Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“ I was here at the beginning. And I will proclaim the end. ...It is time for you to chose. Does this world belong to… or does it belong to you?”

“That is something that I decided long ago!”

…

“Today, we use our powers to fell a god, and then seize our destiny!”

All that I am is fading.

The memory of a god’s existence, born from the chaos of creation.

It is vanishing…

…No.

I cannot allow this.

I WILL not allow this!

This world belongs to me!

The future belongs to me!

The future…

The future…

Let the passage of fate carry me to where I can reclaim the future!

And the world was born anew.

Gently, the sun shone down on the grassy plain. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing to obstruct the view: no arm, no leg, no body looming overhead, and no great sword blotting out the sky. And the breeze felt so good.

So good that it made you wish that every day could be like this, always.

She blinked, and looked down on herself. Her metallic body still glistened in the sun, and as she moved her fingers, the sound was that of metal touching against other metal. Even in this new world, that much remained the same.

To her side, she could make out the others. Each of them looked as if they were slowly awakening from a dream. Or at least, that’s what she thought it must have been like, considering that that was how she felt. As they looked around, wonder and amazement was clearly visible on their faces, as they truly returned to the here and now.

Whatever the here and now had become.

But, as she looked around at each of her friends, she became aware that someone was nowhere to be seen. And none of them had seen him, either.

Asking around turned to confusion.

Confusion turned to shock.

Shock turned to worry.

Worry turned to fear.

And at that point, Fiora shouted, “Shulk!”.

The word never reached him. Neither did any of the other shouts that followed the first, both from her and the others. He had never even seen the plain. Not as it was now.

And then they found out.

“…After the heroic king of old? You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?”

“I’m not here to talk about me. This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned.”

Though the others protested and demanded more information, the masked swordfighter turned around and stepped into the forest. The figure was quickly swallowed up by the shadows underneath the trees, leaving behind no trace.

For a moment, the group looked after the masked swordfighter. Then, they moved. There were still things that needed to be done. The cataclysm that had come out of nowhere over the forest had torn open the earth, revealing a flow of lava in the depths, and causing a fire that had caught the trees. And though they may not have had the means to outright stop any of these catastrophes, they still needed to do what they could.

The Shepherds had an obligation to the halidom of Ylisse, after all. Being led by its prince just had that sort of effect. A leader had to look out for their people.

But though the masked swordfighter had vanished from their sights, the figure had not gone far. Obscured from sight in the nightly shadows underneath the trees, so dark that not even the orange glow of the flames and the lava could dispel them, the swordfighter still stood, now unmasked. Stood, while watching the Shepherds do what they could to stand against the cataclysm.

It was the weirdest sensation, seeing the Shepherds gathered like, working together. Not the fact that they were working in the first place, mind: she had heard of plenty of stories about the things they did for the people, even before the things took a turn for the worse, and all they could do was to fight, fight for survival, the survival of all mankind… which had been a losing battle, of course.

No. She had been aware that once upon a time, it must have been like this. Simpler. Lower stakes. When swords and lances and axes had the time to rest, and were not always forced into the hands of their owners, lest they not only laid down their arms, but also their lives. She had known this, even though the thought had seemed weird, if not outright alien to her.

But what was weird about this moment was to see… them. All the gathered members of the Shepherds, even if there were many still missing. Even in the dim light of this cataclysmic night, which did little to properly illuminate them, she could tell that they were… different. Different from how they had been in her time. Younger, certainly. That had been a given. But they also appeared less… tense. As if a great weight that had always been on their minds in her time was not there.

Not there yet .

Because of course, she knew that this was exactly the case, for her words of warning had not been empty ones.

She wished she could have said more. Give them a better warning, a better idea on what it was that was awaiting her. But at present, it was better to be cautious – not when even one carelessly spoken word could risk the chance of erasing her very existence.

The goddess Naga had been able to give her, give them few specifics of what it would be like to be sent over two decades into the past. She could not even tell them whether doing so meant that they were sent to essentially a new world, a new timeline, or whether the future they came from remained tethered to the new present, and was altered with every action they took. Whether a butterfly flapping its wings in Ylisse could, through an incomprehensible series of events, not cause a storm in Valm. Which could then be prevented by sheer accident, fundamentally altering the course of history… and erasing those who came from a future that could no longer be.

So, best be cautious.

Standing still in the shadows, she sighed and looked around herself. For all the things that Naga couldn’t tell them, she had sadly been spot on in one regard: there was no telling when and where they would end up, and more likely than not, they would separated. None of her friends were anywhere to be seen, and though she had a rough idea where she was – more likely than not, it was a forest in the south of the halidom, less than a day’s journey away from the capital – she had absolutely none on when she was. But it had to be still before the war against Plegia. The Shepherds would not have been able to be so carefree if the war had already begun.

Well… relatively carefree. They had just fought against a group of Risen, and were currently dealing with the aftermath of a cataclysm. It was not exactly the situation to be completely carefree.

She turned her gaze back towards the Shepherds. This had to be in their early days – otherwise, more of them would have been present.

There was Sully… fierce and strong, even though she had not grown up in a time as catastrophic as the one that the masked swordfighter hailed from. But then again, there had been the prior war between Ylisse and Plegia, and she never did learn how deeply it had affected her upbringing.

There was Virion, already displaced from his home, a duchy one a whole different continent. Valm was already casting a long shadow, one that she would hopefully be able to stop, or at least lessen before it reached Ylisse in full.

There was Frederick, older than all the others here, if not by too much. Though he was not in charge of the Shepherd’s current efforts, it was plain to see just how vital he was to their endeavours. They were nothing without him.

Then there was Robin. The sight of them gave her pause – though she had not much in the way of personal memories of them, she did recall from stories about and other’s memories of them that they were… distant. Well-liked by the other Shepherds, yet somehow unable to truly show the same affection in return. Had she not known about these stories, she would have gotten a completely different impression of them here: they were right in the middle of everyone else, helping where they could, talking feverishly about the problem at hand. There was nothing about them that made them seem distant.

Curious though this was, her attention did not remain on them for long. Instead, her gaze shifted again… because there they were. Aunt Lissa… with her pigtails and elaborate dress, she looked almost like a child, a far cry from the tired, but experienced leader that the masked swordfighter knew. But looking at the other, she could hardly be a child at this point, for he was already an adult.

Chrom. Lucina’s father.

More than anything else, it had been weird to stand in front of him again, after all these years… or, well, rather before all these years. He seemed to be about the same age as Lucina, and was a bit shorter than her. Now that was something that would take some getting used to if she showed herself in front of him again…

For just a moment longer, Lucina watched the Shepherds work. Then, she picked up her belongings, dropped to the ground accidentally during her arrival in this time, and headed deeper into the forest, away from the Shepherds, the fires and the light. As she did, she pulled her hair out from her clothes. A disguise would not be necessary for a while, and this was quite uncomfortable.

If she wanted to fight for the future, then she could not dawdle. Though it had been rewound, time was of the essence, and she had none to waste. Her first destination should be the capital – from there, it should be easy enough to figure out the exact date, which she could then cross-reference with the written timeline of events that Laurent and Owain had prepared for her. The future was not written, and she would do everything she could to rewrite it.

But although the urgency of her situation weighed heavily on her mind, Lucina’s determination waned just a little as she began her journey. Oh, she was still determined to stay true to her goal, and bring about the peace that had long since been rendered impossible for her own time. Nothing about that had changed.

But in the here and now… she was getting exhausted. The past couple of days (from her perspective) had been hectic: making all the preparations for a journey through time, all while the everyday stress of fighting against the undead hordes of the Risen was still very much a concern, had taken its toll on her.

Simply put: she was tired. Even more so now that the adrenaline and excitement of her arrival in this time and the ensuing battles had worn off. It had been ages since she had last witnessed a night that was even remotely as peaceful as this one was. And now that she was away from the fires, the night sky was actually dark, too… a far cry from the world of dark blue and orange that had been the nights of her time.

At one point, a sudden noise startled her, briefly getting her more awake again. But that turned out to be only a deer, which had, in turn, been startled by her. It was then that Lucina decided that she really needed sleep… and luckily, this forest was home to several abandoned forts, as could be found all across the land. She would just enter the next best one, secure it, and stay the night-

But then something startled her again.

Floating underneath a nearby tree was… a teal light, hovering motionlessly in the air.

And beneath it, resting with their back to the trunk, was a person.

Lucina paused, and watched the scene for a moment, slowly putting her hand on the hilt of Falchion as she did. But, nothing happened: the light remained the same, and the person did not move. Warily, she got closer.

As she did, she could start to make out details on the resting person. They appeared to be young man, around her own age, and with blonde hair. He was wearing… a strange set of clothes, including an oddly elaborate red vest over a dark turtleneck sweater, all of which was rounded off by also oddly elaborate shorts and shoes that almost looked a bit like boots. He seemed to be sleeping, judging by the fact that he did move… and he was grasping…

Well, judging by the shape of it, it looked to be a sword. It had a handle, and a blade of sorts. But between its striking red colour, the parts visibly slotting into each other, and the glass panel covering a big circular hole just above the handle, it really looked more like some kind of device than an actual weapon.

Lucina kept her hand on the handle of Falchion. Just in case.

But though the young man and the odd light illuminating him were an oddity the likes of which she had never before seen, Lucina did not get the feeling that there was anything malicious about him at all. She had spent most of her life dealing with malicious forces, magical forces of darkness and the spawn of the fell dragon. This young man, by contrast… it was difficult to say what being near him was like, but it was nothing like that.

What she did know was that when she was right next to him, the teal light that had been hovering several centimetres above her head lowered itself. Seemingly startled by it, the young man groaned in his sleep, and his eyes opened just a bit.

For the briefest of moments, Lucina hesitated. She could just walk away. Leave this person here, and be on her way. She had important matters to take care of, and he was likely just a random traveller. One that was rather weirdly dressed to be sure, but still just a wanderer. And if he had a… weapon? It was probably a weapon. Either way, if he had that, then he likely could defend himself against any dangers that might lurk about.

But she did not leave. Of course, on the one hand there was the matter of the Risen having appeared in this time as well now. The young man needed to be warned about those.

That was not all there was to it, though. Between the weird light, which seemed to derive from a kind of magic that Lucina had never seen before, and the just as odd sword… she had to admit that her curiosity was piqued. And even if her mission to save the future was more important than anyone in this time would (hopefully) ever realize, she likely still was going to have periods of time where she could do nothing but to wait for the timeline of events to proceed.

Meaning that she could indulge in her curiosity.

“Hey there,” she finally said, leaning in towards the young man. “There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, y’know. Give me your hand.”

Saying this, she held out her own hand towards him. For his part, the young man slowly blinked a few more times, likely trying to orientate himself after being awoken like this. Then, he took her hand, and Lucina pulled him up.

The first thing that she could tell when she did was that he was about half a head shorter than her – he was easily shorter than her father as well. But though he was still visibly tired, Lucina started to suspect that her curiosity was far from unwarranted: the young man looked around as if he had never seen the forest that they were in, barely sparing her much attention beyond the initial glance.

“Uh… thank you,” he slowly said, sounding every bit as uncertain as he looked. “But… uhm, where… where on Bionis are we?”

And there was another thing to be curious about. What even was “Bionis”? And why did he have no idea about where he was?

Outwardly however, Lucina didn’t show anything, keeping a calm face as she answered, “I am not entirely certain myself, but I believe we are in a forest somewhere to the south of the capital.”

The young man’s brows furrowed as he looked at Lucina. ““Capital”? Do you… mean the colony? But… there is no forest south of the colony. There’s just the lake, and the wall of the valley?”

Before saying anything again, Lucina hesitated. More likely than not, this young man must have lost his mind. She did have some experience in talking to people like that, as in her time, there had been no shortage of people who had lost their mind. Though admittedly, it wasn’t as if the general state of the world had given them much of a reason to keep it in the first place.

“I believe you… are a bit confused,” Lucina said cautiously. “I don’t know anything about a colony, or even what a “Bionis” is, but I will try to help you. Why don’t you tell me your name first?”

The young man looked at her as if she had been the one who lost her mind. It was probably for the best if she kept the part about her being a time traveller to herself, then – though it wasn’t like she intended to reveal that, regardless of whether it was to him, or to anyone else in this time.

“How can you not know about the colony? There isn’t a single Homs on Bionis who wouldn’t know about them!” the young man said, getting increasingly worked up the more he talked, though without really seeming to get upset. More than anything, he seemed, just as Lucina had said, confused.

“But, uh… my name is Shulk,” he then added, after a brief pause. Lucina nodded.

“Right. Shulk. My name is-” she began, only to immediately stop herself. What name should she give? With her not wearing her mask, and having her long hair not obscured, calling herself “Marth” would run the risk of making the young man – Shulk – wary of her. With either of those things, it was easy enough for her to pass as a man. But as she was now… probably not. And it wasn’t like the name “Lucina” would currently mean much of anything to any person in this time.

Then again, even something as minor as uttering her own name could have far-reaching consequences here in the past…

“Marth,” she said. “I am Marth.”

At this point, she wasn’t even surprised when the young man didn’t even show much of a reaction to the name.

“And I guess I’m understanding correctly that you have no idea how you got here?”

Shulk thought for a moment. “…No. I can’t say that I do. My mind is… generally a bit hazy. Last thing I remember is that I was at the Mechon Wreckage Site, looking for scrap. Then I guess I must have dozed off, and next thing I know I’m here.”

Lucina remained quiet, and gave the young man a thoughtful look. He certainly didn’t give off the impression that he was being deceitful – the way he acted right now, Shulk reminded her just a bit of a lost child. One with a very active fantasy, if all the odd terms he was throwing around were anything to go by.

“Say, what’s this light, anyway? Did you create it somehow? It looks a bit like the glow of ether, but I have never seen one float around freely like that,” Shulk meanwhile continued, unbothered. If he was wary at all of Lucina, then he definitely wasn’t showing it.

“That light was already with you when I found you,” Lucina said slowly. “And what I’m wondering is, what is that… sword? You have there with you?”

His confusion visibly only getting worse, the young man looked down at the weapon, which he evidently had been clinging onto more out of instinct than anything else. As he then properly laid eyes on it, they only grew wider – and then he dropped the sword.

“Th- the Monado?! What’s it doing here? I thought it was at the lab!”

Lucina said nothing, and just continued to watch him. The more she talked with the young man, the more she got the feeling that there were two possibilities here: the one was that he was completely out of his mind, and mentally lived in a whole different world… while his physical body was in this one.

The other possibility she saw of course was that this Shulk hadn’t made up anything of the bizarre things that he had said, and he truly was displaced from… somewhere.

And between the fact that she herself was a time traveller from the future, as well as her knowing that on island to the south of Ylisse, there was something called the Outrealm Gate, a portal to worlds far beyond this one… in spite of herself, she was inclined to believe that this Shulk was nowhere near as much out of his mind than he might seem.

But regardless of what it was, it was inconvenient for Lucina. If he was mentally unstable, then it would be irresponsible to just leave him here, in the middle of the forest, especially with the potential threat of the Risen that followed her from the future. And if he was someone displaced like she was… well, even then, she could hardly leave this young man behind in good conscience.

All while she still had her own mission.

As the realization and all of its implications were slowly dawning on her, the young man was leaning down to pick up the sword – what had he called it? “Monado”? – again, mumbling something from which she could only vaguely make out the words “Dunban”, “Defence Force” and something that sounded like “machine”.

Lucina was still debating with herself whether she should say something to the young man, or simply wait until he spoke to her again… when all of a sudden, she heard a noise.

It was the all too familiar, distorted groan of a Risen.

In one swift movement, honed by years of experience, Lucina whirled around and drew Falchion.

What she saw behind her was not exactly inspiring confidence.

A group consisting of six of the undead creatures had somehow snuck up on her, piercing red eyes fixed on her, and weapons raised.

Lucina grimaced. With their relatively slow and lumbering movements, the reanimated creatures were no strong opponents… individually. With six of them gathered like this, though, it would be a challenging battle.

“Wh- what are those things?” Shulk stuttered behind her. Lucina didn’t even turn around to look at him – any second she spent looking away was a second in which the Risen could strike.

“They’re called Risen,” she said briskly. “Can you fight with that sword?”

“N-no! Only Dunban can use the Mo-”

“Then take cover and don’t get in my way!” she snapped before he could finish. It was unfriendly, she knew – but in a situation like this, there was no time for niceties or much talk.

For just a second she remained motionless, and let her gaze wander across her enemies.

Then she lunged forward.

The branches and leaves overhead obscured the night sky, which itself was largely cloudy on the night of a waning moon. The teal light hovering near Shulk barely illuminated their surroundings, but Lucina did not need more. In her own time of flame and shadow, she often had had to make do with less.

Falchion became a trail of silver and gold in the air as she brought it down upon the first Risen. The undead creature, seeing the danger coming, tried to raise its own sword, but it was too slow, far too slow. The slash was deep and decisive, leaving the Risen to let out one last unearthly groan before it collapsed to the ground and dissolved.

Lucina however already paid it no more heed, and instead turned towards the next one. A quick stab pushed past a half-raised axe, dispatching another creature. By now, all clear thoughts had vanished from her head. All that she was focussed on, all that existed to her was her body, of which Falchion was but an extension, one single unit, in synch for the sole purpose of dispatching her foes before they got her.

One by one, the Risen fell, the undead creatures unable to keep pace with Lucina. If the Fell Dragon had sent these after her in the hopes that they would accomplish where so many others had failed, then it was sorely-

“Watch out!” the voice of Shulk suddenly came from behind her. In spite of her focus, and even though she knew better, Lucina risked a glance over her shoulder-

Only to see that there were more enemies still. A number of Revenants and Entombed were rushing towards her, claws ready to strike, and they were close, too close for her to react-

And there was Shulk. He was wielding the red sword, which had opened up to reveal a massive blade of bright blue light, all while the hole in the middle displayed a the symbol 屍. As if it were second nature to him, he swung it around, bringing it down on the Entombed closest to her – the blade of light cutting through it like a hot knife through butter.

Lucina wanted to pause. She wanted to stop and watch, understand what she was seeing. But her battle instincts had been honed far too much for her to even slow down. She kept her eyes on Shulk just long enough to make sure that he was turning his own attention to the next Risen, before she herself continued where she left off.

All it took was a dodge, a slash and a stab. Then she was done.

Almost in unison, the last Risen that had attacked her fell with a groan. At the same time, she saw how Shulk took out the last of the Revenants, his sword going through the undead being’s body as if it faced no resistence.

Then, there was silence. It was only disturbed by the soft humming emitted by Shulk’s sword, as well as his own quavering breath.

Lucina looked around. The teal light had vanished, and the only light that remained was the bright blue one coming from Shulk’s sword. Cautiously, she took a step towards him.

“That was… quite something,” she said, trying her best to not sound like she was completely shook. “Thanks for the save. Uhm…”

She wanted to point out that Shulk had just effortlessly, and quite well used a sword that just a moment prior he said he could not use. But between his own fixated stare at said sword, as well as quivering, Lucina was quite certain that he himself was aware of that contradiction. He likely had more than enough on his mind as was.

“…Listen,” Lucina continued, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder. He flinched beneath her touch, but still looked at her. His sword however remained active.

Lucina sighed. “We can’t say for certain whether or not more of these creatures are still around. But there should be an abandoned fort nearby. The way I understand it, you are… not familiar with these parts. How about we stick together for the night, and then see what we can figure out in the morning?”

For a moment, Shulk said nothing, as he steadied his breathing. Then, he nodded. “…Right. You seem to know more about this place than I do, anyway… good thing I ran into a friendly face, huh?”

And with that, he turned off his sword…

Leaving the two of them in the dark.

“Maybe turn that sword of yours on again,” Lucina said. “I don’t exactly want to stumble around in the dark.”

The two headed out.

At the same time, far, far away from the forest, the wanderer awoke. Immediately, the wanderer realized that a change had come upon the world. A new presence… or, no, new presences . Outsiders to this world, yet so very familiar… and something that the wanderer had not felt in countless ages.

All thoughts of resting were forgotten. The wanderer was wide awake. If there was any chance that he was now here as well… then the wanderer needed to track him down.

As the wanderer got up and got ready, the wanderer realized that the resting place that the wanderer had chosen for the night was no longer as lonely as it had been before.

And the reason for that were the four figures at the edge of the wanderer’s camp. Three humanoid, one not. The last one, upon regaining its senses, fled into the night. The other three remained, and stared at the wanderer expectantly.

Chapter Text

By the time that the sun rose again, Shulk was already long since awake. While he had been grateful that Marth knew about a safe place to spend the night, the fact of the matter simply was that he was barely tired – however or whenever he got to this place, it must have happened in such a way that he was already asleep for a while before she found him. And while he had slept for at least a bit more once in the fort, it was still dark when he woke up again. Marth meanwhile was still asleep by then.

Though right now, he had other problems than whether this woman was awake or not…

Like, for example, where he even was .

Outside of the expedition to retrieve the Monado that his parents had taken him on, the very same that wound up being their deaths, Shulk had never really left Colony 9 (occasional trip to Tephra Cave notwithstanding). Yet even so, he had heard plenty of the far-off lands of the Bionis that Dickson had travelled to – and he was certain that there hadn’t been any that sounded like this kind of forest could conceivably be there. This ruined fort they were in now kind of reminded him of something that Dickson had told about once about the Bionis’ Shoulder, but the architecture was nothing like anything that Shulk had ever seen.

But of course, even that line of thinking was ignoring the Armu in the room…

That he could see nothing of the Bionis. Or the Mechonis, for that matter.

Initially, Shulk had simply chalked this up to it being a particularly dark and cloudy night. You can’t exactly see anything of either titan if you can’t really see far at all, after all. And so, when he had noticed that the sky up above was turning bright again, he had carefully gotten up, so as to not wake Marth, climbed the stairs up to the walls of the fort…

And was met with a sight that caused him a sinking feeling in his stomach.

From up on the walls, he could somewhat see over the trees of the forest, and therefore let his gaze wander westwards, where not only the sun would light up, but he would also be able to see the Mechonis in the distance, letting him judge where on Bionis he was based on where its sword was…

But the Mechonis nowhere to be seen. As far Shulk could see, the landscape up ahead was just… flat. As if he were on a part of a titan that was so large that you could not even see its edges. Or alternatively…

With a feeling like something got stock in his throat, Shulk turned around, to look in the direction that he believed was east, where the night still clung fiercely to the land, and kept it shrouded in darkness.

And where there was also nothing to be seen of any titan.

So it really was like this. Either he was somewhere on a titan that so utterly dwarfed the Bionis that it was imperceivable to a mere Homs, he had somehow ended up on an island far, far out in the Endless Sea, or… or something had sent him to a world where there were neither Bionis nor Mechonis.

The first of these did not seem too likely to him. He had, on occasion, heard how some of the scientists in Colony 9 talked about how according to all known laws of physics, the Bionis should be spherical due to its own sheer mass, but somehow wasn’t. That alone made the idea of an even larger titan seem just unreasonable.

The second possible explanation seemed even less likely to him. While Homs were far from having the technology to even explore the Endless Sea, everyone knew that there was nothing but sea. And while he couldn’t rule out that somewhere out at sea, there were other ether lights that could function as a sun or moon, that still seemed too unlikely.

And that just left the third option… an entirely different world.

But any of these possible explanations still left open the question of how he got here in the first place .

What he had told Marth really was all that he remembered. He had headed out to the Mechon Wreckage Site to salvage destroyed Mechon for parts, had found a M71 that had at first glance appeared to be usable, only to turn out to be completely useless, had lain down for a bit… and then, nothing. His memory cut off there.

But weirder still was that he had the distinct, undeniable feeling that things happened since then. A lot of things, all of which he didn’t remember. It was… just bizarre. Even though his memories of what he had done at the Mechon Wreckage Site were pretty clear, he also had the sense that it already lay many, many months in the past – but try as he might, he could not recall what had happened, or how it had led to him being now here.

And of course, he also had no idea how to get back . So, he had to make do with what the situation had to offer.

Speaking of that…

Shulk tore away his gaze from the landscape (which seemed so mundane, and yet was so odd to him). Instead, he headed back down into the fort. The whole place really did look like it had been abandoned for ages. The ground was completely overgrown with grass and all kinds of weeds, and there were even a few trees growing here that looked like they were not meant to be here. The whole place really reminded him of-

...of what? The closest thing that came to mind for him were the Mag Mell Ruins in Tephra Cave. But even those were just fundamentally different from this fort, since they were the remnants of an ancient ship that had somehow crash landed near the colony. He was certain however that this fort reminded him of something… even though he had no idea what. Something with… blue mist… and trees, glowing in the night…?

He sighed, and gave up on trying to remember it. It was no use. Try as he might, the memory wouldn’t come. So, might as well focus on the here and now.

The actual structure of the fort was largely intact, so that he and Marth had been able to set up a kind of hastily thrown together camp on the ground floor of one of its towers. After making sure that all the entrances were firmly shut, that was. This part at least hadn’t been too unfamiliar with Shulk: though he, as part of the research division of the Defence Force of Colony 9, was rarely tasked with heading out into the wilderness to deal with monsters, it had happened in the past – and in those instances, making sure that their nightly camps were secure had always been a part of that.

However, that was only a slight bit of familiarity in a situation that was still so fundamentally unfamiliar. But, as he had decided before, it was best to make the most out of what the situation had to offer.

And in that regard…

Shulk returned to the tower where Marth was still sleeping. While she had a bag with some supplies and various belongings with her which she had put on the ground, all that Shulk really had with him were the clothes on his body.

Those, and the Monado.

The blade was still resting against the wall where Shulk had put it. It had seemed wrong to just put it on the floor. And even in the dim light of the early morning hours, there was simply no mistaking it: this was the Monado. The sword that his parents and the rest of their expedition had given their life to retrieve fourteen years ago. The sword that was the key to fighting the Mechon, the only weapon capable of simply cutting through their armour with resorting to huge, impractical amounts of ether energy. The sword that Dunban had used to defeat the Mechon in the battle of Sword Valley…

And the sword that apparently, Shulk could just… use.

Shulk’s mind flashed back to the encounter with the humanoid monsters from earlier. At first, he had been content to just stay back and listen to what Marth had said, to not get into her way. Yet when he had seen that she was about to be struck by the monster reinforcements that had come out of nowhere… his body had almost acted on its own. In that moment, he had been aware of the risk that he could lose control of the Monado, but that had been one worth taking to help this woman.

But then there hadn’t actually been any risk. The Monado had moved exactly as he had wanted it to, as if the seeming will of its own that it had did not mind him wielding it . It had just felt right in his hands, and he had used it probably better than Dunban, even.

Now that was a weird thought to have.

What was weirder still was how Shulk felt about it on an instinctive level.

It should have made him more desperate to return home. Made him want to find a way back to the colony, and be there to defend in case the Mechon ever returned. It should have made him worried about the colony – because with the Monado here with him, what could they even do in case the Mechon returned? The anti-air batteries were one defensive measure, and a good one at that. But they had been bypassed before. And even if Dunban could no longer use the Monado because of what it did to his arm, there had to be someone else in the colony who might’ve been able to. Maybe even Fiora, or Reyn. The point was, it should have made him feel extremely anxious to know that the Monado was with him, when it really was better off at the colony.

But no matter how he thought about it, it… it just felt… fine? Like it was nowhere near as bad as it currently seemed. That on some level, he just knew that his friends and the colony were fine.

Shulk shook his head. Even if those feelings were unfounded, he knew that it was for the better if he clung to it. He was, by the looks of it, stranded in a completely unfamiliar world, with no apparent way of returning home. If he now also worried about whether or not everyone at home was fine, then he really wasn’t making things easier for himself at all.

Of course, not worrying about something was easier said than done. But as long as he could remind himself of it, it was a start.

On a whim, Shulk looked over to Marth. In the bit of light that they had had last night, it had been really difficult to really make out any colour clearly. Now however that the sun was rising, he saw that Marth’s hair was… a dark blue in color? As in, not even something that looked black at first glance, but was really just a very dark blue. No, it really was just blue, like the deeper parts of the lake around Colony 9. Had Marth dyed her hair? Based on his limited impressions of the woman, she really didn’t seem the type for that. Maybe he could ask her about it later.

Though that was not exactly high on the list of things that he should probably talk about with her… properly explaining that he was most likely somebody from an entirely different world was in all likelihood already a tall order in and of itself. And he also still knew pretty much nothing about Marth, either.

That all had to wait until she woke up, though. He didn’t want to wake her up. She had seemed pretty exhausted by the time that she had set up her bedroll (thankfully, she also had one for Shulk, even if he had ended up not really needing it that much yet). And after the attack from the… what had she called them? Risen? At any rate, after fighting off most of these creatures by herself, and him not really knowing what she had done before that, it seemed like she had more than earned her rest.

Which still left the matter of what exactly he could do now to pass the time…

He had seen that Marth had a rather interesting sword of her own, complete with a sort of hole above the handle that reminded him somewhat of the Monado. He was curious about that – maybe that hole also had multi-layered glass that could show symbols? – but he didn’t want to just pick it up and examine it. That would have been rude. And in the worst case, Marth might wake up while he was doing it, and then things either be very awkward, or… not good in another way. So far, she did seem to him like a rather serious woman. Tense, in a way that somewhat reminded him of Dunban. With how quick she had been to react to the creatures that had attacked them… she must have had plenty of experience fighting already. Probably more than she would have liked…

Shulk would have plenty of things to ask her about once she woke up, of that much he was certain. Granted, of course, that she was in the mood to answer.

But that still didn’t solve the matter of what to do until she did actually wake up. Whoever had built the fort must have either done so without much in the way of machinery, or they had left behind no traces of using any. Either way, there were no parts of any kind to be found lying around, unlike the lands around Colony 9. As bewildering as it was to be in a new world, in that sense, it was just boring. Nothing to tinker with.

Exhaling deeply, Shulk looked back to the Monado. If there was nothing else to do, then he could try to train with it a little. Maybe him being able to wield it was also just a fluke? Somehow? Better to check that now, than to find out the hard way in another dangerous situation.

Somewhat hesitantly, Shulk picked up the Monado, and swung it around experimentally. For now, it didn’t really seem like it either accepted or rejected him… but then again, it was still turned off. If it remained inactive, then just about anyone could use the Monado – as long as they could swing a sword around, at least. And it wasn’t like that would have been particularly helpful, since the actual metal parts of the Monado, and its edge in particular, were not all that sharp.

The problem was controlling it.

Shulk still remembered all too clearly what it was like when the Defence Force had tried to find a suitable wielder for the Monado a few years back. Just about anyone in the Force who was old enough had given it a try. But about the only ones who had been able to suppress the Monado’s fierce rejection that came with electric shocks had been Dunban and Mumkhar. Shulk meanwhile had always respected the Monado too much to even try activating it for himself.

Maybe he should have tried it sooner.

But at least he could try it now. Briefly, Shulk considered Marth. He wasn’t quite certain how deep her sleep was, but it was better not to risk it. If the Monado was going to go haywire, then he would rather not be near her. The Monado couldn’t cut people – but, again, better not to risk it. Besides, Marth didn’t know that, and he didn’t want to have repeat of-

Of… of what? He didn’t remember any instance of where he had to explain that to someone, or where that led to a misunderstanding. Or… did he?

Shulk sighed. That was probably another thing with his memories… so, no use in trying to wreck his head around it.

Trying to walk as quietly as possible, he left the tower. Outside, the first rays of the sun were already casting shadows. Once he found a spot within the walls that felt suitable, he steadied himself with another deep breath.

Then he activated the Monado.

With a soft, almost electric hum, its two parts split apart, generating between them the light blue blade of ether. For a moment, all seemed to be fine…

Then it wasn’t.

A feeling as if all of his muscles were contorting came over his body, starting from the arm holding the Monado, but spreading out throughout the entire rest of him. Almost moving by himself, he hunched over, free hand gripping the handle. It wasn’t as if the sword was rejecting him – it was… something else.

And then a bright blue light filled his vision.

He was standing in a wide-open indoor space. The place was dimly lit, and sort of circular. Surrounding it were rows and rows of seats, all looking down on the open space. It must have been an arena of sorts. Marth was there, but wearing a mask, and with her hair short. There was also a swordsman with black, spiky hair. Together, they were facing a group of four heavily armoured people, so heavily armoured that no details of them could be made out.

The image shifted. The place was the same, but the armoured group had disappeared, and so had the swordsman. Instead, Marth, still masked, was fighting another swordsman, this one with the same sword as the one she used. Around them a colourful group of people were fighting each other… and he was face to face with a white-haired person giving him the weirdest look. He heard a shout from the swordsman, “Tell me! Who taught you to fight like that?!”.

The image vanished again. This time, the background didn’t stay the same. He was running alongside Marth down a dark corridor. Around them, there were fights going on… he couldn’t see them, but he could tell. And there, in a chamber at the end of the corridor, its light a blinding spot in the darkness, was a blonde, robed woman. She was being approached by dark figures. Besides him, Marth shouted out in desperation… and then, her sword lit up with a bright glow. “A… symbol has appeared on Falchion?” she asked.

Once again, the image faded. He was standing on a wall, far higher than that of the fortress he was on earlier. Besides him, there were soldiers frozen in shock, all muttering something along the lines of “What are those things?!”. On the other side of the wall, an army of Homs was approaching through an open field – and in their ranks were Mechon. Not enough so that they would be enough to make up the majority of the force, but enough to be a force on their own.

The next image came. He was next to Marth again, looking down into a large hall from a balcony of some sorts. The blonde, robed woman was down there, standing in front of a throne. Approaching her through the hall was a group of armed soldiers, led by red-headed man wearing a crown. Behind him, a dark woman with white hair, and a man with spiky, sky blue hair. While the man with the crown spoke to the robed woman, the man with the sky blue hair suddenly looked up at where Marth and he were, and smirked.

Another shift happened. He could hear the voice of Marth, saying “I’m sorry… but that is a path that I cannot take. I need to save the future in my own way. I think it is best if we part ways.”

But at the same time, what he saw did not match what he heard. He was running, underneath a blazing sun, across a dusty plaza, eyes fixated on a person – a person that was falling.

In the image that followed, he was standing in heavy rainfall, beneath enormous bones. There were soldiers all around, locked in battle - but then, everyone stopped. A large, dark blue Mechon with a face landed in front of him, brandishing a sword scaled to it.

Then, after the next image shift, he was once again underneath a blazing sun. This time however, he was locking blades with the man that Marth had fought earlier, his face contorted into a mask of sheer rage.

Yet another shift of the image occurred, and he was sitting at a table in a library of sorts, with nothing around him but countless shelves full of books, and the only light source being a candle. “This is it,” he said to… he had no idea who to. “These are the chronicles of the king and queen of a distant continent, written thousands of years ago. They mention a trip to-”

What he said next, he did not hear. All of a sudden, there was a cruel voice laughing all around him, as if a malicious plan had come to fruition and was finally paying off…

All of a sudden, the vision was over. Shulk was standing inside the abandoned fort again, and somebody was screaming.

It took him a second to realize that it was him.

The moment she heard the scream, Lucina practically jumped up from her resting spot, and pulled Falchion from its scabbard. Any sleepiness that she might still have felt was ignored – someone of her position rarely had the luxury of a full night’s rest, especially not with what the state of her world had been.

In the blink of an eye, she had looked around the room, and seen that whatever had caused Shulk – because while she had not really spoken to him that much yet, the fact that his bedroll was empty was telling – to scream was not in here. So, she hurried outside, and… saw that he was just standing there, holding his sword. He was hunched over, visibly shaking, and had already stopped screaming, but Lucina was not so quick to believe that things were resolved already. Without sheathing Falchion, she cautiously approached the young man.

“That was quite the wake-up call. Is something the matter?” she asked.

Shulk, his breathing slowly steadying itself, looked at her.

“Sorry, I… I was seeing things. I’m not exactly sure what it was myself… I apologize if I woke you.”

Lucina gave him a good, long look. It really was starting to feel to her like the more she talked with the young man, the more weird he got, and the more questions she had. Last night, she hadn’t really stopped to think about any of them too much, since she really needed the rest. But now…

“Right,” she said. “That’s going to be another thing that you will need to explain to me. And there are a number of those.”

Shulk sighed. “Yeah, I figured as much. But I also have several questions, as you can probably imagine.”

“Quite,” Lucina said. “Let’s go back inside for this, then. I’d rather do this while eating breakfast.”

Outside the fort, the observer watched them head back into the tower. The observer nodded to themself.

They had been unhappy about having to seal most of Shulk’s memories of recent events, but it had regrettably been a necessity. This world was, on a fundamental level, just completely different from what both of their worlds had been like – while visions of the future were not an outright impossibility here, they would not be able to have these glimpses until they had properly connected to this world. It had taken every bit of their power to even prepare Shulk for having visions again in the first place… and as they were now, they could not tell what would happen next. If they let Shulk remember all of his journey, he might chase after him right away… well, it wasn’t too terribly likely, but it was best not to take a risk. Without his memories, the observer hoped that he would focus more on the here and now, and take the time to get accustomed to his new surroundings.

And at least Shulk had come across somebody quite helpful with this young woman… and quite interesting, too, at that. A time traveller… this world certainly was rather peculiar.

The observer decided then and there that they would need to meet with her in private, if only to satisfy their curiosity. Best not to get Shulk involved with it, though… though they were certain that the lock they had placed on their memories was rather strong, living through certain experiences would unlock parts of them – and there was no telling just how much he would remember if he were to meet them.

Perhaps… a new appearance was also in order, then. Just as another safety measure. Luckily, they already had something in mind.

But for the time being… they needed to see more of this world, and they needed to confirm something. They knew that alongside Shulk and them, he was also here somewhere, though they had no idea where exactly. There was something else, though… the three of them hadn’t been the only ones who had ended up here.

In a flash of silver hair, the observer turned around and left.

“A different world?” Marth said. Whatever she was thinking, Shulk had no idea: her face remained a mask of perfect composure, giving him not a single clue.

“I guess it is rather hard to believe, huh…” Shulk admitted, lowering his gaze.

Marth quickly raised her hands, open palms facing him. “Oh no, no, no. It’s not that I don’t believe you on principle. People from other worlds appearing in this one are not entirely unheard of, even if it is something that happens so rarely that most never meet one. And between your sword and your clothes, you do look rather foreign. But I’m also not just going to believe you flat-out.”

Shulk let out a deep breath. “That is fair enough… truth to be told, I hardly believe it myself. But this place is just so different from anything I’ve ever known that it is the only explanation that makes sense to me.”

“Different? How exactly?” Marth asked, still seeming vaguely on edge. If she hadn’t just told him that she was willing to at least somewhat believe him, Shulk would have almost thought that she didn’t at all. It really was weird – he had never personally met a person who was this suspicious. Back at home, most Homs and Nopon had enough to worry about with the Mechon and the everyday monsters you got in the wilderness to really be wary of each other.

“Well…” he began, scratching his head awkwardly. “It’s sort of difficult to really explain when it’s all you’ve known your entire life. But, uh… what we normally tell each other about our world goes something like this:” he paused, took a breath, and then continued, “ Long ago, the world was nothing more than endless sea, cloaked in a boundless sky, reaching as far as could possibly be imagined. Then two great titans came into existence. The Bionis and the Mechonis. The titans were locked in a timeless battle. Until at last… only their lifeless corpses remained. Eons have passed. Now our world, this vast land stretching across the remains of the Bionis, is under attack from a relentless force known as the Mechon. ”

Silence followed his words. On some level, Shulk felt that he would have been better off telling this last night: something about the old story just felt like it was better suited for being told while gathered around a campfire. Marth meanwhile continued to look at him intently – if she was at all surprised by what he had said, she still didn’t show it.

“So you… live on a dead titan?” she finally said after a moment. “I have… heard many stories of different worlds, but I have never heard of any like that.”

Shulk sagged a little. “I suppose I should have expected that… some of the scientists back at home did always say that by all rights, the titans shouldn’t be able to exist, anyway.” He paused for a moment, and then added, “But… what is the shape of this world, then?”

Marth exhaled sharply, and looked to the side. Then, she said with a weird tone in her voice, “I’m really not the sort of person that can tell you all the details when it comes to that. Some of my friends could, but… they’re not here right now. This world… it is shaped like a ball, I guess. That’s about all that I know.”

Though the uncertainty in her voice was plain to hear, Shulk still eagerly took in the information. A ball… a ball of… water? Once again, he had the faintest feeling of a memory, something that he saw not too long ago, trying to resurface in his mind… but failing. Still, it sounded interesting – from what he knew of the science of gravity, an object the size of the Bionis should technically be spherical. Perhaps the same held true for this world? The gravity certainly felt the same.

“Be that as it may, though,” Marth’s voice tore him out of his thoughts, “That still leaves the question of what you intended to do now.”

Shulk flinched – and hesitated. Then, he slowly said, “I… I’m not sure. I’m just really in the dark here… I still don’t know anything about this world, or even why I’m here. So, uhm… would it be alright if I stayed with you? You obviously know more about this world than I do, and having someone help me out would be really appreciated.”

The response didn’t come right away. Instead, Marth just sat there in silence, looking to the side.

Lucina considered this. It was a difficult decision. Even now, she was not at all convinced that this Shulk really came from a world like the one that he had described. For all of its dark powers, the Fell Dragon was also a crafty and cruel being. She wouldn’t put it past it to somehow devise a plan that involved a sympathetic lost traveller that required her help… all to stab her in the back at the worst possible time.

But on the other hand… the dragon had seemed to act hasty before they had travelled back in time. It must have only realized what was going on when Lucina and the others had nearly already left. So, not that much time to devise that kind of plan. And, as vague of a feeling it was to go on, the sensation that she had felt upon first happening upon Shulk really had been nothing like anything she was familiar with from Grima.

Even if that was the case though, that left another question entirely.

How did Shulk factor into all of this? Had he also been here in the timeline of events that led to her future, or was he new to this all, like she was? No matter how she thought about the former possibility, it just didn’t seem like it might be the case. Someone like him being around, when her father and the other Shepherds were still close by… no, they would have found out about him sooner or later. And, by proxy, she would have heard about him. Someone would have mentioned him somewhere along the lines.

Which would mean that, like her, he really was new to all of this… and that was concerning. But also made it feel like it was better to keep a close eye on him. Someone like him could only tamper with the future, and it was better to keep track of that.

Though of course, there was another factor. Even if a lifetime of fighting the Fell Dragon and its forces had made her wary and weary… she was not without compassion, and it was difficult to not feel like it was her obligation to help him.

“Very well,” Lucina finally said. “We can travel together. I have my own businesses that I need to take care of, but I’ll do what I can to help you.”

“Oh, thank the stars!” Shulk said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I wouldn’t have known what I would’ve otherwise… I don’t even have anything with me, really.”

Lucina smiled weakly. “Mh. Let us just hope that my supplies last long enough for both of us.”

And she could only hope that he didn’t catch onto the fact she was as new to this world, or rather, this timeline, as he was. She didn’t want anything that could potentially disrupt the timeline beyond her control.

Chapter Text

Beyond the forest lay a vast open field, where, in some distance, a wide road was visible. The view reminded Shulk a bit of the wilderness out in Colony 9, with its soft, rolling hills and occasional valleys. After the dark night, it was also a sunny day with just a few clouds, so everything was basked in the light of the sun.

But for as great as the view was, Shulk didn’t really have any eyes for it. The moment he and Marth had stepped outside of the forest, he had started to slowly realize something that had been bothering for a while now, but hadn’t quite been able to figure out why.

It was the sun.

The sun, which, for some reason that he couldn’t fathom, was no longer in the same spot as it was in the morning.

Back on Bionis, the sun had been a particularly strong ether light, which grew strong enough to illuminate all of Bionis and Mechonis in the morning, and then, at nightfall, became so dim that it was just another star in the sky. And throughout all this, it remained perfectly static and reliable, making it handy for orienting yourself.

The sun in this world, however… was it moving across the sky, or something?

“Hey! Are you coming, or is something the matter?” Marth suddenly shouted, from up ahead.

“Oh- right, sorry! I’m coming!” Shulk said, and hurried after her down the hill.

“What got you so caught up? With how you were staring at the sun, I thought you were at risk of going blind,” Marth said, sounding mildly bemused.

“It’s just… I was confused about the sun,” Shulk explained himself, and immediately realized how silly it sounded.

And sure enough, the first reaction from Marth was her raising her eyebrows. “The sun? What, do you just not have a sun where you’re from?”

“No, no, we do! It’s just… in my world, the sun doesn’t actually move across the sky. It always stays in one place, and just gets brighter or darker.” Shulk said, and immediately realized that he wasn’t making this any better. They were talking about the sun , after all, one of the most mundane things imaginable.

“…Right. I see,” Marth said, not sounding very convinced at all. Then she turned around and kept walking.

For a moment, Shulk considered doubling down, explaining to her all the intricacies of the ether lights up in the sky, the stars and constellations… but he also immediately realized that at this point, there was going to be no convincing her. And so instead, he simply let that point go, and just followed after her wordlessly. There were plenty of other things to occupy his mind, after all.

The path that led down from the forest to the road was a simple dirt path, rather narrow and partially overgrown. It was seemingly not too often in use. Whatever kind of people tended to come here, they probably didn’t do so very much. Considering what Shulk had seen of the forest after they had left the fort, it was probably only ever visited by hunters, as far as Homs or Nopon went.

The road it led into meanwhile reminded Shulk a bit of the one leading from the colony to the entrance to Tephra Cave, being far wider and more well-trodden than the path. There even were some pieces of fencing about, though he couldn’t see anything that was being fenced off.

Come to think of it, though… the road to Tephra Cave. When was the last time he passed by that one? It must have been when-

“Man, what were you doing wandering off by yourself? Stay where I can keep an eye on you,” Reyn had said irritatedly, as he put away his Scrap Driver. “It’s pretty dangerous outside the colony. There are all kinds of monsters.”

“Yeah,” Shulk had conceded, “But thanks to you, we got its shell. Everyone in the colony’s gonna be really happy.”

They had continued talking for a while, briefly discussing the Monado during that time. Then they had headed back towards the colony, passing by the road to Tephra Cave. At the colony’s entrance, Reyn had paused, and turned to Shulk.

“Here we are. I’d better stop in at HQ. You off to the Weapon Development Lab?”

“Yeah, when I’ve sold any parts I can’t use.”

“Alright. See you later…”

In the present, Shulk almost stumbled a bit. Right… that had happened. After he had gone to the Mechon Wreckage Site, Reyn had come to pick him up, arriving just in time to help him fend off a Krabble. Then they had gone back to the colony.

How had he not remembered that ? Especially with how incredibly mundane it was. More importantly still, why was that memory coming back now, of all times?

Well… at least he could rest easy knowing that his memories could come back at all. That was at least something. Hopefully, the rest would come back before long as well.

He walked a bit faster to catch up with Marth, who had pulled ahead a bit. Once he caught up with her, Shulk also realized something…

Namely, that he had yet to ask any of the questions that were on his mind.

“Say, Marth. Do you mind if I ask you a few things? I mean, I already told you a decent amount about myself, but I don’t really know much of anything about you.”

Marth didn’t answer right away. Instead, she slowed her steps, and breathed out in a way that didn’t necessarily come across as annoyed, but more… like she was steadying herself.

“Of course. It is only natural that you would wish to know more about the person that you’re travelling with.”

“Uh… right. Well then… where are we heading? And what for? What were you doing in that forest, anyway? It does seem like a rather remote place to just pass through.” He paused. Then, a moment later, he added, “That’s all I’m curious about. For now.”

Lucina had expected the questions. Not necessarily from Shulk in particular, but rather, in general. In the long run, it had simply been unavoidable that at some point or another, somebody was going to ask her anything about herself, and with her in a situation where she couldn’t really avoid answering. At least, she had already put some thought into her answers.

“I am just a traveller, and my path for the night happened to lead me through the forest,” she said, and wasn’t even lying. It was just that she omitted the part about the travelling being through time. But on that note… well, she had already warned her father and the Shepherds. So why not tell Shulk basically the same? Even if he was some kind of servant of Grima, after all, it would be no harm done to tell him this much.

“As for the reason I’m travelling, I am doing all that I can to prevent this world from falling to a horrible calamity. The creatures from last night are but a sign of it. As for our current goal, I wish to reach the capital of this land, Ylisstol.”

There was a pause. While she had talked, Lucina had kept on walking, Shulk trailing just a bit behind her. She hadn’t actually looked at him, and therefore had no idea how he reacted to that information until he spoke again.

“So… those creatures from last night. What are they? Because they looked an awful lot like… people.”

“They are called Risen. I believe I already told you… though I suppose I can’t blame you if you forgot, with everything that has been going on. They are corpses, reanimated by a dark power emanating from the masks that cover their face. There is no will of their own left in them, let alone any trace of the person that they used to be. All they exist for is to kill the living, and to carry out the bidding of the one that controls them.”

Silence. For a moment, the two of them just walked, the beautiful day at odds with what they were talking about.

“The one that controls them, then. Is that…?” Shulk finally said, his voice trailing off before he finished the question.

“What I am trying to stop, yes,” Lucina responded, doing her best to let her tone alone make it clear that that was all that she would be willing to say on the matter. Fortunately for her, Shulk seemed to get the hint.

“Hah… you really kind of remind me of Dickson,” he mumbled, speaking more to himself than anything else. Unfortunately for her, she heard it… and couldn’t let it be.

“And who is this Dickson, then? And how am I like him?” Lucina asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Oh! Well, he’s basically my adoptive father,” Shulk said… only to hastily add, once he saw Lucina narrow her eyes, “But- but I mean, you remind me of him in the sense that, he’s almost always travelling across all the distant lands of the Bionis, all to make sure that the Homs have better chances at surviving against the Mechon. He never really talks much about his travels, though… and always makes sure to profit from the things he brings back.” Shulk sighed. “I wish he were here with me. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he knew all about this place.”

Lucina took a moment to process this new information. “Adoptive father”… leaving aside the part where he had first compared her to that , calling this Dickson that did have implications. Especially when coupled with everything that he had said about these Mechon, whatever they were. In spite of herself, Lucina felt a tinge of sympathy. Almost everyone she knew had dead parents, so it was hard not to feel a sense of shared burden.

But, was “in spite of herself” really the best way of putting it? It was just natural to feel with a shared experience, and on some level, she had known that agreeing to let Shulk travel with her would mean that she would get to know him, and all that that entailed. Yet for the time being, she felt it was better to not indulge her curiosity too much. Not when she was still too uncertain about her mission, as well as what to even make of Shulk.

Still, there was one thing that she could not help but to wonder about.

“These “Mechon” you keep talking about… what are they? I have never heard of anything like them.”

Shulk let out an audible breath. “Right, I guess you wouldn’t know about them…  the Mechon are machines, born from the other titan in my world, the Mechonis. They are made of a metal that is so incredibly tough that the only way to damage them is to use strong blasts of ether – or the Monado can cut through them. For as long as we can remember, they have been attacking Homs and Nopon, or just about any life on the Bionis. It’s due to them that there are only two Homs colonies left on all of Bionis…”

His voice trailed off, but he quickly caught himself. “Oh, sorry. That was a bit more than you were asking.”

Lucina waved her hand dismissively. “It’s alright. That gave me a bit more context.” But though she said that, she once got the feeling that the more she talked with Shulk, the more questions she ended up with. What were Homs and Nopon, and what even was ether? Again – either he had an amazing imagination, or he was telling the truth.

The latter seemed more and more likely, which did not go well with her curiosity. At least he also seemed to consider the conversation to be over for now…

So she curbed her curiosity for now. She had far more important matters to deal with, and it was already a massive indulgence to her curiosity that she had Shulk accompany her in the first place.

She could always ask him once she had figured out her plan of action, though… and once she was more certain on what to even make of him.

While Shulk and Lucina travelled along the road, they passed by several farm fields, and small villages off in the distance. For Lucina, the whole experience was, on a level, rather bewildering. As the Exalt in her timeline, she had been in this stretch of land many times… and in those times, many of these villages had been nothing but ruins, while the fields had either been overgrown, or turned barren. The Fell Dragon and its servants had been thorough in eradicating all life.

Here however, everything was alive, breathing, striving. Even though the last war with Plegia was, in the grand scheme of things, not that long ago, Ylisse was doing well. For as bewildering as this was however, it still paled in comparison to Ylisstol finally coming into view up in the distance.

Behind her, she could hear Shulk let out a gasp, which she took note of with some satisfaction. Even if he was from a titan, there seemingly was still nothing on it that compared to this view. Though to be entirely fair, Lucina herself had to admit that even she was being kind of overwhelmed by the sight.

From up on the small hill that they were on, they could see the whole city spread out up ahead – and even from here, they could see that it was bustling with activity.

The Ylisstol from her own time had been a shadow of its former glory, plain to see even to all those that had not been there to witness said glory for themselves. Several districts of the city had either been burned down, or otherwise fallen to ruin, even years before the inevitable end approaching all of mankind had become undeniable. There had simply not been enough people left to actually keep these parts of the city maintained, leaving them as grim reminders of the terrible fate that had befallen them.

But this… this was everything that she had ever heard in the stories, and more. It was one thing to hear her elders talk about it, tell tales of the grandeur of the halidom in its heyday. But actually seeing it? It was another thing entirely. And it should have made Lucina just all the more determined to save this timeline, prevent it from ever befalling the same fate as hers had.

Yet more than anything, she felt out of place here. Like it wasn’t right for her to be here – like she was at a place that was similar, but still fundamentally nothing where she actually belonged .

Lucina grit her teeth and shook off the feeling. Well, what did she expect? She was more than two decades in the past. Of course it was strange to be here. So what? She’d get used to it. And she was still determined to do all she could to change the future. One person could only do so much, to be sure, but someone in her position could do plenty.

“This is our destination for today,” Lucina said, half turning towards Shulk. “I will need to figure out my next course of action, so I will probably stay there for a bit. I suppose you will stick with me, then?”

“Considering the size of that city? Absolutely,” he answered, sounding a bit breathless.

“Right. Then let’s get going. Not much ground left to cover.”

Now that the two of them were getting closer to Ylisstol, and several roads were converging into the one that they were on, they were also starting to pass by more travellers. Fortunately, Lucina had prepared for this inevitability, and had, in her time, packed clothes more appropriate for commoners or simple mercenaries, while now carrying Falchion in a concealed manner. All just to make sure that she wasn’t drawing unnecessary attention to herself.

Un fortunately however, she was travelling with Shulk. Shulk, whose choice of clothes were definitely drawing attention to him, which was not at all helped by his sword being clearly visible with how he carried it across his back. The only real upside to this was that he wasn’t directly drawing attention to her… but being close to the centre of attention wasn’t necessarily much better.

And at the very least, while his outfit did earn him some bewildered looks, no one actually stopped to confront Shulk about it. Even when the two of them reached the city gates, the guards stationed there merely seemed to be as taken aback as everyone else, but didn’t actually say anything. Though in general, the guards didn’t really seem to care for much of anything that was going on, letting people enter and leave without stopping anyone. One of them was even on a smoking break in plain sight.

Though on some level, Lucina couldn’t even blame them. There were more people out and about than she had ever seen in Ylisstol – and while she was aware that this was likely because of the nature of her timeline, she felt that even so, there was more going on than was normal.

“Well, here we are… now what?” Shulk asked, some time after they had entered the city. Lucina felt a bit caught when he did – in truth, she had just been wandering aimlessly, taking in the sight of a Ylisstol that was not falling to the calamity that her entire world was succumbing to. A sight that she never thought that she would get to see, and one that she would do everything she could to maintain.

But, one thing after another. No matter how many times she told herself that she’d change the future, there were still many mundane things that actually needed to be taken care of. And Shulk was just the reminder she needed for that…

“Like I said, my stay here is going to be a longer one. So for the time being, we are going to search for an inn that we can stay at. I wasn’t expecting having to cover the cost for two people, but my funds should suffice for both of us.”

“Ah. Alright. Uhm… sorry about that. I wish I had some money of my own with me, so I could contribute,” Shulk said, scratching his head awkwardly.

“No worries about that. I was going to have to see how I’d best get more funds anyway, so I suppose this is just a reason to look into that a bit sooner.”

And that was that, as far as this conversation was concerned. Shulk just fell silent again, and continued to follow after her, like he had done all day already. Based on the brief glances that she shot him, he seemed to be keenly aware that people were staring at him, and he didn’t exactly appear to like it. Another thing that they would somehow need to take care of, then.

For the time being though, there were other things to take care of. Thankfully, though a lot happened between this present, and the time that Lucina came from, her memories on where to find an inn still proved to be accurate. And better still, the first one they went to, a rather bright place near main street called “The Prancing Pegasus”, still had rooms left for them to take. After the quick, but unavoidable question of whether they would take a room with only one bed, or one with two (obviously taking the latter option. Lucina didn’t even bother being annoyed about the question), the innkeeper handed them over the key.

“You’re lucky that we still had a room!” he said as he did, “With Lady Emmeryn being set to make a public appearance, people are just downright flocking to Ylisstol! I heard from some colleagues that they are already all booked out.”

“She’s making a public appearance, huh…? I didn’t know that. Interesting…” Lucina said, thoughtfully. She had initially just wanted to wander around the city, and try to figure out what exact year and date it was. But this she’d have to check out.

“You didn’t? Boy, did you pick a bad time to visit Ylisstol, then… it’s going to be terrible if you just want to see the sights. But, also a good opportunity,” The innkeeper kept babbling. Then, with a glance over to Shulk, he added, “So, are you two performers, or actors, or something like that…?”

“Oh- uh, we,” Lucina began, but was immediately cut off by Shulk.

“I’m a visitor from a distant land. She’s just a traveller who came across me, and is now sort of my guide.”

“Ah! Yes, that would explain your accent. Well, I hope you’re enjoying your stay in Ylisse!” the innkeeper said, before leaving the two of them to their own devices.

Lucina gave Shulk a calculating look. “Good thinking on that.”

“Well, it’s not necessarily wrong, is it? It’s easier to lie when you’re at least sort of sticking to the truth.”

“If you say so,” Lucina chuckled. “Be that as it may, I would like to see this public appearance of… Lady Emmeryn. Will you join me, or do you want to stay in our room?”

“I mean… I am curious about the city. So, I might as well see the sights, right?”

Even though Emmeryn's procession through the city ended up being several hours away still, the streets of Ylisstol already wound up being crowded a good while before that. Lucina and Shulk, both not having had anything to eat since their breakfast this morning (which had consisted of quite frankly awful bread – supplies in her timeline had already long since reached a point where nobody could be picky), wound up getting something from the numerous street vendors that had shown up due to the event. The meal, a kind of stew, both looked and felt like it had about the nutritional value of an unarmed encounter with a Risen, but it at least had the decency to taste good.

When at last, there came shouts of "Make room for Lady Emmeryn! Make room for the Exalt of Ylisse!", Lucina could easily feel in her legs that she had been up for too long already. But the sight of the procession more than made up for it – oh, did it ever.

Unmounted pegasus knights secured an empty corridor where no one stood through the street, while mounted ones marked the beginning of the procession, keeping their steeds grounded. Though each of the women was wearing a helmet, Lucina even thought that she could make out Sumia and Cordelia among them.

With a stinging in her heart, Lucina's mind wandered to Cynthia and Severa. The two of them would probably be jealous if they knew that she had already come across their respective mothers... or, well Cynthia would be. Knowing Severa, she would probably be more annoyed than anything that the topic of her mother was even brought up in the first place. All while being nowhere near as aloof about it as she tried to appear, of course.

It really was still a strange feeling to have neither Cynthia and Severa, nor any of her friends by her side. While Naga had been clear that their separation was far more likely than it was not, it still was not an easy thing to deal with. She missed them – every single one of them. The bonds between them had been forged by countless battles for the sake of the world and its people, and every single one of her friends she would have called the most important person to her in the world without a moment's hesitation. They had all been by her side for as long as she could remember.

And now they weren't.

She would have liked nothing more than to search for them first chance she got... but before they had travelled back in time, they had all agreed that only she would do whatever she could to alter the future, in order to ensure that their interference in the timeline was not so drastic that it ran the risk of erasing all of them from existence. No one knew how, if at all, changing the future even worked. It simply was best to only alter some key points, rather than fundamentally changing everything.

But speaking of key points... there she was. With her long, platinum blonde hair, tall build, and bright green robes, she would have stood out even if her guards had not cleared a space around her. She really undeniably was a figure of light: Emmeryn, Exalt of the Halidom of Ylisse.

And Lucina's aunt.

Unlike aunt Lissa, who had been the Exalt for many years of Lucina's childhood and adolescence, Emmeryn she had never actually met. She had died just a few years before Lucina was even born, and her death had been a major reason why the second war between Ylisse and Plegia was fought as fervently as it had been. But since her death had been by assassination, and not of a natural cause… now there was something to prevent. If she could save Emmeryn, the future might already be saved. And just that should be possible, even for one single person like she was.

In this moment, Emmeryn passed by the spot where Lucina and Shulk stood. For a brief second, Lucina felt like Emmeryn would turn around, notice her in the crowd and give her a meaningful look…

But that of course didn’t happen. She just waved gently to either side, as she slowly walked along the street. As soon as she was on the same level as Lucina, she was already past her, and steadily getting out of sight. Lucina looked after her nonetheless.

At least until she spotted the Shepherds.

Immediately, she froze up, and lowered her gaze. From the brief moment where she had seen them on the other side of the street, they didn’t seem to have spotted her in turn. It made sense, too – she was now wearing plain clothes, didn’t have her mask on, and had her long hair open. She probably didn’t stand out from the crowd, and from the brief glimpse of them, Chrom, Lissa and Frederick had seemed to be in a deep conversation with Robin, anyway. But, the less risk, the better. She was not going to squander the opportunity that being in the past presented by simple carelessness.

Shulk looked after the lady, not exactly knowing what to feel. He could tell that this was a big moment and all, based on how overjoyed all the townsfolk were over seeing her, but that didn’t exactly give him any frame of reference of why she was important. Back at home in the colony, he couldn’t really think of anyone who the people would go this enthusiastic for. Maybe Dunban, but… his injuries put a damper on any of those reactions before they could come. If people had tried, Fiora would have gone spare, which could be quite a deterrent.

Other than Dunban, the only one who came to mind was Kenny Rohan, but even he couldn’t draw such crowds.

Somehow, Shulk also doubted that this lady was either a war hero, or a city-famous artist.

