New Life in Another World

by OrangoDBZ

After somehow surviving the destruction of the universe, a young man, Robin, is pitied by the gods and is given a chance to live out life in another world. Waking up in a field with white hair, a tail, and a cloak covered in symbols he does not recognize, Robin is soon found by a young boy named Chrom and is sucked into a whirlwind of action and adventure.

6. Jingle Village Arrival

Chapter 6: Jingle Village Arrival

---

As Robin unleashed a rapid succession of punches, his breath visible in the chilly air, he exerted himself with determination. Son Goku, wielding his Power Pole, effortlessly parried each strike, displaying his superior reflexes and skill. Robin's frustration grew with every blocked blow, but he refused to give up.

Goku's calm demeanor contrasted with Robin's intense focus, as the young martial artist continued his relentless assault. The sound of their training filled the air, punctuated by the occasional clash of fists against the sturdy staff. Robin's determination to land a successful hit only intensified, fueling his determination to improve his skills.

Aware that his previous approach wasn't yielding the desired results, Robin swiftly retreated, creating distance between himself and Goku. In a split second, he spun on his heel, unleashing a powerful kick aimed directly at Goku's face. However, the nimble warrior evaded the attack by swiftly ducking.

Reacting with lightning speed, Goku extended his Power Pole, propelling it towards Robin's face with remarkable precision. Just as it seemed inevitable that the weapon would connect, Robin's instincts kicked in. With a surge of adrenaline, he managed to seize the approaching Power Pole, halting it inches away from his face.

The sudden reversal of momentum left both combatants momentarily frozen in their positions, their eyes locked in a silent exchange of determination and respect for each other's skills. Then, an idea popped into Robin's head, and he smirked slightly.

With a determined grin forming on his face, Robin shouted out, his breath forming frosty clouds in front of him. Without wasting a moment, he initiated a rapid spin, his body whirling around in a blur. As Goku watched in surprise, he found himself caught up in Robin's whirlwind motion, lifted off the ground along with his Power Pole.

Goku let out a startled yelp as he was carried into the air, unable to break free from Robin's spinning grip. The unexpected turn of events showcased Robin's resourcefulness and adaptability in combat, leaving Goku momentarily disoriented. The tables had turned, and it was now Robin who held the advantage, his determination driving him forward.

Unfortunately for the white-haired boy, however, Goku was the more experienced fighter.

In a split second decision, the monkey-haired boy released his grip on his Power Pole, allowing himself to descend towards the ground. Robin, caught off guard by Goku's swift maneuver, found himself momentarily startled.

Seizing the opportunity, Goku swiftly pounced on Robin, assuming a quadrupedal position. Robin, still recovering from the surprise, was unable to defend himself effectively. As Goku tackled him to the ground, Robin struggled to break free, and his efforts proved futile against Goku's superior strength and technique.

Pinned down beneath Goku's relentless assault, Robin continued to fight back, attempting to push his opponent off. However, Goku's firm hold kept him firmly in place, leaving Robin at a disadvantage. It was a humbling reminder of the gap in experience between the two fighters.

"Hahaha! Say uncle!" Goku exclaimed, grinning down at his fellow monkey-tailed boy like a predator would its prey.

Goku's victorious grin widened as he taunted Robin, reveling in his dominant position. However, as he looked down at the determined expression in Robin's eyes, he sensed the unwavering resolve within him. Goku's playful demeanor shifted slightly, recognizing the fire within his fellow fighter.

In a sudden change of strategy, Goku decided to deliver a clean punch directly at Robin's face, causing it to swell from the impact. The force of the blow was immense, a testament to Goku's incredible strength. If he had done that to anyone else, their face would have been blown clean off. That just went to show how physically strong Robin was.

"Say uncle, say uncle!" Goku exclaimed with a grin, his tail wagging behind him as he continued to push Robin into the snow on the ground. Unfortunately for him, the white-haired boy held firm, refusing to be outmatched.

Minutes passed, with Robin continuing to resist Goku's hold, his determination unwavering. But as the strain of the struggle wore on, Robin eventually relaxed, realizing the futility of his efforts. With a defeated tone, he conceded, raising his hands in surrender and uttering the words Goku had been waiting for. "Okay, okay! Uncle, uncle! J-Just let go of me, alright?"

Goku, sensing Robin's sincerity, released his grip and stood up, a smile of satisfaction on his face. The intense battle had served as a valuable lesson for both fighters, highlighting the importance of experience. Robin had improved quite a bit under Goku's tutelage, but he was still nothing when compared to the more experienced fighter.

With a lighthearted expression, Goku bent down to pick up his staff, and then let out a sigh as he stood. Then, as if in a playful act, Goku leaned backwards, seemingly about to fall onto the snowy ground beneath him. However, just as it seemed he would lose his balance, the Flying Nimbus, the magical cloud gifted to him by Master Roshi, zoomed in with impeccable timing. Goku effortlessly shifted his weight onto the soft surface of the Nimbus, allowing him to relax and recline comfortably.

Robin's smile reflected a mix of relief and weariness as he sat up, taking in their surroundings. It had been two weeks since their encounter with Turtle and their journey had led them to the snowy region up north. The absence of any clear ownership by the Halidom of Ylisse or its northern neighbor, Regna Ferox, marked this area as a no-man's land, though apparently there were still a few villages around these parts.

The group had decided to take a break and strategize on the best approach to locate the Dragon Ball in this unfamiliar territory. Robin's mind began to churn, considering the various possibilities and potential challenges they might face. He knew that thorough planning and coordination would be crucial to their success, though as usual he was being a little pessimistic towards himself and his abilities in his mind.

Quickly shaking his head to gather his thoughts, Robin looked around at his surroundings.

All of the Shepherds were currently huddled up in their tents, trying to fend off the cold that was honestly very foreign to them when compared to the mild weather that they had in Ylisse. Robin had his thick cloak to protect himself, and it seemed that even the forces of nature could not deter Goku from training, so the two had decided to have a little sparring match to pass the time before Frederick and Chrom could make a decision regarding their decision.

Of course, considering the slight wound that had been inflicted on his face by Goku, Robin was kind of beginning to regret this whole thing. It had been a whopping two weeks since they had interacted with Master Roshi, and since then he had begun taking his training far more seriously. As a result, his skills had considerably improved when it came to martial arts, though Goku was still far better then him, and it seemed that it was going to remain that way for a very, very long time.

Feeling the sting on his cheek, Robin winced and instinctively cupped the injured area with his hand. He could feel a slight bump forming, evidence of the impact from Goku's strike. Regret began to seep into his thoughts as he realized the consequences of engaging in a sparring match with someone as skilled as Goku.

Glancing around their wintry surroundings, Robin sighed, realizing that they didn't have access to a mirror or any other means to assess the extent of his injury. It was frustrating not being able to see how it looked, leaving him to rely on his own judgment.

Despite the discomfort, Robin reminded himself that this was all part of his journey to improve his martial arts skills. He had made significant progress in just two weeks, but he knew that Goku's mastery would always remain a lofty goal. Pushing aside his regrets, Robin decided to focus on the positive aspects of their training session.

He had learned valuable lessons from Goku, honing his techniques and gaining a deeper understanding of martial arts. It was through challenges and setbacks that true growth could be achieved. With a determined expression, Robin adjusted his cloak, satisfied with the training that he had done today.

Of course, Robin couldn't really think about that any further because his eyes eventually ended up drifting to the symbol on the back of right hand, causing him to grimace.

Two weeks! Two weeks had passed since that damned symbol had appeared on the back of his hand, and he still had no idea what it meant. He had tried desperately to get the others to see it, but no matter what he did or said, to his teammates it looked as though there was absolutely nothing on his hand at all.

It had showed up purely because of that tome that he had been gifted...

Robin swiftly pulled the yellow-covered book from out of his cloak, and lightly touched its cover. A fair bit of snow landed down onto the thing, and he let out a sigh as he proceeded to wipe it off.

"Maybe taking it out like that was a bad idea…" he thought to himself as he shoved it back into his cloak, before glancing at Goku, who was still leaning on his cloud. "But man, Goku really got lucky. He's been using that cloud so much! If only I had gotten something as useful as that…"

However, before the white-haired boy could continue thinking like that, he quickly proceeded to shake his head.

"No, I shouldn't be thinking like that! My tome is just not useful to me right now because I can't actually even use magic in the first place. Once I actually start practicing, I'm sure it'll become a powerful asset…"

Before he could think of another sentence, a hand dropped down in front of his face, and he looked up to see Goku smiling down at him rather cheerfully.

"Hahaha! Are you alright, Robin?" the black-haired boy asked good-naturedly, tilting his head to the side. He then noticed the red mark on his friend's face, and frowned ever so slightly. "You're not hurt too bad, are you?"

Robin chuckled, and took Goku's offer. Getting back up to his feet, Robin simply proceeded to shake his head. He raised his hand and touched his cheek, though he immediately winced upon feeling that rather unpleasant sting once again.

"I'll…Live," he said bashfully.

Before the conversation could continue, however, a familiar voice spoke up from across the camp.

"Attention, everyone! Please gather swiftly to milord's tent at once! We have a devised a plan regarding how to obtain the next Dragon Ball!"

It was none other than Frederick, and as Robin spun around, he caught sight of the brown-haired knight's face poking out of the grandest tent in the encampment. The tent, a deep shade of blue reminiscent of Chrom's own locks, stood in perfect harmony with its surroundings, and towered over the other ones. The only one which was comparable to it was probably Maribelle's.

Goku blinked twice, and Robin simply smiled at him.

"Well, come on. We don't want to keep them waiting too long," the white-haired boy said with a smile, which Goku in turn nodded to.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go!"

---

Robin and Goku eventually entered the big blue tent, just so happening to do as at the same time as Stahl, Oolong, and Sully. Oolong was shivering like crazy, mostly since he was quite literally wearing nothing but a tank top and some jeans, while Stahl and Sully were wearing matching jackets to help them with the cold air outside. Unbeknownst to Robin, Kellam also entered the tent with them.

Upon entry, Robin looked around at his surroundings. It was a rather stuffy tent, and to the side Robin could see a sleeping bag. Most of the space, however, was taken by a massive map sprawled down on the floor. Frederick, Chrom, Maribelle, and Miriel were all huddled around it, and looked up at the other members of the Shepherds as they entered. They were all dressed up in some jackets and cloaks to help them withstand the cold, with Maribelle putting a lot of emphasis on the design of hers.

