A/N: Okay, I've avoided death via a spear to the chest for the moment, but I know you all want to see this thing move along, so I'll get back to hiding from Cordelia...

Enjoy, and please leave a review!

Return

"WHAT?!" About fifty different people screamed at once. The loudest of those yelling were more than likely Kirito, Asuna, Lucina, and Cordelia.

"How-?!" Kirito gaped.

"Why-?!" Asuna demanded.

"When-?!" Lucina asked. "Fate dictated that a hero die fighting Walhart!"

"Haha!" Klein laughed heartily. "Like I said, 'destiny' can take a hike. I pretended to go with the flow, played possum." Rubbing his neck with a slight wince he added, "Truth is, it wasn't that hard- bastard nearly did me in, but thanks to this young lady…" He made a gesture towards the girl that had entered the scene on red wings. "…I managed to make it out okay."

"This… changes nothing…" Validar grunted from underneath the stoic-faced girl's boot. "Robin is under my control… The little princeling is-"

Crack! Everyone recoiled in surprise when Robin rounded on his father and delivered a thunderous kick to the side of his head, rendering him stunned into silence. "Checkmate," he said stiffly.

"Huh…?" Validar muttered, incapable of forming full words.

"Think it's time we dropped the act, Chrom?" Robin asked with a trace grin.

"What are you…?" Lucina asked hoarsely- things were just moving too fast for her to keep up.

"Hrgh…" Chrom suddenly pushed himself off the ground, slowly but surely with Robin's help. "Next time… you're playing decoy," he grunted.

"Chrom?!" Sumia asked as she ran over to her husband, tripping just in time to land in his arms. "Y-You're…"

"Robin knew that this would all come to pass," Chrom grinned a trifle painfully. "Saw it in a dream… So when he struck down Validar, he was very deliberate in using as magic energy as he could- that way when the king tried to use him to kill me, he was physically incapable of doing so. Still hurts like hell…"

"But… I-"

"Zip it, gasbag," said the Salamander girl as she stomped on Validar's back. "We win, you lose. All there is to it."

"Take a look at what the Shepherds have been able to accomplish," Klein interjected. "Exalt Emmeryn is still alive, even though your precious 'destiny' said she was supposed to die. They beat Walhart while there was still a Valm to save. And now, they've kicked your skinny butt all the way to death's door. Did your 'destiny' predict any of that?"

Validar, for once in his life, had no response.

"I thought so," Klein grinned. "Hey Sev, mind letting Kirito and Robin finish this off?"

"Fine by me," the girl muttered as she stepped off the dark king. "I don't want his stinking blood on my new sword anyway."

"Klein, we are gonna have words later," Kirito said, though whether he was angry or overwhelmed to see his friend alive and well, he wasn't sure. Maybe a mix of both?

"As long as it's after we finish cleaning up this mess, that's fine by me," Klein grinned. "You shoulda seen your guy's faces! I…" He words died off as he noticed Cordelia staring at him, tears running down her cheeks, face flushed red with a mix of rage and relief.

"I promise I had my reasons," he said as he held up his hands in a placating gesture, even while Kirito and Robin moved to finish off Validar. The blond tactician knelt beside his father and began talking to him in a low voice so that only he and Validar could hear.

"I know," Cordelia said tightly, her emotions still whirling at the speed of a tornado.

"I promise that they were good ones," Klein said, sweating lightly.

"I know."

"I uh… I missed you?" the self-proclaimed samurai said nervously.

Cordelia just stood there, shaking for several quiet minutes before she darted forward and threw her arms around the man and said, "I know… I missed you too." Then the dam broke, and she began crying into his shoulder, great wracking sobs that she could not stifle.

"Ugh…" the newcomer said as she rolled her eyes. "Why Naga? Why do I have to be here for this kinda lovey-dovey crap?"

"Heh," Argo grinned as she sidled up next to the new girl. "You too, eh? I don't say much to Ki-bou and Asuna, but it gets on my nerves too. But I'm guessin' that isn't the first time you seen this kinda thing from 'em?"