But even if he didn’t have much of an idea on what to make of this whole procession, it was hard not to at least somewhat get swept up in the excitement of the whole thing. And of course, it was also… illustrative, in a sense. On the one hand, one thing that Shulk could not help but to notice was that for all the Homs that had come out to see this lady, there… didn’t seem to be any Nopon. He hadn’t seen a single one all day, which could only mean one thing: either there were just none in the city, or they didn’t care for the procession. Or there simply weren’t any Nopon, which… just felt wrong.

Though then again, one the entire way from the forest to the city, he hadn’t even seen a single monster. No Bunnits, no Brogs, no Skeeters, no Armus, no Krabbles… he had seen some animals in the distance, but they had only looked vaguely like the ones he was familiar with. And then the animals these knights were riding. They did kind of look like Ponios, but they lacked the horn and armoured spine, and had wings instead.

No matter how he looked at it, the bottom line was that he shouldn’t take any of the things that he would have taken for granted on the Bionis as something that also applied here.

At least there were plenty of ways to find out.

“So, uh… who was that lady?” Shulk asked, having to lean up towards Marth as she was taller than him.

“Hm? Oh, sorry. That was rude of me. What did you say?” Marth said.

Shulk hesitated. She had seemed rather deep in thought, but he couldn’t figure out what about . But then again, even now, he barely knew anything about her, so that wasn’t saying much.

“I was just wondering who that lady was. I heard that everyone called her “Exalt”, but I honestly have no idea what that even means. What does she do?”

“Ah,” Marth made. “Yeah, I suppose you wouldn’t know about that…” She paused, and looked around for a bit. Shulk followed suit. Even though the procession had definitely moved on already, the crowd was still very dense – far more dense than anything that Shulk was used to.

“Let’s get back to the inn. It’ll be easier to talk in peace there,” Marth continued.

“Oh, so she’s something like a queen? Is that it?”

Following Marth’s suggestion, they had returned to their room, where each of them was now sitting on their respective beds, just talking to each other. While nightfall was still some time away by Shulk’s estimation, with how long they had been up already, a bit of rest was just more than welcome. And also an opportunity to talk about things.

“Ah, so you’re familiar with the concept?” Marth said. “That makes the explanation easier, then. Yes, she is probably best compared to a queen. We… can trace back the lineage of Ylisse’s royal family down countless millennia, all the way to the hero-king that I’m named after, and further still.”

Shulk considered this. So far, he hadn’t really thought that the name “Marth” was actually a man’s name. But he also hadn’t considered it to be a woman’s name either, since he had never actually heard it before meeting her.

Leaving that aside, he also couldn’t help but to doubt just how much it was really right to say that he was familiar with the concept. Back during school, he had usually sat next to Reyn, who himself wasn’t exactly the most attentive student. And while Reyn was skiving off frequently enough for Shulk to often not have any distractions in class (at least whenever he hadn’t gone looking for him), it didn’t really help all that much during the subjects that didn’t interest Shulk as much… such as Homs History. These days, his knowledge on these royal-types was limited to just knowing that they had existed at all.

“We also used to have kings in my world. But we don’t anymore,” Shulk volunteered, feeling like he needed to say something .

Marth raised her eyebrows. “You don’t anymore ? What sort of government do you have in your world, then?”

Shulk couldn’t help but to smile weakly. Unless he was misremembering something, this was the first time that Marth had actually asked such a question, instead of just dismissing his claims of living on a titan outright. As for the question…

“The heads of our colonies are usually elected. I couldn’t tell you all the ins and outs, but every adult Homs and Nopon in the colony gets to vote.”

The moment he said this, Shulk realized that he might have made a few too many assumptions in just presenting it like that. He still wasn’t certain if Nopon even lived in this world at all, so he shouldn’t just assume that Marth knew what they were. And, sure enough, she did furrow her brows… but didn’t actually say anything.

“Imagine that,” she said, sounding mildly bemused. “An interesting form of government. But I don’t think that it would ever work here.”

The way she said that made it difficult for Shulk to think of anything to continue that conversation. And so he didn’t. There were other things that he was wondering about, anyway.

“So… this Lady Emmeryn. Is she important to you in any way? Because you seemed really thoughtful when she passed us by.”

He could almost feel the drop of the temperature in the room. Marth narrowed her eyes, and when she spoke, it was in a cold tone. Not furious, not even angry. But a firm warning, a boundary being set.

“That is nothing that I wish to discuss. Be it now, or at any other time.”

“Oh! Alright, alright! I don’t need to know it!” Shulk hastily said, which seemed to placate Marth – but even so, it was obvious that conversation was over. For just a moment longer, she just barely didn’t glare at him. Then, she turned around, and laid down on her bed.

Shulk quietly let out a breath that he didn’t know he had held. He had only brought up the topic because he thought it might help find out more. Be it about this world, about this place, or even about Marth herself.

And, well, he had. While at first, it had only been a vague feeling at best, he was now certain that there was… something about Marth. In all the time that he had known her, short though it was, he had gotten the feeling that she was constantly… on edge somehow, to varying degrees. The closest thing it reminded him of were the veterans of the war against the Mechon, the ones that didn’t just have to deal with the occasional threat of a Mechon raid, but actively had to fight against them, face down death on a daily basis.

But with her, it just seemed even more intense… actually, no. He knew what she reminded him of. In his lifetime, some of the Homs colonies on the Bionis were destroyed by the Mechon, and their survivors had, with no other place left to go, flocked to Colony 6 and Colony 9. In some way that he just couldn’t quite place, Marth reminded him of the soldiers among those survivors. Hurried glances. Being quick to jump into action, ready at a moment’s notice. And a sense like she was out of place in a city like this, where everything and everyone seemed just peaceful.

Even with all that however, there was one thing she still undeniably was: kind. It had to take an act of kindness to happen upon a complete stranger like him, and not just aid them, but make them a travel companion. Of that, Shulk was certain.

Given that, he could only hope that he would manage to get on better footing with her.

He woke up, and immediately wondered why. The waking up in itself was not the part about this that gave him pause. Even a being like him needed to sleep, even if others would have wondered about him needing to do it at all.

No, it was rather the fact that he was waking up at all, given that he was really rather certain that he had actually died. And while that in itself was already confusing, there were other things about it that just added to it.

On the one hand, there was the fact that he was nowhere near the place where he had died. That much was plain to see even at a glance, less than that even. As for where he was now… not a clue. A place like this could be just about anywhere in the world.

And on the other hand, there was the fact that he was clearly not himself anymore.

His memories were the same. But how he felt about them, and even what his thoughts were on being here now, was not what it would have been, were he still the same. There were probably even outward differences, come to think of it.

All things considered, he was near certain that the same thing had happened to him as had happened to her .

Well, that was something he could deal with. A new place, new possibilities… yes, he could make this work.

Even if the ones that killed him might not be here.

Chapter Text

“You there, young man! How ‘bout a sausage inna bun?”

Shulk paused, and looked around confusedly. He was out in the streets of the city, and it was just some hours after the procession with the queen. Even now, there were plenty of people around, as well as a good number of street vendors. The one that had talked to him was a young woman with red hair tied into a ponytail, giving him a playful smile.

“Uh… you mean me?” he asked. Given that the woman was staring right at him, it was difficult for her to mean anyone else, but there was always the possibility.

“Of course I mean you! There’s no one else around who’s looking this famished. And isn’t one of my sausages inna bun just the cure for that!”

While she had talked, the woman had pushed her cart up to him, allowing Shulk a glance at what she was selling. He still vividly remembered the stew that Marth had gotten for them from another street vendor earlier this day. 

Much to Fiora’s chagrin, he had never been the biggest enthusiast when it came to vegetables, forcing her to get very creative to get him to eat them whenever she cooked for him. But even he had to admit that what had been done to the vegetables in his stew had to constitute some sort of crime. A vegetable crime. On some level, he was still surprised that his stomach didn’t just decide to return it to sender.

The food that this street vendor was offering looked to be much the same in terms of quality. Potentially worse even, which was impressive in a way.

And made him wonder how she was not out of business yet.

“I think I’ll pass,” he cautiously said, taking a half step backwards from the vendor’s cart.

“What? Ah, c’mon. These are the best sausages inna bun that you’ll get in all of Ylisstol, and for cheap, too! Just 2G a piece – selling this at such a low price, it’s basically cutting me own throat!”

“Oh, no, no, no! I just had something. So I’m really not hungry!” Shulk lied.

“There’s always the hunger to come!” the vendor said, nudging him in the side with her elbow. “Besides, with an Anna, you always know that you’re guaranteed a quality product!”

“No, I really don’t-” Shulk began, but immediately stopped himself when his brain had registered everything that the vendor had just said. “What does your name have to do with that?”

Immediately, the vendor – Anna, apparently – fell silent, as her expression shifted to a more thoughtful one. Her mouth slightly agape, she put her index finger to her chin.

“...Huh. You’ve… never actually met somebody from my family, hm?” she asked quietly, no hint left of her previously overbearing merchant persona. “Y’know, in that case… forget about it. Wouldn’t want to ruin a good customer relationship for my sisters with a bad first impression.”

“I, uh… what ?” Shulk asked, unable to make even the slightest bit of sense of it.

The vendor however just put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t you worry about it, you’ll get it sooner or later. But, in the meantime… can I help you with anything? You do look like you’re a bit lost here, so if there’s anywhere you need to go, just lemme know.”

Shulk hesitated. Part of him wanted to press her on this topic, because it really was too cryptic to just let go. But on the other hand, he had the feeling that the vendor wouldn’t budge on that. 

And he already had one bad experience with asking about things he wondered about today. He really didn’t feel like pressing on another.

That aside, the vendor was spot-on: he was a bit lost.

Some time after the earlier conversation between him and Marth had so abruptly ended, she had suggested to him that they part ways for a short while. She had said that she needed to see if she could earn a bit of additional money to restock their funds, while also taking care of some other matters that she didn’t elaborate on. At the same time, she had suggested that he should go and buy some clothes that didn’t stand out… which, Shulk had to admit, his current ones did.

And that was what he had ended up doing. Finding a place to buy clothes did wind up taking a bit longer than he would have thought, but in the end, he did manage to find one. In the end, he walked away with two sets from two different shops: one with a simple tunic, like many others in town were wearing, and another from an armourer which had reminded him a lot of what the soldiers of the Colony 9 Defence Force were wearing.

Though by the time that he walked out of the shop with the second one, he once again couldn’t help but to wonder about something.

If Marth really was a simple traveller, how come she had this much money? He had been able to buy two full outfits with what she gave him, and still had some money to spare. And that was far from everything that she had, too…

But he knew that once he saw her later, it would be better to not ask her about it.

In the meantime, he had already been able to bring his purchases back to the inn… where Marth still wasn’t back. And so, after putting on the tunic, he had headed out again, with no clear goal in mind.

(All while leaving the Monado behind. Even if it didn’t quite sit right with him, he didn’t want to draw in more attention than necessary.)

Which had led him to the here and now. He didn’t really have any place in mind that he wanted to go to… since he didn’t actually know much of anything about this city. But maybe… yeah, that could be an option.

“Do you know of any libraries around here?” he finally asked. He had always preferred a more hands-on approach to learning about any new given topic, especially when it came to machinery and the like. But since that obviously wasn’t an option with many subjects, books were a close enough second for him.

The vendor put her index finger to her chin again. “Hm… well, there aren’t really any dedicated libraries around here. What are you looking for, anyway?”

“Scientific literature. Doesn’t really matter what field. Just about anything is fine.”

“Ah, in that case, you’re best off paying a visit to the guild of mages. They have a pretty wide selection, even if they don’t let outsiders borrow anything. Maybe if you’re lucky, one of the mages can help you out.”

Shulk didn’t say “Mages?! You mean like, people who use magic? Really?”. Instinctively, he wanted to. He really wanted to. But the conviction with which the vendor had said that left no doubts as to whether or not she was serious. So instead, he said, “That sounds good. Where can I find it?”

Even if Shulk had not been given directions to the guild of mages, the building would have caught his attention eventually, anyway. Leaving aside the castle, which loomed over the city on a hill some ways off, it was easily the tallest building around, which was mostly due to the various spindly towers (and other, decidedly less spindly towers) that rose up from its roof and sides.

When he turned the corner to the street it was located on, Shulk briefly paused, and stared up at the almost impossible-seeming structure. Then, he entered it.

Inside, he found himself in a relatively large, wide-open hall. All around him, there were people with tall, wide-brimmed hats scurrying about, some of them carrying books, some of them carrying various other things, some not carrying anything at all. They did however seem rather busy… which made the prospect of approaching somebody to ask about the library a bit more intimidating. So, where to even start looking for it…?

“Please do excuse me – for what purpose are you here? Are you perhaps in need of assistance?” a composed female voice suddenly called out. Taken off-guard, Shulk stopped, turned around, and-

“All right, Shulk. How are you doing?” an all too familiar voice had said. Surprised, Shulk had turned around. And, sure enough, sitting there on the desk in his lab had been-

“Dickson! When did you get back to Colony 9?” Shulk had exclaimed.

“Just now. I see you’ve been busy. Looks like your Monado research has been going well,” the older man had said, rustling a stack of papers he was holding, before getting off of the desk, and coming over to Shulk. “I made the right choice leaving you in charge.”

The two of them had continued talking for a bit, all about the Monado and Shulk’s research on it. In the end, they hadn’t been able to figure out anything new about it, but Shulk had been happy to be able to report his findings at all. After a short meeting, Dickson had then turned to leave, but not before addressing Shulk one more time.

“Shulk. You're spending too much time in the lab. Either that or rummaging for junk in the scrap yard. It ain't healthy for a kid your age. That's why you're always looking so pasty. You should get out, get some fresh air once in a while.” Saying that, he had paused briefly, before then adding, “All right, I'm off.”

For a moment longer, Shulk had looked after his adoptive father. Then, he had taken a deep breath, had looked at the Monado once more, and had then left the lab. He hadn’t necessarily agreed with Dickson, but perhaps getting outside for a bit really was for the better. He hadn’t made much direct progress with his research lately, anyway. And heading to Outlook Park had seemed rather appealing right about now.

In the present, Shulk blinked a few times. Another memory… and, true, Dickson had returned. He sighed. Once again, he thought that if Dickson was here with him now, this would all be so much easier.

"How peculiar. Do you perhaps suffer from some sort of auditory processing issue? Or are you even still under the mistaken belief that I am not attempting to converse with you?" the same voice as before continued. Shulk flinched a little - he had completely pushed her to the side mentally over his returning memories.

Now that he was actually paying attention to his surroundings again however, he saw who it was that had spoken to him.

The person in question was a woman in the standard mage attire that every other guild member was also wearing, with dark brown robes and the tall, wide-brimmed hat, while also sporting rather practical boots. She was wearing glasses, and had straight, maroon hair, in a style that reminded Shulk of curtains framing her face.

"Ah- sorry, sorry. I was just reminded of something, is all."

"Fascinating. Are your recollections of the past so vivid that they override knowledge and observation of all basic accepted norms of social interaction? Or are you merely so inherently ignorant of said norms that you do not care whether or not your observation of them causes communicational complications? If given the chance, I would like to study you and derive at the answer myself…"

Shulk blinked again. The woman now seemed as lost in thought as he probably had just a moment ago.

"I'm... here for the library," Shulk offered, deciding that it was for the best to not acknowledge anything the woman had said.

The woman meanwhile, hearing this, perked up. "Oh? A prospective new initiate to the guild, then? Or if that is not the case, then perhaps merely a seeker of knowledge?"

"The… latter. I'm a visitor from a distant land, and I figured that the best way to find out more about this place is to read up on it," Shulk said, relieved that the conversation was moving into a direction that did not involve studying him. But at the same time... he had to admit that the idea of joining a guild like this had its appeal. It wasn't machinery, but magic did sound interesting.

Behind her glasses, the woman raised her eyebrows. "Is that so? That would provide a suitable explanation for your unfamiliar accent. What a chance encounter this, then! Given this opportunity to deepen my own understanding of the cultures and customs of foreign countries, I will gladly offer my services in helping you attain the knowledge you seek."

Shulk's eyes lit up. "You'll help me? That would be much appreciated! My name's Shulk, by the way."

"You will have my aid," the woman said, adjusting her glasses with her index finger, "on the sole condition that you honor my request, and in turn tell me about your country of origin. Are these terms agreeable to you?" She paused for a brief moment, and then added, "As for my own name, that would be Miriel."

"It would be my pleasure, Miriel!" Shulk said, reaching out to shake her hand.

Miriel, in turn, initially just looked down at it. "Fascinating. So the act of shaking hands to signify the forming of an agreement is one that is shared between our respective cultures," Miriel said. Only then did she take his hand and shake it. "Now then, Shulk. Is there any particular field of study that interests you with a specific focus on the academic consensus in the halidom of Ylisse?"

Shulk hesitated. He should have just said "everything", or even just the likes of history or geography. But there was also something that he really wanted to learn something about, something that he had seen nowhere near as much of in this world as he would have liked to. "Do you know if there is anything on machinery?"

Letting out a deep breath, Lucina sat down. Though she was very used to physical exertion, it still didn’t mean that doing physical labour all day long wasn’t extremely exhausting. She was just glad that it was now evening, and today’s work was done.

It was now the third evening since she had gotten to Ylisstol together with Shulk. In that time, she had spent most of each day being out and about, immersing herself in the city, and hearing what the people had to say. And the best way to do that was to simply work.

Her father had always been of the firm belief that just because they were the ruling family of Ylisse, didn’t mean that they couldn’t or shouldn’t get their hands dirty, a view that he also applied to in raising his children. While as a young girl, Lucina had resented him a bit for having her essentially help Frederick with whatever daily task he was taking care of at the time (obviously – what child of around ten years old likes being forced to do chores, even if it is in child-appropriate amounts?), she eventually grew to appreciate the effect it had on her. When things in her timeline took a turn for the worse, no one had any right to be picky when it came to the tasks that needed to be taken care of – least of all her.

And in the here and now, this came in handy once again. While Lucina was nowhere near as focussed on her physical fitness as Kjelle, for example, she was strong. And in Ylisstol, there was always work to be found for somebody who could do physical labour. The money to be earned from it wasn’t anything too noteworthy, but it wasn’t the motivating factor, anyway. Money had essentially lost most of its meaning back in her time, which had made it easy enough to amass a hefty amount that both her, and each of her friends had taken along with them before they departed. Even with her now having to essentially provide for Shulk as well, she had more than enough to last her quite a while.

No, the reason why she had decided to work was because it was the best way to stay in touch with the people of the city, and hear what they were thinking, and get a proper grasp of what point in time she had ended up at, anyway.

What she had learned from this was that already, relations between Ylisse and Plegia were tense. Brigands kept attacking remote villages all over the halidom, some of them obviously soldiers from Plegia, and some of them merely armed by them. And though the last war was still a fresh memory in the minds of most people, many (mostly younger people) still demanded exactly what Plegia was hoping for: retribution. Retribution, and war. Though those that held these views were vocal, they seemed to be assuaged by one thing. That being, the growing prominence of the Shepherds and their leader, prince Chrom.

And of course, there was also talk of the Shepherds having recently recruited a brilliant new tactician…

Lucina took a sip from her tea. Though most patrons of the Prancing Pegasus preferred alcoholic drinks, she personally had never seen the appeal of them for herself, even after she became old enough to consume them. They did nothing but to dull the senses, when those were something that she needed more than anything else. Always alert. Always ready to strike when there was any danger.

She let her gaze wander across the taproom. Shulk still wasn’t anywhere to be seen, though that wasn’t particularly surprising. In all the evenings that they had been here, he had always been pretty late to make it back to the Prancing Pegasus. This did little to weaken the suspicions she had of him, but at least his excuse for it – that he had gotten carried away in his studies at the library in the mage’s guild – was believable enough. Even if he was some kind of servant of Grima, it didn’t seem like he was doing any harm at present.

But while he still wasn’t here… might as well have a think about time. Taking another sip of tea, she pulled out the written timeline that Owain and Laurent had compiled for her. Growing tensions between Plegia, aunt Emmeryn making a public appearance, and of course, Robin being recruited into the Shepherds rather recently… between all these points, and figuring out the month and day during her work these past couple of days, she was now able to pinpoint when she was.

The day she arrived in this world had to have been the 19 th of April (coincidentally, just a day before her birthday – though given that she and the others had travelled back in time from the 15 th of July, that whole thing was a bit out of sync from her perspective), in the year 1012. Still roughly two months before the assassination of Emmeryn… but there were other noteworthy events before then.

Thoughtfully, Lucina let her eyes wander down the written timeline. The next major point after Robin’s recruitment and Emmeryn’s public appearance was the Shepherds marching on Regna Ferox to request aid against the recent attacks. And even out in the city, she had already heard some rumblings about the Shepherds departing soon, though many thought that was merely due to the recent appearance of the Risen. By now, it was pretty clear to her that the timeline was at least robust enough to not immediately erase her (or anyone from her time) from existence due to their interference. Maybe she could make use of that in a… slightly selfish way.

From all the stories she heard, and from what was also written down in this timeline, her father had secured the aid from Regna Ferox by helping khan Flavia become the reigning khan instead of khan Basilio. And that, in turn, he had done by becoming her champion for the tournament deciding whether the east khan or the west khan would rule… wherein he had defeated uncle Lon’qu, khan Basilio’s champion.

But what if his champion were to be someone else? And she was quite curious about her father’s skills as a fighter at this point in time, as well as how she stacked up against him…

Lucina smirked, and finished her tea.

“Ah, Marth! There you are. Sorry I’m so late again,” a voice suddenly called out. Lucina looked up. And sure enough, there was Shulk approaching her.

“No worries. It’s not like we are in any rush for anything,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. 

In truth, she would have probably liked it if he had been even later. Just something that could be seen as clearly suspicious, something that would give her a reason to say for certain that he was a kind of servant of Grima, and needed to be dealt with accordingly. But in all the days that she had known him, there had just been… nothing of the sort, and he had always acted in a way that was in line with what he had told her about himself.

It was almost infuriating.

“Still, I’m sorry,” Shulk said, scratching his head awkwardly as he sat down opposite of her. “I just get really carried away whenever I get too much into my research. And that library just has so many fascinating books that I don’t even know what to look into first!” He sighed, and then added, “It’s just a good thing that I have someone to help me. Otherwise I’d be completely overwhelmed.”

“Ah, yes. You did mention that you found somebody who said they’d help you… what’s their name, anyway?”

“She’s called Miriel! She’s a bit of an… unique person, but I get along with her pretty well. She’s…”

Shulk kept talking. Around them, the noises of the inn kept flooding in. Lucina however stopped listening, as everything around her felt like it came to a halt.

Miriel . He had run into Miriel. Laurent’s mother . Or rather, the person who would become his mother…

Unless that whole line of events had just been derailed.

Lucina’s face remained emotionless as she continued to stare down Shulk, him still not having noticed that she no longer paid attention. Was this the sign that she had been hoping for? The sign that he was a servant of Grima, sent to interfere with her efforts to change the future? Ensuring that one of her friends was never born in the first place was certainly one way of doing that. Almost unconsciously, Lucina balled her hand into a fist.

But… was that really what this was? She had already noticed that the timeline seemed more… resilient was probably the best way to put it. The timeline had been more resilient than she and the others had feared. 

Even though there were now already enough Risen roaming around for it to be noticed by the Shepherds and seen as a threat, they were still asking Regna Ferox for aid, like they originally had done in order to help defend against Plegia. So, maybe this was an attempt to meddle with the timeline in ways that she didn’t intend…

…Or maybe it really was just a coincidence.

But even so, Shulk was getting on increasingly thin ice with her.

“Uh… Marth? Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Oh. No, it’s just… the name “Miriel” sounded really familiar to me, and so I was wrecking my brain trying to remember where I heard it before. But I just can’t recall it,” she lied.

Shulk looked unconvinced, both frowning and tilting his head lightly, but saying nothing.

“Well, if you say so…”

“That reminds me, though,” Lucina continued, undeterred, “There is actually something that I wanted to tell you. I figured out my next course of action. This will involve leaving the city for a while. I hope you’re still coming along?”

“Ah… well… it is a shame that I need to abandon my studies. But sure, I’ll still come with you,” Shulk said.

“Good. Then we’ll head out first thing in the morning.”

By the time that Shulk and Marth left the Prancing Pegasus, daybreak wasn’t there yet, and the streets of Ylisstol were mostly devoid of people. Only some, who had to rise early for their work were already up, sparing the duo vaguely interested glances as they passed by. This early in the day, not even the innkeeper had been up, meaning that they had to leave their keys behind at a place that he had told them about prior.

For Shulk, the news that they would be leaving the city had left him with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he had been really getting into his studies on the mechanics and characteristics of this world, in which Miriel had been a huge help. (Even if her own questions about him were a bit difficult to stave off. So far, he had had rather much success by diverting the topic to machinery instead - while Ylisse disappointingly seemed to have barely any technology, that in turn meant that there was a lot that he could tell Miriel about in that regard.)

But on the other hand, Miriel had also told him that she would soon need to leave the city as well for a while, meaning that it was just as well that he would be gone as well.

(He had briefly entertained the idea that by some sheer coincidence, he would be heading to the same place as she was. But that was just unlikely.)

As with their arrival in the city, its gates were guarded when they passed them by. Yet, as before, the guards there were just not interested in them, seeming instead to be either annoyed at having to be up so early in the first place, or (for a more charitable reading) feeling that it was more important to keep an eye on people entering the city, rather than the ones leaving it. Either way, Shulk and Marth could leave Ylisstol without any hiccups.

Beyond the city, all the lands were bathed in the twilight before dawn, in which there were no clear shadows, and it was too dark still for anything to be seen clearly. Even now, Shulk wasn’t really used to the idea of a sun that didn’t remain static in the sky. But at least in this regard, the cycle of day and night was just like it had been on the Bionis. That, and the sun had the decency to always rise and set in the same spots, which was better than nothing.

By now, he did also have a better understanding of how the sun worked, too. It had been tricky in the first place to bring up the topic of astronomy to Miriel without revealing that he didn’t know anything about it. But once he had, he had quickly learned everything there was to know about it. 

Now, believing it, though… that was another matter entirely. Spherical worlds and celestial objects were one thing, but all of that just floating weightlessly in a black void that was as vast as the endless sea? That was just bizarre to wrap his head around.

But something about it just… felt familiar somehow. Familiar in a way that he just could not make sense of, no matter how hard he thought about it.

So, probably another memory he didn’t remember. This time, he didn’t even bother prodding his mind on it.

In silence, him and Marth followed the road. Around them, things began to light up as the sun rose.

“Say, Marth. I hope you don’t mind me asking. But where exactly are we heading, anyway?” Shulk asked after a while, when Ylisstol was already long since out of sight.

“North,” Marth briskly stated. “We’re going to Regna Ferox.”

And that was all she said. Again, Shulk felt it was better not to press the issue. Not after how this sort of thing had gone last time.

Thankfully, he had other things to occupy his mind for the time being. Regna Ferox… he had seen that name before. One of the things that he had been able to study in the past couple of days had been geography. And among the things he learned from that – other than, of course, the realization that a world such as this one really was a lot easier to properly depict in a map – was that the continent he was on was divided into three large kingdoms. Ylisse in the south-east, which was the one that he had first found himself in. Plegia to the south-west, which was the one that currently had tensions with the former. And Regna Ferox to the north, separated by a wall spanning the entire continent from the other two.

What had given him pause for thought as he learned about these was that there was no mention as to whether or not these were also kingdoms of Homs, or whether they were… others. Surely, there was no way that tensions like these arose between Homs, was there?

Though on that note, he also had yet to see the word “Homs” written or spoken anywhere around here. Of course, he could ask Marth about that whole matter… but, again. Right now, he felt that it was better to not bring up anything too unimportant with her. He would only talk to her at all if it was really important, or if she spoke to him first.

So, they continued to travel in silence. Slowly and steadily, the sun rose higher, and still Marth said nothing. They passed by further villages and settlements, little outposts and forts, as well as the occasional ruin. And still, they kept marching forward.

On some level, Shulk could not help but to wonder about how little all the walking bothered him – while he wasn’t exactly unfit , he had always felt that his time was better spent in the lab, researching the Monado. Either that, or, as Dickson had put it, “rummaging for junk in the scrap yard”. But what did he know about that, anyway? With him gone from the colony so often and for so long, somebody needed to further weapons development. And yet, the stamina that his body was revealing right now surprised even him.

Come to think of it… when was the last time he had gone somewhere else? Of course, he had headed to Outlook Park on Dickson’s suggestion. But after that-

“Why were you more worried about a machine than me, Shulk?” Fiora had chastised him, approaching him agitatedly. Then, the Monado had… shown him things. Images. Voices. People. An absolute overload of things that he had never seen or heard before, far too many to remember.

Him, Fiora and Reyn had continued to talk after that. Then, Reyn had gotten to the point:

“And now, I have to go all the way to the Mag Mell Ruins and back… You know your way around there, right?”

Shulk had agreed to go along with Reyn, but Fiora had still been angry about Shulk having been inconsiderate. She had initially left the two of them to it, but then…

“You forgot something. You will be needing the transport cases, right? …I’m coming along as well.”

They had travelled together through Tephra Cave, all the way to the Cylinder Hangar. There, they had been attacked by two machines, which they had been able to fend off.

Then, the Mechon had attacked Colony 9.

In the present, Shulk kept walking. He had slowed down, but not stopped entirely. Even still, Marth had turned around to give him a weird look, but saying nothing. Remaining equally silent, he walked a bit faster to catch up again. All the while, a cold sweat was running down his spine.

The Mechon attack! How could he have forgotten about that ? Here he was with the Monado, and Colony 9 had been attacked by the Mechon! What if he had been… had been yanked away at some point during that, while he was bringing the Monado to Dunban? Sure, the people of the colony would have been able to seek shelter in the Military District’s main building, but if they couldn’t fight back, they wouldn’t be able to hold out forever. Why had he even been so careless about being stuck in this world?

Yet even as he thought about this, Shulk felt that his own worry somehow… rang hollow. Just like with everything else that he had remembered thus far, he just had the feeling that it all was already months and months in the past, and that at present, everything was just… fine.

More than ever before, he hoped that this was the case. If he couldn’t cling to that feeling… 

He shuddered at the thought of what might have become of the colony.

Right now however, he could do nothing more than to keep on walking.

They kept walking for quite a while; far longer than they had on their way from the forest to Ylisstol. While their surroundings with all their villages, fields, forest, hills, rivers and mountains were breathtaking in their own way, after a certain point… everything just started to blend together. Even the inherent fascination of being in another world entirely didn’t do much to keep Shulk’s interest in that regard. As such, it was already a minor highlight when they crossed a wide, wooden bridge.

“We’re making good progress…” Shulk heard Marth mumble as they stepped onto the bridge. His only response was to let out a grunt – there really wasn’t anything to say to that.

They walked over the bridge…

And then a bright blue light filled his vision.

Everything he saw became heavily desaturated, with an edge of bright blue. He saw his own steps as if in slow motion, but without having any control over what he did. Then, he heard something halfway between a gasp and a cough coming from Marth next to him. He turned around, and saw that an arrow was sticking out from her chest, having penetrated her body from behind. Making a gurgling sound, she dropped to her knees.

In shock, Shulk looked behind them – only to see, not feel himself getting shot by an arrow in the stomach.

Then the Risen rushed at them, and the vision was over.

Shulk dropped dead in his tracks, and whirled around. Already, he could see figures behind them. He didn’t even wait until he had processed what he had seen. He just acted.

Before he had even fully turned towards Marth, he had tackled her, shouting “Get down!”. At the same time, he saw, felt something whirring past them, and heard Marth let out a gasp.

Then he had a sword at his throat.

Lucina did not even fully comprehend what had happened. One moment, she was just dimly aware that Shulk had once again slowed down or stopped in his tracks – nothing noteworthy, as he had been wont to do this all journey long.

But then he had charged at her. As he hit her, she felt a stinging pain in her left arm, before both of them fell to the ground.

She didn’t even get off the ground before her instincts kicked in, and she had drawn Falchion. There was a flash of steel as she put it against Shulk’s throat.

“So you are a servant of Grima!” she spat, the rising adrenaline in her body fuelling the venom in her voice.

Shulk however just stared at her with an expression of complete and utter shock.

Then, a sudden jolt came over him, and he rolled backwards. Before Lucina could even strike with Falchion, he was gone – and an arrow landed in the ground where he had just lain.

“Risen!” Shulk shouted. “There’s an archer behind us, and several with close-range weapons!”

In spite of herself, Lucina risked a glance to the side.

And Shulk was right. Already, the Risen were charging at them. A group of four, wielding axes and swords. Further behind those, an archer.

“I’ll go take out the archer and get its attention off you! You take care of the others!” Shulk said hastily. Lucina didn’t have the chance to object, or say anything at all before he had already gotten up, drawn in his sword, and ran past the Risen approaching them.

Lucina cursed under her breath – but got up nonetheless. When the first Risen was right in front of her and ready to strike, she had already plunged Falchion into its abdomen from below, as she rose up.

The other Risen in front of her, uncertain as to whether to focus their attention on her or Shulk, hesitated – and that uncertainty was all that Lucina needed to dispatch of them. In just a few slashes and stabs, the creatures were dealt with.

And she could see what Shulk was doing.

The archer was standing quite some distance away, enough for it to fire several shots before Shulk even got to it. Yet no matter how many arrows it shot, Shulk just dodged past them, as if he could see the trajectory of each projectile before it was even fired.

Seconds later, he was right in front of the archer, and cut it down. As the creature dropped to the ground and dissolved, a heavy silence fell upon the bridge.

And Lucina was conflicted.

Her first instinct had been to assume that Shulk’s sudden action had been one to reveal his true colours. How could she not, when it was accompanied by the stinging pain in her arm?

But the fact that he had not only also been attacked by the Risen, but also saved her life when she hadn’t seen the enemy coming…

She had still lashed out against him, though.

Feeling uncertain, she walked over to where Shulk had cut down the archer, where he still stood. As she got closer, he turned towards her… but didn’t look her in the eyes.

“Your arm…” he said with a quiet voice, “Let me patch it up.”

Lucina watched as he walked briskly past her, over to his bag, which he had dropped when he had charged at the Risen archer. While he rummaged through it, she took the opportunity to look at her left arm. The arrow had grazed her upper arm, piercing through her clothes and leaving a wound that bled heavily. But she did recognize that it was nothing too serious, even if use of the arm would hurt for a while. Gritting her teeth, she sat down, leaning against the bridge’s railing.

When Shulk hurried back over to her a moment later, Lucina would have expected him to bring with him bandages, or even a healing staff. Yet the only thing that she saw him carry was some kind of small cylinder. She thought she recognized it as something that he had worn around the sleeve of the outfit that he had on when she had first met him.

“Just hope this ether cylinder also works here…” he mumbled as knelt down beside her. Then he opened the cylinder, making a sort of blue light flow out from it, which he directed with his hands towards her arm.

“Light Heal!” Shulk quietly said – and to her own amazement, a soothing feeling spread through her arm, as the wound closed while she was looking at it. Once it was gone entirely, the light vanished, and Shulk let out a relieved sigh.

“Good thing that worked… I’ll really need to look into other healing methods in this world. My cylinders won’t last long.”

Bewildered, Lucina looked away from her arm, and at Shulk. Even now, he was avoiding her gaze.

Unavoidably, her mind wandered to Brady. As the only one of her friends who had any real skill in healing, he had very often been the one to patch up her injuries. These instances were always opportunities for his already coarse language to become especially foul – though she always knew that it was out of concern.

But as for the healing itself, it had always worked nothing like what Shulk had just done. Similar in both what it looked like, what it felt like, and what it accomplished. Yet still different in fundamental ways.

All of this was ignoring the larger issues at hand, though.

“How… did you know about that attack? That would have been a perfect ambush.”

Shulk hesitated for a moment before he answered. “I’m not sure myself. Just now, it was as if I could see into the future…”

Lucina said nothing to that. Given all the outlandish things that he had already said to her, even this was nothing outstanding.

“Well, be that as it may… I… thank you,” she said instead. “You saved my life, and healed me, too.” She paused. Then, hesitantly, she added, “And… sorry about…”

Yet even as she spoke these words, she realized that she could not finish the sentence. Her voice trailed off.

 Shulk, for his part, didn’t seem like he expected her to say anything more, either. Instead, he briefly looked into her face – his expression largely composed, but still with an undeniable hurt buried within – and then got up.

“We should probably keep going. From what I’ve seen on the maps, Regna Ferox is still a good distance off.”

“…Yeah. It is,” Lucina said. Then she got up.

It pained her that she had to admit to herself that even now, she didn’t feel like she could truly trust him.

Slowly, the observer steadied their breathing. While they still struggled to keep their body calm, the key on their earring softly hit against their head.

They had not expected Shulk to be in need of further visions this soon – and worse, they simply couldn’t have known about it in advance. Stuck in this world as they were, taking a glimpse into the future required an active effort, as well as energy on their part. So, they had not done it so far. But when they sensed that Shulk’s life was in danger, they had had no choice.

They really needed to find a way to solidify their power in this world. Otherwise, things could get dangerous not just for Shulk, but for them as well. The time traveller, they suspected, was key to this. But when to approach her? It needed to be a time when Shulk was not around.

Nothing for it. They had to risk another glimpse, even if it drained them.

And they saw that they would get an opportunity soon.

Chapter Text

The wanderer looked at the three. They had followed the wanderer ever since they had appeared before the wanderer. Docile. Passive. As if they were walking through a dream.

By now, the wanderer had figured out what they were: memories, given flesh. Memories, from a different world… the world that he had come from. Even now, the wanderer wasn’t quite sure what to make of them. They were people, with their own thoughts and feelings. Even if they weren't fully... there yet. They followed the wanderer and the wanderer’s orders, but the wanderer didn’t really have any use for servants. Yet the wanderer didn’t want to leave them behind. The wanderer’s conscience wouldn’t allow it

It was something that the wanderer wasn’t used to, though: needing to look after others. Well, at least they could fight. That might come in handy.

And there were other new things that the wanderer could make use of…

Memories. Memories given physical form. The wanderer didn’t know why, but the wanderer just knew that they could summon them. And if the wanderer wanted to track down him , any help was welcome.

The wanderer held out a hand…

And they appeared. Black metal. Red lights. Some crawling, some stalking, some walking. Clicking and clacking and whirring in a mechanical rhythm.

All awaiting the wanderer’s order.

And the wanderer send them out, to track down him .

Their journey north wound up taking several days. In that time, they rested at various small town inns or outposts, and, on the whole, didn’t talk much at all beyond what was necessary. Though he also recalled her thanks and apology, the venomous glare and spat out words that Marth had given him in that first moment after saving her still lingered in Shulk’s mind.

A “servant of Grima” was what she had called him… what did that even mean? Considering that she was fighting these Risen creatures, this “Grima” was probably related to them. But how? In all his studies at the mage’s guild, he hadn’t really found anything on either the Risen or this “Grima”. Miriel hadn’t known anything about the former, and since Shulk hadn’t heard about the latter yet, he hadn’t bothered asking.

Of course, there was somebody that he could ask about this… but now, more than before, he simply didn’t dare ask.

In all his time in this world so far, his impression of Marth had been that she was… quiet. Quiet, while reminding him of the veterans of the battles against the Mechon. But, in spite of that, still a fundamentally kind person. Why else would she have taken care of him?

Now however, he wasn’t quite so sure if that really was out of kindness. No, with what she had said to him on that bridge, it felt to him more like she was keeping an eye on him. Like she did not trust him, but considered it too dangerous to leave him out of her sight

And in truth, Shulk couldn’t really entirely blame her.

He was a random nobody who had appeared in this world out of nowhere, kept talking about things that, to somebody from this world, couldn’t make sense, and had a sword that was unlike anything that seemed to exist here. With her trying to save the world from whatever threat it was facing, she probably had every reason to be wary.

And that wasn’t even getting into the most recent oddity. His visions.

These weren’t new. The memories of that had come back to him just after they had taken out the Risen on the bridge. He now remembered that him, Fiora and Reyn had rushed back to colony, seen that Dunban had left his and Fiora’s home, rushed over to the lab from there, seen that the lab was blocked off, split up so that Fiora could get the mobile artillery, were saved by Dunban using the Monado… and then Shulk had taken the Monado, and fought off Mechon with both it and these visions. And after that… who knows? He certainly didn’t.

That was something that Shulk had more or less resigned himself to by now. No matter what he remembered, all he could do was to trust in the vague feeling that everything was alright. And currently, he really hoped so. At least what he remembered off the Mechon attack wasn’t quite so dire anymore. After all, both in his memories and the here and now, he was using the Monado effortlessly.

But between the difficult situation between him and Marth, and his memories of home, new feelings entirely surfaced for Shulk: isolation and homesickness. So far, he had been able to treat his entire presence in this world like… an unexpected journey, as if a wizard had one day knocked on his door without warning, and then dragged him along on an adventure to slay a dragon. As Marth’s outburst the other day had shown though, he really didn’t have anyone in this world that he could truly confide in. The only person here who even knew that he was from a different world didn’t trust him in return, and probably didn’t believe him even now.

And it all just made one thing clear to him: he missed home. He missed the colony. He missed Fiora, Reyn, Dunban, Dickson. Them, and all the people at the colony, such as Désirée, Dean, Emmy Leater, Perrine or Giorgio. And what he wouldn’t give for some of Giorgio’s curry right now! He would have given a lot, just for the certainty that he would be able to return. But it was all so far beyond his reach – and he didn’t even know whether he would be able to see any of them ever again. And really, where would he even start searching for a way home? If he were anywhere in his world still, then that would be easy enough: find out where he was on the Bionis, and then try to get to the calf where the colony was from there. It would be a difficult journey through the wilderness, to be sure, but at least there would be a clear way. But how was he supposed to find a way when he was literally worlds apart from his home?

So he just stayed with Marth. Marth, with whom he had still absolutely no idea on how to get on better terms with.

In the meantime, the further north they got, the colder their environment became, until eventually, they reached areas where there was outright snow. Even with how tense the atmosphere between him and Marth had gotten, and with how bad his own mood had gotten, it was hard not to be amazed by it. He had seen snow before, but that had been many years ago, back when he was still very young, and therefore couldn’t remember it too well. Back in Colony 9, the weather was warm and sunny all year long, so it wasn’t like he ever had the chance of getting used to the sight.

Or the cold, for that matter

While Marth had evidently already been prepared for venturing into colder climates, Shulk ended up having to wear all three of his outfits on top of each other (minus the shoes, though not for lack of wanting on that part) to stave off the cold. But even so, he felt woefully unprepared for the temperatures. And while he did end up kind of getting used to them, he still wasn’t comfortable with them. At least Marth didn’t tease him about it… though then again, that would have provided at least some levity between them, of which there was practically none right now.

Even still, they continued travelling. Continued travelling and travelling, until at last, several days after the encounter with the Risen on the bridge, they came across something that Shulk could only describe as a landmark.

It was a fort – and yet, nothing like the one that he and Marth had spent that first night, or any of the other ones that they had come across since. This one was simply massive, towering high above them before they even got close to it. And that wasn’t the only thing that stood out about it, either: it was connected to a wall that seemed to stretch out to the east and west not just as far as the eye could see, but far, far further still. Shulk remembered seeing something like this marked down on one of the maps in the mage’s guild. But even then, he had a hard time really comprehending or believing it. Who would build such a massive wall, and what for? In the regrettably short time that he had had for his studies, he hadn’t been able to find an answer.

(And again, right now, just asking about it wasn’t an option for obvious reasons.)

What he however noticed now that he was able to see it for himself was that whatever the current use of the wall is, it seemed to have been built to keep something from the north out, as the fort they were approaching had two clearly visible staircases to either side that were on the outside, and only protected by simple doors. And that meant…!

That Shulk still was none the wiser about anything relating to the wall or the fort.

With ambivalent feelings, Lucina looked up at the Longfort. For as impressive as it and its connecting wall spanning all the continent were, it had done little of actual use in her time. While the awakening of the Fell Dragon had been met with some efforts to evacuate people to the safety of Regna Ferox, away from the land of Plegia where it had appeared, any such ideas had been quashed by reality soon enough. Because while the Risen were by and large earthbound, their main foe, the Fell Dragon itself, did not suffer from these limitations. And as all that was needed for new Risen were fresh corpses, it had an easy way of making the wall entirely obsolete.

But leaving its future history aside, Lucina was also feeling uncertain about the Longfort for other reasons. From her written timeline, as well as what she remembered from what her father and others of the old Shepherds had told her, when they had passed through here in order to secure an alliance with Regna Ferox, they were initially mistaken for brigands from Plegia that were pretending to be Ylisseans. In order to prove their validity, they then had had to defeat the border guard in a battle, which was just how Feroxi tended to operate.

She could only hope that her and Shulk would be able to pass through without too much scrutiny. If they were questioned too much, she simply wasn’t sure just how much she would be able to stick up for him.

In all the days since everything that had happened on the bridge, the tension between them hadn’t really been resolved at all. And now that the cat was out of the bag on her suspicions on him, more or less, Shulk in turn had become a lot more distant towards her. Lucina could tell that he was still curious about their surroundings, still wanted to know more about her and the world at large, but simply didn’t dare ask.

But just as she had thought, she still couldn’t bring herself to trust him. He had saved her life from the Risen, to be sure, and the very same Risen had tried to kill him as well. But no matter how many times she needed to reiterate it to herself, the fact remained: in her position, she could simply not allow herself to be lured in by anything that even might be a deception. So what if he had dispatched of those Risen, and they had seemingly tried to kill him? There had never been any shortage of those creatures. And with the Fell Dragon needing to deal with an unprecedented situation like her and the others travelling to the past, it might be forced to try out other methods entirely. No matter how much she wanted to be able to trust Shulk, she just couldn’t .

For that reason, whenever they had rested for the night in the past couple of days, she had also made sure to only do it in places where there were people around. Obviously not in the exact same place, but still close enough so that nothing could be done to her without no one being around to notice. In a worst case scenario, that would probably make little difference, but it was at least one safety measure, and she preferred having one too many than one too few.

But even still, she could not help but to wonder just what it would take for her to actually be able to trust Shulk. And try as she might, she just could not think of anything.

As the two of them got closer to the Longfort, she could hear shouts from inside. Their approach had been noticed, but it wasn’t like she had counted on the opposite. As calm as ever, they made their way to the main gate of the fort, where there were already guards awaiting them.

Accustomed to the cold as the Feroxi were, they were wearing furs along with their armours, giving them imposingly bulky appearances in the cold weather. Coupled with the fortress looming high behind them, they made for a sight that likely would have made many just turn around then and there.

What Lucina however noticed was that no weapons were drawn, which was an at least somewhat promising sign. Even still, she noticed Shulk tensing up next to her. There was no cover to really be blown here, but she still hoped that he didn’t act too suspicious. The smoother this went, the better.

“Hail, travellers. What business do you have in Regna Ferox?” a woman called out to them once they were near enough. The voice had not exactly been kind or welcoming, but it hadn’t been too harsh, either. At the same time, the speaker stepped out from the group of guards, revealing herself to be a woman in especially bulky armour, with a stern face and blonde hair which she kept in a short and practical style.

Lucina remembered hearing about her – but not much. She was Raimi, commander of the border guard, and suspicious to the point that she was the main instigator of the battle between said guard and the Shepherds in her timeline. Lucina was certain that she was a fierce and loyal soldier, and one who would do anything to defend her country, to be certain. But died she had in Lucina’s timeline, much like everyone else. Unceremoniously, unremembered, and unable to do little more than to stand against a flood that washed away all of humanity.

She needed to change the future, even for the sake of someone like that, someone whose life and death had done little to alter the course of fate. Only she could do it.

“We are travelling fighters, and wish to test our mettle in Arena Ferox. If possible, I would like to represent khan Basilio in the upcoming tournament,” Lucina finally said.

Raimi’s expression remained unchanging, and the soldiers around her, too, didn’t convey any emotion. Lucina thought that she could see her gaze briefly flicker to the side, towards one of her soldiers, who in turn gave just the barest suggestion of a nod.

“Fighters, hm?” Raimi said. “Well, there is an easy way to test if you should even both-”

Before she had even finished the sentence, Raimi had thrust out her lance, towards Lucina-

But Lucina had been faster.

In a swift step, she had moved out of the way of the lance, drawn Falchion – and gotten it to Raimi’s throat.

There, she stopped her blade.

All around her, she could hear the sounds of weapons being drawn hastily. She was also dimly aware that behind her, Shulk had also been attacked, though the lack of any gasps or pained sounds probably meant that he also didn’t get hit.

“Good enough for you?” Lucina asked. Raimi’s expression remained unchanging, and she didn’t even look at Lucina – though having a blade at your throat was likely a good enough motivator to keep your head still.

“That’ll do,” Raimi said after a moment, “Stand down, everyone!”

There was another rustling of weapons behind Lucina, and she thought she could hear Shulk sigh. For a second longer, she kept Falchion at Raimi’s throat. Then, she withdrew it, and the woman did the same to her spear. Now that the rush of the moment was over, Lucina could also see that she hadn’t actually thrust with its sharp end.

“Enough presence of mind to detect the intent to attack before it happens, swift enough on your feet to dodge a sudden attack, and not foolish enough to truly attack the captain of the border guard at a slight provocation. Yes, I think you and your partner should at least make for an entertaining showing,” Raimi continued.

“High praise,” Lucina noted briskly, sheathing Falchion again. Then, she finally looked back at Shulk, who didn’t actually seem to have even drawn his own sword.

“Don’t let it get to your head. Basilio’s current champion, Lon’qu, is a demon with the sword. Even if he has… issues with women, those do not mean anything to him on the battlefield. One moment of carelessness is all that he needs to end you.”

Lucina said nothing in response. Nothing that Raimi was telling her was news to her. How could it be? While her father had been the one to teach her how to fight, after his passing, uncle Lon’qu had done his damnedest to keep her on her toes and to further sharpen her skills. And in turn, it meant that even now, years after his death (from her perspective), she was still well familiar with his fighting style. Getting past a younger version of him would be no issue.

What she said out loud when she did respond however was merely, “We shall see. May we pass the gate now?”

“Tch,” Raimi made… before letting out a laugh. “Truly a shame that I won’t be able to leave my post here! I would have loved seeing that battle play out. But aye, you may enter Regna Ferox.”

With that, she turned around at her soldiers, and barked some orders. At once, the men and women scurried away, getting to work to open the gate through the fort. As they did, Raimi addressed Lucina once more.

“A word of warning: Once you enter the country, best be on the lookout. The same undead creatures that have been plaguing Ylisse recently have appeared in Regna Ferox as well. Not only that, but there have been several instances of brigands pretending to be Ylisseans ransacking our border villages. Even if that partner of yours is every bit your equal in battle, even the likes of you cannot stand alone against a larger force. Make sure that wherever you rest for the night is a safe place.”

“Now that is a warning that I will heed,” Lucina said. “What are our options for resting spots along the road to the capital?”

“There used to be some villages along the road, but given how unsafe these borderlands have been recently, those have been evacuated. Even if it may be a bit questionable, one option would be to rest in those abandoned buildings. The inhabitants have taken all their belongings with them, anyway, so there’s nothing of note left there.”

“Sounds good. Thank you.”

When they left the Longfort behind them shortly thereafter, Lucina couldn’t help but to shoot Shulk brief glances… none of which were however met. Eventually, her curiosity got too bad, and so she just spoke to him directly.

“You were awfully quiet during that whole encounter,” she noted. It wasn’t a question, but the untold desire to know why he hadn’t said anything she hoped was still obvious.

“I don’t know what your plans are, and you know more about this land than I do. I thought it was for the best that I just let you do all the talking,” Shulk stated plainly… and then didn’t add anything else.

“I… see,” Lucina said. “One of them attacked you as well, didn’t they? How did you deal with it?”

“I dodged. It’s not like I’m inexperienced in combat or anything.”

And then there was silence again, interrupted only by the sound of them treading on light snow.

Lucina decided to leave it at that. This was what she had brought upon herself, so she had no right to complain, regardless of whether Shulk was a servant of Grima or not.

If only it didn’t bother her so much!

Much like Raimi had told them, all of the villages that they passed by on this first stretch of the road to the capital of Regna Ferox lay abandoned. While the sight was not something that Lucina wasn’t used to, it still made her feel uneasy, as it brought back memories of her own timeline. She would have hoped that she was never forced to see something like this in the past as well – but it appeared that even in conflicts between men, rather than humankind and the end itself, such fates still occurred.

On a more mundane level, this also meant that when they did finally decide to stop for the night, they were not met with an already warm inn with glowing windows visible from far away, and instead had to settle on a dark and empty house in an equally abandoned village. The only small mercy was that the inhabitants had left behind fire wood, meaning that it was easy enough to warm up. Of course, this still brought the risk of drawing in unwanted attention, but Lucina felt that it was worth that risk. The swiftly falling night looked to be cloudy, anyway, so that the smoke from the chimney would hardly be visible to any malevolent onlooker – and there simply was no way that the fire in the hearth would be visible from the outside.

And so, after a meagre dinner, Lucina and Shulk went to sleep. (With regards to beds, luckily there were two. After walking through the cold for hours, she would not have had the nerve to search for another house that did have two beds.) Or rather, he went to sleep. Though she also went to bed, she did not dare sleep before she was absolutely certain that he had fallen asleep first. Now that they were resting at a place where there no other people around, she had to stay vigilant.

They had hardly spoken a word since they had left behind the Longfort.

She staid awake for a good while longer, just staring over to his bed.

Yet for whatever reason, once sleep came for Lucina, it was an uneasy one. Within her dream, she stood within what appeared to be a vast hall of stone, with a beautiful, ornate floor that seemed to belong to a place. Yet whether she was in one, she could not tell, as everything around her was filled with a dense fog. It was not an ominous location, but one of mystique and a meaning that she could not fathom.

But what she knew, knew in the way that you were just certain of things in your dreams, was that she was not alone. And sure enough, some distance away…

There was a figure.

“Do you wish to change it?” it seemed to ask, speaking with a feminine voice, and sounding far closer than it actually was.

“You… you mean the future?” Lucina answered, after a moment of hesitation.

“Indeed! Even if the events to come are predetermined, you will still oppose them. Will you not?”

“I… of course. That is something that me and my friends decided long ago.”

“As is your right,” the voice agreed. “But the road ahead has been complicated. Though you wish to change the future, there are outside interferences that neither you nor the forces working against you comprehend. You will need help if you intend to control the shape of the future. What you need-”

The fog grew denser. The figure became entirely obscured. With a jolt, Lucina woke, sitting up – and for a second, she felt like she was still in her dream. She was looking out the window…

And the figure was still there.

In the immediate moment after waking, Lucina briefly believed that she was still inside her dream, and that the scene merely had shifted. Yet as the seconds ticked on, the figure remained within her view, unmoving as she continued the process of truly waking.

Lucina’s bed within this house was right next to a window. The figure meanwhile was standing outside: not immediately in front of the window, where the last embers of the fire, dying a slow death in the hearth, would have illuminated them. But rather, just far enough away so that their presence and humanity (well, seeming humanity) was undeniable even in the darkness of night.

She didn’t know just for how long it was that she remained there, motionless, just staring outside. There was no way that the figure should be able to tell that she was looking at them – but then again, there was also no way that the figure even could be there in the first place.

Then they raised an arm, and beckoned her. After a few seconds of that, they stepped back, and were out of sight. Still frozen, Lucina looked after them.

When she could finally tear away her gaze, she was… uncertain. In the dim light that remained inside the room, she could tell that Shulk was still fast asleep in his bed, not having noticed anything of what was going on. It would be easy for her to just sneak out unnoticed. And given her still present distrust of Shulk, she would have every incentive to do so.

But on the other hand… why? Why sneak out at all? That was, not in the sense of why not tell Shulk about it. Rather, why follow this figure at all? An ominous presence in both her dream and outside, and she just wanted to follow it? It sounded more threatening than anything else.

On the other other hand, though…

If the figure wanted something of her, then they could have just come inside. The fact that they beckoned for her to come outside must mean that they were fully aware of Shulk… but didn’t want him knowing about their presence.

And with that, Lucina’s decision was made.

As quickly and quietly as she could, she got out of bed, and put her clothes back on. Before she headed out, she however made sure to take Falchion with her. Even if she was about to do something this incredibly foolish, she was not going to do it without a means to defend herself.

Then she left the house.

The cold night air immediately swallowed her, stinging fingers that grasped her even through all her layers of clothing. No matter, though… she would hopefully be able to get back inside soon enough.

Where to now, though?

While her eyes were slowly getting accustomed to the night – not entirely dark, as there was snow all around, it not at all trodden with the village lying abandoned – she scanned her surroundings for the figure. Of course, now that she was trying to find them, they were nowhere to be seen…

Letting her eyes slowly wander across the dark shapes of the buildings, she ventured deeper into the village. All the while, she kept Falchion at the ready.

“Who is there? Show yourself!” she said, unable to even bring herself to speak too loudly.

No answer came. Lucina kept walking, until she made it to the centre of the village. There, she stopped to look around. The figure really was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she really should just head back and-

And there they were.

Lucina wasn’t certain whether they appeared from nowhere, or whether she had just missed them up until now. All she knew was that when she looked to her left, there was a figure leaning against a nearby house.

“Hello there,” the figure said, stepping away from the wall they were leaning on, and casually walking towards her. Their voice was the same feminine one as the one from her dream, but even now, something in her hesitated to think of this person as female.

“You were… how? Who are you?” she said breathlessly. Much like how it had been when she first met Shulk, she didn’t have the feeling that this was a threatening encounter of any kind. But also just like how it was with him, she did not want to leave her guard down.

“How unusual. All this village is lying abandoned. And yet, two people are here, resting for the night with little care,” the person said, walking around Lucina at a rather close distance. As they did, she saw that they were about as tall as Shulk, maybe a bit shorter, yet had bright hair that was about as long as Lucina’s own.

“Though I suppose, you’re wondering then why I am here,” they continued, undeterred. “Then permit me to introduce myself. You may call me… A.”

“…A? Just A?” Lucina asked, incredulously. Instead of giving any kind of answer, the person – A just stood there. Even without seeing it clearly, Lucina just knew that they were smirking at her. “…Right. A. My name is Marth-”

She had barely finished saying that when A had already cut her off. “But that is not the truth, is it? It’s Lucina. Isn’t it?”

The silence that followed their words was deafening. As her eyes widened, she instinctively reached for Falchion, intending to draw it from its sheath – yet before she could, A had stepped closer, and placed their hand on hers.

“There is no need for this. Whether direct or indirect, I mean you no harm,” they said. Feeling her cheeks flush with an embarrassment uncharacteristic of such a situation, Lucina grunted and pushed their hand of hers, taking a step back. But, she did not draw Falchion.

A meanwhile chuckled. “I do not know about you, but I would much rather have a conversation with somebody that I can see clearly. So, let us risk a little more light.”

And with that, they made a sweeping gesture with their right arm… which produced three lights that just floated in the air.

Teal lights.

Just like that one that she had first found Shulk under.

“You- what is your relation to Shulk?!” she blurted before she could stop herself. But even once she had spoken the words, she did not regret them – the question seemed appropriate.

A, in response, just chuckled again. Now that they were illuminated by the light, Lucina could see that their face did definitely have feminine features… and quite pretty ones at that. They had very bright hair, to the point that Lucina thought it might be outright white, though it was difficult to say for certain under the teal light. Dangling from their left ear was a key for an earring. They were wearing... an outfit. She had no idea what to call it. It appeared to be some kind of dark onesie with a light cape, but that was about all that Lucina could put into words. With the exception of some noteworthy hips, there was not much in the way of visible curves on them, only furthering Lucina's own doubts as to whether calling them female was correct.

And with the playful smirk they were giving her, it almost seemed to her like they were trying to get her flustered.

“Phenomenally deduced,” they said. “But as a time traveller, you would be the type of person to notice things that do not fit, no?”

“ How do you know these things…? ” Lucina said breathlessly.

The smile disappeared from A’s face. Had Lucina however expected to receive an answer now, she wound up being disappointed, as instead, they looked past her, and somewhere to her right instead.

“They’re here…!” they said quietly. “Shulk’s presence as an outsider to this world must have drawn them in.”

Reluctantly, Lucina turned around – and tensed up. While the floating teal lights made it more difficult to see anything that wasn’t illuminated by them, the piercing red lights that approached them were hard to miss even like this.

“Risen!” she hissed. Then, she fully turned her back on A, and drew Falchion. “Get behind me! I’ll deal with them.”

Yet as she spoke, part of her couldn’t believe her own words. A was far more suspicious than Shulk even, and still here she was with her back to them, and defending them against Risen? But then again… even more than with Shulk, she could just feel that there was nothing malicious about them.

Again hoping that this feeling was not unfounded, she steadied herself. The red lights were moving fast, and the Risen would be here soon.

But as they got closer, Lucina could not help but to feel that something about them was… off. Though not a shred of humanity remained in them, the Risen were reanimated corpses bearing masks forced upon them by Grima. The red lights were what came from their eyes, making for a very easy indicator as to whether or not a given Risen was animated.

These lights, however… some of them were far too close to the ground. Others were far too high. And without fail, they just didn’t come in pairs. Sometimes there was just one, and other times there were far more than just two at once.

And then she could see the shapes. She wished she couldn’t.

Some of them were humanoid, but only in the vaguest sense possible that they walked on two legs. The torsos that sat on the legs meanwhile were anything but humanoid, coming in various round, almost bulbous shapes from long, staff-like or claw-like appendages protruded – and not two, which would have given the creatures at least some kind of human-like symmetry, but only one. There was nothing on them that even resembled a head, let alone any kind of face.

Worse were the ones that were not even walking on two legs, as they reminded her of a repugnant mixtures of insect, crab and spider, with the bulbous torso close to the ground and suspended by a set of far fewer legs than you would find on any organic creature of such body shape, and with a singular nasty claw in the front, massive compared to the creature it belonged to.

And the creatures were all rushing towards her.

But Lucina would not have survived for this long if the sight of a disturbing foe would have been enough to make her freeze up. For a second longer she observed the creatures, studied their movements – then she charged at them. The parts of their bodies where the red lights from continued to be pointed at her as she did.

Within a few heartbeats, she had made her way to the first of the creatures, attempting to strike it down with a swift downward slash from Falchion-!

Only to be greeted by a shock running through her sword arm, as Falchion bounced off the creature's body, and the sound of metal hitting against metal rang through Lucina’s ears.

In complete shock, she stumbled backwards – and suddenly became aware of something large looming above her. Hastily, she looked up, only to see one of the larger humanoid creatures standing above her…

And then it hit her with its arm.