In the corner of his eye, Robin also spotted Vaike sitting in the corner of the tent, shaking like mad. Vaike decided to show off his strength by going into the frosty north shirtless as usual, though it seemed that he was quickly beginning to regret that decision.

As for Oolong, well, he just wasn't wearing a cloak as punishment for what he had done. Chrom wasn't very comfortable with the idea, but Maribelle and Sully really pushed for it.

"Good. It seems that you all are here," Frederick noted, before gesturing for the other members of the Shepherds to come closer. "Get over here at once. I would like you all to have a look at this."

Robin and the others did as they were told, and upon reaching the massive map, Robin realized that it was actually a map of all of Archanea. The massive nation of Regna Ferox was located at the top, while Plegia and Ylisse were located underneath to the west and east respectively.

Before anyone could say anything, the serious knight's finger immediately pointed to the bottom of Ylisse, and Robin watched as he slowly trailed it upwards, until it was located directly on top of the border between Regna Ferox and the halidom of Ylisse.

"Over the last two weeks, we've been travelling with little to nothing happening so far. However, we are now directly on the border of Regna Ferox, which is a rather precarious position to be in," Frederick began to explain in a serious tone. "The Feroxi are known to be a race of…Warrior-people, and are prone to violence. Despite Ylisse having good relations with them, it would not be surprising in the slightest if our party were to be attacked by border-guards, or any other wandering Feroxi that happen to be close by, who just so happened to assumed that we were bandits."

"That's why we've got to be incredibly careful," Chrom continued, looking down at the map for a few moments, before lifting his gaze up to look at his teammates. "According to the Dragon Radar, the next Dragon Ball is actually located in a village a fair bit of distance away from the massive wall separating Ferox and Ylisse, so if we steer clear of that we should be good."

His expression then hardened.

"However, if you do end up encountering a hostile Feroxi, run away as fast as you can. I've never been to Ferox myself and have only heard of them from Emm, but apparently the Feroxi are all incredibly powerful warriors, and on top of that are the kind of people to hit first and ask questions later."

Maribelle huffed, and proceeded to cross her arms over her chest. "How barbaric! To think that an entire nation could be filled with people like that…"

"Is the village we're going to be visiting inhabited by Feroxi?" Stahl asked, raising an eyebrow at the prince.

"Regrettably, it appears to be the case," Miriel remarked with her typical precision, her gaze fixed through the lenses of her glasses. Robin had come to realize that adjusting her glasses was a favored habit of hers during their his together with the Shepherds. "While this region may not fall under the jurisdiction of either Ylisse or Ferox, the nearby villages are predominantly inhabited by those of Feroxi lineage. They identify themselves as Feroxi and hold strong allegiance to their heritage. Consequently, we must exercise caution and approach the situation with utmost care," she continued, her tone measured. "With any luck, they will be receptive to our explanation."

"I sure hope they don't," Sully stated, cracking her knuckles. "They sound like awesome sparring partners!"

"Yeah, yeah! I agree!" Goku eagerly agreed, nodding his head up and down. "We haven't encountered any of those…'Red Ribbon Army' people you guys said are apparently super strong, so maybe they can be good to train against instead!"

"Huh, now that I think about it, we haven't encountered any members of the Red Ribbon Army ever since we fought them back at Southtown…" Robin mused, bringing a hand up to his chin. "The last two weeks as a whole have been rather uneventful. Even Yamcha and Puar haven't tried sneaking up on us or anything..."

"Hopefully it stays that way," Chrom quickly replied, before looking ahead at the entry of the tent. "But regardless of what may come, we should get going straight away. Every second we spend discussing in here could be used out there to look for the Dragon Ball."

"Wise as usual, milord!" Maribelle happily chirped from the prince's side, and in the corner of his eye Robin could have sworn that Sully slightly grimaced.

Before the conversation could continue any further, however, Vaike quickly piped up from his spot in the corner of the tent.

"N-Now wait just a damn minute! Are we really going out there? It's freezing!" the blonde-haired boy cried out, hugging himself in a desperate attempt to keep warm.

Frederick simply frowned at him, and proceeded to speak rather monotonously. "If I recall correctly, you are the one who wished to continue into the north shirtless despite my and milord's constant warnings. You've dug your own grave, and now you must lie down in it."

"Oh come on, this is cruel!" Vaike crossly replied. "What happened to that one cloak that I was supposed to wear but refused to? I'll just put it on now."

"It was disposed of, since it was of no use to us," Frederick calmly responded, causing the shirtless boy to wince.

"W-Well what about me?" Oolong quickly asked, in a similar position to Vaike with his arms crossed and his body shivering like crazy.

"What about you?" Sully snorted, raising an eyebrow at the pig-boy.

Before the banter could go any further, Frederick produced two black cloaks and chucked them straight at Vaike and Oolong, with the human easily catching it while the anthropomorphic pig simply let out a yelp as the thing ended up covering his face. He struggled a bit with getting it off.

These cloaks weren't as thick and strong as Robin's, and it obviously would have been preferable if they were wearing jackets like Chrom, Maribelle, and the others, but it was better then nothing, and it was also all that they had at the moment.

As Vaike and Oolong quickly began to get into their cloaks, Chrom turned to the other Shepherds.

"Alright, apart from that, is there anything else to discuss?"

No one responded, so the prince and his knight took this as a sign that the objectives of the upcoming mission were understood. Frederick bent down and began to roll up the map, while Robin simply let out a sigh.

He had a bad feeling that today wasn't going to be as peaceful as the last two weeks had been…

---

After clearing the camp, those who were in possession of them had boarded their horses while the others trotted alongside them. Everyone was taking each step in a rather tentative matter while also clutching their weapons very tightly, and this was due to the fact that as they moved further and further north, the snow pelting the ground became more and more severe, to the point that Robin couldn't even see his hand in front of his face anymore.

Though, oddly enough, that damn symbol just would not elude his vision…

After walking a fair bit of distance, Chrom let out a sigh. "This is going to take forever…"

This sentence dragged Robin out of his thoughts, and after a brief few seconds of thinking, he turned to Goku. The black-haired boy was lazily trailing the gang from atop the Flying Nimbus, though upon noticing Robin's gaze he proceeded to straighten his back out and raised an eyebrow.

"Goku, do you think you could use your Flying Nimbus to scout the area in front of us?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "It's getting pretty hard to see in this weather…"

The wild boy blinked twice in response, before nodding and flashing his friend a smile. "Alright, sure! Just a second, alright?"

Everyone watched as Goku grabbed the front of his little yellow cloud, yanking it upwards. Roshi's gift followed his command, and immediately took off into the air, leaving the others behind. Robin felt a little jealous that Goku had obtained such a useful gift, though even if he had obtained the Flying Nimbus, he probably wouldn't have been able to ride it. Everyone apart from Goku had tried, and failed, to get onto the magical cloud.

Well, everyone except for Robin. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it anyways.

"Good thinking, Robin," Chrom praised his comrade, his gaze following Goku's soaring figure as it vanished into the tempestuous heavens above.

"Oh, uh, thanks, Chrom," the silver-haired youth replied with a warm smile.

---

Goku gracefully maneuvered through the air, a wide grin adorning his face throughout the exhilarating journey. Despite the onslaught of snow pelting against his body, it failed to dampen his spirits as he indulged in this carefree escapade.

In a remarkably brief span of time, Goku managed to traverse a considerable distance. After several minutes of soaring, his keen eyes caught sight of a dwelling - followed swiftly by another, and yet another. Soon, an entire cluster of houses and structures materialized before him.

Without a doubt, this was the village Chrom had referred to earlier.

Descending down to the ground to get a better look, Goku briefly noted that the place seemed rather…Empty. Just like when Oolong had taken over that one town before.

"Everyone hasn't boarded themselves up into one big building, have they?" the monkey-tailed boy thought to himself briefly, furrowing his brows as he thought about it for a bit. "Because it'd be kind of boring if the same thing happened twice..."

Unfortunately, he wasn't given enough time to think about it, as an arrow proceeded to whiz past his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Goku was immediately on high alert and moved his vision down to the ground. It was a good thing, too, as a line of archers were all aiming straight at him! The monkey-tailed boy grabbed at his cloud and yanked it backwards, causing it to ascend into the air, allowing him to just barely evade a few more attempted attacks.

He could take a hit by an arrow, due to his powerful skin, but he honestly wasn't sure about the Flying Nimbus. He obviously didn't want to find out, either.

The wild boy was forced to go onto the defensive as the onslaught of arrows continued. He ducked underneath one of them, swiveled to the left of another one, and just barely managed to go downwards to avoid a third one. The arrow, instead of hitting his cloud, ended up slamming into his forehead. The wooden weapon cracked harmlessly against his thick skull. A fourth and final arrow was aimed straight at his eye, though he simply proceeded to bite down into it, snapping it in half like he used to do with the bones of his prey on Mount Paozu.

Goku quickly assessed the situation, realizing that the archers needed time to reload. Seizing the opportunity, he dove downwards at an astonishing speed. Swiftly drawing his Power Pole, Goku quickly incapacitated one of his unsuspecting foes before even touching the ground.

Once he was close enough, and with remarkable agility, Goku leapt off his cloud, twirling his elongated weapon to dispatch two more adversaries. His attention shifted to the final archer, who trembled in fear, taking hesitant steps backward. A misaimed arrow narrowly missed Goku's face, forcing him to suppress a growing smirk.

Taking a deep breath, Goku stomped his foot firmly into the ground, leaving an indelible imprint of his unassuming black shoes in the snow. The archer let out a terrified scream, spinning around and abandoning his bow in the process. Although Goku briefly considered letting him flee, he decided it was best to render him incapacitated for later questioning.

"Power Pole...Extend!" Goku called out, his voice brimming with determination. In an instant, his trusty brown stick extended at an incredible speed, striking the back of the archer's skull with a resounding thud. The force of the blow sent the archer crashing to the ground, succumbing to unconsciousness and kicking up a bit of snow in the process.

After ensuring that the staff had decreased to its original length, Goku put it back to its place on his back and turned towards the nearest unconscious body. He trotted on over to it, and then squatted down next to it.

Bringing a hand up to his chin, Goku began to ruminate aloud, the furrow on his brow deepening. "Huh, I didn't think that the people in this village would be so mean... Maybe they thought that I was a bad guy or something?..."

