Chapter 32 - Bright Smile

"Thank you so much, if you hadn't come along, I don't know what would have happened to us," thanked one of the villagers they'd saved, a short elderly woman.

"I'm just happy we arrived when we did," Corrin replied. The young prince almost looked surprised to Robin's eye, as if he'd scarcely expected to be thanked for their rescue.

Then again, it probably had been a long time since Corrin had received any genuine gratitude for his actions.

Robin surveyed the scene, keeping his weapon raised an at the ready as he watched for any sign of movement. The five of them had cut a deep swath into the town, all but entirely routing the brigands surging through town's eastern side. It was during this initial fighting that they'd come across a large number of the bandits attempting to breach the doors of one of the larger buildings where a group of townsfolk had taken shelter. In an instant, their group had fallen on the brutes, cutting them down before they could so much as turn and fight back.

We've been lucky. The bandits are disorganized. If they'd kept to a formation and remained aware, we'd be in serious trouble, Robin noted. "Sloppy. I would have thought even bandits more careful."

"Tell me, are you with her," another one of the villagers asked, stepping forward.

"Who?" Silas asked, arching an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't follow. Is there someone else here besides the bandits?"

"Yes, a young woman, said she was a mercenary," the villager, a man in his mid forties, replied. "She arrived early this morning, not long before the bandits. Thank the gods she did, as it's only by her actions the town has lasted this long."

"She fought off the bandits twice before now. It was she who told us all to barricade what buildings we could," a woman added. "But I fear for her safety now. There are so many more of them this time, I fear she's in over her head."

"What?" Ingio asked, eyes widening. "It doesn't matter how skilled you are, one person can't stand against this many alone. We need to help her!"

Dammit. That's that must be why the bandits here were so disorganized, Robin realized. These bandits certainly didn't seem to be searching for her. Others must be dealing with her, so they probably figured there was nothing for them to worry about.

"Agreed. Where is this woman now?" Lucina asked.

"Last I heard, she had gone to protect those holed up in the town square. But that was an hour ago," the woman answered.

"In that case, we need to head there right now. She's in danger, if we don't, we-" Corrin started to say, only for Robin to raise a hand to stop him.

"Thank you for the information. Get back inside, barricade the doors again and don't open them until this over. Leave the rest to us," Robin instructed the townsfolk. The villagers quickly complied, shutting the doors. Then Robin turned to the others.

"No," he told Corrin, "We need to be smart about this. If I were to guess, the bandits' main force will be after that girl, near the town's center. That leaves the rest of them as disorganized and scattered as these lot were." He motioned to the bandits lying at their feet. "We need to take advantage of this. Two of us. Corrin, Silas, you swing north, Lucina, Inigo, you do the same for the south. Clear out as many as we can, before they catch wind of us."

"But what about the girl, we need to-" Corrin started to argue.

"-Which is why in the meantime, I am going to find her," Robin said.

"Alone? Robin, you can't be serious," Lucina gasped, a mix of shock and concern filling her features.

"You said it yourself, that's where most of the bandits will be! You can't face them alone!" Corrin snapped. "Dammit, you can't make the same foolish mistake I've made too often! I won't..."

Corrin trailed off as Robin shook his head sharply. "I do not intend to fight them head on. That was never my intention. Rather, my aim is to present an opportunity for the woman to escape," Robin told her. "The situation isn't ideal, but right now we can't spare more than one person for this rescue. Besides, I have the best shot. "

"Robin…" Inigo started to say, appearing also worried for his sake.

"Remember, I'm the only spellcaster here. If anyone can create an big enough opening, it's me," Robin explained. "Look, we don't have time. Just please trust me."

Lucina was the first to nod in acceptance of his plan. Whatever concerns she may have held, her trust in his judgement outweighed them by far. "Be careful. Please," she told him. The she turned away, she and Inigo hurrying south while Corrin and Silas headed north.

Without another pause, Robin set off towards the west, making for the heart of the town.

You know, as plans go, this isn't your best work, a part of him reminded, almost smugly. They're right to be concerned.

Yeah, well, today hasn't exactly been ideal. I'm doing the best I can with what's given to me, Robin told himself. I'm sure I'll be fine.

Yeah, fine. Now he just needed to convince himself of that.

. . . . .