As the pain of a blunt hit exploded in the left side of her abdomen, the force of the attack knocked her back and sent her flying. More out of instinct than anything else, she let go of Falchion, it landing just beside her in the snow near A, where she ended up.

A, who hadn’t moved from the spot since the creatures had appeared.

Not granting herself a second of rest, Lucina sat up, and coughed hard. “How can- Falchion be useless against these things?!”

“The metal that their bodies are made of is far too tough,” A calmly explained. The tone of their voice should have given Lucina pause for thought – but what they had said already did that far more. It reminded her of something.

Something that Shulk had said once.

“They are made of a metal that is so incredibly tough that the only way to damage them is to use strong blasts of ether – or the Monado can cut through them. For as long as we can remember, they have been attacking Homs and Nopon, or just about any life on the Bionis.“

“Are these… Mechon?!” Lucina asked, incredulously. The creatures meanwhile were continuing to close in on them…

“Correct. This means that the only way to destroy them are strong blasts of ether - or magic, in this world. And failing that…”

A rushed forward. Before Lucina could do anything to stop them, they took Falchion – and then charged at the Mechon.

“Stop, don’t! The only one who can use Falchion is-” Lucina shouted…

Only to stop herself when she saw what happened.

As A was running forward with Falchion in hand, a white light began to shine from the hole in its handle, just moments before a bright blue light began to envelop the blade, extending beyond its edges and tips. When A reached the nearest Mechon, they brought Falchion down – it cutting through steel without any effort.

While Lucina watched speechlessly, A struck down three of the Mechon: the large one that had knocked Lucina back, the small one that Falchion had, just moments prior bounced off of, and another bipedal one. As if whatever force was animating them had been banished, they all collapsed to the ground, before exploding into bright light and smoke. Unbothered by any of it, A stood up, and made the light on Falchion vanish. Then they tossed it over to Lucina.

“I suggest you stop staring!” they teased her, all while chuckling as if there was some joke in it that only they were privy to it. Lucina meanwhile had just enough presence of mind to catch Falchion by the handle. Cautiously, she examined it. It looked and felt like nothing had changed about it…

Then suddenly, A was behind her, leaning against her shoulder. “Falchion is yours to wield. Why don’t you give this another shot?”

Lucina allowed herself a brief glance at A. They were looking up at her with that damned smirk again… but it felt encouraging.

She looked back at the Mechon. Three remained: two bipedal ones, and one crawling. Taking a deep breath, she held out Falchion…

And the light in its hole and on its blade reappeared.

What followed was little more than a formality. She charged at the metallic creature, brought Falchion down, and cut through them, one after another. Just like how it had happened with A, the blade cut through them with ease, destroying them in an explosion.

Then, stillness fell upon the empty village once more.

“Phenomenal work. I believe this concludes dealings here,” A noted after a few seconds.

Lucina whirled around. “No, hold on! You owe me some explanations. How were you able to use Falchion? No, better yet - what did you do to Falchion?! And how do you know about me?!”

A said nothing in response. Instead, their smile just grew wider, and they tilted their head. What they did say when they spoke again was, “There are forces in this world other than just the Fell Dragon as well as its servants, and the goddess Naga and those who follow her. You have noticed that elements that do not belong in this world have entered it, have you not? Consider this one of these elements lending you… a helping hand to deal with the others. You will inevitably run into these elements again. So it is for the best if you are prepared to meet them.” They paused, and then added, “Luckily, you do not stand alone against them.”

“Is that all you intend to say? That’s not good enough! I have many questions, and it seems that you know several of the answers,” Lucina said sharply. She only barely kept herself from not pointing Falchion at them… though she also had the feeling that even if she did, A would not care for it.

Even now, their expression remained thoroughly unchanged. “I suggest you try talking to him first. He has many things on his mind that you have yet to hear about.”

Saying this, A pointed something behind Lucina. At that same moment, she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut, followed by hasty footsteps through the snow. She turned around, just in time to see Shulk running towards her, though still a short distance away.

“Even if-” she began, turning back to look at A again…

But A was no longer there. Safe for her and the destroyed Mechon, the town centre was completely empty, with there not even being footsteps in the snow that could give any indication as to where A had vanished. Only the teal lights that they had summoned still remained.

“Marth! Is everything alright? I woke from hearing loud noises, and-!” Shulk shouted as he got closer, only for him to let out a gasp and the sound of him walking through the snow to come to an abrupt halt. “…Mechon? A M69… a M63… a M82… what- what are they doing here?!”

Just after he had said that, he let out another gasp. And this time, Lucina was taken aback, too: as she watched them, the Mechon began to… dissolve. Not like the Risen that returned to the earth upon being slain, but rather like they were somehow… fading from existence. A few seconds later, it was like they had never been there to begin with.

Lucina let out a deep sigh. Then, she faced Shulk.

“We need to talk. And… first off. My name is not Marth. It is actually Lucina.”

She still was not certain if what she was doing was a good idea. She still wasn’t certain what to make of Shulk, these Mechon, or this A person. And she still wasn’t certain whether she was currently at risk of altering the future in a way that put it way out of her control.

But what she was certain of was that no matter what, none of these things were related to the Fell Dragon. If it had been capable of summoning forth creatures with armour so strong that not even Falchion could cut through them, it would have done so ages ago. And powerful though it may be, it simply could not tamper with Falchion. Outside of just being created by Naga, which inherently made it a weapon the Fell Dragon could not touch, Lucina and her friends had been able to at least perform an incomplete Rite of Awakening, imbuing it with even more of Naga’s power. There simply was nothing in this world that could fundamentally alter Falchion.

But something from outside of this world…

And considering that there obviously was some connection between A and Shulk, it could only mean that he, too, had nothing to do with Grima – and she had no reason to just distrust him outright.

From up on a nearby rooftop, A observed Shulk and Lucina. They had absolutely not meant for this encounter to play out so very much like their first proper meeting with Shulk in Makna Forest had. But once they had realized the similarities, they had decided to lean into them. May as well have a bit of fun.

More importantly though… they had been absolutely right. It had been the right choice to meet with the time traveller. This Falchion, a weapon of divine origin, was just what they had needed in order to truly connect themself to this world. Their power here would still be a far cry compared to what it had been in the world of Bionis and Mechonis, but it would still be enough to alter the course of the future, and help Shulk to do the same.

Him, and Lucina. They could not neglect her. A had had no choice but to make use of her, so the least they could do was to also look out for her.

For now, however… it was time to use their new connection to this world to find out what they could about it. For just a moment longer, they observed Shulk and Lucina, who were now heading back inside the hut that they had picked to stay the night. Then, A turned around and left.

Chapter Text

“A…?” Shulk said, and furrowed his brow. He would have liked to say that he knew someone like that, since based on everything that Marth (no, Lucina , he corrected himself - that was something that he would still need to get used to) had told him, the person seemed to know him very well. But he simply didn’t know anyone with that name. Less than that, he didn’t even get the feeling that there was someone like that that he had forgotten.

“…No, that doesn’t ring a bell. What did they look like?”

Lucina frowned. But though she seemed unhappy, Shulk was, in a fundamental way, still relieved: while he still wasn’t entirely certain what had happened while she had been outside, or how her view of him had changed, it was undeniable that it had done so. Why else would she have told him her actual name, if she had kept it secret from him before?

Meanwhile, the fire kept on crackling in the hearth. Though it had already been nearly burnt down by the time that Shulk woke from the sudden loud noises that had come from outside, it had been easy enough to rekindle with the firewood they still had left. It was now still not too long after Lucina had told him that she wanted to talk. He was still completely tired, and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed, rest from the exhaustion of the day’s travels. But right now, he knew that this was more important.

“That’s… difficult to describe,” Lucina finally said. “Under those lights, I couldn’t really tell any colours. But they had bright hair, about as long as mine, and were probably about your height. And they appeared feminine.”

Shulk’s expression remained blank. “…Anything else, maybe?”

Lucina fell silent, as she thought about it for a second. “They were also wearing a key on an earring. Left ear.”

Shulk blinked. Things flashed in his mind… brief snippets, glimpses of memories. A key on a necklace… a flash of silver hair… a purple jacket, brimmed with white fur…

And then, as quickly as the images had appeared in his mind, they disappeared again, forgotten once more.

“Part of that… does sound kinda familiar. But I just can't remember it. Sorry.”

“Mh,” Lucina said. “Well, I suppose that would have been too easy.”

There was a pause where the only noise to be heard was the crackling of the fire. The mood between them had definitely lightened, but that didn’t mean that everything was resolved now. Lucina seemed to be thinking about something, and Shulk wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation.

“So, uh… what did they do? And how did you deal with those Mechon?”

“…Oh, sorry,” Lucina apologized, scratching her head. “Honestly… they didn’t really say much of anything that I could make much sense of. They said something about outsiders to this world, who have nothing to do with-” She interrupted herself, likely having realized that what she was saying was heading in a direction that she didn’t intend. “…Well, that’s going to be a longer explanation. At any rate, they basically said that there’s something here from outside of this world, and not just you.”

Shulk made an acknowledging “Mh”-sound. Though he said nothing about it, he had heard the way she had talked about him being from a different world: like she actually believed it. It was a good change of pace. He himself had almost started to believe that he himself had made it all up, and was just deeply out of his mind.

“As for the Mechon… A just took Falchion when I didn’t have it in my hands, and then… well…” she drew her sword, and held it out in front of her. For a moment, Shulk wondered what she meant – he had definitely seen the thing before, even if he hadn’t been able to take a closer look at it. Not for lack of interest, either, but rather simply because he hadn’t dared asking Lucina about it.

He was just about to ask what she meant to imply this A person did to the sword… when she activated it.

All of a sudden, the empty spot above the hilt lit up with a bright blue light, as the blade began to be enveloped in the same kind of light, forming itself into a larger blade. The overall look of it reminded Shulk an awful lot of the Monado…

“Wh-whoa… may I… take a closer look?” he asked, already jumping up from his bed without waiting to hear an answer. Lucina, for her part, simply shrugged and nodded.

“Sure. I was hoping that perhaps you might know something about it, anyway.”

Solemnly, Shulk stepped up to Lucina, who was still sitting on her bed, sword held out in front. As he got closer, he saw that the hole wasn’t just filled with light, as it also displayed the symbol 機 – again, the same type of symbol as could be seen on the Monado…

Come to think of it, wasn’t that the exact same symbol as the one on the Monado?

“Say, that hole there,” Shulk said slowly, “ Is it actually a hole?”

Lucina furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

Shulk took a half step back, and gestured with his hand helplessly. “What I mean is- oh, hold on, let me just show you.”

Saying that, he hurried over to the corner of the room where he had left the Monado, took it, and brought it back over. “Here. You see this?” he said, tapping his fingers against the glass panel above the Monado’s hilt, making a light, high-pitched sound. “I know it may look like a big hole, but this is actually a panel of multi-layered glass. By default,” he activated the Monado, letting it generate its gently humming blade of light while the panel displayed the same 屍 symbol it had always shown in this world, “It just displays one symbol – the one that’s on your Falchion now. But I think the different layers are meant to display different symbols, which-! …Which I guess is confirmed now, since it’s showing a different symbol now.”

He paused.

Lucina blinked.

Shulk awkwardly scratched his head.

“…Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away there. But the point is, I was wondering if maybe this Falchion is the same as the Monado in that regard.”

Lucina smiled weakly. The way he had talked about it all, it had reminded her of Laurent a bit. Or at least… Laurent, whenever he actually got to indulge in his own natural curiosity, and didn’t have strategise for Lucina and the others.

Which, of course, happened far rarer than it should have… still, no wonder that Shulk had apparently gotten along with Miriel so well. When it came to her own curiosity and desire for knowledge, she had even surpassed her own son in Lucina’s time. The one here in the past was likely the same.

“No, it’s really not like that. Look,” Lucina said. Then she turned off Falchion (what a weird thought that still was, doing that sort of thing…), and poked through the hole above its handle with a finger. “Nothing there at all.”

“That’s odd…” Shulk mumbled, turning off his own sword and putting it aside. “Did this… hole have any purpose before?”

“Not to my knowledge. I think it may have lit up when-” she briefly interrupted herself – that had been when she and the others had travelled back in time, but she couldn’t really say that without needing to explain a whole lot of other things, which would have seriously derailed the conversation. “…Well, it happened once, I mean. I don’t think it really had any purpose I know about, though.”

“Hm, okay…” Shulk said, cupping his chin with his hand. “Can I… can I try it?”

Lucina hesitated. Now that she knew for certain that Shulk had no relation to Grima at all, she really was a lot more at ease around him. But even so, the thought of letting him have Falchion was… still a bit much. But then again, there likely was no harm in it.

“…Sure,” she said, slowly handing it over. “I don’t think you’ll be able to use it, though. Falchion is… a special sword. It will only ever be sharp if certain specific chosen people use it. If anybody else tries it, it will be as if its edge is completely blunt.”

“Really?” Shulk asked – and promptly took a swing at a nearby table. Though Lucina was shocked for the fraction of a second, she immediately realized that there was no need to: the blade just bounced off uselessly off the wood.

“That was pretty reckless,” Lucina noted.

“Do you think so? I figured that it was best to just try it at the table instead of either of us. And it was the easiest way to find out.” He paused briefly, and then added, “How are the people capable of wielding this sword determined, though? Is this just something you can inherently do or not do? Or can that change somehow?”

Again, Lucina could not help but to smile weakly and absent-mindedly. It really was a bit like talking to Laurent, whenever he found a new topic that interested him.

“Usage of Falchion is tied to my bloodline,” she said. Then, seeing Shulk already about to say something again, she quickly added, “I will explain that, but not right now. Okay?”

Shulk visibly sagged a bit. “Alright. There was still something else that I wanted to try, after all…”

He took a step back and held out Falchion in front of him. For a brief second, Lucina thought that it was not going to work – that just like how Falchion wouldn’t be sharp for him, it also wouldn’t do what it had done for her and A.

The blade of light ended up appearing nonetheless. Shulk watched it with complete awe in his face, as he turned the sword over.

“It really is just like with the Monado! Which means…”

He looked at the table again. Before Lucina could even protest, he swung Falchion again, in such a way that the light blade just barely went through the table’s surface. And go through it it did, complete with a proper cut. It was a small one, to be sure, but it was a cut nonetheless.

“Hm! So that works, too… and it doesn’t reject me, like the Monado would… or, well, normally would.” Shulk said, still examining Falchion with wide-eyed fascination.

“Uh… what do you mean by that?” Lucina asked slowly, finally getting up from the bed again.

Shulk turned back towards her. “The Monado usually violently rejects anyone who tries to wield it. That takes form of it zapping anyone holding it with severe electrical shocks, or just moving around wildly in such a way that you would need almost absurd strength to control it. The only person I’ve known so far who could use it was Dunban, the older brother of my friend Fiora. And even with him, it wasn’t because the Monado accepted him, but rather because he suppressed its rejection. It ended up paralysing his arm, because he had to keep using it, anyway…”

Mouth slightly agape, Lucina looked over to the sword. At a glance, it looked harmless. Almost silly, even. To believe that something like that could be so dangerous to its wielder…

“Then why did he keep using it? A blade like that hardly seems worth the upsides.”

Shulk shook his head. “He did it because we had no choice . The Monado is the only thing that can reliably damage the Mechon. If we didn’t have that… us Homs could as well have just waited for the Mechon to pick us off.”

Lucina let out a deep breath. She got the feeling that everything that Shulk had to say about the conflicts in his own world was awfully familiar, and that not for the first time.

“…Well, be that is it may. Are you done with your experiments now?” she said, holding out a hand.

“There’s one more thing…” Shulk said… before lightly touching his finger against the blade of light.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Lucina shouted – but Shulk seemed to be completely fine. With a smile, he turned off Falchion’s blade of light, and handed it back to Lucina.

“The Monado can’t cut people. I figured that it would be the same for your sword, and the only other option would have been to try it on you,” he explained. Rather firmly, Lucina ripped Falchion out of his hand, and put it back into its sheath.

“You really are out of your mind,” she sighed, and sat back down on her bed.

Shulk laughed awkwardly. “Fiora also said that…” Then, he sat down next to Lucina on the bed, though with some distance between them. “But I guess there’s more that you wanted to talk about than just that, right?”

Lucina took a deep breath. Oh, where to even start… if she wanted to have this conversation in full, then she wouldn’t be able to do it without talking about herself. But… one thing after another. For now, she could sate her own curiosity first.

“Right… I suppose I am not telling you anything new if I say that so far, I hadn’t really been able to trust you. That has changed now. I had originally feared that you are somehow connected to the very force I’m trying to stop, and were just lying about everything you told me to make yourself seem more sympathetic. But with what this A person has done” she held up Falchion within its scabbard, “it is now clear to me that you really are from a different world. Because there is nothing in this one that could alter Falchion in such a manner, much less something that could do it and still be connected to my enemy.”

There was a pause. During it, Lucina turned over to look at Shulk, who in turn looked at her in a manner that could only be described as flabbergasted.

“Uhm. That’s good, then. I guess?” he said, his voice sounding just a bit higher-pitched than usual. It almost gave Lucina the feeling that she had just told a puppy that she had thought about kicking it… 

And then she immediately wondered why she thought that about an adult man that could only be a few years younger than her at most. He was friendly, to be sure, but it was still quite a step from feeling that to thinking of him like that.

“Th- that said,” she continued, just barely not managing to stop herself from fumbling her words, “You can probably imagine that I now have plenty of things that I’m curious about, but didn’t get to ask about. So would you mind telling me a bit more about yourself?”

“Sure! I can do that. Is there anything in particular you want to know about?”

Lucina considered this. There was the same old question again: where to start? Over the past couple of days, there had been so many things about Shulk that had made her wonder that it was difficult to just pick and choose one thing to start asking him about. But, given the sheer amount of possible things she could ask… might as well start simple.

“Well…” she said, leaning back a bit, “I suppose some basics will do for now. I know your name, but I don’t really know much of anything else about you. How old are you? And what do you do for a living? If you work at all, I mean. You’re fighting pretty well with this… was it called the Monado? Either way, you seem to be pretty good with that. So I suppose it’s something to do with that?”

Shulk crossed his arms, and got up from the bed to pace around the room. “That first question’s already a bit tricky… to be honest, I’m not entirely certain how old I am right now. I mean… in the last things I remember, I’m still eighteen. But I’m also near certain that a lot has happened since then that I can’t remember, so… might be nineteen? I’m really not sure.”

She only barely managed to not say anything. Lucina knew that if she were to interrupt Shulk now, this whole conversation would become a disordered mess, as she would forget half the things she meant to ask. So, one thing after another. No matter how tempting it was.

“As for what I do,” Shulk meanwhile continued, “I’m really not that much of a fighter. I work in the research division of Colony 9’s Defence Force, where I’m in charge of research of the Monado. Since it’s the only effective weapon against the Mechon, it would be a huge benefit to all Homs if we could figure out how it worked.”

And then, Lucina could no longer bite her tongue. At least she had already gotten some of the answers she wanted.

“This word you keep using… what does it mean? “Homs”? Is that what you call people in your world?”

Shulk paused. “…Ah. So that really is different in this world,” he said after a moment. “A Homs is what you would call somebody like me and you. People. What would you call someone like us around here?”

“We’re just called humans. But… isn’t it kind of weird that we both seem to speak the same language, but have different words we use for people?”

“Maybe… there are some physiological differences between us as well? Though I wouldn’t really be able to tell you about any such features in Homs. That’s just not my area of expertize.”

“I don’t know anything about these things, either,” Lucina said, laughing weakly. “But what you told me is already good enough. Another thing though… there was something else you sometimes mentioned alongside Homs. Nope-on, or something?”

Shulk perked up. “You mean Nopon?”

“Yes, those were the ones.”

“Oh, so there really aren’t any in this world? That's a shame,” Shulk sighed. “Nopon are… I guess it is easiest for you to picture them if I describe them as basically furry orbs. They’re usually around knee height for Homs, have two stubby little arms and legs, and a pair of… uh… I never really asked a Nopon what they are, but I think they’re either wings or ears. They use them like arms, at any rate.”

Lucina’s gaze went unfocussed. For once in her life, she was doing everything she could to let her imagination run wild, desperate to conjure up an image based on the description that Shulk was giving. Because no matter how she thought about it, these Nopon sounded adorable .

“Ask them about it? So they can talk?” she asked, while still wrecking her brain trying to visualise a Nopon for herself.

“Oh, yes! Some of them travel in trade caravans all over the Bionis, while others stay with the Homs in our colonies, and do all kinds of jobs that we also do. I also heard that they have their own village somewhere on the Bionis, but I’ve never seen it for myself. And they all talk like this!” With his last words, his voice went a great deal more high-pitched, to such an uncanny extent that it even helped Lucina with her visualisation.

“They sound wonderful… I really hope I get to see one some day,” Lucina said dreamily. In response, Shulk made a surprised sound. “What?”

“Uh- nothing! …It’s just, I didn’t really expect you to be this eager to hear about Nopon.”

Lucina grinned. “That only serves to show that you really don’t know much of anything about me yet.”

“I suppose it does, yes,” Shulk said, laughing weakly. “Still… I’m glad that we can actually talk like this now. These past few days really have been pretty difficult.”

“And I am sorry about that. But I need to be careful in my position. The forces I’m working against are crafty, and have powers that even I don’t fully understand.”

“About that. Are you going to tell me more now about what you’re fighting against? I know that there’s these Risen creatures, but I doubt that they’re all there is.”

“In… a moment,” Lucina said slowly. “Before that, I’m still curious about one thing. Who’s this Fiora you mentioned earlier? I know it’s probably a bit much, but I think it’d be helpful if you told me about some of the people you know in your world, so that I’m not at a complete loss when you talk about them.”

“Oh… yeah, that’s probably better in the long run,” Shulk said, walking over to his own bed and sitting down on it. “There’s not too many people who would be relevant, though. Let’s see… there’s Fiora, I already mentioned her. She’s a few months older than me, which she keeps reminding me of. We basically grew up together, and back when we were young, she used to tell me how she wanted to be my bride one day.”

Hearing that part, Lucina smiled to herself bemusedly. Marriage… now that was something that had never crossed her mind. As the world of her timeline inevitably approached the end of all things, there had been little opportunity to ever grow closer to any of her friends in particular – and it was not like outside of that, many people were even left . And even now, at a point in time where there was still plenty of time to avert this calamity, she doubted that she could allow herself that kind of luxury.

“But it’s not like anything came of that,” Shulk meanwhile continued. “Anyway – she’s also a really strong fighter. I always thought that if anyone was going to use the Monado after Dunban, it would be her, especially since he’s her older brother. But when Dunban’s arm ended up paralysed, she stopped even wanting to join the Defence Force, and instead just took care of him. She always said that she didn’t want Dunban to lose the last bit of family that he still has, and that he needed someone to take care of him. And… if I’m completely honest, she also kind of took care of me. Or at least, she often made food for me.”

“She sounds very nice,” Lucina noted. More than anything, this Fiora reminded her of Severa, though she doubted that Fiora’s personality was anywhere near as… severe as Severa (Lucina grinned inwardly at the pun). But between being a tough fighter and taking care of him, there definitely were some similarities there. “What about this Dunban, though? Is he also important to you?”

Shulk nodded. “Oh, yeah. He’s a good deal older than Fiora, so he was always really more of a parent to her, since both theirs already died years ago. But outside of that, he’s probably the strongest fighter I know. It’s not for nothing that he was able to control the Monado when nobody else could. I don’t think he ever got an actual rank in the Defence Force, but when the united Homs forces launched an attack against the Mechon’s main base on Sword Valley a year ago, he was front and centre for it all.”

“Mh,” Lucina said. With that description, she was reminded a bit of Frederick. Though technically wasn’t family, for everything that he had done for her father and aunt, as well as his own part that he played in Lucina’s upbringing, he had essentially been an honorary uncle for her. But considering what she heard of his own insistence on taking care of her father and uncle, as well as his prowess in battle… yeah, the similarities were definitely there. “Anyone else?”

“Well, I already told you about Dickson. So that only really leaves Reyn. He’s… quite the personality. Just like Fiora, I basically grew up together with him. And he always looks after me, especially when we fight against monsters. With how big and loud he is, it’s very easy for him to draw in the attention of anything we’re fighting. To be honest, I used to think that he’s just a big, dumb brute, but he’s a really great friend.” Shulk paused, and then added, “Come to think of it, you might actually be nearly as tall has him.”

Lucina leaned forward. Though the fire in the hearth only emanated a rather weak light, she nonetheless hoped that it would be possible for Shulk to see her narrow her eyes. Though even if he didn’t the fact that she said nothing at all likely did its part in conveying how she felt at that statement.

“…Er…” Shulk said after a moment.

“Big and dumb, huh?”

“Sorry…”

“Right. Be that as it may,” Lucina said firmly, “I think that covers everything that I want to know for the time being. Which means…”

Her voice trailed off. There was no turning back now: she was going to tell Shulk the truth about herself. Or, well, that was not entirely true – there was turning back now. She could always just say that she had changed her mind, that she didn’t want to tell him, after all. Out of all the people in this world right now, did he really need to know?

The fire in the hearth kept crackling. Outside, all the village and all the land was still dark, with the little bit of light that the snow had left in the night not being visible from inside. It would still be several hours before sunrise, and as far as she knew, she and him were the only people in this village or its vicinity. And Shulk was looking at her expectantly.

Well. She had known that sooner or later, she would find herself in this kind of situation, hadn’t she? Even if she had never been particularly optimistic about the chances that she had in her mission – her life thus far had done plenty to quash any optimism she might have had otherwise – she had imagined what it was like to succeed.

If somehow, against all odds, she managed to save her father’s life. Save aunt Emmeryn’s life. Save the lives of the parents of all her friends, and so, so many more. Prevent the war, even. Slay Grima’s vessel before they even had the chance of fulfilling their destiny. If somehow she managed that… well, she would reveal herself to her father then, wouldn’t she? It was difficult to imagine what sort of place she would have in a world of peace, especially with regard to succession… though she didn’t really care for that.

But be that as it may. If the timeline was resilient enough for her own existence not to be erased simply by travelling back in time… then what difference did it make if she told Shulk, really?

Lucina took a deep breath. “I suppose I should tell you a bit more about myself. For starters, I’m twenty-two years old. But… there’s one thing in particular that you should know. While I am from this world, I’m essentially also a stranger from it. I’m a time traveler. A time traveler from over twenty years in the future of this world.”

She explained. Shulk listened.

Lucina told him a lot of things. About how the history of this world could go, and had already done in her timeline.

About how the queen got assassinated and a war broke out, a war that swallowed all the continent in a bloody conflict that lasted for years and years.

About how after the war, another one started with invaders from another continent. And how after that, her own father got killed under mysterious circumstances, while a being she called the Fell Dragon got resurrected.

A being that set all the world on a course towards inexorable doom, in a fate that she and her friends only barely survived for as long as they had – and how in a desperate last-ditch effort, she and said friends had travelled back in time.

(It surprised Shulk a little to hear that she had arrived in this time just shortly before he had arrived in this world. It seemed like an odd coincidence to him.)

By the time that Lucina had finished telling her story, the fire in the hearth had nearly burned down. It had gotten so dark in the room that Shulk couldn’t see her clearly anymore, but he was not looking at her, anyway. Instead, he was thinking about everything that she had told him.

Everything she had told him about the Risen and the Fell Dragon… it really did kind of remind of what living under the threat of the Mechon was like. Originally, there were ten colonies, all over the Bionis. But due to the constant attacks by the Mechon, that number slowly but surely dwindled, until in the present day, only two remained. Several of the colonies got wiped out during Shulk’s lifetime, even. At times, it had really felt like the end of the world was upon them. And even after the battle of Sword Valley had been won, it wasn’t the end of that threat, as his own memories had shown…

“I suppose you don’t believe me, huh…?” Lucina suddenly asked. Shulk flinched: he had been so lost in thought that he had completely forgotten to actually respond to anything that she had said.

“No, that’s not it!” Shulk hastily said. At the same time, Lucina got up from her bed, tossed another billet into the fire, and then sat down again. “It’s just… with everything you’ve told me, there’s plenty to think about. And parts of it definitely sound familiar.”

“The Mechon, huh?”

“Yeah. But I think… oh, I don’t know. I guess I just have a pretty easy time believing you, since I’m not from this world myself. And travelling through time doesn’t really sound so out there when you can see into the future.”

Lucina blinked. He… had definitely just said that he could see into the future, had he not?

“…I’m sorry. You can do what ?” she asked – and immediately remembered the incident on the bridge a few days ago. After they had fought off the Risen attack, he had said something to that effect… and so, she added, “You mean like you said you could do after the battle on that bridge?”

Shulk paused.”…Oh. Yeah. I probably should have mentioned that. I sometimes get these brief glimpses into the future, of things that are going to happen soon. I have no idea what causes them, or why exactly I have them. But I do get them, and… well, now I have to deal with them.”

Once again, Lucina blinked, as she stared at Shulk with her mouth slightly agape. “You sound like you know exactly what you’re talking about with that. Is this something new for you, or is it a recent thing?”

“Hm. I’m not actually sure. See, I have regained some of my memories. I remember now that the Mechon attacked Colony 9, and I picked up the Monado during it. And then I started having these visions. But here, they have only really happened on that bridge so far.”

“Excuse me? Why did you not mention any of that before?! That sounds quite important!” Lucina said, jumping up.

Instead of responding to her more agitated tone however, Shulk just sighed. “You hadn’t asked, and I thought it was best not to bring anything up that didn’t matter too much. It was not like you trusted me before tonight, right?”

Lucina thought about this… and then let herself fall down again. “No, I guess you’re right… but, still. This Colony 9 is your home, isn’t it? Why are you so calm when you just remembered that it got attacked by these Mechon?”

“I… wonder about that myself,” Shulk said slowly. “But it’s just… in all my memories, I have the feeling like they’re lying months in the past, and a lot of things have happened since then that I can’t remember. So regardless of how that Mechon attack went, I think it’s already long since over. All I have right now is this vague feeling that everything’s alright… and I just have to cling to that. If I don’t…”

He didn’t say anything else after that, but he also didn’t need to. Even so, Lucina understood all too well. The sheer thought of being whisked away from her world by unknown forces, for unknown reasons, all while she had no way of knowing if everyone back at home was even still alive… if, in such a situation, she had even the slightest feeling that everything was alright and there was nothing to worry about, she would have clung to that feeling like it was the only thing left in her life. And it would be that, wouldn’t it?

Besides, she had plenty of experience in clinging to a sliver of hope, no matter how faint it was…

“…I see,” she finally said. “I can understand that. But… with all that said. What will you do now? You now know that the path ahead will not be an easy one for me. I would understand if, knowing that, you would much rather part ways and seek a way home on your own terms.”

“Absolutely not!” Shulk immediately shouted. “I can’t just leave you by yourself, now that I know what you’re dealing with! I want to do whatever I can to help you save your world.”

Lucina smiled weakly – not out of disbelief, but rather out of exhaustion. It had been a long day, and a long night as well. Now, at last, it seemed to be ending well. “You are a kind soul, Shulk.”

Shulk scratched his head awkwardly. “I mean… am I really? Because I have to admit, part of why I want to come with you is because of what you said this A person told you. Something about how you are going to run into other beings from outside this world? I think if I can meet any of those, then they might also be able to help me figure out a way back home. That A person in particular sounds like they might be a great help on that end. So it’s really in my best interest if I stay with you.”

“Like that hasn’t already been the case before? Either way, the result is the same, and you’re travelling with me.”

“I suppose so, yes. Even if that’s a kind of pragmatic way of putting it.”

“I have no choice but to be pragmatic. Not if I want to change the future,” Lucina said firmly. Then, in a more jovial tone, she added, “Still… we make for quite the unusual travelling companions, then. The time traveller, and the one with visions of the future.”

Shulk perked up. “Oh, so you’re believing me about those, then?”

Lucina shrugged. “After everything I’ve told you, and everything you’ve told me, you being able to receive visions of the future is one of the things that’s less out there. I already witnessed them first-hand, didn’t I?”

“…Point taken.”

“Right,” Lucina said. “But I think we have talked for long enough now… I really need to get some sleep already.”

“Same here. I could really do with some shut eye,” Shulk agreed, and then just crawled underneath the sheets of his bed.

For a moment longer, Lucina watched him. For the first time since she had met him, she felt relieved – so incredibly relieved. After all the days of doubting him, and believing that he could possibly be a servant of Grima, Shulk really was just what he claimed to be: somebody spirited away from his own world, and having appeared in this one.

And more than that, he was her ally. Lucina never would have thought that she would have one, and had been fully prepared to face the seemingly insurmountable task of changing the future all on her own. But now, she had one – and she couldn’t be more glad. Glad that she didn’t have to do this alone.

Letting out a deep breath, she also got into bed. Even though the fire in the hearth made it almost uncomfortably hot beneath her bedsheet, she still fell asleep within just a few minutes. A few hours later, the darkness of the night vanished, as the sun finally rose.

Chapter Text

Without any effort, the sword cut through black steel, rendering the mechanical creature unable to move. It was the last of the group that had attacked him, and though he had never seen anything like them before, they still posed no threat to him. Even if his sword was nowhere near the level of strength that it had been before his death (if that had even been a death), and not perfectly suited for fighting the machines, doing so had still been a little more than a curiosity to him.

Still… these machines made him wonder. In all his days wandering this world, he had already been able to tell that it was nowhere near the level of technology that the one that he had hailed from was. Not that that bothered him too much.

But even so, that still left the question. Where had the machines come from?

Knowing that he had nothing better to do, he knelt down beside the last one he had destroyed, and pushed a strand of sky-blue hair out of his face. (He was still getting used to that. But new him, new hairstyle, so why not keep it?)

The design of the machines was unlike anything he had ever seen before, be it in this world, or his home world. At best, there was only something that vaguely resembled them… that place. But that resemblance was, more likely than not, just a coincidence. Now that he examined it up close, he could also tell that the machine really was not of this world.

More than that, he could tell how they had come to be here.

Memories, was it? Memories given physical form…

Well. Memories were just information, when you got down to it. And information he knew what to do with.

So he made them his own.

“Shulk, could you step outside for a moment? I need some time,” Lucina said. Taken off-guard by being addressed out of the blue like this, Shulk looked up from his backpack, and saw that she was looking at him expectantly while holding a bundle of something blue.

For a moment, Shulk stared at Lucina, hoping for any sort of elaboration. Then comprehension slowly started to settle in, and he began to understand just what it was that she was holding. It was the clothes that she had worn when he had first met her – and that was all the information that he needed.

“Oh- sure! Just, uh- give me a shout when I can come back in,” he hastily answered, before practically storming out.

Since the house that they were staying at consisted of only one rather large room, this however meant that the only place he could go was literally outside. And even though it was long since daytime already, this didn’t necessarily mean that it was exactly warm. By the time that he realized this however, he had already shut the door behind him – and he was definitely not going to open the door again now.

It wasn’t that Shulk was unfamiliar with female anatomy on principle. All the years that he had spent at school had certainly been enough for him to be familiar with the basic differences to what his own body had. And it wasn’t like what exactly constituted “female anatomy” was completely set in stone with no variants, either. That much he also knew.

What however gave him trouble was being so suddenly reminded of its existence. So far, he hadn’t really thought about Lucina in a particularly gendered way. And whenever she had changed before, it had been a simple matter of her finding a place where he couldn’t see. So really, if he had had any say in the matter, he should have been given a warning about an hour or two in advance. But he hadn’t, and now he was freezing until Lucina would be finished. 

Whenever that was.

At least the cold wasn’t that bad.

Just as he was about to resign himself to an uncertain amount of time that would be spent freezing, he heard the door open up again behind him. Confused, Shulk turned around, and saw an arm holding out his other clothes.

“We don’t you freezing your ass off out here, do we?” Lucina’s voice came from inside.

Shulk chuckled, and took his clothes, saying, “Thank you!”

At least the cold wouldn’t be as bad as he had thought.

Bemusedly, Lucina kept looking at the door for a moment longer. She would not have expected Shulk to be this flustered at the mere suggestion that she would be changing her clothes. Though all things considered, he had definitely already seemed the type for that sort of reaction.

But, be that as it may… she needed to actually get started on changing. Now that they were within Ferox, it really was for the better if she were to assume her “Marth” persona again. While her stay in Ylisstol, and the journey north had been better done without it, if she wanted to become Basilio’s champion for the upcoming tournament, then she needed to approach the Feroxi capital already in disguise.

(In truth, it would have been best if she had crossed the border in disguise to begin with, just so that there were actual eyewitnesses of “Marth” entering the country. But as she still didn’t have any trust in Shulk at that point, she had decided to forego the disguise. It would have meant too many questions from his side.)

With another encounter with her father fast approaching however, donning the mask once more was completely unavoidable. She had introduced herself to him as Marth, and that was how she would continue to present herself. At least until she had absolute certainty that being Lucina in front of anyone that had played a role in her own personal past would have no negative effects on her very existence.

And in the meantime… it wasn’t like she disliked her “Marth” disguise.

Without any clear thought in her head, Lucina observed herself in the mirror. (For whatever reason, this particular house had a full-length one. Perhaps the inhabitants had thought that any bandit that might happen upon it would consider it too unwieldy to steal.) She was wearing nothing but her boots and trousers. In her hand, she held the bandages that she was going to bind around her chest to make her disguise more believable.

There wasn’t much to obscure. Nature had seen to it that when it came to conspicuous bumps on the chest that the vast majority of men didn’t have, Lucina didn’t have much. Not exactly nothing , but still just enough to make the disguise just that bit harder to pull off if she didn’t use the bandages. When it came to hips meanwhile, nature had been similarly sparing with her, just had it had been with other features that most people deemed feminine. Lucina didn’t exactly mind it, though.

It probably should have bothered her how simple it was to shed being perceived as female with just some bandages. She knew for a fact that some of her friends, like Severa, Cynthia, or Nah would have preferred it if they themselves were more like Noire in that regard. Noire, who would have needed a lot more than just some bandages across the chest, which probably would have needed to be bound uncomfortably tight, anyway.

But as for herself, Lucina wasn’t bothered by it. There was just… something about the idea of how easy it was for her to be perceived as a man. A vague feeling she could not place, and one that was definitely not bad.

With the bandages secure around her chest, she began braiding the longer strands of her hair. Once done with that, she put on the rest of her outfit, making sure that the braids were tucked inside, giving her the appearance of having short hair. It probably would have been easier for her to just cut it, and keep it short. Yet for all the supposedly “masculine” aspects of her that she did like, her hair was something that she preferred keeping long, for several reasons. Dealing with it for her disguise was a hassle and wound up taking some time, but she had experience with it, and was done before long.

And then, the person staring back at her from the mirror wasn't Lucina, but Marth.

In spite of herself, Lucina could not help but to pause and stare at herself for a moment. She had seen herself in disguise before. Though moments of respite had been few before her journey through time, there had still been some opportunities to practice. She still vividly remembered how speechless the sight of herself in the mirror had left her. It had been like she really had become a whole new person: the swordsman calling himself "Marth". Inigo and Severa had both called her handsome; the former half-jokingly, and the latter in such earnesty that it had gotten Lucina outright flustered.

Both of these were still a far cry from the reaction that Tiki had had, however: the Voice of Naga had fallen silent and gone misty-eyed, before saying with the slightest hint of a tremble in her voice that it was as if the hero-king himself stood before her once more. Though Lucina was not quite certain just how reliable Tiki's literally millennia-old memories were in this regard, she still had no doubts as to the effect that her appearance had. And in that regard, she was happy with the results, as she had chosen the name and look of the hero-king for the simple reason of inspiring confidence in herself and the others.

(That said, she still wondered about Tiki. Along with Lucina's friends, the remaining Shepherds, the Voice of Naga had been one of the few survivors of her timeline, and had also travelled to this time. For Lucina and the others, this had meant ending up at a point in time where they had not even been born yet. But for Tiki, whose lifespan measured on a scale incomprehensible to humans, it meant that another version of her, a version near identical to her already existed. Regardless of wherever and whenever exactly she had ended up, it must have been a bizarre thing to wrap her head around. And more than anything, Lucina wondered where Tiki had gone in this time. Had she sought out her present-day self, or gone somewhere else entirely? They had never talked about her plans.)

  After rummaging through her backpack for a bit, Lucina at last found what she was looking for: the final part of her "Marth" outfit, the mask. Strictly speaking it wasn't necessary, per se: since she hadn't even been born yet in this timeline, there was no one (safe for her friends) who could actually recognize her. With regards to being able to pass as a man, her sibling had in the past already teased her often enough that she had a butch face, which admittedly hadn't been entirely baseless. And as for the Brand of the Exalt, the one physical attribute of hers that could give people pause for thought... since that was in her left eye, anyone she found herself face to face with would have to get rather close to be able to spot it, so it was unlikely that many would. She was near certain that Shulk had yet to do so, for example.

But even so, she considered the mask indispensable. It gave her a feeling of protection, made her feel like she was secure from anything that could deter her from her mission. But more than that, it added to her mystique: the idea of a masked swordsman who knows of things to come would likely be quite striking for the Shepherds of her father. And then there was of course the fact that it complemented the overall look of her Marth persona quite nicely: though this particular mask had not been her first choice, she had to admit that the butterfly motif was beautiful. Gerome had picked amazingly well when had helped her choose it. With her disguise thus completed, Lucina took another moment to admire herself in the mirror. Then, she went back to the door to let Shulk know that he could come back in. She was just a bit curious as to what his reaction would be.

Despite the fact that Shulk was wearing every bit of clothing that he currently had, he was still far colder than he cared to be. While all the clothes did help somewhat, he was, at the end of the day, just not used to these kinds of temperatures. And what also wasn't helping was that he just had nothing to do. Oh, sure, some movement definitely kept him at least a bit warmer, that was undeniable. But he wasn't exactly keen on doing the sort of training regiment that someone like colonel Vangarre of the defence force would have suggested in such a situation, especially when they still had yet to set out for the day.

(Shulk didn't actually object to such physical exercises on principle. It had certainly done wonders for Reyn, after all. It was merely his place in them that Shulk took issue with.)

In the meantime, he kept shivering and freezing. He had just about made up his mind to knock on the door to ask Lucina just how much longer she was going to take, when all of sudden, it opened without him needing to do so. Shulk turned around – and immediately had to do a double take.

In the first moment, he definitely thought that the person standing in front of him was a man, a masked stranger. But after staring at the person for just a second longer, his brain actually started to make itself heard, and pointed out to him that this was, in fact, Lucina.

“Something the matter?” she asked, her voice definitely deeper, deep enough to pass for a man’s voice… but still unmistakably hers if you were familiar with it. She was obviously lowering it on purpose, and sounding quite bemused as she did.

“Nothing! You just took me off guard, is all,” Shulk said. “What’s with the disguise?”

Lucina laughed, now with her normal speaking voice again. “That’s going to take a bit more explaining. I’ll tell you once we’re on the road again, okay?”

“Sounds good. Anything to take my mind off having to just walk for hours is fine by me,” Shulk agreed, nodding. Then, he added, “Have to say though, you’re really looking quite dashing like this.”

“Sh- shut up!” Lucina said playfully… while however also sounding just a bit flustered, which Shulk noticed with some bemusement. Though it was not like he was able to tell her facial expression, with the mask covering her face.

Packing up the remainder of their belongings ended up being an affair that took barely any time at all. While Shulk had already gotten started before Lucina had sent him out, there wasn’t much to pack up, anyway. And so, not too long after Lucina had finished putting on her disguise, the two of them had left the abandoned village, and were on the road once more. As they walked, Shulk kept sneaking in glances at Lucina: even if she was still recognizably herself, the overall effect of her appearance really was quite different.

“So,” she spoke up after a while, making Shulk flinch – his immediate reaction was to fear that she was going to address his stares. When she however continued talking, she just said, “I suppose I should explain the deal with this look.”

“Oh! Ah, yeah. That would be appreciated.”

“Right,” Lucina said with a nod, and Shulk decided to just assume that she had not noticed his stares due to her mask. It did seem to limit her field of view by an awful lot, after all. “Well, the best way to put it is… when I’m not wearing the disguise, I’m trying to keep a low profile. Like I told you, my present-day self isn’t even born yet in this timeline, and my parents have yet to even meet each other. But this disguise, this persona is for when I want to be seen and recognized. Where we’re heading I’m about to see my father again, and I do not want to do this as myself.”

Shulk considered this. While Lucina’s explanation last night of her general plans had told him just about everything about the things that she wanted to avert and how they came about, she hadn’t really said much of anything about her concrete plans. Not that he blamed her: everything she had told him had already taken plenty of time, and it wasn’t that important right now.

“Hm… and why exactly do you want to be in disguise when you meet with him? I mean, I can sort of imagine it, but…”

“It’s just too risky. In the grand scheme of things, I haven’t really been in this time for that long, and I still don’t exactly know how time travel and altering the future even works . If I do something too careless, the consequences of it could potentially run the risk of erasing me from existence. And while that’s a risk that I am prepared to take, I don’t want to take it unless I can be certain that this world won’t fall to the same calamity that the one in my time has.”

Shulk considered this. Though the idea was fascinating, he had never really given the concept of time travel much thought – after having had to come to terms with so many losses over the course of his life already, the idea of undoing terrible fates that had already occurred just never really felt like anything worth thinking about. Why pick at wounds that were mostly healed already? That was just a way of hurting yourself needlessly.

For a moment, he walked alongside Lucina down the road wordlessly. Around him, the landscape was still a world of white, empty and peaceful. Then, after sorting his thoughts for a bit, he said, “But… don’t my visions prove that changing the future at all is possible? That should already count for something.”

“I suppose,” Lucina conceded, though she didn’t sound very convinced. “I don’t know, though… correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t your visions so far been only of things in the immediate future? Changing that is fine and all, but what about things on a larger scale? What I want to change is over twenty years of history. Based on everything you’ve told me, that’s far more than what you ever saw.”

Shulk thought about it, and slowly nodded. “…Yeah. I guess that’s a good point. There is still way too much that I don’t understand about these visions. Like I said though, I was hoping that it would count for something.”

“And I appreciate the notion, don’t get me wrong!” Lucina said firmly. “It’s just that I really can’t allow myself to trust something that I’m not absolutely certain of. Which… I guess you probably already noticed by now.”

“…Yeah. Yeah, I guess I have.”

The two of them walked in silence again. The more he thought about it, the more Shulk felt that what Lucina had said certainly tracked with the impressions he had had of her beforehand. Of her being like one of the veterans of the war against the Mechon, still haunted by the fights that they had left behind. Kind in their day-to-day dealings, but still alert. Haunted, even in times of peace.

Though judging by the fact that these Risen creatures had appeared in this time as well, and considering that this world was yet to face the calamity that had ruined her time, it wasn’t really like she had left her war behind. If anything, she put it ahead of herself.

More than ever before, he could not help but to admire her kindness. Even if her taking him along had initially been out of distrust, the conversation they had last night showed that he had not been mistaken in identifying that trait in her.

For a while longer, they continued walking without either of them saying a word. Then, all of a sudden, Shulk thought of something that had been wondering for days now.

“Say, Lucina. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… why are we heading north, anyway? The way I understood what you told me, the main thing you want to prevent right now is the queen getting assassinated. But doesn’t she stay in Ylisstol all the time? Why did we leave?”

“Exalt,” Lucina corrected him. “And, well… this current trip isn’t necessary, strictly speaking. What is currently going to happen is that my father and the rest of the Shepherds are heading north as well, to meet with the khans of Regna Ferox. Tensions with Plegia to the east of Ylisse are rising, and aunt Emmeryn wants to secure allies. But before Ferox can lend them any aid, they are going to need to do something else for them in return.”

“And what is that?”

“My father and the Shepherds will need to fight in a tournament. Or, well, they call it a tournament, but really, it’s more of a big exhibition match. Regna Ferox is governed by two khans, one in the east, and one in the west. Only one of them has actual decision-making power at any given time, though. And every few years, they come together to hold this tournament, to decide which one of them will be the one to be the actual ruler.”

“Huh? You don’t mean these khans fight each other?” Shulk asked… feeling a lot like Reyn as he did. It just seemed to him like the sort of question that his friend would ask about some of the workings back at home.

Lucina meanwhile chuckled. “No, no, of course not. If they did things that way, it would only lead to dead khans and infighting, if not outright civil wars. No, what they do instead is that both khans get a champion each, preferably someone not even from Ferox. They can be either individual fighters, or even small groups, as long as they have a clear leader. And these champions then fight on their behalf.”

“Oh, I understand! So your father and these Shepherds, they are going to become the champions for one of the khans then, is that it?”

“Exactly. The one they’re going to be fighting for is Flavia, East-Khan of Regna Ferox, all to help her win the position of ruling khan.”

Shulk thought about all the information that he had now. And no matter how he thought about it, a certain part of it just didn’t add up. “But… wait. If there are two khans, why doesn’t… or didn’t, or won’t your father just go to the one that’s currently in the ruling position? Wouldn’t that make this far easier?”

However, Lucina just shook her head. “That wouldn’t work. Even if he technically governs all of Regna Ferox right now, the West-Khan Basilio is still not particularly close with Ylisse at present, since they are far from where he resides, and he therefore doesn’t have much contact with them. He’s not opposed to Ylisse in the slightest, but my father would still need to gain his trust before he could secure any aid. And the one thing that speaks louder than anything else here in Ferox is battle prowess. One way or another, father would have to fight, and doing it for the khan that is already closer to Ylisse to begin with means better chances of this alliance being off to a good start.”

“…Ah,” Shulk said. The whole concept of such a warrior culture somewhat reminded him of what he had heard of Tirkins… but as quickly as that thought had come to him, he tried to un-think it. Even if Tirkin were, based on everything that he heard experts on them say, far smarter than most Homs gave them credit for, it still didn’t quite sit right with him to compare people with monsters. Because based on everything that he had already heard and seen of these Feroxi people, they were … well, people. But then he thought about how Tirkin experts often said that Homs shouldn’t think of Tirkins as just monsters, and try to be more open to the idea of communicating and negotiating with them, and-

And that was about the time that Shulk decided to just drop this line of thinking entirely, because he was certain that no matter how he thought about it, there was something morally wrong about it. And really, the bottom line also simply was that the culture of these Feroxi people seemed a bit difficult to grasp for him as an outsider – but to be entirely fair, it wasn’t like the Ylisseans were that much easier for him to understand, anyway.

There was another thing that gave him pause for thought, though.

“So… are we going to be watching that tournament fight, or what? But if we’re just going there to watch it, why are you in that disguise again? Do you want to meet with your father on that occasion?”

“Ah. Well. About that…” Lucina said slowly, and in the awkward kind of tone that made it sound like she had been caught at something. “This is going to be a more selfish trip for me. You see, I’ve only briefly been face-to-face with father in this timeline. And I really want to see just how good he is right now!”

Shulk blinked. He thought back to when the two of them had crossed the border, and how the guards had stopped them… and what Lucina had said when the leader of the guard had asked her why exactly they wanted to enter the country.

“You… you want to fight your father in that tournament,” he stated more than he asked. Lucina meanwhile made a point of not looking him in the face, which was confirmation enough to leave Shulk in disbelief. For how cautious she had acted up to this point, that seemed like an extremely dangerous thing to do – not necessarily from the perspective of it putting her in any direct danger, but in the sense that it might jeopardize the safety of the timeline.

“Isn’t that an unnecessarily big risk?” Shulk continued. He wanted to believe that Lucina had thought about this entire plan in-depth, but no matter how he thought about it, it just really didn’t seem like a good decision.

“Do you think I don’t know that?!” Lucina snapped back, though sounding more flustered than agitated. “But I’m fairly certain that I can allow myself to take this risk. If I shy away from all decisions that could alter the future, then I might as well not be here at all!”

Shulk raised his hands defensively. “No, no, don’t get me wrong! I’m not trying to criticize you. If you think this is something you can do, then I’m not going to argue against it. I was just surprised, is all.”

As he watched her, Lucina visibly relaxed, and her shoulders sagged a little. “My father was the one who taught me how to fight,” she said in a small voice. “I just want to see how I stack up against him. Even if I’m somehow better than him, I can always just lose the fight on purpose, and make it look natural.”

Instead of answering right away, Shulk hesitated for a moment. This sounded like something that was very personal and important to her. From everything that she had mentioned about her father last night, she seemed to admire him a great deal. To him, the whole thought seemed… well, not necessarily out there, but not like something that he could really understand. With how young he had been when his own father had passed away, and with Reyn and Fiora not being much older when their own parents died, he just didn’t really have a proper frame of reference for how other people felt towards their fathers. The only thing that came close to him was Dickson, but roughly ever since Shulk had become a teen, he just really wasn’t around enough. Still, he figured that it was best not to question or argue about it too much.

But there was still one thing he wondered about.

“Hm… okay, but if you’re fighting. What am I supposed to do, then? Should I join in, and be part of your team?”

“…That’s a good question, actually,” Lucina said after pausing for a moment. “If you do that and use the Monado, it would really just draw attention to you… but I think that won’t really matter that much. So, unless you have something against it, then sure.”

“I mean, if it’s not a fight to the death, then sure. That’s probably better than just standing around doing nothing. Though I don’t think that I can really make it believable when I throw a particular fight.”

Lucina gave him a side-glance as she smirked. “Don’t be so sure that you’ll win! The Shepherds are by no means a pushover. Do you have much experience fighting against other people?”

“Not really, no. Back at home, it’s just really not common for Homs to fight one another. Between the Mechon and all the monsters that live outside of the colonies, we just have other things to worry about, you know?”

“What, you mean to tell me that there is no violent conflict between people back at your home?” Lucina asked, sceptically.

Shulk briefly thought about this. “I mean… it does happen, but it’s really nowhere near as common. Though I’ll admit, I spend most of my time either in the lab researching the Monado, digging through Mechon remnants at the Wreckage Site, or in my room. So I tend to not really notice that much of what’s going on at the colony.”

“Yes, that does sound more likely. But, really now! You can swing that sword of yours pretty well though, for someone who doesn’t get out much. And I suppose you know a bit about healing, too,” Lucina said and laughed out loud.

Noticing the increasingly light tone of their conversation, Shulk let out an overdramatic sigh. “I had no choice in the matter. Researching the Monado meant that I had to join the Defence Force, and even if I only wanted to be part of the research division, they wouldn’t let me in without having some basic combat capabilities. If could have bypassed that, I would have!” He paused for a moment, and then continued, “But I think even if that hadn’t been a requirement, I would have needed to toughen up and get these skills, anyway… Dickson would have insisted on those, I’m sure. And Reyn would have probably backed him up.” He paused again, thought about it some more, and then finally added, “Though then again, so would have Fiora. And Dunban. There really was no getting around this…”

The longer he had talked, the more he played up the despair in his tone. By the time that he was done, it was clear that it had all paid off: Lucina was grinning widely and chuckling.

“They are right, you know! Toughening up is not just a benefit to your chance of survival on the battlefield, but also good for everyday life.

“Oh by the stars, not another one…!” Shulk groaned. Lucina’s chuckle became an outright laugh. He, too, could not help but to smile. After how cold and distant she had been since meeting him, it really was a relief to see that she could now actually begin to trust him. And it also surprised him just how open she was, now that she could.

Once her laughter began to die down, she eyed Shulk curiously. “By the way, what you just mentioned… stars? Do people in your world not have any gods that you believe in?”

“Most people believe in the Bionis,” Shulk said, now laughing himself. “Hard to believe in anything else if you’re living on an actual titan, you know.”

There was a pause, in which Lucina looked from side to side, as if she were turning the answer around in her head. “…Ah. Yes, I suppose that makes sense.”

Shulk grinned.

“But, if you say “most people”… do you not include yourself in that?”

“Hmm… now you’re asking questions,” Shulk said, crossing his arms and looking up at the sky. Back at home, beyond the sky was just the upper body of the Bionis. But here, in this world, it was every bit as boundless as it must have looked from the head of the Bionis. Looking at something so endless, on some level, it really was easy to believe that there was more to this world. Or his own, for that matter.

“Personally? I just believe in the things that I can see. My home, my friends, the Monado itself. With those, I can be certain that they exist. And sure, I know for a fact that both the Bionis and the Mechonis exist, but I find it somewhat hard to believe that this mythological ancient battle between the two actually took place.” He paused, and then added, “What about you? I’ve seen some things in this world that allude to religion, but not enough to really get a good idea of it.”

Now it was Lucina who looked skyward contemplatively. The late morning sun was shining down her from behind, making her dark blue hair appear almost light, her entire figure a spot of gentle darkness in a world of white. It really had been no exaggeration when he had called her “handsome” earlier.

“Well, I could explain it to you in detail, but that’s of course going to be a lengthy one.”

Shulk shrugged. “We have the time for it, don’t we? We still have some way to go before the capital, if I remember the map correctly.”

“Also true. Alright then… I suppose it’s best to start with something more basic. I personally believe in Naga, the goddess that the people of Ylisse worship. Because I have every reason to do so: I talked to her myself, and she’s the reason I was able to travel through time in the first place.”

The two of them continued their conversation, as they journeyed eastwards. Before long, Lucina had already been able to tell Shulk the basics of Ylisse’s religion, as well as the myths and history that came with it. By the end of it all, Shulk even knew the story of the man whose name Lucina had picked for her own, Marth. The man who, at an age younger than even Lucina’s own, had been forced to flee the country he was a prince of, retrieved the sacred blade Falchion, and used it to defeat the Shadow Dragon Medeus, and the dark sorcerer Gharnef.

Since their journey eastwards was, by and large, rather uneventful, Lucina had the time to tell Shulk about other noteworthy figures from the history of this world, such as Sigurd and his son Seliph, who supposedly lived far before Marth, even. She also told him about a more direct relative of Marth, the legendary hero Anri, who first defeated Medeus. And then there was the story of the first exalt, and the one who started the current iteration of her family, a man named Leopold who was the first to rise up against Grima about a thousand years ago.

(That last name in particular was a bit difficult for Shulk to take seriously. Not because it by itself was a silly name, but rather because he already knew a Leopold in Colony 9. He somewhat doubted that the first exalt was anything like the impoverished critic that he knew.)

Talking about this and that, the two of them gradually got closer to the capital of Regna Ferox, Khadelis. But even though they managed to cover quite a bit of distance without much difficulty – Shulk still wondered about his own stamina when it came to that – it still ended up taking several days.

After the first night however, they at least were no longer forced to rest in the wilderness, or in abandoned villages. While they consistently remained relatively close to the border, getting closer to the capital meant that the villages they passed were more secure, allowing the villagers there to stay without any fear of brigands or bandits. More still, they started to pass by actual people again, fellow travellers that made the journey at least somewhat less lonely.

(Since she was still wearing her “Marth” disguise, Lucina earned more than a few looks from the people that they came across. Despite that though, no one really approached them about it, instead keeping a respectful distance. Since she was rather tall, she made for an imposing figure that no one really dared to approach.)

But even though the journey was far more enjoyable now that Lucina had actually begun to open up to him, Shulk was still more than glad to realize that they finally reached the capital, Khadelis. And much like Ylisstol beforehand, it just came into view on the horizon one day, much to his surprise.

It really would take some time before he got used to major landmarks not just rising up in the distance.

Entering Khadelis was, much to Lucina’s relief, no issue whatsoever. While Regna Ferox had, much like Ylisse, also had some tensions at the borders recently, it still was plain to see that the northern kingdom was not the primary focus of those in power in Plegia. The Plegian’s quarrel was first and foremost still with Ylisse, so that any action taken against Ferox was just done to sow distrust – unsuccessfully, as Lucina knew from the history of her timeline.

With regards to the present day, she and Shulk simply wound up being two other faces in the crowd that entered the city that day, and only got some brief glances from the city watch. Or, well, in her case, it was just a bit longer than a brief glance. But with her wearing the full “Marth” disguise complete with mask, that was to be expected.

“So, are we already going to search for an inn to stay the night?” Shulk asked, after they had left the gates of Khadelis behind them, and were walking through the streets.

By and large, Lucina was a bit surprised at just how… not different everything was. Sure, the building style of the houses around them was noticeably different from what she was used to with Ylisstol and other towns all over Ylisse. But it was still nothing fundamentally different. At best, the houses were just a bit more colourful, likely to add a bit more colour in these lands that were largely just white. For Lucina, it all really was just fundamentally new: in her own past, times of peace and safe travel had been few and far between, meaning that there were never really any opportunities for her to see much of Regna Ferox, let alone Khadelis. And by the time that she would have been old enough to make the decision to travel herself, the opportunity to do so was lost entirely because it was too unsafe.

“If everything goes how I envision it, that will not be necessary,” Lucina finally answered. “If I’m going to get chosen as khan Basilio’s champion, we will just receive accommodations. And then that won’t be an issue.”

“Hm. Okay. So, where are we going to find this khan, then? In the castle, I assume?” Shulk said, looking over to the direction where the castle was looming over the city. In spite of herself, Lucina paused for a moment, and observed him while he wasn’t looking. Now that he was wearing clothes that actually fit in with this world, he really seemed just like any other person that you could find on the streets of either kingdom. A simple man, and one you wouldn’t have immediately considered to be a fighter. Even here, in Ferox, he didn’t come off as someone who didn’t fit in, especially since he was carrying his own sword concealed. While Ferox wasn’t exactly the kind of place to ban the open carrying of weapons, his Monado still would have drawn in unnecessary attention through its design alone. And that had been something that he had come up with on his own, with no input from Lucina. Her silent comparison of him to Laurent really was not unwarranted in the slightest.

But of course, these thoughts she kept to herself.

“No, the khans really aren’t those sorts of rulers that lord over people from their castles. I have never actually met Basilio for myself, but based on everything I’ve heard about him, he will more likely than not be out on a hunting trip, or something of the sort. Or, considering what is set to take place soon…”

She looked a bit to the left from the direction where the castle was. In this direction, there was another building that loomed over Khadelis; probably even more so than the castle, considering that it was far closer to the rest of the city than the castle was. A massive, round structure surrounded on each side by a rather wide street that was filled with stalls and vendors.

“What is this place? I’ve never seen anything like it!” Shulk asked as they got closer, his tone alone making it rather obvious that his curiosity had been thoroughly piqued. And even if it hadn’t, the wide-eyed look on his face as he stared up at it would have conveyed just as well.

“Arena Ferox,” Lucina plainly stated. But she, too, was impressed, having never actually seen it for herself. “This is where the khans hold their tournament to decide who reigns.”

Shulk averted his gaze, and gave Lucina a sceptical look. “Is it really just used for that? That seems a bit wasteful, for something that they only hold every couple of years.”