The young warrior shook his head, finding it puzzling. He couldn't quite make sense of why they would mistake him for a villain. His attention then turned to the archer's outfit, noting its humble nature. The archer donned a practical white cloak, serving both as protection against the biting cold and a means to blend into the snowy surroundings. Beneath the cloak, his attire was simple and suited for his archery skills. However, there was one element that caught Goku's interest—an item that seemed out of place amidst the archer's ensemble.

A bright red armband that was wrapped tightly around the man's arm…

Goku's eyes quickly widened, and he immediately spun around to look at the other knocked out archers. They all had those bright red bands wrapped around their arms, and if Goku remembered correctly…

"Robin and Chrom mentioned that the Red Ribbon Army guys had those bands around their arms to show their allegiance to the Red Ribbon Army!" Goku realized, his eyes wide. However, he slowly began to grin, and immediately rushed on over to his cloud. He hopped onto the Flying Nimbus, and prepared to go further into the village, to see if he could find any more of those thugs.

However, he then quickly proceeded to stop himself from going further.

"The others would get pretty mad at me if I went on my own…Hm…I think I'll go back and get them."

Without hesitation, Goku spun around with lightning speed, soaring through the air, leaving the fallen bodies of his unconscious adversaries in his wake. Confident that they posed no further threat, he continued on his path, his mindset focused on his mission. However, unbeknownst to Goku, his actions had not gone unnoticed.

A lone figure, wielding a formidable long sword, had witnessed the swift and efficient defeat of the archers. An audible curse escaped the man's lips, his eyes narrowing with a mix of anger, fear, and complete and utter disbelief.

"Shit, that kid was strong! It's a good thing I hid behind this building…" the Red Ribbon Army lackey muttered to himself, peaking out from his hiding place. He remained silent for a few moments, before letting out a groan and dashing further into the village. "I've got to warn the others so that they can prepare for his return!"

---

It didn't take too long for Goku to get back in touch with the Shepherds, since they had continued moving forwards. Upon spotting their friend, however, the gang came to a halt. Chrom was expecting good news, but upon seeing the expression on the monkey-tailed boy's face, he grimaced.

Goku descended towards the group, and immediately began waving his hands around crazily.

"You won't believe it, you guys! I went to that village up ahead, but it seemed pretty empty to be honest. I went down to investigate, and then some dudes attacked me!" he exclaimed rather quickly. "I think they were Red Ribbon Army guys!"

Chrom grimaced immediately at that. "They managed to get all the way up here?..."

"Did they have one of those red bands around their arm?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at the wild boy. "All of the guys we've fought so far had one of those…"

Gohan's grandson nodded in the affirmative. "Yep. All four of 'em had those bands. But, um, you said they'd be strong! They were actually pretty weak…"

Ignoring Goku's comment, Chrom turned to Frederick. "If Goku's right, then...We need to get there as fast as possible, Frederick!"

The knight simply nodded at the prince and motioned towards the back of his horse. "Please, hop on, milord."

Chrom followed the instruction and they swiftly galloped forwards after that. They had refrained from doing so earlier since they were unsure of what awaited them, but now that they knew it was clear until the village, they picked up speed, riding as fast as Jagen could go.

Vaike joined Stahl while Miriel joined Sully, and Maribelle did not allow anyone to join her on her horse. Goku, meanwhile, had access to the Flying Nimbus and blitzed forward to lead the way.

Only Robin and Oolong remained, exchanging exasperated sighs before they hurriedly dashed ahead, attempting to keep pace with their allies in the freezing cold. The icy temperature didn't bother Robin much, thanks to his thick cloak, but Oolong's fingers were numb, motivating him to run as fast as possible.

Of course, Kellam was left behind as usual.

---

After a fair bit of frantic travelling, the gang eventually arrived at the village. Goku hopped off of the nimbus and then landed onto the ground, the Power Pole clutched tightly in his hands. As the others got off of the horses and moved to grab their weapons, the monkey-tailed boy noticed something rather odd.

"Hey…Wait a minute…"

"What's wrong, Goku?" Chrom asked, unsheathing Falchion. Despite the relentless snow pelting their skin, the blade shimmered in his hand.

The monkey-tailed boy's head turned from left to right a few times, as though he was expecting something to just appear out of thin air, but after a few moments he turned around to look at the prince with wide eyes.

"The bodies of those archers I defeated…They're gone!" Goku cried out, causing Robin to wince.

"How is that even possible?" he thought to himself worriedly. "Maybe Goku just didn't beat them up as hard as he did, and they escaped after he left? No, Goku isn't the kind of guy to half-ass these types of things…"

"You aren't pullin' our leg or something, are ya little man?" Vaike asked, putting his hands on his hips and raising an eyebrow at the wild boy. "Because, uh, I'm starting to think you didn't beat up anybody…"

"No, no! I'm serious!" Goku replied, vehemently shaking his head. "There were, um…One, two…Four of them! I-I think, at least. I dunno, I'm not the best at counting…"

"Of course you aren't," Frederick sighed in slight annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, where exactly do you think these archers who attacked you have gone off to?"

Goku fidgeted in his place, a hand on his chin and his eyes squeezed shut as he pondered over the possibilities. As he did this, Robin thought about it as well.

After a few seconds, he opened his mouth to speak.

"If those archers were here, then I think it's, you know, pretty safe to assume that there are other Red Ribbon Army members hiding out here as well," the white-haired boy suggested. "It's just a guess, obviously, but…What if some of them just decided to hide out until you left, and then took their allies' bodies away?"

Goku cocked his head to the side, while Frederick huffed at Robin.

"We've been dealing with the Red Ribbon Army for far longer then you've been a member of the Shepherds, and I can confidently tell you that members of the Red Ribbon Army do not care about their allies' well-being. If Goku had killed those archers, they would not care," the knight stated firmly, crossing his arms. "And if they were alive? Well, they would probably get executed for being too weak. There's no doubt in my mind that your assumption is wrong, and-"

As Frederick was about to utter his final words, an enormous fireball tore through the air, narrowly grazing past his face. The sheer size of the ball was awe-inspiring, and the knight could feel the searing heat emanating from it long after it had whizzed by. The intense heat was so powerful that it melted the snow beneath the group's feet, leaving a trail of water in its wake.

The Shepherds immediately spun to the side, and were greeted with the ugly sight of a group of mages. All of them were clutching their tomes tightly with one hand, and were using the other hand to charge up yet another spell at them.

"Yeah, um, how about we talk about that another time?" Stahl suggested to his superior, brandishing his bronze sword and pointing it ahead. "We've got trouble!"

Frederick growled like a dog, before sighing. "I can see that but…Fine. We shall deal with that another time. For now…Sully! Stahl! Maneuver 69!"

"Right!" Sully shouted from behind, immediately kicking the flank of her horse. Cain let out a mighty neigh, rearing its head back, before immediately charging forwards. Frederick quickly followed, and Stahl let out a sigh before looking down at his horse.

"Alright, buddy. Let's do this!" the green-armored boy exclaimed, pointing forwards dramatically. "To victory, Abel!"

The unruly horse looked up at its master with an uninterested look on its face, and after a few seconds it let out an audible sigh. If the horse had the means to do so, it probably would have shrugged.

Stahl charged forwards, joining his fellow horse riders in one of the many special maneuvers that they had practiced together. Robin watched slightly in awe as Stahl, Sully, and Frederick dashed forwards in a straight line, before forking out into different directions, confusing the mages. The three of them were quite in sync, and Robin silently wished to himself that he could achieve something like that with his fellow Shepherds one day.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, the white-haired boy settled into a fighting stance, and after a few seconds a small smirk formed on his face.

"Nice…" he muttered to himself, realizing just what number Frederick had used.

"Eh? What's nice?" Vaike inquired, hoisting his axe above his shoulder and getting into his own fighting stance.

Robin blinked twice, before letting out a sigh. OBVIOUSLY that joke didn't exist in this world. "Erm, it's…Nothing. Don't worry about it."

The blonde-haired boy cocked his head to the side in confusion, though he wasn't given much time to respond as a shout from Chrom quickly grabbed his attention.

"Everyone, look alive! We've got company!"

Robin's eyes widened, and he quickly surveyed their surroundings. True to his instincts, a swarm of Red Ribbon Army soldiers emerged from their hiding places behind nearby buildings. They advanced towards them, armed with an array of weapons ranging from swords to lances. Robin keenly observed that these soldiers were unlike the ones they had encountered in Southtown; these soldiers were clad in genuine armor, a clear sign of their increased threat level.

These guys actually meant business.

Reacting swiftly, Miriel swiftly opened her tome and gestured with her hand, conjuring a colossal wall of flames that materialized between the group and the oncoming attackers. The intense heat and towering inferno created a formidable barrier, effectively dividing the two forces and providing a temporary respite for the group.

"Indeed, that diversion should have granted us a few precious seconds..." Miriel theorized, her gaze shifting towards the prince. "Commander, do you have any specific orders for us?"

Her tone was both composed and attentive, ready to act upon his instructions.

Chrom's heart raced as he surveyed the scary scene, before looking to the side and allowing his eyes to settle on Frederick and his fellow horse riders who were still engaged in battle, demonstrating remarkable skill and resilience.

"Milord, fear not for us!" Frederick's voice boomed amidst the chaos, his horse deftly maneuvering to evade a fiery attack, creating an opportune moment for Frederick to strike. With swift precision, he thrust his trusty lance into the mage's abdomen, extracting it without hesitation, disregarding the crimson flow of blood. With a salute, Frederick assured his lord, "Rest assured, we have the situation well in hand!"

From the side, Robin noted that apart from the one that Frederick had just dispatched, there was another mage lying down on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The white-haired boy assumed that she had been doube-teamed by Sully and Stahl. This just left two mages to deal with.

Chrom remained silent for a moment, before sighing and looking back at the people he had with him right now. The flames that Miriel had summoned were beginning to flicker out, so it was time to create a plan. "Hm…Let's see…"

"If you're going to make a plan, princey, it'd be best if you made it right now!" Vaike exclaimed as the flames disappeared, allowing the evil warriors to charge straight at the group. The yellow-haired boy swung his axe with wild abandon, beheading a swordfighter the moment he got into his range.

"Hey, I've never been the best with strategies!" Chrom angrily replied ducking under an attempted attack from a lancer before plunging Falchion straight into his stomach. An axe-user thought he could take advantage of the prince's current predicament, but Chrom simply spun around, his last victim still stuck on his sword, and used him as a meat shield.

