Chapter 2

"Chrom, we have to do something!"

We stood on the hill overlooking Southtown as bandits ran roughshod over the populace, starting fires and breaking shit and just generally being a nuisance. Oddly enough, I remember the skirmish being a lot more chaotic than what I was seeing now. The gift of experience, apparently.

"We will," Chrom told her with a reassuring nod. "Ben, Robin, stay up here where it's safe."

"Sorry, Chrom, but I like Southtown," I shrugged. "I'm going in."

"Me too!" Robin piped up from my shoulder. "I have a spellbook! I can cast magic!"

"Your favorite spell is Thunder," I supplied helpfully. "Should be pretty easy for you to cast."

"Ooh! Thanks!" Robin smiled.

God damn this Robin's easy smile was like shards of ice in my heart. So similar, yet just… different. Wrong.

"Very well, I will not fault you for wanting to help," Chrom said slowly. "But, Ben, you are unarmed."

I shrugged and yanked the wicked, curved trench knives from their scabbards on the small of my back. Judging from the way Chrom and Lissa both stepped back, they hadn't noticed the weapons.

"Not quite," I said with a small grin. "Now, we doing this?"

"Very well, but stay behind me," Chrom conceded. "You're not wearing any armor, after all."

"Now where have I heard that before?" I muttered to myself with a small shake of my head.

We advanced down into the village with no real tactical order. I forcibly kept my mouth shut on the matter; Robin needed to be the tactician here, not me. My interference last time clearly amounted to jack shit, so perhaps this time letting events play out the way they were supposed to was the best thing to let happen? I didn't know. There was so much going on, so much I needed to sort through, that I was muddled and lost in my own head. The only thing really keeping me focused was the presence of the apparently-once-more-amnesiac woman behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder as casually as I could, and my gaze met with a very nervous-looking Robin's. She did her best to grin confidently, but even Chrom would have been able to see through it, the attempt was that weak. And Chrom was not the brightest tool in the shed, so that was really saying something.

"Whatever happens, don't leave my side," I told her in a low voice.

"Oh, trust me, I won't," she said shakily. "You, uh, do know how to use those, yeah?"

I glanced down at the knives in my hands, fingers tightening on the worn leather of the handles as my fingers flexed in anticipation. It felt natural, holding these two daggers. Even if I had gone back in time, even if I had started again, they had come with me, my one constant through the last time, and my one constant this time. Even still, I could almost smell the sour, metallic tang of all the blood I'd spilled with them, and it brought a frown to my face.

"Ben?" Robin asked, somewhat desperately.

"Yes," I said slowly, looking away. "I know how to use them."

Robin went silent, tagging along at the back of the group with Lissa as I became lost in my own thoughts. Just like I always did before a battle. I was interested to note that even Chrom looked a little nervous; focused, but nervous. Frederick didn't yet seem to carry that unflappable resolve we had grown accustomed to seeing on the man, and just looked grim. Lissa was an interesting shade of green. And I felt nothing. No fear. No apprehension. No nerves. This was just another day at the office for me, some rough and ragged bandits in need of a good ass-whooping. I'd done this a million times, and, apparently, I'd do it a million more.

We stepped onto the paved streets leading to the central fountain square where the majority of the action would be taking place, and automatically I hit that state of hyperawareness, that familiar quickening, that comes along at the start of a battle. Everything became clear, no time travel bullshit hanging over my head, no questions about multiverse theory or what was happening. Just me, my knives, and some bandits in need of slaying.

This, I could do.

So, when the first bandit came around the corner and Chrom was still fumbling with his sword, Frederick was busy putting himself between the enemy and Lissa, and Robin froze like a deer in the headlights, I was already moving forward.

Without so much as a grunt I surged forward, black-bladed daggers reflecting sunlight dully as I moved.

The poor bastard didn't even know what hit him.

Apparently, I was nursing some pent-up aggression from current happenings. The bandit that I fell upon didn't even get the chance to scream. One strike knocked his axe aside, one pierced his heart, and the backswing on the first strike opened his throat in a torrent of blood that suddenly made me glad I wasn't wearing my favorite jacket. The bandit dropped with a wet thud, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Agh, good god," I groaned, wiping the blood off my arms as I stepped over the body. "I do not remember this being so messy. I'm gonna need new clothes. Fuck's sake."

