Chapter 33 - A Unwelcome Meeting

"Slow down, Soleil! Getting separated is the last thing we want right now!" Robin shouted, sprinting after his granddaughter as she vanished around the corner of one of the buildings ahead of him.

Grumbling at her continued refusal to heed his warnings, Robin charged after her, having long since given up worrying about being heard or running headlong into enemies. Soleil had pretty much taken that choice away from him at this point, so he might as well have made peace with that.

Rounding the corner several seconds later, Robin came to a halt as he was met with nothing but an empty street. He whirled around, checking the nearby alleyways that she may have ducked down. Nothing. She was nowhere in sight.

"Dammit, where did she get off to?" Robin asked aloud, stifling a stream of curses that would have otherwise followed. "If this is a joke, it's not funny!"

Gods, why did she have to run off ahead? This is exactly what I was afraid of! Robin paced a step back and forward. Either she completely ignored me, or I've completely lost my mind and this is all a very elaborate hallucination. I don't know what scares me more.

"Up here! Sorry about that!"

Robin nearly leapt in surprise at Soleil's voice. Stepping back, he followed the direction the sound had emanated from. He found Soleil above him, in the midst of scurrying down from an open second-story window. In one hand she held an ornate gold and blue bow with a matching quiver slung over her shoulder.

"I left my stuff in an inn room I rented out this morning. Didn't have time to go back for it until now," Soleil explained, lowering herself down to dangle by one hand before dropping down the rest of the way and landing deftly on her feet. "Plus I was fighting alone before, so chances to use the bow wouldn't be exactly plentiful. But I figure now is the best time to get some work in with Grandmother's bow." She finished, holding up the weapon proudly to punctuate her point.

"Grandmother? You mean Lucina? But she doesn't have a bow?" Robin asked, arching an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? She uses Thögn all the time! Didn't you guys find it during your trips through the-" Soleil stopped abruptly, realization dawning on her. "Wait… you guys didn't travel the Outrealms in your world like in mine, did you? Of course you wouldn't have! If you killed Grima, there'd be no reason to search for another way to kill him! Because he's already dead, duh!" She finished, smacking herself in the forehead.

So that me must have decided to search for a way to kill Grima for good then, Robin realized. I wonder what kind of things he and that Lucina found in their travels? Or if he found anything to that end.

"Yeah, we definitely didn't do that," he answered, keeping his thoughts to himself on the matter. Really, it simply wasn't the time to worry about it right now.

"Wow, then your version of Grandmother is really missing out. It's a really awesome bow," she said, tugging at the bowstring, causing it to hum as she let go.

Honestly, I had no idea Lucina could even use a bow. I've never seen her use one at least, Robin thought to himself. Though I suppose it's the sort of thing she'd have learned when she was younger, along with swordplay, horseback riding, and other things royalty and nobility are expected to learn.

"Anyhow, come on, let's go! We need to get a move on," Soleil said. She seized hold of his arm, tugging him along as she broke out into another sprint. Robin staggered into a run, nearly falling flat on his face as he fought to find his footing.

Pulled along by Soleil, the two continued towards the center of town. "A group of villagers were heading for the town hall when I got seperated from them," Soleil told him as they ran.

Approaching the town square, Soleil stopped, motioning up to one of the buildings. Nodding, Robin boosted her up, allowing her to scramble onto the rooftop. Once he had a good foothold, she pulled him up with her, the two using the vantage point to survey the scene.

Scanning the scene before them, Robin spotted the town hall, only a few streets over. Other than that, he could not get a clear view. He thought he spotted a few bandits, but another building cut off the entrance from view.

Soleil tugged on his sleeve, drawing his attention away. "There!" she said, pointing off into the distance.

A fight had broken out at the edge of the town, distant cries and ringing of steel echoing in the distance. A large force had swept in, engaging the bandits who'd remained at the barricades from which they'd laid siege on the town. Robin spotted a banner bearing the crest of Nohr.

"It's Lord Xander and the others. We sent for them before the fighting began, but I'm surprised they made it this quickly," Robin told her.

"Wow, seriously? With a whole army this'll be a piece of…" Soleil stopped, a thought occurred to her. "I just thought of something. So we probably outnumber the bandits now, right?"

"More or less," Robin said.

"Well, if I were a lowlife thug and an army just showed up in the town I was raiding, I'd probably cut my losses and burn the place down. You know, 'if I can't have it, no one else can' combined with providing a real good distraction to cover my escape?" Soleil told him.

Robin nodded. "Yes, probably."

"Then why are you so calm?!" Soleil asked incredulously.

"Because they won't be that desperate just yet. We have time, which I fully intend to use to stop them before it comes to that," he told her. "Come on, let's go. Their leader is certainly with those outside the town hall. If we take him out, this ends here."