The axe-user blinked twice as he watched his fallen ally's head fall down onto the snowy ground that had been slightly melted due to Miriel's flame attacks, slightly surprised that he had inadvertently finished him off.

Chrom simply grinned, kicking the headless body off of his sword, and then took down his foe by slashing his blade diagonally at the fool who thought he had a chance. As his body fell to the ground, Chrom took a second to observe the battlefield.

Goku was spinning the Power Pole around like a maniac, grinning as he took down the army of warriors. There was no doubt in Chrom's mind that the wild boy was probably going to complain later about how weak these guys were, but for now, it was alright. Miriel and Vaike were also putting in some serious work too, with Miriel summoning columns of flame that turned the snow around her to slush. If the enemies somehow avoided her magical attacks, they would end up slipping, and that gave Vaike the perfect opportunity to behead them with his axe.

The Shepherds were all putting in some serious work. Just because they hadn't dealt with any serious threats for two weeks didn't mean that they were slacking off on their training.

Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly continue mentally praising his friends, as a scream caught his attention.

The blue-haired boy's head snapped to the side, his eyes widening with shock as Maribelle and Oolong found themselves cornered by two imposing men brandishing menacing maces.

"St-Stand back, you wretched villains!" Maribelle's voice quivered with nervousness as she fiercely waved her staff in a feeble attempt to deter her assailants, her determination shining through.

However, her efforts proved fruitless as the men remained undeterred, closing in on her and Oolong without a hint of fear.

"Agh! I'm too cute to die!" Oolong screamed from behind Maribelle, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds. However, a thought popped into his head, and slowly he peaked one eye open. He realized that he was standing right behind Maribelle! Despite the dangerous situation, he found the courage within himself to slowly reach out and pull her skirt up to see a beautiful sight underneath…

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Maribelle angrily screamed at the former shapeshifter, slamming her shoe into his face. She then turned to the burly men, who were now towering directly over her. "O-Oh no…"

"Hehehe, don't you worry little lady," one of the big men said with a smirk, licking his lips as he reached his free hand out towards the noblewoman. "I promise I'll be gentle…"

Chrom grimaced. He, Miriel, Vaike, and even Goku were too far away, and preoccupied for that matter, to save her…

Just as the tension reached its peak, a familiar face burst onto the scene with a resounding shout.

It was Robin!

With unparalleled agility, the white-haired boy executed a flawless flying kick, striking one of the burly men right in the small of his back. A cry of pain escaped the man's lips as he stumbled forward, momentarily incapacitated. Robin landed on the ground after that, though he almost lost his balance on the slightly melted snow. He quickly recovered, leaning against the wall, and flashed Maribelle and Oolong a nervous but determined smile.

They were both shocked at first that he had managed to save them at the last second, but now they were looking at him with deadpan expressions on their faces.

"Um…Nice weather we're having?" Robin asked with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

Before anyone could give him a response, however, his opponent spun around.

Without giving anyone a chance to react, the man Robin had incapacitated let out a furious roar and charged directly at him, his mace raised high above his head. With lightning-fast reflexes, the white-haired boy skillfully evaded the attack by swiftly moving his head to the side. In one fluid motion, he extended his hand, seizing the ball at the end of the mace, and effortlessly crushed it with his bare grip. The sound of shattering metal filled the air, leaving the attacker stunned and defenseless.

With a startled gasp, the Red Ribbon Army soldier watched in disbelief as Robin released his weapon. Seizing the opportunity, the white-haired hero swiftly spun around and unleashed a powerful kick straight into the soldier's stomach. The force of the impact sent him hurtling backward, colliding with another opponent who Vaike was locked in combat with. The two adversaries crashed to the ground in a heap of defeat, their resistance quelled.

"H-Hey!" the yellow-haired boy exclaimed, waving his fist angrily at the cloaked boy. "That was totally my win! You stole it!"

Robin wanted to apologize, he really did, but he wasn't actually given a chance to do so as the other guy who had tried to do dirty things to Maribelle shot straight at Robin, slamming his elbow straight into him. Robin grunted as he staggered back a bit, and the guy took advantage of this by slamming his axe right at the cloaked boy's face. He definitely was not the brightest guy on the battlefield, though since Robin had already displayed his incredible strength against his partner, and was going to do the same with him now.

The white-haired boy grabbed the mace by the orb, ignoring all of the little pointy bits as he did so, and yanked it out of his opponent's hand. He then chucked it straight into the sky, causing his foe to look up in bewilderment.

"What the hell?..."

Robin then proceeded to quickly deliver two quick punches in rapid succession at his foe's chest, and followed that up by grabbing his armor so that he wasn't sent flying away. He kneed him in the groin, and then let out a sigh as he raised his body to the sky.

"Please forgive me for this!" the white-haired boy exclaimed.

The mace that he had chucked into the air was sent crashing downwards, and immediately collided with his opponent's head, causing the top to get bashed in.

Robin winced as a fair amount of blood was sprayed onto his face, and let out a sigh as he let go of his opponent's body, letting it crash down onto the snowy ground onto the ground. The pure white snow was stained with the liquid of life.

He did not like killing, not in the slightest, but this was a kill or be killed world. Sure, these common soldiers couldn't do anything to him, but people like Yamcha and Goku did exist. He could get hurt.

He had to either get used to killing now, or pay the price for it later.

"Nice work, Robin," Chrom spoke up, putting a hand on the white-haired boy's shoulder. Robin let out a yelp and immediately spun around, getting ready to throw a punch straight at Chrom's face. However, upon realizing that it was the prince, he calmed down. Chrom simply cracked a smirk at this as he swung his blade a little to get a fresh coat of blood off of it. "Feeling a little jumpy?"

"That's putting it lightly," Robin stated with a sigh, bringing a hand up to his chest. He recovered quickly, however, and flashed the prince a cocky smile. "So, uh, how'd I do?"

"Pretty great, I'd say!" Oolong excitedly piped up, jogging up to the white-haired boy and giving him a light pat on the leg. He would have given him one on the back, but he was too short. "You saved my bacon, after all!"

"Yes, I will admit that you were…Rather impressive," Maribelle stated bringing a hand up to her chest and letting out a sigh that she wasn't even aware that she was holding in. "I…Must thank you. I am aware that we have had our differences so far, but you saved my life, so I must thank you for that."

Robin flashed the noblewoman a smile, and shook his head. "C-Come on, Maribelle. It was nothing, really. You don't have to thank me for it. We're teammates, after all."

The noblewoman let out a huff, and looked away. "Hmph! Well, if that's the case, then I take back my thanks."

"Can you do that?" Oolong asked in confusion.

Before the conversation could continue, a Red Ribbon soldier was sent crashing right in front of the group of four, reminding them that they were in the middle of a brutal battle. They looked up and saw that Goku was responsible for that, and he followed that up with sending two more Red Ribbon Army soldiers flying in two separate directions.

"That guy's a demon!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, shaking in his boots as he did so. His grip on his sword tightened rather considerably, and he was contemplating if he should run away. "We can't beat him!..."

"Oh come on, quit being a pussy," his friend, a pike user, said with a smirk as he lightly nudged him in the side. "He might be strong on his own, but we outnumber him! And not only that, but our reinforcements will be arriving soon! We'll just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a lance came flying out of nowhere and lodged itself firmly into his head, causing him to scream out in agony. The guy with the sword let out a yelp, dropped his weapon, and immediately spun around to run away. There was no way he was dealing with this!

Robin glanced to the side to see just who was responsible for that surprise attack, and smiled slightly as he realized that it was Frederick.

"The cavalry has arrived…Literally," Robin sighed to himself as Frederick, Sully, and Stahl all joined the rest of the Shepherds, staring down the large group of Red Ribbon Army soldiers.

"Milord, we are here to offer our assistance," Frederick proudly proclaimed, pulling his lance out of the man's head before commanding his horse to trot up to his liege. "The mages have been dealt with accordingly, and we should be able to take care of whatever they throw at us from here on out."

"Yeah, but they were really strong," Stahl chimed in, rubbing the back of his neck. Robin raised an eyebrow at the green knight, before immediately wincing as he noticed a large chunk of Stahl's armor had been melted off at the side, no doubt by a fire-based spell. The skin underneath had been charred slightly. Combined with the fact that they were in a horrifyingly cold area, that wasn't exactly a good thing… "It still hurts, man…"

Maribelle let out a sigh, before pulling out her staff. She waved the brown stick around, and a light green light enveloped its tip. A similar light appeared on Stahl's skin, and it soon healed itself in a matter of seconds.

"Hmph. That should do it," the noblewoman stated, before looking away and raising an eyebrow. "Now where is Mr. Sparkles? I think I would be far safer on top of his glorious posterior…"

"Yeah, it'd be harder for those dudes with the weapons to get you," Oolong said with crossed arms, trying his best to look as tough as he could. Unfortunately for him, he was failing pretty badly as he kept on looking from side to side at the ever-increasing number of Red Ribbon soldiers. "Though, uh, on second thought…"

"Shit, they're multiplying," Sully grumbled angrily to herself, noticing that more and more Red Ribbon Army soldiers were appearing out of nowhere. The redhead swung her lance around from atop her horse and grimaced. "I dunno if we can deal with this…"

Robin grimaced, and then glanced at Miriel. "Um, Miriel? Can't you just summon a wall of flames like you did earlier?"

The mage looked back at the white-haired boy and curtly shook her head.

"I'm afraid not," Miriel explained, her voice tinged with concern. "That particular spell requires a significant amount of Mana, and using it repeatedly could deplete the power within my tome, rendering it useless." She raised the book with the red cover slightly, her expression displaying a hint of dismay as she noticed the less-than-ideal condition of its spine. "In fact, it seems that the tome is already on the brink of running out of power..."

"I can take 'em on, even if there ARE a lot of them!" Goku exclaimed, spinning the Power Pole above his head before settling into a fighting stance, ignoring the strange looks his allies were giving him as he did so. All of the opposing fighters were staring at him warily, ready to do their best to defend themselves if he got ready to lunge at them. "Their weapons don't do anything to me! I guess you guys were lying when you said the Red Ribbon Army was really strong, because so far-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a blast of electricity was sent flying in front of his face, just barely missing it. The hairs all over his body stood up on end, and he quickly spun around to see a mage holding a yellow-covered book in one hand. The fingers on his other hand were pointing straight at Goku, and smoke was slightly billowing away from them.

