"Come on, hurry up!" The excitable bluenette yelled back as she ran up the hill.

"Hey, we're not as young as we used to be," Robin called back.

"Morgan, do not run off. We're scouting, remember?" Lucina reprimanded in place of Robin's ribbing.

"Yeah, yeah," Morgan groaned as she stopped and waited, "I know, but we're nowhere close to the reported hive."

"Reported," Lucina reminded her daughter, "They could spread out, or there could be stragglers."

"I think I can handle a few stragglers," Lucina was getting a bit frustrated with their daughter at this point. Sensing this, Robin intervened, clearing his throat.

"Ahem, I think we should keep our wits about us. The villagers reported a decent amount of Risen. We might be able to handle them, but we might also want to call for backup."

"I'm sure we can do it, and the sooner we do, the sooner we can get back to our vacation."

"I know, I know," Robin defended, "I promised you both a fun time away."

"It's alright, dear," Lucina smiled, entangling her arm with his, "We could not let this sudden pack of Risen run wild. Though I am a bit concerned about them just appearing so suddenly."

"I know," Robin muttered, "I'm a bit concerned myself."

"Ah, you worry too much," Morgan waved her hand rounding the hill, "I'm sure it's…fine. Crap."

"Morgan?" Robin walked up and saw what had her react that way.

"That's more than they mentioned," Lucina narrowed her eyes as she gripped Falchion.

"I think we could use some help for this," Robin affirmed, "Let's-"

"Wait!" Morgan shouted, "Someone's down there!"

"What?" Lucina scanned the area. Sure enough, there was a young man running from the Risen. He was firing a few spells and cutting them down where possible, but he was clearly outnumbered.

Robin sighed in response before he assumed his grandmaster voice, "Alright, new plan. Lucina, you're fastest, I need you to secure him and extract if possible. Morgan, provide cover fire, but don't get closer than you have to. I'll draw their attention. Regroup on this hill and reevaluate our options after. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Got it!"

"Execute."

There may have only been three of them, but they were a well-trained mini strike force. It was weird to think of his family that way, but Robin had long since given up on normal. He would just make sure his weird little family stayed safe by performing his part of the plan.

Unfortunately, that meant drawing the ire of the undead horde. Never a fun task, but at least they were comically easy to trick. That said, something seemed different about these Risen. They almost seemed to have coordination to some degree. No, that may have been too generous. A goal might be more accurate as they proved unusually hard to distract.

That said, Robin was pretty good at getting their attention when he wanted to. If nothing else, he was able to pull away a decent chunk of their force giving the lad some breathing room. Fortunately, Robin was a master at fighting defensively. His defense was unparalleled, and that was by design. He had bested far better fighters by turtling until he figured them out allowing for a decisive blow.

Lucina ducked under some flying debris from one of Morgan's spells. She certainly had raw power, but her aim could still use a bit of work. Granted she liked to go with the "I don't have to aim well if the blast is big enough" approach. Honestly, Lucina was not sure how her daughter had ended up so careless, but attempts to correct that had been less than successful so far.

Still, Lucina was fast enough to make it to the boy without much issue. Upon closer inspection, he seemed relatively fine. He was filthy and covered in cuts, but nothing serious. Lucina wondered just how long he had been fighting.

"Can you run?" Lucina asked with her attention back on the horde. Just where had these things come from?

"Uh, yeah," The boy managed after a moment's hesitation, "Where are we headed?"

"See the hill over there with the girl wildly flailing her arms?"

"Y-yeah."

"There, now move!"

Not arguing with his rescuer, the young man darted away with impressive speed. Lucina was right behind him, but he was certainly no slouch it seemed. Then again, he just about had to be fit to have survived so long against this many Risen on his own.

Upon reaching the hilltop, the boy seemed a bit too enamored with Morgan, but Lucina had other concerns.

"We're clear, where's Robin?"

"On your six," He yelled with the Risen chasing him joining up with those chasing Lucina and the boy. He held up his Bolgeno tome and tossed it to his daughter, "Morgan, trade!"

Morgan caught it as she pulled out her Thoron and tossed it to her father. With one tome in each hand, Robin led the attack off with a devastating double Thoron that tore through their ranks. Morgan followed up by targeting the mass that had yet to form a convenient line with a massive fire blast, however, there were still some stragglers.

What they were not expecting was for the boy to run up and remove their Rexcalibur tomes and summon two tornadoes in the fire picking it up before he pushed them out at angles to sweep up the straggling Risen in vortices of flame.

"Woah," Morgan spoke for the group as she eyed the destruction, "Nice."

"Impressive thinking on your feet," Robin stated a bit more eloquently, "Though how did you even know we'd be carrying Rexcaliburs? Let alone where they'd be."

"You always carry one. Same pocket on the right side. Was more of a hunch that Morgan had started doing the same."

"You seem awfully familiar with us," Lucina subtly stood between Morgan and the boy.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be? Didn't Morgan tell you about me?"

"Do we know each other?" Morgan peaked from behind Lucina, "Sorry if we do. I kinda lost my memories."

"Lost your…oh, I see," The boy seemed a bit distressed, "This must seem rather odd. I had just assumed that since she had found you that you knew."

"What did you think we knew?" Robin asked. His posture was not defensive, but the boy knew better than to think his guard was completely down. He should know after all.

"Sorry, guess I should start from the top," The boy, no, young man stood up straight suddenly giving an almost regal air, "My name is Marc. I am Morgan's twin brother."

"Morgan's…brother?" Lucina eyed the young man carefully then looked back to Morgan. It was hard to tell through the grime, but she could definitely see some resemblance.