Scrambling back down to street level, Robin took the lead now, taking an indirect path that would keep the two of them out of sight of any bandits at their destination. Soon a loud commotion could be heard up ahead: shouts interspersed with loud crunching booms that echoed through the cramped streets.

Coming to a stop behind one of the buildings, Robin gripped Soleil's arm and pulled her back as she attempted to charge out into the open, hissing under his breath for her to wait. Slowly he peeked out around the corner.

A wide street led up to what looked to be a town hall, outside which stood a small group of brigands. Four manned a small battering ram, the source of the louds booms as they attempted to force in the barricaded doors.

"That's where the villagers I was with were heading," Soleil told him, speaking far too loudly given the circumstances.

Robin winced, but nodded nonetheless. At least the bandits were all shouting over one another, making it unlikely that they'd heard her.

As he watched a new bandit, an archer, entered the scene, running up to one that appeared to be the leader. The bandit leader grimaced visibly at whatever news his subordinate gave. He barked out some order, another archer and a mage, likely the spellcaster Robin and Soleil had heard previously, departing with the first bowman.

"Must be going to engage the rest of the Nohr army," Robin whispered to Soleil, utilizing a far more appropriate volume than she had. "This may work to our advantage. There are few left."

Twelve, plus the leader, Robin counted. Yes, this they could manage. "We hit them hard from a distance. Spells, your bow. Then we close in." Robin motioned for her to ready her bow. Soleil nodded, knocking an arrow from her quiver.

Nodding in affirmation as well, Robin readied himself. Closing his eyes, he reached deep inside with his mind and grasped at the deep hum of magic he felt within. "Go," he whispered. In a single fluid motion he stood, stepping out from their hiding place as his eyes snapped open.

"Arcfire!" a roaring torrent of flame engulfed the nearest brigand, the man's sudden scream cut abruptly short as he was consumed. The bandits nearby shielded their eyes, squinting against the searing light produced by the spell so close at hand.

A bow string hummed, Soleil leaping out from cover, loosing an arrow mid-flight. The instant it left her bow, the arrow erupted into blue light, appearing as though it had been wreathed in flame. It cut through the air at nearly twice the speed of a normal arrow to slam into the chest of a stunned bandit. He silently fell back, smoke curling from the burning hole the arrow left.

In rapid succession, Soleil loosed three more arrows. Two of them just found their mark, dealing wounds that were only fatal due to the devastating properties of the bow. The third she missed entirely, leaving a scorch mark on the brickwork behind her target. Robin heard Soleil say something that sounded like a hissed 'ouch' in response to her own aim. However, if she said anything else, Robin did not hear it, as the sound was lost in the thunderous roar as lightning leapt from his fingertips to lance another of the bandits.

Felling one final bandit with her bow, Soleil slung the weapon over her shoulder and drew her sword, Robin recognizing the curved blade Inigo used. Stepping into the zone of one of the bandits, she cut the man down before he could fully draw his sword. She parried a strike from the second, before cutting him down too.

The bandits who'd been manning the battering ram before had now recovered, going for their weapons. With a flick of his wrist, Robin unleashed another spell, wind sending them sprawling. "Thoron!" The bolt of lightning struck before they could recover, leaving nothing more than a smoldering crater and charred corpses in its wake.

Leaving only the bandit leader standing.

The bandit seemed startled at first, his eyes wide as his men were wiped out in mere moments. But then his expression hardened, eyes narrowing to points. In a single motion, he drew his sword, smoothly falling into a fighting stance. The motions were not those of a self-taught brigand, but those born of years of practice. Clearly, this was a trained swordsman.

"You… So you're the one who's been giving us so much trouble," the bandit leader said. "But it ends here. By my own hand."

"You know it! Wasn't really that hard either," Soleil replied, smirking as she stepped forward. She casually rested her own blade on her shoulder, her free hand on her hip.

Robin glanced between Soleil and the bandit, his own hand resting on the hilt of his sword, prepared to draw the weapon at a moment's notice. Dammit, Soleil, get out of the way, he urged inwardly, as his granddaughter moved in the direct line of any spell he could cast. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she did that on purpose.

The bandit laughed grimly, yet twinged with undeniable confidence as he hefted his sword, its blade heavily notched and scarred from what must have been countless battles. "Before you die, know that I was a swordsman before I was a bandit. The best! So come on- It's time I test my blade on you!"

"The best? Really? That can't be right," Soleil chimed back, grinning as she redied her own weapon, giving it a flourish as she stepped forward. "But I accept your little challenge. One-on-one, to the death, I presume?" she asked, sounding absolutely delighted at the sound of this. Almost like this had been exactly what she'd wanted this entire-

Oh gods, it was on purpose! Robin realised. Soleil had been planning on a one-on-one fight from the start and had positioned herself to keep him from interfering and finishing off the bandit leader with magic.