Before the moneky-tailed boy could do anything else, a few more lightning bolts were sent flying towards him from other directions, signifying that other mages had joined the fray as well. Goku did his best to dodge them, doing backflips and even deflecting a couple of attacks using his Power Pole, though eventually one managed to hit him.

Right in the butt, no less.

"OUCH!" Goku screamed out, dropping hold of his weapon and leaping a comically large distance into the air. He landed down onto the ground, and looked around angrily. "Wh-Which one of you did that?! I'm going to make you pay!"

Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he saw the attack unfold. "Huh, so that's how lightning magic looks like. It looks...Pretty cool. Not as destructive as Miriel's fire magic, but it definitely seems a lot faster in execution…"

Chrom grimaced, glancing from left to right as the swordsmen, mages, warriors, and every other type of Red Ribbon Army soldier slowly closed in on them. He wasn't quite sure where to point his blade, in all honesty. If he pointed Falchion to the right, that would give the spearmaster with the nasty scar on his face the perfect opportunity to pierce his heart. If he pointed to the left, meanwhile, he would have no way of seeing or avoiding the attacks from the lightning mages to his right…

"What are your orders, milord?" Frederick inquired, glancing at the prince. Even with his years of experience in combat, this was shaping up to be a rather difficult fight.

Chrom grit his teeth. Arrows were now being pointed at him and his group. He had to think fast.

"I'm…Not sure…" Chrom grumbled begrudgingly. He was better at smashing things and taking orders, not giving them! Just what exactly was he supposed to do in this situation? "Gods, what kind of prince am I?..."

Robin took note of the expression on Chrom's face and frowned slightly. He was making a similar face to the one that HE made whenever he didn't know how to do anything at school back in his old word, which in all honesty was one that he made rather frequently. He had to help his friend out.

The white-haired boy quickly took note of the situation, and after a few minutes of concentrating, suddenly found that an idea had popped right into his mind.

"I've got it!" Robin exclaimed with a grin, spinning around towards Frederick. The knight regarded him with a raised eyebrow, while the white-haired boy simply smirked in response. He leaned in, and began to whisper to the knight. "Frederick, listen, I've got an idea. Do you have Oolong's tome on you right now?"

Chrom's retainer frowned. "Well, it is present in my big brown pack, but I don't really see how that is relevant to our current situation…"

"Yeah, thanks," Robin simply replied, ignoring the parts that he didn't really want to hear, before dashing to Jagen's backside and immediately opening up the bag that Frederick had mentioned. The cloaked boy quickly began to rummage through it, causing the knight to gasp out in alarm.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?!" Frederick cried out angrily. "Is that a sign of betrayal?!"

Ignoring the boisterous remarks, Robin continued with his task until eventually finding the tome with the purple cover. The edges of his lips turned upwards, and he chucked the book straight at Oolong, who was currently quivering behind Vaike and Stahl.

The book smacked the pig right in the head, causing him to get momentarily stunned. He quickly collected his bearings, however, and looked down at the tome which was now lying down in the snow.

"M-My tome!" Oolong gasped as he quickly picked it up, before smirking mischievously. "Hehe, this is my ticket out of here!..."

"Actually, it's going to be helping ALL of us get out of here," Robin told the shapeshifter, before looking straight at Miriel. The mage had been regarding him with confusion ever since he started whispering to Frederick, just wondering what he was doing, but after a few seconds she realized what his plan was, and smirked slightly. She was rather impressed with his quick thinking.

Miriel spun around and turned to the soldiers who were now even closer then before and, trying to keep the whispering that Robin was doing to Oolong out of her head, raised her right hand. A small ball of flames began to form within it, and Stahl looked at her in alarm.

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea, Miriel?" the green-haired boy inquired. "You DID just say that you're running out of firepower, and-"

Before he could finish, Miriel clenched her right hand and then proceeded to slam into the ground. At that exact moment, a wall of flames burned into existence right in front of her, causing all of the approaching fighters to stop right in their tracks.

---

"What the hell?!…" one of the swordsmen muttered to himself, before immediately spinning around to look at one of their mages that specialized in fire magic. "You there! Come on, take that wall out!"

"Right," the mage quickly replied, opening his tome up to a different page and raising his hand to the wall. He closed his eyes, and attempted to use his spell. However, after a few seconds, his eyes suddenly widened. "I…I can't control those flames!"

The guy who gave him the order was dumbfounded. "What?! Why?!"

---

As their attackers were stupefied outside, wondering just what was going on, Miriel let out a sigh and turned around to face her allies. Surprisingly enough, despite the power of the massive spell that had just been cast, her tome looked to be…Fine. In fact, it looked the exact same! "I suppose we should commence our endeavor to abscond forthwith, shall we not?"

Chrom blinked twice, before raising an eyebrow at the mage. "Um, what just happened?"

Before Miriel could respond, a light rumbling occurred from the wall of flames, catching the group's attention. Everyone turned around and, much to their surprise, saw Oolong's face in the flames. He had copied what Puar had did when he transformed into that massive smoke cloud!

"Heh, I happened," the shapeshifter confidently replied, a smug look on his face. Everyone remained silent for a few moments, just staring at the wall of flames, and after a few seconds he let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. Lemme explain. Um…"

"What happened was that, because Miriel's tome didn't have enough strength left to summon an actual wall of flames to help us escape, I went with the next best thing," Robin spoke up, twiddling with his fingers nervously. "I, uh, got Oolong to turn into a wall of fire the moment Miriel slammed her fist into the ground."

"And I simply conjured a spell that produced a modest amount of heat. It was a relatively weak spell, so it didn't deplete much of my mana," Miriel explained, adjusting her glasses. "Of course, if any of those soldiers were foolish enough to hurl themselves at the 'fire', they would discover it to be entirely harmless. Though, I highly doubt they would attempt such an act, given its size and the perceptible warmth it radiates."

Chrom blinked twice, before a wide grin crossed his face. He turned to Robin and gave the white-haired boy a thumbs-up. "Wow, nice thinking, Robin! You really saved us there."

It was Robin's turn to be momentarily stunned. Upon gathering his bearings, however, he nervously fidgeted and coughed into his hand. He somehow still wasn't used to compliments, since he never really got them in his old world. "I, um, thanks. I appreciate it, Chrom…"

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we be getting out of here, then?" Stahl spoke up, thumbing towards an alleyway between two large buildings covered completely in snow. "I mean, we can't really do anything about our enemies right now, right?"

Chrom nodded, and looked towards the others. "Stahl's right, everyone. Jump onto a horse and let's get moving!"

"H-Hey, what about me?!" Oolong asked, alarmed by what was being said.

The shapeshifter was ignored, and everyone began to get onto a horse. Just like before, Sully joined Miriel and Vaike joined Stahl. This time, however, along with Chrom, Robin also hopped onto Jagen. The three horses immediately dashed ahead, with Maribelle in dead last. She quickly kicked the side of her horse, causing it to let out a loud neigh and immediately trail after the other three. Goku was quick to follow them on his Flying Nimbus, though judging from the expression on his face, it was quite obvious that he wanted to stay back and fight against the Red Ribbon soldiers.

Oolong, still in his fiery form, let out an alarmed gasp upon realizing that he was being ignored and immediately transformed into a bird so that he could follow the others.

Of course, this had the unfortunate side-effect of alerting the Red Ribbon Army members that they had just been duped.

"H-Hey! The fire's gone…And those guys are getting away! After them!"

"Gods damn it, Oolong! You... You despicable swine!" Maribelle shouted in frustration, her gaze shifting upwards as she rode alongside the other Shepherds, desperately trying to escape. They had successfully created a considerable gap between themselves and their pursuers, but now arrows and spells were being launched towards them. "This is entirely your fault! You should have remained in that form for a little while longer!"

"Hey, if I had done that, I would've had to face those guys all by myself!" Oolong protested from above, squinting at the noblewoman. He then took a deep breath. "But... Geez... This is the most effort I've put into something for a long time! I'm suddenly feeling really tired..."

A puff of smoke enveloped Oolong's body as he transformed back into his pig form, and he landed right onto the backside of Maribelle's esteemed horse, Mr. Sparkles. It took him a moment to catch his breath, though he then realized just where he was, and a perverted idea popped into his head.

Oolong proceeded to wrap his arms around Maribelle's waist.

"H-Hey! Release me this instant and get off immediately!" Maribelle squealed, glancing back at the shapeshifter. With one hand gripping the reins of her horse, she used the other to attempt prying Oolong's arms away from her. "You lecherous scoundrel!..."

"C-Calm down, lady! I swear I won't do anything pervy this time, alright?! I just don't want to plummet to the ground and become lunch for those guys!" Oolong exclaimed in alarm, tightening his grip on Maribelle. He then gestured ahead, his eyes widening in panic. "A-And please focus on the road! We're going to crash into something if you don't pay attention!"

Maribelle huffed, still rather unnerved that she was letting Oolong do this, but then eventually relented and focused her attention on the road ahead.

The Shepherds' horses raced forward, skillfully maneuvering to dodge stray arrows and magical bursts of energy. However, it became increasingly clear that they needed to alter their strategy sooner rather than later. Not only were their horses growing weary from trudging through the snow, but it was only a matter of time before their pursuers closed in on them. They urgently needed a plan, and they needed one now.

Fortunately, a stroke of luck unfolded when a bend in the road emerged. Seizing the opportunity, the horses swiftly reversed direction, allowing them to create a significant gap between themselves and their relentless pursuers.

While racing down the unfamiliar road, the group's attention was captured by a voice calling out to them. Frederick turned his head, spotting a man with dark grey hair gesturing for them to approach. Clad in a sturdy black coat to shield himself from the cold, the knight noticed the man was clutching a white-covered tome beneath his arm.

"Strangers! Over here!" the man called out, vehemently waving in their direction.

Observing that the stranger lacked a red band on his arm, Frederick deduced that he was not associated with the Red Ribbon Army. With a confirming nod from Chrom, he promptly directed his horse towards the man. Jagen dutifully obeyed the command, and the rest of the horses followed suit as well.

As Frederick approached the man, his natural skepticism prompted him to prepare a question. However, before he could utter a word, the man swiftly opened his tome. In that instant, Frederick's eyes widened with recognition as he realized the true nature of the tome. It was none other than a tome of the incredibly rare Light Magic, indicating that the man possessed expertise in this extraordinary form of spellcasting.