"Go, get to safety! I'll try to draw them off!" the girl shouted to the villagers. She battered aside an incoming blow, using the momentum of her parry to whip her blade back around and cut down her assailant. Yet in that instant, two more brigands launched themselves at her, forcing her to fall back.

Yeah, might be about time to act on that plan, she told herself. Bounding back another step, she seized hold of a nearby merchant's stand, yanking it over in between her and the bandits.

That should buy me some time! Turning, she fell into a dead run, waving and and shouting as she ran. "Come on this way! Come and get me! You know, nah nah nah nah nah and stuff!"

A chorus of cries echoed out behind her, signaling that the bandits had taken her bait. Ha, idiots, she grinned, slowing her pace just a bit to make sure they didn't give up the chase.

An arrow whizzed past her head, pinging off the cobblestone pavement. She turned, catching sight of the archer just in time to see him loose another arrow. She dove into a roll just in time, the second missile sailing past as she came to her feet.

It was then that she realized something was wrong. There weren't nearly enough bandits following her. If only a handful had given chase, that would mean...

"Oh come on. This really isn't my day, huh?" she groaned. Dammit, I need to get back to the square, those people will be slaughtered if I don't-

Her thought was cut short as an arrow skidded off the street next to her foot, forcing her back. The remaining bandits were almost on her, cutting off her round back.

No way I'm getting through that way. Got to loop around!

Whirling around, she fell into a dead sprint, making for a tight cluster of buildings where she'd be able to give her perusers the slip. The sounds of footsteps behind her grew more distant as she wound her way through the tight alleyways, until they could barely be heard as more than a distant echo.

Ha! Lost them! Now I just need to-

She skidded to a stop, coming short just in time as a blade flashed through the space she'd have been had she not reacted in time. A duo of bandits now blocked her way, having somehow managed to get ahead of her and cut off her escape round.

Retreating back, she found the other end of the alleyway likewise blocked. She was trapped! It didn't make any sense, these guys were supposed to be idiots! How did they trick her?!

The bandits closed in, seven in total. Readying her sword, the girl prepared to fight.

So, really talked a big game earlier about your family being good at this sort of thing, she told herself. Better see if I can put it into practice, huh?

Then the bandits were on her, the first once meeting her blade in a clash of steel.

. . . . .

Robin leaped into the air, launching a blast of wind aimed at the ground. He was propelled upward, landing on the rooftops of one of the buildings. Bracing himself, he peered out over the village, searching for any sign of movement.

There!

A detachment of brigands had broken off from those still centered around the town square, moving east. It certainly seemed like they were pursuing someone, but was it the girl or a group of fleeing villagers?

Either way, he couldn't sit by and watch it happen. Bounding over the end, Robin launched another spell, a great updraft of wind catching him as he fell to slow his decent. He landed, rolled, and came out into a sprint, moving to intercept.

The sound of a fight reached his ears: ringing steel and cries carrying out from somewhere ahead. Redoubling his pace, Robin closed his eyes, drawing on his inner wells of power as he prepared a spell.

His eyes snapped open as he rounded the last corner, coming out into an alleyway and the scene of the battle he'd heard but moments before.

A young girl clad in blue and gray mercenary's garb battled against a trio of bandits who'd surrounded her. Four others lay dead of her feet, who were then joined by a fifth even as Robin watched the mercenary cut down another of her assailants. Yet the instant she ripped her blade free, the final two were on her. A flurry of screeching steel followed as she desperately battered aside the avalanche of blows the remaining two bandits rained upon her, culminating in a ringing clash that sent the girl's blade spinning from her grasp. The two bandits lunged, weapons glinting as they fell upon their now helpless foe.

"Duck!" Robin shouted, thrusting out a hand.

The girl dove to the ground just in time as a burst of wind rushed over her, catching both brigands full force. The bandits smashed into the wall behind and crumpled to the ground with two sickening crunches.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked, jogging over to the girl. He eyed her up and down quickly. Besides a couple minor cuts and bruises, she didn't seem to have any serious injuries. An impressive feat, considering she'd been fighting so thoroughly outnumbered until this point.

Or, really, just a bit less thoroughly outnumbered. Not like we brought much of an army with us this time," Robin corrected himself

"Oh, I'm fine, just a bit…" the girl started to say. She returned her sword to it's sheath before turning to face him. Then her eyes widened, for a single instant shock playing out over her face. "Grandpa?! What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed incredulously, pointing at him with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"I… excuse me?" Robin asked. He must have been hearing things, since it sounded a lot like she just called him-

"Grandpa," the girl repeated, sprinting towards him now. "I don't understand. I thought there was only one orb, so how did you-" she stopped herself, clasping both hands over her mouth. "Oh, that's not what this is about is it? You came to bring me home, didn't you?"