"Soleil, you can't be serious. I'm not going to let you fight by yourself just because-" Robin started to argue, not trying to hide the outright alarm in his voice.

"Relax, gramps. Just sit back and let a pro handle this," Soleil told him, flashing a confident grin over her shoulder before turning to meet her foe. She twirled her blade around in another showy flourish, then stepped in to meet the bandit leader's opening gambit.

Sparks rained down as their blade met, steel ringing from the impact. The exchange was fierce and quick, clash after clash coming in rapid succession. The bandit's fighting style relied clearly on strength and speed, seeking to overpower his foe with each blow he rained down. But Soleil's fighting style was no less aggressive, relying on swift flowing movements that chained ceaselessly one from the next without stopping.

"Do you doubt my skill?" The bandit scoffed. He parried one of Soleil's strikes and countered with a two-handed blow, forcing her to dart back out of range.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're good and all, but…" Soleil flashed a confident grin back, even as her foe's blade passed an inch from her shoulder as she side stepped his next strike. "If you want the best, I hate to break it to you, but you're already looking at her." She caught his next blow in the V between her blade and crossguard. With a flick of her wrist she maneuvered her blade around, its tip scoring a line of red across her foe's chin. He hissed, the sound more from anger than pain as he retreated back, touching the spot and seeing his finger come away red.

"You…" the bandit growled, his eyes narrowing to dagger points.

"See, I told you. I'm pretty good, don't you think?" Soleil taunted.

With a howl of anger the bandit leader launched himself at her once more, fighting even more furiously than before. Soleil met him in kind, ringing steel once again filling the air.

As they fought, Robin noticed aspects of Lucina's fighting style present in hers, as well as the style Olivia and Inigo had developed. However, both of those were elegant, refined. A trait Soleil did not display. Her movements were almost frantic in their haste, almost overflowing with energy. In short, it was a style that relied on dazzling and outpacing a foe, with the unconventional flowing strikes taken from her father and grandmother, making it more difficult to read her movements.

It was at that moment Robin caught a glimmer of movement in the corner of his sight. He spun around, turning just in time to see three bandits, the two archers and the spellcaster who'd been sent off moments before, return to the scene.

They must have heard our fight and rushed back to help their leader, Robin realized.

In that instant two arrows whipped through the air towards them, followed by a crackling tongue of flame released from the mage's fingertips.

"Soleil! Behind!" Robin shouted, rushing to intercept the attack. He conjured a gust of wind, throwing the projectiles off-course. Then the fire met his spell, the flames splitting to either side. He felt heat lick at his tingers, tips of his glove smoking. Robin yanked his hand back, his breath hissing through clenched teeth, his hand feeling as if he's placed it on a cooking pot straight out of an oven.

"Grandpa!" Soleil turned, hearing his cry. In that split second she nearly lost focus, her foe's blade coming dangerously close to her throat before she whipped her attention back in time to deflect the strike and scurry back.

"No! This girl is mine! My fight! Don't interfere!" the bandit bellowed, even as he charged forward, bringing his blade to bare on Soleil, forcing her now to deflect with her shield and peddle back further.

So he wants this one-on-one fight as much as Soleil, Robin realized. Good, that means I don't have to worry about protecting Soleil now. Robin smiled.

Bowstrings twanged as the next volley arced towards Robin. He darted to the side, the first array kicking up sparks as it skidded off the pavement. The next passed by Robin's arm, slicing into his coat but missing his skin.

Then came the fire just like before. This time Robin waited until the last moment, then with a shout unleashed his spell. He aimed the gust upward, scattering the flames into a dazzling shower of sparks.

"Arcthunder!" bolts of lighting split from his hand, shooting towards the three bandits. They scattered, one of the archers and the mage managing to avoid the spell. The other bowman was less fortunate, one of the bolts catching him square in the chest. He fell, smoke curling as his body twitched before falling still.

In that instant Robin closed the gap, his sword clearing its sheath. The archer raised his bow to defend himself, a crack ringing out as he staggered back, splintered wood falling from his grasp.

"Thoron!" Robin shouted, whirling around and catching the mage full force. There was a blinding flash and when the smoke cleared, the enemy spellcaster lay motionless in a smoldering heap.

The final bandit recovered, drawing a short sword and with a desperate cry launched himself at Robin. The tactician reached first, intercepting the strike by lopping off the man's hand at the wrist. The bowman howled in agony, the cry cut abruptly short as Robin plunged his blade into the man's heart.

Yanking his sword free, Robin turned his attention to Soleil's fight with the bandit leader. Soleil was on the defensive now, the brigand pressing his advantage with a flurry of overpowering strikes. Steel rang in a near constant chorus, drowning out all other sound.

"Where is your confidence now? You were so proud before," the bandit taunted. He locked blades with Soleil, binding them between them. Then suddenly he lashed out with his boot, sweeping one of Soleil's legs out. She gasped in surprise, falling to one knee as he ripped the sword from her grasp, sending it spinning into the air.