With a graceful wave of his hand, the man summoned a vibrant yellow dome of pure light that trapped the group within, instantly illuminating the surroundings that had been shrouded in darkness due to the incessant snowfall. Frederick felt a sense of relief as he realized that the spell cast by the man was not intended to harm them but rather served a more practical purpose.

Frederick couldn't be certain of the exact purpose behind the light dome, but he surmised that it had played a crucial role in their evasion. As the Red Ribbon Army soldiers, who had been relentlessly pursuing them, approached, they abruptly halted just a few meters away. Bewilderment etched across their faces as they scanned the area, searching for any sign of their targets.

For some reason, they could no longer see the Shepherds.

"They must have gone in a different direction," one soldier speculated, perplexed, while another swiftly turned his horse around and galloped away. "Let's go! They can't have gone too far! If those guys really are the Shepherds, we'll be handsomely rewarded for capturing them!"

It became evident that, for some reason, their adversaries could no longer see them, allowing the group to remain concealed and out of sight.

The group watched as the soldiers galloped away, and after a few seconds, they heard the man clear his throat. They turned to face him, and he gestured to a rather cozy-looking cottage behind himself with a small plastered on his face. No one in the group had noticed the building beforehand.

"You were the ones fighting against the Red Ribbon Army, yes?" the man asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity and cheerfulness. "That makes you a friend of mine. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, correct? Anyways, it must be cold out here. Please, come inside."

The group exchanged glances, surprised by the man's sudden hospitality. After the intense chase and their narrow escape, they were wary of trusting anyone. However, the warmth emanating from the cottage and the genuine kindness in the man's eyes seemed to reassure them.

Frederick immediately got off his horse, his lance clutched at his side. He immediately pointed the sharp weapon straight at the man's face, though he did not flinch in the slightest. Robin found it quite impressive, and there was no doubt in the white-haired boy's mind that the knight did so as well.

"We appreciate your hospitality, but just who are you?" Chrom's retainer asked, cocking an eyebrow at the man. "And just why are you helping us, exactly?"

The man shook his head, returning his tome to its place underneath his arm, and turned around. He then moved towards the door of his cottage and opened it up. After that, he gestured for the gang to come inside. "All questions that I will answer soon. Now please, come in. The spell I cast will last for quite some time, so you can just leave your horses outside. And that, um, yellow cloud too. The Red Ribbon Army won't notice them. I promise."

The gang exchanged looks, but eventually Chrom cleared his throat and stepped forwards.

"Thank you, sir. We'll have to take you up on that offer," the prince said, flashing the man a good-natured smile that he had no doubt practiced a lot due to his status as a prince.

After the members of the Shepherds who had them tied their horses to the ground using some conveniently placed pieces of wood, Robin watched as everyone else walked into the cottage, while also noting that Frederick's grip on his lance did not lessen in the slightest, and eventually followed them in as well.

As the group stepped inside the cottage, they were immediately struck by its warm and inviting atmosphere. Robin couldn't help but notice the cozy ambiance that enveloped the space. In the center of what appeared to be the living room, a sizable table stood, adorned with three chairs. The presence of two plates, still bearing remnants of a recent meal, indicated that someone was in the middle of a meal, though they stopped abruptly for some reason.

Glancing towards the shelves positioned behind the table, Robin's eyes widened at the sight of numerous copies of the yellow tome that the man had held earlier. He wondered what the reasoning behind that was. On the other side of the room, a crackling fireplace emitted a comforting warmth, serving as the heart of the cottage. Surrounding the fireplace, a couple of comfortable couches beckoned the weary travelers to rest and relax.

Finally, Robin's observant gaze fell upon a young girl, concealed behind one of the couches. She appeared to be around the same age as him, though when it came to height, she was only slightly taller than Goku. Clad in a white sweater and black pants, she seemed to be attempting to hide herself from the group of strangers. Robin couldn't help but notice her long, pink hair, which she nervously held in front of her face, as if hoping to blend into the background.

Their eyes locked, causing the girl to let out a squeal and immediately duck behind the couch.

"Huh. She must be shy," Robin mentally stated the obvious to himself.

The man who had let them into his cottage placed his white-covered tome on the table, and then spun around to face the group with a wide smile on his face. He raised his hands to the side and began to speak. "Apologies for basically pushing you guys in here, but it was getting chilly out there, and I just could not bear to stand like that for another few minutes. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before anyone could give him a response, Vaike and Oolong immediately threw off their rather thin cloaks and dashed to the nearby fireplace, moaning in content as the heat emanating from it wafted at their faces.

"Yeah! I agree…" the axe-user and the shapeshifter sighed in unison, closing their eyes and smiling. It felt as though they had reached Nirvana or something.

Chrom sweat-dropped slightly at his two rather animated teammates' behavior, before turning towards the grey-haired man. He pulled his own cloak down and flashed him a smile. "Er, yes. It was rather chilly out there. We thank you for your hospitality, Mr…"

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" the man asked with a friendly smile. "Well, allow me to introduce myself! My name is Laslow. Laslow Matsuzaki. But you can just call me Laslow. And you all are?"

The prince immediately brought a hand up to his chest and nodded. "My name is Chrom Lowell, of Ylisse. With me are the Shepherds. We are basically a vigilante group dedicated to protecting the peace of our nation."

Frederick leaned his head downwards and whispered into the prince's ear. "Milord, you've once again forgotten to mention your status as the halidom's prince…"

"And I'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much," Chrom whispered back to his retainer in a harsh tone. He appreciated that his knight didn't actually just reveal his secret right off the bat like he did in the last town they had visited, but he wasn't exactly a fan of the fact that the knight wanted him to reveal it on his own. "If they don't know I'm the prince, then they won't know that my father was the one who…"

The blue-haired boy trailed off, and noticing that his conversation partner was becoming silent, Laslow cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.

"Er…Ylisse? That's quite a ways from here," the grey-haired man stated, putting his hands behind his back and raising an eyebrow at the Shepherds. "Just what are you guys doing out here?"

Chrom blinked twice, before his expression suddenly turned serious.

"He's really good at that," Robin thought to himself, slightly amused.

"It's…A long story. But to put it shortly, we're basically travelling all across Archanea for a set of magical artifacts called the Dragon Balls," Chrom quickly explained, crossing his arms over his chest. Robin honestly found it weird that he was so lax when it came to revealing their mission to strangers, but again, that was just the kind of guy Chrom was. "There are seven of them in total, and when they're brought together, a magical dragon called Shenron is summoned. He can grant any one wish you desire. You're already familiar with them, but basically the Red Ribbon Army is searching for them, and it's our mission to gather them before they do."

"I-Is that so?..." Laslow managed to reply, his eyes wide after receiving that info bomb. "Normally I wouldn't believe something like that, and yet, considering what's happened to us over the last two weeks, I've got no choice but to believe you…"

"Oh? What exactly happened over the last two weeks?" Frederick inquired, raising an eyebrow at the grey-haired man.

"Ugh, where do I even start?..." Laslow grumbled, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Before, Jingle Village, the settlement you're standing in right now, was a cheery village. We're located just outside of the massive brick wall that separates Regna Ferox from Ylisse and Plegia, so we don't really get the same benefits that actual, legal Feroxi do, but we managed to get by because of our entertainment industry. Many great performers have originated from our village, and that's how we got our revenue. Unfortunately, that all changed about two weeks ago. A massive group of soldiers being led by a man with white hair and a woman with purple hair calling themselves the 'Red Ribbon Army' attacked us, and due to their sheer numbers, the men and women of our village who knew how to fight were no match for them."

"Huh, that's kind of what happened to us," Robin thought to himself. "We were able to handle the soldiers on their own, but when their numbers started increasing, we were no match for them…"

"Ugh, those guys aren't strong at all!" Goku angrily interjected, crossing his arms over his chest. His tail angrily wagged behind him. "There are just a whole bunch of them! And I totally could have taken 'em on!"

"I highly doubt that, Goku," Robin told his fellow monkey-tailed individual. "I mean, swords and lances and stuff don't affect you, but their magic users could prove to be pretty lethal…"

The wild boy wasn't listening, though, and simply walked away. "No way!..."

Laslow blinked twice at the interaction, and then looked between Robin and Goku. "Wh-What in the world?! The two of you…Are those monkey tails?!"

Robin's attention was quickly grabbed, and he let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, yeah, we get that a lot…"

"Dude, we literally have an anthropomorphic pig with us," Sully spoke up, gesturing towards Oolong, who was still sitting in front of the fireplace. "I dunno about you, man, but that seems like the more shocking thing here."

Oolong was still in a state of bliss, sitting in front of the fireplace, so he didn't even bother turning around to argue with the boisterous redhead.

"I would personally beg to differ. I mean, I've read all about anthropomorphic individuals as part of my studies. Of course, I don't really pay attention to anything that doesn't involve swinging a sword, but still. They're more common then you'd think," Chrom pointed out with a shrug, before realizing where he was and looking back at Laslow with an apologetic grin on his face. "Ah, um, right. You were saying?"

The grey-haired man simply nodded, before getting back to explaining what had happened. "Yes, well, anyways, after our admittedly weak forces were defeated in battle, every man and woman in our village was captured and rounded up. They were forced to work for the Red Ribbon Army by helping them search for an item called a 'Dragon Ball', though they didn't actually give us anymore information on it. They just told us that it was orange and had a few red stars in it. That's all they told us, but because of that, I believe you."

"Huh, I guess that would explain why all of the houses in the village had the lights turned off in them," Robin mused out loud, bringing a hand up to his chin. However, he then furrowed his eyebrows at Laslow. "But, uh, wait a minute. If they captured all of the healthy men and women to work for them…What are YOU doing here?"

The grey-haired man smirked at this, and picked up the tome that he had placed on the table. "Why, I escaped from them with this, of course! I have Light Mana, but I'm going to be the first to admit I'm not the strongest fighter. However, I know a couple of spells, and one of them allows me to bend the light around any place I choose to make it seem invisible to the average person's eyes. You remember what I did to the cottage earlier? Yeah, I basically used that on myself to slip away and return home."

"I see…" Chrom muttered, his eyes flickering to the shelf behind Laslow, and then back to him. "And I guess that'd explain why you have so many light tomes with you?..."