"Where I come from, they were never more than twenty meters away from each other," the female Salamander sighed. "Gets old, real quick."

"Doomed future?" Argo asked.

"Yep."

"Same one as Noire and Mataras?"

"Unfortunately."

"Don't like the Black Spirit?"

"Hate him."

"You got a name?"

"Severa."

"Sweet."

They all turned at the sound of blades piercing flesh just in time to see Robin and Kirito turning away from the body of Plegia's fallen king. "Checkmate," Robin announced again. "It's over."

"Not quite," said an identical voice from behind the group.

The Shepherds turned around to see- Robin? Some of them looked back and forth several times to make sure that they weren't having a trick played on them- in fact, Vaike was still looking back and forth by the time Chrom spoke up.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I told you- I'm Robin," the doppelganger grinned crookedly. "I'm just not the Robin that you're familiar with, Chrom. Your daughter, on the other hand…" He fixed his gaze on her and added, "She knows who I am, don't you?"

"It cannot be…" she said, eyes widening, the final pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"I can, and I am," the man laughed, greatly amused. "Did you really think that your precious Divine Dragon was the only one capable of travelling through time? Anything she can do, I assure you, I can do better."

"Who are you?!" The Shepherd's Robin shouted. "Stop speaking in riddles!"

"Ah, dear Robin," his twin chuckled darkly. "So brilliant when it comes to a map, but so blind when the truth is staring at you in the face. Very well, to lower the conversation's terminology to your level, I am you from the future- I am what you are destined to be, the Fell Dragon's vessel!"

"Grima," Kirito breathed, the truth finally clicking in his head. How did we not see this before?!

"Yes, 'tis I," the man nodded with a wicked grin. Looking at Kirito directly, he said, "I must say, few things are worthy of a god's attention, but you most certainly have merited my interest. To think that someone from such humble beginnings could defeat a curse of my own invention, it's quite peculiar."

"So it was you that put a curse on Yui?" Asuna demanded.

"Of course," Grima shrugged. "To me, she is no threat, though I do admit that any number of my forces would be most unfortunate to run into her once she reaches her adulthood. I'd rather not wait for her to become a thorn in my side like the other children. So while I'm thinking on it…" He extended a hand and causally shot of a dark energy blast that was headed straight for Yui.

"Oh no you don't!" another familiar voice called out. Mataras shot in front of the orb, caught it, and absorbed the magic. Glaring at Grima, he snarled, "Nothing from the bowels of hell will every touch her again!"

"Ah yes, the Black Spirit," the Fell Dragon smirked. "I'd heard tales of your remarkable abilities- I'm glad to know that they were not entirely unfounded."

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be keeping watch outside?" Asuna asked.

"Tell me something…" Mataras growled at his enemy, ignoring his mother. "Where is the Grima of my timeline?"

"Hmm?" Robin's dark clone asked.

"You heard me, you stupid lizard," Mataras said, his hands cupping together, pouring out the power that he had just obtained. "Where is he? I heard your entire speech to Lucina and the others, so I know for a fact that you come from their timeline. So where is the Grima from mine?"

The others all paused in shock. The thought of Grima coming from the future to stop them had never occurred to them, much less two! Though now that the teenager raised the question, they realized that it was a valid one- where was the other Fell Dragon?

"Hehe…" Grima chuckled lightly. "He and I had a… disagreement. Long story short, we argued, and I ended up with the stronger opinion."

"So he did come here," Mataras muttered. "But you destroyed him instead of working with him. Didn't care to share in the conquest?"

"Not exactly," Grima smiled wider. "You see, although I destroyed his consciousness, his power remained for me to take. If Robin ever taught me anything, it was to have a fallback plan." His eyes widened as he bared his teeth even further and he said, "Thanks to the power I hold from my alternate life, my resurrected body will be stronger than ever!" His body began to glow with a dark aura. "And in place of Robin, I will accept the power offered at my table!"

"Uh oh," Kirito paled. No sooner than the words had left his mouth than did the temple begin shake, the air vibrating with dark energy.

"Shepherds, move!" Chrom ordered. "We need to evacuate the area!"