“Of course it’s not used for just that,” Lucina laughed. “It is used for all sorts of fighting showcases, not just for those that are matters of the state. Like I said, the people of Regna Ferox highly value prowess in battle, so it shouldn’t be too big a surprise that it is also a major source of entertainment.”

Shulk paused for a moment to think about this. “The position of champion must be highly coveted, then.”

“It probably is. But considering how good the khan’s current champion is, there just aren’t any who could even hope to best him.”

“But you can?”

Lucina allowed herself a smirk. “Of course! I have plenty of experience with his fighting style.”

“If you say so…”

And that was it for that conversation. Lucina and Shulk made their way over the arena’s entrance…

Where there was already a bit of a commotion going on. A small crowd of people were gathered, chatting excitedly with each other. Though they were not barring the entrance for them, the sight still took Lucina off-guard.

Which only got worse when she caught some of the snippets of what the people were saying. Though she couldn’t catch any one complete sentence, she heard words like “Lon’qu”, “stranger” and “defeated”.

Eyes widening behind her mask, Lucina hurried her steps. Shulk trailed just a bit behind her. The people of the crowd paid no heed to either him or her.

The entrance hall of the arena was, just like the immediate outside, crowded with people. Unlike the outside however, here there were more than just a few that were visibly fighters themselves. And without fail, they all seemed distressed. For a brief moment, Lucina looked around helplessly… then she spotted them.

“L- Marth, what’s going on here?” Shulk hissed behind her, but she didn’t stop for him.

“I’m trying to find that out myself. This isn’t supposed to happen…” she said, just loudly enough so that her voice wouldn’t be drowned out by the general rumbling around them. Just like when entering the arena, no one really took notice of them, and she was able to make her way to where she intended to go.

The other end of the entrance hall, where uncle Lon’qu was, sitting down on a crate while a healer tended to him. Even from a distance, it was easy to tell that he was in a rough, but not life-threatening condition. He was talking agitatedly with a man that, judging by the distance that everyone else kept from him and Lon’qu, only be Basilio.

“…back in there as soon as we’re done here!” Lon’qu spat, as Lucina got into hearing distance.

“You listen here boy, there’s no way I’m letting you!” the older black man shot back. “That woman wiped the floor with you before you could do a single swing with that sword! If you have another go at her, she’ll kill you!”

“Better than having to live with such a shameful defeat!” Lon’qu snarled.

“Hell no! There’s a lesson you need to learn, boy. You need to know when to hold ‘em, and when to fold ‘em. And this right here? This is foldin’ time. And don’t you-”

At that point, he interrupted himself, and looked up. Undeterred by the distance that other people had kept from him, Lucina had just walked right up to Basilio, Shulk still trailing behind her awkwardly.

“Hm? You want something?” Basilio asked. He didn’t look angry at the intrusion, but didn’t seem to be enthralled by it, either. Lon’qu, on the other hand, just glared at Lucina.

“I have come here to challenge the West-Khan’s champion for his position. Is this a bad time?” Lucina asked calmly.

“What’s going on today? Another one already?” Basilio scoffed, while Lon’qu’s glare intensified. “Well, I just got a new one. But you’re welcome to challenge that one, if you’re just itching for a fight.”

“The great Lon’qu was beaten? I am impressed. Who was capable of such a feat?” Lucina questioned. She was still speaking calmly, but inwardly, her mind was racing. This was not how it was meant to go. Nothing of this was how it was meant to go, not according to her written timeline. Uncle Lon’qu had been the champion that father had fought, and bested after an intense battle. Taking the spot had been her idea – so who had beaten her to it ?

Basilio shrugged. “Beats me. This mountain of a woman just showed up earlier with her lackeys to challenge him. Knocked him out before he even knew what hit him, or I for that matter. And he had some of my best fighters with him, too! She didn’t even tell me anything about her, even after she won.”

“So… does this woman have a name, at least?” Lucina asked slowly.

“Oh, yeah. Calls herself “Mechonis”.”

Chapter Text

“M-Mechonis?!” Shulk blurted out before he could stop himself. Around him, all the noises of the hall kept flooding in, but he took no note of them. A sinking feeling spread in his stomach, and though he could not see her face behind the mask, he could tell that Lucina was similarly shocked. Of all the names that he would have expected to hear in this world and be brought up by a stranger, this was by far one of the last ones.

“Mh? You two seem to be familiar with her. Do you know her?” The khan grunted. He seemed to be mildly interested at best, which Shulk assumed was at least a good thing for Lucina’s goals. He himself didn’t really put much mind to it though, as his mind was racing.

“I- I’ve heard the name, but I can’t say I know the person,” he quickly managed to say. It wasn’t wrong in the slightest: he was very familiar with the name Mechonis. Any Homs was, had no other choice but to be. Almost everywhere you went on the Bionis, you could see it looming in the distance, a literal world apart. Or its sword high above, emblematic of both the ancient battle and the conflict that the Homs faced now. No matter where you went, it was always a presence, a constant reminder of the threat of the Mechon, and the red lights from its head piercing even in the night. To any Homs, it was a symbol of creeping dread.

So what kind of person would you need to be in order to pick its name as a pseudonym for yourself?

“That so? Well, it’s still more than what can be said for anyone here,” the khan said, by now, his attention was entirely diverted from the black-haired man, whose own impressive glare was now focussed on Shulk instead of Lucina. Meanwhile, the healer continued his work on him.

“Is that truly everything you know, khan Basilio? How did she even appear here?” Lucina asked, her tone still well-composed.

“I just told you that it’s all we know. Why should I hold anything back?” The khan – Basilio responded, and sighed. “She was just here this morning, and demanded to fight my champion here. Not even sure if anyone actually saw her and her lackeys come here to the arena. Not that it matters. The result of it all you can see right here. She-”

“Got lucky by catching me off-guard!” the black-haired man, the champion snapped back. Despite his current anger, Shulk could tell that he had a sort of… detached refinement about him, which vaguely reminded him of Dunban, if only a younger Dunban. And while Shulk was still thinking about this, the healer seemed to be done with his job, backing away. The champion, without waiting even a second, rose immediately.

“Calm down already, will you?!” Basilio said, whirling back around to his champion, and forcing him to sit back down on the crate with a shove. “With how badly you got your ass beat, you’re not heading back out there anytime soon. Besides, the rest of the fighters that were with you will be out for a good while longer.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?! Just live with that shameful defeat?!” the champion yelled.

Basilio however just crossed his arms, unimpressed. “It already happened, so you will need to live with it either way. You can go challenge her to a rematch if you’re so desperate, but I’m not letting any of my fighters join you for that fool’s errand. This Mechonis is gonna be my champion, and I trust that you accept that.”

He let go of the former champion, who remained seated this time. He didn’t look at anything in particular, and just stared into the distance. Shulk and Lucina, in the meantime, had seemingly been forgotten.

“I see,” Lucina said, and Shulk could tell that the cogs in her head were turning – or had already finished doing so. “So, if someone wishes to become your champion now, khan Basilio, then they will need to defeat this Mechonis?”

Basilio turned around again, and raised his eyebrows. “Sure. You’re welcome to try. Don’t know what gives you the confidence that you can beat her when Lon’qu couldn’t, but I’m not gonna stop you.”

“Oh, so he gets to fight her, but I don’t?” Lon’qu grumbled. This time, Basilio didn’t even turn around to him, as he just sighed.

“Just give it a rest already, will you?” he said. In response, Lon’qu grumbled some more, but said nothing out loud. “Right. Well then masked stranger, it’s like I said. You can fight Mechonis if you want. But just keep in mind that you’re either fighting her and her lackeys, or you’re not fighting her at all. She insisted on that.”

“That will not be an issue. I don’t intend to fight on my own, anyway,” Lucina said, and Shulk was glad that they had already agreed that he would be fighting alongside her, because otherwise, it would have been an unwelcome surprise. Either way, for the time being he figured that it was best to follow his old strategy of just letting her do all the talking.

“Your partner, eh?” Basilio asked, looking right at Shulk in the type of gaze that made him feel like he was trying to evaluate his entire worth as a fighter just by looking at him. Whatever it was that he concluded however, Shulk could not tell. “Well, that’s a start. But between Mechonis and her lackeys, there’s four of them. If it’s just the two of you, I’m not gonna let you go in. There’s got to be at least one more, or else there’ll not be much of a fight, no matter how good you are.”

Lucina nodded. “A fair decision. That should not be much of an issue. There must be someone around here who could be convinced to fight.”

Basilio however just laughed. “Good luck with that! After her showing against Lon’qu, the only ones who’d want to have a go must be suicidal at least. Honestly, I already pity whoever Flavia’s gonna get for the tournament.”

Lucina said nothing to that. Shulk however, looked back and forth between her, the khan, and the former champion. He felt like there was an obvious solution to this all, which no one was suggesting.

“Can’t he join us? I mean, he wants to fight again, anyway. So… it should work, shouldn’t it?”

Lucina whirled around to him, and gave him a look. Shulk wasn’t sure what kind of look it was, or what it was meant to convey, as with her mask on, the only indicator of her emotional state were her mouth and body language, and both didn’t exactly offer enough for him to really conclude much of anything. And so, he couldn’t really react in any way at all.

In the meantime, Basilio let out a brief laugh. “Guess you really aren’t as familiar with Lon’qu as your partner is, huh? You can forget about it. This the sort of fight where-”

“I’m gonna join,” Lon’qu bluntly said. His expression hadn’t really changed in any way, but from the way that not just Lucina and Basilio, but also everyone within hearing range turned towards him, Shulk assumed that this was noteworthy.

After the initial shock however, Basilio let out yet another laugh. “Damn… that loss really must’ve done a number on you! Sure, if you’re that desperate to have another go, then join these two. Maybe you got lucky, and they actually stand a chance, too.”

“I don’t need them,” Lon’qu scoffed. “But if a fight is not happening unless I have someone by my side, then I will do what I must.”

There was a brief pause in which everyone just continued to stare at the former champion. As before, Shulk had the feeling that if he knew anything about this man, then he would probably have thoughts about the significance of this moment, know what it meant for him to say these things in this moment…

But he didn’t know a thing. And he could tell that right now really was anything but the right moment to ask about this. So he could only wait and see what happened next.

What did happen next was that after a moment, Basilio shook his head. “That stubbornness of yours is really gonna end up hurting you one day. Let’s hope that that day is not today. Get the arena ready for the next match!” he spoke, shouting the last part to the people around him. As men and women alike scurried off to do whatever tasks were necessary, Basilio turned around to Shulk and Lucina once more.

“Reminds me though, what are your names, anyway? If you’re gonna give the people a show, then they better know your names.”

“My name is Shulk,” Shulk introduced himself. In truth he thought it would have been better to have Lucina go first, but she had seemingly hesitated, so he decided to get that out of the way. “And this is-”

“You may call me Marth,” she cut him off, speaking in a tone that guaranteed no further elaborations.

“Like the hero-king of legend,” Basilio noted more than he asked. “You either got delusions of grandeur unfit for a sellsword, or you got people around you really impressed. Well, whatever it is, that’s gotta make for a good show. Better than your partner, at least.”

Shulk frowned. Even if that wasn’t untrue, it still felt unnecessary. Basilio meanwhile continued, “Let’s get someone to show you to the fighters’ chambers. You’ll probably want to prepare for this.”

As they were being led to the fighters’ chambers, there wasn’t really much of any opportunity to talk about things. The things that Lucina and Shulk would have discussed would have been the sort of things meant for the ears of none but each other, meaning that it was better to put that off for the time being. Yet Lucina knew that they would get their opportunity soon enough, before it was even time for the match. She simply knew her uncle too well for that.

And sure enough, the moment the three of them were alone in the chambers (which was a bit of an inaccurate name for them. With “chambers”, Lucina would have expected a proper resting place, complete with a bed and everything. What they got was little more than a waiting room, with some seating), Lon’qu focussed the half glare that was his standard expression on the two of them.

“Let me make this perfectly clear: I am just fighting alongside you because otherwise, I won’t get to fight at all. Don’t count on me to do any sort of teamwork. Just don’t get in my way, and this will hopefully work out.”

Having said that, he didn’t add a “Got that?”. He just turned around, and went to the far corner of the room, where he crossed his arms and leaned against a wall.

Which just so happened to be out of hearing distance.

Seeing this, Lucina let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was good to know that at least uncle Lon’qu was how she expected him to be. Based on everything that aunt Lissa had always told her about his younger years (much to his chagrin, as she had rarely cared if he was actually there to listen to her stories), he was even more of an aloof loner than he had been in the years that Lucina had gotten to know him personally. Which, in a way, was quite impressive, as even the uncle Lon’qu of her timeline had a tendency to come off as really very cold and distant. Even if aunt Lissa had often been around to break him out of that shell.

But, as relieving as it was to meet another family member, there were other matters to attend to.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” Shulk whispered, as he and Lucina went over to another corner of the room, just to make extra sure that Lon’qu didn’t hear a word.

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Mechonis – isn’t that the name of the other titan from your world?! How can there be someone with that name here?” Lucina said, trying her hardest to keep her voice down. But even as she spoke the answer already became partly apparent to her: it was just like A had said: she would run into other… how had they put it? Elements? She would run into other elements that were not from this world.

And now, she could only hope that whatever A had done to Falchion would actually help her.

“ I have no clue ,” Shulk said audibly exasperated. “In my world… I don’t think anyone would have ever used that name for themself. The Mechonis is a symbol of what drove the Homs nearly to extinction. You would need to be seriously tone deaf to think that that name is a good idea, or really have something against Homs.”

“I gathered as much. But still, that doesn’t answer the question of why someone using that name is here now .”

Shulk paused, and let out a deep breath. Lucina didn’t even need to wait for his next words to know that he was coming to the same conclusion that she had.

“Then it really must be like this A person told you: I am not the only one from my world here.” He paused, as he suddenly seemed to have had another thought occur to him. “But, given that name… perhaps they are also responsible for the Mechon appearing here?”

Behind her mask, Lucina’s eyes widened. “If that is the case… then we better hope that they do not follow the same kind of goal as the creatures from your world do. This world needs nary a horror more than the fell dragon and its hordes already are.”

Rather than answering right away though, Shulk’s gaze went unfocussed, as he looked down. Something else was occupying his mind, and as before, Lucina had no idea what it might be.

“With how the Mechon attacked you, it does seem like they follow the same goals. But… I don’t know. If this Mechonis person really is the one behind their appearance, I don’t think that it is that simple. Back at home, the Mechon ate people for a source of ether energy. If there is a person behind them though, then they must have a deeper reason than just fuelling themselves. Maybe we can find it out somehow.”

Lucina did not respond right away. Instead, she just eyed Shulk uncertainly, her eyes slightly narrowed. This suggestion… she didn’t know what to think of it. Based on everything that he had told her about the Mechon thus far, they really had come across as something quite akin to the Risen: an inhuman, merciless force, and one that would stop at nothing to eradicate every single human (or Homs, in their case) they could find. More than that, in some ways the Mechon had seemed worse than the Risen, even. While the Risen as reanimated corpses brought with them the very real potential of having to turn your blade on someone who was, not too long ago, a friend and close ally, there was at least a… factor of certainty about them. Though they were a perversion of human life, there was not much of a mystery to them. They were reanimated by their masks and the dark power of Grima, and served a master whose goal was, while apocalyptic, not a mystery.

Not so the Mechon. One thing that Shulk had been able to tell Lucina quite clearly was that there were many things about the Mechon that his people simply did not know. They did not know how they were created, where they came from (other than their titan, of course), or even what their end goal was. While they were relentless in their pursuit of Homs and Nopon, Shulk had said that it was not unheard of that they just ignored wildlife – and whether that was because they wanted to eradicate the major sentient species first, or just had altogether no interest in killing anything not Homs or Nopon, he did not know.

Just like he didn’t know if there even was a mind behind the machines, a person controlling them all for their own ineffable goals…

But as far as Lucina was concerned, even if there was a mind behind the monstrosities, she personally did not care what their goal might be. The Fell Dragon Grima had proven time and time again to be a being that could not be reasoned or argued with, and its actions, as well as those of its forces spoke for itself. So why should any mind behind the Mechon be different, when their goal seemed to be so similar? Yes… in a way, her getting attacked by the Mechon really had been remarkably similar to fighting a group of Risen.

Yet these were thoughts that she didn’t necessarily want to share. Not that when there were more important matters to deal with for the time being.

“If this Mechonis person is willing to talk at all after the battle, then feel free to confront her,” she said, “But before that, we have fights that we need to take care of.”

Shulk smiled weakly. “You make it sound like that is no problem at all.”

Lucina smiled as well – though in her case, it was not so much weakly, as it was a smile without any joy behind it. “I have been in far too many hopeless battles already for the prospect of a strong foe to make me quiver. And it is not like this is a fight to the death, anyway. The death of a participant in these arena matches is not permitted within the rules. Besides, we have both Lon’qu and your visions to help us out. Even if we are three against four, that should give us plenty to work with.”

“Well, let’s just hope that my visions are actually as big of a help as that. I still don’t remember much about them, and haven’t had many to know how they really work, either…” Shulk mumbled in response. Then, speaking more loudly, he added, “But how come you’re so confident in this Lon’qu? Do you know him in any way?”

Carefully, Lucina cast a glance over her shoulder before answering. If Lon’qu had heard his name being spoken, then he wasn’t showing any signs of it. Even now, he was leaning against a wall at the opposite end of the room, eyes closed, and aloof as could be. He was definitely far enough away for him to not clearly hear anything that they were talking about, but who knew what of their voices was carried over to him.

As such, when she did finally answer, she lowered her voice just a bit more, to make extra sure. “Of course I know him. He was, or will be the second man to teach me how to fight. And he’s also my uncle.”

It was a credit to Shulk that his reaction to hearing this was limited to only a widening of his eyes, and a subtle glance into the direction of Basilio’s champion… or, well, former champion. As before, Lon’qu seemed oblivious to the fact that he was being talked about.

“ He’s your- don’t you think you should have mentioned that earlier!?” Shulk whispered fervently.

“Why? It’s not like it changes anything for us, does it?”

“Well… yeah, for me I suppose it doesn’t,” Shulk said, scratching his head. “But I just… I don’t know. I would have thought that if you were to meet a family member, you would have a stronger reaction.”

Lucina subtly shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I would like nothing more than to spend time with him, and properly reveal myself. But I can’t allow myself to indulge in any such thing. My mission is far more important than any of my personal hang-ups or wants and desires.”

Shulk sighed. “I can’t say I quite understand that. But if you think that’s how it needs to be done, then I won’t try to talk you out of it.”

“Good. Because you wouldn’t be able to change my mind, anyway,” Lucina scoffed lightly. It was perhaps a bit more of an unkind response than would have been necessary or even appropriate, but she still meant every word she said. Even if she did get along with Shulk now, this was at the end of the day still her mission, and she would use her judgment alone to determine how she went about it.

“Er… okay,” Shulk said. “But can you at least give me a heads-up when we end up running into somebody who’s personally important to you next time? This Lon’qu being your uncle really took me off guard.”

For a moment, Lucina thought about this – not because she meant to turn Shulk’s request down, but because she was trying to think of who there might even be. But really, she didn’t need to think for long. Since they were in Regna Ferox, and she was hopefully going to become Basilio’s champion… it was near guaranteed that they would come across her .

“Well… we will see my mo-”

“Hey! Are you two quite done yet?” Lon’qu suddenly shouted from the other end of the room. Feeling like she got caught doing something she wasn’t meant to, Lucina whirled around, and she could see Shulk flinch, too.

“Everything has been set up, and my opponent is ready,” Lon’qu meanwhile continued. And sure enough: standing next to him was a young man in simple clothes, likely having been sent here by Basilio to summon them. “I personally wouldn’t care if you stayed behind, but khan Basilio will not let me fight alone. So don’t keep me waiting.”

Whoever it was that Lucina thought she might run into here, Shulk did not find out here and now. Under the expectant glare of Lon’qu, they really could not carry on a conversation, and so they simply left their bags and most of their other belongings behind to join him and the… person.

(Truth to be told, Shulk had no idea whatsoever what to even call the man who had come to inform that everything was ready for their fight. The only terms that came to mind for him were either servant or guard, and neither really seemed to fit the person and the way he carried himself. And of course, Shulk could have asked about it… but not in front of Lon’qu and the person in question. The overall appearance of him and Lucina was already drawing in enough attention as was, so there really was no need to make it worse by him making it clear that even now there were many things he did not know about this world.)

In a rather tense silence, they were led through further dark, torch-lit corridors. As they walked, no one really spoke, which made for a slightly tense atmosphere, which for Shulk at least was not helped by the distant noise. It sounded like hundreds of voices talking, as if somewhere within these walls was a huge crowd… and they were getting closer to it.

At last, their way led to what looked to be a sudden opening; a rectangle of light at the end of the corridor. As they got closer, Shulk was able to tell that it led to wide open space – where the voices were coming from. Brief glances to Lucina and Lon’qu told him that this was likely all to be expected, and so he did his best to compose himself.

And then they left the corridor.

Their guide remained at the entrance, while Shulk, Lucina and Lon’qu stepped out into the open. They now found themselves within a massive hall, and at the edge of a wide circle. At all its edges, there were high walls, too high for a person to easily climb up. Above them, there were rows and rows upon seats, many of which were filled with people, buzzing with murmurs. As the three of them entered, the voices grew louder, them clearly having been spotted.

But it was only them so far.

“Tch…!” Lon’qu spat. “Can’t even show up on time? Damn that woman…”

Lucina said nothing to that, and Shulk had nothing to add, either. He was still far too occupied taking in the sight of this massive room.

He had heard of spaces like this before: Dickson had told him about it. Big arenas in far-off corners of the Bionis, where crowds of people (which were more likely than not not even Homs) gathered to watch warriors battle monsters in a fight to the death. But even as well-travelled and informed as he was, Dickson had never been able to tell him whether this was something that was still happening to this day, or whether the arenas and their fighters were already long forgotten in the lands that they called home. Whenever he was told stories about them, Shulk had had a hard time picturing these arenas, since they were nothing like anything he had ever seen around Colony 9. Now however, he had a pretty good idea of what they must have been like.

The ceiling was high, high above them. A large window – or was there even a window? It might as well have been an actual opening – let in daylight, which however lost itself so much on the way down that the various torches strewn around were an absolute necessity to keep the battlefield bright. This place easily could have fit one of the massive Gogols that he had heard about, or even an Arachnid Queen or Deinos.

Shulk shuddered. He could only hope that whatever sort of opponent this Mechonis wound up being, she would be nowhere near as bad as those. From what they had told Shulk, Reyn and Fiora about the campaign against the Mechon last year, even Dunban, Dickson and Mumkhar had steered clear from these types of monsters on their way to Sword Valley.

Just then, the voices of the crowd watching them grew louder, interrupting Shulk’s thoughts. Hastily, he looked over to Lon’qu and Lucina – only to see that both of them were looking at the opposite end of the battlefield. Understanding immediately, he followed their gaze.

Then he saw them.

Even at a distance, it was impossible to deny that the person entering the battlefield was the spitting image of the Mechonis. A version of the Mechonis that had been scaled down to a roughly Homs size, but a version of the Mechonis nonetheless. From head to toe, the person was covered in what looked to be a dark armour that was somewhere between black and brown in colour, it alone making them imposing even if it were not for their height. They were roughly Homs size, to be sure, but only roughly. Even from far away, Shulk could tell that they towered over him and Lucina, and likely would have done with Reyn as we.

And then there was their weapon.

It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough as it was, it really appeared as more of a heap of iron. And yet, Shulk could not help but to consider it a sword, as it was in a shape that had loomed over him for most his life: it was just like the Mechonis’ sword in its form.

And the person was carrying it around with one hand.

“Mechonis…” Shulk mumbled breathlessly. Beside him, he could tell that Lucina was shooting him a glance, but he wasn’t paying attention to her. Right now, at this moment, there was nothing that any words between them would have cleared up about this situation. But still, more words came over Shulk’s lips, without him knowing why he had chosen them: “Our enemy…”

The armoured person meanwhile continued casually walking into the arena with seemingly no care in the world. If they had noticed the stares they were getting from Shulk, Lucina and Lon’qu, or the cheers and boos from the crowd, then they were not showing it. Though then again, wearing full armour did wonders for making the emotions of its wearer hard to read.

With some mental effort, Shulk averted his gaze from Mechonis – it was easier to think of the person with this name, even if there was no way that they could be the titan for countless reasons – and instead looked at the people following her. These were three fighters, all of which were covered from head to toe in armour, just like her.

The first one, trailing not very far behind Mechonis, was wearing an armour that was a peculiar shade of green in colour, and carrying a bow slung around his shoulder. Even at a distance, Shulk could tell that his armour was… different. Different from not just that of Mechonis, but also from all other fighters that he had already seen in this world. While some of its features reminded him of Mechonis, its overall look was far sleeker, as if the metal was fitted far more tightly to the body. And then there was the helmet… it seemed more like a mask than anything else. A white mask with red, round, staring eyes, and gritted teeth in a pale gold colour.

The second fighter was wearing an armour quite similar to the first one, though there were a number of differences. On the one hand, there was the colour, as this one was kept in a brown tone with a slight tint of red, giving it the appearance of being made of bronze. Additionally, whereas the first fighter had been more sleek, this one was shorter and stouter, giving them an almost round look. Their choice of weapon, a massive hammer, only added to that overall impression. As did the helmet, which also featured a white mask with staring red “eyes”, and parts that looked like massive black teeth, almost bared like fangs.

Which only left the last fighter. This fighter’s overall body shape was closer to the green-armoured one, though he was even taller. This one’s armour, just like the other two, was also in a completely distinct colour, being completely black, which only further highlighted the few white and golden spots on it. More than that, their weapon, a set of claws, appeared to be a direct part of the armour, rather than something they were carrying separately. The mask on this also was distinct, with four red eyes in two pairs, and a “mouth” that looked like it was sewn shut, but still open somehow.

Then, suddenly, as if they noticed or somehow felt Shulk staring at him, the fighter turned their head to face him…

And then he remembered.

As fast as they could, they were running through the Residential District. With Shulk able to use the Monado, there was hope again, but there was still no reason to rest easy. Though most people were already evacuated, and Reyn and Dunban were with him, Fiora was on her own. They needed to find her… find her before she couldn’t avoid the Mechon any longer and-

Out of nowhere, a massive Mechon dropped out of the sky. Long, gangly limbs extended from a thin body, and claws, longer than a person was tall, were almost gently waved above them. A face was staring down on them from up above, in a silent scream.

“It’s massive!” Reyn exclaimed.

“That Mechon… it has a face?!” Dunban asked, incredulously.

“That don’t mean nothin’!” Reyn said, defiantly.

Staring up equally defiant at the Mechon, Shulk steadied himself and activated the Monado. Reyn and Dunban also drew their weapons. “That’s right! Not when we have the Monado!”

But though they were fired up and willing to fight, try as they might, they could not harm the Mechon with a face. The Monado just bounced harmlessly off its metal body, and Reyn and Dunban’s weapons, though empowered by the Monado, were as useless as the sword itself. Through sheer coordination and teamwork, the three of them managed to briefly topple and overwhelm the Faced Mechon, but that was only a short-lived experience, and it regained its balance within seconds.

“The Monado! It’s not working!” Shulk shouted exasperatedly, as the futility of their battle was starting to settle in. Up above, the Faced Mechon shook its head, its mask-like face almost appearing to grin while it shook its head and wagged one of its claws

“Oi! What d’ya mean?!”Reyn shouted back, not taking his eyes off their opponent for even a moment. Dunban, likewise, only could voice his confusion: “How can that be? The Monado should cut through Mechon with ease!”

Up above, the Faced Mechon was slowly swaying back and forth. It really was fundamentally different from all other Mechon that Shulk had ever seen: other Mechon would have chased them down relentlessly, attacked without pause until either their targets were dead, or they were destroyed. This one however… it was almost as if it was savouring the moment. Acting in the knowledge that no matter what they did, it could not harm it.

Frantically, yet also with an odd sense of calm, Shulk let his eyes wander across the body of the Faced Mechon. All over its limbs and torso, there were… lines. Lines of red light, scrolling endlessly into a given direction. Something about them reminded him almost of blood, coursing through the veins of a body of flesh and blood.

“What is that light? Other Mechon don’t have that,” he mumbled, absent-mindedly. “Could… could that light be why the Monado has no effect?”

He did not notice the claws coming down on him until Dunban pulled him back, pushing him and Reyn to the ground. Shulk didn’t even register what Dunban shouted as he did.

What he did however register was what Reyn yelled next.

“No! You can’t take any more!”

Before Shulk could get up himself, the two of them were already up once more, and charging towards the Faced Mechon – but to avail. Before they could even attempt to strike it, it swiped at them with its claws, knocking them down without even slashing them.

For just a brief moment, Shulk was distracted, looking after Reyn and Dunban. And this moment was all that the Mechon needed. In another swift swipe, it knocked him away, metal claws hitting against his body with the force of a charging Armu. With something between a cough and gasp, Shulk was sent flying, his impact on the ground an explosion of pain. Yet there was more to it: it was also a feeling as if he was touching a power outlet, touching it without being able to let go.

And at the same time, the Faced Mechon was not idle. There was a brisk stomping of metallic feet, getting steadily closer. With some considerable effort, Shulk lifted his head, seeing the Mechon brandish its claws, ready for the finishing blow…

When the back of its head exploded, knocking it over.

“Everyone, get away, right now!” Fiora’s voice suddenly came, shouting from far away. Behind the Faced Mechon, off in the distance, Shulk could now see Fiora near the other entrance to the Residential District – Fiora, who was driving the mobile artillery, charging at the Faced one, ploughing through lesser Mechon like they meant nothing.

The Faced Mechon meanwhile got up again, ready to meet this new challenger…

And Shulk saw the future.

There was something undeniably admirable and awe-inspiring about Fiora’s attack. Though she had never been an actual part of the Colony 9 Defence Force, she was piloting the mobile artillery like it was second nature, pulling off all kinds of reckless manoeuvres that would have made Colonel Vangarre either very angry, or very proud. Better than any of the soldiers that Shulk had ever seen use the thing, she unloaded everything it had on the Faced Mechon, up to blasting its face point-blank.

All to no avail.

No matter what sort of punishment the Faced Mechon took, it shrugged it all off. And with mobile artillery within its range, it was easy for the Mechon to grab it, and knock it into a nearby house. Just barely, Shulk could see Fiora’s body in the cockpit go limp.

Then the Faced Mechon raised its claws, and-

Though he hadn’t had his visions for long yet, Shulk had already come to understand one thing about them: they were warnings. If he didn’t act based on what they showed him, this future would come to pass, and tragedy would strike. But the future could be changed.

If only he could do something about it.

If only…

He yelled. He shouted until his throat hurt, and then kept shouting. A plea to Fiora, a plea to whatever it was that made him see these visions, a plea to anyone who would listen, and could do something about it.

Don’t let this happen.

Don’t let this be the future.

But no one except for him knew about it. No one except for him could have done something about it.

And there was nothing that he could have done.

Then the Faced Mechon raised its claws, and it stabbed.

They slid like a hot knife through butter.

Fiora screamed.

Through a red haze, Shulk forced himself to his feet. Every muscle in his body was crying out in pain, telling him to stop. But no matter how they cried, they could not make themselves be heard, as they were drowned out by the blood rushing through his ears, the unbridled rage yelling out inside of him, yelling as if there were two voices.

Metal Face tossed the mobile artillery aside. Casually, as if it had merely rid itself off a nuisance. The other Mechon immediately swarmed the mobile artillery, while Metal Face turned towards Shulk again, holding its bloodied claws for him to see.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

-Shulk shouted. He had already drawn and activated the Monado. Whatever Lucina and Lon’qu were doing he did not know, nor did he care. His only goal as he was charging forward was the underling of Mechonis.

The fighter that looked like Metal Face.

Chapter Text

“What’s with this guy? Is he out of his mind?!” Lon’qu snarled. But even though his words were angered, Lucina knew him well enough to hear the nearly obscured tone of concern and shock in his voice. As for herself, she cursed under her breath.

She had been quietly observing Mechonis and her fellow fighters, trying to assess their capabilities and how to best handle them. The woman herself – going solely by how Basilio and Lon’qu had referred to her, as by itself, the massive, bulky armour that she was wearing made it hard to believe that the person wearing it was even human – was her biggest concern in this: with the sheer size of both her and the sword she was wielding, there had to be powers at play that surpassed those of regular humans, which made her difficult to judge.

The others meanwhile were easier to at least get a basic idea of. Though their armours were still outlandish, at least their statures and weapons were of a kind that she was more familiar with, even if she had never seen a person fight with claws. Revenants and Entombed, sure, but not humans. But even on a cursory glance, she was certain that none within this group were Risen. How could they be, if they seemingly came from Shulk’s world?

Ruminating over these observations, Lucina was in the process of trying to figure out a rough battle plan…

When Shulk had screamed.

The sheer ferocity and absolutely primal rage within his voice had not only immediately silenced all the audience, but also shaken Lucina to her core. This was partially due to the shock of witnessing Shulk express such an extreme fury – and partly surprise because she recognized the emotion all too well . This was the rage of somebody who had lost something important and irreplaceable, something you would never want to even imagine losing.

Something, or someone.

“Come on. Even if this is reckless, we can’t let him fight alone. He needs help,” Lucina said, her voice calm and controlled though inside, she was in turmoil. In a swift motion, she drew Falchion, and chased after Shulk, who was already nearly upon Mechonis and her subordinates.

“Right. Gotta make sure that he doesn’t actually kill anybody. I don’t think he can, but I don’t want to be disqualified just because he lost it,” Lon’qu grunted. Though she did not share his reasoning, her goal was the same: this part of the timeline needed to be maintained.

Shulk’s vision, no, his mind was a red haze. He did not know what was going on, or how it was possible. But he knew that, beyond even the shadow of a doubt, the man with the black armour in Mechonis’ following was Metal Face.

Metal Face, who, as he had just remembered, killed Fiora.

Had he any presence of mind in this moment, he would have wondered. Wondered once again about how any of this was possible. Wondered about how he could be so certain that a seeming Homs man was Metal Face, when Metal Face was a towering Mechon. Wondered about how the two-voiced desire for vengeance from his memories was now only one…

But one was still plenty. And in this moment, there was nothing more that he wanted than to cut down Metal Face where he stood. Make him pay for what he’d done.

Yet as he got closer to the man in the black armour, he… did not react at all. He had not reacted to Shulk’s outburst, not to him charging at him, and now, still nothing. From the looks, he hadn’t even moved a bit!

And then Shulk’s eyes were filled with blue, and he saw the future.

Just barely, he managed to stop in his tracks, and raise up the Monado. And not a moment too soon! Had he ran just a bit farther, the sword of Mechonis would have struck him down. Even now, he had to divert its swing so that it didn’t hit him.

With a loud clanging sound that kept ringing in his ears, Mechonis’ sword struck the ground, shattering it like it was nothing. In the brief pause that followed, the helmeted head turned towards him.

“Bold words, Klaus !” a woman’s voice spat at him, her tone dripping with venom, a bitter malice that made it a deep growl. “The desire is mutual. I have waited a long time for an opportunity like this to come… multiple ages of this world. I never thought it would come. But now that it’s here… I will end you, even if you hide yourself behind the processor’s power!”

“I- what are you saying? Who are you?” Shulk said breathlessly, half staggering backwards. As swiftly as it had come, his rage towards Metal Face subsided, and in its place, there was only a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“So now you feign ignorance?” Mechonis snarled, raising up her sword again, and pointing it towards him. “The millennia really must have changed you, if you are so cowardly now. But you will pay for what you’ve done regardless!”

Saying that, she swung her sword towards him again – fast, far too fast. Without the need for a vision, Shulk ducked, moving out of the way-

But then there was Metal Face, charging at him-

And the man with the green armour taking aim.

Time seemed to slow, as Shulk was starting to realize just what kind of situation he had gotten himself into…

She was too slow. Far, far too slow. Even though the armour and sword with its sheer size should have weighed down Mechonis to a point where even a fully covered knight would have been able to outspeed her, she moved with a swiftness that Lucina would not have deemed humanly possible.

But then again, was Mechonis really human? She had no way of knowing.

All she knew was that she was still way too far away from Shulk when Mechonis moved in to strike, had her attack blocked, and then got ready for her next attack.

An attack which she wasn’t carrying out alone…

“Keh! Down a fighter already? The two of you really are just hindering me,” Lon’qu snarled beside her, but Lucina did not acknowledge it in any way. She needed to make it there. She needed to save Shulk!

Because there was no telling what Mechonis would do to him.

While still trying her hardest to remain outwardly as emotionless as possible, Lucina pushed her body to run faster and faster. Her legs were protesting, burning, ablaze with sudden exhaustion that they were not prepared for. But she kept pushing herself regardless.

Even so, however, the distance shrank painfully slowly. And as Mechonis and the black-armoured man moved in, Lucina realized that she would be too late.

And then, Falchion sprang to life.

For just a moment, Lucina allowed herself a glance downward. The sword had been enveloped in light, as it had been able to do since A tampered with it. Yet while the blade was in the same bright blue as it had been before, the colour of the light and symbol within its hole was a different one – a tone of orange, as bright as the blue was.

Without even needing to pause, Lucina kept running. She knew what to do. She didn’t know how or why the knowledge had come to her, but it was there. And at this moment, she would not question it.

Though there was still a considerable distance between her and Shulk, she swung Falchion vaguely in his direction – and a bubble-like shield formed around him, the same colour as the light in the hole of Falchion. Sword and claws came down on him…

And bounced uselessly off the shield.

But though it dissipated after being hit, it had served its purpose. Both Mechonis and her fighters were momentarily taken aback, and that was all the time that Lucina needed to cross the last bit of distance between them.

“You lot are just full of surprises, hm?” Lon’qu growled next to her, though he did not wait for an answer. Instead, he simply rushed past Shulk and Mechonis, and attacked the man in the bronze armour.

Lucina, for her part, paid him no heed, and instead rushed to Shulk’s side. Even still, Mechonis and the man in the black armour remained motionless, though she could feel that the former was watching her intently. Shulk meanwhile managed to properly get back to his feet, gripping the Monado somewhat shakily as he did.

“Sorry…” he said, sounding disheartened. “I… I’ll explain later.”

“I hope you do. That was quite the outburst.” Lucina responded, not letting Mechonis out of her eyes. “But right now, we have something else to take care of.”

Mechonis meanwhile took a step back, and slowly began to walk in a circle around them, seemingly either hanging after her own thoughts, or trying to see what to make of Lucina and Shulk. The man in the black armour meanwhile stood further back, where he remained near motionless. Behind them, Lon’qu was still locked in battle with the two remaining fighters, each side holding their own surprisingly well against the other.

“The time traveller…” Mechonis then spoke quietly, just loud enough so that the noise from the crowd and the battle didn’t drown her out. The explicit mention of her status as an outsider to this time should have sent shivers down Lucina’s spine, making her fear that she was found out, could no longer alter the course of time. But instead, she just felt tense, and hardly surprised. Whoever or whatever Mechonis was, she was also an outsider to this world, and one whose very presence already had to be an alteration. All that mattered right now was that for the time being, she was an enemy.

“One of this world, even one from its future, should not have such power. You have been drawn into something that you are not supposed to play a part in,” Mechonis continued. Her tone of voice sounded not necessarily hostile, but still cold and calculating. Yet at the same time, it sounded to her like there was at least a hint of sympathy in there. “Stand aside! I have no quarrel with you. And you have no idea what the one you are trying to protect has done. The desolation and destruction of the time from which you hail is nothing compared to the complete annihilation that he brought upon the world from which we both hail.”

Saying this, she stopped dead in her tracks, and pointed her enormous sword at them, her arm not even quivering from its weight. From the corner of her vision, Lucina could also see that the man with the black armour was no longer standing still…

She would have liked nothing more than to turn around towards Shulk. See what his reaction was to all of this, ask him if he knew anything about what Mechonis had just said. But right here, right now, she could not allow herself even a single moment of inattentiveness. No matter what claims she was presented with.

“Whatever he may have done in the past is nothing that matters to me right now,” Lucina responded. “I have my goals, and the one who is currently standing between me and them is you , not him.”

Mechonis lowered her sword. If her facial expression changed at all, then Lucina could not tell. The mask, helmet, or whatever it could be called obscured anything human that there might have been.

“Well. If nothing else, then you are committed to your goal. Unfortunately…so am I.”

The last part was neither shouted, nor did it receive any emphasis beyond the brief pause. Yet even as she listened, Lucina picked up on the intent – and as such, when Mechonis dashed forward in a wide swipe, she was prepared.

Mechonis moved fast – far, far faster than a woman her height and with such an armour should be able to. As swiftly as she could, Lucina let herself drop to the ground, and could feel Shulk doing the same behind her. The sword ended up swishing through thin air above them.

Undeterred, Mechonis changed the direction of her blade, raising it up once more. But Lucina did not stay idle in the meantime. The moment her body had hit the ground, she had rolled to the side, and practically jumped to her feet again, and gripped Falchion tightly. If this was just a downward slash or forward that was to come, then she could just divert its movement. Perhaps she could even cut through Mechonis’ sword with Falchion’s new blade of light… it certainly had shown the capacity for such cuts before.

Then Shulk bumped into her from behind.

Instinctively, Lucina turned her head. For a split second, she saw Shulk, Monado raised to defend against attacks from man in the black armour, who had gone on the offence while she hadn’t looked. Then she whirled around again – but the split second in which she had been taken off-guard was all that Mechonis had needed. Rather than striking with her sword again, she had closed the distance on foot, and struck Lucina with her free hand balled to a fist.

It was a feeling like somebody had launched a boulder against her.

Lucina’s abdomen exploded with pain, and she was sent flying, getting knocked back by several meters before she hit the ground. But she had experience with pain. Without granting her body a single moment of rest, she practically jumped to her feet again – only to see that Mechonis was already upon Shulk…

The moment that Mechonis had moved in to swing at Shulk and Lucina, the man who looked like Metal Face charged at them as well. With the burning rage that had driven him to attack now subsided, and the words of Mechonis having shaken him to the core, Shulk could do little more than to defend – and that rather poorly, it appeared. Without much of a problem, Metal Face drove him further and further back…

Until he bumped into Lucina.

In a second of shock, Shulk’s head whirled around, and he briefly locked gazes with her. She was the first to look back – the approaching Mechonis behind her made it clear enough why. Knowing it was the best thing to do, Shulk also turned back around, just in time to raise up the Monado to block another strike from Metal Face.

As Shulk took a retaliatory swing at the armoured man, he was dimly aware that Lucina no longer stood against his back. At the same time, Metal Face took a half step back, more than what was necessary to evade Shulk’s attack. For a brief moment, he wondered why…

When suddenly, a grip of steel closed around the top of his head. Instinctively, Shulk swung the Monado behind him, but his arm couldn’t reach. Then, he was lifted up. With seemingly no effort on the side of Mechonis – because really, who else could it be? – his feet left the ground, and he was slowly turned around, and made to face her. The sheer pressure of her armoured hand on his head made him feel like he was about to pop like a Bitter Melon at any moment, forcing a pained scream from his throat.

“You disappoint me, Klaus,” Mechonis growled as Shulk was slowly brought closer to her helmeted head. He wanted to shout, yell that he had no idea who this “Klaus” was, and that he had no idea who she was, either, but all that came out of his throat were half-choked, pained gasps.

“All these countless years I spent seething in growing resentment for you, all these years thinking that I’d never get to pay you back. And now, for all your talk of killing me, you can’t even back it up? What have the millennia done to you?!”

In spite of his situation, Shulk was confused for a moment. He hadn’t said anything about wanting to kill Mechonis, so why did she think he had?

Then he realized. He had yelled at the top of his lungs that he wanted to kill Metal Face… and she had heard it loud and clear.

“I didn’t… mean…” Shulk managed to spat out – but not more than that. Mechonis, for her part, seemed to pause. She brought him closer to her helmet, so that his face was practically touching against it. Then she brought her sword hand towards it…

And opened it.

Though the grip on his head was still fierce and painful, Shulk was nonetheless somewhat surprised to see the face of a conventionally attractive woman on the other side, though it was distorted into a visage of anger with a hateful glare. After his initial reaction, Shulk was able to take in more of her features – and what he noticed was that her skin was extremely pale, to the point that it seemed grey, or even white. Then there were her eyes… they were blue. For some reason he couldn’t quite place, he would have expected them to be yellow.

“You… you’re not actually…” Mechonis said, her voice trailing off though her expression remained the same.

“What the hell are you two doing?!” Lon’qu shouted. Against her better judgment, Lucina tore her gaze away from Mechonis and Shulk to look at him.

Both the man in the bronze armour as well as the one in the green armour were still there, fighting against him. Or rather, the former stayed within close range, preventing Lon’qu from reaching the latter. Neither side seemed to have sustained any real injuries thus far, which surprised Lucina little when it came to Lon’qu. With regards to the others however, it was another matter: even as she watched them, the man in the bronze armour was clearly nowhere near as agile and nimble as Lon’qu was, and the long-ranged support from the man in the green armour firing arrows could only do so much.

Yet in this moment, she immediately received the answer to the question she didn’t ask. Lon’qu had found an opening in the defence of the man with the bronze armour, swinging his swords through it…

Only for the blade to uselessly bounce off the armour.

“Gah! What is it with this accursed armour?!” he snarled.

Instinctively, Lucina looked down on Falchion. The blade of light, the result of A’s tampering, was still active, humming gently over the general noise of the arena.

The way that Lon’qu’s sword was completely useless against the armour inevitably brought her mind back to her encounter with the Mechon. Since this Mechonis had named herself after the titan from Shulk’s world, the one that was the origin of the Mechon… perhaps the armour of these men was similar?

And something else she remembered was the Monado’s ability to enchant other weapons to be able to damage Mechon…

Hastily, Lucina looked back to Mechonis, Shulk, and the man with the black armour. She was still holding Shulk up by the head, and looking at him closely. At present, Mechonis didn’t seem to want to attack him. But who knew how much longer that would last? And what she did know was that just charging at Mechonis again would be hopeless.

But what if it wasn’t just her?

For just a second longer, Lucina observed Mechonis. Then, she ran towards Lon’qu, raised Falchion, and swung it. At once, something akin to a purple cloud shot forth from Falchion, flying towards Lon’qu, and enveloping his sword. If her future uncle noticed it all, then he wasn’t showing it – he was too caught up in the heat of battle. Even as Lucina got closer, Lon’qu still didn’t seem to notice her.

But his opponent did. For just a moment, the man in the bronze armour looked towards her, and that was all that Lon’qu needed to find another opening. As before, he made another slash…

And this time, it cut cleanly through the armour, making the man stop dead in his tracks and dropping his hammer. Undeterred, Lucina changed course, and charged right at the man in the green armour.

With an unnatural calmness, the man began to fire arrows at her. Before, he had only sparingly done so, seemingly wanting to avoid hitting his partner. Now however, the speed at which he fired was astounding – but Lucina had more than enough experience in avoiding archers. Within seconds, she had crossed the distance, and was in front of the man.

By the time that she was upon him, the man seemed to have realized that there was no more point in fighting back. As calmly as he had fired before, he now put away the bow. While Lucina couldn’t see his face, there was something expectant about the way he stood in front of her.

She didn’t hesitate, anyway. She had been in far too many battles to even consider doing so.

The man in the green armour took a wide, but not deep slash to the chest. Then, he fell to his knees.

“Damn you, what did you do?!” Lon’qu yelled behind her.

Lucina turned around. He was looking right at his sword… which was still covered in whatever energy Falchion had produced.

“Is this truly the moment to question things? Our main enemy still stands. Just consider it a bit of aid, and let’s move on.”

Lon’qu glared at her, but didn’t say anything. Not that Lucina gave him the chance to do so: she was already charging at Mechonis again, who was still holding Shulk.

“You are not actually him,” Mechonis said, still fiercely staring at Shulk. There still was an audible anger in her voice, though whether it was directed at him, he could not tell. If anything however, he thought that she came off as… annoyed. Without averting her gaze, she tilted her head ever so slightly.

“Hm… even so, there are traces of his essence within you. And you do look a lot like him. You… were his vessel, is that it? For many years… to the point that it altered your body from what it would have been otherwise. Poor wretch. It is surprising though that a vessel thus discarded would still be alive…”

Shulk felt that at some point or another, he should say something. Mechonis’ grip had softened to the point that he no longer felt like his head was going to pop at any moment – it still was painful to be held up by it, and he couldn’t do much about it, but it was at least an improvement. But even so… what should he say? He had absolutely no idea what this woman was talking about. And given the intensity of her glare, he didn’t exactly want to test the limits of what he could get away with right now.

Then a sudden jolt came over her body, her eyes widened, and she dropped him.

Without the slightest warning, Shulk was let go. And though his fall was less even than half a meter, he did not land on his feet. Just barely, he managed to not drop to the floor entirely, instead only getting to his knees, from which position he quickly got up. - he had had at least enough combat training to have this much awareness.

In front of him, he saw Mechonis whirl around, bringing her sword down in a wide swipe… and he also saw Lucina standing there, Falchion raised and ready to strike.

Which was just his chance, wasn’t it?

While still getting up, he lunged forward with the Monado, thrusting it into Mechonis’ abdomen from behind.

He knew that the Monado couldn’t cut people. Right now however, he did not care: this was a fight, and he had to defeat his enemy. And if his attack could give Lucina an advantage, then that was good enough.

To his own surprise, the Monado’s blade of light cut not only through Mechonis’ armour, but seemingly her flesh as well, judging by the pained noise that she made.

With a metallic clang, she sank to her knees, letting Shulk see that Lucina was pointing Falchion at her throat. From the corner of his eyes, he could also see Lon’qu fight the man that looked like Metal Face. Fight, and from the looks of it, win against.

A feeling of deep unease arose within Shulk as he looked back at the Monado stuck in Mechonis’ side. The wound was rather far to the side, so it was unlikely that he hit any organs. And the blade of light had likely already burned the wound, cauterizing it. But even so, it was a nasty thing to see: in all his years of learning to fight and being forced to actually do it, he had never turned his weapon against a fellow Homs or Nopon. There never had been a need to, not when there were threats like the Mechon and monsters in the wilderness. Fighting against another person, wounding them… he fundamentally did not like it. It just felt wrong .

And to believe that such a thing was commonplace in this world, so commonplace that people made a profession, no, multiple professions out of it…

With no clear thought in his head, he deactivated the Monado, thereby withdrawing it from Mechonis’ wound. Not for the first time, he felt that the sooner he returned home, the better. But he also knew that it wouldn’t be the last time that he would think about it… and that he would not be able to leave Lucina behind in good conscience unless he could be certain that she would be able to accomplish what she set out to do.

“I believe the victor should be obvious,” Lucina said calmly to Mechonis. “Do you stand down?”

Beside them, Lon’qu just cut down Metal Face. From the looks of it, it could not be a deep wound, but more than enough to keep him, too, from fighting.

Yet even so, Mechonis didn’t say anything. For a tense moment, there was utter silence on the battlefield, broken only by the murmurs of the watching crowd, who couldn’t keep quiet even now.

Then, Mechonis rose to her feet again… with her sword across her shoulder.

“Yes. No point in continuing. This fight is over.”

There was a moment of genuine silence before the crowd erupted into cheers. Even if nobody had understood a single word that anyone down on the battlefield had said, the sheathing of weapons spoke volumes. And at the end of the day, the onlookers just wanted a good show more than anything else.

From the entrances, Shulk could see healers rushing onto the battlefield, and towards the fighters. Without sparing him another look, Mechonis headed towards them, as her men did the same.

Briefly, Shulk was overwhelmed by her words, and the battle being over so suddenly. He however quickly regained his composure – and ran after Mechonis.

“Wa- wait! Who are you! And who is this Klaus that you mistook me for? I don’t know anything about having been a vessel!”

Mechonis did not stop dead in her tracks. She just kept walking, and only slightly turned her head towards him.

“Memory loss, then. I don’t have time to tell you anything. Your memories should return before long, anyway.”

Shulk did stop dead in his tracks. He knew that this was all that he was going to get out of her, and after the fight, he wasn’t too eager to pursue her, either. Around him, the armoured men passed him by. The way they moved and otherwise behaved still conveyed no emotion, though Metal Face did seem to stare at him.

Shulk paid him no mind. Instead, his eyes darted back and forth between the other two. And as they did, he remembered… voices. Voices, and nothing else. Not where he heard them, not when he heard them, not who they belonged to – though he had a good enough guess.

“ Looks like my time here is up. It’s your lucky day, little boy! But that luck won’t last forever, ” the one voice had said, sounding energetic, and rather unhinged. “ You did well to evade me. Just what you’d expect from he who wields the Monado, ” the other said, sounding flat and distanced.

And yet again, Shulk had the weirdest feeling of familiarity with them…

That, and the uncanny knowledge that somehow , for some reason, and in some way, these two also were Faced Mechon. He didn’t quite know what was worse: the fact that Metal Face was here to begin, or that there were two others.

But more importantly… why had his rage subsided so much? Metal Face had killed Fiora . In the moment that the memory of that had come back to him, the wrath had burned as brightly as it had in that moment, along with the intense desire to see him killed. Now however? He was calm.

Further memories flooded in, of the days that followed. The hopeless attempts to just carry on a normal life. Pretend like everything was fine. People had been killed by the Mechon before, so they should have long since gotten used to it, right? But the sting of it, the deep pain persisted nonetheless. Dunban had had some encouraging words for him, about how he wouldn’t cry, and how Shulk should cherish the gift of life that she had granted them by her actions… it had sounded a bit weird, thinking about it. But the calmness of Dunban was something that had been convincing enough.

And yet, Shulk and Reyn had headed out to chase after Metal Face to get revenge on him. After that…

Shulk shook his head. He knew that if he further searched his memories now, he would get a decent bit further in what had happened. But, now was not the time for that.

He looked back to Lucina. Already, she was being approached by the khan and his entourage, while she just stood there expectantly. Or, well, not quite. She did look expectant, but she was looking at him. And after everything that happened… he couldn’t blame her.

Hastily, Shulk jogged back over to her and Lon’qu, arriving there still before the khan made it. “Sorry about… that,” he said, speaking just loudly enough so that she would be able to hear it over the general noise of the crowd.

“You can explain later, when we’re by ourselves” she briskly answered, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. “For now, I just hope that you have an explanation ready to tell everyone else.”

Shulk glanced over to the khan, who was now close enough to start talking to them. Based on his facial expression, he had been enjoying himself – but there was also something about him that made Shulk realize that the more out there things that had just happened would not go ignored.

“Well, colour me surprised! After how thoroughly Mechonis defeated Lon’qu, I would’ve thought that no one would be able to beat her. You put on a far better show than I would’ve thought,” Basilio said, grinning wildly. But then, with a far more earnest and piercing look at Shulk, he added, “Though I have to say, if you want to fight in this arena again, you’ll really need to remember the rule that killing is not allowed. That was some scream from you, boy. What’s your history with Mechonis.”

Although he had expected such a question, Shulk was still not happy about actually hearing it spoken. In general, he still just really didn’t like the idea of the attention being on him. Not when he was still a relative newcomer to this world. But at the very least he knew how to best answer this one.

“With her personally? I don’t have any. It seems she mistook me for someone else. As for me, I wasn’t actually talking to her when I shouted… that. The man in the black armour, the one in her following… I recognized him. He killed one of my closest friends.”

Basilio gave him a calculating look. From the corner of his eyes, Shulk could likewise see Lucina react to what he had said: she was already looking at him, but as he spoke, she flinched a little. He hoped that she understood that he was telling the truth right now, even if it obviously wasn’t the full story.

“I hope you understand that we can’t take him, then,” Basilio finally said. “Champions and their fighters are not natives to Regna Ferox. Even if the guy did kill your friend, we can’t apprehend someone for something that happened who knows where outside of our land. Not to mention that I can’t just turn on someone who was my champion, no matter how briefly.”

“No, no, it’s alright!” Shulk hastily said, putting up his hands. “It’s not really that important to me to get revenge. This earlier really was just a spur of the moment reaction.”

Basilio gave him another good, long look. Shulk could almost feel a cold sweat running down his body – even though the khan gave off the impression of a somewhat simple, more down to earth man, he could tell that the cogs in his head were turning, and he was having a lot of thoughts.

It was just a shame that Shulk had absolutely no idea what those were.

“Well, that’s good then. Glad that that’s not an issue,” Basilio eventually said in a rather casual tone, before turning over to Lucina. “As for you! Excellent showing out here. That sword of yours really has some surprises in store, huh? You really do live up to the grand history of that name of yours.”

“I trust then that this showing will be enough for me to be granted the role of your champion, khan Basilio?” Lucina said, maintaining a calm, emotionless tone.

There was a slight twitch in Basilio’s face, just the hint of him being unhappy with her response – but it was just visible long enough for Shulk to notice its presence at all before it was gone already, and Basilio let out a laugh.

“Sure! If you promise to keep up the surprises for the actual tournament match, then I’ll let you gladly have that role. But you’re also definitely going to have to join me for a feast after this! It’s not every day that we get to watch a fight like this.”

“Oh, no hold on!” Lon’qu suddenly shouted, stomping over from the slightly remote location that he had stood at before. “I did just as well as he did in the fight, so why shouldn’t I become champion again?!”

Basilio sighed. “Does it really matter? You already showed that you can fight reasonably well as a team, so can’t you just continue that for the actual tournament?”

“Absolutely not. Either I’m fighting as champion, or I’m not fighting at all – and I don’t see any reason why he should be champion!”

“Fine. How about this, then: Shulk, do you have any interest in becoming champion?”

Not having expected to be addressed so suddenly, Shulk had to take a few seconds before he properly registered Basilio’s words. Once he did however, he hastily shook his head. “No, no! I am just supporting Marth. I don’t want to be champion myself.”

Basilio nodded. “Good. In that case: Marth, fight Lon’qu right now. Winner gets to be champion. Any objections?”

Lon’qu turned the impressive glare that was his default expression towards Lucina. He didn’t even hesitate before drawing his sword. “None.”

“How about you, Marth?”

“If I must, then I will do whatever it takes,” Lucina said, drawing Falchion as well. Then they fought.

A few hours later, Shulk found himself in the middle of a feast. The tables were groaning under the weight of the absurd masses of food that had been prepared, a whole host of people that likely held influential and important positions in Ferox society (or were just strong fighters from the arena, which seemed to be mostly the same thing) had gathered, and it was loud. Very, very loud. All while individual people were consuming more alcohol in a manner of minutes than Shulk had done in his entire life.

And he didn’t quite know how to deal with it all. He was no stranger to being in big celebrations: back when Dunban and Mumkhar had had their match to decide who would be the wielder of the Monado for the campaign against the Mechon that later culminated in the battle of Sword Valley, the whole thing had been turned into one of the biggest events that Colony 9 had ever seen. And that was even before the two had their actual duel, which Dunban had of course won. That was understandable, though: prior to the Monado being retrieved, all Homs had been fighting a grim, losing battle against the Mechon. Two promising candidates duelling to see who should wield a weapon that by itself could turn the tide of battle was a sign of hope, then.

But that celebration had been… less concentrated than this feast now. Back then, everyone was up and about, and while the festivities had initially been confined to just the Military District, they soon spread to all the colony once the duel had concluded.

Right now on the other hand, dozens and dozens and dozens of people were all confined to one room. Oh, it was a big room, to be sure. So big that it was probably better to think of it as a hall rather than just a room… but still just a room. And the quality of the air suffered accordingly.

Still, Shulk did his best to appear at least somewhat festive. As the travelling partner of the new champion, who also drew some unnecessary attention to himself during the big arena match, that was probably for the best.

Shulk glanced over to Lucina sitting next to him. Even now, she was wearing her mask – by now, it was pretty clear that this had become her little gimmick as a fighter, and the Feroxi people seemed to be perfectly willing to accept that. After all, she, or rather “he”, Marth, was their new champion.

The fight really had been quite a sight. While Shulk had not been able to see Lon’qu in action in their fight against Mechonis, he did get his chance to see that the young man definitely lived up to the Dunban-like impression that he had gotten of him. Lon’qu swung his sword around like it was not a hunk of metal in his hand, but rather an extension of his body, agile like wind and just as hard to grasp in one moment, and fierce as a sudden storm gust the next.

More impressive still then was that Lucina matched him just fine.

While Shulk had seen her fight before, all of these instances had been against the Risen. Dangerous opponents, yes, but that moreso due to their mindless urge to kill, and not their actual fighting prowess. Against Lon'qu, however, she matched him blow for blow, almost making a show of evading his strikes, all while landing her own. She didn’t even need to “activate” Falchion. And so, it was only a matter of time before the swordsman was defeated – which, as far as Shulk could tell, he at least took better than his loss against Mechonis.

(Mechonis, for her part, had vanished while all this was going on, along with her men. With regards to this, Shulk should have perhaps been more disappointed, as along with her, his one lead, his one means of finding out more about other people who are not from his people was gone. Not to mention, the answer to all the questions that the man that looked like Metal Face posed, him and the other two. But after everything that had happened in this arena, Shulk was moreso relieved to see her gone. She had made it clear that he would learn nothing from here, anyway. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have enough things on his mind, anyway…)

Just like khan Basilio had promised, a big feast followed. And so, the two of them were essentially dragged along to Khadelis castle, with the promise that they would be able to stay there until the tournament was to take place. But before the wait for that could even start, they had to sit through this feast. At least the food was good. And they would get their opportunity to talk in private sooner or later – there was plenty to talk about.

“Do you have any idea how much longer before we can leave?” Shulk whispered just loud enough for Lucina to hear, leaning in towards her as to not be drowned out by all the noise.

Despite doing so however, Lucina did not respond right away. When she did, she said, “Hm? Sorry. I was distracted.”

Shulk looked into the direction that Lucina was looking. In the centre of the room, there was a decently wide open space, where intentionally, no tables had been placed. While he had initially wondered why that was the case when the feast had started, it had soon become apparent when a number of men and women in… rather airy clothing, who had begun dancing in a manner that made Shulk go red.

“Oh? Did the dancer capture your attention? I didn’t take you to be the person for that sort of thing,” Shulk teased, raising an eyebrow.

Lucina laughed a little. “They did capture my attention, but not for that reason.” She leaned in closer. “You wanted me to tell you or warn you the next time we meet a person that’s somehow important to me, right? Well, see that young woman with pink hair, the one that’s sort of the centre?”