This question caused the man to let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, um, yeah. It's a very taxing spell, and I'm not the most experienced mage, so it takes a whole lot of Mana. I've been burning through tomes for quite some time now, but I have to keep up the dome around my house, mostly to keep myself and my daughter hidden from the Red Ribbon Army…"

"His daughter? Is he talking about the girl with the pink hair?" Robin thought to himself, before immediately shaking his head. "Of course he is, dingus. Who else would he be talking about?"

"Oh my, that sounds absolutely dreadful!" Maribelle gasped, bringing a hand up to her chest. "Repeated magic usage can cause strains on the body. You're not hurt or anything are you?"

"I appreciate the concern, kiddo, but I'm fine," Laslow stated with a firm grin. "I can keep going for a few more weeks!"

Chrom discretely clenched his fists, hating the words that were hitting his ears. The simple fact that the Red Ribbon Army was causing this much despair grinded his gears, and even though Laslow was not a citizen of Ylisse, he still felt slightly responsible because the Red Ribbon Army was an enemy of Ylisse.

"Do you have any more information that we can use?" Chrom immediately spoke up, slightly unnerving Laslow with how sudden he had asked the question.

"H-Huh? Oh, um, yes! I do, actually," the grey-haired man replied in an uncertain tone, before turning around towards the couch and shouting out "Olivia, sweetie! Could you bring out the notes I've been working on?"

The little girl with pink hair once again popped her head out from behind the couch, studying the faces of the Shepherds rather carefully, and then eventually let out a squeak. "Um, o-okay! J-Just a second…"

The head disappeared once again, and after a few moments of rustling, the girl immediately ran out of her hiding spot holding a book with a leather cover on it. She was running towards the group but, after a few steps , she immediately stopped in her tracks upon noticing Goku, who was sort of just standing there lazily.

"W-Woah! Is that a…Tail?..." the girl, Olivia, asked in surprise, looking at the furry brown appendage as it slowly wagged on its own. This caught Goku's attention, though before the boy could give her an answer, Olivia let out an alarmed gasp. "A-AH! D-Did I say that out loud?! I'm so sorry! UGH! Please forgive me!"

Olivia immediately dashed towards her father, handed him the leather-bound book, and then immediately dashed back to her hiding spot behind the couch.

…

"…Um, is she okay?" Goku asked after a few awkward, silent seconds, genuinely just baffled by what had just occured.

Laslow sighed as he cracked open the book, nodding his head once. "Yes, yes. Olivia is just, well, a very shy girl is all. I do my best to get her to open up to others, but…That's a discussion for another time. Anyways, here's what I've got right now…"

The grey-haired man slapped the book down onto the table, and all of the Shepherds, apart from Vaike and Oolong of course, congregated around it to look at just what the man had in store for them. As they did so, Robin made a mental note to ask about Olivia later.

Shaking his head, the white-haired boy looked down at the book that Laslow was showing them. What appeared to be a map of Jingle Village was scribbled down in it, with a multitude of notes written on it. At a glance, Robin could see a cluster of little squares with triangles on top of them, which Robin could only assume was supposed to represent the village. To the east there was a cylindrical-looking shape that was shaded in using pencil, while to the west there was a bunch of stick figures holding was appeared to axes. However, instead of the kind of axe that he had seen so many people in this world wield as a weapon, they looked more like mining axes.

Another thing that Robin noted was that there were two larger stick figures located over the drawings to the east and west of the village. The one above the cylinder had a stick man with a small little block above its head, which Robin assumed was supposed to be hair, while the one hovering above the people with axes had…A gun in her hand? It was kinda hard to make out.

"Er, here's what I've been able to gather so far," Laslow began, clearing his throat. He slowly but surely began to point out all of the different locations on the makeshift map that he had created. "You see these houses over here? They're supposed to represent Jingle Village. But these things to the side? Well, this place with all the people holding axes is where they've taken the people of Jingle Village. They're being treated like slaves, and are being forced to search for the Dragon Ball located there. It's apparently underground, and it's absolutely horrible what they're being forced to do…"

"Damn...And what about the weird cylinder?" Sully inquired, pointing to the grey shape.

Laslow hesitated for a second, before speaking. "That's Muscle Tower. It's a giant structure where one of the two people responsible for this whole operation has set up a base. The man with the white hair that I mentioned earlier? His name is General White. He's holed up in Muscle Tower, and is responsible for all of the reinforcements coming into Jingle Village."

"And I presume that purple-haired lady you mentioned is responsible for keeping all of the captured people in line?" Chrom inquired, his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow.

"You'd be correct, Chrom," Laslow replied, causing the corners of Chrom's lips to turn upwards. The only people who really called him by his name were his friends, and even then a few of them like Maribelle were adamant about still using his title. It made him pretty happy. Of course, it had the opposite effect on Frederick, who was now glowering at the grey-haired man. Laslow seemed to ignore it, however, as he proceeded to continue. "Her name is General Purple, and she's the one responsible for the Dragon Ball location operation."

Chrom crossed his arms and thought for a few seconds. "General White…General Purple…I've heard of them, before. Apparently, along with a man named General Blue, they form the a dangerous trio who just so happen to be the three highest-ranking members of the Red Ribbon Army. I've heard some call them the 'Three Leaders', but that sounds rather uninspired. In terms of ranking, they are only under the leader and his second-in-command, whose identities are a mystery. If both of them are here…This must be a very important operation for them."

"Considering the fact that they have enslaved an entire village," Miriel interjected, her tone firm, "I am inclined to agree with your assessment. Furthermore, their recent string of losses against us must be weighing heavily on their minds. It is highly probable that they are aware of the number of Dragon Balls we currently possess, further adding to their desperation."

"That makes sense," Chrom agreed with a nod, before looking back at the paper on the table. "Gods, this is a perfect opportunity for us. We can obtain a Dragon Ball, and we can also take out two of the highest-ranking members of the Red Ribbon Army…"

"W-Wait a minute, you guys are planning on fighting against them?!" Laslow shouted out in alarm.

"Of course we are," Chrom replied with a nod, smirking slightly as he did so. "Didn't you hear us before? We're the Shepherds. It's our job to keep the people safe."

"And didn't you hear me before? You're rather far away from Ylisse," Laslow pointedly responded, crossing his arms as he spoke. "I was planning on just helping you guys get out of town…A majority of you are children, for gods' sake! I wouldn't let my daughter go out to fight like that, and I'm certainly not going to let you do that either."

"If I may interject, sir, you hold no sway over the decisions milo- Er, Chrom makes for our team. Furthermore, what exactly would you do if we were to leave? This is your chance to push the Red Ribbon Army out of your village!" Frederick spoke up, his hands behind his back. "What exactly were you planning on doing before we arrived?"

Laslow bashfully looked the other way, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…Jeez, I was just planning on waiting it out. I assumed that once those guys found the Dragon Ball, they were just going to let the people they captured go. Then everything would return back to normal."

"Hah! Listen to this guy!" Sully exclaimed with a hearty laugh, turning to Stahl, the green-haired knight who was leisurely munching on an apple. Sully couldn't help but let out a sigh at his casual attitude. She then shifted her attention back to Laslow, her expression serious as she pointed her finger directly at his chest. It was quite a comical sight, given her young age compared to his adult stature, but she was determined to make her point.

"Listen up, pal!" Sully declared emphatically. "The Red Ribbon Army isn't the type to show mercy. Once they're done using the people of your village, they won't hesitate to eliminate them. Trust me, we've been dealing with those scoundrels for quite some time now."

The grey-haired man's eyes widened, and he looked at the faces of all of the assembled Shepherds. All of them met his gaze with an incredibly serious look on their face. Well, everyone except Goku, who was busy picking his nose.

"You guys are being serious…" the man with Light Mana sighed out, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, if that's the case, then I suppose I'll allow you to fight back…But the question is…How?"

Chrom remained silent for a minute, before glancing at Robin. The white-haired boy met his stare, and raised an eyebrow. This only caused the prince to smirk. Before Robin could even open his mouth to say anything, Chrom asked "Do you have any ideas, Robin?"

All eyes were now on the monkey-tailed boy.

"W-Wait, what? Why me?" Robin immediately asked the leader of the Shepherds, slightly caught off guard by his question.

"That plan you made earlier with Oolong's shapeshifting abilities was rather good," Chrom pointed out matter-of-factly, putting his hands on his hips. "I was wondering if you had any ideas regarding our current situation."

Robin gulped, and looked at the others, expecting them to say something. Unfortunately for him, they were all looking at him expectantly, waiting for his response. Well, everyone except Frederick, who just seemed disgusted that his liege would ask a 'Plegian Spy' for ideas.

The fact that Frederick was still annoyed by where he was apparently from still bugged him, honestly.

Quickly shaking his head, the white-haired boy tentatively took a few steps forward so that he was now hovering above the book. He looked down at the drawing, trying to think up something good that would, hopefully, not get him laughed at.

Every time he was involved in something like this back in his old world it always ended with him being a laughingstock, and even though he had been travelling with the Shepherds for a month now, the insecurities from his old life still lingered within his mind.

Robin continued to just stare down at the crude map, the gears in his head turning as he thought about everything that he knew about the situation. Then, he took a deep breath as an idea finally popped into his head.

Unfortunately for him, at that point Frederick was rather annoyed.

"Milord, are we truly going to leave this rather delicate operations in the hands of…Him?" the knight angrily asked, raising an eyebrow at the prince. The whole 'milord' thing caused Laslow to raise an eyebrow, though before he could ask about it, Robin spoke up.

"Alright, guys. I've got a plan. But, uh, you're free to say if it's bad or something. It probably is, but…Yeah, let me just explain it real quick," the white-haired boy began, his eyes fixed on the 'map' in front of him, doing his best to ignore Frederick. He proceeded to point at the houses. "We're here, and we know that there are two generals of the Red Ribbon Army, though one's located on the east side of the village while the other is on the west side of the village. The best case scenario would probably involve us defeating and taking down both, but if we were to attack one, the other would probably know."

Frederick scoffed. "Okay, and?"

Robin winced slightly, the knight's tone reminding him of some rather unpleasant memories, but continued regardless. "W-Well, like I was saying, we can't attack one, because that would allow the other to escape. That's why…I think we should split up and attack both at the same time?"