I stopped walking when I realized that none of the others were following me. I looked back to find four shocked, pale faces watching me. The fear on Robin's face was hurtful. The terror on Lissa's damn near killed me.

"What?" I snapped. "This is what we're here for, right?"

"R-right!" Chrom agreed, rushing to join me.

The others filed along behind us, Frederick keeping a watchful eye on his charges while Robin kept looking at me with newfound respect. Or possibly terror. Probably a mix of the two.

"You are… quite skilled," Chrom commented after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Occupational necessity, unfortunately," I shrugged as we walked.

"What was it you said you did?" Chrom asked curiously.

I glanced over at him, giving the young Prince a very dangerous grin.

"I didn't."

We came into the town square, where the tutorial mission took place, and I had to scoff at the piss-poor excuse for a raid these bandits were conducting. Really, it was like they'd never razed a town before.

I had.

Enemy camps in Valm the size of small towns; abandoned villages taken over by enemy soldiers; villages not yet abandoned that housed Grimleal elements… none of these eventualities were pretty. I still had nightmares about them. I still smelled the smoke, heard the screams. Every night.

But because of that hard-earned experience, I knew that this particular assault wasn't an attempt to destroy the town. If they were planning on destroying the town with numbers like these, it would have been much, much easier to block the main roads in and out and light the outer buildings on fire, then just kill anyone trying to escape; the fire would spread, doing most of the work for them. Some would probably get away, but there wasn't even an entire squad's worth of men here. No, this was an attack to sow discord, to create panic. A medieval terror attack, plain and simple.

"Robin, call it," I said over my shoulder.

"What?" came her confused reply as Chrom spun to face us.

"You didn't forget all that studying you did, too, did you?" I smirked. "Tactics should be ingrained in your brain, like muscle memory. So. Call it. What do we do?"

"I don't know if this is… I mean… I don't know if I can…" she stammered, put on the spot.

I rolled my eyes as Chrom and Frederick both glared at me. Clearly, I was pushing Chrom a little far, but realistically I hadn't even had a chance to unpack my own death yet, let alone the idea I would have to relive all the bullshit war and death and stuff again, so I was a little low on the tolerance level for their usual namby-pamby dancing around a problem bullshit.

"Robin," I said, getting her attention. "Look. Think. Feel. Tell us what you see. If you can't, I can. So, no pressure."

"Who are you two?" Chrom asked.

"Later," I snapped, before clearing my throat and adding "uh, milord."

Frederick made a sound like a woodchipper with a small horse stuck in it, but Chrom remained silent as Robin studied the soon-to-be-battlefield. She glanced over to me, and I gave her an encouraging nod.

"Okay, Frederick rides around the south and up the eastern edge of the square," she said. "While the rest of us push up the middle. I'd prefer to have a second flanking team on the west, but we don't have those numbers or the mobility, so…"

"Sounds good to me," I said. "Objections?"

"Yes-" Frederick started.

"No, it's a sound plan," Chrom cut him off. "We'll do it. We don't have the time to argue."

"Very well, milord," Frederick grumbled, swinging up into his saddle.

"Go!" Chrom ordered.

With a shout Frederick urged his mount forward, swinging his glinting silver lance through the air to get the bandits' attention. Chrom and I formed up, Robin and Lissa at our backs, and began to advance on the main bandit position as Frederick engaged the outliers, herding them back towards us.

The first of the bandits rushed us, an axeman that Chrom stepped forward to meet. I watched disinterestedly as they traded blows, Chrom taking a glancing hit before subduing the man. A second, sword-wielding man came in while Chrom was occupied, and I stepped aside to allow a visibly-nervous Robin a straight shot at him. Lightning crackled, paralyzing the bandit and forcing the man to his knees, the spell burning him but not quite killing him.

"Look away, ladies," I warned.