"I… I don't… what?" Robin stammered, staring at her blankly. "I… believe you have me mistaken for someone else… I don't think I…" he managed weakly, clinging to his own words in the face of evidence.

"Haha, very funny. Pretending to not know who I am. I get it," the girl said, a wide grin spreading over her lips. She took a few more steps towards him, then came to a stop, the smile faltering a bit as she saw what must have been a truly bewildered expression on his face. "Oh gods, you're serious aren't you?"

"Yes, very," Robin answered, managing to regain his composure somewhat. Kinda. A bit.

"Oh, okay. That's not what I expected," the girl said. She paused, opened her mouth to say something more, than shut it again. Then open again, then shut. Finally on the third try. "So, don't get mad… or panic... But, if you really don't know who I am that mean you're from the past and I might have probably broken time."

She paused, looking him up and down. Her gaze fixed on his face as she stared intently. Then she slapped her forehead "Oh, wow, you really do look way younger than I remember. Maybe, I dunno, by ten, twenty years max? Wow, I feel dumb right about now! Probably should have realized something was up way sooner, huh?"

"I..." Robin started to say, only to be cut off as the girl hopped forward, landing alongside him

"But I guess this isn't the first time this has happened to you, am I right?" she grinned at him, nudging him with an elbow. "So, you know, just pretend that this is that all over again. Which it basically is. Exactly that."

Robin merely stood there, his brain and all relevant thought processes having long since come to the violent, screeching halt. Well, that wasn't exactly true. At that particular moment there was quite a lot of activity going on inside his head. Most of it just happened to be a franic voice screaming 'no, no, no, no, no, no, nononononononono' at a ever escalating rate while the girl continued to rattle on.

"Cutting straight to the chase, my name is Soleil, and I'm your granddaughter," she grinned, standing up straight and pointing a thumb at her chest proudly.

"You're my… my…" Robin stutterer, his words falling incoherent. He wanted to deny it. He really, really, really wanted to ignore everything she just said. But, now that he had a good look at her…

Oh gods, she even looks like Lucina. A lot like her, from her hair, to her eyes. But her attitude and face is almost like- Robin buried his face in his palms, dragging them slowly down to tug at his skin as they went. Gods, when did my life go so wrong? This is revenge, isn't it? This is karma's retribution for marrying my best friend's daughter.

Even her equipment didn't match the style of this world, her garb far more similar to the type worn by mercenaries back in Ylisse. Only the studded gambeson she wore looked remotely at home in Nohr, but even then, hers was sleeveless, with leather arm guards and braces over of her grey undershirt.

"Yep, granddaughter. I would have thought the hair would be a big give away," the girl, Soleil apparently, told him, playfully whipping her long blue hair back to accent her statement. "Oh, I know! I can prove it!"

She spun around, facing away from him. Then, without any warning reached down and began to to tug at her gambeson. She fiddled with it for a moment before managed to get a good grip, and then, with a solid yank, began pulling it up over her head, her undershirt with it.

"What are you doing?!" Robin exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his face with his hands before she could get her shirt up over her head.

"Taking off my shirt. What does it look like?" Soleil asked, perplexion clear in her voice.

"Why?!" Robin shouted back.

"To show you my Brand, duh. It's on the my back, just below my left shoulder," she told him, as if this was a perfectly reasonable and rational explanation.

"Then tug the back of your shirt down so I can see it, don't strip in the middle of a battle!" Robin told her incredulously.

"But that's a pain to…" she started to say. Then, evidently seeing Robin's hands still clasped firmly on his eyes, sighed and relented. "Fine. Gimme a moment… there, you can look now."

Cautiously Robin peeked through his fingers, fearing a trick. Thankful he was greeted with the sight of his alleged granddaughter fully clothed once more. As instructed, she'd reached up and pulled the back of her shirt down, stretched the neck hole of the gameson and undershirt back enough for Robin to glimpse a unmistakable pattern of discolored skin just above her left shoulder blade.

Yep, that's definitely a Brand of the Exalt, alright. Which can only mean…

I've turned into Chrom… Oh gods, I've turned into Chrom!

