A/N:

Hello! This project was written in 2022-2023 and was originally uploaded onto AO3 under my penname, "FE_Fanby". I decided to put it on here so more people can access it! I plan to post a new chapter every Friday until all 8 are complete. If you can't wait that long, feel free to find me on AO3!

This fic is rated T for:
Violence: Nothing more violent than what the games have. No gore. No blood.
Language: H*ll, d**n, and bl***y are used.
Suggestive themes: minor suggestive themes. No sex scenes, or anything explicit. If you're concerned, feel free to PM me.

Trigger warning: Fanfic includes: Moderate depictions of Social dysphoria, and minor depictions of physical dysphoria. Depictions of outing and blatant transphobia. Explicit Sexism.

And a Quick disclaimer before we start:
DISCLAIMER: Every work posted on this account uses IPs that the author does not own. Fire Emblem is property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and do not represent the opinions of either company. This is simply a derivative work made without any sort of profit nor is it explicit; It is only created for fun.

A figure slipped into the forest, exhaling heavily into the tranquil twilight, their feet stepping through mushy ground. The air was still a bit misty from the rain that fell earlier that evening, but the fog that was there had lifted. Breathing into the mist, the person already knew the rain was going to fall. In fact, they knew many things—saw many things.
Navigating the forest in the limited vision of a mask, Marth was inching towards the Ylissean castle, steeling himself to intervene the flow of time: The death of the Exalt, the Emblem falling in the wrong hands, the eventual resurrection of Grima—all of that shouldn't have happened.

It can't happen again…

Despite the determination, it made Marth's stomach churn just thinking about it. At the same time however, it made his stomach churn more that he had to be in disguise, and to stay in character. He had to lower his voice, be stagnant in expression, and speak to his father as if they were strangers, plainly and formally; That broke his heart. Granted, he has done it a few times already, fighting the Ylissean prince and the Shepherds being the most notable. Still, it's like he's getting closer to them in a sense. It's…hard.

Interrupting his train of thought, a tree root caused Marth to stumble. Barely catching himself with his hand on some tree bark, he regained his balance. Getting back up from the fall his hand rubbed down its rickety-spine texture. But before he could get onto himself for his clumsiness, his eyes caught a glimpse of the castle walls.

There it was…Home in its near prime condition. No obstructed walls, no abandonment, family members still alive. It was so easy to imagine having a meal in the huge dining room, or sparring with his father in the courtyard. While hypothetical happy scenarios flooded his mind, he had to grip himself, for he knew that day would not be today. Stepping closer to the wall, he tightened his grip on his hilt—he knew that he had to act fast.
Getting to the brick wall just outside of the courtyard, the masked warrior was in search of a few adolescent maple trees. All he had to do was follow the red brick wall, sidling to where any guards outside could not spot him, and eventually he found the young trees, having no struggle slipping in.

Getting through the crevice of the wall, Marth hid behind one of the trees nearby. While trying not to get caught, he also tried to spot the assassins that were staged in some bushes nearby. He could only make out the blades on one of their arms, but it was enough to know they were present. Everything was going according to time's flow.

A few yards away was Chrom and Robin, talking about Emmeryn, her backstory, and what she stood for. Marth knew this story, he knew it all too well, especially the part where it ends.
He needs to prevent it, and now.

Hearing a pause in Chrom's speech, Marth decided it was his cue to approach the two of them. A deep breath, a mental reminder to be in-character, he no longer took cover from the tree he hid behind when Chrom continued to talk.
"...So perhaps I must be death's agent. Emmreyn would never order him killed, nor would I wish her to."

Chrom and Robin were so focused on their conversation that they didn't notice Marth until he had responded.

"Well spoken sir," Marth stated.

Chrom and Robin turned their gazes to him, immediately making him nervous. He tried to keep himself calm, continuing to walk towards the Shepard duo despite his instincts to freeze in place.

"Marth…" Chrom said in awe.

"Good evening to you."

Looking around in panic, Chrom replied "How did you get here?"
Marth went on to explain his entrance, which in turn made Chrom feel awkward, which led him to explain to Robin how he tried to hide the weak spot he destroyed in the wall. Marth wanted to chuckle, but he had to suppress his smile, lest either Robin or Chrom heard it.

"Your secret is safe with me, I come here only to warn you." Marth said in a noticeable tone shift.
"Warn us?" Chrom asked, an eyebrow raised.

Inhaling deeply, Marth simply replied with "The exalt's life is in danger."

"What, Emmeryn?" Chrom shot a glance around him, then looking back at Marth without a change of expression, slightly scoffing. "That's absurd. She's guarded at all hours." Robin on the other hand wouldn't know any better either way; she was left without a clue.

Feeling his muscles tense up and his heart rate alarmed, Marth tried his hardest not to swallow his words. "What if…What if I told you I have seen the future? Would you believe me? A future where Emmeryn is killed." Marth paused for emphasis. "Here. Tonight."
Robin still had a curious expression on her face, but not a skeptical one, whereas Chrom had it written all over him. "Seen the future? Have you lost your wits?"