I didn't wait to see if they followed my advice or not, the steel tip of my boot crushing the bandit's neck in a whip-snap kick. I passed my knife over so I was holding them both in my left hand and bent to pick up the man's dropped sword, not even flinching as another flash of lightning magic passed over my back. I tested the weight, ignoring the fighting as Chrom moved to finish the bandit Robin had shot this time. It was a piece of crap, as far as swords go, little more than a sharp and pointy bit of metal, but if Robin could fight with a junky thing like this, she'd be able to fight with damn near anything.

I glanced up as Chrom shouted, colliding with a bandit that had been about to take a swing at me while I was distracted.

"You need to focus!" the prince snapped at me.

I shrugged, twirling the sword around in my hand and impaling the bandit in one smooth motion. It was a trick that Priam had taught me, one I liked a lot. The bandit twitched before falling backwards off the sword. I gave the weapon a shake to get the blood off before nodding. Now that the eminent threat was passed, Lissa and Robin jogged over.

"Somehow I feel like you're not taking this seriously," Lissa said as they joined us. "And that's terrifying."

"Yes, and it's going to get you killed," Chrom added disapprovingly.

I grinned at the man, which I knew for a fact would just honk him off more, and twirled the blade in my hand again. Then, I held the sword out to Robin hilt-first.

"Here, maybe you'll have more luck with this," I said.

She nodded without hesitating, slipping her spellbook into her pouch and taking the sword. We watched as she gave it a few practice swings and frowned.

"It's horribly balanced," she complained.

"Make do," I laughed, turning back to Chrom. "Alright, milord. You want serious? Keep up."

"Ugh. This is fucking gross. Do I gotta start wearing a Dexter raincoat or what?"

I wrinkled my nose, futilely trying to wipe the blood off my arms as Chrom and the others acted out the post-Southtown script.

After giving Robin the sword, I'm actually somewhat proud to say I went on to solo the rest of the map. Level one bandits are pretty pathetic, so it was fairly easy compared to endgame Risen. Chrom and Frederick both kept shooting me wary glances, now, though, while Lissa and Robin both seemed overawed by and somewhat afraid of my penchant for violence. If only they both knew just how dangerous they themselves would become…

I made another face, shaking my head and scoffing. Here I was, doing all the same shit and making all the same mistakes.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for a quiet life," I sighed.

Maybe this time I would just stay in Ylisstol and write my serial. Blazing Blade was still pretty fresh in my mind, and it was fairly well received last time…There was a thought; actually live the life of a writer. I'd go insane from boredom within a week and end up drinking myself to death in a month.

I gave another sigh, giving up for the time being and settling for holding my arms away from myself. I glanced up as Lissa and Robin approached, a skip in the princess' step as she clearly tried to act unafraid. If I didn't know her as well as I did, I'd probably have bought it, too. Robin followed, more subdued, looking at my tattered clothes and blood-soaked hands with an apparent newfound respect.

"Wow, Ben, that was incredible!" Lissa declared loudly. "You really are amazing!"

I grinned a little, shaking my head.

"It was nothing," I said honestly.

"And so cool! So collected!" Lissa almost swooned.

I rolled my eyes as Robin chuckled. The truth was this skirmish had been such a cakewalk I hadn't even gotten my blood up. No rush, no adrenaline. Hell, I used to get more of a workout training the recruits.

Robin watched me carefully as I tried to hide the sour look on my face at the thought of all the work I'd have to do to make that army again.

"How did you say we knew each other again?" she asked quizzically.

"Old friends," I said immediately.

Shit, too fast, too obvious a lie. Robin's gaze narrowed, the woman's preternatural sense for this kind of thing alerting her instantly, but Chrom saved my ass by joining us with Frederick and the Village Elder.

"Milord," the old man said, bowing to me. "Thank you, thank you all, for saving our humble village."

"It's cool, I actually like Southtown," I shrugged.

"You honor us with your praise," the old man almost sobbed.

"The villagers have organized some new clothes for you, Ben," Chrom said with his usual winning smile.

"Think y'all could organize a bucket full of soapy water, too?" I asked with a distasteful face. "I… kinda made a mess."

"Yes, clearly," Chrom chuckled.