"Are you certain that's a wise decision?" Miriel asked, her tone laced with concern. She arched an eyebrow at the monkey-tailed boy, her analytical mind already calculating the potential risks. "Considering our previous encounter, where we barely managed to escape due to their overwhelming numbers, dividing our group further could prove to be disastrous."

"Yeah, I know, but if you think about it, the only reason they managed to outnumber us was because they combined their forces from both areas," Robin pointed out. "They knew we were coming because Goku arrived, so they prepared accordingly. If I had to guess, they probably think we've run off, or are in hiding, so…Uh, I'm honestly not sure, but they probably went back to their original places. I'm guessing that if Goku never showed up, they wouldn't have had so many tropps assembled. So, if we had one group go to Muscle Tower and dismantle their operations there, that would stop the reinforcements form coming in. This would allow the other group to liberate the people of Jingle Village."

"Why don't we all just go to Muscle Tower at once?" Frederick inquired, narrowing his eyes at Robin. "It would be far more safer that way."

"W-Well, yeah, I guess, but word would probably come out really quickly, and General Purple and her squad would get away," the white-haired boy replied, bringing a hand up to his chin. "And for this whole thing to be a success, we'd have to take down both generals, no?"

"Not necessarily…" Frederick grumbled, looking the other way with a rather miffed expression on his face. "Though, yes, in the long run it would be better for us to take down both of them…"

Chrom snickered at his knight's behavior, before putting a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Great thinking, Robin. Since this is your plan, who do you think should go to each area?"

"D-Damn you and your kindness, Chrom! I've been training to fight, not to lead!" Robin angrily thought to himself, before letting out a sigh. "Hm…Uh…Let's see here…"

He did a few calculations in his head, and then nodded.

"Okay. Chrom, Frederick, Stahl, Miriel and Goku could go liberate the people of Jingle Village," Robin stated, putting his hands in the pockets of his coat. "That would leave me, Sully, Maribelle, Vaike, and Oolong, to deal with the Muscle Tower situation. I think that should be a pretty good team…"

"Hmph. And what exactly is your reasoning behind these choices?" Frederick asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at the white-haired boy.

"W-What? Oh, um, well…Chrom's a natural-born leader, and is sort of a symbol. He's the prince of Ylisse, after all! Having him lead the group who liberates the people would be pretty good for the morale, I think," Robin explained, causing Chrom to wince when his status as a prince was mentioned. Almost immediately after that, Laslow let out a gasp.

"Wait a minute…You're the prince of Ylisse, Chrom?!" the grey-haired man shouted out in complete and utter disbelief.

Chrom, meanwhile, simply let out a sigh. He tried to hide the annoyance behind it.

"Yes, I am, but that's a topic of discussion for another time," the blue-haired boy hastily responded, eager to shift the conversation into another direction. He turned to Robin. "What's the reasoning behind your other picks?"

"Well, Goku's lived in the wild his whole life, so he should be pretty good in fighting in the snow without getting slowed down. I know Miriel's tome is low on power, so sending her to the area that probably has less people would be the smarter choice. As for Frederick and Stahl…Well, I know you care a lot about Chrom's well-being, Frederick, so I decided to put you on the same group as him. As for Stahl, well, I know you two have a lot of synergy together, as shown earlier, so I thought it would be wise to put you on the same team together," Robin explained, hoping that no one would be annoyed with his picks.

Unfortunately for him, a certain redhead was.

"Hey, what about me? You saying I don't have good synergy with Frederick and Stahl?" Sully angrily asked Robin, putting her hands on her hips.

"Wh-What? No way, Sully!" Robin exclaimed, vehemently shaking his head. "It's just, well, I had to put Frederick with Chrom, so between you and Stahl, I decided that you could do the best without your horse, since you obviously can't ride it indoors…N-No offense, Stahl!"

"Hey, no offense taken, man. Abel can be a bit rowdy sometimes, so it'd be better at the end of the day for me to keep an eye on him anyways. He might get into trouble if I left him alone for a few hours!" Stahl replied with a good-natured laugh.

Sully, meanwhile, simply crossed her arms.

"Ugh, I guess…That DOES make sense," the redhead admitted begrudgingly. "Kind of wanted to show off my skills to Chrom, though…"

She muttered that last bit to herself.

Also, Robin could have sworn that, outside, the Stahl's horse let out an angry snort.

"Heh, um, yeah," Robin awkwardly replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyways, uh, yeah. I put Vaike and Oolong on the Muscle Tower team since they're going to feel pretty cold if they tried fighting outside, and Maribelle's with us because I feel that we might need a healer more, since there are going to be a lot of opponents in the place. I, uh, also put myself in there because I wanted there to be an equal amount of people on both teams. You can feel free to swap my choices as you see fit, though…"

"Hmph! Well, if it was up to me, I would put myself with milord Chrom," Maribelle stated, crossing her arms and looking the other way. "Though your reasoning DOES make sense, I will admit…You're lucky that Chrom's team does not need my assistance, due to the fact that Frederick has vulenaries with him."

"Vulneraries?" Robin briefly thought to himself in confusion, before smiling. "Oh, right. The healing potion. They're basically the same thing as Maribelle's healing staff, but they heal wounds far slower, and they can't handle larger wounds. Stahl's burn wound from earlier probably couldn't have been healed with a vulnerary."

Frederick brought a hand up to his chin and thought about it for a few moments. Then, he eventually relented and let out a sigh. "Hm…I do not see any faults in your choices…As much as it pains me to say, this plan you've made actually makes sense. I shall go along with it…Albeit begrudgingly."

Chrom chuckled at the knight's words, before looking at his team. Everyone looked prepared to fight.

"Alright, then. So, that settles that," the prince stated, crossing his arms. "Any questions before we head out?"

A silence followed, and Chrom assumed that meant that they were ready to go. Before he could turn, however, a squeaky voice spoke up. It belonged to Olivia. She had gotten out of her hiding spot, and was now staring at him as though he had grown a second head.

"Um, are you really the prince of Ylisse?" the pink-haired girl inquired, raising an eyebrow at the blue-haired boy. She and her father were both staring at him in complete and utter disbelief.

"Indeed, he is!" Frederick boomed, his voice bursting with pride. He then looked down at the prince. "Tell them, milord!"

Chrom sighed out at this, and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "I…Yes, I am. But that doesn't mean you should treat me any different, alright?"

"I…Of course, milord. I understand," Laslow quickly responded, giving him a slight bow. "As you wish."

"Of course he starts treating me like that the moment he finds out I'm a prince," Chrom thought to himself, doing his best to hide his annoyed expression. "Do they know about my father? Gods, they're probably judging me for that too…"

Laslow didn't notice Chrom's behavior, and cleared his throat. "Er, milord, if it's not too much to ask, I think I should join the group being led by you so that I can help you rescue my fellow villagers. I know the way around, and you could use my light magic to help you remain concealed. Your group IS going to be travelling out in the open, after all."

Chrom sighed, and flashed the man a weary smile. "I thought I told you not to treat me any differently now that you know that I'm a prince?..."

"I-It has nothing to do with the fact that you're a prince, milord," Laslow quickly refuted, though the way he was standing incredibly rigid really betrayed his words. "I just truly want to help my fellow villagers, is all, and I feel like your group could really benefit from having me…"

The prince awkwardly looked around the room, before his eyes settled on Olivia. "Um, what about her? Are you sure that you can leave her here on her own?"

"I-I'll be fine," Olivia nervously spoke up, twiddling her thumbs as she looked down at the ground. "Um, I'm pretty good at hiding. And besides, I don't think the R-Red Ribbon Army would even want to capture me to help them look for the Dragon Ball anyways…"

"She does realize they'd probably kill her instead, right?" Robin thought to himself in confusion.

"So, the groups are decided, then," Frederick stated, crossing his arms. "Now all that's left is for us to set out."

"Yeah! About time!" Goku excitedly exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. He had been silent the whole time, since he didn't really care about that planning stuff, but now? Now he was excited! "I can't wait to beat up some dudes! I hope they're actually really strong this time! This is going to be so much-"

Before he could finish, however, his stomach rumbled. And it wasn't just any rumble, but an incredibly LOUD rumble.

It was immediately followed up by Robin's stomach, which was just as loud, and then by Stahl's, which was somehow even louder.

The whole room became silent as everyone sort of just stared at the three responsible, and eventually Laslow let out a humorous cackle.

"Hahaha! Alright, then! You guys seem to be hungry," the grey-haired man stated as he turned around and began to walk to another room, which was presumably the kitchen. His daughter quickly followed him, most likely because she didn't want to remain in a room filled with strangers. "Our mission can wait a few minutes, I think. Let me get you all something to eat!"

The Shepherds all looked at each other in slight surprise, before bursting out into laughter.

Their mission was going to be a difficult one, and they knew that. This was most likely just the calm before the storm. However, that did not mean that they weren't going to enjoy themselves.

"Um, guys? What team am I going to be on?" Kellam asked, raising an eyebrow at his teammates. He was the only one not laughing.

…

As usual, he was ignored.

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Review Responses:

NickNays135: I'm glad you're enjoying it. Yeah, I've created a lot of lore for this story pulling aspects from a lot of Fire Emblem and Dragon Ball stuff, so I'll try and sneak in a few things every now and then. I'm glad you liked how I slipped it in. Since the group's been split now, I'll be able to write more interactions between Goku and the guys he's been assigned with, so look forward to that.

As for the Goku and his grandpa thing, for the most part I agree. I was mostly basing his behavior off of his interaction with Yamcha in the anime, where Yamcha asks him about who his grandpa is and Goku was really nonchalant about his death, but yeah, I'll try and fix that going forward.

Yeah, since this Chrom is a lot younger than his canon counterpart, I feel his father's actions are something that would bug him a lot more. I have some cool stuff planned for him!

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A/N: The chapter is done, yay.

I edited the next time thingmajig in the last chapter since I was really planning on this chapter having the Muscle Tower stuff in it, though I guess I underestimated just how long this would end up being LMAO.

Olivia's made an appearance, though mostly as a cameo. Don't worry, though, she'll be REALLY important in the future. Just planting the seeds, you know? She's mostly taken the role of Suno in this situation.

Also, her dad's first name is a reference to the name that Inigo took in Fates, and his last name is a reference to the last name of Olivia's Japanese voice actress.

I hope you enjoyed, and please tell me what you thought of it and how you think I could improve things going forward.

Anyways…

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Next time: Robin and his squad traverse Muscle Tower (For real this time).