Shulk looked closer. Sure enough, in the middle of the group of dancers, there was a woman that matched Lucina’s description. Though she had her eyes closed, she was moving around with a grace and purpose that felt oddly inspiring, and easily drew in far more attention than everyone around her. Looking back to Lucina, Shulk nodded.

“Right…” she slowly said, before leaning in closer, and whispering, “That woman is going to be my mother.”

Chapter Text

“During the Mechon attack on Colony 9, there was this one Mechon that wasn’t like any of the others. It was one of the biggest ones that I’ve ever seen. And it had a face. A white, sort of mask-like face, which looked just like the helmet of the black-armoured fighter that was with Mechonis. That Mechon… there was just something about the way it behaved. From what the soldiers in the Defence Force said, it specifically targeted our anti-air batteries, and went straight for the colonel to take him out. I really think that there was more to it than just being a mindless machine.”

Shulk paused and took a deep breath. The entire time while he had talked, he hadn’t looked Lucina in the eyes, instead staring at the ground in front of him with a vacant expression.

“When me, Reyn and Dunban tried to get to the Mobile Artillery to reunite with Fiora, it intercepted us. At first I thought that it would go down just like any other Mechon with the Monado. But for whatever reason, it just didn’t work. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t damage it, and it had us nearly knocked out in no time at all.”

Once more, Shulk had to pause here. Though his voice had sounded largely monotone, like he was trying to distance himself from the events that he was describing, Lucina could hear the trembling in his voice that had gradually built up the further he got. When he next continued, there was also an undeniable anger and despair in his tone.

“Just as it moved in to kill us, Fiora showed up. She was piloting the mobile artillery, and blasting Metal Face with everything it got, even a point-blank shot. I… I had a vision during that. A vision that showed how the attack would go and how it… wouldn’t end well. And I couldn’t do a thing about it. No matter how I shouted at Fiora to run, nothing changed. And then Metal Face-”

Shulk abruptly stopped, and shook his head.

“I understand,” Lucina said sympathetically. “What happened after that?”

“Metal Face retreated,” Shulk continued, briefly looking up at Lucina to smile at her weakly. “Me, Reyn and Dunban did wail on him for a good bit, and I think I even managed to deal some damage somehow. But after a moment, Metal Face just flew away, and all the other Mechon retreated as well. In the end, we didn’t have a body to return to the Bionis.”

Silence fell between them. Lucina wasn’t sure whether it was yet another pause on Shulk’s part, or whether he really was done with his description of his newly regained memories. And given the subject matter, she did not want to outright ask if this was all. Shulk seemed to still be far too upset for any interruption like that to be a good idea.

“A few days later, me and Reyn decided to leave the colony. We wanted to chase after Metal Face, track him down and make him pay for what he had done. I have some memories of the first bit of our journey from that point, but nothing too noteworthy. So… when I saw that man in the black armour, and how he looked so much like Metal Face… I think it just brought back all the pain and anger that I felt in that moment. But I have no idea how this man connects to any of that.”

Lucina nodded, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Around them, the room had long since grown dark, being now only by the orange glow of candles and lamps. Shulk was sitting on one of the beds of their room, while she had sat down on one of the chairs. It was still the same day as the one where they had fought in the arena and she had become Basilio’s champion. Elsewhere in Khadelis castle, the big feast was still ongoing, but Lucina and Shulk had been able to withdraw themselves from the festivities and to their chambers, with the excuse of them being exhausted from the fight. And it wasn’t even entirely wrong: it had been a long day for them. But though both she and him were tired, there were still things that they needed to talk about, things that had already waited long enough.

(Though part of her was still a bit hung up on having to leave the feast. Not for the merriment, the booze, or the food, but rather for the chance to see her mother. In Lucina’s own time, while there had been… happy times, happier times while she was growing up, it had been many, many years since she had last seen her mother dance. Though Olivia’s dancing had the tendency to inspire and invigorate people, there soon had come the time when other skills of hers were needed more. Even if not many people around her ever seemed to realize it, Lucina’s mother had been a surprisingly apt swordfighter, to the point that she could hold her own against both Chrom and Lon’qu.

But in the end, even that skill wasn’t enough. The Olivia of Lucina’s time had left her early, far before her time. Far too soon. The Olivia of this time, then… just as it had been strange to see her father, see Chrom again, so it was also strange to see her. Again, Lucina wasn’t even sure whether or not she was older than her.

There was only one thing that she was certain of: that even now, her ability to dance was an outright mastery, one that Lucina had never been able to reach for herself. Both for a lack of opportunity to do so, and for a lack of innate talent. When it came to dance, Inigo had always been the more skilled of the two of them.)

“I’m truly sorry for your loss,” Lucina said earnestly, meaning every single word of it. She had already experienced enough loss for a lifetime, enough to intimately know what it was like. Yet even so, she hadn’t lost any of her closest friends, though there had been many instances when she thought that she had. It was easy to sympathize with Shulk in this regard.

Which just made her feel all the more wretched for her next words.

“But, I must ask. Can you be certain that this sort of thing won’t happen again? I understand your pain and suffering, but that outburst of yours was a huge risk. It was lucky that this Mechonis didn’t want to kill you, because she would have had every opportunity to do so. And if she had, it would have thrown this timeline into chaos far beyond my control. Not to mention… I don’t want to see you die. But if this sort of thing happens again, then I’ll really need to reconsider if I can let you accompany me for these crucial moments.”

Lucina paused. The entire time while she had talked, Shulk had continued to stare down at the floor in front of him, as he had done this entire time, his expression seemingly unchanging. Even now that she had stopped talking, he didn’t seem to react.

“Sorry that I must put it like this! But by now, you should know the sheer importance of my mission,” she added somewhat hastily. This time, Shulk did react, by flinching and looking up at her.

“No, no, I get it!” he said, speaking just as hastily as she had. “It’s just… I can’t be certain. I had absolutely no memory of Fiora getting killed, so when that all came back to me… it was like living through that moment all over again. And even now, I have absolutely no idea what all happened after that. I don’t know if any other of my friends died as well, and it honestly kind of scares me. Especially with what else I now remember.”

“And what do you remember?”

Shulk hesitated a bit before answering. He turned his head from side to side, before slowly looking up, seeming to not fix his gaze on anything in particular. “A few days after the attack, Reyn met up with me, and we decided to leave the colony. Leave, to hunt down that Faced Mechon… to make it and all the Mechon pay for what they’ve done.”

Lucina raised her eyebrows. “I have to admit, that doesn’t really sound like you. You didn’t really strike me as the type to go on a quest for vengeance until now.”

Shulk smiled weakly, and looked at her again. “Reyn essentially said the same thing. I guess I can just tell you what I told him… in my head, there were two versions of me. One of them was saying that that’s not what Fiora would have wanted, and that I should just cherish the life that Fiora saved for me. And the other version of me kept shouting, “Make them pay! Destroy every single one of them!”. And that one just kept getting louder.”

“That really doesn’t sound like you!” Lucina said, chuckling a bit. “But you speak of them in the past. Are these two versions not there anymore?”

“I… don’t think so?” Shulk said, scratching his head. “The voice telling me to make them pay is gone, at any rate. I think if I were in that situation, I probably would still want to leave the colony. But not to destroy the Mechon, but rather to find out why this conflict exists to begin with. Why do Bionis and Mechonis have to keep on fighting? I would really like to know why.”

“Now that does sound more like you,” Lucina laughed. She knew that she should probably turn the topic back to the matter of whether or not she could trust Shulk to not lash out in any encounters going forward… but with how unhappy she had felt about having had to bring up that topic in the first place, she really didn’t want to. Especially since, at the end of the day, she knew that she wasn’t just going to leave him behind. And not just because he was so deeply interwoven with all these outside elements that had entered this world.

At least there were also other things that she still wondered about.

“So is that all that you remember now? That you and that friend of yours quietly left your colony to get revenge?”

About this, Shulk thought for a moment. “There’s more, but I don’t think it’s that noteworthy. We basically went to Tephra Cave, passed by Mag Mell Ruins again, down a passageway that had been blocked prior to the Mechon attack, followed a trade route…”

His voice trailed off, and his eyes widened, looking into the distance. “We were attacked! I think we must have stumbled into an Arachno nest… Reyn and I got separated, and he was being chased right into the main lair, where the Arachno Queen… nearly killed him but I managed to save him due to the Monado unlocking a new art…”

Lucina let out a breath that she hadn’t known she was holding. With how Shulk’s telling of the events he remembered had gone, she had to fear that another one of his friends had been killed so very soon after the first one died.

“Did you have to word it in such a suspenseful manner? I nearly thought that this went a lot worse,” she chided him.

Laughing awkwardly, Shulk scratched his head again. “Sorry about that… I hadn’t really thought about these events that much since the memory came back, so I hadn’t actually realized that that happened.”

“Well, is there anything else? How much more do you remember?”

He hesitated for a moment. Then, he said, “Just that we managed to defeat the Arachno Queen, made it out to the other side of Tephra Cave, Kneecap Hill. After that… I’m drawing a blank, really.”

Lucina nodded. “Good. So no more unpleasant surprises for the time being. But more importantly… what was that part about a new Monado art?”

“The Monado art… it… it was the same as the one you used to save from that one attack! It created a shield around Reyn and everything, blocking specific attacks completely!”

“I suppose that only serves to show that whatever it is this A person has done to Falchion, it now works just like your Monado…” Lucina said, lifting the sheathed Falchion and looking at it. The sword still looked exactly the same as it had when she had first arrived in this time. And fundamentally, it was still the same blade as the one it was set to clash with once her father and the Shepherds made it to Khadelis. If she didn’t know better, if she hadn’t seen the change, and used the new abilities herself, Lucina never would have been able to tell that anything had changed with Falchion.

“I mean, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Shulk offered. “It means that we now functionally have two Monados, which can only be helpful with what you’re trying to do, and what has entered this world along with me.”

“…I suppose,” Lucina mumbled. In truth, she wasn’t even quite sure how she felt about that change. While more power for Falchion was a welcome change, the circumstances of it all still gave her pause for thought. Falchion was a divine sword, forged from the fang of the wyrm goddess Naga. And although the handle had been reforged or replaced over the course of millennia, the blade was still the very same as the one used by the Hero-King Marth to slay the Shadow Dragon Medeus, or by the first Exalt Leopold to defeat Grima back when Ylisse in its current form was founded. As she wielded it right now, it was also only further strengthened by the partial rite of Awakening performed with the Fire Emblem and four of its five gemstones. Though not enough to defeat Grima again in its current state, it was still a weapon that could decide the fate of this world.

So what sort of power would be needed to tamper with it to such an extent? No matter who exactly this A person was, one thing was certain, as far as Lucina was concerned: they were by no means just a normal human traveller… or, well, Homs, if they actually came from Shulk’s world as well.

But though these concerns weighed on her mind, she voiced none of them. There just wasn’t any point to it: Shulk had told her himself that that was far from having figured the secret to the Monado’s power. So he would not be able to help figure this out right now.

“Say, would you mind if I were to test out whether the abilities of the Monado and Falchion really are the same? I mean – we know now that they do similar things. But I guess the researcher in me can’t really let it stand just like this. I’d really love to do a few more experiments!” Shulk suddenly said, bringing Lucina back to reality. As she had been quite caught up in her own thoughts, it took her a brief moment to properly come back to the here and now. And when she did, she only barely managed to suppress a frown.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Lucina said diplomatically. “It has been a long day. Wouldn’t you also prefer to finally get some sleep first?”

Shulk paused for a moment, seeming to consider her words. Then, he let out a yawn.

“Now that you mention it… yeah, that’s probably for the best. It really has been a long day.” Once again, he paused. For a moment, Lucina was uncertain as to whether or not she should speak again, and wish him a good night already while she got ready to go to bed. But then, Shulk still had something else to say.

“How are things gonna go from here, anyway? Do we just wait for your father and the rest of his group to arrive, or do you have any plans before that? And do you know when exactly they will arrive?”

Lucina cupped her chin. “If I remember the timeline correctly, the Shepherds arrived in Khadelis one or two days from now. I mean… I could look it up to be certain, but I really don’t want to dig through my stuff to get out the timeline now. Because either way, the point is that it’s still going to be a bit before we have to fight in the tournament. And I guess in that time, we can either train, or explore the city some. Anything that passes the time is fine by me.”

“Oh!” Shulk said, his face lighting up. “So I guess that means that we really do have the time to experiment with Falchion and the Monado, right?”

After taking another second to register the implication of her own words, Lucina let out a small, quiet gasp. “…Yes. Yes, I guess we do.”

She probably should have seen that coming. Mind you, it wasn’t like she was vehemently against the idea of Shulk experimenting with Falchion. Since she did fundamentally trust him now, he had definitely the right to do so. But with how close she felt to the sword, the idea of just handing it over still didn’t quite sit right with her, even if she had to admit that it probably was for the better.

But that was something that she could still ponder about later. For now, she really did need sleep – and after the conversation between her and Shulk faded out and she got ready, that was what she got.

Along the seemingly endless road, and through snow-covered fields, the wanderer walked. Though the sun had already set hours ago, she had no intention of stopping for the night anytime soon. Strictly speaking, she didn’t even need sleep, per se: she had already long since come to realize that the events of millennia past had made her something… more than human, which, among other things, meant that sleep had become largely optional.

The wanderer smiled joylessly. She recalled the words spoken countless lifetimes ago. Spoken to her. “Mankind moves one step closer to the divine”… she had to wonder if Klaus had envisioned that entailing things as mundane as this.

But even as she was now, even with it not being a necessity to her continued functioning, the wanderer still valued sleep. It was the one part of existence that she could trust to give her at least a temporary relief from all the dark thoughts that her long, long life had devolved into.

At least now, for the first time in countless ages, she had a goal to work towards. A reason to stay awake, and not sleep through centuries, hoping against hope that humanity of this world would be able to break free from the cycle of rise and destruction that had kept it in a medieval stasis for so absurdly long. And who would’ve thought that it would be Klaus, of all people, to give her that?

Without slowing her step, the wanderer looked over her shoulder. As before, the three men were following her. She still wasn’t exactly sure what they were, or who they had been – all that she could say for certain was that they were also victims of Klaus in their own way. Men who, each in their own way, had already met their end… and yet were forced into a continued form of existence, based solely on memories. Whether their own or someone else’s, and whether they even were the same people as they had been prior to their demise, even she could not tell. Just as she could not tell whether they could regain enough of their mental capacities to even be considered full people. At present, they had the instincts necessary to survive, they could fight, and they could fulfil her orders. But any shred of personality, the ability to communicate, or even the desire to do so seemed to not be present within them.

On the other hand, ever since the fight in the arena, the one in the black armour seemed to have regained some of his old self… perhaps this really could lead somewhere? It would be a gradual and slow process, though.

And even if she had some sympathy for them – otherwise she would not have permitted them following her around – they were not her priority. Her one priority was her hunt.

Well, that, and getting some answers about the encounter at the arena. And there was someone who would answer for that.

In the meantime, the road went on and on, away from the gates at which it began. The wanderer followed it as best she could.

Along her way, she at one point passed by encampment. Though its guards cried out at the sight of her, this went by without further incident: she had no interest in anyone in that camp, and the soldiers there soon realized that she was of no relevance to them.

Yet as she made her way past it, she did briefly slow her step, sensing… something in there. It was a sensation that reminded her of the time traveller’s sword, albeit different. Weaker. And there was something else, something that vaguely reminded her of the young man that had looked like Klaus. Similar, but still fundamentally different…

Well, neither of those things were of any interest to her. And so, she kept walking.

Sunrise was still many hours away when at last, she stopped. With a bit of fuddling, some help from the three men, and years of experience, she started a fire to keep them warm for the night. Of course, this did mean that her resting spot would be visible from many kilometres away, but she did not care. There was hardly any force in the world that could pose a danger to her.

Besides, she still had an appointment for this night. And sure enough, the visitor she expected came not too long after she had decided to stop for the night.

“Decided to show yourself in person at last, have you?” she greeted the other. Silver hair, blue eyes, a largely purple outfit, and a key dangling from an earring were the features that stuck out to her as they came into the light of the fire. “What name do you go by?”

“I am Monado. Zanza and Shulk both know me as Alvis. But to the time traveller… to Lucina, I have introduced myself as just A,” the newcomer said, keeping a respectful distance from the wanderer, “Truthfully, I have no real preference between these names.”

Before saying anything, the wanderer gave them a good long look. “You are… the one from the orange core. Whatever that one was called… well, that whole naming scheme was stupid and pretentious, anyway.”

“I wouldn’t know,” the other said, not at all emotionally reacting to what the wanderer had said. “Though I have access to some data that concerns events and facts from before I achieved sentience and personhood, it is limited. Anything that concerns itself with matters from before the phase transition experiment are best referenced from your memory, Meyneth.”

The wanderer scoffed. “Meyneth? So that’s what the other me called herself? And you just said something about a “Zanza”… honestly, what were these other versions of us even doing? Did they even remember that they were once human?”

“That I cannot say. It is a question that they could only answer themselves,” Alvis said diplomatically.

“And one that the other me, can’t answer anymore,” the wanderer growled.

“So you are aware of her demise,” Alvis stated more than they asked. “Then I must wonder, though. Though I know nothing concrete about it, I became dimly aware of the existence of another world as I entered this one. The world that was left after the phase transition experiment… and in it, another version of Zanza, linked to him in life force. Assuming that it is likely the same between you and Meyneth, how can it be that you still exist?”

“Bugger if I know. Probably something to do with that stupid big, glowy thing that Klaus was so fascinated by.”

Alvis briefly looked at her with an unchanging expression. Then, they nodded. “That is fair enough, I believe.”

“Right. More importantly, though…” the wanderer growled, “You also mentioned another name earlier. “Shulk”, was it? So when you showed yourself to that scout drone to contact me, you knew perfectly well that the one who would come to fight me at that arena wouldn’t be Klaus. And yet , you told me to go there, as well as a name I should give for myself. Why? ”

“Because I knew it would be for the best if events played out in such a manner,” Alvis plainly stated… and left it at that.

And then, in a flash of movement, the wanderer jumped up and thrust out her sword towards him.

“Cut the crap!” the wanderer snarled, the tip of her blade mere centimetres away from Alvis’ throat. “I am far too old and tired to be willing to deal with your vague wording. Tell me what I want to know!”

But even still, their face, illuminated by the flicker of the flames, showed no reaction.

“After considering all possible ways in which events could unfold, I simply deemed this to be the best course of action,” Alvis finally said. “Your Mechon were inevitably drawn towards Shulk, an outsider to this world – and after I helped Lucina destroy them, it was only to be expected that you would seek them out. Considering the sheer discrepancy in power, such an encounter could have very easily proven fatal for both of them, even with his ability to receive visions of the future. As such, I thought it best to ensure that such an encounter would take place in the controlled environment of this kingdom’s arena. I merely trusted that even you would refrain from an outright killing in such a scenario.”

The wanderer glared at Alvis. For a moment, the crackling of the fire was all that could be heard. Then, she sighed and lowered her blade.

“I guess that paid off for you, then. Tell me, then: who is this boy, and why is he here? I can understand that my being here has somehow caused Klaus to follow, and you as well. But how does he fit into all of this?”

“As you have no doubt already realized, he once served as Zanza’s vessel. But in choosing him to fulfil this role, he also set him up to succeed him… and that is what I made happen. Shulk was in fact in the middle of slaying him, when Zanza used the last vestiges of his power to escape our world, and seek refuge elsewhere. And as you said, it must have been a lingering connection to you that brought him here. My goal is to enable Shulk to finish what he set out to do, and bring an end to Zanza… though I believe that Lucina and this world’s troubles have already gotten tangled up in that.”

The wanderer laughed joylessly. “Oh, this world attracts catastrophes like no other. For millennia already, it has been caught up in an endless cycle of destruction and rebuilding, a cycle that has kept it in a medieval stasis… an endless now. Our involvement in it all is barely different from business as usual.” There was a brief pause. Then, she added, “But it matters not. I take it you also have no idea where exactly Klaus has ended up, then?”

Alvis shook their head. “I’m afraid not. The battle with Shulk and his friends has left Zanza weakened, and near death. More likely than not, he will be resting. Laying dormant in hiding somewhere, while he attempts to rebuild his strength. Rebuild it… or find another source of power entirely.”

“All the more reason to continue my hunt, then,” the wanderer grunted. “What do you intend to do, then?”

“For the time being, I shall familiarize myself with this world. There are many things that I still do not know about it, and I believe it is best if as many unknown factors as possible are accounted for.”

The wanderer sat down again, and put down her sword next to her. “Good luck with that, then. I will follow my own path instead.”

And as far as the wanderer was concerned, that was it for the conversation. Alvis however did not move.

“There still are matters that I would like an answer for,” they said.

Somewhat disgruntled, the wanderer looked up at them. The look alone was prompt enough for them to keep talking.

“First, there is the matter of the name. If you consider Meyneth to be another self entirely independent from you, what should I address you as?”

“A name, huh…?” the wanderer mumbled. “Honestly, she wasn’t really entirely independent from me. When she died… I could sense it. Some of her memories and thoughts came to me. It was not much, but enough to make me aware of Klaus’ presence in your world. Not that I could do anything about it then.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “As for a name… I haven’t used any name in centuries. I don’t interact enough with the people of this world for a name to even be necessary. But I suppose my original one will do. Galea.”

“Very well,” Alvis nodded. “The next matter concerns these three,” they pointed towards the armoured men, “or rather, the matter of their number. There was a fourth one in the Memory Space that spawned them. Where did that one end up?”

“That “fourth one” really wasn’t anything like them. It wasn’t a person, it was a beast – but I guess that gave it enough presence of mind to not be… like they are now. The moment they appeared before me, it fled. Flew away into the night.”

“I see…”

“Anything else, then?”

“Nothing at present. So I shall take my leave, then – but I believe that our paths will cross again. Until that time comes… Galea.”

Alvis vanished. For a moment longer, the wanderer stared out into the night where they had stood.

She could have mentioned that there was another outsider to this world that her machines had already come across… come across, and got destroyed by. But it didn’t concern her. So why bother? Alvis was bound to find out sooner or later.

Especially since there was something about this other outsider that felt similar to them.

Although Lucina had suggested that Shulk would be able to examine Falchion the following day, once said day came, there wasn’t really any opportunity for it. With her now being khan Basilio’s new champion, there wasn’t really a window of time where she wasn’t constantly swarmed by people. Whether it was kingdom officials who wanted to get to know this mysterious fighter that defeated both previous champions back to back, other fighters who wanted to spar if they were from Ferox or usurp the champion title from her if they weren’t (which included Lon’qu, and was much to Basilio’s chagrin. Shulk, for his part, just wondered why they didn’t simply try to become the other khan’s champion instead, since that position still seemed to be vacant from what he could gather), or just servants that wanted to make sure that the champion’s needs were met – there were constantly people around her.

And as for Shulk? He didn’t have much time to himself, either. Even though he wasn’t in the main spotlight due to Lucina being the champion, him being only another fighter, he still didn’t get much time to himself. His own showing at the arena match had drawn a lot of attention to him. And while the basic story of what his anger at Metal Face (him having decided to call the man in the black armour that, just because it was easier) was about, it still wasn’t enough for many people, who began to hound him with further questions, far more questions than he was willing to deal with. Eventually however, he saw an opportunity to escape, and made his way to the city… by himself. Though they obviously couldn’t communicate about it, he was certain that Lucina would not be so lucky. But he was also certain that she wouldn’t mind if he spent some time on his own. And so, Shulk decided to explore Khadelis for a bit.

As he did however, he found that by and large, the city was not quite as interesting to him as Ylisstol. Oh, the buildings here were more colourful, to be sure: in what he assumed was a deliberate choice to distract from the rather monotone snowy landscape outside of the city, most buildings here were kept in a multitude of bright, varied colours. But beyond that, there didn’t really seem to be much of interest in terms of the types of buildings that he came across.

Or, well, to be perfectly fair, he probably just didn’t come across the more interesting parts. Khadelis was a big city. Not necessarily bigger than Colony 9 (not that he’d know how to properly compare the two, anyway), but unfamiliar and kind of strange in its layout… in a way that left him lost soon after he left the castle.

After wandering for an embarrassingly long time – during which Shulk was near certain that he saw the red-headed foot vendor woman from Ylisstol more than once, much to his confusion – he had had just about enough. And so, to at least get a rough idea where he was, he decided to head for the city walls. Doing so turned out to be a reasonably good decision, as he not only started to get an idea where he was, but even managed to reach a place that he outright recognized: the city gates through which he and Lucina had entered.

Once there, he… just let his eyes wander across the landscape for a bit. After seeing nothing but houses, streets, and loads of trampled and dirty snow, it was a welcome change of pace to just gaze out from the city. Even if the sunshine meant that he really wished he had some sunglasses with him. Around him, people came and went.

Shulk didn’t know just how long he had been standing there when he decided that it was about time to leave again. Now that he had a proper idea of where he was again, he could maybe take another look around the city, without getting lost again. There were just bound to be some shops or other places that would catch his eye – maybe something like the mage’s guild in Ylisstol, or even just a blacksmith’s workplace would already suffice. It was definitely too soon to return to the castle, at any rate.

He was just about to turn around when suddenly, something in the distance caught his eye. There, on the road leading to Khadelis was a rather large group of people. While they were still way too far away for him to make out any details, Shulk had an idea what these people were. Back in Colony 9, he had often seen groups of Defence Force soldiers return from an assignment out in the wilderness. On more than a few occasions, he had even been part of these groups. And the way the people off in the distance carried themselves… yes, there were some similiarities. These were soldiers.

With his curiosity piqued, Shulk decided to remain at the gate, and watch. As the group got closer, so did his doubts with regards to his assessment of them fade: these definitely were soldiers. And, as he suddenly realized, they were most likely the Shepherds. The military group founded and led by Lucina’s father, and the ones that he and she were set to fight in the tournament. With this in mind, Shulk only became more curious to watch them.

What he saw when they finally passed the gate was a lot more… all over the place than he would have expected. While the Colony 9 Defence Force was hardly the epitome of efficiency and discipline (not for lack of trying on colonel Vangarre’s part, mind), both qualities were to be found in the force – along with standardized armour sets. The Shepherds on the other hand came off as more of a large adventuring group, with only the knight in the blue armour riding in front looking like he was an actual soldier.

Beyond him however, Shulk didn’t really have much time to take in much of the other Shepherds, as he noticed three particular ones that caught his attention.

On the one hand, he spotted Miriel – so she really had been heading into the same direction as he had. She, for his part, hadn’t seemed to have noticed Shulk, which he thought was probably for the better. He still vividly remembered everything that Lucina had told him about her. And while he had gotten along really well with Miriel, he wanted to honour Lucina’s warning to not meddle with the timeline in unnecessary ways.

Then, he spotted what could only be Lucina’s father: Chrom. The shade of blue that his hair was simply too specific for him to be anyone else. But even beyond that, there were a number of similarities between the two that even Shulk had no trouble picking up. Their physiques were remarkably similar (even if Lucina was noticeably taller than him), with both being rather broad-shouldered and visibly muscular. And beyond that, the sword visible in Chrom’s scabbard was just all too recognizable to Shulk at this point.

(He did have to wonder about the outfit, though. In addition to getting weirder the longer he looked at it, there was just no way that Chrom wasn’t cold wearing it.)

The third person that Shulk took note of was walking right besides Chrom. They were a long, dark cloak, had bright white hair, and-

-and then Shulk’s vision went bright blue, and he saw the future.

He was in the arena again. Around him, a fight was going on: by his side were a group of fighters that he did not recognize, and they were fighting the Shepherds. Lucina, in her disguise as Marth, was fighting her father, matching and blocking each of his sword strikes, and pulling off downright absurd aerial manoeuvres.

And Shulk… was fighting against the person in the long, dark cloak. He was dodging past their spells, attacks of fire and lightning, getting closer to them-

And stopping. Their gazes locked with each other, and there was something in the depth of their eyes that drew Shulk in somehow. More and more, he found himself drawn in by their brown eyes… but, wasn’t there something red in there, as well? The other person, likewise, seemed to be trembling as they looked at him…

And then, the vision ended.

The Shepherds had passed. Shulk was left standing there, looking after them while he shivered a bit.

Chapter Text

Brilliant wings soared through the sky, carrying her with light of green and yellow. This world was strange. Unfamiliar. Even though she had been in it, exploring it for some time now, she still wasn’t used to it. Her mind was still as if it were in a dream, not actually there.

But it was better than what had come before. Before, it had been chained, held in a nightmare of feeding and a voice that could not be denied telling her to destroy, to eradicate impure life…

In comparison to that, she was coming to.

Yet even though the voice had been painful, she still missed it, now that it was not gone. With it gone, she was just aimless. Without a purpose. In all her time in this world, she had been searching for it, though to no avail. It was lucky at least that in this time, she could feed at all.

One day as she was flying however, there was suddenly… something different. It was not quite the voice, but the sensation of this presence felt similar.

It was better than nothing.

In the air she turned around, and flew in the direction of the rising sun, towards the bright mountain.

“So they’re here…” Lucina quietly said. Then, she let out a deep breath. Though she had been mentally preparing for the prospect of facing her father and the Shepherds, now that the fight was imminent, she had to admit to herself that she felt a bit nervous. Of course there was the part of it where she was going to alter the timeline, and all the risk that brought with it. But more than that still, the thought of not just seeing her father again, but openly showing herself, fighting him, even… now that was a daunting prospect.

She was not the only one who seemed to be unsettled by it, however.

“There’s something else,” Shulk said, something in his tone sounding on edge. It had not been long since he had suddenly returned to the castle, after having seemingly vanished earlier in the day. Lucina had just chalked that up to him seeing an opportunity to get away from all the people who were constantly begging for the attention of Basilio’s new champion and his partner.

And really, she couldn’t blame him: the sheer endless stream of kingdom officials and challengers that had sought her out today was truly more than she was willing to deal with… and yet deal with it she had to, because that was just part of the territory of being the mysterious new champion. Even being functionally the exalt of Ylisse in her own time hadn’t really prepared herself for this kind of experience. Though then again, by the time that she was made ruler, there was hardly any room or need for any cordial formalities of court and the like. Politely receiving nobles in political affairs didn’t exactly mix well with the looming, and very real threat of the end of the world.

Which all was to say that if she had gotten the opportunity to slip away and explore the city like Shulk had, she gladly would have taken it. But since that opportunity didn’t come, she had to stay and just sit through it all. At least everyone respected her persona of the masked swordsman enough to not demand any more information on “his” person.

Even so, when Shulk suddenly showed up again and said that he had something urgent to talk to her about, she was more than glad to take the opportunity – even more so when he told her that he had seen the Shepherds arrive in Khadelis. As of yet, there was no official word on her father fighting as Khan Flavia’s champion, but Lucina was certain that this was only a matter of time.

“And what is it?” she asked, responding to Shulk’s vague statement.

“When this white-haired person in the dark cloak passed me by, I suddenly had a vision. It showed me fighting in the arena alongside you, against these Shepherds. I was fighting against this person, and when I got close, it…” he paused and hesitated for a moment, trying and failing to find the right words, “it was just… strange. I had this really odd feeling about them, and they seemed to be experiencing something similar, and-”

“And… what?” Lucina said, beckoning for him to continue. Shulk however just let out an exasperated breath.

“And that’s just it . The vision simply ended there!”

The way he looked at Lucina as he said this made it seem like he expected some kind of reaction from her. Unfortunately, she had no idea what exactly that reaction should be.

“I suppose that is noteworthy, then?”

Shulk scratched his head. “Well, by itself it isn’t. But pretty much all of my visions thus far have been warnings of some kind. It’s pretty clear then that I’m being warned of something , but I have no idea what it is!”

Lucina hesitated for a moment. Signalling Shulk to wait, she headed over to the door to their room, to see if there was anyone approaching. When she confirmed that there didn’t seem to be anyone, she turned back to him.

“That person you’re talking about… more likely than not, they are Robin. The Shepherd’s most recent recruit, and also their tactician. They already disappeared in my timeline when I was still rather young, so I don’t remember much of them personally. But based on everything I ever heard about them, they were my father’s closest and most trusted friend,” she said. At first, she didn’t even know where she was going with what she was saying, but in this moment, she realized what she was getting at.

“Which is to say… maybe this vision is to warn you that something is going to happen to them? I mean, in the first one you had on that bridge, it was to warn you that I was going to die. Maybe it’s something similar here?”

“…Maybe,” Shulk conceded, but he didn’t sound entirely convinced. He was already about to say something else when the exact thing happened that Lucina had feared earlier: steps could be heard out in the hallway.

Immediately, the two of them fell silent, and as the knock on their door did come, Lucina put her mask back on, having taking it off earlier since they were in private. As for her hair, there was no need to put it away: with how much effort it was to complete the illusion of it being short (or undo it, for that matter), she simply didn’t consider it worth the effort.

In the meantime, Shulk had opened the door for her. And the person on the other side came as a mild surprise, as it was Basilio himself. Basilio, who, as she quickly noticed (to her further surprise) was all by himself.

“Ah, there you two are. You sure picked the perfect moment to indulge in your warrior’s bond,” he said, as Lucina came over to the door as well.

“We had private matters to discuss,” Lucina responded stoically, thinking it better to engage with the comment in no further way. “Is something the matter, Khan Basilio?”

“Hell yeah something’s the matter!” Basilio laughed. “Flavia’s finally got her champion decided. And it’s gonna be a special opponent, too. You’re gonna be fighting Ylissean royalty: prince Chrom of the Shepherds himself. Guess you feel a bit awkward about picking that name yourself now, don’t you?”

“I see. Thank you for this information, Khan Basilio,” Lucina said, still keeping the tone of her voice flat and unimpressed. Realistically, she probably should have shown at least a bit of surprise: while foreigners fighting in the Feroxi tournament was common practice, it was still another matter entirely to have the prince of another nation be one of the chosen champions. But then again, she was royalty as well, even if no one knew, or could know. And it fit in with her persona, anyway, didn’t it?

“Does that mean that the date of the actual tournament match has also been decided?”

“…Pah. You’re really not phased by anything, are you?” Basilio asked. “But sure, that whole thing is settled. No point in dragging the whole thing out any longer – as soon as you’re ready, the match can take place. Hope you’re well rested from yesterday.”

Lucina nodded. “I understand. Me and my partner will make some personal preparations, and then head to the arena. If you could inform the fighters that are set to join us for the battle against the Shepherds, we would be much obliged.”

Basilio audibly breathed out, and gave her a look that was clearly trying to get a good read on her. But what was also clear was that it was pointless: her mask was doing wonders for keeping her emotions a secret, and her expression wasn’t giving much away, either.

“…Right. Well, you better not disappoint me in that tournament match. After your showings against Mechonis and Lon’qu, I have high hopes.”

With that, he turned around to leave. But before he could, Shulk called out to him, making the Khan stop dead in his tracks. “Excuse me, Khan Basilio. I still have a question.”

“Oh yeah? And what's that, kid?” Basilio asked.

“Well… I was just wondering. Why exactly did you come personally to inform us of this? This doesn’t strike me as the sort of task that the ruler of a nation would be carrying out.”

Hearing this, Basilio let out a hearty laugh. “And thank the Gods it’s not something that a khan would do! I’d go crazy if I had to deal with only those responsibilities all the time, and never got to cut loose. That’s just what Feroxi are like. So if you’re gonna stay here for any time, you best get used to that.”

“…Understood. Thank you.”

“Right then. See you on the battlefield – and I hope the two of you can make me proud!”

With that, he shut the door behind him. Footsteps moving away from the door could be heard immediately thereafter.

“So it’s finally time…” Lucina said quietly, speaking more to herself than to Shulk. At the same time, she took off the mask again. Just for a bit… it would be necessary again before long. Once she held it in her hand, she turned towards Shulk again. “I could have told you that as well, you know. If there is one thing that the Feroxi are known for, it is their common deviation from what would be considered regular courtly behaviour.”

“Oh! I… didn’t want to presume. I couldn’t have known that you knew about that,” Shulk said, scratching his head awkwardly. “But, more importantly. What is the plan for this fight now? You said that the Shepherds are going to have to win, right?”

“Correct,” Lucina said with a nod. “The alliance between Ylisse and Feroxi was formed between my father and Khan Flavia, so it is crucial that the Shepherds win this fight. We don’t need to make it easy for them, but they do need to win. Are you prepared for that?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I wasn’t prepared?” Shulk laughed. “I honestly don’t think that I will put up that much of a fight against these Shepherds. Like I said a while ago, I have plenty of experience fighting against monsters, but when it comes to fighting against people, I’m not really much of a help.”

Lucina grinned. “Well, just as long as you don’t immediately get knocked out, I think it will work out. With your visions, you should at least be able to stay in the fight for a while, right?” As she spoke, she however also recalled what else Shulk was working with – and it made her wonder, grin dropping in favour of a more serious expression. “Come to think of it, though. Your Monado can’t cut people, right? Will that work as a weapon then, or do you want to use a different sword?”

Shulk looked over to the Monado, resting against a wall. After staring at it for a few seconds, he looked back at Lucina, and grimaced. “I’d really rather not leave the Monado behind anywhere. It’s as important to me as your Falchion is to you, I think.”

“I doubt that a little, but fair enough,” she said, now smiling weakly. “Still… how will you fight with it, then?”

“I mean, it is still a sword. Even if the ether blade can’t cut through people, I can still use its actual metal parts to hit people with. And in a match where killing your opponent is out of the question, anyway, isn’t that just fine? Plus, the ether blade can probably still cut through armour and the like.”

“I will just trust you on that, then. Just, keep one thing in mind, yes? Whatever you do, do not fight my father. If he’s going to fight anyone, it is going to be me.”

“Sure! Sure. I didn’t intend to step in on that, anyway. And if my vision is anything to go by, I’ll be fighting someone else, anyway,” Shulk said – and immediately got thoughtful. Lucina didn’t even need to guess as to why.

“You’re still thinking about your vision, aren’t you?”

Shulk hummed in agreement. “Mh. It’s just… even if you’re right, and it was meant to warn me that something was going to happen to this Robin. I just hadn’t seen anything in the vision that came off as a clear threat. There was just this vague feeling of something… bad.”

Lucina sighed, and sat down on her bed again. It was just a good thing that they hadn’t exactly given Basilio a clear time frame for when they would show up at the arena: this was probably still going to take a bit before it was resolved.

“And you are certain that what you have seen in this vision is going to happen? What I mean is… what if your vision is wrong?”

“No, I’m certain that that’s not the case,” Shulk said, vehemently shaking his head. “Every vision I’ve had so far came to pass, or got so close to happening that only my interference made sure that it didn’t. If the Monado has shown me these events, then I have full trust in it. They are going to happen.”

He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, and then let himself fall down on his own bed. “If only I knew what these things meant !”

“Has it been this unclear before?”

Shulk half sat up again, and smiled weakly at Lucina. “To be honest, everything that I’ve seen that hasn’t been in the middle of a battle has been a bit unclear. I… remembered a bit more. Me and Reyn made it to Gaur Plain on the Bionis’ Leg, this huge open field. We found some bits and pieces there that visions showed me people we would meet later were going to need. But I had no idea who these people were, and what they needed these things for.”

“Ah,” Lucina made, raising her index finger to her lips, “But the way you’re saying this makes it sound like these weren’t life-or-death situations either. So can’t we just wait and see what ends up happening here?”

“I guess,” Shulk relented, and fully sat up again, hunching over quite severely. “I’m surprised that you of all people would say that, though. I mean, since you’re also trying to change the future…”

Now that was a point. Thoughtfully, Lucina crossed her arms, and looked down. “Well… it’s not like I want to prevent everything that happened in my timeline, you know? Even if by the time that me and the others left the world had all but ended, there were still some good things that came to pass. Me and my friends, we were all born because our parents got to meet each other as Shepherds – that is something that I would still want to happen, though with circumstances that are nowhere near as dire.” She paused, and looked back up at Shulk. Then, she added, “So I guess that’s what I’m getting at. Didn’t you also have visions that you wanted to make sure happened as you saw them?”

“Hm… I’m not sure. Maybe there were. But I guess you’re right… for the time being, we can’t really do anything but to wait and see how things shake out.” He got back up from his bed, and went over to take the Monado. As he did, he looked back at Lucina over his shoulder, saying, “That said, is there anything else that I need to keep in mind for that battle? Other than not fighting your father, and losing believably, I mean.”

Lucina got up from her bed as well, and put on her mask again, having left it in her hand since Basilio had left. Best to get that out of the way now.

“Nothing for the fight itself. But once everything is said and done, we should leave Khadelis and Regna Ferox as soon as possible. I don’t want to give them the opportunity to corner and question me.”

“So that’s around another week on the road, huh? Oh well, if there’s no helping it…” Shulk said, sounding unhappy, but not too terribly displeased.

“Hm,” Lucina made, “Maybe we can speed things up a little… can you ride a horse?”

Shulk gave her a look. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I have never tried it. What’s a horse?”

Even though Shulk had just been in the arena the day before, it was still a completely overwhelming experience to head into it once more. The buzz of the audience, audible even long before Lucina and he entered the actual battlefield, the general feeling of excitement in the air… it wasn’t necessarily something that he wasn’t used to. After all, Colony 9 had been no stranger to large-scale events, the duel between Dunban and Mumkhar to decide who gets to wield the Monado being just one of them. But the prospect of being in the centre of it all was something that he fundamentally felt unprepared for.

With his excitement being such, he and Lucina really didn’t exchange much of any words as they made their way through the arena’s corridors. Not that there was really anything to talk about: their entire battle plan had already been decided. And though she didn’t show it at all – the mask helped in that regard – Shulk knew that she was also nervous.

The moment the two of them made their way onto the battlefield, the already loud buzzing from the crowd turned into outright shouts of excitement. Unlike last time around, there already were fighters there, and from the looks of it, not just the Shepherds, but also the men and women that would be on their side as well.

Along with the crowd going wild, Shulk could see the fighters on the other side huddling together, having no doubt recognized “Marth”, and wondering what “his” presence meant here. Shulk, for his part, just swallowed nervously.

“This is it, then,” he said, speaking just loudly enough for Lucina to hear. In response, she turned towards him and smirked.

“No need to be nervous. Losing a fight should be easy enough, right?”

“Who said that I’m nervous about that? I’m just not used to so many people watching that,” Shulk replied, not keeping his eyes off the Shepherds on the other side of the battlefield. Somewhere up on the stands, Khan Basilio was giving some kind of speech, but Shulk’s mind couldn’t really focus on any of it. It was probably something patriotism, or having a long tradition. He wouldn’t know. Patriotism was a concept that he only really learned about during their brief stay in Ylisstol, and his frequent visits to the library of the guild of the mages. All things considered, it sounded rather silly.

“Really now? I seem to recall that yesterday, you had no such issues,” Lucina said, in a tone so casual that it made Shulk smile a little. It really was hard to stay nervous when she was lighting the mood.

“That was a bit of a different situation, wasn’t it? It’s hard to stay nervous when those sorts of memories come back to you just as things are getting started,” Shulk laughed quietly.

“Then there you go! Just do that again. Only… without relieving those kinds of memories, and shouting that you’ll kill any of the Shepherds. I don’t think that would make a good first impression with my father.”

Shulk wanted to respond. He wanted to say that he would promise to do it best, but that he couldn’t give any guarantees with how his visions and memories worked – but then Basilio finished his speech with a shout.

And the battle began.

At once, the Shepherds spread out from their close-knit formation, each of them heading out in small groups towards the men and women that were fighting alongside Shulk and Lucina. Though their attack came swiftly, Shulk could tell that it was well-coordinated and prepared. Whoever was commanding the Shepherds must have been extremely good at what they did.

After taking in the offence for just a brief second, Shulk’s attention was drawn in by Chrom, charging towards Lucina who stood there expectantly. Instinctively, Shulk wanted to rush to her side, help her against the attack – but he immediately remembered that she wanted to brave this fight on her own. Thus, he remained frozen in place, uncertain on what to do-

In a blue-tinted world, a bolt of lightning surged towards him, him noticing it too late to react, it hitting him and knocking him back…

The vision ended, and Shulk jumped out of the way. And not a moment too soon! No sooner did his feet leave the ground than the lightning struck the spot where he had just stood.

Hastily, he whirled his head around – and spotted them.

The white-haired person from his vision.

As he watched them, they seemed to curse, frustrated over their attack having missed. Undeterred nonetheless, they raised their book (a book? How could that even be used to fight, Shulk wondered in the moment), and lightning crackled between their fingers once more.

But this time, he wasn’t going to be caught off-guard.

Activating the Monado, Shulk began to charge towards the person. Towards Robin.

And his vision from yesterday played out.

The Shepherd’s tactician shot forth blasts of lightning and blasts of fire. Brief, but clear visions flashed through Shulk’s eyes, showing him where the attacks went, and where he needed to dodge. He evaded attack after attack, got closer and closer, came within striking distance of Robin-

And they both froze up.
Shulk’s arm was stopped in the middle of an upward swing, the Monado’s ether blade just a few centimetres next to Robin’s stomach. Robin, for their part, still held their book, the other hand raised to shoot. In spite of this, and in spite of the battle raging on around them, both were dead silent as they just stared at each other.

The vision that Shulk had had yesterday had shown him every minute detail of this scene, everything about how it would play out. But what it had not done was truly convey to him how this situation would feel to be in. He felt as if his own gaze was drawn into the depths of the tactician’s eyes, like there was some unknowable force that kept him from looking away, wanting to examine him as best it could.

Yet in spite of the feeling of this all just being… off in a way that he could not quite place, how unsettling it was…

It was clear that Robin felt much the same way.

They quivered where they stood, hands and head trembling as they stared at him. But they, too, did not look away. As the seconds ticket on, Shulk started to get the feeling like there was the hint of something red within the depths of their eyes…

“You… you are like… like me…?” they whispered, sounding as if they did not realize themself that they had just spoken…

And then, whatever spell the two of them were under was broken.

From the corner of his eyes, Shulk saw something large fly down from the sky – and a moment later, one of the beasts that looked like a Ponio with wings. A vision warned him of its rider striking at him with a lance, and so he hastily jumped back. The lance did come, but it only struck thin air.

For a moment, Shulk saw the beast’s rider, a woman with long hair that was somewhere between brown and grey in colour, but she had no further interest in him. Quickly, she got Robin up on the back of her beast, and then took off again. Shulk meanwhile was left standing there, his heartbeat only gradually slowing down.

“S- Sumia…?” Robin asked, only slowly catching their breath. In front of them, the pegasus knight briefly turned around to give them a look.

“You looked to be in a pretty tight spot, so I thought it was best to help you out. I hope this doesn’t disrupt your strategy?”

“…No… no, I can adapt,” Robin said, letting out a deep breath. Slowly and carefully, they glanced down at the battlefield, where the blonde young man with the red sword still stood, looking after them. Before the battle, Miriel had recognized him… what had she said his name was? Shulk?

Inside the depths of his eyes, Robin had seen something like a bright blue glow, brighter still than the magic blade of his sword. And alongside it all, there had been this feeling… this feeling of an unknown familiarity . As if there was something about Shulk that they recognized, something in which regard he was just like them…

But they had absolutely no idea what that was!

Not for the first time, Robin cursed their own lost memories. Maybe this young man was the key to it all, somebody who knew them before Chrom, Lissa and Frederick had found them? He hadn’t seemed like he had recognized them, but that didn’t have to mean anything.

“Alright! Where should I set you down, then?” Sumia meanwhile asked, her tone sounding so very kind and helpful.

Suddenly feeling very relieved that she couldn’t see their face, Robin said, “Actually… I think it might just work if I stay with you. Do you think we can fight together like this?”

“Oh! Well, I’m always glad to help. Better hold on tight though, this could get bumpy.”

Robin paused, and stared straight ahead. Then, fighting down a heated feeling rising up in their cheeks, they put a hand on Sumia. Gods… who would’ve thought that they would be facing this kind of challenge during the battle?

Briefly, they cast down another glance at the battlefield, where the blonde young man, Shulk, was now face to face with Miriel. Well, this probably was for the best. Maybe she could find out something more about him or Marth this way?

This battle was definitely a wild ride when it came to the emotions at play.

“Greetings and salutations, Shulk! I must confess that I would not have expected our next encounter to occur under such circumstances.” Miriel said, standing before Shulk. Though her tone was reasonably friendly (or rather, what Shulk had come to understand as what counted for friendly with her), she still firmly held her tome. This was still a battle.

“I wouldn’t have thought that it would be like this, either,” Shulk responded, scratching his head. But though he, too, was engaging in conversation, he didn’t deactivate the Monado. While he had no issue with the thought of being defeated by Miriel, he still didn’t want to make it seem like he gave up.

“Indeed? That suggests the possible conclusion that whatever events have transpired that led to this meeting being such, they do not align with what your personal plans are or might have been. Yet the very fact that you are fighting alongside Marth, and have entered the battlefield with him indicates that the two of you are travel companions. An enigmatic individual he is, if ever there was one. What do you know about him?”

“Sorry, I can’t really say anything about that,” Shulk said briskly, all while letting his gaze wander across his surroundings. While he was certain that if there was any danger, his visions would warn him, he didn’t want to take any chances. Especially with Robin and that lady knight circling overhead on that winged beast.

“Oh? The mystery deepens, then… it is a shame that we are on the battlefield, then. I quite would like to investigate the matter outside of it,” Miriel answered, sounding rather undeterred. “I suppose then the only way to speed up the process of solving this mystery is to end this battle quickly, no?”

Shulk didn’t even need a vision to see the attack coming. While the sheer strength and size of the fireball that came his way was beyond even what Robin had fired at him, the speed and trajectory of it were far easier to anticate.

Though reluctantly, Shulk charged towards Miriel, dodging past her attacks with little effort. Even as he got closer to her, her attacks remained powerful and reasonably swift – but simply not enough to hit him. The closest she ever got was a small fireball, sent head-on… but the Monado cut through it with ease, neutralizing it.

“Magnificent! Fascinating!” she exclaimed, watching him do this, “What is this sword? Given the opportunity, I will need to examine it!”

In spite of the rush of the fight, Shulk could not help but to smile. He understood the fascination with the Monado all too well: even though him considering it a parting gift from his parents was one reason as to why he had dedicated his life to studying it, it still had an undeniable fascination to him. One day, he really would love to give Miriel the opportunity to do the same…

But right now, she was his enemy. Within seconds, he was within striking distance-

“Miriel! Get down!” the voice of Robin suddenly came from up above.

As before, Shulk got a vision of what was going to happen before it did. In a world of blue, he saw Miriel drop to the ground, revealing that behind her, a woman knight in red armour had charged towards them, using the mage as cover. The knight hit Shulk with the broad side of her lance, knocking him over before he had the chance to react… and also knocking him out.

The vision ended. Shulk briefly hesitated. It would be easy enough to dodge the attack now, and keep fighting… but he needed to be defeated sooner or later, didn’t he?

So he let it happen.

At least with the concession of raising the Monado a bit to weaken the blow.

“Tell me – who taught you to fight like that?!” Chrom shouted, just barely blocking one of Lucina’s strikes. For a brief moment, their blades remained locked with one another – then they both jumped back. Determined to not grant him a moment of rest, Lucina charged at her father-to-be once more, as he did the same thing. Though each their sword strikes was well-aimed, they both had to block each other’s attack, so that the attacks would up being ineffective.

But Lucina was not done yet.

The moment she stood firmly on the ground again, she leapt up in the air, towards Chrom in a jumping strike. He only just managed to avoid her attack.

“My father!” she snapped back.

The fight kept going. But though it was intense, and though Chrom was clearly giving it his all… Lucina was slowly starting to realize that he was completely outmatched. Every sword strike, every feint, every trick he tried to do… she had seen it before. Perhaps not the exact movement that he was doing, but the general gist of it, the intent and goal behind it. She had spent years of her life being taught these things, and a lifetime of battle had seared them into her very body.

As absurd as it was to even think this, Chrom had no chance of winning against her if she went all out.

“Who is your father?” he asked, as they momentarily pulled away from each other once more.

“I’ve said enough for one day, sir,” Lucina answered, doing her most to retain a mask of composure that had briefly slipped in their earlier clash.

“Hmph,” Chrom made, his expression turning more serious. “Is that how it is? Lissa owes you her life, and for that you have my gratitude. But within these walls, I represent the East-Khan and the interests of Ylisse. I can’t promise to stay my blade, but I vow not to shame you.”

Lucina had to try her hardest not to smirk. Unless the version of her father from her timeline, the one that she grew up with, had become a much worse liar over the years (while becoming a better fighter), she completely had him fooled with regards to her own skills. On some level, it perhaps should have left her concerned – but she already knew for a fact that time would sharpen his senses.

“Heh, never expected such youthful arrogance… we shall see who shames who!” Lucina retorted, and immediately felt a tinge of regret for doing so. She had let herself get carried away… even if the man in front of her was not yet her father, and by her interference with the timeline may technically never be, this really did take her back. It was just like one of her sparring sessions with him, from back when she was younger…

Except that this time around, it seemed like it was her who was the better fighter.

No matter what sort of attack Chrom threw out, she was able to avoid or block them without much effort. Slashes were evaded, stabs were blocked, and any other normally unexpected tricks that he pulled, she just managed to dodge. No matter how he tried, her father couldn’t seem to do anything against her.

Lucina, on the other hand, realized time and time again that there were openings in his defence, times when a swift move from her would have been enough to land a decisive, or at least very damaging hit. Yet with every opportunity she saw, she did not take it. This couldn’t be it, right? This couldn’t be all that her father was capable of. Even if she was intimately familiar with his fighting style, there was just no way that he was this helpless against her!

As she settled into a rhythm, found the flow of battle, she took the chance to let her gaze stray, having it wander over the rest of the battlefield from the corner of her vision. All of the men and women that Basilio had given her as support were either defeated, or had been forced to surrender. Even Shulk, she now saw, was sitting on the ground, having just been defeated by Sully from the looks of it.

Meaning that Lucina was the last one standing.

So that was it, at least… even if her father could not defeat her, Basilio could not possibly begrudge her for failing to defeat all the Shepherds by herself

If only her father had been able to defeat her…

“Milord!” Frederick’s voice suddenly came from somewhere to her side. While knocking away another one of Chrom’s sword strikes, Lucina whirled around – just in time to see the knight charge towards her, Miriel sitting behind him on his horse. Up above, she could see Sumia circling with her pegasus, Robin sitting behind her. She was cornered.

(And at the same time, she noticed with some satisfaction that the “foundation” for some of her friends being born into this timeline was already forming. It really was fascinating how for both her and their parents, love could bloom on the battlefield.)

Her father meanwhile took the brief moment in which she was distracted. As Lucina turned back towards him, she was greeted by the blade of his version of Falchion near her throat. Not directly at it, but close enough to make her defeat believable. Yes… this would do, she thought.

“Impressive… just as I’d expected,” she calmly said. Then, she sheathed Falchion, and sat down. Chrom kept Falchion pointed towards all the while.

For a brief moment, silence lay over the arena. Then, the crowd erupted in a cheer that was like the roar of a beast with countless heads. Chrom kept looking down at Lucina for a few more seconds, before he got swept up by the excitement, and looked around in bewilderment. So at least this event of her timeline was maintained.

But for some reason, Lucina felt disappointed even still.

Even compared to the already tumultuous aftermath of their fight against Mechonis the fight before, what took place after the Shepherds won was essentially a riot in the form of a celebration. From what Shulk could gather, it had been quite a while since the West-Khan Flavia had won a tournament, and therefore wielded full power, which at least somewhat explained the reaction. But even still, as far as Shulk was concerned, it really was a bit much.

Thankfully for him though, it wasn’t him and Lucina who were in the spotlight this time around. While people started crowding around the Shepherds, the only person near Shulk was a healer, who was done with her work before long. With nothing to do at the moment, and no one’s attention on him, he watched the Shepherds for the time being.

In addition to the six they fought, a few more had come down to the battlefield that Shulk remembered seeing as they had entered the city. Out of all the people that were there however, he only really had eyes for two of them.

On the one hand, there was Miriel. Much like Shulk himself, she didn’t seem to particularly enjoy all the commotion that was now going on, standing a bit to the side and not really participating in much of anything. As Shulk watched her, she seemed to have instinctively noticed his gaze, as she looked up. After the initial moment of recognition, she smiled and waved at him… but thankfully, didn’t come over. Returning the smile, Shulk waved back.

But on the other hand, there was Robin. Lucina had said that they were her father’s most trusted and closest friend, the Shepherd’s tactician. She hadn’t really sounded like she wanted to entertain the idea of there being something off about them at all. And Shulk’s vision had played out in its entirety without much of anything happening for either good or bad. Right now, Robin was right in the centre of attention, next to Chrom while he talked to a dark-skinned woman that Shulk presumed must have been the east-khan. As far as he could tell, they appeared… reserved. Not necessarily unhappy with all the excitement going on around them, but still not perfectly at ease. Just by looking at them, they didn’t really stand out by any means.

Which made the vision Shulk had just all the more confusing.

His mind went back to the moment where he and Robin had stood face to face. The sensation had been… Shulk had no idea how to put it into words. Though the words had been barely audible in the heat of battle, he had heard how Robin had whispered that the two of them were alike. They had not elaborated, had sounded every bit as confused as Shulk had been…

But Shulk had to admit that they were right. There was something familiar about this tactician, something that he recognized from himself.

If only he knew what it was .

“There you are. Are you ready to leave?”

Shulk flinched, and looked to the side. Lucina had approached him, still complete in her “Marth” getup. The way she had spoken made it clear that she was in a hurry.

“Uh, yes?” he responded in a questioning tone. “You really want to leave already?”

Lucina nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, the sooner we leave, the better. For now, the Khans and father are all caught up in their discussions. I want to be out of here before they even realize I’m leaving.”

“Right… I guess that makes sense. Well, I’m as good to go as I’ll ever be.”

Though Lucina had urged for haste, after she had had the opportunity to briefly withdraw to the fighters’ preparation room and get changed out of her “Marth” persona, she quickly came to realize that curiosity was getting the better of her. More likely than not, the Shepherds were still on the battlefield, doing most of the preliminary discussions about the newly forged alliance between Ylisse and Regna Ferox, and getting the word of it out to the people of the latter. This was the opportunity to watch her father, without being seen in turn. So why shouldn’t she take it?

When she told Shulk about her spontaneous decision, he gave her a bemused look, but thankfully didn’t say anything. So, with both of them in civilian getups, and their respective weapons obscured (which was harder for the Monado than it was for Falchion, but they managed), they got up to the stands.

Just as she had hoped, the Shepherds were still down there, along with officials of Regna Ferox – and Khan Flavia was in the middle of addressing the onlookers.

It was a rather grand speech. She was talking about the importance of good relations, and how Ylisse had long been a partner of Regna Ferox, and all the good that the alliance meant. But she also talked about how Plegia was sowing discord on the continent, stoking aggressions and calls for a war on all sides. And about how if they so desperately wanted a war, then they could have it.

But for all that she talked about, Lucina only barely paid attention to her. Her eyes were firmly on her father… on Chrom, standing firmly beside Khan Flavia, surrounded by his close friends and allies in the Shepherds. Everyone looked up to him, everyone followed him. Yes… if she could just save him, then this timeline would be saved. He would make it so. Even if he hadn’t been able to defeat her in combat, the events to come would shape him into the man for these hardships. Of that, she was certain. After all, in her timeline father had also been just that.

Lucina watched him for just a bit longer. Then, she turned to Shulk and nodded. Together, they left the arena.

“...And Lon’qu? You have no objections?” Chrom said sceptically, eyeing the former champion up and down while Robin did the same. Even after his outburst at Lissa’s approach, he conveyed a sense of refinement and control, a man that was one with his blade.

“He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear,” the former champion briskly stated, as if that was all that needed to be said on the matter.

“…Alright then. Welcome aboard,” Chrom said with slight hesitation and a shrug. Even now, he didn’t sound quite convinced, which was also how Robin was feeling on the matter. Regardless of that however, they had other things on their mind.

“Say, Khan Basilio,” they said, earning them a curious glance from the Khan. “That blonde young man with the red sword… could you maybe introduce me to him?”

“Oh, him? Sorry, but he left together with Marth. I think those two are travel companions, or something. Shame he’s gone, though… he put on quite a show in the match where Marth defeated the woman who had defeated Lon’qu before.”

Robin sighed. “Ah… I see. Thank you anyway,”

“Please recall that I have met him, Shulk, before. At the mage’s guild in Ylisse,” Miriel suddenly offered, appearing beside Robin. “Prior to our departure from the capital, he had been quite an eager student of the guild’s various texts. I would not call us the best of acquaintances, but there is a passing familiarity between us. If you so desire, I could tell you what little I know about him.”

“Really? Ohh, that would be much appreciated. Thank you, Miriel!”

“Caught your eye, has he?” Basilio said with a laugh. “Well, he’s not quite as enigmatic as our masked swordsman, but he’s definitely a bit of a mystery. If you want to find out more, me and Lon’qu can as well fill you in with what we know.”

Robin smiled, and nodded. In all the time that they had spent with the Shepherds thus far, they hadn’t really given their own lost memories much thought. Though no one knew them beforehand, the Shepherds had welcomed them with open arms, and already given them a place that made them feel like they belonged – so what did it matter who they were beforehand?

But the feeling of familiarity between them and this Shulk… it had been just far too striking, and enough to get them invested in the mystery of their own past. Even if it was just a tiny lead on their memories, and one that might not even lead anywhere, they had to follow it.

No matter where it led.

Chapter Text

Through sky-blue hair, he stared out at a snow-covered field. Stared, and let his mind wander.

His time in this world thus far had been… interesting. It was a whole new land to explore, with its own rich history, and rules with how everything worked. Not just on a societal level, but seemingly on a fundamental way in which the universe functioned. Even if he had been at his full strength, he doubted that his powers would have been quite the same here as they had been back at home.

But when it came to the distinction between here and home, he was having more major things that gave him pause for thought. He still wasn’t sure why he was even alive, what brought him here… or what caused him to appear in this new persona. Personality? He wasn’t even sure. He had the same memories and everything, but he felt about them… that was different. Really, he wasn’t sure about anything right now.

Or, well, he was sure about one thing. Whatever he was now, it had happened because of the damage he took in that last battle, both physical and emotional. The emotional part of it all had caused something similar for her , after all, all those years ago…

He smiled. But even if what had happened to him was just like what had happened to her, that was not the answer to all his problems. He never had been able to figure out if the other her was a different person, or still her. Considering that he had seen her split into two beings, he was more inclined to lean towards the former. But even now, he wasn't fully certain. Especially after she changed her look yet again. After all, he had changed his own look back at home in the end, and he had still been the same, hadn't he?