"It was so cool!" Lissa cheered, striking poses. "You were all like 'haa!' and 'snikt!' and 'pow!'"

"Was that even English?" I laughed when she was done.

"She's saying you were quite skilled," Chrom chuckled.

"As awesome as I am, Robin here's twice as badass," I said, circling around to put my hands on her shoulders from behind. "She just doesn't remember it right now."

"I-I am?" she stammered uncomfortably. "I don't… I mean, I don't think… I…"

"Hey, I'm just sayin'," I chuckled, stepping back. "But seriously, I need that bucket of water and I need it now before this gunk dries and my life gets even harder."

After getting a fresh shirt and washing off everything else had gone according to script. Robin and I had tagged along for the rest of the day as the Shepherds headed north back to the capital, and now we were sitting by the campfire as Robin listened raptly to Lissa describing Ylisstol to her.

I couldn't help but smile a little as I watched the two girls talk across the fire, the pair of them looking so carefree and so different from the women that they would eventually become; while Lissa and Robin were both still arguably two of the Shepherds with brighter personalities, war had a way of grinding even that type of person down.

A plan had been forming in my head for the better part of the afternoon, though; a plan that would ensure that the wars I had gone through wouldn't come to pass. Basically, a plan where I would do Lucina's job for her. Grima was coming back with the Princess, piggybacking off the spell that she and all our kids were using to travel back in time? No problem. I'd just kill her when she got here. By her own admission, Grima was weakened by the crossing. I could do this.

I could save the world, and no one would ever know.

And I was okay with that.

But then, what to do with Lucina and the others?

I could let them continue their little crusade; after all, just because the time travelling Grima was gone didn't mean that Validar and Gangrel wouldn't still be stirring up shit. It was a vague plan, really an outline at best, but those kinds of plans had seen me through Plegia twice and also Valm and Chon'sin's liberations. It would be enough.

I was going to save the world, and if I did it right no one would ever know.

Oddly enough, I found myself okay with that.

I glanced up sharply as Robin practically fell onto the log next to me, giggling and smiling as she settled next to me.

"Hey you," she said with a wide smile. "What are you thinking about all alone over here?"

"We're sitting at the same campfire, I'd hardly say that I'm 'alone'," I scoffed.

"There you go, being all evasive again," Robin sighed, poking my shoulder and pouting.

"Thinking about how best to save the world," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, but how about you think about what we do when we get to Ylisstol," Robin said, going quiet for a moment before softly adding, "I mean, if we're going to stick together, that is. I don't really… know what else to do, and…"

I sighed theatrically, rolling my eyes again as I wrapped the tactician in a one-armed side hug.

"I've stuck with you this long," I said with a grin. "I'm not about to just up and ditch you. You won't get rid of me that easy."

Robin made a satisfied sound as she leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I… think so?" she said slowly. "Why? Are we not… are we not this close?"

"Robin, we're practically siblings," I laughed.

"Good," she said with a relieved sigh, relaxing against me.

"But today can't have been easy for you," I persisted. "You sure you're okay?"

"I will be," she said, closing her eyes before adding, "You're really comfy, you know that?"

"Yeah, so you've told me before," I laughed.

Chrom chuckled a little off to the side as Lissa huffed next to him.

"How come you don't hug me anymore?" the sprightly princess asked him.

"Because you told me to stop treating you like a child," Chrom pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I don't want you to hug me!" Lissa said.

Chrom laughed, shaking his head.

"Alright, fine!" he said, throwing his arms around her.

Lissa shrieked, writhing and doing her best to escape from her brother's grasp.

"No! Chrom, you stink, get off me!" the princess shouted. "Frederick! Frederick, save me! Defend your princess!"

"I would never presume, milady," Frederick said from the other corner of the fire, not even looking up from his plate.

Lissa's cry of mock despair devolved into laughter as the rest of us cracked up, even Frederick cracking a small grin as we all relaxed. Eventually, as the conversation wound down and we all began to crash, I felt Robin settle more of her weight against me, her breathing becoming even as her eyes drifted closed. Again, I was unable to resist smiling a little as I scooped her up and set her down on the bedroll that had been graciously donated by the villagers in Southtown, closing her coat at the breast to ensure she stayed warm. As I moved to go to my own bedroll, though, she refused to relinquish my arm.