"Soleil!" Robin shouted, rushing back towards her as the bandit's blade fell.

Then he saw Soleil smirk as she twisted to one side, the blade skidding over her shield and striking the ground with enough force to jar the bandits arm and shoulder.

Following up the motion, Soleil twisted into an acrobatic leap, kicking off of the man's chest and launching herself into a flip even as he was sent staggering back. She snatched her blade out of mid air, only then Robin realizing that she'd maintained enough control to aim her weapon's trajectory even as it had been ripped free from her grasp.

"Aether!" Soleil shouted, leaping forward. Her blade erupted with golden light as she brought it down on her opponent's sword. There was a ringing retort and a crystalline sound as the bandit reeled back, his blade snapped into pieces just above the hilt. Then came Soleil's second strike, dashing past with a blinding flash of shining light.

A cry fell from the bandit's lips as he staggered, clutching at his chest. He managed a step, lifting his ruined sword as if to strike, before slumping to his knees. "How… how did I…" then he toppled, landing lifelessly in a pool of his own blood.

"Because… I'm… awesome…" Soleil said proudly, even as she fought to catch her breath. She grinned, giving a thumbs up before dropping to her hands and knees in exhaustion.

Robin rushed to her side, extending a hand to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… never better..." Soleil said, laughing in between breaths. "Was I cool back there or what?"

"Yeah, 'or what'," Robin answered, smiling as he pulled his granddaughter to her feet.

"Ouch. That hurts, Grandpa. Way to kick me off my pedestal right off the bat," Soleil said in mock outrage. She swayed a bit, managing to regain her footing.

"Well, if there's anything I learned from watching that display, it's that you are without a doubt Morgan's daughter. And Inigo's," Robin added with a smile. "That sort of grandstanding is exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from either of them."

"Thanks! I'll take that as a compliment," Soleil smirked back. She stopped, her eyes falling on the charred leather of his right glove, her expression turning to one of concern. "Are you alright? Your hand…"

"Nothing some healing magic won't fix," Robin told her.

"Oh in that case, here!" she reached inside a pouch on her belt pulling out an elixir vial and tossing it to him. "Drink this. I'm going to go check on the townsfolk and make sure they're alright."

Nodding in thanks, Robin unstopped the vial and downed the silvery blue liquid within. A tingling sensation spread through his body, turning to a soothing warmth around his injuries before fading. Pulling off his glove, he checked that his hand was fully healed before putting it back on.

With that dealt with, Robin began examining the bodies of the bandits, searching for any clues to their origins. He was careful to focus on his surroundings even as he did so. Even with the Nohrian army's arrival, there was still no doubt many brigands were left scattered about the town. After a couple moments he shook his head, turning back. While a few seemed to have been soldiers from either Nohr or Hoshido, having likely turned to raiding in the aftermath of the war, the brigands seemed completely unremarkable. Just your run of the mill thugs and robbers. Nothing more.

At that point Soleil returned, somehow having even more spring in her step than before.

"You seem pleased," Robin noted.

"Oh boy am I!" Soleil exclaimed, throwing both her hands behind her head and grinning proudly. "One of the village girls, this super cute redhead, totally said yes to have tea with me when all this is over! Isn't that great?"

Robin blinked in surprise, if only for a moment. If his granddaughter prefered women to men, who was he to judge? "I'm happy for you, but is this really the best time? It's still not safe and-"

"That's why I said 'when this is over'. Come on, keep us, Grandpa," Soleil cut in, rolling her eyes. "I told everyone to hold tight until we're sure all the bandits are gone, but that things were more or less handled at this point."

"That's not… what I meant to say was I'm not sure how long we'll be…" Robin started to explain, not wanting to crush Soleil's excitement by telling her it was unlikely they'd stick around in this town for much longer once the bandits were gone.

Before he could finish, however, a voice called out, interrupting him.

"Robin!" He turned at the sound of Lucina's voice, spotting her emerging from one of the side streets.

"Robin, are you alright?" Lucina asked, hurrying towards them. "As soon as I realized there was fighting near the town square, I feared the worst. That you must have been unable to escape as planned. We came as soon as we were able and-" she came to an abrupt stop as her eyes fell on Soleil, her expression becoming one of both surprise and confusion in equal measure.

Oh, right. The family resemblance must be impossible to ignore, Robin realized. Which is why I should probably be embarrassed it took me as long as it did to catch on before.

"Robin, I… who...?" Lucina said, glancing between him and Soleil.

"Yeah, so. This might be a bit of a long story. This is Soleil, the swordswoman those villagers told us about. You're not going to believe this, but-"

"Hold on, gramps, this will be a lot easier if I handle this," Soleil proclaimed, leaping forward and without warning shoved Robin aside. Thrown off-balance, Robin staggered and flailed about his arms as he tried not to topple onto his face. "Hi, Grandma, I'm your granddaughter. Yeah, I know, crazy. Time travel, right? But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Soleil continued, hopping alongside Lucina, nudging her in the arm as she grinned at her.