A pit had formed in the masked one's stomach. He knew this was going to happen, but it still caught him off guard. Dropping his shoulders, Marth tried to play it cool. "Yes, I expected you wouldn't believe me. So allow me to prove it!"
That coolness turned to fire quickly when he took the sword out of his sheath, putting Chrom at the ready. Stern in his stance, Marth had his Parallel Falchion pointed at his father but with no intention to hurt him. "I'm about to save your life…from him."

Not a beat late, the assassin dashed out of the bushes, leading Marth to toss his sword, following behind it with a somersault. He ended up landing behind the assassin, slicing their back, killing them as a result, just as he hoped.
Looking up from the corpse, Marth kept his neutral look towards his father. "I trust…this proof will suffice?"
Chrom, in awe, could only respond with "Yeah…"

Marth knew about the other assassin, but he failed to account for him. When he charged out to attack from above, Marth was about to get into the defensive, but he stumbled on the first assassin's sword before he could. In an instant, the alive assassin cut Marth's mask, splitting it in two, thankfully missing his body. In response to Marth's vulnerability, Chrom ran towards the attacker and killed him without difficulty.
Finally registering that his mask was off of his face, Marth felt a cold pierce in his body, fear of their reactions. Getting back up from the fall, Marth tried to cover his face, but to no avail; Chrom had already turned towards him, seeing Marth's full appearance.

"Wait you're–you're a woman?"

Panicked and unsure how to respond, all she could say was "And quite the actress too. Honestly I'm surprised you didn't figure it out until just now."
Right as she had said that, Chrom, Robin, and Marth heard a loud noise very close to the castle. Making haste, they charge towards that direction.

...

It was a long night of fighting off thieves, assassins, and other soldiers. Finally, the Shepherds had kept Emmeryn and the Fire Emblem safe as well as adding few soldiers to their force. Indeed, tonight was not short of victories, even for the relieved Marth, who despite having her cover blown, had prevented the very thing she had originally worried about. Right as she was leaving the castle, she had to face her father once more. While it wasn't an awkward conversation, and they left on good terms, she felt…different around him.

It wasn't that Chrom treated her differently after her gender reveal. It wasn't that Chrom had induced some sort of emotional trauma on her in the past, much the opposite; he was an incredible father in her timeline.

Then, what was it? Was it how much she missed him? Marth had anticipated this encounter for so long, and she got to work with him on a battlefield again for the first time in what felt like forever, even if it was from a distance. She was very happy about that despite the circumstances.

Yeah…that had to be it. Marth simply misses him. She's closer to revealing her identity to him, and it's almost like old times. Finally, the father-daughter duo can be together again: Chrom and Lucina…
Marth shut that idea out. No, I can't feel that way. I did my job and that's the rules.

Originally, she was going to head back to her original time, but she figured she should keep an eye on Ylisse, in case something went awry. After all, she needed her guard to be up at all times.

Getting back to her original tent out in the Ylissean woods, she took her boots off to reveal the socks underneath. Before that she was going to untuck her hair, and take her mask off, only to realize that her mask was destroyed, and her hair was already out. Their release out in the open was very strange to her. Normally, when Marth undoes her disguise, she normally feels exhausted.
And now she feels even more so. It was a long night.

Realizing the sweat and blood on her face, she went out to the stream near where she set up camp to wash her face. The moon was nearly full, at a waning gibbous, the air a little cold. Getting to the stream, the lone figure began to get water to splash her battle-worn face. Splashing a bit too hard, she wiped the excess water out of her eyes. When she had opened them, she had looked at her face directly in the water's reflection for the first time in weeks. Sure, she looked at it in her peripheral vision before, but she was distracted by her thoughts about her duty, and what she needed to do next. This time, a weight have been lifted in that department, and for once, she was alone with her thoughts.

Looking closer, she could tell her face was clean, free from blood. She saw the brand of the exalt, shining as bright as the moon, and she smiled at her face. Running her hand through her exposed locks however, it was a different story; it felt strange. Why does she feel this way? This wasn't an issue before. It had to be from where she was used to having it hidden, right? She reassured herself, saying that she will get used to it in a few days. There was no point in hiding it anymore since her secret had been revealed. But still…she felt exposed.

Walking towards the tent to get ready for bed, she tucked herself in, expecting an easy night. After all, Marth had not felt this exhausted in days.
Feeling the softness of her pillow, the future exalt's mind had drifted off to playing out the events that happened at the beginning of the night. She felt proud of killing the assassin in front of Chrom and Robin, her hours of practice finally kicking in, proving her doubtful father wrong. With the reveal replaying in her head, Marth felt upset. Her mind tried to move on from that specific moment, but it kept replaying. Her father's confused face, Marth trying to hide her face–even what he said stuck with her, and he had no idea why.

"Wait, you're–you're a woman?"