"Don't leave," she whispered, eyes still closed.

"I promise I'll be right next to you," I said.

I then proceeded to reach out with the toe of my boot, struggling a little before finally managing to drag my own bedroll over next to hers. As I settled on top of it, Robin shifted her grasp, settling for holding tightly to my hand instead of my whole arm.

I'd never realized just how much the whole amnesia thing had bothered her. Someone even acts like they know her and she just latches right on. Lucky for her, I wasn't trying to take advantage of her.

If I had had doubts about hunting down Grima while she was still weak from her crossing, they were dispelled as I watched Robin's sleeping face. I reached over, gently brushing a few stray white locks of hair from her face and silently promising to do what I could to build a safer, peaceful future for Robin. For her, and Lucina and for all of them.

And it would all start with the 'fireworks' tonight.

The thought gave me a small jolt of anxiety. I would be majorly fucking up the timeline by doing so, something I had actively avoided doing the first time.

As I brushed back her hair, though, Robin made a content little sound and nuzzled against my fingers, and I felt my resolve hardening.

Among other things.

"God damn you are still fucking adorable," I muttered into the ground.

One thing you learn when you're marching with an army? How to sleep legit anywhere, under any circumstances. A skill that came in handy as I actually managed to get a few hours of sleep before the big 'fire falling from the sky time travelers dropping from the heavens' event that was the first mission.

I woke suddenly as Chrom rose up from his own bedroll, exchanging his scripted conversation with Lissa in hushed whispers before they both wandered off into the trees.

I simply lay back and waited for the rumbling to start, closing my eyes and letting myself drift off again. My gear was all lined up and ready to go next to me, the last thing I'd done before I'd let myself get any rest. One handed, because Robin still even now had a death grip on my left hand.

When the ground did start to shake, I was up in an instant, snapping into a sitting position so fast I was worried I'd have whiplash.

"Robin, Frederick, wake up!" I said loudly. "This is no earthquake!"

The tactician by my side snorted, blinking bleary eyes a few times before the shaking seemed to register to her tired brain. Frederick was up in an instant, his horse eerily silent as it waited for its master.

"Where are-" the Knight started.

"They went for a walk, that way," I said, pointing after Chrom and Lissa.

The smell of smoke was strong now, and we could see the glow of the fire through the trees. I was already buckling my knife-belt back around my waist, Robin only managing to come up onto all fours before another strong tremor knocked her back down. I went down, too, falling to one knee even as my hands still worked my belt. Frederick swayed, but otherwise didn't react to the quake.

Was it this bad the first time, too?

"And you let them!?" Frederick growled.

"Hey, you're their keeper, not me," I shot back defensively.

I pulled my jacket on from where it had been discarded next to my bedroll, shrugging into the garment instantly. Robin was on her feet now, holding onto my shoulder for balance.

"What's going on?" she asked shakily.

"Don't know, but let's find out," I said with a grin. "Frederick, go find the Prince and Princess! We're right behind you!"

He didn't answer, already swinging up into his horse's saddle and urging the mount into the trees.

"I don't like him," I said, crossing my arms.

Robin snorted, buckling her own equipment belt back on and adjusting the pouch on her hip.

"So, I assume we're going to run towards the smoke and the fire?" she asked.

"See? You are smart!" I laughed.

Robin chuckled and shook her head, drawing the sword we'd snagged from the dead bandit in Southtown.

"Lead on, then, oh fearless leader," she said.

"Famous last words, girl," I laughed.

We laughed as we raced after Frederick, our spirits high despite the shaking ground and the growing fire in the distance. After all, if I wasn't worried, why would Robin be?

We found Chrom and Lissa right about the same time as Frederick, Robin and I having taken a more direct route through the thicker underbrush that the knight's charger couldn't race through. Lucina/Marth started in surprise as we exploded into the clearing at the same time as several more Risen.

"Well, shit," I growled.

"Hey, do I know him, too?" Robin asked, pointing to Lucina/Marth.