Robin slumped against a nearby wall, bracing himself with a hand. "This… is a lot to take in…"

"Oh, I can imagine!" the girl grinned happily as she turned back to face him, looking so very pleased with herself. "If you need more convincing, I can prove it! On the back of your hand you have a brand you don't like anyone to see. There, bet that has you convinced now!"

That caught Robin's attention, silencing the panicked voice in his head as surely as a slap would have. How did she know about his mark? It should have been long gone in her future. Unless…

Reaching down, he pulled the glove off his right hand and lifted it up to her, turning it around to show the bare, unmarked skin there.

Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of utter disbeliefs. "You don't have Grima's Mark. Why don't you have your mark?"

"It's gone. Ever since I killed Grima it has been," Robin told her.

"Wait… you killed Grima? But Grima was sealed with Falchion! You told me so…" Soleil trailed off, her eyes widening. "… but that would mean… If you aren't..." Her face went suddenly very pail, her mouth falling open. "Oh no," she whispered, repeating the words louder and louder. "Oh no, oh no. I really messed this up, didn't I? You know, I probably should have known something was up as soon as I got here. I thought everything here was wrong, but this just about proves it," she rattled off at about a hundred words a second, speaking fast enough that Robin could barely keep up

"Wait, slow down. What do you mean this doesn't add up?" Robin asked, gripped her by the shoulder.

The girl blinked at him, then nodded slowly. "Right. So, you know how before I said I may have broken time? That was meant to be a joke. Mostly. But now, I think I might have actually broken time," she explained. "Because, you're here, which never happened as far as I'm aware. And you killed Grima and lived somehow. And this whole world isn't like In was told it was. Basically none of this adds up!"

Robin stared at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright, alright. I think I got this figured out." He released his grip on her shoulder, turning around and pacing a few steps to collect himself, then spun back to face her. "If I were to guess, it shoulds like you're from parallel timeline than mine. I mean, you were obviously from a another timeline, that's how this whole thing works. I meant as in you're from a different timeline than me. One with some very key differences.

Like, for one, it sounds like her world's me let Chrom seal way Grima, Robin thought to himself.

"Oh, wow… this is a lot to take in," Soleil said. "But in that case, what are you doing here? I mean, not here, here. This world here. Well, maybe the first thing too. Yes, both those things please."

"That's…" Robin frowned, considering it for a moment. "A really long story. One left for a time that's not right now."

As if on cue, the sound of a distant explosion boomed in the distance. The ground trembled slightly under their feet, sending dust training down from nearby rooftops..

"You know, I can't say I'm happy to have my point proven, but there it is," Robin noted, wincing as a second blast echoed out. He pinched to bridge of his nose, trying his best not to sigh in exasperation. You just had to tempt fate, didn't you? You keep doing that. Stop doing that!

"That sounded like an mage. Since when did this morons have a mage?" Soleil exclaimed. Drawing her sword. "Come on, we need to go! People may get hurt if he keeps blasting away." Without even waiting for a reply, Soleil sprinted off, charging towards the sound.

"Soleil, hold up, we need a plan!" Robin called after her, giving chase. After a few moments he managed to catch up, Soleil having slowed as she came to the first intersection, where she now stood looking frantically left and right as if deciding which would be the best route.

"I think… I think… this way!" She shouted, bolting off down the left road.

"Please, slow down!" Robin said, managed to fall into step behind her. He wheezed for breath.

"Sorry, 'bout that. Almost forgot you'd probably have trouble keeping up in your old age," Soleil apologized, flashing him a grin.

"I'm not- Certainly you can't be serious- I'm twenty-four! -Ish! Something like that! Between the amnesia and… other things, I'm not precisely sure. But the point still stands!" Robin countered.

"And, so?" Soleil asked.

"That means I'm not old!" Robin shouted, flailing his arms in utter exasperation. "Not even future me is all that old! I mean, how old are you for example!"

"Sixteen," she answered simply.

"See, that's only about eight years. And I'd imagine that mean future me can't be any older than his early forties!"

"Yeah, but that's ancient. If anything, you just proved my point," Soleil retorted, flashing another grin. "Come on, try to keep up. Both figuratively and literally!" With that she sped froward, redoubling her speed and once again causing Robin to fall behind.