"Excuse me? You're my… what?" Lucina said. She blinked rapidly, looking utterly bewildered. She turned to Robin for confirmation, who for his part was picking himself off the ground and dusting himself off.

"Yep, granddaughter! Got a brand on the back of my left shoulder. Would show it to you, but apparently I'm not supposed to take my shirt off in the middle of a battle or something," she added in a patronizing tone as she rolled her eyes at Robin. "Before you ask, Morgan, not Uncle Marc, so no cool dragon powers sadly. But who needs them, since, you know, I'm pretty much awesome without them."

Pausing, she eyed her grandmother up and down quickly, then added. "By the way, looking great. That's not to say you haven't aged well in my timeline, way better than gramps over there!"

"What?!"

"Who is very jealous, by the way," Soleil continued, grinning all the wider. "So yeah, in the short of it, granddaughter, future, time travel."

"If… if you're my granddaughter from the future, then…" Lucina spoke slowly, looking like she was still processing this. "I trust that you speak the truth, but… I do not understand. Why are you here? Did something happen in the future?"

"By mistake from what I gathered, though she's been cagey on her reasons," Robin interjected. "She can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems she didn't intend to come to this specific timeline but another version connected to her own."

"I mean, that's not inaccurate," Soleil confirmed, rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous chuckle. "And look, I had other things to worry about than explaining it in detail. Trust me, I have a good reason. See, I-"

Now it was Soleil's turn to fall abruptly silent. Robin followed her gaze, seeing that it was to Inigo.

"Sorry. Lucina and I split up to flank the enemy. Fell behind when she headed here. I heard screaming, is everyone-"

"Oh my gods, Father! It's you! It's really you!" without any warning Soleil threw her arms around her father, embracing him in a fierce hug. Inigo stiffened, his mouth falling half open as utter confusion filled his expression. "It's really, really, really you! I've always wanted to meet you and I…" she shook her head. It was then Robin noticed Soleil was crying, tears of joy streaming down her face as she clung to her father.

He'd seen this reaction too many times before not to guess at its meaning. It was how Lucina and many of her friends had reacted to meeting their long lost parents once more.

"Who? What? Father? I-" Inigo asked, staring down at the crying girl hugging him. Only then did he seem to notice the color of her hair, the headband she wore like his own mother's, and her clothes so much like his own. "You. You look like… are you…"

"Time travel! Future! Your's and Morgan's daughter!" Robin shouted, Inigo turning to look at him with even more bewilderment now. "And Soleil, for the love of Naga, let me explain this time!"

The sounds of footsteps signaled him to Corrin's and Silas' approach, who too wore confused expressions at the scene unfolding before them.

Sighing, Robin motioned them over, figuring how best to get everyone on the same page. Last thing I need is to repeat this song and dance a dozen more times.

And so Robin explained the situation, as concisely as possible without skipping any of the important details. He kept only the most important details, like those proving Soleil's heritage as well as her apparent circumstances for being in this timeline.

As he spoke, Inigo gradually relaxed, eventually even returning his daughter's embrace. Through it all, Soleil was uncharacteristically quiet, instead just continuing to hug her father through the whole thing as Robin gave his account.

"Something terrible happened to me, didn't it," Inigo said to Soleil once Robin had finished. It was not a question.

"Oh, I… well… yeah, You weren't around anymore," Soleil told him lamely. She let go of her father, staggering back a step so they were about at arm's length apart. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, averting her gaze. "You died when I was really little. In the war. In this world," she motioned around her. "I was too little to really remember you. So, sorry if I came on a bit hard back there. I just… really wanted to meet you." She sniffled through her attempt to smile, wiping her eyes again.

"I'm sorry. I know too well what that's like," Inigo told her, taking a step closer. He reached out, wiping away a tear with his thumb and gave her a smile of his own. "You don't have to force yourself to smile if you don't want to."

"What do you mean? I do want to," Soleil protested, shaking her head.

"No, I can tell. I'm the same way. But sometimes it's fine to drop it if it feels like an act. You should really smile when you really mean it," Inigo told her. He smiled gently.

"Wow, Mother was right. You really do know what to say when you're feeling down, huh?" Soleil said. She laughed a little, this time a more true smile tugging at her lips.

"See, that's the kind of smile I'd expect from my daughter," Inigo told her, patting her on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt, but…"

Both Soleil and Inigo turned as Corrin stepped forward. At once the young lord froze, hesitating as all eyes fell on him. "I meant… I need to ask. You said Laslow- I mean, Inigo, your father, died in another version of this world," he motioned to Soleil. "Mind if I ask what happened there? If it was anything like here… did we fail? Is all this for naught?"