"No," I said, starting forward as Lucina/Marth turned to leave. "Don't even think about it, you skinny little prat! Front and center! I'm not taking any chances here!"

Lucina/Marth froze, blushing as she was caught in the act of trying to disappear.

"Ben, what's going on?" Chrom demanded. "Who is this person? What are these creatures?"

"Fucked if I know," I shrugged. "Let's ask."

"They don't seem very talkative," Robin pointed out.

"They are not," Lucina/Marth chimed in, her voice pitched low.

"Then may I suggest we kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out?" I said, drawing my knives.

"An agreeable plan," Lucina/Marth nodded.

"Form up!" Chrom ordered.

I gave a small sigh as I fell in next to Lucina/Marth, rolling out my neck. Younger, fitter and stronger than I'd ever been, and sleeping on the ground still gave me a kink in my neck. Go figure.

I caught Lucina/Marth shooting Chrom a glance out of the corner of her mask, and I smirked, bumping her shoulder with my own before I could stop myself. She started, and I laughed to cover my momentary flash of panic.

"Focus, kid," I said. "Yes, Chrom's incredibly pretty, but you can ogle him later."

Lucina/Marth gaped, cheeks reddening as Chrom laughed a little.

"I prefer to think of myself as 'handsome', actually," he said.

"And oh so humble," I laughed.

Lucina/Marth bristled a little, but focused instead on the Risen again and I gave another relieved sigh. This Lucina didn't know me, was nowhere near as close to me as her counterpart in my future. I must have still been half asleep; Robin I could get away with that kind of behavior with, but Lucina was another story entirely.

"Here they come!" Lissa shouted unnecessarily from behind us.

I glanced up, taking the Risen in. A couple grunts, a couple basic bitch hoodies, nothing we couldn't handle. I shook my head, reminding myself that, for the Shepherds, this would be a pretty decent fight. I decided to take a gamble, leaning over to Lucina slightly.

"Hang back, let Robin and Chrom get some experience against these things," I muttered to the princess. "We both know you and I have more than enough dealing with the small-fry. Pair up with Chrom, I'll watch Robin."

"H-how do you…" Lucina/Marth hissed before shaking her head. "Very well. But you will be explaining yourself later."

"Dollar for every time I've heard that," I chuckled, turning to the others. "Executive decision! Chrom, you're with mister mask here! Robin, you're with me! Frederick, keep an eye on Lissa! Robin, Chrom, you're the vanguard! Move!"

The authority in my voice had both Chrom and Robin moving before they even realized it, standing side by side as I cut behind them to take a position at Robin's shoulder. Lissa and Frederick crowded in behind, and I nodded as the Risen shambled closer.

"Much better," I said. "Go for kill shots. These things don't hurt easy."

"Well, at least I'm not covered in blood this time," I grumbled, coughing a little as I patted Risen ashes off my sleeves. "Seriously, fuck this shit. I need a sword or something."

"What are you mumbling to yourself?" Robin asked curiously, patting her clothes off, too.

"Something along the lines of 'fuck everything'," I sighed. "How're you holding up?"

"Gods but you worry," Robin laughed.

"Hey, one of us has to be the adult here, and with you with no memories…"

"My hero," Robin laughed, throwing her arms around me in a hug.

I rolled my eyes and returned the hug, both of us glancing up as someone cleared their throat not so far away. Lucina/Marth stood, a slight blush coloring her cheeks, looking pointedly at me.

I'm guessing now that the battle was done, she wanted to have a little talk. Given the fact that I just steamrolled a bunch of Risen with tactics that, by rights, shouldn't exist yet, she no doubt had questions.

"You wanna go pal around with Lissa and Chrom for a bit?" I asked Robin. "I gotta talk to Marth."

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked seriously.

"I'll be fine, I can take her," I laughed.

Robin smirked and nodded, stepping back and eyeing Lucina/Marth one last time before moving over to where Chrom, Lissa and Frederick were talking to Sully and Virion. I gave the Prince a wave and a grin, indicating everything was good, and he responded with a nod. I turned towards the forest and breezed right past Lucina as I started for the trees.