But as quickly as it had come, the smile faded from his face. It was impossible to remember all these events without remembering the others

Without remembering him .

Who would have thought that he, of all people, would ever miss somebody this much?

But no use dwelling on that now, though… right now, he needed to figure out what to make of his presence in this world more than anything else. Not his reason for being here, but rather what he could do here. He didn’t want to die – getting killed once had taken care of any such desire. What did he want now, though?

…Power.

He wanted his former power back.

He wasn’t sure if he was a new person, or the same person shaped into something else by his experiences. But he was certain that getting his power back would help him figure out some of this.

Now, as for a means to regain it… the machines could be the key to finding that.

Slowly, he held out a hand, palm down. He went over the memories, the data that he had acquired from his last encounter with the machines…

And created some of his own.

Clicking, clacking and whirring they stood before him, awaiting his orders… and he sent them out. Any help was welcome.

He knew that they were also programmed to attack humans – but truthfully, he didn’t really care for that. Humans in this world were no better than the ones in his own, as far as he could tell, anyway. Besides, they had fighters. If they got in his way and destroyed some of the machines, it was no skin off of his nose.

And so, the machines set out into the snow-covered land.

Horses were, Shulk decided, a type of monster. Though Lucina’s initial description had made them out to be just another type of animal that lived in this world like Happy Rabbits or Armus, actually coming face to face with the beasts directly quickly changed his mind on the subject.

Granted, in all the time that he had spent in this world already, he had seen them before. But that had always been in passing, when he hadn’t really had the time to actually focus on them. Whether it was some horses running wild in the distance during their travels, seeing another travel ride on the back of one on occasion, or fighting the Shepherds’ knights during their arena match, there really hadn’t been the opportunity to take in their whole horseliness, and all that that entailed.

That opportunity however presented itself once Lucina and him left the arena in Khadelis, and made their way to a horse salesman (if that was what they were called) outside of the city. While Lucina, now no longer in her Marth disguise, haggled with the seller (who, as it turned out, seemed to be once again the red-haired woman who had tried to sell him a sausage in a bun in Ylisstol. Upon realizing this, Shulk decided to really question someone about that, once the opportunity presented itself), he took a look around the stables.

Doing so initially confirmed one thing to him: that horses were, in fact, remarkably similar to Ponios, a type of monster that could be found on the Bionis’ Leg. They tended to be smaller than the monsters, lacked any type of horn, and had fur colours that for Shulk’s tastes were far too similar to human hair colours, but the similarities were there.

But on the other hand, there was just something fundamentally unsettling about the beasts. While the last time that Shulk had actually seen a Ponio was ages ago – he very rarely needed to go to the Bionis’ Leg, after all – he knew where he was at with monsters like them. They were aggressive, to be sure, but at least they were up-front about that. And most of the time, if you let them mind their own business, then they left you alone, as well. Granted, dealing with them was sometimes still necessary because their neck meat was an ingredient in making high quality ink, along with other uses for their body parts. Still, Ponios were straightforward.

Horses meanwhile gave off the impression of being anything but straightforward. Shulk couldn’t quite place it: it was just something about their general vibe, and the way they bared their teeth occasionally. Horses, he felt, were up to something. Animals shouldn’t grin like that.

They were however the fastest means of travel available in this world, and as such, Shulk had already resigned himself to the prospect of finding himself on the back of one. Not that he would have to like it.

“Shulk? Shall we?” Lucina suddenly shouted, from elsewhere in the stables.

“Coming!” he shouted back. He gave the various horses one last wary look (he was just certain that they were thinking something in those big heads of theirs!), and then hurried into the direction where Lucina’s voice had come from.

When he however got to her and the seller, neither of them looked particularly happy. Seeing this, he slowed down his steps.

“Is… something the matter?” he asked.

“Yeah. Her prizes,” Lucina said, sounding as annoyed as she looked.

“Oh, don’t you complain to me, miss! The price you talked me down to is nothing but theft. Really, I should be reporting you to the city watch!” the seller snapped back.

Lucina however met her with cold eyes. “Do that then, if you’re so confident! They’ll probably end up taking you in, considering the prices you demand…”

The two continued to exchange angry glares. Lucina in particular looked down on the seller more than he had ever seen her look down on anyone. Which, in a way, was quite noteworthy, seeing as Lucina was taller than most people that Shulk had met in this world.

“So, uhm… the horse is paid off, then?” he asked carefully.

“It is,” Lucina said, “At a massive cost, however.”

“Which includes saddles, bridle, bags, and a whole lot of other utilities! You wouldn’t get this sort of deal anywhere else.”

“I’d hope so…” Lucina grumbled.

“Then… are we going to leave now?” Shulk asked, still carefully. This whole situation was still definitely in the broad field of subjects that he personally did not know how to deal with: normally, if he had to pay for something, then he just did so. Between the Defence Force’s pay, as well as the selling value of various monster parts or pieces of Mechon scrap, he never really had that much to worry about when it came to money.

Lucina sighed, but then nodded. “Yes, let’s. Any more time spent here, and I might lose my temper even more.”

Shulk grimaced, and cast a worried look at the seller. However, she in turn just put out her tongue towards Lucina, which the swordswoman didn’t dignify with any kind of acknowledgement.

A few minutes later, the two of them were standing outside of the stables, together with their new purchase. While Lucina was busy putting their various belongings into the horse’s bags, Shulk eyed the monster cautiously. It didn’t really seem to care much for his presence in turn, but he was not going to be that trustful. This monster was, just like all the others, up to something. He was just certain of it.

“Does it have a name?” he suddenly asked on a whim.

“I don’t think so,” Lucina answered, not really looking up from what she was doing. “Or if it does, then she didn’t tell me. No way I’m going back in just to ask that, though…”

“Right. Right.”

There was a brief pause. Then, Shulk added, “How about… Breezy Zolos?”

This time, Lucina did look up.

“…What?”

“For a name. If we’re going to be travelling with this monster, it’s going to need a name, don’t you think?”

Lucina thought about this for a moment. “Breezy Zolos, Breezy Zolos… I like it! It is a rather unique name. Is it something from your world?”

Shulk considered this. Why had he said that name? Try as he might, he could not figure it out. “Honestly, I have no idea. It just came to me.”

Lucina sighed, and then shrugged. “So probably just another thing that you cannot remember… well, no matter. Everything’s packed up, so let’s get going.”

“Right!” Shulk said… and paused. Lucina was standing expectantly near the horse, looking at him. Though they were right outside the city walls, and right next to the street that they had followed to come here, she did not give off the impression that she was going to start walking.

“…Er. So how are we going to do this? The horse is just for carrying our belongings, right?”

“After all the money I spent on it? Absolutely not.” Lucina laughed. “Together, we ride – that’s the plan.”

“But I don’t know how to-!” Shulk blurted out in a panic, but before he could finish what he wanted to say, he got cut off again.

“And that’s exactly why I only bought one. Well… that, and the prices. I’m going to do the actual riding, and you’ll just have to focus on not falling off. That should be doable, yes?”

Shulk kept sputtering helplessly, trying to come up with an argument against whatever Lucina had in mind. When the perfect argument however failed to manifest inside of his head, he let his shoulders sag, and relented.

“…I guess. I can make no promises for not falling off, though.”

Lucina laughed again. “Then let’s hope that you fall into the snow if that happens! It should make for a softer landing.”

And with that, she got down a little, and put her hands together, palms-up. The intent was rather clear: giving Shulk a leg up so that he could get on the monster’s back. Shulk, for his part, breathed out deeply, mentally steadied himself, and then gave it a try.

There was a lot of flailing of legs involved. Before he even sat down, he already had the feeling that he was going to fall off. Which, in turn, made it just all the more surprising when he didn’t. The feeling of sitting down still wasn’t exactly a good one, though: Shulk could feel the horse shifting and moving beneath him, even though he was sitting in one of the saddles that Lucina had bought as well.

(And at least he knew what those were. Nopon used them sometimes to ride Armus, and he had heard that on occasion, Homs did as well. Considering how calm these monsters usually were, it seemed like a far better idea to ride them than to ride a horse.)

When Lucina got on the horse next, it wound up being a whole lot more graceful than Shulk’s own attempt. Though then, again, her being a decent bit taller than him, and therefore having an easier time getting up probably helped.

As she sat down, Shulk could hear the horse make some disgruntled-sounding noises. For a brief moment, he feared that with the weight of not only him and Lucina, but also their belongings, it would simply have enough, toss them off, and run away… but mercifully, no such thing ended up happening. Not that he didn’t fear that it could happen still, that was.

Once she was sitting securely, Lucina gave the monster – gave Breezy Zolos a nudge with her legs, while making a clicking noise with her tongue. The horse began to walk at a leisurely pace, settling into a gentle trod. But even so, Shulk could not relax.

“Try not to tense up too much,” Lucina said up ahead, “That is only going to make it more difficult for Zolos.”

“Sorry. This is all still completely new to me,” Shulk responded earnestly.

“You know, you do not need to be afraid of horses. Humans wouldn’t ride them if they were so dangerous,” Lucina said. Even though Shulk obviously could not actually see her face, her tone made it really rather clear that she was grinning.

“I’m not afraid! I’m only… cautious, is all. Horses remind me a lot of a type of monster that you can also find on the Gaur Plains of Bionis’ Leg. And you can’t be too careful around those.”

“There are actual monsters in your world, and you are afraid of something as harmless as a horse? Quite the priorities you have there,” the answer came. The grin was definitely still there.

“Yes,” Shulk plainly stated. “And I mean it’s not like people are always rational when it comes to what they’re cautious or afraid of. Reyn for example is super afraid of spiders, ever since I put one into his shoes back when we were kids.”

“I didn’t know you had such a mean streak! What did you do that for?”

“Because Reyn put a caterpillar in my sock drawer. I was already afraid of the buggers before, but that? Really didn’t help…”

“Ah,” Lucina said, clicking with her tongue, and seemingly leaning her head back a little. “That I can understand. These crawling, buzzing beasts… urrgh, I would rather crawlies of all kinds just stayed away from me.”

For just a moment, Shulk’s tension over being on horseback was forgotten. In spite of himself, he smiled. “I guess that’s something we have in common, then. Though I think in that regard, this world is a bit of a blessing for me, since there aren’t any monsters like Caterpiles around…”

Lucina gave him a look over her shoulder. ““Caterpiles”? I don’t like the sound of those. What are they?”

“Caterpillar-like monsters. They are about the size of…” Shulk paused, and looked around. Off the top of his head, he couldn’t really think of anything that would compare to the size and body shape of a Caterpile that Lucina would be able to understand.

Then he realized what he was sitting on.

“About the size of a horse. Though there are plenty that can get bigger still. Right outside Colony 9, there’s Verdant Bluchal, and near the entrance of Tephra Cave is the Cellar Bugworm. Those are easily twice the size of our Breezy Zolos here.”

In front of him, Lucina visibly tensed up as she looked ahead again. When next she spoke, her voice sounded just a bit funny. “Urgh…! Good thing that I’ll never have to see those, then. If your world has these kinds of monsters in it, then I’d really rather not see it for myself.”

“It’s not all bad like that!” Shulk laughed. “Most Caterpiles generally just mind their own business. And since they’re so big, you can just easily see them from far away and avoid them.”

“That’s a small relief at least, then… if it wasn’t for the “most” there. What did you mean by that?”

“Well, the Cellar Bugworm is pretty aggressive. When me, Fiora and Reyn were on our way to the Mag Mell Ruins, it really roughed us up. We did manage to get it to flee eventually, but at first, we did need to run from it.”

“…That, on the other hand, is really not much of a relief.”

Shulk laughed again, which eventually however turned into a sigh. “You know… when I finally find a way back home. And if it isn’t a one-way trip, or a way that only works once. Then I’d really love to show you my world. I think you would love it.”

To that, Lucina gave no response. But just as he had been able to tell that she had tensed up earlier, Shulk could now tell that she was relaxing again, while she made a brief humming noise. Seeing this, Shulk was tempted to ask what she thought of that, since he really didn’t know what to make of that reaction otherwise. But, he quickly decided against it. Her reaction wasn’t a negative one at least, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was better not to think about his home world too much right now. Not when he still didn’t know if he could even go back at all.

But by the same token… recalling how he, Fiora and Reyn had travelled through Tephra Cave should have stung. Emotionally, that was. Not just because he missed his home, or missed Reyn, but due to the knowledge that Fiora was dead, that even if he did manage to go back, he would never be able to experience something like that again. Never see her smile again, never be in her company again… living in the knowledge that she was gone.

Yet no matter how he thought about it, thought about her… there was the same vague feeling as ever that everything was just fine. How he felt about Fiora was the same how he felt about Reyn in that regard. How he felt about everyone at home, in that regard.

Which could of course mean that everything really was fine.

Or that everyone back at home was as good as dead to him. If they were, what difference would it make? It wasn’t like he could see them again. Not right now… and maybe not ever.

“I think it’s about time that we hurry up a little,” Lucina suddenly spoke, tearing Shulk away from his increasingly dour thoughts. “Best hold on tight!”

“Er,” Shulk said, looking Lucina’s back up and down while getting more flustered. “Where… exactly…?”

“Just hold on to my hips. You could also try holding onto my shoulders, but I think your arms may tire if you do that.”

The way Lucina said all that was extremely matter-of-factly, leaving no doubt that this was all meant to be anything but pragmatic. Even still, Shulk was glad that she wasn’t actually looking at him right now. In all the time that he had spent around her, he couldn’t actually recall any instances where he had deliberately touched Lucina. But… if she thought nothing of it, why should he get all worked up? Especially since he wasn’t touching her skin.

Even still, Shulk was a bit reluctant and flustered when he reached for Lucina’s hips.

At least until she made Breezy Zolos speed up. Then, he didn’t really have the time to remain flustered.

Together, Lucina and Shulk rode for the remainder of the day. After all the preparations for the tournament match, the actual fight against the Shepherds, and everything that needed to be taken care of before they could leave Khadelis, it was already getting afternoon before they actually set out. As such, Lucina knew that they could not get terribly far, but she didn’t really mind. As long as they got a decent head start on the Shepherds on the way back to Ylisstol, she didn’t mind.

Of course, at present, she wasn’t exactly in a hurry: the next major event of the timeline was still a few weeks away, and wasn’t necessarily one that required much preparation on her part. But the lower the risk of her running into her father and the Shepherds on the road the better, she thought. Even if they did pass her by, they probably wouldn’t even recognize her – but Lucina still didn’t want to see them.

Though she had been defeated in the end, the fact that her father struggled so much while fighting her still weighed heavily on her mind. To be entirely fair to him, it did make sense: he was the one who trained her, years after this point in time. And from his training, she went on to a life of fighting, with nary a day going by without her needing to wield a sword to defend her own life and those of others. In terms of experience, she easily had the Chrom of this time outmatched.

And yet . And yet, and yet, and yet… this had not gone she had envisioned it. From her childhood memories, and everything that anyone had ever said about him after his passing, her father had become this unapproachable, unreachable figure, so great that there was no doubt in Lucina’s mind that if he had somehow survived, he would have been able to save her timeline by himself. She should not have had such an easy time fighting him.

But this Chrom was younger. He had not yet lived through the experiences that had made him that man, Lucina reminded herself. She had already concluded that earlier! So why was she coming back to it? Give him time. Give him time to become the leader that everyone around her had known. Then everything would be fine.

But still, the nagging little doubts inside of her head persisted…

All the more reason to avoid him until her intervention was actually needed.

At the same time, something else was occupying her mind… what Shulk had said earlier. Between all the light-hearted talk of their mundane fears and differences between their worlds had been something that had remained inside of her head for all the time that they had been riding, even if their conversation had long since died down.

That being Shulk’s offer to show her his world.

They were in absolutely no position to think about this in any practical way, of course. He had yet to even find a way back home. And for her… the real concerning part of her mission had yet to even start. Everything so far had been naught but preamble, while behind the scenes, Plegia and Grimleal were already on the move. The resurrection of the Fell Dragon was being prepared, even if she had no idea whatsoever what that would entail. Whatever it did entail though, the assassination of Emmeryn, and attempted assassination of her father were crucial parts of it. That much was certain.

But… say that everything did work out. That she managed to prevent all the untimely deaths of her timeline, yes, even prevent the whole war between Ylisse and Plegia altogether. That everything went better than she even pictured it in her keenest dreams.

Then what?

What would she do then?

There was always the possibility that altering the timeline like that would erase her existence, to be sure. If it didn’t, though… then, for the first time in her life, she would be free on what to do next. No longer bound by the need to defend those that she cared about, as well as all the world. She would even be free from the obligations of having to be the Exalt. Naga had been firm in her assertion that no return to the future would be possible. And in this time… well, between Emmeryn, her father, Lissa, her present day self, or even any siblings or cousins that never had a chance to be born in this timeline, it was just extremely unlikely that she was ever going to rule anything.

She would be free.

And she had no idea what she would do then.

Lucina grimaced, and suppressed the thought. Engaging in these thoughts now was nothing but a waste of time. There was no point in worrying about this. Not when such a scenario was not even close to being within reach. She would go forward as she had done before: facing her problems one at a time.

Besides, the next one of these was already major enough already.

They wound up riding until a while after nightfall. As it was early May, this meant that they were still out for quite a while, and that by the time that Lucina finally led Breezy Zolos towards a village, the snow-covered landscape around them had already long since grown dark. Luckily for the two of them, even after speeding up the process with Zolos, they were still far away enough from the border so that the villages had not been abandoned, meaning that there was an inn to turn in to for the night.

By the time that Lucina got off of Breezy Zolos’ back, her legs felt really rather sore. While she was well-trained when it came to horse riding – both her courtly education (as long as that was actually a concern of anybody) as well as her combat training had made it imperative that she was capable of that much – it still had been ages since she had been on any sort of lengthy ride. Nice as they were to have, horses had quickly lost much of their uses as the destruction of the fell dragon progressed. The world of humanity quickly shrunk to just Ylisse, and then Ylisstol, and became a place where the best possible use for horses was as a… supply.

Which was all just to say that she really wasn’t used to riding anymore. And the prospect of having to do so for even longer in the coming days wasn’t exactly something she looked forward to. But, this was the fastest method of travelling on land, so her hands were tied in that regard.

(And while flying with either a pegasus, a wyvern, or a griffon did have the potential of being faster, it also came with its own problems. Not only were any of those mounts far harder to get by, but they also drew a lot more attention as a result. Which was all on top of the difficulty of riding any of them with a second person…)

For as exhausted and sore as Lucina was after the ride however, it easily paled in comparison to what Shulk was like once they got off at the inn. Though with shaky feet, she still managed to get just fine off of Breezy Zolos. He, on the other hand, essentially fell down from the horse’s back, and didn’t move then. At least he fell into the straw, so Lucina was certain that he hadn’t sustained any injuries from the fall.

Though then again, that didn’t rule out any injuries from beforehand… and she wasn’t even certain whether he had still been holding on to her later on.

“Are you alright, Shulk?” Lucina said, squatting next to him on the stable floor. Illuminated by just a few lanterns as they were, it really wasn’t easy to make out any details. From what she could tell though, he was still breathing.

“I think that depends entirely on your definition of “okay”…” Shulk answered weakly, raising his head just a bit.

Lucina smiled sympathetically. “You are really not used to this sort of thing, huh?”

“How should I be? We don’t have these horse monsters at home, and whenever we need to get somewhere fast we just buggies or transport ships…”

“You’ll have to tell me about those then, on occasion. Come on now, let’s get inside. There are better places to rest the night than the stable grounds.”

And with that, Lucina grabbed Shulk underneath the shoulders, and lifted him off the ground.

The look the innkeeper gave them made Lucina realize all too late that the sight of them coming in had perhaps some implications to it that she rather would have avoided. Shulk was weak on his feet, she had his arm slung around her shoulder to support him, and she was partly dragging him along. Based on his facial expression, the innkeeper likely thought that they had been riding something other than a horse. But though she blushed a little at the unspoken suggestion, the innkeeper ended up saying nothing, and just welcomed them.

In a brief exchange, Lucina arranged for them to get a room to stay the night, as well as some stew from the kitchen. Not long thereafter, the two of them were alone, each lying on their beds, and with bowls with food in hand.

“Oh, I’m not gonna get up again today…” Shulk murmured, closing his eyes and seemingly just taking in the sensation of the bed beneath him.

“As long as you can get out of bed tomorrow, you can do whatever you want now,” Lucina said, bemusedly. “And if it’s any consolation, we will travel at a slower pace tomorrow. I don’t want to mistreat Breezy Zolos by making him run too much, and we already got enough of a head start over the Shepherds, anyway.”

“But that means we’ll still be riding tomorrow, won’t we…?” Shulk said warily, looking up between spoonfuls of his stew.

“…Yes,” Lucina conceded. “But we’re not really in a hurry anymore, so we can walk some of the distance on foot and just have Breezy Zolos carry our stuff, if you’d prefer that.”

“Do you even need to ask what I prefer?” Shulk asked, with a bit of played-up indignation. In response, Lucina just chuckled a bit. After that, they continued their meal in silence.

Lucina had not expected much more out of the day. After everything that had happened already, she had thought that Shulk, much like herself, was too tired to do much of anything anymore, especially after how rough the ride had been for him. Yet once he finished his meal and put his bowl on the nightstand, she could already tell that he still had something on his mind.

“Hm? Something the matter, Shulk?” she asked, while still busy eating.

“Yes, actually. There’s something I’ve been wondering about. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw your father and the East-Khan give their speeches in the arena after the match, but…”

His voice trailed off. Lucina looked at him expectantly, and nodded.

“What? Out with it!”

“Well – you told me that one of the events that you would like to prevent is this war between Ylisse and Plegia. And your father and the khan, they also talked about the threat coming from Plegia, all that. But… what is this actually about? Why do these Plegians want to go to war with Ylisse so badly?”

Lucina blinked, and froze up with the spoon in her mouth. Slowly, her gaze drifted down from Shulk, and onto the ground. There it remained, while she took a few deep breaths.

“I mean… I’m still not even really used to the concept of Homs- I mean, humans fighting each other in large-scale conflicts like this. So I was hoping that you could explain it to me? Make some more sense of it.”

Lucina took one more deep breath. Then, she pulled the spoon out of her mouth, looked back at Shulk, and continued eating.

“Truth to be told, I don’t really know all that much about the sociopolitical factors that led to this war happening in the first place,” she slowly said. “Happening in my timeline, that is. The ones who know most about that would be Owain and Laurent, two of my friends. But, well, since I’m separated from them…”

“I see,” Shulk said, shoulders sagging a little. “Then I suppose I’ll just see what I can find out through the library at the mage’s guild once we get back to-”

Before he could however finish the sentence, Lucina cut him off. “I do know the general basics of it, though! That’s not it. It’s just that I can’t tell you the details. With all the battles and wars going on from my childhood to my adulthood, there was never really much time to pause to think about the “why”. There was always just “What now”.”

She paused a bit, scraping together the last leftovers from her bowl before putting it on her nightstand. She suspected that what she had told Shulk wasn’t anything that he wasn’t familiar with personally – all that he had told her about the conflict with the Mechon definitely seemed to be pointing in that direction. But still… it couldn’t hurt to remind him.

“What I do know is that some… I want to say fifteen years ago, my father’s father – my grandfather, the Exalt Lowell – attacked Plegia. For what reason, I don’t know. Maybe he heard tales of the religion that worships the fell dragon, the Grimleal, and how they had gained power and influence within that kingdom. Maybe he wanted to do exactly what I’m doing right now, prevent the resurrection of Grima, and save the world from it. I couldn’t tell you. But the war… it was a violent and bloody affair, even by the standards of the wars that are usually fought in this world. It brought ruin across both Plegia and Ylisse, only ending with the sudden death of my grandfather. Both nations had been able to rebuild after that, on their own terms – but with Plegia, there is still festering resentment. And that resentment is about to make itself be felt.”

When she finished talking, silence fell over them. Shulk was no longer looking her in the eyes. Instead, he didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, just hanging after his own thoughts, whatever those were.

“I’m sorry that I can’t give you more information. Like I said, I never really had the chance to sit down and learn about it,” Lucina continued, feeling like she needed to say something.

“Mh? Oh no, it’s alright. It’s enough to give me a basic understanding… I mean, if I ask other people about it now, I won’t have to explain away how I know literally nothing about it, you know?”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. You should have options enough to find out the rest,” Lucina said. After that, the conversation ceased. Both wished each other a good night, and went to sleep.

But although the day had been long and exhausting, Lucina could not find sleep right away. The more she thought about it, the more Shulk’s question left her thinking. Why had the war taken place? Not just the one started by her grandfather, though now that that question had been brought up, she also couldn’t help but to wonder about it. But what she was also uncertain of was the war that was about to start.

Oh, in her time, she had heard plenty of the evils of Gangrel, and the Grimleal that aided his rise to power. Her father as she knew him had always been a kind but passionate man. But whenever the topic of discussion came to the king of Plegia (or former king) his expression… hardened. All his passion went into hatred, and he lost nothing but words of vitriol for the man. Lucina had never questioned it. Gangrel had been directly responsible for the death of aunt Emmeryn at the hands of the assassins, and the war that had brought so much pain and suffering over Ylisse. If he was her father’s enemy, he could only have been a bad guy. Her father was beyond any shadow of a doubt a good guy, the good guy.

He had to be right about this, had he not?

After everything that happened today, she was reminded of all that. And no matter how she thought about it, she didn’t feel quite as certain as she did when she was younger.

But the war had raged on for years! And if her father now was younger than she was, then he had had more than enough time to mature. Grow out of his youthful arrogance, and become the admirable leader she knew him to be. In that, she had full trust.

The thoughts however kept her awake for a good while longer still.

By the time that Shulk woke up again, the exhaustion and sore muscles that had plagued him last evening were mercifully silenced. Yet as Lucina and him went about their early morning business such as eating breakfast, the relief over that did not exactly remain for long. Even if she had promised him that from now on, they would be travelling more slowly and might even cross some distance on foot… he still could not look past the fact that they would still spend several hours on horseback.

No matter how grim the thought was however, he did not speak out against it. This all was, at the end of the day, Lucina’s mission. And if she wanted to get back to Ylisstol as soon as possible, then he was not going to speak out against it. He trusted that she knew how to go about the things she wanted to accomplish.

Not that that made the prospect of spending even more hours on Breezy Zolos any more appealing.

With a heavy heart, he followed after Lucina as they both stepped out of the inn, where they were greeted by the early morning sun shining over the snowy landscape. As the village lacked any sort of fortifications like walls, he could take a moment to take in the view…

At least until he got a vision.

He was walking beside Lucina, who at this moment was leading Breezy Zolos out of the stable. As she stopped to get onto the horse’s back however, the sound of multiple screams coming from the village entrance made her stop.

“Risen?!” she said breathlessly, as people began to run away from where the screams had come. With a grim expression, she drew Falchion, while Shulk also reached for the Monado…

Then spheres of blue light shot forth, hitting people, houses, and even the ground, causing explosions wherever they struck. Before they even came into view, Shulk realized what it was they were dealing with.

The vision ended.

“Mechon!” Shulk shouted, causing Lucina to stop dead in her tracks.

“Huh? What?” she asked, sounding confused but alert.

“I had a vision! Mechon are on their way to the village – they’ll be here in a moment!”

Lucina gave him a calculating look. Then, she drew Falchion. “Where?”

“At the village entrance. I didn’t see how many, but I know for certain they are coming. If we don’t do anything, people will-!”

“Then let’s not waste any time!” Lucina said firmly, and rushed off. Drawing the Monado, Shulk hurried after her.

As they ran through the village, people around them gave them weird looks. From their perspective, it must have admittedly looked funny: two random travellers that had arrived late last night, and were now up in the morning, running around with their swords drawn. Or, well, not so much funny as it was probably odd and vaguely threatening.

By the time that they reached the village entrance and the Mechon were in sight, they probably didn’t come off as quite so odd.

While around them people started to scream and run as the Mechon shot blasts of ether, Shulk paused to take in their numbers. There were over half a dozen of the quadrupedal M42 units, rushing ahead of nearly as many of the crabble-like M69 units. Behind them still, about four M72 units stalked, their long, claw-like appendages clicking almost anticipatory. And at the end of their group were the large, lanky M82 units – two of them.

“This is bad…” Lucina said breathlessly, Falchion raised and blade of light forming around it. “Are the Risen not plight enough upon this world already?”

Shulk said nothing in response. In the brief moment that he had before the Mechon were upon them, only one thought flashed through his head: if Mechonis, who had seemed to be the origin of the machines, and who they had fought at the arena, had recognized him to not be what she was after – why were they still being attacked by Mechon?

Chapter Text

The blades of light cut through the machines with ease, rendering them unable to move, or outright causing them to explode in ether. The two fighters were not struggling with them in the slightest: the young man with the red sword weaved in and out of their range, their attacks, as if it was second nature. Indeed, he was moving not only as if he were intimately familiar with the machines and their functionality, but also as if he could anticipate their every move.

The young woman with the golden sword meanwhile fought… differently. She was moving like someone who was cautious about the machines, someone who had never seen anything like them. But she was moving with the self-assuredness and efficiency of someone who lived through countless battles. She was nowhere near on the same level as the young man, but her sword behaved remarkably similar to his.

And he had seen enough.

The man with the sky blue hair opened his eyes.

Well, that was unexpected. Previously, he had only had a vague sense that there were others like him in this world, others who had been dragged here like he had been. But this was an outright confirmation if ever there was one. He wasn’t certain if both the young man and the young woman were outsiders, or if none or neither of them were. But the power they were using was definitely not something that belonged here.

In fact, it reminded him of his own… but that could not be, could it? The only one like him was his partner – and if she had appeared in this world as well, then he would have known it.

Had father not mentioned something of a third, though? One who got lost to another world… had he somehow ended up in the same world as that one?

He smiled. What a thought… another partner. But as much as he would have liked to seek them out, he figured that it was better not to. For the time being, at least. His current strength was a shadow of what he used to wield. Better not take any risks.

So, in the meantime… maybe he could follow the young man and young woman. Well out of sight, of course.

In the nick of time, Shulk dodged underneath the Mechon’s saw blade, swinging the Monado at its legs, and making it drop down. Despite the number of Mechon that had come to attack, he and Lucina had no problems whatsoever dealing with them. One after another they fell, all before they could do any harm to the village or its inhabitants.

As Shulk watched, Lucina dispatched the last of them. The threat was dealt with. But although this should have been a cause for celebration, he just felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“That’s it, then,” Shulk said, deactivating the Monado and turning to Lucina. She, too, turned off the blade of light around Falchion, and faced him.

“Thankfully so. But what were these Mechon even doing here? I thought this Mechonis woman has no quarrel with us.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe she is still using them to chase after this Klaus that she was after?”

Lucina’s expression hardened. “If they attack the people of this world on her behalf, then I have no choice but to view her as an enemy. Whether it be from the Fell Dragon and its Risen or these Mechon, I will not allow such destruction to come upon any nation of this world.”

“There they are!” a shout came, before Shulk had any opportunity to respond.

(Not that he had any good response ready. There really wasn’t much to be said.)

He whirled around – and saw that a crowd had gathered in the village, watching them and the currently dissolving Mechon. As far as he could tell, the people seemed rather joyful.

“What a battle! First these monsters come out of nowhere, and then you two just take them all out? Amazing!” said one man.

“What were those, anyway? They don’t look nothing like these undead monsters that people have spotted recently,” said another who Shulk thought was the innkeeper.

“They are called Mechon,” Shulk said, taking a step towards the crowd. “They are machines – creatures made of steel that feed on e- I mean, magic. They stop at nothing to kill h… umans. I do not know if any more of them are roaming the lands. But in case they are, send word to the capital and warn them. Mechon can only efficiently be taken out by magic, or by toppling them and hitting their joint sections with more force than most people can muster. Whatever danger the Risen pose – these machines are worse .”

The general joyful mood did not last much longer when he said that.

“I must admit, I did not expect you to speak up like that,” Lucina said as they rode out of the village some time later.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Shulk asked, sounding mildly confused.

“The way you warned the villagers about the Mechon. Do not get me wrong, this information definitely needed to be put out there. But I would not have thought that you would so readily give that warning. And so concisely, too.”

“I just know all too well what the Mechon are capable of. The way we took care of that bunch probably made them seem not particularly dangerous… and I just really don’t want to see the people of this world be caught off-guard. No one should have to deal with the sort of things that they can do…”

In spite of the grave nature of his words, Lucina could not help but to smile weakly. All this sounded simply way too familiar. Though she didn’t recall all the conversations that she and her friends had had when they had decided that they would travel through time, wordings like that had definitely been thrown around. Even if their actions would wind up erasing all their timeline and themselves as a result, she and the others were fully prepared for that if it also saved the world. Though their concerns and resolve were different, Lucina was glad that all the bizarre circumstances that had already happened to her in this time had at least given her a travel companion who felt so similarly to her.

Though, come to think of it…

Lucina looked over her shoulder, and at Shulk. The way he was sitting there on Breezy Zolos, he appeared to still be pretty sombre, even while still holding on to her shoulders for support. Now that she had thought of it, she was confused that she hadn’t thought of it before. How was he here to begin with?

“…You know. This is a bit of a change in topic, but… there’s something I just wondered.”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“Well… you know all too well now that I’m from the future. But the thing is – this Mechonis lady, the Mechon, or even you. As far as I know, neither you nor any of these other things were in that timeline. I can't be certain, but someone would have heard of it. So how are you here now? ”

“…Huh,” Shulk said. “That… is a good question. I hope you don’t expect me to be able to answer it, though.”

“I don’t, no worries,” Lucina said, laughing weakly. “I suppose it is then just another thing that I- that we do not know about. There really doesn’t seem to be a shortage in those.”

“That really seems to be the case,” Shulk agreed. “But… maybe you could look at it this way. If there are already several things and people here that were not in your timeline, maybe these long-term changes of the future really do work without erasing you or your friends?”

“It wouldn’t be a bad way to look at it, that much is true. But on the other hand, that means that the future I came from truly is beyond saving…”

“Wasn’t it already? I mean, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

Lucina narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Well, yes. But I had hoped that by altering the past, it could undo the catastrophes of the present. Though I guess it really does seem like this future is written.” Her tone was perhaps a bit more audibly annoyed than it needed to be, considering the question. Then again, Shulk’s comment hadn’t been needed, either.

“I. Uh, sorry?” he said rather hastily. From the way he talked, Lucina could tell precisely two things: that on the one hand, he was actually sorry. But on the other hand, she could also tell that he didn’t actually understand what he had done wrong.

For a moment, Lucina considered this. Then, she just shook her head lightly, and let out another sigh. “Just… nevermind. The point here simply is that there is something about your presence in this world that we have yet to figure out. Your presence, and that of several other things.”

“Uhm… right. So… is there anything else to discuss for now?”

Lucina also considered this. There wasn’t much to consider. “No, not really.”

And so the conversation ceased. With regards to why she had been unhappy with him, Lucina didn’t say anything, either – if he really didn’t know, then he could just ask. But he didn’t. They just rode in silence.

With the aid of Breezy Zolos, their journey back to the border between Regna Ferox and Ylisse was rather more swift than the one in the opposite direction had been. Yet for as swift as it was, it was not as uneventful: more than once, they ran into groups of Risen or Mechon. With the latter, there was now also no doubt that they, too, now roamed the lands much the same way as the former did. The realization was a chilling one, but one that Lucina faced with fierce determination. Dire though this was, this timeline was still nowhere near to the state that Lucina’s own had been by the time that she had left it behind. And more importantly: the Fell Dragon was not yet resurrected here, and her father and the Shepherds still lived. There was hope, and plenty of it. The future was not written.

But in the meantime, as dangerous as the Risen and Mechon were to the people of this world… for Lucina and Shulk, they were simply not much of a threat. Between her experience as a fighter, and his visions that made sure that they could not be ambushed, they dealt with any such encounters swiftly.

At the same time, for all the days that their journey lasted, it was largely devoid of any noteworthy conversations between them. Oh, they talked alright, and the atmosphere between them was relaxed and jovial enough, a far cry from the first leg of their travels to Regna Ferox. But all the things that they talked about were of no particularly deep nature. While Breezy Zolos did make everything easier, they were still often too exhausted to just sit down and have any in-depth talks. Not that either of them minded, as it was not like they would have no opportunity to really talk again.

Crossing the border again was a non-issue. While the border guard were suspicious of anyone entering the country, leaving it was something that they didn’t really care about. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to Lucina. What also may have played a part is that Raimi was no longer here, having accompanied Chrom and the Shepherds to Khadelis (as Lucina knew from the written timeline).

Regardless of what it was though, they ventured further south with no problems, and soon made their way to lands where there was no more snow, which Shulk was visibly relieved with. Though he had never said anything explicit on the matter, Lucina had already grown to understand that whatever his home was like, it was a region that normally had a much warmer climate.

Yet although they had left behind the lands where they had first encountered Mechon in this world, they did not leave the machines themselves behind. Even in Ylisse, they encountered a group of them not too long after crossing the border. Seeing this, Lucina threw all pretence of taking things slowly in the wind, and rode Breezy Zolos as fast as she had when they had first left Khadelis. Shulk was obviously none too happy about this, but Lucina could not accommodate him now.

While Regna Ferox and its people had been warned about how to fight the Mechon – they had done so again at the Longfort – the people of Ylisse had no such warning yet. And with their entire military consisting of just the Pegasus Knights (aside from the Shepherds, obviously), they were not poised to defend them. Evading Mechon attacks was definitely doable from pegasusback, to be sure. But fighting and destroying the machines efficiently was another matter entirely, and one that Lucina could not see the pegasus knights figuring out without significant losses.

Of course, that still left the issue of how to best pass on such a warning to the pegasus knights, but Lucina was sure that she would be able to figure out something. Worst case scenario, she could just don her Marth disguise once more, and show herself to somebody like Phila to do it. It would fit in with the general persona that she had cultivated thus far, at least.

But while there were certainly options enough, Lucina had still not made up their mind by the time that Ylisstol became visible on the horizon once more.

Shulk’s second time seeing the city of Ylisstol in the distance was no less impressive than the first time around had been. It still was nothing compared to what it had been like to stand on Kneecap Hill together with Reyn, and seeing the Mechonis far off in the west, barely visible from behind the clouds. But still – as far as views in this world went, it was pretty impressive. And after spending so much time in landscapes that were predominately white, the lush greens of the surrounding lands were a much welcome change of pace. (As were the temperatures. Snow was nice, but the cold wasn’t.)

As far as activity went, it was a far cry from how things had been like when they had first gotten here. If anything, it was much more in line with what Shulk had seen in Khadelis, which he figured stood to reason, as the public appearance of the queen had drawn people to the city in droves back then. As such, after they had put Breezy Zolos into a stable just outside the city (leaving him there, but not selling him. Lucina insisted that they would need him again, and Shulk did not want to argue), they had no trouble getting a room in the very same inn that they had stayed at during their first visit to Ylisstol. There, they deposited their belongings in their room, before heading down to get something to eat.

“So…” Shulk said, after they had been eating for a bit, “What exactly is next, anyway? I know that there’s this whole war coming up, but what do you intend to do about it?”

Lucina hastily looked up from her meal, and shushed. Then, she looked around them. But as she came to realize what Shulk had already taken note of, namely that there was no one sitting near them, she relaxed again. Carefully, she pulled out a small book that he had come to recognize as the written timeline that she kept referencing, and opened it.

“It’s now May…” she mumbled in a hushed tone, finger tracing across the page. “The next major event in the timeline is an open attack from Plegian soldiers in the south-west, against a village in Themis territory.”

“…Ah. I see,” Shulk said, still not seeing it all. Lucina looked up, and after no doubt seeing the vacant expression in his eyes, flipped open a different part of the book, and pushed it over to Shulk. What he saw was that she had opened a map of Ylisse – one with many annotations on it, but definitely a map.

“Ylisstol is here,” Lucina said pointing at a specific point on the map that had several annotations with it, in two different handwritings. Both looked to be decidedly… wordy. “And Themis territory is over here,” she continued, moving her finger over to an area to the west of the city. There were also some annotations there, but nowhere near as many as with Ylisstol. Shulk was tempted to read them, but figured it was best not to do so while he was still being explained to. “As you can see, it’s right at the border to Plegia, making it a prime target for aggressions. This is where the war will start.”

“And we are going to prevent it?”

Lucina smiled weakly. “I think you overestimate what just the two of us can accomplish. The history between Ylisse and Plegia is one of conflict, and king Gangrel of Plegia is out for war. Even if we somehow prevent it here, it will still happen in another way. I do not want to intervene here.”

Shulk said nothing in response to that. Instead, he was entirely preoccupied with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Even if the war between Homs and Mechon was something that could hardly be compared to the failed relations between two human nations in this world, he had still managed to pick up that wars here were harrowing a prospect as they were on the Bionis. He didn’t even want to think about what Lucina’s timeline must have been like, if she considered that a necessary evil.

“What can however be changed,” she meanwhile continued, either not noticing the reason by Shulk’s silence or simply not caring, “is what happens not too long after the war breaks out. After my father Shepherds return to Ylisstol from that first battle, assassins make their way into the castle. They kill Emmeryn, severely injure my father, and steal the Fire Emblem. In my timeline, this put Ylisse at a severe disadvantage, from which they however managed to hang on due to the efforts of Robin commanding the army. But if I prevent the assassination…”

“…the war could be brought to a swift end? Is that it?”

“Precisely. Though aunt Emmeryn is a leader that wishes to prevent conflict through whatever means possible, her survival would still strengthen Ylisse’s position overall. Not to mention what father making it through unscathed would do.”

“But won’t that make your timeline obsolete?” he pointed at the book, before pushing it back towards Lucina, “How do you want to change the future if you don’t know what it is?”

“Well, even if I no longer know what exactly is going to happen, knowing what has already happened in my timeline should be enough to not be entirely unprepared to face what is to come,” she said. Then, she paused briefly and smiled at Shulk. “And of course, there’s still your visions! With you helping me, I really should have more than enough means to go about this at my disposal.”

“If you say so…” Shulk said, feeling not entirely convinced. It sounded like a lot of pressure: not more than he could handle, but still a lot to deal with. At least it still seemed to be a ways off. More than enough time to mentally prepare.

For the time being however, that left another question.

“So… when exactly is this assassination supposed to take place?”

“Not until next month. First the Shepherds need to get back to Ylisstol, then they need to march to Themis, fight there, return here… that all is going to take a few weeks.”

“And what are going to do in the meantime? If there is nothing of importance until then…”

“There really isn’t,” Lucina conceded, sounding just a bit embarrassed. “I… was thinking of working as a mercenary in the meantime. Help the people of Ylisse defend themselves against Risen and Mechon, and make some money.”

“What about me, then…?” Shulk asked hesitantly.

“Well… if you could do something that would help us get some more funds, that would help. But I’m not going to insist that you work as a mercenary as well. Anything you can find to pass the time would be fine.”

“Ah. Hm,” he said. “It would be a good opportunity to get more familiar with this world, I suppose…?”

“That’s a good way to look at it! Anything is fine, just as long as we lay low, really.”

Shulk hummed in agreement, and continued his meal. The immediate future suddenly looked rather more uncertain.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shulk slammed the book shut. In the silence of the mage guild’s library, the noise felt uncomfortably loud to him, but none of the nearby visitors seemed to mind. There were at least no annoyed glares, or even any people looking at him at all. If anything, the prevailing emotion among the others seemed to be despair, which he presumed must have been due to upcoming tests or finals. Even if he hadn’t been to school in a while, the hardships of education were still a strong memory in his mind, and he was near certain that even in this world, these things were hardly different.

As these observations ran through his mind, Shulk picked up the book he had just read, and put it on the pile. With that, his “to-read” (or rather, to-skim) pile was empty, while the “read or skimmed” pile was annoyingly high. He took a deep breath and leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a moment. Rows and rows of books on their shelves loomed overhead. It really was quite impressive just how many there were.

And so far, not one had contained the information he wanted.

He decided that the moment had gone on for long enough, and leaned forward again. Time to return the books to their shelves, and see if there were any others that were promising. But, if he was honest with himself, by now… he was seriously starting to doubt that he would be able to find what he was looking for in this library. He had had his doubts before, but by now, those had grown quite strong. And really, it had been rather optimistic to assume that the answers he sought would be committed to the page at all.

It had been several days since he and Lucina had returned to Ylisstol. In that time, he hadn’t really seen Lucina much at all: she had made good on her plans, and started working as a mercenary around the city, defending people from roaming Risen and Mechon, the latter of which had become a worryingly common sight. From everything that Shulk had heard (and in some instances also seen) the machines were nowhere as aggressive and relentless as they had been on the Bionis, as they had mercifully not yet made any large-scale attacks against one of the villages in Ylisse. But their presence was still a threat that the people of this world weren’t really equipped to deal with.

Out of a bad conscience – both due to obviously being part of the reason why the Mechon were here in the first place, and with him being one of the few people who could actually deal with them – he had accompanied Lucina on some of her mercenary missions to deal with the machines.

But while their cooperation greatly helped, after two or three instances of this, she had approached him, and asked him to not join her any more. Not because she didn’t want to have him with her, but rather, because she feared that them working together like this would only draw unnecessary attention towards them, which was something that Shulk could not argue with. While no one in Ylisse really had any frame of reference for the Monado being anything but an odd-looking sword, it was still odd-looking – and therefore quite memorable. And if people remembered him, then people were more likely to remember Lucina, who still very much wanted to keep a low profile.

As such, Shulk had mostly stayed within Ylisstol. But while he did have things to do there, he hadn’t really found much of anything that also allowed him to earn money like Lucina had suggested. Instead, he had only really gone to the library of the mage’s guild several days in a row. Partly because he hoped that maybe, he could find a way to get somebody to teach him how to use magic – that whole concept was still rather fascinating to him – but mainly because he had hoped to find within the library the answer to the question that had burned in his mind since he witnessed the speech of Lucina’s father Chrom and the east-khan in Khadelis.

Why did Ylisse and Plegia have to keep on fighting? There had to be a reason. Something recorded in history books, something that could help him understand.

And he had found history books. That hadn’t been the issue.

But more than anything else, what they seemed to record was that the battles happened at all, not what circumstances had led to them. For the ones that lay further in the past, many lifetimes ago, Shulk could understand that well enough: even with historians to record the events, it would never be possible to fully reconstruct or understand what had happened centuries ago. Information got lost, societal attitudes changed, and what once had seemed like a perfectly reasonable and understandable thing to do became unthinkable over time. That was just how history went. Back at home, it had been no different, as for example most of the history of the extinct race of the giants was lost, and no Homs or Nopon-made recordings of the time where they lived and thrived remained. That much Shulk had expected.

What he had however not expected was that even recent history as far as he could find it was rather vague. All the books and people he briefly chatted with on the topic agreed on the factual parts of it all: some twenty years ago, the then current Exalt, a man named Lowell, attacked Plegia. The war waged on for years and years, only ending with Lowell’s sudden death some fifteen years ago. That much had been easy to find out.

But why the Exalt had decided to attack Plegia, that seemingly impossible to find out. No matter which book Shulk consulted, no matter what person he brought it up to in passing, no one and nothing could give him the reason. It seemed to him like the old Exalt had taken that knowledge with him to the grave.

The more apparent this became, the more Shulk started to miss Miriel: with how omnidisciplinary her pursuit of knowledge had seemed, he was certain that she must have known at least something . But the Shepherds had yet to return from Regna Ferox, and even once they did, there hardly would be any time for them to discuss these matters.

Though then again, that was probably for the better, too. While Shulk still severely doubted that altering the future worked in such a way that Lucina’s whole existence or that of any of her friends could just be erased, he still wanted to honour her wishes, and not risk any of that until she herself could be certain. Which in turn meant, better not approach Miriel too much. He would have to find the knowledge he was searching for the hard way, then.

Suppressing yet another sigh, Shulk put the last book back into the shelf where he had taken it from. Now what? There were still some books on recent history that he could check out, but by now he seriously wondered whether there was even a point to it. With that looking less likely, maybe he could read up on a bit more of the older history of this world?

Thoughtlessly, he strolled past the shelf. As he got to the works concerning themselves with earlier time periods, some titles stood out to him: “Mystery of the Emblem”, “Of the Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light”, “Genealogy of the Holy War”… all seemed pretty interesting. What however caught his eyes was another book, one titled “Shadows of Valentia”. Shulk wasn’t quite sure why: there was just something about it that caught his attention. Without any clear further goal, he reached out-

“Uhm… excuse me? I’ve seen you around these past few days, but I don’t think anyone here knows you. Who are you?” a young-sounding voice suddenly asked. Immediately, Shulk froze up mid-reach. Then, he lowered his hand again and looked around.

What he saw was a young teenager, looking to be around the same age as-

As Juju, Shulk thought, the memory of meeting him, saving him from Arduns and taking him back to the Refugee Camp flooded into his mind…

Around the same age as Juju. The boy was wearing light blue robes, and a wide-brimmed hat that looked almost comically oversized compared to him. He was looking up at Shulk with an expression filled with nervousness and curiosity.

“Oh, I’m a traveller from a distant land. I’m not really familiar with all the customs and history of Ylisse, so I figured that I’d read up on it since I’m probably staying a while,” Shulk said, the excuse having essentially already become second nature to him at this point.

And as if on cue, the Juju-aged kid said, “Ohh, I see! That explains your accent, then. My name is Ricken, and I’m a student at the guild here. If you need help with anything, just let me know!”

Saying all this, he held out his hand. Shulk hesitated for a moment, but then shook it. There was no way that interacting with this teenager was also running the risk of altering anything from Lucina’s timeline. And besides, since they still had to wait quite a while before the queen’s assassination was supposed to take place, it couldn’t hurt to make some connections to pass the time.

“My name is Shulk. And sure, I wouldn’t mind a bit of help! I actually already had somebody else help me out around here, but she’s currently on a journey to Regna Ferox. I have no idea when she’s going to return.”

Ricken put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Regna Ferox… oh, do you mean Miriel?”

“Yes, actually. Do you know her?” Shulk asked, mildly surprised.

“Of course I know her! She’s a bit of a mentor to me. And I’m also part of the Shepherds, just like her! I’m honestly still miffed that I couldn’t accompany Captain Chrom and the others on their journey north.”

“…I see,” Shulk said politely, while internally screaming. What were the chances that of all the people that were at this guild, he would run into yet another member of the Shepherds? It was as if some unseen force was pushing him towards them.

(At the same time, the similarities to Juju only solidified in his mind, as memories of Sharla’s brother running out of the Refugee Camp a second time came back to him…)

“Hm? Is everything alright?” Ricken asked, deaf to all of Shulk’s internal screaming.

“…Ah, yes. I just heard a whole lot about the Shepherds, so it is nice to meet another one of their members,” Shulk said just a bit more hastily than he would have liked.

“That’s understandable. The Shepherds are pretty great, after all!” Ricken laughed, still completely oblivious to how Shulk was panicking. “So, is there anything in particular I can help you with? Want any recommendations on history books?”

“I think I have had enough of history books for the time being. I just went through a whole bunch of them already, and I need a break,” Shulk answered. Briefly, he considered asking the teenager if he knew anything about the previous Exalt and his war against Plegia, but he dismissed the thought just as quickly. Ricken looked to be really rather young, so it was doubtful that he was even alive already when the war happened. And what Shulk really hoped for right now was the opportunity to talk to somebody who had been alive during the time.

“I can understand that!” Ricken laughed. “It’s already past noon, and if you’ve been here all day… that sounds pretty draining. Is there something else I might be able to help you with?”

Shulk hesitated. More than anything, what he wanted right was to get out of this conversation. But that was of course not something that should be brought up directly. And so, following a random whim, he asked, “You know, I have been pretty curious about magic. Do you think that there is some sort of introductory programme that I could join to learn it?”

A short while later, Shulk was walking through the streets of Ylisstol once more. All things considered, he got through that situation pretty good, he thought. While Ricken had been able to enthusiastically offer him a programme that he could join, Shulk had been able to defer actually starting it until the next day, citing his exhaustion from his intense studies of history today. And with the same excuse, he had also been able to cut the conversation short altogether. Again, the matter wasn’t that Ricken was not a nice kid, but rather that him being one of the Shepherds made things more difficult for Shulk. He needed to ask Lucina about him before he did anything else.

But the problem with that was that Lucina was still out on a mercenary mission, and he wasn’t sure if she was even going to return today. In general, he hadn’t really seen her that much since their return to Ylisstol. And after he had spent essentially every day in this world so far by her side, it was… odd. Her presence had become something normal to him, a fixation in his life in much the same way that Reyn and Fiora (the thought of her stinging even through the vague feeling that everything was fine) had been back at home.

She was the one person in this world who understood his feelings of being an outsider, of not properly fitting with literally everyone else around. Granted, she did come from this world. But she had already confided in him more than once that seeing it all, in what was to her twenty years in the past, made her feel like a stranger in a familiar place. In this sense, Shulk felt closer to Lucina than he did to the other people from different worlds that he knew about – though then again, considering that the only ones in that regard were Mechonis and her lackeys, as well as this A person that Shulk had yet to even meet, that was not difficult. Even still, though. He enjoyed Lucina’s presence in a way that wasn’t just due to the similarities between the two. She was nice to be around.

Now, with her away, however… it felt isolating. Boring. He could only hope that she would actually be able to return today, and not just because he needed to ask her about Ricken.

But in the meantime, it wasn’t even a proper time for him to return to the inn yet. Though he had feigned exhaustion to Ricken, it was still long before evening, and he had nothing to do. Maybe he could look around and see if there was any work he could do to earn some money-

“You there, young man! How ‘bout a sausage inna bun?”

Shulk whirled around. And, sure enough, standing behind him he found just the person who he had expected to see: the red-headed merchant that had appeared again and again on his and Lucina’s journey to and from Khadelis.

“Oh, it’s you. The foreigner,” she said, sounding a bit deflated. Shulk, on the other hand, saw an opportunity. An opportunity to get answers to at least some of the mysteries that he had come upon in this world.

“It’s you! How can you be back to Ylisstol already, when you were in Khadelis just a few days ago?” he asked. In response, the merchant’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, so you’ve been to Khadelis? How is aunt Anna doing? Running a stable really doesn’t seem like the most stable of businesses – pardon the pun, or play on words – but last I heard of her, she was doing pretty well.”

Shulk hesitated. Based on what the merchants had just said, there were a whole number of questions queuing up in his head. But something that he just remembered her saying to him during their first meeting suddenly resurfaced, shoved all the other questions out of the way, and plopped itself right in front of the queue.

“…Didn’t you say that your name is Anna? If the merchant from Khadelis is your aunt, why do you share the same name…?”

Anna gave him a smile that was somewhere in the general field of conspiratorial and knowing (even if he had no idea what it was that she was knowing), and put a hand on his shoulder in a compassionate gesture.

“I think it is about time that somebody fills you in on some of the most reliable merchants that you will find on any continent…”

Anna explained. Shulk listened. Shulk was reminded of Nopon merchants. He was reminded of them a lot. By the time that Anna finished explaining, Shulk wasn’t still quite sure if he understood, but he was given at least enough individual parts to be able to put them into something whole later on. Maybe he could ask Lucina about it as well.

“So… you’re all related…?” he asked slowly.

“Yup! Sometimes our family relations get a bit murky and distant. But really, at the end of the day, all Annas are one big, happy family,” the merchant said happily, before adding decidedly less happily, “At least until one of us gets her hands on more money than the others think she deserves. Then, more things get cut than just prices.”

Shulk considered this. That kind of competitive behaviour didn’t exactly sound like the best prerequisite for being part of a family that traditionally followed mercantile lines of works, but he decided not to question it openly. In his experience, having to outright worry about money was something that happened to other people, so he didn’t expect to understand how merchants worked.

Anna in the meantime took note of Shulk’s pause for consideration, and seemingly decided that this was the perfect opportunity to go for another sales pitch.

“ So , how about a sausage inna bun?” she asked, pulling her cart closer.

Shulk flinched. Judging by the look and smell of its content, the quality of the food hadn’t somehow improved in the meantime. But, regrettably, he was hungry, and he had a sense of morbid curiosity all of a sudden.

Cautiously, he stepped closer to the cart, taking things slowly in case one of the sausages tried to attack him. No such thing happened, but he really wasn’t sure that the possibility of it could be ruled out entirely. Shulk let his eyes wander across the offerings…

And had a vision.

“What’ll it be?” Anna said, mistaking his vision-induced brief moment of being frozen as a deeper consideration.

“Uhm…” Shulk said, as the vision came to an end. “Do you maybe have something that won’t lead to me having to spend the rest of the day in the nearest privy? Or the coming night.” He paused, thought about his vision some more, reordered his words, and concluded, “Or any extended period of time, really.”

“Oh, are people just gourmets where you’re from? You don’t know that any of that will happen. I’ll have you know that my sausages are made from organic materials, and contain meat from a pig. And It’s not my fault if the guild of chefs refuses to let me join,” Anna snapped, sounding rather indignant. Then, likely realizing that she was not making her goal of getting money from Shulk any easier, she added, “But I do have something more high quality in store. It’s going to cost extra though, and ketchup is not included in the basic price.”

She leaned down on her cart, pulled something at the side open, and produced something that appeared to also be a type of freshly-cooked sausage. From the outside, it didn’t look any better or worse than the others, but the fact that Shulk didn’t get any further visions was at least assurance enough that this one wasn’t dangerous to eat. Probably.

And, well, why not? At this point, it would have been rude to turn Anna down, and he was still hungry.

“How much?” he asked. Anna named the price, and suddenly, Shulk had a much better frame of reference for how Lucina had gotten so worked up over the price that the other Anna had demanded for Breezy Zolos. But since he had essentially already decided to buy this, there was no turning back now.

“Glad to be doing business with you”, Anna said, happily counting the coins that Shulk had handed over. Shulk, on the other hand, was lamenting the sudden lightweight feeling of his wallet, while taking a cautious bite of his much-advertised sausage-inna-bun. It appeared to be edible enough, at least.

“With prices like that, you probably don’t get many repeat customers…” Shulk mumbled between bites.

“Oh, you may say that now. But just you wait for the next time you’re out in the streets and hunger suddenly strikes – my sausages are a gods-send then!”

Shulk made a mental note to eat before heading out the next time. His note-taking was however unexpectedly cut short when Anna suddenly let out a frustrated noise.

“Wha- how can I have lost it?!” she spat.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”

“My wallet! It’s gone!”

Shulk’s chewing slowed… and he got another vision. He was walking through the streets, noticing a wallet dropped in a corner somewhere…

“I think I can help with that,” Shulk said between bites. Anna turned to him with a gleam in her eyes.

By the end of the day, one thing had led to another, and he had a notebook full of other quests he picked up along the way. His visions had given him several distracting pieces of information that were however useful for other townsfolk.

Chapter Text

Standing on the walls of one of the countless abandoned forts that dotted the land, the man with the sky-blue hair pondered. He had followed the young man and the young woman that were using a power so reminiscent of his own and his partner’s southward. Crossing the border unnoticed had been no problem whatsoever, as had been the case with staying undetected here. Further and further south he had gone, until the climate and the land itself had changed. And all the while, he had kept summoning more of the machines, sending them out in whichever direction he pleased.

There had been some fun in that, to be sure. Even if they had been a match for him or the two swordfighters, the machines were still formidable fighters in their own right. More than a match for the vast majority of what passed for soldiers in this world, with their mostly primitive weaponry. Whenever the machines were not fighting against the two, or against those that seemed like they could manipulate ether, they reaped a bloody harvest.

But entertaining as watching these struggles had been, it was not a particularly fulfilling entertainment. He had started to question himself before his “death”, after all… or, well, the other he had. Regardless, the point was that none of this was helping his current goal. He needed to… connect to this world, connect like this other partner seemed to have. From observing the young man and the young woman, he had been able to figure out that they had done so via the sword that the latter was using. Which, on the one hand, was of course invaluable information. But on the other hand, it was also not helpful at all, since it ruled out that sword. He needed to find something else like her sword – or something comparable.

Easier said than done.

He had been able to gather that a near identical… copy (or something like that) existed in this world. But precisely because it was so similar he had some doubts as to whether he would be able to use it.

Still, it was worth a shot. But until he got an opportunity to try it out, he could just as well keep looking for other possibilities.

The man with the sky-blue hair turned west. Thanks to the smaller machines peacefully eavesdropping on people from this world, he had been able to gather enough to be able to figure out some of its politics. He… appeared in the northern country of this continent, and was now in the south-eastern one. The south-western one he wasn’t familiar with yet, however… and based on everything he had heard, it had piqued his interest.

He sent out the machines once more.

“Good work, everyone! That’s enough for today,” the captain shouted, as the last of the Risen returned to the earth. Paying it no more heed, Lucina sheathed Falchion, and followed the rest of the mercenaries and soldiers as they began to make their way back to Ylisstol.

As she nudged Breezy Zolos to have him trot, Lucina made sure to let herself fall back a little. She wanted to be the last member of their procession, to have the opportunity to watch it.

In all the days that she had been back in Ylisstol, Lucina had had more than enough opportunities to see Ylisse’s Pegasus Knights and the mercenaries hired to supplement their forces in action. And with what she had seen, Lucina was reasonably satisfied.

The Risen they dealt with no problem. The Mechon on the other hand were, as expected, a different story. While the Pegasus Knights had among their ranks some Dark Fliers capable of using magic that could destroy the machines in spite of their armour, they were far too few. The mages of the guild were able to bolster their ranks somewhat in that regard, but had there been no mercenaries, they would have truly been lost.

Which is where Lucina had come in. Outside of her Marth disguise, she was nothing but a nameless travelling swordfighter. All she had to do was to stay clear of the higher-ranked members of the Pegasus Knights, who would have recognized Falchion for what it was, which was easy enough to do. When it came to being able to destroy Mechon meanwhile, it was simple enough to claim that she was just a magic sword, comparable to a Levin Sword. And so she had been given her opportunity to help out the people of this world, all while earning a bit of money on the side.

All she had to do was fight. Day after day, swinging Falchion until her arms were numb.

It had been all too easy to slip back into this life. After all, it was precisely how she had spent several years before travelling in time.

Oh, there were differences, to be sure. She was no longer in command. No longer directly responsible for the life of anyone but herself, and maybe the person fighting directly beside her. The world also wasn’t quite so dire: Ylisse still had a military to speak of, and as of yet the hordes trying to erase all mankind were still possible to deal with.