"Gods… dammit! At least wait until we have a plan!" Robin shouted after her. Tucking his head low, he threw himself forward with renewed vigor, his legs burning in protest as he struggled to keep up with this new pace

"But that's your job, gramps," Soleil called back. Even from far behind, Robin could see her shake her head. "You and mother are the planners, not me, remember. Well, you don't remember, because you never… you know what I mean!"

"Mother... so your Morgan's kid then?" Robin asked, once more managing to close some of the distance. That would make a whole lot of sense, come to think of it. Least in regards to her attitude, which certainly very Morgan-like.

"Well, duh. If I wasn't then I'd have pointed ears and would have probably turned into a dragon by now. Sometimes I get sooooo jealous of that, let me tell you!

Huh, I guess things work out between Marc and Nah long term, then, Robin noted. Good, I'm happy for him. "What about combat? Can you use magic, or just swords?"

"Unless you want me to shoot sparks at people or set myself on fire, it's pretty much just swords," Soleil answered. "I figured you could deal with the mage while I mop off anyone else with him and hope we don't get swarmed."

"That's not much of a plan," Robin noted, frowning deeply. "But, if you insist on doing this, I'll admit there are worse ones. There are four others with us right now. There's two of the Nohrians we're traveling with, as well as your grandmother and your father. I think. Inigo is your father, correct?" Robin asked.

Soleil stopped dead in her tracks, so suddenly that Robin nearly crashed into her. He skidded to a stop, coming only inches short. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

"You mean he's really here? I mean, I really hoped, but I almost couldn't let myself even believe…" Soleil trailed off as she turned to face him. Her eyes glistened with tears, even as she wore an even brighter smile than before. "You're not kidding, right? He's really here?"

"Of course, why wouldn't…" Robin started to say. Then he stopped, the pieces falling into place. "Wait, in your future. Did something happen to-"

Before he could even finish, Soleil whirled around, leaping forward into dead sprint. "Now I'm even more fired up! I'm going to end this quick! Watch me!"

Gods, this girl is going to be the death of me, Robin thought to himself, chasing after her,

So Inigo isn't around in her timeline, and from the sounds of it she came to this world for a reason. Robin considered this quickly, another thought dawning on him. Or at least, some version of this one. She said everything here was "wrong", like she expected this world to be different. What if me not killing Grima isn't the only difference in her timeline?

What have I gotten myself into?

Author's Note: Well I guess last chapter was a fluke, since here we are, back to four weeks between chapters. Darn it, I thought for once I'd get it out faster.

Regardless, here we are, and the "mysterious" new arrival has been revealed to be Soleil. Hopefully people like how I flipped the script a bit on her origins, making her a time traveler instead. And from a very different timeline it seems, one where Robin got the other ending to Awakening. Interesting, I wonder what other differences we'll see in her timeline.

I've actually been planning to have Soleil show up since the very beginning of planning this story. One of the major impetus for writing it was to repair my Morgan x Inigo ship that Fates so casually torpedoed. Plus oh my god, Soleil works so perfectly as Lucina!Morgan's daughter. With blue hair she looks like her grandmother, but in terms of personality Soleil is so like Morgan it's crazy. So I just had to have her show up in the story. Hopefully it wasn't too far out of left field.

Anyhow, with that, onto guest reviews.

Dracofighter - I am glad you enjoyed it. As for finding out where this is really going, you may have to wait another chapter I'm afraid. More answers are to come.

B.I. Beast - I can safely say Soleil does not come from Revelations. However, she is definitely from both a different Awakening timeline AND a different Fates timeline. As for Robin's actions on Morgan, well, that's up for debate. While not pushing too far will likely help, Robin and Lucina always have been a bit too passive as parents so far. Perhaps a more direct approach will be needed, but we'll have to wait and see

Anyhow, that's all for now. Let me know what you guys thought. As always, please leave all your comments and criticism you have, as it's the only way I am going to improve as a writer. Besides, it always makes my day to hear your thoughts. Until the next one, have a wonderful day everyone!

Character Spotlight: Soleil

Class: Hero

Secondary Classes: Myrmidon, Pegasus Knight, Tactician

Skills: Aether, Sol, Swordfaire, Vantage, Galeforce

Personal Skill: Sisterhood - Damage +2 and damage received -2 if the user's supporting unit is female

Equipment: Laslow's Blade, Hand Axe, ? ? ? ? ?

Status: Alive