"Alright, let's move, we've only got a small window here," I said.

"To do what?" she asked suspiciously.

"To take one gigantic pain in the ass off the board," I said over my shoulder, stopping once we hit the tree line. "You and I aren't the only time-travelers, Lucina. Grima's here, too, but she's weak."

That was probably an information overload for the girl, but to her credit she only paused for a moment before pulling it together.

"Grima is here?" she asked, her voice returning to its normal range.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Then everything else can wait," Lucina said, pushing past me. "But rest assured, we will be discussing this at length."

"No problemo," I shrugged. "You arrived around here, yeah?"

"I did."

"Then Grima should be nearby, too. We'll spread out, comb the forest," I said. "She can't have gotten too far in her weakened state just yet."

"I would ask how you know all this…" Lucina started as we began to search.

"Like I said, time travel, apparently," I said darkly. "And this bitch isn't getting away from me again. This time when I kill her, she'll stay dead."

Lucina was silent for a moment as we combed through the underbrush, looking for signs of our errant god of destruction, before she glanced up at me.

"Grima is… a woman?" she asked slowly.

"Long story, I'll explain later," I sighed.

"You will explain much, I hope," Lucina said seriously.

I smirked, giving the princess a nod in the gloom.

We separated then, moving out in a standard search grid that I had no doubt I had taught her in the future. It brought a small grin to my face, but one that didn't last long in the light of what I was doing here.

This was important. This was big. If we could remove Grima at this early stage, it would totally change the way the late-game played out.

Then all I'd have to worry about was what to do with Lucina and her merry little band.

I'd figure that out once we got there, though.

I still had a job to do right now.

I pushed through the scrub, getting further and further away from Lucina and from the others, until the light from the forest fire was a dull glow in the distance, between the trees. The night was still quiet, though, and it didn't take me long to pick up on the sound of ragged, heavy breathing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was fuckin' out here.

But I did know better.

A predatory grin spread to my face, the first vestiges of bloodlust I'd felt all day coloring the edges of my vision with a red haze.

Finally, I was feeling something.

Finally, I'd get some closure.

I found her leaning back against a large tree, head lolling and eyes flickering open and closed as she spat blood to one side. I hesitated for a moment as Robin's face, albeit older, looked up at me. Then it clicked what I was looking at. The stomach wound. The cut on her face where I'd 'proved I could make her bleed', just below her left eye. This wasn't Lucina's Grima.

This was my Grima.

"So, I ended up dragging you back here, too, huh?" I asked coldly.

Grima looked up at me with Robin's face, her eyes dimly glowing red in the dark forest, and uttered a single word.

"Fuck," she breathed, letting her head fall again.

"So, where's the other one?" I asked, stepping forward.

"Already… killed her… consumed her…" Grima chuckled weakly. "I didn't… make it easy… for myself…"

"Well, thank you for making my job easier," I said, drawing my knives. "I'd say this was nothing personal, but we both know that's a lie, you psychotic bitch."

"How are y-you… not dead?" Grima asked, spitting up more blood.

"Don't know, don't care," I growled, advancing slowly. "But I doubt you'll res like I did. Goodbye, Grima. And fuck you."

She slowly turned her languid, barely conscious gaze up to me, and I will admit I hesitated a moment at her similarity to Robin.

And that hesitation cost me.

Deceptively fast, Grima waved her hand.

I had just long enough to think 'oh fuck' before my head was enveloped in a beam of light and-

"Oh fuck. Oh my head. Ow. Ow. Ow."

I groaned, futilely raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sunlight.

My eyes widened as I froze, going rigid before dropping my hand.

A cheery mid-summer sky, a few wisps of fluffy white cloud drifting lazily through the blue, met my gaze. A cool breeze blew, the leaves above me swaying in the wind and causing the shade to drift with it.

I sat up, glancing around at the same clearing I'd seen when I'd woken up the first two times.

I processed this for a moment, before…

"FuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

AN: Oh, this cliffhanger was mean at the time I wrote it. But, voting was had, and the next chapter worked out a lot differently, and a lot better, than I'd intended.

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