But it was still just like a continuation of what her life had been like before. As if the past couple of weeks had been nothing but… a brief break. A bit of respite before war and death caught up with her once more.

No… if Lucina was being honest with herself, they had never left her. Even in the calmest moments, when everything appeared peaceful around her, the fighting still waged on… whether in head or in her heart, she did not know. But it was undeniable that they were with her, to an extent that she wasn’t sure if they would ever leave her.

She was used to it, however. With Falchion in hand, she felt, on some level… secure. Then, everything was clear. All that existed, all that mattered were her, and the opponent that she needed to overcome.

Uncle Lon’qu used to drill into her that she needed to think of her weapon as nothing but an extension of her body, a literal part of her. Not a stick that she just swung around. And that was a lesson that she had long since internalized, and taken to heart. Had it not been for his training – or that of her father, or Frederick, for that matter – she never would have lived this long.

Yet at some point, it had started to feel to her like it was the other way. That her body was nothing but an extension of Falchion, her nothing but a part of the weapon. Travelling back in time and experiencing some peace had alleviated the feeling, if only briefly. But now that she fought on the daily once more, it had come back with a vengeance, making her numb to anything outside of it.

But Lucina did not complain about it. She had no right to do so, she felt. This sense of self, this fighting expertize had served her well so far, had kept her alive. And as long as it ensured her continued survival, and let her protect what she needed to protect, there was no reason to complain.

Though what she did feel she had the right to complain about was that for the past couple of days, she had felt… tired. Obviously, being out and about all day, swinging her sword played a part in it all. But even beyond that though, she felt drained in a way that went beyond physical exhaustion.

Even though she and Shulk had seen each other on each evening in the past couple of days, Lucina never had the energy to interact much with him. She had heard from him that he had started to learn the use of magic at the mage’s guild. And that rather than finding any kind of specific work, he had, using a mixture of his visions, intuition, and own investigative abilities, started to help the people of Ylisstol in various ways with all the troubles that daily life brought with it. Based on everything he told her, it really sounded like Shulk had become decently well known in Ylisstol for being a great help all around.

Lucina should have probably been unhappy about this. She was trying to keep a low profile, together with Shulk. But since he obviously wasn’t carrying the Monado openly with him around town, that took the biggest identifying factor about him. Without it, he was just a helpful young man who happened to pass by. Who happened to pass by a lot. Since she wasn’t really with him in these cases, though… it honestly didn’t really matter much. If anything, it was sweet of him: he was helping the people in ways that Lucina couldn’t. Ways in which she would have loved to be able to help them. Not by saving people’s lives, even if that felt… good in its own way. But rather, helping them in the little ways that made life just a bit better.

She sighed, and shut her eyes. It had really been a long day. It had been a long several days. She wasn’t even certain any more on how to formulate her own thoughts properly. But at least she knew what she meant.

And another thing that she meant, was certain of, was that she needed rest. Tomorrow would be another day of fighting Risen or Mechon, whatever the Pegasus Knights spotted first. It didn’t stop. It never did.

By the time that Lucina finally made her way back to the inn, Shulk was already halfway through his dinner. Upon seeing her, he initially wanted to give her a heartfelt greeting, ask her about her day. But the moment he saw her face, he knew better than to do so. She was quite clearly completely done, exhausted to a point where the main thing that she would be opening her mouth for would be food.

Seeing this, Shulk wordlessly tore off a bit of the bread that had come with his own food, and handed it to her. Her reaction were a series of facial expressions that were the equivalent of saying “No, you don’t have to-” before quickly relenting and accepting the offering. While she chewed with obvious appreciation, she ordered a meal of her own, and then slumped back.

“Rough day, huh?” Shulk noted more than he asked. The response he got was nothing but an affirmative grunt. “So, can the Pegasus Knights and the mercenaries actually deal with the Mechon without your help now?”

Lucina didn’t so much shake her head as she vaguely wiggled it from side to side, doing a similar motion with her hands. Suddenly, Shulk felt rather glad that he had already known Lucina for a few weeks now, because otherwise, he would have been a lot more difficult with her being this nonverbal.

But it was still not that easy for him to keep up with, and so he shifted gears, and did most of the talking, telling her all about the people he had gotten to know today, their relationships with each other (all documented in a little notebook that he affectionately called his “affinity chart”), and how he had helped them out (also documented in the same notebook, in a section that he referred to as “quest log”). Lucina, for her part listened intently, seeming to enjoy the topic well enough, as far as Shulk could tell.

Yet while he was talking, the gears in his head were doing something else than just shifting: they were also turning. Even if Lucina was doing important work, aiding the Pegasus Knights, she had returned to Ylisstol in a rather sorry state. And not just today: it had been like this for several days now. She needed a break, of that he was certain.

Thinking that, Shulk smiled to himself. He really was taking a page out of Dickson’s book, wasn’t he? Granted, with Shulk it had been an issue (from Dickson’s view, at least) of him not getting out enough (which was, of course, nonsense – how else was he to get Mechon scrap metal from the scrapyard, without getting out?), whereas Lucina’s problem was kind of the opposite. But he realized that in essence, her issue was much the same as his own: a blind and narrow focus on just one thing, ignoring everything else.

And from that, she needed diversion. Something to take her mind off things. And as the day slowly faded out, he was starting to formulate the beginnings of a plan for that.

“Lucina…! Time to wake up!” Shulk’s voice came, suddenly rousing her from her sleep. Groaning unhappily, Lucina slowly let her eyes flutter open. Judging by the fact that it was alright bright inside of their room, it was likely already past daybreak, though to her it felt like she had hardly slept at all. But then again, that was, while unwelcome, not unexpected: the past few mornings had been exactly the same in that regard.

“’nks…” she grumbled, while sitting up in her bed and letting out a long yawn. There was much to do… there always was. Best not to waste any time, then, and get right to it.

After finishing her initial yawn, Lucina lingered on her bed for just a moment longer. Then she got up, stretched, and yawned again. After that, she intended to get over to the bucket of water they had in their room, splash herself awake, get dressed, and just generally get ready for the day.

What happened instead however was that she found herself get pushed back onto the bed.

It wasn’t a strong push by any means. But since it caught her entirely off-guard, it was enough to get her off her feet, making for a soft, but surprising landing. Disgruntled, she opened her eyes fully, and saw Shulk standing in front of her.

“Shulk… what are you trying to do? You must know that I am not the person to play pranks on.”

“I know that. And this is not a prank! It’s just… you’re spending too much time out there chasing Risen and Mechon. That can’t be healthy! And I get that it’s important and all, but I think you’re not doing yourself or anyone else any favour if you push yourself to a breaking point day after day. You said yourself that Pegasus Knights and mercenaries can deal with them well. So please, just take a day off, and relax for once!”

If Lucina had still not been fully awake before, then she definitely was now. With wide eyes, she stared at Shulk, who gave off every impression of having meant every single word that he had said. And what was worse was that she… could see that he had a point. And had she herself not already thought about how exhausted she had felt recently?

She took a deep breath and smiled weakly. “Right… then assuming that I do take this day off. What do you propose I do? Don’t you have your magic studies at the guild to attend to? And people to help.”

Shulk grinned, and from the look on his face, Lucina could already tell what his response was going to be like. Whatever this was going to be, it was planned.

“That’s not going to be a problem! The instructors at the guild have been telling me that my progress is really quite amazing for an absolute beginner – I suppose there is enough of an overlap between ether and magic so that that comes easy to me. So I think it really won’t make much of a difference if I miss just one day. And with the people I agreed to help, there’s currently nothing too terribly urgent. Mr Nabarl will maybe be a bit annoyed if he has to wait for that sword, and Ms Rinda is still waiting on those bugs. But with both of them, one more day won’t make that much of a difference.”

“You really put some thought into this, hm?” Lucina said, raising her eyebrows. She still was not fully comfortable with the idea of not doing anything to defend Ylisse and Ylisstol today… but she also realized that if she did not allow herself such a rest, her body would eventually claim it regardless of the circumstances. She still remembered all too well the various talks she got from Laurent on much the same topic. Though he had always been rather stern and insistent on the topic, he hadn’t always managed to convince Lucina – there often had been no other choice but to keep pushing herself. Things had been dire, and she had been needed.

But in this time… she could justify it to herself.

“Well, to be fair… I did get a talking to from Dickson about something similar,” Shulk said, scratching his head awkwardly. Then, his eyes got more wistful. “If he were right now, he’d probably give me an insufferable smirk, and say that he told me so. But… no matter. Does that mean that you’re going to take the day off now?”

Lucina hesitated. Hordes of marching Risen flashed before her eyes, groups of marauding Mechon, all walking through burning villages accompanied by the screams of people…

It felt like a dark abyss opening up in her heart, eating away at her very being.

She really did need a break. People could die today, to be sure. In the past few days, the Pegasus Knights had always headed out with nothing but vague reports of Risen or Mechon, and they had always managed to find foes that needed to be suppressed. But even if she carried the weight of the world, the weight of the future on her shoulders, she just could not safe everyone . While it was not a comforting thought, it was one that Lucina needed to keep in mind at all times. All the lessons that had led to her learning it had been painful enough.

“…I suppose it does,” she finally said. “So, do you have anything specific in mind, then?”

Shulk smiled, and held a hand to her. “Well, it’s only really a vague idea. But we’re not gonna stay in here all day. We’re going out!”

“Figures. Then I’ll need to get properly dressed, though,” Lucina pointed out, taking his hand and letting herself be pulled up. And to Shulk’s credit, he did not go into a borderline panic when she mentioned needing to change clothes any more: travelling and staying together for several weeks had made them familiar enough with each other so that that wasn’t really an issue any more.

“Alright! Just give me a shout when you’re done, so that I can get ready as well.”

And with that, he headed out of the room. Even after he shut the door behind him, Lucina looked after him for just a bit longer.

How had it come to this? This question, more than anything else, weighed on her mind. When she had travelled back in time, she had done so fully prepared to never see her friends again, to possibly even die trying to change the future. Naga had said that them being split up would be inevitable, which of course had then turned out to be the case. She had expected weeks and months of isolation, working tirelessly to change the future without getting too close to anyone.

And yet, here she was… here he was. From a simple chance encounter, Shulk had somehow become her closest ally, her only ally. Both in battle, and, as he had just demonstrated, outside of it as well. And he really was right: a day off was sorely needed.

So she needed to take this seriously as well.

Lucina went over to her bag, and began to dig through it. Her armour was out of the question entirely. She wouldn’t use it if there was no chance of fighting today. Her Marth outfit – minus the mask and short hair – was of course a perfectly valid option for casual wear, but its practicality for battle did not make it a good fit for a day off. Her civilian disguise meanwhile would have been fine, but if she was going to do this, then she would want it to be special. Which meant…

…Ah, there it was.

Pushing the other contents of her bag aside, Lucina pulled out what had been stuck at its bottom since it had been packed, and laid it out on her bed. It was a simple white dress, an absolutely gorgeous outfit that her mother had picked out for her not long before her death. It was a bit simple for Lucina’s own tastes, but the emotions attached to it had made her not want to part from it for anything in the world. She wasn’t quite sure what she had expected when she had packed it. Maybe that she would wear it if, somehow, she managed to accomplish her goal, and could finally celebrate.

But today was as good of an occasion as she could ask for. Feeling more content than she would have thought, she began to put it on.

Standing outside their room, Shulk slowly shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he waited. This had gone pretty well, all things considered.

When he had made the vague plan to pull Lucina aside and tell her to take the day off last evening, he had anticipated to be met with more resistance from her: more complaints that she was of vital importance to any mission outside of the city, and that she could not rest, no matter the cause. Had that been the case, he wouldn’t exactly have had any specific arguments that he hadn’t already used in mind, but he would have just insisted, and hoped that that would be enough. He was by no means as stubborn as Dunban or Fiora could be, but it would have been worth the try.

Thankfully, that had not turned out to be necessary. And now…

…Now, what was taking Lucina so long? In all their weeks together, he had already waited for her to get dressed on more than one occasion. And while he had no watch to know for certain – another little technological convenience that this world was regrettably lacking (maybe he could try to build one on occasion? It was simple enough…) – it was starting to feel like she was taking longer than usual.

Slowly, he turned towards the door. Should he knock and ask what the matter was? Probably not. Or not yet, at least. This would just be needlessly impatient. But… what if she was climbing out the window to sneak out and join another mission? It had felt to him like convincing her was a bit easy, after all…

Yeah, and what if Mechon were made out of cheese, he thought to himself self-deprecatingly. If knocking was impatient, then this was just a childish thing to consider. He had felt a bit nervous about asking her to take the day off, but Shulk knew that there was no way that Lucina would do something like that.

And then, before his mind had the chance to go off on another tangent, the door opened, and Shulk was left speechless.

Standing in front of him was Lucina – this much was expected. What she was wearing was however decidedly not expected. She was wearing a simple, white dress that, while not exactly breezy by any means, still showed off… more than Shulk would have thought he would see today. Lucina’s arms and shoulders were bare, while the cut in the middle went down low enough so that her chest was partially visible. With how it was tied together at the side, much of her sides was also exposed, while lower down, the dress was cut in such a way that depending on how the cloth fell at the time, her thigh was also in clear sight.

But as a side effect of her wearing a dress that showed so much, Shulk now also saw much of her skin for the first time. Her toned arms he was already well familiar with, but the scars on them not so much. There were in fact several scars all over her body, and that just on the parts of it that he could see. And what he could also see was the subtle curve of her breasts, more visible here than it had been in the other outfits that he had seen her in. All in all, it was an altogether… unexpected sight.

“What? Say something! Or am I so beautiful that you have no words left?” Lucina suddenly said, with just a slight bit of sarcasm in her voice. In response, Shulk flinched.

“No! I mean- yes! I mean- I mean…” he sputtered, before managing to catch himself at least a bit. “Can you please just ask questions where I don’t get the feeling that I’m going to say something wrong no matter what I say?”

Mercifully, Lucina seemed to take pity on him, and merely chuckled. “It’s alright. I suppose this is quite the departure from my usual looks. I just figured that if this to be a day off, then I might as well wear something I don’t usually wear… even if it doesn’t suit me.”

“I… I think it looks good on you,” Shulk said in a small voice – and almost regretted it immediately, as Lucina raised her eyebrows. At least that was done with a smile.

“Do you now? …Well, thank you,” she said earnestly. “Do you also want to change, then? Because I don’t suppose that you’ll want to head out dressed like this.”

Shulk looked down on himself. He was still wearing the simple shirt and pants that he had settled on for his normal nightwear. Comfortable enough clothes to be sure, but, like Lucina had said, nothing that he wanted to head out in.

“True,” he confirmed, “Give me a moment, then…”

And with that, he moved past Lucina, and headed back into their room once more, shutting the door behind him. The mental image of her in the dress however persisted in his mind, which, all things considered, was not the best of signs, seeing as he would spend the rest of the day with her as well.

In a way, it reminded him of Fiora. While she usually stuck ( had stuck, it flashed through his head with a sting in his heart) with what she considered more practical outfits, there were still the occasional days when she eschewed them in favour of dresses. But whichever ones she tended to pick usually end up in quite the same realm of breeziness as Lucina’s current dress did. Of course, Fiora still looked good in them, but they also weren’t quite as festive as Lucina’s was. Hers felt like something that wouldn’t have been too out of place at a festival of sorts, or a fancy party. But, like he had told her, it did look good on her.

…And suddenly, Shulk wondered why he compared Fiora and Lucina so much.

For a brief moment, he had a realization in front of him, well within sight, and easy to recognize.

Then he pushed it, and all thoughts that belonged to it, aside.

Not now. Not when the loss of Fiora was still so fresh in his mind. Not when he wanted to leave this world behind, and return to his own – presumably alone.

(There were arguments for now , he knew. But… no. He was not ready. And he wasn’t even certain if that realization was what was going on here.)

Trying to clear his mind, Shulk turned his attention to his bag. Other than the outfits that he had purchased for himself on his first stay in Ylisstol, he still didn’t really have much of anything else that he could change into. Having more clothes meant that he would have more to carry around with him, seeing as he and Lucina only ever took temporary residence wherever they stayed. And since they also needed to carry around with them various supplies and the like, and the decision to not get any more clothes had been an easy one to make. When he and Reyn had set out from the colony, it had been much the same.

Now however, this left him with woefully little in terms of clothes to choose from. He definitely didn’t have anything that matched the overall festive vibe that Lucina’s dress gave off. While he had never been one to put too much thought into his outfits beyond just liking them, right now, he felt unexpectedly underdressed.

And so, in the end, Shulk just decided to put on the one outfit that truly felt like his: the clothes that he had been wearing when he had first arrived in this world. They were colourful and clean, which was a good criteria to go by. Of course, they would inevitably draw needless attention to him, that could not be denied. But then again, due to his various acts of helping people around Ylisstol these past couple of days, he was more widely recognized, anyway, so at this point it probably didn’t matter. Besides, with her dress, Lucina would turn a few heads, anyway.

Shulk dressed himself swiftly, before taking a bag, and opening the door once more. Outside, Lucina was still waiting for him. Seeing what he was wearing, she looked at him bemusedly.

“You really want to wear this today? Okay…” she said.

“What? I like these clothes! And I haven’t really been able to wear them in a while!” Shulk said defensively. He could feel himself getting flustered… why on Bionis did he have to have those thoughts earlier?

“Oh no, I’m not objecting to them! I mean, we’re both wearing something that we don’t usually get to, and they do look nice,” Lucina assured him, making slight downwards motions with her hands. “I’m just wondering if they aren’t maybe a bit warm for today. It has been rather warm and sunny recently, and the weather today doesn’t look like it’s going to be any different. I just fear that you might get overheated with that sweater and vest.”

Shulk paused and blinked. She… had just complimented his outfit. He had heard that right, had he not? What a thing to notice when his mind was already wandering to places that he had not thought it would go…

“…Oh, uhm. No need to worry about me in that regard. I can deal with that sort of heat,” he said, realizing too late that he had been silent for perhaps a bit longer than what would have been considered normal in the middle of a conversation.

Lucina however didn’t seem to put much more thought into him having remained quiet for a few seconds. Instead, she merely shrugged.

“If you say so. Shall we, then? I’m curious to see what you have in mind for today.”

Shulk did not breathe a sigh of relief, because frankly, there was nothing to be relieved about. And really, there had been nothing to be upset about in the first place: he had spent practically his entire time in this world at Lucina’s side, so of course he’d like her and want her to take care of herself. These were all normal things between friends, like between him, Reyn and Fiora.

…But then again, on that day in Outlook Park, he had teased Fiora about how back when they were kids, she had said that she wanted to be his bride after an argument with Dunban…

Right now, he felt remarkably similar to how he thought Fiora must have felt on that day in the park.

As Shulk was leading her through Ylisstol, Lucina did notice that more than just a few of the people that they passed by looked after them. And she would have had to lie if she had said that she didn’t care about that: as the Exalt in her own timeline, she was used to being in the centre of attention, but the whole point of her current strategy was to avoid it as much as possible. Still, this was… within the realm of what was acceptable. Clothes always played a huge part in how people perceived others, and with her wearing the dress, few would make the connection between her and the mysterious masked swordsman Marth. Especially since she had left Falchion behind at the inn (though not without a heavy heart), just as Shulk had left the Monado behind (also with presumably heavy heart – since the whole thing had been his idea, she wasn’t certain).

Regardless of all that, what made her think more than anything was wondering where exactly Shulk wanted to lead her. There were several cafés and other establishments all over the place, more than enough to have plenty of choice to spend some time at.

Instead of however going to any of them, Shulk visited a bakery, where he was greeted heartily. From the way that he interacted with the bakers, Lucina guessed that he had also helped them out in some way recently, as they gave him several baked goods without taking any money in return. These, he put all way into his bag, before leading her outside again.

But even with that taken care of, Shulk did not go anywhere that made it clear to her where he intended to take her. The only thing she came to realize was that he was heading vaguely into the direction of the west gate, which really wasn’t that useful in figuring anything out.

“So where are we going? There’s not really much of anything in this part of the city,” Lucina finally asked, leaning in towards Shulk.

“I wanted to go have a picnic! The lands outside the city really are beautiful, so I thought it would be a good thing to do today.”

“Didn’t you have a problem with me leaving the city all the time? And now you are leading me out of it yourself!” Lucina laughed, as they passed the gates of Ylisstol. As always, the guards of the city watch were keeping an eye open for anyone who came and went, but they were also lax enough so that they paid no heed to them. While she didn’t have any knowledge of the watch’s work ethic from her own timeline, she suspected that gate guard duty was only really a means of giving the watch’s men and women something to do. Even with all the tensions with Plegia, nothing much happened within the city walls.

“Hey now, I never said that the problem was you leaving the city! The problem is that you fight all the time,” Shulk responded, though with a tone that was still light enough to make it clear that he was playing along. “If leaving the city was just the problem, then Dickson wouldn’t have laid into me for always just going to the scrapyard.”

Lucina laughed again. As they left the walls of the city behind, they were flooded by light, blinding her in the first seconds. Once her eyes had gotten used to it, she slowed her step, and took in the fields stretching out in front of them, a radiant green beneath a clear blue sky. A soft breeze was blowing, a welcome refreshment on what was promising to be a hot day.

For a moment longer, she took it all in. Then, she hurried up, and walked besides Shulk, matching his pace.

“He really means a lot to you, doesn’t he?” Lucina asked after a while.

“Hm? Who do you mean?”

“This Dickson. I’ve just noticed that you tend to speak of him like you hold him in quite high regard. Higher than your friends, in a sense.”

Shulk sighed quietly. “It’s like I told you. He’s my adoptive father, so of course he is really important to me. I… mh. Have I ever told you the story of he came to adopt me?”

“I don’t think so. If you did, then I honestly can’t remember.”

“Right, then I probably didn’t tell you…” Shulk said quietly. “Well… this was about fourteen years ago. Though I think by now, it might also be closer to fifteen already. My parents had taken me on an expedition that led us and some others far, far outside the colony. I… don’t remember all the details of the how and why, since I was really young. But I know that it was an extremely long journey that took us to places on the Bionis that I haven’t seen since.”

“Hold on, hold on,” Lucina cut in. “Didn’t you always say that your world was teeming with all kinds of monsters? Why would your parents take you along on a journey like that?”

Shulk shrugged. “It was just as safe as staying in the colony. Prior to this expedition, the Homs didn’t even have the Monado – the whole goal of it was to find it. The Homs back then simply could fight back against the Mechon, unless heavy artillery was used. And that wasn’t exactly high in supply. If my parents had left me at home… by the time that they returned, the colony might not even have been there any more.”

To that, Lucina said nothing. There was nothing that came to mind that she could even say: the reasoning was too good, and all too familiar in its nature.

“All they really had to go on were vague stories from far away lands. Stories of a sword that had been sealed away by the ancient race of the High Entia, a weapon of great power. It was a pipe dream – but one where the pursuit of it paid off. After trudging through a snowstorm in… no, I don’t even remember where on Bionis it was. But the point is, the expedition came upon a tower wherein the Monado was kept.”

“…And your parents…?”

Beside her, Shulk kept walking forward, eyes firmly on the road. His face betrayed no emotion, but when next he spoke, his voice was hollow.

“Walking through the snowstorm must have taken a lot more out of them and the other members of the expedition than they had realized. They… died. They all died. And I probably would have done so as well, if Dickson had not found me. It was by complete accident that he even was in the region. But the way he told me, he saw a light coming from the tower, and came to check it out. When he made it there, he found me as the only survivor – and so he brought me and the Monado back to Colony 9.”

Once again, Lucina said nothing. There were no questions to ask right now, and she knew well enough that this was not something for her to interrupt.

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t even remember my parents all that well. I was… just too young to really know them. And for most of my stay in that tower, I wasn’t even conscious at all. My first memory after that all was being with Dickson, and that was already when we were somewhere warmer. Either way… from that point on, he raised me. Or… well, he and Dunban sort of did, and whoever else in the colony just sort of chimed in. Once I got into my teens, Dickson started travelling again, leaving me behind in the colony. He probably isn’t the ideal father, but he still did lots for me.”

Even still, Lucina remained silent. After the atmosphere between them had however gotten sombre before, it now felt lighter again. And really, if Shulk could so casually talk about this Dickson being absent, then his own mood couldn’t be so bad.

Beyond that however, she could not help but to wonder – was this how she talked about her father? Probably not. Her father was far better than how Shulk made that Dickson sound, anyway. At least he had had a good reason for not being around more…

“Why are you smiling like that?” Shulk asked in overplayed offence.

“Oh, just thinking about how this Dickson compares to my father,” Lucina said truthfully.

“Ah,” Shulk said. Then, after a brief pause in which he seemed to think about this, he added, “…Yeah, let’s not argue about that.”

“That is probably for the better, agreed.”

“Especially since Dickson is far better than Chrom all around.”

They both paused dead in their tracks. Slowly, they turned their heads to look at each other…

And then burst out laughing. They did not acknowledge any of the conversation any further, because the line between a joke argument and a proper one is often all too narrow.

They continued walking for a while longer, until they got to the hill from which they had first seen Ylisstol upon their arrival in this timeline. Or in Shulk’s case, this world. There, they left the road, and made their way onto one of the meadows. And as he set down his bag and produced a picnic blanket from it, Lucina just took in the sights. Not of the city in the distance – even if that was absolutely breathtaking – but rather of the meadow itself. It was absolutely covered in all kinds of plants and flowers. Though they were not too far from the capital, this bit of land was not used for agriculture in any way, leaving it entirely too nature…

And Lucina loved it.

Back in her timeline, most types of plants had become rare sights, as the Fell Dragon and its forces turned all the world into naught but wasteland. While of course there were practical effects of this on everyday life, what Lucina truly missed more than anything as a result from this destruction were flowers. A simple joy, a simple beauty, completely taken out of the world. Yet here everything was still alive, everything was… colourful. It was a sight she hadn’t seen since her early childhood.

“You can come now! I think this is as good as I’ll get this blanket!” Shulk suddenly shouted from behind her. Lucina turned around, and sure enough, he was already sitting down cross-legged, while going through the contents of his bag once more. After watching him for a brief moment, she came over, and sat down as well.

(And as she did, she was spontaneously glad that she wasn’t allergic to any weeds or flowers. Otherwise, Shulk’s plans for today would have been really rather ill-advised.)

“Do you like flowers?” he asked, handing her some of the baked goods that he had gotten earlier.

“I suppose it is rather plain to see. Yes, I quite enjoy them. But the fact that in my time, there are none really left probably plays a part in that.” She paused for a moment. Then, she continued, “But let’s not dwell on such depressing matters. Not today. How about you, Shulk? Do you like flowers?”

He thought about this as he took a look around. “Well… I appreciate some of them, such as Sirius Anemones or Orb Daisies. But I’m not the biggest enthusiast for them in the world, like I am with things like machines.”

“Oh gods, I hadn’t even thought of that,” Lucina said, her eyes widening. “With your world being so fundamentally different… you must have all kinds of flowers that I can’t even imagine!”

“I… guess? I’m sorry, but all the ones I know don’t really look all that different to me compared to the ones here,” Shulk said reluctantly. “Sorry. When it comes to the flowers we have back at home, you really would be better off talking to- to…”

His voice trailed off, and a confused look appeared on his face. As if he were trying to grasp a fleeting thought, his eyes wandered from side to side, not really focussing on anything in particular. But no matter how he thought, it didn’t seem like he came to any conclusion.

“Another memory you’ve lost?” Lucina eventually ventured.

“…I guess. Just bothers me that I don’t even have the slightest clue who I mean! It can’t be Dickson, and definitely not Dunban. Reyn and Fiora wouldn’t make much sense, either, and I don’t know any professional botanists back at home. The only one who comes to mind is Françoise who lives over in the residential district of Colony 9, but I don’t really know her all that well. Who is it that I’m not remembering?”

Lucina put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to swiftly turn his head towards her. Blue eyes looked at her with an unease that portrayed a deeper longing for what was lost and left behind.

“Hey… I’m sure your memories of whoever that person is will return in time. Your other memories have returned as well, haven’t they? So don’t wreck over this. Not today. You said that this should be our day off after all, didn’t you?”

Shulk looked at her for a bit longer. Then he sighed, and nodded slowly. “…You’re right. If I start worrying about my friends and home now, then I won’t stop for some time. And they wouldn’t want me to get caught up in this, either.”

“There you go. And to believe that this little excursion was meant to take my mind off of things…”

“It is meant to take your mind off things!” Shulk said adamantly. “It’s just that I guess it’s just that I really needed this as well.”

“Good idea on your part then to bring this whole thing up in the first place,” Lucina said. Then she let out a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leaned back. “The wind feels so good… I really hope that once the catastrophes of my timeline are averted, every day can be like this, always.”

She had intended to just lie down and enjoy the weather for a bit. But the moment she said that, Shulk made a weird gagging sound. Concerned, Lucina sat up again to look at him. Shulk’s eyes had gone unfocussed, staring at nothing in particular… while he looked like he had just seen a ghost.

“…Shulk? Is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah… it’s just…” He sighed. “It’s just that a bit before the Mechon attack on Colony 9, Fiora and I were together in the park just outside the colony. During that, she said something kind of like that, and… that’s one of the last memories I have of her before she… she…” his voice trailed off, and he lowered his gaze.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” Lucina gasped.

Shulk shook his head. “No need to apologize. Not like you had any way of knowing about any of that.”

“Please, accept my apologies anyway. Believe me, I know all too well what it is like to have all kinds of painful memories that you would rather not have resurface.”

“Of course I accept it. It really would defeat the purpose of today if I didn’t, wouldn’t it?”

“Right. Right.”

With that, the conversation fizzled out. Lucina kept looking at Shulk nonetheless, and saw him smile weakly at her, before lying back. She followed suit.

Overhead, there was not a single cloud. The sky was an endless blue, stretching out endlessly, and as far as she could see. She almost feared that she was running the risk of falling asleep, even if the ground below wasn’t that comfortable.

(The unavoidable knowledge that they were surrounded by countless bugs however was enough to keep her awake. She would really rather not sleep when there was the risk of waking up to find something crawling over her.)

“…It really is a beautiful day, though…” she said quietly after a while.

“Yeah…” Shulk agreed, just as quietly. “Even if it is getting a bit too warm for my tastes…”

Lucina turned her head towards him without looking up. “Well, maybe you wouldn’t be too warm if you hadn’t decided to wear a sweater and a vest today,” she teased.

“Back in the colony, this wouldn’t have bothered me! It’s not my fault that the weather in this world is so weird,” he answered defensively.

“Mhm. Just take something off, then. You can always just put it in your bag.”

“Oh, right, right…” he mumbled, while Lucina got to enjoy the smug satisfaction of having been right about something completely inconsequential.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Shulk sat up, took off his vest, and pulled off his sweater. While Lucina had seen him in various states of undress before, this was the first time that she had been such a close-up view of him without a shirt… and she had to admit, she quite enjoyed what she saw. Though he was not overly muscular, Shulk definitely was not out of shape, either, and some scars around his torso showed quite clearly that he was no stranger to fighting, even if their number was far lower than Lucina’s own. As she watched him with a little smirk, he turned around to put away his sweater, and-

And Lucina sat up.

“What- what’s this scar on your back?!” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Shulk froze up, while Lucina’s eyes grew wide. There was a massive scar on his upper back, right behind where his heart must have been. Normally, she would have thought that a scar like this was the result of being shot by an arrow, but that could simply not be the case – not with what this one looked like. Spread out from the spot where the actual wound must have been, there were countless spots where his skin was discoloured, with red spots in the centre, which gave way to purple spots which in turn became blue and green further out still. The wound had clearly healed rather well, but the actual wound must have been near lethal.

“I- what do you mean? I don’t have a wound on my back. Er… do I?”

Lucina just stared wordlessly. If Shulk didn’t know about this, then this must have been something that happened in the time periods he didn’t remember – and whatever had caused this, it couldn’t have been good.

“No… it’s definitely there. And it’s a massive one. Are you sure you don’t remember how this could have happened?”

“I don’t have any idea…” he said, his back still turned to Lucina. “Could you… maybe touch the spot where the wound is? I’d like to know.”

“…Sure…” Lucina said, thoughtlessly. Slowly, she reached out towards his back, putting her index and middle finger to it…

And Shulk shuddered.

“ You shouldn’t have done that, little brat.”

The voice was unmistakably Dickson’s, and it was nothing but a sneer. Nothing else came back to him: only the voice. Only darkness. Darkness, and… pain. Pain.

PAIN.

And in ancient depths, long forgotten by history already millennia ago, Zanza stirred. He was still weak… far, far too weak. Bound to a blade once again… there was an irony in it. Yet this blade housed more than just himself… there were two other powers in it. One of light, nearly extinguished. And one of darkness, eating away at it.

Neither were much of anything compared to him. But they had drawn him to it in the first place, he knew. What was there in terms of power sustained him, but it wasn’t enough.

He needed more.

Far away, Alvis paused. Even from the distance, they could feel Shulk’s mind pushing against the lock on his memories, now stronger than ever before. They also knew which exact memory was trying to resurface – but Alvis did everything they could to keep it suppressed.

Not yet. Not when they still weren’t certain of where exactly Zanza was, and what else was at play in this world. For now, Shulk needed to remain in the dark.

Zanza stirring had gone unnoticed by Alvis.

…But the man with the sky-blue hair had noticed something. His machines had picked up… well, something. In the vague sense that he could just feel that there was something else not from this world, he had become aware of another presence. This one was another matter of “familiar, but at the same time not”, much like his other partner, but still different from that one.

Well, that was something else to investigate. He diverted some of the machines, sending them north-west.

Shulk shuddered beneath her touch.

“It’s… here,” Lucina said.

He craned his neck, trying to look over his shoulder, all to little avail. Finally, he shook his head.

“No… I really don’t have the slightest clue where that could’ve been from.”

Lucina sighed, and pulled back her hand. “Then that’s probably another memory that will need to come back to you at some point.”

“Seems to be the case,” Shulk said, and let himself fall back on the picnic blanket. “But probably not today.”

Lucina nodded. “Yes. Probably not today.”

Based on how his scar looked however, she had to wonder if this was really something that he wanted to remember.

Chapter Text

Though the baked goods that Shulk had gotten for them were eaten before long, and what they had brought along to drink was gone not long thereafter, Lucina and him remained outside of the city for far longer still. Much like Lucina had feared, lying on a blanket beneath the clear sky on such a warm day were prime conditions for getting sleepy, even though they had already headed out here when it was barely around noon.

Yet despite admittedly dozing off just a little, Lucina did not quite fall asleep. Her lifestyle had long since fostered in her the ability to stay awake if needed, and… well, even if this was a day off for her, she still didn’t feel right just taking a nap.

Shulk, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any such hang-ups. A short while after taking off his sweater and putting his vest back on, he was already lying down again. And a bit later still, it was completely undeniable that he had fallen asleep. Absent-mindedly, Lucina watched him.

Being out here, on this day, in this weather, enjoying a bit of peace that she knew would only be temporary… she felt glad to have him by her side. Had it not been for him, him and all these other outsiders to this world that had seemingly appeared alongside her… well, she would have managed. She had the written timeline that Owain and Laurent prepared. She had had a plan on how to change the future, and the knowledge to pull it off. It would have all worked out just fine. She would have managed. Yes, she would have managed. Of that, she was certain.

But whether or not she would have been able to cope with it mentally, that was another matter entirely. 

Months spend waiting for the one event that she truly needed to avert, and then, assuming her existence was not erased alongside her future, facing an uncertain new future. All while well and truly isolated, not a soul to trust and confide in, and her friends scattered through time and space like leaves in fall. The bonds with all of them, forged into something unbreakable in the flames of countless battles, countless losses, countless times that they barely escaped with their lives, all just… gone.

Had things gone how she had anticipated, it would have been lonely, oh, so lonely.

She wondered if part of the reason why she had accepted Shulk travelling with her was to avoid that. Of course she had initially told herself that she wanted to keep an eye on him, just in case that he was a servant of Grima sent after her. But had the threat of loneliness maybe not also played a part in it?

…Honestly, she didn’t know. Now that she thought about it, that line of thinking made some sense, but she wasn’t certain if that was what it was. Whatever her reason in heart of hearts had been, the decision made from it really had turned out to be a good one. It felt… good to just be able to rest. To allow herself to do it. Even if she didn’t sleep.

And she wouldn’t have done any of this if it wasn’t for Shulk.

It really was… nice to have him around. Not just for the simple company. For that, anyone she got along with would have sufficed. But with him in particular… she really just got along really well, didn’t she? Even if his world and his life experiences were fundamentally different from hers, there was a lot with him that she could relate to. And even if he could sometimes be insensitive without meaning to (hopefully), he was still a kind soul. Considerate, too, if he picked up on the need to be. Were that not the case, she wouldn’t be here with him today.

And slowly but surely, Lucina started to wonder if perhaps she liked him in a way that was different from how she liked her friends…

She did not turn away. Nor did she feel herself get flustered, bury her face in her hands, or really do anything that would have made her emotions outwardly visible. Lucina remained perfectly still.

She wasn’t certain. No matter how she thought about it, she just wasn’t. With what her life had been like up until this point, she had never really gotten the opportunity to explore her own emotions, let alone in the way of those she had for others. Yes, on some level she had even felt like it could be reasonably possible for her to get… closer with any of her friends, except for of course her brother Inigo and cousin Owain.

(Though even then, there were those that she had always thought were just a bit more likely for her to get closer with than the others. Severa came to mind… and come to mind she had done a lot.)

( But less so since Lucina had come here.)

(Less so since he had been there.)

With them not around, maybe it only stood to reason that it would happen with Shulk. Shulk, whom she had spent essentially all her time in this timeline with.

Yet regardless of the reason, the fact still was that she liked him. In what way, to what extent… now that was another matter. And whether she would explore that question, that was another matter still. Did she even have time for that, when this world was not yet saved from the apocalypse which loomed over it?

Then again, her parents and all the ones of her friends had gotten together under the same circumstances. Because why put these things off until later, if there might not even be a “later” for you?

But one thing after another. Right now, she wasn’t even certain if that was what she felt. She liked Shulk in a way different from how she liked her friends, sure. With them however she basically grew up with, whereas he was somebody she got to know as an adult. These things might make a difference.

Thoughtlessly, she reached out with her hand, and gently touched the back of her palm against his cheek. Though he was still visibly breathing, her touch was not enough to rouse him from his sleep. Shulk’s sleep was deep.

So, even supposing that her hunch was right. Supposing then that he felt the same.

Then what?

Even then, there were issues to resolve. He was from a different world. One that he clearly yearned to return to. And she could understand the desire: though the timeline she left behind was near uninhabitable…

It was still her home. And on some level, she missed it.

Lucina withdrew her hand. She would have to see about this. Take her time to figure out her feelings. The future was uncertain, anyway. So what was one more thing to wait and see about?

For now… there was a day off to enjoy.

Shulk’s sleep, while not exactly plagued by nightmares, was still dark. Again and again, he had the feeling of coming close to making a breakthrough, of reaching his forgotten memories – but again and again, he found himself standing in front of an insurmountable mental wall. Visual fragments and spoken sentences flashed through his mind, but all without the context that would make them make sense.

A large room that was like the inside of a sphere, where all the walls were screens that showed the outside. The outside in this case being a view of the Bionis from somewhere in front of it… but how could that be? There should have been the Mechonis there…

A voice saying things like “ You shouldn’t have done that, little brat, ” as well as “ As they say, seeing is believing. Now, witness it with your own eyes. The moment of… return! ” The voice was familiar. Shulk knew that it was one that he should so easily recognize. But it just didn’t come to him, just like the person whose return was meant to be witnessed.

A black void, filled with rocks, distant orbs and stars… and somebody talking to him. But who? It was as if the person was completely hidden from not just his sight, but all other senses as well.

And then Shulk woke up. Up above, the sky had already started to change colour, and a few white clouds had come into view.

Letting out a yawn, he sat up.

“Finally awake, sleepy-head?” Lucina asked. Shulk turned around, and saw that she was still sitting next to him… or, well, was sitting next to him. Without having asked, he had no way of knowing what she had done in the meantime.

“Sorry about that… All this talk about giving you a break, and here I go dozing off for most of the day.” Shulk mumbled, his mind still not fully caught up to the fact that it was meant to be performing the tasks that were expected of an awake person right now. With how frequently it saw use, Shulk’s mind was glad to take any chance at rest it could get.

“It’s alright, I found ways to pass the time,” Lucina laughed, and Shulk saw that she was now wearing a flower crown. And flower bracelets. And there were also flower bracelets around her legs, though he was not certain if they were still called bracelets if they were around the legs instead of the wrists.

While Shulk was still trying to find all the flowers that Lucina had evidently picked in the meantime, she already produced yet another flower crown from somewhere, and put it on his head. “Here you go! This one’s for you.”

“Um. Thanks?” he said uncertainly, eyes wandering to the upper edge of his vision. “Red ones, hm?”

“Is there a problem with that? I figured you liked the colour, since your vest is such a striking red.”

Shulk smiled weakly. “I like it well enough, but it’s not my favourite colour.”

“What is your favourite colour, then?”

“Oh, that’s blue! Back at home I actually also have one of these vests in that colour, but I just think it looks better in red,” Shulk said… and then realized that he was talking to a woman who had blue hair, blue eyes, and was most commonly wearing blue. In a spontaneous effort to match his own preferred colour scheme, he immediately went red.

“Blue, hm? That’s interesting ,” Lucina questioned with a smirk.

“I-it is!”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” Lucina said and laughed. It was then and there that Shulk decided that it would be better to just drop the topic entirely.

“A-anyway. How about we head back to Ylisstol? I’d rather not be outside after nightfall.”

“Mh. Let’s. I don’t think the guards would refuse us entry after the gates have been closed, but I’d rather not run the risk of any nasty nightly encounters while we both are unarmed.”

Shulk nodded, and then got up from the blanket, putting his sweater back on along the way. As he did, his mind briefly wandered back to the wound that Lucina had spotted on his back. Even now, it was hard for him to believe that it was actually there. But as far as he knew her, she really wasn’t the type of person to lie about this sort of thing, so it probably was there. Maybe he could somehow see it by standing in front of a full-length mirror…

In the meantime, he and Lucina had packed up everything that they had taken out for their picnic. A moment later still, they had made one last check to make sure that they had forgotten nothing, and left. As they made their way to the road leading back to Ylisstol, they both initially remained quiet.

“You know, I’m still a bit surprised that you managed to do enough people around town a favour so that you could just get some baked goods for free,” Lucina said after a while.

“Oh, that was because I happened to be there while Miss Katy needed some flour that she didn’t have the time to get herself. It wasn’t much, but it seemed to have mattered a lot to her.”

“And? Did you need a vision to find the place where you could get it?” Lucina lightly teased with a grin.

“There may have been some pointers.”

Lucina laughed. Shulk, meanwhile, smiled awkwardly. “Hey, my visions can’t all be for tense life or death situations! Sometimes the future that needs to be changed is perfectly mundane.”

“Oh no, don’t misunderstand me! I’m not trying to downplay this in any way. If anything… I think it’s lovely that you’re doing these sorts of things,” Lucina said kindly, a somewhat dreamy expression adorning her face. “What you’re doing is definitely more tangible to the people of Ylisstol than what I’m doing. A little act of kindness can go a long way, and may be remembered for a long time to come. Whereas what I’ve been doing these past couple of days… sure, it may be important work, defending the people. But the people don’t see it, and they don’t remember who lays down their life for them.”

“Don’t say that!” Shulk said firmly. “Even if the average person in the city can’t see what you’re doing, it’s not like what you’re doing is not appreciated by anyone. I’m sure that Ylisse’s defence force values everything you do well enough.”

“Pegasus Knights, not Defence Force,” Lucina corrected him, in the casual kind of way that implied to him that it was more out of instinct than anything else. “And with them I don’t want them to recognize me for that. I am trying to keep a low profile, remember?” Lucina asked, though her mildly bemused tone made it clear that this was not a serious topic to her at the moment.

“There’s always something, huh?”

“I’m afraid so!” 

Pause. 

“Say… was that something you did a lot back at home? Helping people like this, I mean. Doing them little favours.”

“Well, not generally. But just before leaving the colony, me, Reyn and…” he hesitated briefly, the name still weighing heavy on his tongue, “Fiora really got caught up in doing all sorts of favours for people. Getting some Brog Oil for Dionysis, delivering biscuits for Marcia, hunting some of the monsters around the colony for the Defence Force. There were plenty of people who needed help, and we just thought that we could help them.”

“That’s nice,” Lucina said, somehow managing to make this specific combination of words not sound insincere, which was no small feat indeed.

By now, they had walked most of the way back to Ylisstol, leaving behind the plains in front of it, and becoming part of the small trickle of people that were trying to make their way to the city before nightfall. Everything was still so peaceful that it was hard for Shulk to believe that war was so imminent. He had not yet even had any visions warning him of it. But what Lucina knew from her timeline was reliable, and she was certain that it was coming. So why question her?

“Did you also have something in mind for dinner?” Lucina suddenly asked.

“Oh! Uh, to be honest, not really,” Shulk said, as they both passed the gate, and entered the city once more. “I just figured that we’d eat at the inn again.”

“You really are not good at planning such days out, are you? If today is to be special, then it should be capped off with a special dinner as well.”

Shulk considered this. “I see your point. But… you have to keep in mind, I have only really eaten at the inn or some of the food vendors around here. Even if I had thought of that, I wouldn’t really know where we could have gone.”

“Ah, yes. I understand. If only you had spent the past couple of days getting to know all sorts of people all over town, who may have pointed you in the right direction.”

His mouth contorting to a light frown, Shulk glanced over to Lucina. She was grinning. She was actually still grinning at him. On the one hand, Shulk was glad to see this: though she had always been pleasant to be around, Lucina had always largely felt sombre and serious to him in her demeanour. Once again, the veterans of the war that culminated in the battle of Sword Valley were perhaps the best comparison. People who felt out of place in everyday life, though not for lack of trying. Right now however, there was no trace of this in her. That all was good.

But on the other hand, Shulk would have preferred it if it wasn’t at his expense. Even if it was a minor thing. Some sacrifices needed to be made, though.

“This whole day was a rather spontaneous decision I made last night, you know,” he pointed out. For the sake of not continuing a pointless argument however, he then added, “But if you have anything in mind, then I’m all ears. I’m not usually the best with foods I’ve never eaten, but I can try.”

“Hmm… there’s nothing really that comes to mind right away. You have to keep in mind, most of everything the city has to offer in these regards wasn’t really around anymore in my time. But the day is not yet over, and we still have plenty of time to search for somewhere to eat. So let’s go!”

Saying this, Lucina took him by the hand, and led the way further into the city. As they went, Shulk half wondered whether or not what was intended as a simple day off had turned out to be an actual date between them – and unbeknownst to him, Lucina was wondering much the same.

Hours later, some time after nightfall, the two of them were finally returning to the inn. Both of them were well-fed, and by this point, really rather tired. Finding a place to eat that appealed to both of them had taken some time, but had thankfully been accomplished at all in the end. And all things considered… she was happy with today. 

She knew that come the next day, she would no longer be able to justify it to herself to not go out and defend Ylisse and its people against the Risen and Mechon. She knew that soon enough, history would happen again, and her intervention would be needed. And she knew well enough that her success was not guaranteed, even with her knowledge of what was going to happen.

But these were things that she was not going to worry about again until tomorrow. For now, for as little longer as this day would still last, she wanted to be free of worries.

When they entered their shared room in the inn, Lucina walked until she stood about in the middle of it, and then stopped. While Shulk set down his bag and already prepared his bed, she was still thinking. There needed to be something to cap off this day.

“Shulk… can you come over here for a moment?” she said.

Confused, he turned around and gave her a questioning look. When this prompted no answer, he stopped what he was doing, and moved over to stand right in front of her. And Lucina… hesitated.

There were many things in this moment that would have been appropriate, considering how the day had gone. And really, there would have also been a lot of things that would have been appropriate considering how their relationship had developed. Shulk was within arm’s reach, and whatever she wanted to do was a possibility…

What she ended up doing was pull him into a hug.

Though clearly still taken off-guard at first, he quickly caught himself, and returned it, putting his arms around her.

It was a wonderful moment. Lucina enjoyed it – and at the same time, lamented that she had no idea on how to describe it, had somebody asked her to. Owain may have been able to wax lyrical about the embrace of two souls opening up to each other, and waves of warmth washing over her, feelings of security and connection…

But she wasn’t him. And all she knew was that she didn’t want to break it off – but, after just a few seconds, she did just that. It had felt like it had lasted forever. It had felt like it had lasted barely any time at all. It was over now.

“Thank you for today,” she said quietly. “I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. I really needed this.”

She wasn’t even sure whether she meant the day in general with that last part, or the hug.

And she did notice that she was still holding onto Shulk… as he was still holding onto her. Right now, the future branched out into countless possibilities, right before her eyes…

But the path that it ended up taking was the most mundane one.

Shulk let go of her. She let go of him as well. It would have been weird to keep holding onto him… wouldn’t it?

“Honestly, you were always so exhausted that it was hard not to do anything,” Shulk said. “And like I said, I think I needed this as well.”

“Well… thank you, anyway. Now I only need to make sure that I don’t fall back into old habits now, huh?”

“Exactly! But don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out so that doesn’t happen again.”

And that was that . After this, they both got changed, and went to sleep.

Lucina lay awake for a good while longer, wondering.

A towering shadow loomed in the ruins, approaching the machines…

And destroying them, one after another.

The man with the sky-blue hair flinched and opened his eyes. He had made the machines follow the sensation that he had felt in the north-west, where they had uncovered an ancient underground ruin. He had been certain that whatever he had felt, it had been in its depths, so having the machines explore those had been an easy decision to make.

But whatever it was that lurked in the depths of these ruins, it was enough to destroy the machines. Not by being able to just cut through their armour, like the young man and young woman with the power of his partner had been able to, but rather by just hitting them really, really hard.

So, now what? He could always make more of the machines. Stronger ones, too. But focussing all of his efforts to explore these ruins… now that seemed rather like a waste of time. Finding out more about his other partner was more promising, by comparison. He still didn’t want to reveal himself to them, but there had to be other ways of not being in the dark about them.

And just then, he noticed something else.

In the south-eastern kingdom on this continent… a procession of people, observed by his machines from a safe distance. Well, that by itself was nothing too special. There were plenty of groups travelling all over, some of which had fallen victim to his machines.

But this one in particular… once again, his vague senses picked up something . A dark presence among them… or, no, not quite. It more like all of them were presences in their own right, led by one that was darker than the others.

Something about that one vaguely reminded the man with the sky-blue hair of the person who had awakened him , hundreds and hundreds of years ago. That man was now dead, all courtesy of his partner, that brat, and their friends. Which, mind you, really wasn’t that big of a loss, but it still affected the man with the sky blue hair. Somewhat. Kind of. It wasn’t a big deal.

Either way, he was curious about this group. Based on the roads they were taking, they were travelling from the south-western kingdom to the capital of the south-eastern one… where he knew the young man and young woman with the power of his other partner were. Interesting.

Once again, his curiosity was piqued. And so, the man with the sky-blue headed there as well.

Maybe he would finally have somebody to reveal himself to.

The days after their day off together went by in much the same way as the ones before did. As before, Shulk largely withdrew himself to the mage’s guild, where he was further instructed in the use of magic, all while using the rest of the day in order to help out people all over town with various minor troubles. Lucina meanwhile returned to joining mercenary groups that hunted down Risen and Mechon outside of the city, though the latter eventually started to become noticeably less common.

Yet for all the things that stayed the same in their day-to-day lives, the aftermath of their day off wasn’t exactly the same as before. It were the little things, mostly. Through a seeming variety of arrangements that he was not privy to, Lucina left a bit later in the mornings, and returned home sooner in the evenings. Whether this was because she joined fewer missions out in the field, or whether she somehow did her part to make sure that the ones she went on were done quicker, he didn’t know.

Regardless however of how she had managed to arrange it, the effect was the same: Lucina spent more time in Ylisstol again.

And, by proxy, more time with Shulk. He had never considered himself somebody who easily picked up on the emotions and thoughts of other people. Several past instances of accidentally hurting the feelings of Fiora and Reyn could attest to that. But even with that in mind, he had no trouble telling that Lucina must have realized much the same thing as he had. Namely, that you can’t exactly spend several weeks getting and being as emotionally close as they had been with each other without asking yourself just what exactly the other person means to you.

For his part, Shulk still wasn’t certain of the answer. There were still many things to consider for him, chief among them were Fiora (and Reyn, if he was being perfectly honest with himself. And of course there also was… who? Shulk had the feeling that there had been a third person, but had no idea who it could have been) on the one hand, and the whole matter of him being in a different world on the other. If, somehow he never would be able to return home (now there was a thought he’d rather not have – not when this world was so fundamentally different from the Bionis, and nothing and no one he ever knew was here)… then he could easily see it. Even if it was still something that he did not dare spell out, even in his thoughts.

Yet while he was still reluctant, Lucina seemed to be more willing to explore her own feelings. While she did spend more time with him, that was not a simple matter of simply staying at the inn. Instead, she led him out into the city, and to parts of it that he hadn’t even explored yet. Together they went to see plays, attended weekly markets, and visited all kinds of stores, shopping with the money that she had earned… and in some cases, favours that he had earned from just helping people.

(It was during one of these shopping trips to a tailor that Shulk came to realize one specific thing about Lucina. That being, while her dress from the other day was pretty, the outfit for her Marth disguise was dapper, and her other clothes were practical, none of them had actually been chosen by her, but had rather been a joint effort by her friends. Lucina’s own sense of fashion meanwhile simply defied description, or would at the very least have required a vocabulary from the likes of the poet Kenny Rohan to properly put into words. Shulk was certain that the word “tacky” would have played a role at some point.)

All in all, it was… nice. More than anything else, these activities drove the point home for Shulk that he got along with Lucina amazingly well, and outright loved spending time with her. Yet whether that was something different from how it had been with Fiora and Reyn he just couldn’t say for certain. Especially since his feelings towards the two might have been more complicated than he had once thought. The pain of losing Fiora, the panic at nearly losing Reyn in Tephra Cave… now there were things to unpack.

Regardless of his own uncertainties, Lucina likewise was taking her time. The hug they shared at the end of their day off did not remain the only one – but there was also nothing beyond that.

Which was fine. Shulk was fine with it.

Wasn’t he?

…He was. He had to be.

And like this, the days passed by. About a week after the two of them returned to Ylisstol, the Shepherds also finally made their way there. Their return was not something that Shulk witnessed for himself, but it was something that was impossible to miss. Popular and well-respected as they were among the people, the streets were quickly abuzz with talk of their return. Hearing about it, Shulk briefly wondered if perhaps he would be able to see Miriel at the guild once more…

But Lucina’s knowledge of the timeline turned out to be all too accurate.

No sooner did talk of the Shepherd’s return flare up than there was another kind of talk entirely to be heard around town. Plegia had attacked the Themis territory, claiming to act in self-defence over an attack against them. Self-defence, which apparently necessitated the abduction of the daughter of the duke of Themis.

(Who, judging by the way that Lucina talked about her, seemed to be the mother of another one of her friends. By this point, Shulk was near certain that all of her friends were the children of members of the Shepherds.)

And so, despite having only just arrived in Ylisstol, the Shepherds set out again almost immediately, leaving by all accords in quite the hurry.

(It was only a few days after they left that Shulk realized that Ricken no longer seemed to be around at the mage’s guild. Considering just how much the young man had already reminded him of Juju, he could hazard a guess as to where he had gone.)

But although this was another event of Lucina’s timeline that took place, the next point where she wanted to intervene was still not too close. While Themis territory was, based on what she told him, not too terribly far away from Ylisstol, getting there was of course a more complicated matter for a troop like the Shepherds, as opposed to just some travelling individuals. Meaning, they had to wait some more.

Much like how the arrival of the Shepherds had not gone unnoticed by the general populace however, so was their departure no secret to the people of Ylisse. And likewise, the reason for their departure could be heard from all over the city. While the average citizen hardly needed to concern themselves with matters of politics and Ylisse’s relations to its neighbours, in their day-to-day lives, what was happening now was not something that they could just ignore. The strained relations between Ylisse and Plegia were widely known – and the risk of an outright war breaking out was on seemingly everyone’s mind. No matter who Shulk talked to, no matter who he passed by, the topic was constantly being discussed.

And the worst part about this was that he knew the worst outcome would be how things would go!

He of course hadn’t had any visions concerning this. By and large, they still seemed to be confined to things that immediately concerned him, and that he could actually do something about. But stopping a war between two kingdoms? That was entirely outside of the realm of what he could do.

But where his visions failed, or rather, didn’t show him anything at all, Lucina’s written timeline and knowledge of her past were enough to fill in the blanks. And what these blanks showed were nothing but war and death.

Aside from just the overall atmosphere in Ylisstol, the events also had a more specific effect on Lucina. While she still continued to spend time with Shulk in all the ways that went well beyond the bare necessity of working together, and that made him feel… well, complicated , her demeanour changed. Whenever she wasn’t looking at him or anything in particular, her expression was notably… steely. Steely and tired, in a way that felt weary of not one thing in particular, but rather with the world as a whole.

And the worst thing about this was that he didn’t know how to help her with it. They were already doing all sorts of things that should have taken her mind off of things. But how could you take your mind off something that so thoroughly dominates every aspect of your life? He may as well have tried to forget the Monado or the Mechon or home.

…Or Fiora…

So Shulk just carried on as before. There was simply nothing else that he could do. He studied magic (with which which he was by now at a point where he could actually cast fire, lightning or wind from simple tomes – having some experience with the use of ether had really come in handy, after all), spent hours on end in the mage’s guild, and much of the rest of each day helping out people in Ylisstol. Some because they were shown to him in a vision, some because they directly asked him, and some that he was referred to by others.

And it was through the last of these means that one day in particular, he found himself in an unexpected situation.

Despite a huge crowd being gathered along the main street, it was almost eerily silent. Though the Shepherd’s actual return to the city had been soon after their battle against the Plegian forces, news of that battle had travelled faster than them. Everyone in the city had already known of it long before any of the Shepherds had set foot in the city.

Everyone had already known that Ylisse was at war again.

The reception that the Shepherds therefore got upon the return was a quiet one. There was nothing they could have done. The Plegians had been the aggressors, even if they claimed otherwise. There was nothing that could have been done. It was unavoidable. If not now, then the tensions would have turned violent at a later point.

And really, wasn’t it a good thing that it finally happened? They – this nebulous “they” that encompassed more than just the handful of people gathered here, the one that meant all the people in the halidom – had been far too passive for far too long. It really was about time that they showed steel!

Yet sentiments such as these did not exactly seem to thrive at the sight of the returning Shepherds, and their gazes staring off into the distance…

Even though Shulk was standing in the middle of the crowd, surrounded on all sides by people (which he hoped was enough to not make him stand out enough so that he could be noticed by any of the Shepherds), he felt like he truly did not belong, not in the slightest.

Lucina had explained it to him, time and time again. He had asked other inhabitants of Ylisstol, folk who lived through these situations even more than she had. But no matter how much he listened to their explanations, he just could not truly comprehend it. A conflict betweens Homs – well, humans – fought entirely between them, and that still brought about death and destruction on a scale and kind that he only knew from the war against the Mechon. How could it be? How could that be what people made of this world? It was simply impossible for him to wrap his head around.

Though it currently seemed like he had no chance but to understand. The war had begun – and he was right in it. Even if it wasn’t for him having offered his help and support to Lucina, he was now in too deep, he realized. All these days spent all over the city, getting to know its people and their little troubles that came with daily life. There was no way he couldn’t get attached to them. He wanted to do everything he could to protect them.

Which… didn’t seem like terribly much. He had his visions, and he had the Monado. Both were incredible tools to be sure. But enough to stop a war that was not against the Mechon? Now that seemed a good deal less likely.

As the Shepherds passed, the crowd slowly began to dissipate. Shulk however remained where he was, and watched after them. He wondered what Lucina was going to have to say about this. At present, she was not within the city: though she had been there to hear the news of the Shepherds’ imminent return, she had nonetheless headed out with the Pegasus Knights to fight Risen again.

(Which was another thing that he could not help but to wonder about. While he hadn’t joined her in these mercenary missions (as she called them) in a while, she had already told him that… there suddenly seemed to be a lot fewer Mechon about. In the last few days in particular there had been practically none. Shulk wasn’t quite sure whether to be relieved or concerned by that.)

There would be plenty of things to talk about once she got back, he was certain. Now that the Shepherds were back, it also couldn’t be long before the assassination was supposed to take place. And in turn, the first point where Lucina truly wanted to intervene.

But despite the importance of the situation, Shulk wasn’t particularly anxious about that point. While Lucina still had her own doubts about whether changing the future on such a grand scale was possible at all, Shulk had full trust in his visions. If they worked together, then changing this future should be an easy-

“Hey, you there! Aren’t you that guy that has been helping out people all over town?” a voice suddenly said, interrupting Shulk’s thoughts.

He blinked and turned around. Standing there was… a wholly unremarkable man, completely indistinguishable from most of everyone around town. His hair was brown, his face was nondescript, his clothes were a plain beige tunic, and Shulk was certain that if confronted with him and several other men from Ylisstol some time later, he wouldn’t be able to pick out this man. He didn’t appear to bear any ill will, though…

“Uhm. Yes, I suppose that’s me. Can I help you with anything?” Shulk said reluctantly.

“That depends,” the man said vaguely. “I’ve heard from some people that you’re also a bit of a fighter, and worked as a mercenary before. Is that true?”

Inside, Shulk was getting a feeling of rising dread. Had Lucina been right to be wary of his actions? Had somebody figured out that there was something off about him?

Outwardly however, Shulk wasn’t showing anything. Or at least he hoped so.

“Well, I’m not an amazing fighter, but I can defend myself if things get serious,” he said, trying to remain composed. “So… can I help you with something, or…?”

The question hung in the air. And thankfully, the man picked it up.

“Not me in particular, no,” he said. “But there’s a group that I am a part of that could use your help. If you have the time for it, I could introduce you right now.”

Shulk slowly nodded. “…Sure. I have some time.”

In truth, he was beyond wary of the man – whatever he had in mind, it didn’t exactly seem like it was anything good. But on the other hand, he had yet to receive any kind of vision, so whatever it was, it likely wasn’t anything that threatened him, so he might as well satisfy his curiosity.

The man, in the meantime, had seemingly not actually picked up on any of Shulk’s apprehensions. Instead, he just smiled at him, and patted him on the shoulder.

“Excellent! Follow me, then. I’ll show you where our… group is.”