"Mataras!" Yui called over as the group began to flee. "Where are the others?!"

"Right here!" Marth said as he and Aversa stood in the doorway. "But just in time for us to leave, it would seem." He had his sister slung over his shoulder, apparently still unconscious.

"Yes, we must leave!" Aversa nodded vigorously. "Grima has begun his ascension to power!"

Chrom shot his grandson a question in the form of a look, so Marth said, "She seems trustworthy for the moment, and I think that we have bigger concerns!"

"You have no idea," Mataras said grimly, his hands still emanating the dark magic that he had yet to release. "They're about to get worse than you can imagine."

No sooner than they had cleared the dark temple than did the roof of the building explode, and a shadowy, titanic figure begin to emerge from it. Dodging the debris with every ounce of skill and luck that they had, the Shepherds only stopped running once the rocks stopped falling.

Looking back up, they all stared with wide eyes as Grima's true form arose from the bowels of the earth. He was huge, easily the size of Ylisstol, if not larger. He could easily devour the entire group in one gulp, and still have room for a palace.

"What now…?" Chrom gasped, out of breath and clutching his side.

"Now… nothing," Lucina said as she sank to her knees, even as Grima began to take flight. "It's over."

"It can't be over," Asuna said, though she didn't sound like she believed her own words.

"She may be right," Robin said, his head downcast. "Without the Fire Emblem, we can't defeat him. And it was lost in the destruction of the temple.

"I wouldn't say that," said a strangely chipper voice. Everyone looked over to see Marth putting Morgan down, who was struggling to pull something out from underneath her shirt. "Geez, this thing is stuck," she muttered just before she yanked out a golden shield. "There we go."

Everyone's jaws dropped as they realized that Morgan was holding the Fire Emblem in her hands. "Morgan, when did you-?!" Robin gaped.

"Right when Grima was having his little moment of revelation," Marth grinned. "Everyone was so distracted by him that they didn't notice us, especially when Mataras made his entrance."

"Think we can beat Grima now?" Morgan smirked.

"Doubtful," Aversa said. Everyone looked at her, almost as if surprised that she was still with them. Ignoring their surprise, she went on, saying, "What Grima said was true about merging his power with another version of himself. He will be stronger than even you children from the future can imagine."

"He may have merged with another Grima's essence, however…" Robin said as he reached into his jacket. When he pulled out his hand, four unmistakably familiar jewels rested in his grip. "I don't think that he can reach his full potential as he is."

"Wait, what?!" Now it was Aversa's turn to be shocked. "Are those-?!"

"The real gems needed for the Fire Emblem? Yes," Robin grinned. "When I found out that the Emblem was needed for the Awakening, I had those crafted in secret and swapped them with the real ones here." He pointed at the shield that his daughter was holding, indicating the fakes therein. "See, Lucina told me that in the future, they were only able to perform a partial Awakening due to only having one gem. As such, her Falchion can never reach its full potential. That also means-"

"-Neither can Grima," Aversa finished. Her shocked expression slowly changed to that of a smile as she said, "We never even thought to check for fakes once we had authenticated that the Emblem was the real one… Well done, Robin. You've out-thought a god, no small feat."

"That monster isn't a god," Kirito growled as he watched Grima fly away, his wingbeats buffeting the land and raising sandstorms in his wake. "He's an overgrown lizard that needs to be knocked off his high horse."

"And we will," Mataras said as he clapped his father on the shoulder. Looking over at Chrom, he added, "You know where we need to go next, right?"

"Mount Prism," Chrom nodded. "The divine grounds of Naga."

"Oei, Mataras," Severa said gruffly.

"Eh?" he asked as he turned around to look at her. "Oh, so you made it?"

"Sorry if I was too busy taking care of my old man to drop in for a social visit," she huffed. Apparently there was some kind of animosity between them, though it didn't seem like the Black Spirit was going to attack her, a large improvement on his part.

"Wait, your old man?" Kirito asked, eyes widening. "Are you talking about-?"

"Oh yeah, I probably shoulda mentioned this before, but…" Klein said sheepishly. "This is Severa- my daughter."

