived, they took in the full blast of the destruction. Hungry flames licked at the wooden structures and scorched the stone. Filthy, ragged bandits were pillaging the town, their stolen loot slung over their backs. Everywhere was the cacophony of the villagers' yells.

"Agh!"

"Someone, anyone, help!"

"Dad? Dad, where are you?!"

"Let go!"

Lissa gripped her healing staff. "Chrom!" she cried, seeing the scattered wounded. "I have to go help them!"

Her brother nodded quickly, desperately. "Right. Lissa, go and heal anyone you can and tell them to retreat to this spot. Frederick. You and I will pair up and dispatch the criminals. If possible, we should spare their lives to glean some information on the attack."

"Yes, milord," the knight saluted sharply.

But Robin's eyes and focus had sharpened since entering the scene. The white-haired man had observed the crude, but effective axes the bandits held. He saw their dexterity in combat and in running. He recognized the malicious gleam in their eyes as they attacked the villagers indiscriminately, sparing no women or children. His breath caught in his throat.

So when the determined princess stepped forward eagerly, Robin shot out a cloaked arm and rasped, "no."

They turned to him with wide eyes. "Chrom," he spoke lowly. "You trust me, yes? Enough to accompany your group? Believe me when I tell you that sending Lissa out is not a good idea."

"Robin, what are you saying? You don't think we should help those people because our lives will be in danger?" Chrom asked.

The white-haired man shook his head. "I can… see things about these people, this area too, that I feel you can't. There are too many enemy units for you and Frederick to handle quickly and efficiently. At least, not without Lissa getting focus fired and killed because she's alone. She needs someone to protect her." Her lack of armor doesn't help her. She's very vulnerable.

He eyed Chrom's armor and noted the beating sun and scorching flame. He'll be slow, soon too. Another disadvantage. He must be paired up.

The knight was the only one who looked capable of fending for himself, if only due to extensive training. Frederick's not even breaking a sweat in that armor, even after all that running and the heat emitting from the fires. He paused. Well, he is their protector… he must be more battle-ready than Chrom and Lissa combined. Frederick was looking at him with a mixture of respect and reluctance. Robin wondered why…

"So what do you propose?" he inquired gruffly. The siblings followed suit and looked towards the cloaked man with the same expectancy.

Robin craned his head once more at their future foes, confirming his information. He then faced them.

"I've got it. Frederick, you're our strongest fighter, but it's because of that that I'm sticking you with Lissa. She can't exactly fight, and you have to focus not only on shielding her from harm, but taking care of the enemies," he stated authoritatively.

"Lissa, you are to do as Chrom commanded, but please, be careful. Let Frederick take the lead as you heal." She took this in and positioned herself behind the chestnut-haired soldier. His words flowed naturally, the knowledge of unknown skills being put to use.

"Chrom, you're with me. The bandits have a sort of home advantage, as they are more familiar with the layout of the town. They are also faster than we are. Still, fighting as a team, I believe that we'll have an edge over these bandits-mostly because we would be more organized compared to their greed-fueled chaos," he finished to stunned silence.

The commanding aura fell away as he realized something. "Erm, if you want to fight with me, Chrom. I mean, I don't really know if I'll be much help-I might just get in your way-but I can probably lend a hand or two strategy-wise…" Robin muttered, uncertainty creeping back into his voice.

"Robin, I would be happy to have you on my side. As for weapons… Frederick?"

The knight quickly rummaged in the bag and pulled out a bronze sword and a worn fire tome. "This should suffice," he said, placing the weapons in Robin's hands. The look he gave Robin was not unkind.

Use the tome… the… fire tome...

That voice again. It made chills run down the tactician's back in its emotionless tone, but Robin felt compelled to listen.

With the magic book in his hand, Robin felt a flow of power rush through him. He could sense a great reserve of magic inside, ready to be channeled into physical manifestation. The sword felt awkward in his other hand, so he gingerly resheathed it and tied it on a belt around his waist. Good advice, for once.

"Is everyone ready?" called out Chrom. He already had one hand on the sword hilt, so ready was he to jump into the melee. Lissa bounced eagerly behind Frederick, who only nodded. Still, there was one thing that Robin had to take care of, something he was forgetting...

Tome… sword… axes… ah.

He reached out an arm towards the departing knight and lady. "Frederick, wait! Your lance! Remember against these bandits it's better to-"

"-use swords. Yes, thank you, Robin," he cut in, his surprise veiled with sarcasm.

Robin grinned, then bounded off after Chrom.

"Careful, Robin. Continue as you are and my friend might actually like you," teased the navy-haired prince as they neared the town. "That's what I'm counting on," shot back the tactician playfully, who then adopted a serious expression at what he saw.

From their distance, they could see a bandit lugging a grossly-stuffed sack of goods behind him. Upon noticing their arrival, the crimson-splattered raider abandoned his prize and produced a crude axe from his belt. The blade still dripped with blood. Chrom met the threat with a long, gleaming sword, unlike any that Robin had ever witnessed-not that he could remember seeing many. It hummed with an intense, subtle power that surged beneath the surface.

Robin's eyes lingered questioningly on the blade for a second, but only so, before the bandit charged at them.

"Chrom!" he yelled, flipping open the fire tome to an unused runic page. He began chanting the inscribed phrases, the archaic runes morphing themselves into understandability.

"On my mark!" he shouted, as he ran to face the bandit head on.

A small fire bloomed in Robin's hand as he prepared to fight alongside his friend.

They took no prisoners, though it wasn't for lack of trying. The nature of Chrom's weapon and Robin's magic forbade the two from sparing their foes without bringing serious threat upon themselves. It was killed or be killed.

History repeats itself.

A/N Man, fight scenes get so stale. I'd rather just focus on the tactics and drama side of fighting, and Robin's character is more than happy to oblige. Also, thanks for the input everyone. Cracked me up on more than one occasion.