"Oh, no, it wasn't this far. It was the one with Hoshido, so no need to worry..." Soleil trailed off, slapping herself on the forehead. "So I was about to say your name, and then I realized I don't have the faintest clue what it is. Sorry, this has been a really crazy day and I'm barely keeping up."

"We did miss that step, didn't we?" Inigo interjected, stepping forward. He swept out an arm towards Corrin. "Allow me to do the honors. Soleil, this is Lord Corrin, he's the brother of my liege Lord-" Inigo started to explain, only to be cut off as Soleil leaped back, her hand shooting for the hilt of her sword.

Everyone froze in shock, and then Soleil too froze, seeing the surprised looks on everyone's face.

"Um, just to check before I go any further. He's on your side, right?" she asked, eyeing her father and Robin each in turn.

"Wait… why wouldn't I be on their side?" Corrin asked, his confusion deepening. "I don't… What is this about?

"He's a friend," Inigo assured Soleil. She nodded to him slowly in response, and only then did she release her grip on her sword's hilt.

"I take it there is some reason for your reaction?" Lucina asked, speaking hesitantly as he glanced between Corrin and Soleil, as if fearful of sparking some conflict.

"Yeah… you could say that," Soleil said, her gaze again falling on Corrin with obvious suspicion. "Well, in my version of this world, he-"

Before she could finish, the sound of hoofprints caught her attention. The group turned, seeing the Nohrian army's mounted soldiers approaching with Lord Xander at their head. The rest of their army trailed some distance behind. Reining in his steed, Xander dismounted, heading towards them as the others did the same.

"Well, I better go explain what happened. To say the least, this will certainly prove to be quite the interesting conversation," Inigo said dryly.

"Wait, are you sure it will…" Soleil gripped her father's arm, stopping him.

"It's fine, I'll be right back," he smiled at her.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that!" Soleil smiled back, letting go of his arm and watching as he hurried to go fill Xander in on what happened.

Once he was gone, Lucina turned to Soleil. "How are you faring? I can only imagine this is much for you to take in all at once."

"Ha, I could be asking you the same thing. I'd have thought finding out you have a future granddaughter can't be easy," Soleil laughed. "Though I guess Mother showing up like this did prepare you guys for this sort of thing, huh?"

"Yes. Morgan was quite a shock. Your grandfather and I had scarcely been together for more than a few weeks before we discovered her in those ruins. We didn't know the first thing about being parents. In fact, I still fear we still are quite lacking in that area."

"Oh, don't say that. You two are awesome parents. Or grandparents in my case, but still," Soleil told her. She paused, pressing a finger to the side of her chin as if considering something carefully. "You know, speaking of Mother, where is she anyways? I'd have thought she'd be with you guys," Soleil asked, peering out into the Nohrians gathered there.

Robin blanched as this question, becoming acutely aware of the imminent disaster rapidly approaching them. How was he supposed to explain the situation between Morgan and Inigo to her? Between everything else, he'd simply had too much to worry about.

He saw Lucina pale too, evidently coming to the same thought.

"What's the matter with you two? You look like you've seen a ghost," Soleil said with a laugh. "Come on, dealing with me and Mother all at once can't have you that scared. You guys put up with us fine in my time."

"Oh, yes. Of course," Robin said quickly, nearly sighing in relief. Good, go with that. As long as she thinks that's what we were worried about, it will buy me some time, he thought to himself. He needed to talk to Morgan, alone. Get this sorted out ahead of time.

The last thing they needed was a repeat of his daughter's and Inigo's reunion.

"You know what, why don't I go find her? I am sure she's with the others," Robin said quickly.

Lucina nodded fiercely, quickly catching on. "Yes! Certainly. While your grandfather does that, why not the two of us talk? Alone," she said urgently.

"Wow, you two really are scared!" Soleil exclaimed, laughing. "Don't worry, I'll play along. Have fun explaining to Mother that I exist!" she said, waving Robin off.

Turning and hurrying for the rest of the approaching Nohrian forces, Robin managed to make it only a couple of steps before he was stopped dead in his tracks by Inigo rushing back towards him, Xander following close behind. "Sorry, Robin, but do you have a minute? Given the implications, Lord Xander wanted to ask you and Soleil more about this whole time travel situation."

"Yes, there is much to this I wish to know more about, particularly this alternate version of our world Soleil is familiar with," Xander affirmed.

"Um... I don't know. Can it wait, perhaps? There's something else I need to attend to sooner rather than-" Robin started to argue.

"Certainly it cannot be that urgent given the circumstances. Unless this other matter of vital importance, I must insist it wait until after I've spoken to you and Soleil in further detail," Xander told him.