"LK and LS…" Robin muttered. "Of course. Lord Klein and Lady Severa."

"Bingo," Klein grinned. "Sorry I couldn't get ya anything nicer for your big day."

"Help us defeat Grima, and we'll call it even," Robin grinned back.

"Hold on," Asuna said before the group could get moving. "Who's her mother?"

"Ain't it obvious?" Severa huffed as she flicked back her red hair. "We can worry about family bonding later- right now, we've got a demon dragon on the loose, and we still haven't got what we need to beat him! Let's get a move on!" With that, she started walking east, back towards Ylisse.

"Quite the charmer, isn't she?" Mataras muttered.

"Did the kettle just call the pot black?" Kirito grinned as the others moved to follow her.

While the others moved on ahead, Klein and Cordelia remained behind for a moment. "So, whaddya think?" Klein asked.

"She's strong-willed and stubborn, just like someone I know," Cordelia said with a faint blush.

"Yeah, and she's got her mother's good looks and determination, too," Klein grinned. "She takes some getting used to, but she's a good kid."

"You seem to be handling this rather well," the pegasus rider said as she turned to look directly at Klein with her arms folded. "It doesn't bother you at all?"

"Ya know, not as much as I thought it would," he admitted as he scratched his head. "I've had plenty of time to get used to the idea of being a dad. But right now, I'm more worried about you. How're you feelin' about this?"

"I feel…" She considered her thoughts for a moment before she answered, "I feel happy, strangely enough. Despite everything that has happened, despite knowing what is to come, I feel that everything is as it should be."

"Eh, I dunno that I'm quite there with ya on that one," Klein said before he dropped to one knee and clasped Cordelia's hand in his own. "I still need one more thing before my heart's settled."

Cordelia felt like every ounce of blood in her body had rushed up to her face at once. "Klein, are you-?"

"I've always been a sucker for cheesy stuff, so I'm just gonna say what's on my mind here," the man grinned even brighter. "Not a day went by while I was in hiding that I didn't think of you. And when Severa found me, half-dead in a field, told me who she was… I was so happy. At first I thought it was cos you and were meant to be together, but then I realized that goes against everything I believe in- we make our own destinies, Cordelia. So I want you to know right now, that this is the path I want to walk, if you'll walk with me."

He reached into his pocket with one hand to retrieve a simple band with a ruby set in it and held it up for her to see. "I know there's usually supposed to be a diamond here, but this seemed more like your color," he said nervously. "I'm hoping that you'll wear it- for the rest of our lives?" He paused for a brief second before he asked, "Cordelia, will you grant this samurai the honor of being my wife?"

Her answer was immediate and definitive. "I will," she smiled as she slipped the ring on her finger.

Special Thanks go to:

Northern Warrior
N-Sight
Kidkaboom1
Will Underwood

Mataras: Aaaand... I think I'm off the hook.

Robin: You kept everyone waiting long enough.

Mataras: Hah! Every great surprise and gift is worth the wait! But if it makes you feel any better, I have a little surprise in store- and it's the kind that doesn't involve a lot of waiting. Just the opposite, in fact.

Kirito: What do you mean by that?

Mataras: I will be putting all of my other stories on a brief hiatus (about two weeks) so that I can finally bring this story to a close. My readers can expect a new chapter about every other day or so until the conclusion of this story!

Asuna: Whoa! Why the sudden acceleration?

Mataras: Mostly because I realized just how long I've been working on this story for- more than two years, actually. They deserve to have closure, know how the story finally ends. It's been an epic adventure, and I anticipate its end with equal amounts of satisfaction and sadness.

Lucina: Now, now. It's too early to say good-bye. Besides, don't you have some other happy news?

Mataras: Ah, yes! Starting this week, I will be putting up some discussion videos on my YouTube channel (link is on my profile page) in my own time about my fanfictions, perhaps twice a week or so. I will be doing a lot of walk-through videos on how certain chapters were formulated, and why.

Klein: Bit o' sightseeing on the drawing board, eh?

Mataras: Essentially.

Morgan: Next time- Mountain of Light.