"I see," Robin muttered more so to himself, "Well, I hope you don't mind if we get you cleaned up and double check."

"Ah, of course, father. The brand should prove my claims beyond a doubt."

"How did you get so filthy anyway?" Morgan asked as they started moving away.

"Ah, right, I suppose you wouldn't remember," Marc went on to explain events just before they left while their parents followed a few paces behind.

"What do you think?" Robin asked while watching the two interact.

"Strange as it may be, I believe him," Lucina smiled slightly watching her children reunited, "Suppose I may be going soft."

"Let's call it a mother's intuition," Robin grinned, pulling her into his side as they walked, "But it makes sense logically. Trying to pose as one of our children wouldn't be all too great of a move considering the whole brand of the exalt deal. Though, I am a bit curious to hear his story."

"Wait, you've been here how long?" Marc stopped in his tracks.

"About two years now," She stopped to think, "Hey, guess that means I'm older now!"

Marc groaned, "Didn't think of that part."

"Are you alright?" Lucina asked as they caught up.

"Yes, it will just take some adjusting."

"Good," Lucina smiled, "However, as much as I would love to get to hear your story, we should hurry and get you cleaned up. You are positively filthy."

"Yes, ma'am," Marc stood upright all of the sudden. It made Lucina frown for a moment. That was not a scared or even respectful reaction. It was one she had pulled several times. It was one of almost reverence. Reverence because she was something he had lost long ago.


"That's much better," Marc smiled as he dried his striking blue hair, which perfectly matched his mother and sister, meeting back up with his family, "It's been too long really."

"So," Morgan propped her chin on the back of her hands while propped on top of a fallen log, "Ready to tell us all why we came here?"

"Right," Marc's tone took on a significantly less jovial one.

"You do not have to rush anything," Lucina reassured, "We can wait if you do not wish to tell us right this moment."

"No, no. Best to get this over with," Marc took a deep breath, "The reason we came back was quite similar to yours, Mother. While the Shepherds had been successful in sealing Grima away, it was not to last. We had…several happy years, but in the end it was an assassin who ended it.

"He killed mother, and father, in his grief, became vulnerable. Try as he might, he fell into anger and despair. Prime states for the Fell Dragon to gain a hold in his mind.

"So, we came to find those that were responsible and stop the assassination and thus Grima's return."

"Can I tell him?" Morgan broke the silence.

"Huh?" Marc furrowed his brow, "Tell me what?"

"I agree that it's important we find the remaining Grimleal, especially as I won't stand for anyone who might attack my family, but Grima is not a threat, dear. Grima is dead."

"What? How?"

"Father killed him! He almost died too, but as you can see, he's totally awesome enough to survive."

"But what changed?"

"I think I know," Lucina answered looking directly at her husband, "You already figured this out, didn't you?"

"I had my suspicions about the basics," Robin admitted, "I figured Morgan had a reason for being here so…I knew what I had to do when the time came."

"After trying to use Morgan's presence to make me feel better," Lucina clicked her tongue, "For shame."

"So…I was too late?" Marc took a moment to let that sink in, but Morgan was not having it as she slung her arm around him.

"Ah, come on, little bro. We already averted the worst of it, and now you have big sis here to help you out."

"Big…sis…" Lucina could have sworn she saw his eye twitch, "But I was still born first!"

"But how old are you?"

"I…wait, you shouldn't even know how old you are anyway."

"Huh, good point. How old am I?"

"Not telling," Marc turned away.

"Come on! You struck me as the mature one!"

Robin and Lucina smiled as their kids went at it. It felt nice. It felt…normal almost. Lucina could tell Robin was uncomfortable with the truths of their world, but she held him close to make sure he knew both that she was not going anywhere and that he was not to blame.


Lucina volunteered to take first watch as they were not going to make it back to town before nightfall. She was still used to less sleep so she did not mind. Plus, she enjoyed looking after her family. She liked to know they were safe, and that included their newest member.

"Marc," She smiled as her son was pacing around the outskirts of their camp, "Trouble sleeping?"

"Sorry, just thinking. Just a few hours ago, I was ready to fight for the sake of the world. Now, I come to find the peace is won."

"It can be jarring," Lucina agreed, "But I'm sure you'll come to enjoy peace."

"Oh, I've no doubt about that. Just a bit to take in."

"You'll do fine. By the way, I've been meaning to ask. Is that Falchion?" Lucina noticed something sticking out from behind Marc's cape.

"Oh, yeah," Marc grabbed it from behind him. It was wrapped up in some scraps of cloth, but she recognized the profile, "Morgan dropped it and I picked it up. Guess I should give it back to her."

"I tested her. I know she can use it. What about you?"

Marc shook his head, "Sorry. It's kinda funny. I spent so long working on my swordplay, but it chose her instead."

"Don't apologize. Falchion can be a bit picky," Lucina reassured, "So, you have dedicated yourself to the blade?"

"Yes. I'm still a competent mage, but I always found the sword to fit with me better. It…well, I'm sure you've noticed Morgan is a bit of a daddy's girl. I guess you could call me a bit of a mommy's boy as it were," Marc blushed, "I guess I wanted to make you proud."

"Consider that mission a success then," Lucina smiled warmly, "You're my son. You don't have to earn my love, and you have proven yourself a valiant young man. I am proud to call you my son."

Marc wiped his face with his sleeve, "Thanks, Mom. So, uh, Morgan says we're headed to some beach realm. Can you tell me about it?"

"I'd be happy to."

A/N: Like the last one, this idea was given to me by the same guy. Generally they likely aren't actually twins, but it's a fun story prospect.