"Well, you see… it's rather…" Robin started, feeling suddenly very small beneath the stern visage of the Nohrian royal. He cleared his throat, trying to muster up the courage to stand his ground here. There wasn't time to waste, he needed to find Morgan before-

"Father!" an all too familiar voice called out. "You really must have the worst luck ever. Seems like every time you and Mother go anywhere you find trouble."

Oh gods, no. Robin covered his face with his hands, it taking every ounce of fortitude he had not to burst into tears of complete despair.

Shoving her way through the crowd, Morgan ran up to her father, panting slightly. "Look, really wanted to find you. This is hard for me to admit, like, really, really, really hard, but I may have sort of completely messed up earlier. I was really rude and snapped at you and I've felt just terrible about it. Do you think you can-" Morgan stopped abruptly, noticing Soleil talking to Lucina. "Woah, why are there two Mothers? That girl looks just like her!"

It was at that very moment that everything completely unraveled. Soleil lifted her head at the sound of Morgan's voice, spinning in place to face her. Lucina's eyes widened in fear, knowing what was coming next. Inigo turned an instant later, utter dread overtaking his features.

Robin found it even hard not to cry. He was cursed. It was the only explanation for how everything could go so completely, and utterly wrong all at once.

"Mother! There you are!" Soleil said, rushing to meet her mother. "Father's alive in this timeline! Isn't it great?!" Then she caught herself, adding quickly, "I mean, that's normal for you I guess, so it's probably really weird for me to be telling you that. But it's the thought that counts, you know?"

"I- Who? What? I don't-" Morgan said bewilderedly, uncharacteristically at a complete loss for words. Her eyes fell on Inigo then, standing so close to Soleil. At once, Robin could see the gears turning in Morgan's head. She mouthed the word "mother", as if that was the last piece falling into place. "You… you're serious? This… this is a joke, right? This has to be a joke?"

"Morgan, don't get angry. This is Soleil, she's…" Inigo faltered slightly, as if fearing sudden reprisal for what he was going to say next. "...our daughter."

"What? How?" Morgan demanded.

"In her world, things worked out for us, at least for a time," Inigo explained. "She was even born here, I think, in her version of this world."

"Then why did she-" Morgan started to ask. Her eyes began shifting rapidly to the surrounding crowd, Morgan increasingly taking on the appearance to that of a cornered animal.

"Father died for me. In the war. But that didn't happen here, it's that wonderful!" Soleil repeated, taking another step towards her mother. "Is something the matter? You are acting awfully weird, Mother. Did I say something wrong?"

"Don't… don't call me that!" Morgan snapped, staggering back a step. "This… I didn't…" she turned to Inigo, her eyes filled with sudden fury. "You! Why didn't you leave me alone! Now this happened, if only you have just stayed away, maybe-"

"Morgan, I beg you, just listen," Inigo said, taking a step forward. "Blame me all you want, I can understand that. But Soleil is your daughter, too. She's here now, we can't change that. But now that she is, we can-"

"I'm not her mother! Maybe some other me, but not me-me!" Morgan countered. She clutched at the side of her head, her breathing becoming visibly haggard.

"Morgan," Robin warned, moving to step in between the two. "Think about what you're doing. Soleil is your daughter. This isn't fair to her. Imagine what would have happened if your mother or I acted like this when you first appeared."

"I didn't want this. I don't want any part of this!" She flailed her arm around violently, as if lashing out against invisible foes. Robin was forced to take a step back, lest he be struck by the erratic sweeps of Morgan's arms.

"Morgan, your father is right. This isn't fair to your daughter. You-" Lucina started to say coming to stand besides Robin. Only her words were cut short as Soleil brushed past them more, approaching her mother once more.

"Mother, please. I thought you'd be happy," Soleil pleaded, coming to a stop mere feet away from her mother. "You always told me you'd have given anything to go back to when Father was still alive. And he's alive in this timeline. So why aren't you happy? Why aren't you smiling?"

"Because things are different here!" Morgan shouted, stomping her foot as her anger pointed over. Tears began to stream from her eyes, her lips quivering. "Because that Inigo didn't leave that me behind! That Inigo wasn't a jerk who ditched me at the first opportunity!"

"Mother, you don't mean that, do you? I'm sure if you just talked, maybe-" Soleil reached out, trying to grab her mother's arm.

"Don't call me… I'm not… don't ever call me that! I want nothing to do with your father… I don't… not again... " Morgan retreated back, out of the reach of Soleil's outstretched hand, swatting it away roughly. Soleil gasped slightly, staring at her stinging hand.

"I need to go. I need to think, Alone. I can't-" Morgan continued to babble. Without warning she turned away, shoving her way through the crowd, ignoring all calls for her to wait.

Only Soleil made no move to follow, staring frozen in place, her hand still stretched outward. Then, slowly, she left her hand fall, allowing it to slump lifelessly to her side.

Robin watched Morgan go as well, again cursing himself for not intervening. If I'd known Morgan was with them, I would have made to talk to her first, soften the shock and prevent it from ever getting to this point. But now…

This day just kept getting better and better.

Robin looked back at Soleil, who still stood there with confusion on her face. She blinked slowly, looking as if she didn't know how she should react.

"I don't understand… I thought… Mother would be happy..." she whispered, her words almost lethargic now, as if Morgan's words had sapped all the energy from them. "I thought… she'd be happy that Father… is still alive…"

Robin took a step towards his granddaughter, feeling more than a bit responsible for what had transpired. However Inigo beat him to the punch, reaching her first. Awkwardly, Inigo pulled her into a stiff hug, seeming just as confused and uncertain as she did even as he attempted to comfort her.

"Things are… they're complicated…" Inigo told her at length, his expression making it clear he wasn't even sure if this was a lie or not. "I'm afraid ever since I traveled here without her, I may have… upset her more than I could have possibly fathomed."

"Without her? But she… you two were supposed to… I don't understand. You were supposed to be happy," Soleil continued to whisper, even as she returned her father's hug.

"Robin," Lucina whispered, gripping his arm. "What should we do? I feel as though we must confront Morgan, but I too fear if we were to, we may only worsen the situation further..."

"I- I don't know," Robin murmured back, hanging his head shamefully. What was he supposed to do here? Would talking to Morgan right now really make things worse? Or would doing nothing have the same effect? In that very moment, all he and Lucina could do was look on helplessly, paralyzed by their own indecisiveness.

It was at that moment Robin noticed Severa standing off to the side, her eyes narrowed into a glare so intense he could almost feel that daggers gaze shot at him. Owain stepped up behind, trying to say something, only for Severa to hiss something back and pull away roughly. She glanced back, favoring Robin with one last look somewhere between anger and utter frustration, before hurrying away, vanishing among the buildings.

What was that about? Robin wondered. Clearly he'd done something to upset her, that was all too apparent. It was the what he couldn't exactly fathom.

He began to ask Lucina if she had noticed it as well, but was stopped by the approach of Xander. "I apologize if this is not the best circumstance, but there is a lot to this situation I do not yet understand. But if what she says is true, the events in this alternative reality to this one pertain greatly to myself and my siblings."

"I'm not sure if…" Robin started to say, shaking his head. "I mean to say, I'm not sure if being interrogated at this moment would be for the best," he glanced worriedly towards Soleil.

Soleil, for her part, seemed to overhear this. She loosened her embrace somewhat, turning a bit to look their way. "No, it's alright, Grandfather. I can manage," she told them, at last ending her hug.

"Are you certain? No one would think ill of you were you to need more time…" Lucina started to ask, only to be silenced by a fierce shake of Soleil's head.

"No, I can do it! And I'm all better now too!" As if to prove her point, she reached up, pulling up the corners of her mouth with each of her index fingers. "See, a smile!"

"Soleil…" Robin started to say.

"Besides, I really do owe you all an explanation sooner or later, and if Lord Xander wants one now, then might as well kill two birds with one stone," she added, doing her best to smile without her fingers' support.

"I trust her judgement. If Soleil says she's okay with this, then who am I to argue?" Inigo said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder supportively as he turned to Xander. "Whenever you're ready, Lord Xander, we can begin."

"Thank you," he glanced around, eyeing the gathered crowd still milling around them. "It would be best if we take this in private. The six of us," he gestured vaguely towards Robin, Lucina, Inigo, Soleil, and Corrin, "will convene in my tent. I think Leo shall join us as well."

"Sounds like a plan!" Soleil chimed in, some of her lost enthusiasm returning to her now. Though even still her words rang somewhat hollow. "Though just to warn everyone well in advance, get really to hold onto your seats, because this is going to be a long one," Soleil assured them. "Or a confusing one. Because frankly, everything here is weird and different, so there's not telling how much crazy time travel nonsense we'll have to talk about."

As if that was a part of my life I could ever put behind me, Robin added to himself. I don't know if I should be happy or frightened that I've become jaded to the point where that particular topic barely phases me.

Maybe both.

Author's Note: Sorry about the slight delay, I'd planned on getting this out Friday or Saturday but due it being Thanksgiving here in the US last week it took a few extra days for me and my beta readers to finish editing this chapter. Now, on the bright side I will likely have the next chapter up sometime in the next 2-3 weeks, as it's pretty much halfway done due to scenes I'd intended to be included in this chapter being shuffled back due to length and time concerns.

So yeah, looks like that meeting with Morgan went about as expected. It's a shame too, as in better circumstances she would have been ecstatic to meet her daughter. Someone really needs to do something about this, and sadly her parents have been too passive in their efforts so far.

No guest reviews this week to respond to, so I guess that's all I have for now. As always, please let me know what you guys thought about this one. I love hearing your guys feedback!

Until the next one, take care everyone and have a wonderful day!