Without any more pause, the man went on ahead. Still feeling uncertain, Shulk watched after him.

He hadn’t got any visions. So it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

Unless of course whatever caused his visions considered the untrustworthiness and potential danger of this man to be so self-evident that no vision was necessary… but at that point, it was really just splitting hairs.

Shulk followed after the man. Within minutes, they had left the main streets and more presentable-looking parts of the city well behind them, and entered the parts that looked at best run-down and shabby, and at worst… well, that was precisely where the man led him.

Shulk hadn’t really been in these parts of the city before: while his self-appointed quests had led him here before, it had never been for long enough so that he could familiarize himself with them. Not that he was all too wary of these parts, mind you: between the Monado, his visions, and the magic that he was learning, he considered himself well-equipped enough so that he didn’t have to worry about anything here. And even if there was something to worry about, he was probably well-liked enough in town by now so that whoever decided to mug him wasn’t going to be happy about what resulted from that.

Still didn’t mean that he wanted to risk anything, though. And so, Shulk had simply not ventured much into these parts.

In the meantime, the man had led him into the parts of Ylisstol that he truly had never been in before. Many of the houses here were either very shabby-looking, heavily dilapidated, or outright ruins. If it wasn’t for the occasional other person rushing past them, he almost would have been convinced that no one was even living here.

He made a mental note to come by here to see if he could help anyone on occasion.

For now, however…

The man seemed to at last have reached his destination: a singular building that stood out from all of its neighbours, for two main reasons. The one was that it was largely intact. A bit run-down and old, to be sure, but still in perfect condition. And the other was that it was relatively large and ornate, looking almost like the… he wasn’t exactly sure whether they were called churches, temples, or shrines. The buildings that were built to worship this Naga, that’s what he meant. It reminded him of those, only more… gloomy. Gloomy in a way that he was certain couldn’t just be chalked up to the general state of this part of the city.

“Here we are,” the man said, stopping in front of the door, and turning around towards Shulk. “I’ll need you to wait out here for a moment. We’re a bit of a secretive group, and I kind of made a spontaneous decision by bringing you here. I’ll just clear that up real quick, and then you can come inside for the details.”

Shulk nodded, and desperately hoped that his face wasn’t showing how he felt about this. A secret organization hiding in a poorer part of town… it almost reminded him of a story out of one of the kinds of novels that Kenny Rohan derided as low quality rubbish that “only sought to entertain through shallow excitement”. Not that Shulk had ever read any of those for himself…

The man meanwhile opened the door and went inside, leaving it a bit open…

And Shulk got another vision.

He was watching the man enter a dark, dimly lit room, illuminated by only some candles. The silhouettes of many people were all around them, though he could not make out how many, or what they looked like. Moving through the crowd, the man approached a tall figure, standing at the far end of the room at some kind of altar, occupied with… something.

“My master. Please excuse my disturbance,” Shulk’s guide said, bowing down.

“Ardri… what is the matter? Why do you disturb me when I am in worship of our Lord?” the figure said, speaking in a deep snarl.

“Master Validar. This concerns the mission tonight. I have another potential recruit for our cause.”

“Another…? You really must have no faith in Lord Grima or our strength if you think that we need more still. But very well. Have you picked up another thief?”

“Oh no, master. Who I have recruited should be far better for our purposes than another thief. There has been talk in the city of a young man who can find the seemingly impossible, and accomplish all kinds of tasks, on top of being a competent fighter. I believe that if we keep the purposes of our mission vague, we can convince him, too, to join us.”

The figure whirled around, revealing a tall, dark man in dark robes and with sharp facial features, which were glaring down at the man that had led Shulk here.

“You fool! It was bad enough that you recruited this thief to our cause. And now you intend to add another to our ranks under false pretences?!”

“B-but, my master! The more join us in our mission, the better! Have you not said that Lord Grima’s revival hinges upon our success tonight?”

“There is more to the success of our mission than strength in numbers,” the taller man, Validar, said. “And the more outsiders are part of this mission, the more likely it is that one of them gets cold feet, and tries to rat us out. Is this supposed recruit with you?”

“He is waiting outside, my master.”

“Very well. Bring him in, so that I may see him for myself. Should he not prove trustworthy, then we may as well rid ourselves of him here and now…”

The vision ended. Frozen in place, Shulk stared at the door, where the man leading him here had just vanished…

And then he booked it.

The sombre atmosphere that greeted Lucina upon her return to Ylisstol was one that was eerily familiar to her. Though the time was different, it was simply all too reminiscent of what the city had been like back in her own time, when she had been Exalt of a doomed halidom. She didn’t even need to talk to anyone to know what the cause of all this was: Ylisse was at war.

Without thinking much of it, she walked through the streets, where people talked in hushed tones, and generally had frightful expressions, and made her way to the inn. Though they would have questioned her sanity if they had known about it, Lucina almost envied the city folk in a way. They still believed that this war was one of the worst things that could happen to them.

Once at the inn, Lucina simply went to their room, and let herself fall on her bed. This was it, then. Not long now before her intervention was truly needed.

Not long now before she would see if she would be able to change the future.

Of course, whenever she had actually voiced her doubts on that end, Shulk had assured her that it was possible, and that he had already changed the future many times. And she believed him. After all, he had saved her life before, she had seen and heard him help people with his visions, and she had yet to erase her own existence simply being over twenty years in the past.

But what if it wasn’t going to work?

Lucina let out a deep breath. That was just the thing, wasn’t it? No matter how certain she told herself she was about this, there was always, always that nagging little voice that asked “what if ?”, and then listed off all the ways in which things could go wrong. And try as she might, she could not ignore it.

Without getting up, or even sitting up, she fished for her timeline lying on the bedside table. She didn’t even need to look at it, seeing as the date had already been firmly burned into her mind. But even so, she opened the little book, anyway. There it was, written plain as day in Laurent’s neat handwriting, factual and simple.

Night of the 17 th of June to the 18 th of June. Grimleal assassins, presumably led by Validar himself, sneak into Ylisstol castle. Chrom gets injured in a fight, Emmeryn gets killed. Assassins mostly manage to escape without being apprehended.

And wouldn’t you know it, the 17 th of June was today.

Lucina had still gone out to aid the Pegasus Knights in their ongoing mission to suppress Risen wherever they appeared. Her aid really was no longer necessary for the success of these at this point, but it had helped her clear her mind. Trick herself into believing that this was just another day. This had partially, which was at least better than what she had expected. But now… but now.

Now there was no more point in staying out of town. Now, she needed to prepare herself, both mentally and otherwise.

She would really rather just lay there and rest… rest, and not worry about anything.

But, no helping it. This was the whole reason why she was here in the first place. So time to get up. Get ready.

Lucina was just in the middle of that when suddenly, the door to their room flew open, and Shulk stormed in.

“You’re here! Oh, that is good.”

“What’s the matter, Shulk? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lucina said, frozen in the middle of what she was doing, and furrowing her eyebrows.

Shulk shook his head. “No, not that. Definitely not that. Listen – I found the assassins!”

Chapter Text

With a grimace, Lucina listened to Shulk’s explanation of what had just happened to him. Once he had finished, she let out a deep breath, and stared out of the window, where the sun was slowly starting to set over Ylisstol. They needed to head out soon, but there was still some time – both for her and Shulk, and the Grimleal assassins.

“So what do we do now?” Shulk asked, notable tenseness in his voice

Lucina looked back at him. Though he was not showing it outwardly, she could tell that the experience he described had at least shaken him somewhat.

She however just shook her head. “I… I need to think,” she said. Shulk nodded and sat down on his bed.

Now what? Now what indeed…

Knowing where the Grimleal assassins were was invaluable information, there was no doubt about it. But the question was, what could they even do with it? While Falchion and the Monado were powerful weapons, there was no way that the two of them would be able to take on an entire group of assassins just by themselves.

Which wasn’t even getting the fact that Shulk mentioned a man named Validar, who she knew to be the leader of the Grimleal, and the main instigating force behind Grima’s revival…

She could go to the city watch. After all the work she had put in for the Pegasus Knights, her appearance should hold some weight there… but , it was not guaranteed. She had done her utmost to keep a low profile, and doing this would bring her into the centre of attention to be sure. On the other hand, Shulk could do it for her, which would solve that issue. He was practically a local hero at this point, after doing so much for so many people, so his word would hold some weight at least.

But assuming that she went this route, would that even work? Being a Grimleal was no crime in and of itself. And the amount of guards or other armed forces that apprehending such a group necessitated was inevitably going to be noticed before they actually made their way there. Enough time for anything that made their plans obvious to be hidden. It would likely still throw off the Grimleal’s plan so that it would not be today, but it would not put them off from them entirely.

Which wasn’t even getting to the issue of organizing all this in such a short time frame.

At last, Lucina shook her head.

“We won’t do anything. While that information is useful, there is nothing that we can reasonably do with it. Trying to take out the assassins now would only complicate things – it really is for the best if we take them out just as they are about to put their plan into motion.”

Shulk exhaled audibly and lowered his gaze. It was easy to tell in which direction his thoughts were going.

“Do you disagree?” Lucina asked. She made sure that there was no malice in her tone, no judgment, no nothing. By now, there was enough trust between them for her to want to hear him out.

Shulk shook his head. “I just… I think it would be best to take as few risks as possible with this. This assassination is the big event that you want to prevent, isn’t it? So even if there are some unexpected consequences, I feel they would be worth it. If you can still prevent it in the way you planned this, then the future becomes uncertain, anyway. Doesn’t it?”

Though he probably hadn’t been thinking about his words too much in that regard, Lucina had noticed him saying “you” rather than “we”…

“I understand that. But the big thing to keep in mind here is that there is no way that we can take out such a group all on our own. We would need help for that – and we just can’t get that on such short notice, and also not without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves” Lucina said firmly, but not unkindly.

But Shulk still looked unhappy, though he said nothing.

“Look,” she continued, shaking her head. “I realize that my plan may not be the best way of doing this. And it’s definitely not without its own risks. But it at least is a plan – and I simply don’t trust myself with being able to come up with a new one on such short notice.”

Shulk still said nothing. After a moment however, he slowly nodded. “I… still don’t think this is the best way to do this. But… this is your mission and your world. So if you think this is for the best, then I won’t object.”

Now it was Lucina’s turn to say nothing. That was essentially an agreement to do what she considered best… but with how he had worded it, it felt to her like the whole issue was not out of the world with just that. They would need to talk about this again in the future. That would be unavoidable.

But, not right now. Right now, the future needed to be changed.

“…Right. Let’s get going, then – we need to get to the castle.”

Up ahead, Ylisstol castle loomed, rising up like a mountain in the twilight. Unmoving, and seemingly timeless, a monument to the halidom itself. Impressive though it was, the effect was somewhat lessened by the fact that Lucina was looking at it through a series of slits that were barely wide enough that a coin would’ve fit through them. Even if her mask was an important part of her Marth disguise, it was not always the most practical.

Yet even beyond that, the sight of the castle was not too special to her. It had, after all, been her home growing up. While an attack of the Fell Dragon itself had destroyed it in the future past, the castle in the here and now looked just like how she remembered it. Seeing it up close again was a new experience, though.

Despite her already lengthy stay in the city, Lucina had not gone anywhere near the castle before. While she doubted that there was much of a risk of being recognized as “Marth”… well, avoiding those risks altogether was what she did. Not to mention her other hang-ups...

“So, uhm… how exactly do we get in?” Shulk asked, interrupting her train of thought.

Lucina turned around towards him, feeling a sudden flash of gratitude. She had gotten too caught up in the moment. Right now, they were on the road, the liminal space between the city and the actual castle. Not a place that was forbidden to stay at by any means, but one where they would inevitably be noticed if they lingered for too long, which would only mean Unnecessary Questions.

“We go around to the back. There is a hidden passageway there that should allow us to get in unnoticed,” Lucina said, fully aware that calling it a passage really wasn’t the best way to put it. But Shulk would see it for himself soon enough.

“Alright. Then let’s go.”

Shulk started at the cleft. “ That is the passage we’re supposed to get in through? It looks more like a hole that something knocked into the wall!”

“That’s because that is exactly what this is. My father accidentally did this during training a while ago, and it luckily hasn’t been fixed yet,” Lucina said, and Shulk was near certain that she was amused at his surprise.

“During… training? You mean he did this by hand?”

“Indeed. A bit of an issue that I have also had myself before,” Lucina confirmed, and Shulk was certain that she was amused at his surprise.

“You’re pulling my leg.”

Even with the butterfly mask obscuring her eyes, the smile on Lucina’s lips was plain to see.

“I’m not! Neither father nor me have much trouble with that sort of thing,” she said – and she sounded certain enough that Shulk believed her. She wasn’t the person to make this kind of joke, anyway.

Slowly, Shulk looked back to the cleft. The walls of Ylisstol castle were thick, as to be expected of something that was primarily meant to protect those on the inside from those on the outside. To be able to knock a clef in that without the use of a siege weapon…

He was suddenly very glad that prior to gaining her trust, he had never given Lucina a reason to attack him.

“If you are quite done with taking it all in,” she said with a sudden firmness in her tone, the smile gone from her lips, “Then we need to get inside. Nightfall is almost upon us, and it won’t be long then before it will be time.”

Behind her, the setting June sun bathed the city and the land in almost blazing orange, only partially obscured by all the thicket and bushes that were growing on the slopes leading up to the castle. Standing there like this, she looked like a great hero, right out of a fairytale – but Shulk knew that confidence she exuded was in part only a font.

“Are you nervous?” he asked, remaining outside of the hole even still.

“I would have to lie if I were to say that I wasn’t,” Lucina admitted in a quiet voice, “But that holds true for most of everything that I have done since coming here. My own feelings on this don’t exactly matter.”

“Like how they didn’t matter before we took that day off?” Shulk asked, and he could tell by her flinching that he had hit a nerve. It had been a subtle flinch, but by now he knew her well enough to be able to tell at least such things.

And then, following a sudden whim, he reached out and took her hand. She did not resist.

“You can do this. We can do this. The future is ours to decide.”

Lucina smiled again, though wistfully this time. Her hand closed around his, and together they entered the castle.

The courtyard that they found themselves in on the other side reminded Shulk more of a garden, if not an outright park. Judging by the sheer scale of it, it easily could have passed for one. He almost wondered why it being this big was even necessary, considering that it served no actual purpose. At least with places like Colony 9’s military district, it at least had the purpose of also serving as a safety bunker in case of a Mechon attack.

But he had to admit that right here and now, there were some upsides to this. The part of the courtyard that they found themselves in was in the middle of basically a small maple grove, complete with trees and bushes. Even if there was somebody observing the courtyard, they had most likely not been noticed.

“And now we wait?” Shulk asked.

Lucina nodded. “Now we wait.”

Around them, the courtyard slowly grew dark, as the sun set beyond the walls. Night was falling.

Lucina wasn’t sure how long exactly they had been standing there in the shadows, when at last, a figure entered the courtyard…

Her father.

Seemingly lost in thought all alone, he slowly paced around the courtyard, looking at nothing in particular, and having no apparent goal, either. What it was that he was thinking about she could not tell, but all things considered, she could hazard a good enough guess.

The war. It could only be the war. Sure, soldiers and fighters and swords and armour, all shining in the sunlight may be glorious, inspiring, and whatever other way there was to describe them. He had thought so too, that’s what he had told her. The version of her father in the future, the one in her past.

But dealing with violent bandits was one thing. Dealing with nations at war, normal , everyday people displaced, and needing to fear for their life, facing the prospect of battle upon battle upon battle, not ending until one side was destroyed…

That could put a damper on your spirits.

Without moving too much, Lucina took a look around her. The assassins were likely also hiding here in the shadows. Her father had said that they had come out of nowhere at least, and there wasn’t a whole lot of nowhere to go around in the courtyard. Maybe hers and Shulk’s presence already deterred them. Maybe she could take them out before they struck. But at present, there was no one to be seen.

Or rather, there was no one to be seen in the grove.

Outside of it, with her father, he was being approached by someone else now…

Robin.

“Oh, them!” Shulk whispered fervently.

Without taking her eyes off her father, Lucina glanced over to him. “Robin, the Shepherd’s tactician. Is there something the matter with them?”

“…Nothing I can put into words,” Shulk said quietly. “I’m just reminded of the strange feeling I had when I came face-to-face with them in our arena fight…”

“Mh. I remember,” Lucina whispered, and left it at that. This was nothing to discuss at this point in time.

As they watched the two, Robin approached Chrom, who in turn didn’t seem to notice his tactician. It was only when they spoke that he took note of them. S ince they were both standing so close to Lucina and Shulk, they could easily hear the conversation that unfolded.

“Chrom? What are you doing out so late?” Robin asked.

“Oh, hey Robin. Just… duelling with some unpleasant thoughts…" Chrom spoke. He was slow to begin, but once he started, he just kept going, as if a dam had been broken. "Tomorrow we march to Regna Ferox to request additional soldiers. But, since you probably don’t remember much of Ylisse’s recent history, there’s something you should know.” Chrom made a brief pause and sighed. “Not everything that Gangrel said was a lie. The last war that ravaged Plegia really was nothing but the fault of Ylisse. It was my father – Emmeryn’s predecessor – exalt Lowell who instigated it. For what reason, no one knows for certain, but… I can hazard a guess.”

There was another pause, wherein Chrom let out a deep sigh, and held up his version of Falchion in its scabbard. Expectantly, Robin looked at it.

“The royal family of Ylisse can trace back its lineage throughout the centuries, if not outright millennia. From the first exalt Leopold, all the way to the legendary hero-king Marth. I’ve often heard it said that members of the main family are always destined for greatness… a load of rubbish, if you ask me. But rubbish that creates expectations. My father… he became exalt in times of relative peace. And even beyond that, he could not wield Falchion. See… the blade can only be used by members of our bloodline. But even then, not everyone in it can do so. In my hands, it is a mighty sword. But if you, or even Emm were to wield it, it would behave as if it had no edge at all, and no weight either. And that’s how it was for father.”

He put the sword away again, and shook his head. Next to her, Lucina could tell that Shulk was staring right at him and Robin, following their every word.

“My father was not satisfied with this. By all accounts, he felt that he was destined to go down in history. Make his mark on it. But no matter how he looked at it, there was just nothing for him to go down in history for . He probably feared ending up as just a footnote, forgotten in favour of greater ancestors. I can’t say for certain. All I know is that at some point, he must have heard tales of the Grimleal, a religion trying to resurrect the Fell Dragon that the first exalt slayed a millennia ago. A religion that had a major and devout following in Plegia. My father then made it his mission to stamp out that religion, and neutralize its threat.”

“A whole war to just deal with one religion? Couldn’t he have tried to resolve matters with the royal family of Plegia?” Robin interjected.

“That I don’t know,” Chrom admitted. “Maybe he tried diplomacy and it failed. Maybe he eschewed it altogether, feeling like the king of Plegia would not have listened to him. Or maybe he did not care at all. The fact of the matter simply is that he ordered the attack on Plegia, and war ensued. It… was a long and brutal campaign, lasting many years. As the fighting dragged on, our army became more and more diminished. Farmers who could barely wield a pitchfork were conscripted and sent to their deaths. Soon there was no food at all, and the kingdom began to collapse. And all that is just what Ylisse went through.”

There was a moment of silence. Even at a distance, Lucina could tell that Robin was taken aback by what Chrom had to tell him. She could not blame them, either: none of this was anything that she had ever heard before. So why hadn’t she? Had the war truly changed her father’s feelings on the matter to such an extent that this had lost all meaning to him?

“But even with all that, the war continued. It only did end when my father died, some fifteen years ago. And that was not by natural causes. He was still in the middle of his crusade, in the front lines… and then one night, he just got killed. No one was ever able to figure out who did. Whether assassins sneaked into his camp and did it, or whether his soldiers turned against him. By all accounts, he… was not popular amongst his soldiers towards the end. When his remains went missing, no one looked any further into it, and his grave beneath the castle lays empty to this day.”

Chrom fell silent again, and looked up to the castle. From her perspective and in this light, Lucina could not see his face. Whatever it actually was that went through his mind however, she could imagine well enough what sort of thing it must have been.

“His death came when all of us – me, Emm and Lissa – were still very young. Lissa was barely more than a newborn, I was around four, and Emm was not even ten. But with no one else left in our family, and mother having died in childbirth, Emm had to succeed father as exalt. He left her quite a legacy. Plegia’s desire for vengeance. Our own people’s unbridled rage… she became a target for blame from all sides. Her own subjects began to hurl insults – and stones. She still bears the scar from one… but she never let them see her pain. Only Lissa and I understood… or rather, have come to understand. We were just children for most of it. In my eyes, Lissa still is… don’t tell her I said that.”

“I can make no promises,” Robin said with the verbal equivalent of a weak smile. What they followed it up with meanwhile was the equivalent of said smile being gone. “But this all sounds so awful… it must have been so hard.”

Chrom sighed. “I cannot claim to know how she does it, Robin. I could never greet such hostility with warmth and patience. While our people mocked and vilified her, she reached out and healed Ylisse. She brought soldiers home to their families. She ended the war. And when Ylisse’s spirit was mended and the people “forgave” her? …She never resented them for it. She represents the best of halidom – the part most worth protecting. She is peace. But some men…”

There was another pause, one that Robin didn’t seem to want to fill. Chrom took some more aimlessly wandering steps, and his face came into view once more. The expression that now showed on it was all too familiar to Lucina: it was cold and resentful, as it had always been whenever he had talked about the late king of Plegia in her timeline.

Slowly, Lucina stood up, motioning Shulk to do the same. It could not be long now – and she was almost certain that there were a few more shadows near them than there had been just a moment ago… hopefully their sudden appearance would be enough to startle them.

“Some men would take advantage of that,” Chrom continued, his voice filled with a barely contained bitterness and venom. “Men like Gangrel. The day he understands peace will be the day death gives it to him. So perhaps I must be death’s agent. Emmeryn would never order him killed, nor would I wish her to. But sometimes, needs must.”

Beside her, Shulk flinched for whatever reason. Lucina paid him no heed. Instead, she readjusted her mask, checked to see if Falchion was still within its scabbard – a symbolic gesture more than anything – and stepped out of the shadows. From the corner of her vision, she could see Shulk do the same.

“Well spoken, sir,” she said, approaching Chrom and Robin, her heart beating so fast that it almost felt to her like it was trying to escape from her chest.

Both of them whirled around to face her – her, and Shulk.

“Marth…” Chrom said incredulously. “And… Shulk, was it?”

“Good evening to you,” Lucina replied, while Shulk left it at a simple wave. With him not wearing a mask, he was wearing his emotions on his sleeve, and it was plain to see that he was rather nervous. Robin stared at him intently.

“How did the two of you get in here?” Chrom slowly asked, taking a glance over at the grove behind them.

“The cleft in the castle wall, behind the maple grove,” Lucina briskly stated. All this was just preamble… small talk to pass the time. Any moment now… any second. She was near certain that Shulk would be able to warn her when the moment was about to come, but as of yet, he showed no sign of having foreseen anything.

“There? But how would you…? Ugh,” Chrom said, his tone entirely at odds with how tense Lucina was feeling. He had shifted from the sombre tone of his story to this so easily…

“You know the place, Chrom?” Robin asked, their eyes still blatantly fixed on Shulk.

“Yes. I bashed in part of the wall while training the Shepherds. It’s only a small hole, and I’d thought it well concealed, but…”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Lucina assured him. “We come here only to warn you.”

“…Warn us?” Chrom asked.

“The exalt’s life is in danger.”

“What, Emm? That’s absurd. She’s guarded at all hours,” Chrom objected, but Lucina could hear the uncertainty in his voice. She really had cultivated her persona well enough if this ominous warning from a masked stranger made him at least think.

Beside her, Shulk suddenly and visibly tensed up. Then, his head whirled around toward her. Lucina gave him a small nod.

“What if… what if I told you I have seen the future? That we are both aware of events that have yet come to pass? Would you believe me? A future where Emmery is killed, and you sustain a grave injury. Here. Tonight.”

“He can see the future?” Robin asked, cutting Chrom off before he could say anything. There was a sparkle in the tactician’s eye, a look of deep fascination…

Well, if her father and Robin believed that she and Shulk could see the future, rather than thinking that she came from the future, then that worked for her. After all, it was partially correct, too.

“You appear to be more willing to believe it than I had expected. Allow us to prove it nonetheless!”

In a slow, deliberate motion, Lucina drew Falchion from its sheath. In front of her, her father and Robin tensed up, instinctively mistaking the act as one of aggression. When however nothing else came from neither her nor Shulk, they relaxed again.

It would need to be now. If she were an assassin, she would consider this the opportunity to strike. The main target distracted, not just by one, but by three different people. So what if they were not planned for? They also knew nothing of what was to come…

And the assassins must have thought just that.

Behind her, she heard the sudden rustling of leaves. Besides her, she saw Shulk whirl around while drawing the Monado, in a manner that was swift but calculated.

She turned around and brought Falchion down on the hooded man who was trying to rush past her. He just barely had the time to let out a gagging sound before he collapsed, never to move of his own accord again.

Feeling nothing, she turned around towards Chrom and Robin again. “I trust this erases all doubts that still remain?”

“…Yeah,” Chrom said, standing tense.

Then there was another rustling of leaves. While Lucina turned again to face it, she saw flashes of red, black, and light blue…

And there Shulk stood, Monado raised, and its blade of light thrust through the chest of a second man, dressed much like the first. Shulk was standing perfectly still, but she could see him trembling. Through the Monado’s panel displaying the symbol 人, she could see his face staring at – no, through the assassin he just killed.

“Hey… are you alright?” Lucina asked, gently touching his shoulder with her hand. Upon her touch, Shulk shivered and turned the Monado off, the killed second assassin falling to the ground.

“Y-yeah. All good,” he said. It wasn’t very convincing.

Inwardly, Lucina cursed. She should have known that something like this might happen! Being trained to fight was one thing, and by all accounts, Shulk had had plenty of experience fighting monsters. But being face to face with another person, knowing that you have to kill them or they kill you, and actually doing it – that was another thing entirely. She could do it, but that didn't mean that anyone could

“Were these all of them, or are there any more?” Robin asked. Their tone was tactful, them no doubt recognizing that Shulk was likely deeply shaken. In this moment, she was more grateful to them than she had ever been in her life.

And yet, she hated that right now, all they could do was to move on.

“Not at all. These are but two members of an entire force. We must-”

Before she could finish the sentence, an explosion shook the castle – an explosion coming from inside.

This time, there was no need to explain anything. As one, they rushed off inside.

Or rather, Chrom and Robin did. After taking just a few steps, Lucina looked back at Shulk, and saw that he hadn’t moved even a bit.

“Shulk!” she shouted, voice firm. He flinched, and looked at her. Then, he ran to catch up with her.

“Sorry,” he said, “Sorry…”

“Look, if this is too much for you, then you can sit this out. The Shepherds have been warned, and I can protect Emmeryn. You don’t need to do anything,” Lucina assured him, as they both ran after Chrom and Robin, who had pulled a decent bit ahead in the few seconds. She could hear Chrom yell, urging his fellow Shepherds to wake and defend against the attackers.

“No, I can do this! These people need to be taken out, so I won’t hesitate any more!” he snapped.

Lucina remained quiet for a moment before responding. Then she said, “Very well. I trust you.”

And they ran.

Shulk was panting heavily as they rushed down the corridor. All around them, figures emerged from the shadows, all while the Shepherds were there to meet them. He and Lucina meanwhile weaved through both sides, all while evading any stray hits that may have hit them. On more than one occasion, he had to warn Lucina of such an attack, a vision showing him what may otherwise have hit her. The fights were in full force.

The fights, and death. Even as the blood was rushing through his veins to get him to run as fast as he was, Shulk’s mind went back to the man he killed. He- he had had no choice. It had to be done. If he hadn’t done it, someone else would have.

But that didn’t make him feel any better about it.

“ What are you willing to do? Would you even kill a Homs to beat us? ” The words echoed minds, fragments of a memory that as of yet refused to come back to him in its entirety. Part of its context was however easy enough to recognize – would he kill a Homs to stop the Mechon?

Even in the heat of this moment, he knew that the answer was no.

The distinction between Homs and humans really didn’t matter to him there, either.

But he had promised Lucina! And in this world of wars and death, killing another human was just another part of life. Killing in order to live. Living in order to kill. And he had to adapt to it.

Up ahead, at the end of the corridor, he could see a door thrust open, the light from the other side shining out into the darkness. He could just barely see the figure of Lady Emmeryn, standing there…

And being approached by dark figures. Wherever Chrom and Robin were, he could not see him.

“NO!” Lucina shouted beside him – and Falchion sprang to life, the blade of light forming around it, a symbol forming in its empty space…

And his memories flooded back in.

The vision of Juju out on Bionis’ Leg, near the way to Colony 6, ambushed by a Mechon. Shulk, Reyn and Sharla making it there to save him, Shulk discovering a new power for the Monado to do so.

The bronze-faced Mechon with the enormous hammer coming out of nowhere once the fight was won, defeating them effortlessly and abducting Juju. Chasing the Faced Mechon to Colony 6.

The Ether Mines. Meeting Otharon. Reyn scolding him for not speaking his mind. Descending further and further down the central pit, until at last, they reached its very bottom. The floor there stained with blood, no bodies to be seen.

Sharla losing herself in rage, declaring that she would scrap each and every one of them. Fighting against the Faced Mechon – fighting against Xord. Otharon attempting to sacrifice himself to push Xord into an ether river. Shulk and Reyn working together to safe him at the last second. Attempting to leave the Ether Mine, just to be ambushed by Xord once more. The battle going well, and them finally defeating him. Xord’s parting words… him… becoming like this? And then he fell down the mineshaft, exploding.

The nightly Colony 6 rain greeting them. The brief moment of respite – and then Metal Face’s return, with Faced Mechon upon Faced Mechon. A battle of unfinished business, and Dunban and Dickson showing up to help them. A new vision, showing him a way far into the future, somewhere on the top of the Bionis. A… creature appearing to drive away the Mechon, Dickson calling it a Telethia.

Journeying through Satorl Marsh, a moment of levity in their journey after the excitement that they had just gone through. Shimmering lands, glowing blue mist, and Dickson leaving them again, along with Otharon and Juju.

The brief journey through the Bionis’ Interior, a place utterly alien and dark… but not as dead as it should have seemed.

Arriving in Makna Forest, in heat even greater than the temperatures that you normally got in Colony 9 or the Bionis’ Leg. Passing the great waterfall on a bridge, finding the girl from his vision all by herself, unconscious. Shulk setting out by himself to find ether crystals to aid in healing her.

Getting the crystals, and then being attacked by… by Telethia. Learning a new power of the Monado, and then fighting them, alongside…

Alongside…

Alongside who?

WHO?!

And then Shulk collapsed.

Far away from Ylisstol, Alvis stopped dead in their tracks and grunted. With a strained expression they looked back in a westward direction.

Shulk had regained more of his memories… well, that was bound to happen sooner or later. But the sheer amount of memories that he had regained, that was far too much. Wherever he was, and whatever was going on with him, he was likely out of commission for the time being.

And they just knew that it was not a good time. Even through their weakened connection, Alvis could feel all the death and blood around him. Those, and… something else. Something that they had never sensed before, but recognized nonetheless. It reminded them of themself. But… how ?!

But then again, there were the vaguest of memories deep in their mind, in their data, about others…

That was not a problem for now, however. Shulk needed help – and they had no idea how to aid him.

Or maybe…

Alvis looked eastwards again. There it was… the fourth one of the ones that had appeared before Galea, approaching Alvis. They welcomed it, greeted it, and then sent it off. Further westwards, off towards Ylisstol. If anyone could get there in time, it could.

And there was something else, they realized… something with Lucina.

Lucina’s legs were burning, and her lungs were screaming for a pause. She did not listen. Ever further and further she pushed herself, running fast, faster than she had ever remembered doing.

And yet it was too slow. Far, far too slow.

As if time itself was slowing down around her, she watched in absolute horror as up ahead, the figures were approaching Emmeryn, weapons raised and ready to claim their price.

There was nothing she could do. Everything that she had done to prevent the world from drifting towards calamity, all for naught. This was it. The future was written.

…This couldn’t be it! She just had to be able to do something!

And then Falchion sprang to life, blade lighting up. A new symbol hovered above its hole…

Can I save her? The question echoed through her mind, in a moment that seemed like it was being drawn out for ages.

Of course you can.

She had no idea where the answer had come from. Whether it had been her imagination, or whether A was truly speaking to her. But right here and right now, she did not care.

Under the pained protests of her legs, she kept pushing herself, swinging Falchion through the air…

And up ahead, Emmeryn was enveloped by a blue aura. The assassins thrust their blades – and Emmeryn jumped out of the way. As if she were speed incarnate, she evaded every strike against her, the shocked expression on her face making it clear that she herself did not understand what was going on.

But Lucina did. And while the assassins were still confused over what was going on, she was already upon them, and struck them down where they stood.

“I- what? Who…?” Lady Emmeryn said, stuttering, and visibly shaking. The blue aura around here was slowly dissipating as Lucina watched her.

“My apologies for the delay, Lady Emmeryn. I will do everything in my power to protect you,” Lucina said, practically forcing herself to suppress her heavy breathing and risen adrenaline.

Just then, she could hear rushing footsteps approaching them. As fast as she could, she whirled around – only to see that it was merely her father and Robin.

…While Shulk was nowhere to be seen.

“You got to her in time! Oh, thank the gods…! We were held up by other assassins,” Chrom said, letting out a deep breath, which was also exactly what she was feeling.

“The Shepherds have been roused. We should be able to defend against the attackers now. They clearly weren’t expecting any resistance. I think the assassins should scatter if we can defeat their leader,” Robin explained.

“Then I shall leave you to it. I will take care of the defence of Lady Emmeryn,” Lucina said briskly, now managing to compose herself again. This… this was working. She was changing the future. Right here, right now.

“If you are there to defend her, then there truly is nothing to worry about,” Chrom said, somehow managing to keep a light-hearted tone even in this situation. And again, Lucina felt that he was acting how she felt. With a more sceptical look he however added, “Your Falchion… why does it do that?”

Through her mask, Lucina looked down… to see that the blade of light and the glowing symbol in its hole were still clearly visible.

“That is none of your concern,” she almost snapped at him.

Her father raised his eyebrows. “Seems like nothing ever is with you.”

Exhaling audibly, Lucina lowered her head. “My apologies.”

Chrom waved his hand dismissively. “Just stay with Emm. We’ll handle these killers.”

“I give you my thanks, sir. Have you seen my-” she paused. What should she refer to Shulk as? She herself had no idea what he even was to her at this point. Then again, it wasn’t like she was going to settle on anything just by speaking it. So she settled on, “-partner? He was just beside me…”

“He collapsed a bit further back,” Robin explained. “Lissa, Miriel and Ricken are taking care of and looking after him, but it doesn’t seem like he sustained any injuries.”

“You have my gratitude. I do not know what it is that ails him, but I hope that once he comes around, he will be able to lend a helping hand as well.”

“I hope so, too! I have seen first-hand what he is capable of. It would be a great asset to have him on our side,” Robin said excitedly… almost a bit too excited for Lucina’s tastes. But Shulk was warned about not interfering with any of the parents of her friends, so it would hopefully be no issue.

…And especially so since there was the possibility of his feelings for…

Lucina shook her head, dismissing the thought. Not now.

Chrom and Robin meanwhile gave her another affirming nod, and then stormed off into the hallways of the castle. Behind her, she could hear Lady Emmeryn shout, “Chrom! Be careful!”

Then they were out of sight.

Ahead of them, the sound of fighting could be heard.

Taking a deep breath, Lucina looked down on Falchion, its blade still glowing with a bright blue light, the hole displaying the symbol. This was yet another power that the sword had obtained… and all that when she wasn’t even sure what to make out of the previous one, the shield-granting one.

She had used the power that let other weapons harm Mechon as well during her mercenary missions in the wait for this day. But the other she had been hesitant to use. Sure, it had worked in the moment during their fight against Mechonis, and Shulk had assured here that this power was reliable. In the end however, it had been far too much of an unknown factor for her to consider using, especially since she couldn’t just practice it and test its limits. If it was needed, then it was in a dire situation, and she would rather not have it fail then.

Maybe she really should try to use it more. If she had this power, then she might as well make use of it.

“So you are Marth, then,” Emmeryn suddenly said. “Chrom has told me a lot about you… or, well, as much as he could.”

Lucina lowered Falchion, and glanced at Lady Emmeryn. One eye however she kept on the corridor leading to the room. “That I am milady. Please allow me to reiterate that I will do everything in my power to protect you.”

“You speak gallantly, and you wield Falchion just as my brother does,” she noted. “You really are the spitting image of the hero-king himself… what an enigma you are.”

“I… must apologize for not lifting the mystery surrounding my person. I have my reasons for keeping secrets. I hope you accept my protection nonetheless?”

Emmeryn let out a brief, joyless laugh. “In this situation I can hardly be picky. If you vow to protect me, then I shall not turn you down. Though I believe that Phila will be a bit disappointed that she was not around to protect me in your stead. Even if it is such a handsome young man doing it.” She paused, and then added, “Or perhaps especially then.”

Lucina said nothing in response. She had always heard that Emmeryn was really rather close with her retainer Phila… though she had never thought much of it. Still, the thought that they were quite this close was not too surprising.

On the other hand, being called handsome again, as a man… even in this brief respite during what was otherwise a life-or-death situation, she was not sure how to feel about it. Part of her wanted to tear the mask off of her, show her that she was a woman. And the other part was basking in the compliment, thinking it just right.

She really had a lot of things to wonder about that were best thought about not right now.

Up on the wall overseeing the courtyard, the man with the sky-blue hair stood, watching the carnage. It had been an easy thing for him to follow the dark presences to the capital, and stay hidden from their (or anyone’s) sight for that matter. Actually getting close to the presences however had wound up being a bit disappointing: they were just people. People who seemed to serve a greater power, worship it, even, but people nonetheless.

What that greater power was however… now that was interesting. Conceptually, the whole thing seemed similar to his father, even if the exact specifics and powers of that power differed. He might be able to make use of this.

…Assuming that these assassins didn’t get themselves killed, that was. And judging by how this battle had been going thus far, that regrettably seemed to be exactly what was happening. A shame, too: this had been a wonderful surprise attack. Striking in the middle of the night, when the target in question was thinking itself to be completely safe – definitely competent. Just a shame that even the most competent of surprise attacks were useless when there was somebody who knew you were coming.

He did wonder about that. It was clear that the young man and young woman using the power of his partner were to blame for that. But how? How could they know of something like this?

But then again, his partner back at home did have the ability to predict the flow of the ether and use that to foresee events that were yet to come… maybe this other partner also had the same ability? If so, then that was unfair. He never had such a power, even when he had been at full power.

Or maybe he had? Questions for later. It was at least worth some serious examination.

In the meantime, though… this battle was getting too one-sided for his tastes. Not yet a reason to personally intervene and make himself known, but still grounds to do something.

Slowly, the man with the sky-blue hair raised his hand, summoning machines upon machines, and sending them down to aid the assassins…

Chapter Text

With a jolt Shulk awoke, tearing his eyes open while breathing heavily. Around him, things were dimly lit at most, and from seemingly everywhere, he could hear noises that sounded like they could only be from a battle. For a brief moment, he was completely disoriented – then, everything came back to him.

The night of the assassination. Him taking a life. The memories flooding back in, washing him away, overwhelming him. And the blind spot that remained in them, the certainty that someone was missing in them that should be there.

“Salutations, Shulk. It would appear that we are bound to meet in the most unusual of circumstances, would you not agree?”

Shulk groaned and looked to where the voice had come from. It had sounded familiar, and the word choice had been, too… and, sure enough.

“Hello, Miriel. And Ricken, too… I suppose I should have expected that we might meet here,” Shulk said, letting his eyes wander around. There didn’t seem to be any fighting going on in their immediate surroundings, but that was no reason to be entirely at ease.

“I’m here, too, you know! A little gratitude to the person healing you would be appreciated!” another voice said. This one, it turned out, belonged to girl that, as far as he could tell, appeared to be around the same age as Ricken, and by proxy, Juju. She had long blonde hair in a tone that appeared to be similar to his own, and that was tied into two bushy pigtails on either side of her head. Her outfit meanwhile made Shulk seriously doubt that she was an actual combatant – it looked more like a dress than anything else.

“Oh, my apologies. And you are…?” he said, though he had a good idea as to who it was that was in front of him. He vaguely remembered seeing her in the distance during the battle at Arena Ferox. And even beyond that, Lucina had on occasion talked about her paternal family. Her father, her aunt that had been killed before she was even born, and the other aunt that had been exalt before Lucina herself had been forced to step up. The sister that Chrom himself had mentioned just earlier…

“My name is Lissa, and you better remember it!” Lissa said, putting her hands on her sides and puffing herself up. “It’s a good thing you’re dreamy, because otherwise I would have a harder time forgiving you.”

“Uh… thanks?” Shulk ventured, which at least didn’t seem to be the wrong answer. He then grabbed the Monado, which had been laying right beside him, and got up. “How is the battle going? And where is Marth?”

He was glad that he managed to use the name without hesitating at first.

“Last I heard, the tide of battle has been going in favour. Your enigmatic acquaintance has taken it upon himself to guard the exalt with his life. With Robin’s strategic prowess to guide us, I believe it is only a matter of time before these rebarbative assailants have been vanquished,” Miriel explained.

Shulk hummed. That at least explained why these three were acting so… casual. If they were this assured in their own victory, then there probably really was no cause for panic.

“I have to say though, I had never expected that you know Marth, Shulk! Why did you never say anything?” Ricken asked, looking up at him accusingly.

“Oh, uh… it just never really came up, you know? I didn’t think it was worth mentioning, really…”

He was spared the awkwardness of having to deal with more of this conversation by a sudden scream. It was followed by a man on a horse riding down the corridor, coming right towards them… but without a weapon raised at them.

“These things…! They’re horrible! Absolutely horrible!” the man stammered, jumping off the horse as soon as it came to halt. Shulk could tell that he was bleeding from several injuries.

“Stahl, calm down! What are you talking about?” Lissa said in a moderately successful attempt at calming him down. Shulk meanwhile looked back down the corridor.

If this man had been fleeing from something or someone, then chances were that he had led said something or someone here. And that thought made Shulk tense up.
He was in a condition to fight, that was not it. But the memory of the assassin he had to strike down in order to save Lucina still was fresh in his mind.

On the most basic of levels, it was easy. The visions granted to him by the Monado basically assured that unless he was completely rushed by enemies, he would be able to anticipate and evade their attacks. And regardless of whether the Monado considered the humans of this world something distinct from the sentient inhabitants of Bionis, or it had simply unlocked the power to harm people now, the fact of the matter simply was that he could fight people with it now.

Or kill people, rather.

It had been easy. So easy. One swing of the blade, and it had ended-

Some mother’s son, somebody's brother, maybe a father, or even just some person’s best mate…

Shulk felt sick in the stomach. How anyone could live with having to tear such a hole into other people’s life was completely beyond him.

But then, he cast a quick glance towards Miriel, Ricken and Lissa. Even if he only really knew Miriel and Ricken, his overall impression of the Shepherds was that they were nice people. And if they were being attacked… yes, then he could do whatever it took to defend them.

All these thoughts were rushing through his head in a manner of seconds, all while the man in the green armour that had just joined them calmed down enough to speak again. And when he did, he said, “These… these things! The ones that have been all over the land recently! The ones made of black metal!”

And just then, as if to give credence to his words, a group of Mechon came into view. Shulk’s eyes widened – and then he let out a sigh of relief. Mechon were something he could deal with. Mechon were something without all the thoughts behind them that had just weighed on his mind.

He tensed up however immediately after. Even if Mechon were something that he could deal with – why were they here in the first place? What business did this woman named Mechonis have here?

Well, no time to think about that now.

“These are Mechon!” Shulk said firmly, activating the Monado, and castings enchant on the weapon of the man in the green armour – Stahl. “My sword can cut through them, and allows your weapons to do the same. If you’ve encountered them before, you should also have figured out already that they can be harmed by e- I mean, magic! Miriel, Ricken, Lissa – stay back! We will draw their attention.”

“Affirmative!” Miriel shouted, being faster than the others to react to his order. From the corner of his eye, Shulk could see Stahl jumping up to get back onto his horse, but he did not dwell on the view.

This was what he was familiar with. This is what he could do. The Monado felt an extension of himself, as if his control of it were perfect.

The Mechon shot ether blasts at him, but his visions did not slow his steps for even a moment. He weaved through their attacks, while also avoiding the fire and lightning that were shot at them from behind.

Within seconds, he was upon them, letting out a cry as he cut down Mechon after Mechon.

By the time that Stahl joined him, there was only one Mechon left. Enchanted by the Monado as it was, Stahl’s lance managed to pierce and destroy it as well.

And then there were none.

The sudden pause was abrupt and felt like it came out of nowhere. Standing still, Shulk calmed his breathing, lowering the Monado… but not deactivating it. There was no telling when the next enemy would come.

“Th- that was…”Stahl said breathlessly next to him, his horse oddly calm in spite of the situation, which did not help Shulk’s inherent distrust of the beasts.

“Amazing!” came the shout from Ricken behind him, as he ran up to them. “I never knew that you were this amazing of a fighter, Shulk! What is this sword, anyway? It’s so cool!”

“I concur. This display only furthers my own fascination with this strange blade of yours, Shulk. And I do hope you have not forgotten my desire to study it, given the occasion?” Miriel added. Lissa had by now also caught up with them, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to add anything – her awed expression already told everything, anyway.

“…It’s called the Monado,” Shulk said slowly. “But explaining it in detail would take more time than we have right now. Where are the rest of you Shepherds? I think I should see your tactician.”

Miriel coughed. “Yes, you are quite correct… my academic excitement has gotten the better of me. It must be said though that the fact of the matter is that I do not know where Robin is at present.”

“Me neither,” Lissa said. “They just told us to look after you in this corridor. I don’t know where they’re now. And with everything going on, I don’t know how much of a good idea it is to search for them now…”

“Do you have any idea, Stahl? You were right in the middle of it all when these… Mechon? When these attacked,” Ricken asked.

“Er, I only got a vague idea… I was really a bit more to the side, and…” His voice trailed off. Miriel, Ricken and Lissa all remained silent, and exchanged uneasy glances.

Shulk, however… his vision went bright blue, as he received a vision…

“Follow me,” he briskly stated. Then, he ran off.

Looking down at the courtyard, the man with the sky-blue hair clicked his tongue. Well, that was a bit inconvenient. Trying to help these assassins was good and all, but the young man and young woman with the power of his partner really were far too well-equipped to deal with the machines he summoned for that. He just really wasn’t used to these things. If only he still had his own! But those he had already lost over 500 years ago. And cut off from his powers as he was, he could not even dream of getting them back.

Of course, there was something else to these machines… other types. Larger ones, and more advanced ones. Not necessarily both features at the same time, but both qualities were to be found. But for either type, he would need more time to spawn them. Time that these assassins didn’t have right now.

…Well, not that big of a loss. Maybe the leader would be able to get out of this, and he could always just show himself to him.

And… yes, there was something else with these machines as well. Oh, now that was some tech… perhaps not the most advanced one, especially not compared to what his father’s world had to offer. But it clearly served a purpose, and if nothing else, he had to admire what it did to those subjected to it.

Now that was something to let loose on this world. Of course, there was the matter of needing to find somebody to convert, but he was sure that this assassin leader could find someone.

Speaking of which, he had let himself get carried away a bit there, hadn’t he? Too much exploring the possibilities of these machines, not enough actually using them. No need to put in terribly much effort, but still, something to make these assassins feel aided.

Once more, he raised his hands, summoning forth machines upon machines. Let those two with the power of his partner have fun while they could – it would be his turn soon enough.

“Frederick, Kellam, to the front! You’re most likely to be able to take their attacks! Everyone else, get behind them! With Miriel and Ricken away, only I can damage them!” Robin shouted, a confidence in their voice that was not at all what they were feeling on the inside. This was all wrong… or, well, it had not been right in the first place.

Like Chrom had said, there was no way that these assassins should have been able to make their way into the castle. And yet there were here, and the Shepherds were fighting for their life in what was supposed to be the safest place in all of Ylisstol.

And there was also no way that these metal creatures should have sided with the assassins. Robin had seen the assassins – at the sight of the machines, they had initially been every bit as shocked and frightful as the Shepherds had been.

But then the metal creatures had outright ignored the assassins, and attacked only the Shepherds. Based on everything Robin had seen, there was no way that the assassins had any connection to the creatures, but it sure seemed that the creatures felt like they had a connection to them .

Had Robin not been so quick to adapt their strategy… there was no telling who they might have lost.

And then there were the thief and the weird rabbit beast woman. He still was not sure what to make of them, but Chrom had somehow been able to win both of them for their side, so they were not going to question it. Even if right now, they were just more people for Robin to keep alive.

They had fought these metal monsters before, and had already learned the hard way that their armour was just about impenetrable to every weapon that was not magic. It was either that, or toppling them to attack their weak spots, which was easier said than done.

Faced with these two options, Robin had decided it was better to fight defensively. The weapons of the creatures were terrifying, and beyond their comprehension – though the metal creatures appeared to have nothing that resembled any human or animal organ, they still acted like they tried to consume anyone they attacked, for whatever it was they derived from it. And there was just no way that Robin could risk the Shepherds falling to that fate.

But the creatures were relentless, and Frederick and Kellam could only do so much to defend the rest of the Shepherds here. Even in the dim light, Robin could see Lon’qu, Vaike and Sully growing restless: none of them particularly liked having to stand back and hide between somebody else. Even Chrom, standing right beside Robin, didn’t seem too happy about any of this, tightly gripping Falchion while staring straight ahead.

All of them were losing faith in Robin. Robin just knew it. All they had were their strategies, and now those were failing. Even if they all got out of this, this was trust they had lost.

And who knew where that would lead…

Everyone had only put up with them so far because they had been useful. Robin knew that, deep down. In the deepest, darkest depths of their heart. If they no longer had that… maybe Frederick’s first impression of them would find more open ears.

Especially since Robin’s past was still something that they didn’t even remember themself…

“If only I had an armourslayer!” grumbled Lon’qu through gritted teeth. “None of these metal creatures would stand a chance against me if it weren’t for their damned armour protecting them from me…!”

“Yeah, well, teach’s still got that hammer!” Vaike chimed in. “That one’s good against armoured guys. So why shouldn’t it also work against these things?”

“Quiet, both of you! If Robin thinks this doesn’t work, then it’s best to not even try!” Chrom snapped, turning his back to Robin. “And do you think the other creatures would just stand idly by while you try to take out one of them? Robin is right, right now the best thing we can do is defend ourselves!”

Robin did not face him, but they felt a flash of gratitude nonetheless. That’s right… out of all the Shepherds, he was the one that made them feel the most like they were actually being trusted. (Or, well… their eyes wandered over to Sumia, resting on the ground and tending to her pegasus. Chrom was not the only one.) And as their leader, Chrom’s word held a lot of weight for the other Shepherds.

Though of course, that could also mean that he was the only reason why the others put their trust in them…

“Ah yeah?! So you really think it’s that unlikely to work? When we haven’t tried yet?” Vaike continued to argue, getting right into Chrom’s face. “Come to think of it, don’t you also have that rapier? That thing’s good against armoured enemies, too!”

“Yes, but…” Chrom began, but his heart obviously wasn’t in it. “I… don’t think that it’s that good of an idea. Robin should know. Don’t you, Robin?”

Robin hesitated. They really were not certain what would work or not… the armour of these metal creatures was, based on everything they had seen, far sturdier than a knight’s armour. But whether such weaponry had any use against them, they really had not tested. The danger had been far too great, in their mind.

“Well, if any of you are foolish enough to try this, do not expect any care from me! I am with Robin on this. Their magic is the best means we have at fighting back. So unless the others get back to us, or we get reinforcements of some kind, I say we stay behind!” That was Maribelle speaking. Again, Robin felt a flash of gratitude – but they were too caught up in attacking any of the creatures that got too close to Frederick and Kallem to be able to say much of anything.

“Good thing there’s always vulneraries then, ha!” Vaike said with a laughter that sounded just way too out of place in the dire situation that they were in. Robin didn’t need to see him to realize that whatever would happen next, it would not be the smartest decision.

“Look, I’m not saying that Robin’s strategy ain’t good. We’re still alive ‘n all! But if we’re just standing around here letting Frederick and Kellam take all the heat, then we’re really just waiting for these creatures to pick us off! Teach can tell he’s not the only one who’s thinking this!”

There was a moment of relative silence, in which the only noises were those of the creatures’ attacks on Frederick and Kellam, as well as Robin’s own retaliatory magic strikes. Even now, they weren’t certain if what they were doing had actually managed to defeat any of these creatures. They still seemed like a sheer endless black flood…

“You know, as much as it pains me to admit it,” the voice of Sully came, “Vaike has got a point here. We’re not getting anywhere by just waiting here. And sure, we may have gotten most of the assassins before these creatures pinned us down here, but we can’t know if there aren’t any more. There is no way that Marth alone can keep on defending Emmeryn against both them and these creatures. We need to break through.”

The silence came back, but this time around, it was all the heavier. Without needing to look at any of the Shepherds, Robin could tell that the opinion was shifting. They agreed – they all agreed that their strategy was not the way to go. And in turn, Robin felt a sinking feeling in their stomach, welling up inside of them and swallowing them whole. If the Shepherds thought that they could not protect them, guide them, then-

“Well… Robin, what do you thi-” Chrom began…

And then all hell broke loose.

From one moment to the next, a creature far larger than the other ones rose up in front of Robin, in front of Frederick and Kellam. In what seemed like a hypnotizing slowness, it raised its massive, claw-like arm, ready to make a wide strike…

Letting out a grunt, Frederick made his horse dash out of the way, opening the way for the creatures he had been fending off.

But Kellam… Kellam was too slow, weighed down far too much by the massive shield he was carrying. The creature struck it. There was a crunching sound, a single second frozen…

And then Kellam was knocked back with a scream. Uncaring, the large creature stepped over him.

As if moving through a dream, Robin raised their hand, ready to fire another blast of lightning magic. Beside them, Chrom put away Falchion, and reached for his rapier. Next to him still, Vaike was charging with a hammer…

When something else happened.

Through the rows and rows of the metallic creatures, Robin could suddenly see two lights: one bright blue, and the other purple. Both charged forward, accompanied by blasts of fire and lightning – and once they reached the back rows of the creatures, they could offer no resistance, and were cut down.

But while all this was happening, the purple light in particular flew right through all of the creatures, not hindered by them in the slightest.

And then it enveloped the Shepherds.

Chrom landed a blow against the large metallic creature, the rapier seemingly cutting through its leg with no effort and making it kneel. Vaike meanwhile brought down the hammer on a smaller one, it getting smashed beneath it with no effort.

“See? Teach told ya it’d work!”

“Oh, I hate the thought of having to give you credit for this…” Lon’qu snarled, already charging past all of them, and attacking the next creature. His sword, too, cut through it with seemingly no effort whatsoever.

“No… I think it’s this light!” Robin said, breathlessly.

“I have enchanted your weapons! You should all be able to destroy the Mechon now. But be quick about, because it doesn’t last forever!” came a shout from the other side of the battlefield – a shout from a voice that Robin had only heard once before, but easily recognized nonetheless. This was Marth’s partner from the match at arena Ferox: Shulk.

Once after another, the Mechon fell underneath the Monado’s light. Whatever dominance they had previously held over the battle, it was now nothing but a memory: while their sheer number would have made for a challenging fight had Shulk been on his own, the Shepherds fighting all around him were enough to trivialize them. Now more than ever, he truly understood how just Dunban being able to use the Monado had been enough to turn the fortunes in the war against the Mechon in favour of the Homs Defence Forces.

But while he was creating Mechon scrap, Shulk moved through their masses with a purpose: make it to the other group of the Shepherds. He had made it in time to save them, of that he was certain.

Yet whether he had been in time to prevent everything that he had seen in his vision… now that was another thing.

As he got closer, he realized that the armoured knight that he had seen was lying on the ground, just as it had been in his vision. Beside him was a young woman with blonde hair, and a white and pink outfit, seemingly tending to him with one of the healing staffs that people in this world used to treat battle injuries.

And right next to both of them, there was the tactician of the Shepherds, Robin.

Ignoring them for the time being, Shulk rushed over to the knight, passing by what seemed to be an enormous bunnit fighting off Mechon. As he knelt down, the young woman gave him an icy look, but did not send him away. More than that however, he could feel Robin’s gaze upon him.

“If you are quite done examining his injuries, I would kindly ask you to step away. Healing is a delicate process, and one for which I do not need any disturbances,” the young woman said, her posh manner of speech drilling down into Shulk’s mind, and prodding at memories that as of yet refused to be remembered. Considering how badly the last time he had remembered something had gone, he did not mind.

“I know. I’m familiar with the Mechon, and I know a bit about healing. I want to help! Please!” Shulk pleaded. He had seen how his vision had gone. He had seen this man die… and he was not going to let it happen. His death now wasn’t guaranteed, but he still wanted to do something .

“Let him help, Maribelle,” Robin said behind him. Shulk did not face them, instead maintaining eye contact with the woman. She, in turn, briefly looked at the tactician sceptically, before looking back at him. Then, she slowly nodded.

“Do not interfere with me. I will not lose him just because of you.”

Instead of saying anything, Shulk reached for one of the ether cylinders that he had attached to his sleeve. So far, he had only used one, back when Lucina and him had been attacked by the Risen on the bridge… it was a good thing that this world had other means of healing available, because otherwise, running out would be a far greater deal. Even so, he had already long since realized that ether still had the advantage of being far faster to heal injuries than staffs.

“Light Heal…!” Shulk mumbled, opening the cylinder above the man. Bright blue sparkles, not unlike the light of the Monado began to spread, slowly hovering down on the knight – who tore his eyes open, and gasped.

The woman, Maribelle meanwhile just sat there with her mouth agape, staring at both him and Shulk in disbelief. “What in the name of-!”

“A little something that we use for healing back at home. I want to use it sparingly, but I figured that this was a good moment to use it.”

The knight sat up, still coughing and sputtering. Based on how he had been laying there, Shulk had assumed that only his arm had been broken, but from the looks of it, he also had sustained internal injuries in the battle.

“Are you feeling better, Kellam?” Robin asked, kneeling down next to Shulk. Though he had no reason to, being near the tactician made shivers run down his spine – though didn’t have any words to put it in, there was just something about them that made him deeply uneasy.

“I… well enough, I think,” the knight said, speaking in a quiet and unassuming voice.

“Good enough to fight?” Robin continued, though they sounded like they would be fine with either possibility.

“I can if I have to!”

Shulk frowned. He had not healed this knight just for him to throw himself back into the battle while he was not yet at peak condition again. Reluctantly, he looked at Robin… who, as far as he could tell, was likewise not expecting Kellam to fight.

Well, he had his vision averted. Now, the big thing to do was to defeat the assassins and the Mechon. It would be risky to run back to Lucina now, but he could imagine what her plan going forward was, anyway.

“Please stay put,” Shulk said to Kellam. “You have already done plenty holding off the Mechon for as long as you have. Now it’s my turn.”

He let out a deep breath, and faced Robin, who gave him a wide-eyed look. He still wasn’t sure what to make of them – but right now, these feelings didn’t matter.

“I will fight by your side. You are the tactician, right? Well, I’m yours to command.”

The man with the sky-blue hair could feel his breathing get heavier. Even if summoning the machines was easy enough for him, it was starting to drain him. If these assassins didn’t figure out how to turn this around soon, it would not be long before he was unable to send them any more aid. Even if they were promising allies, he would not risk this second… well, no. Third chance at life that he had. He could and would keep going for a bit longer, but not by much.

While in the middle of summoning, the man with the sky-blue hair paused, causing a few half-formed machines to drop uselessly onto the ground.

Well then. This was interesting. Two presences, down in the courtyard… one a tremendous darkness, swirling around the assassin leader, keeping itself hidden. The other, her . The one he had gotten the machines from.

Interesting. But also, not very good .

Validar felt the power of his lord, coursing through him. This was all meant to be! This was fate. The Grimleal were so close to their goal, so close to finally bringing about the return of Lord Grima in his lifetime…!

Or rather, they had been , had these confounded Shepherds not been warned. And now was not only the exalt still alive, but his own men were all dead, or close to it. Granted, it was no loss – for the sake of Lord Grima, even he would gladly lay down his life. But not like this! Not when none of their goals were accomplished!

With a fierce scowl, Validar let his gaze wander across the creatures around him. He had no idea what to make of them. In the past, he had heard reports of them attacking Plegians and even Grimleal just like they attacked Ylisseans and Feroxi. Now however, they were lending them their aid… perhaps they really were a blessing from Lord Grima. One that they had not been worthy of before, but had proven themselves to be, now in their most dire hour.

But even that now seemed too little, too late. Validar wasn’t sure whether it was something that the Shepherds themselves had gotten their hands on, or whether it was something to do with these interlopers that reports had informed him off. The fact of the matter simply was that the Shepherds were fighting off the creatures – and doing so quite well.

Had Grima truly forsaken them?

At present, the rows upon rows of the creatures still stood strong, but that was likely only a matter of time. As for an escape… the Hierarch of the halidom had let them in, but there was no way that he would be able to let Validar out again unseen. He was stuck.

Just then, a loud metallic noise from the other end of the courtyard caught his attention. Validar whirled around, and saw… not much. The creatures were standing too densely around him, blocking his view. But the noise continued, and… seemed to be getting closer?!

And then the creatures shifted just a little, and he saw them.

It was a group of four warriors, each clad in armour not unlike that of the machines. A man, fighting with claws, another with a massive hammer, and yet another with a large, heavy bow. Each of them were however utterly dwarfed by the one leading the charge, a huge person towering over the creatures – and mowing them down with an absolutely gargantuan sword.

And they were making their way right towards him.

Panic rising up within him, Validar tightened his grip around his tome, already realizing that anything he could throw at these fighters would be futile…

When something else caught his attention from the corner of his eyes.

The Shepherds had made their way back into the courtyard. And there, right among them…

It truly was an irony. After all the years of searching, he had finally found them.

Right as the success of the search was rendered moot, anyway.

Together with all the Shepherds by his side, Shulk was forcing back the Mechon like they were no threat whatsoever. It truly was a bewildering experience – though he had already regained enough memories to know that he truly was no stranger to fighting and winning against the Mechon, it was still unreal to plough through their masses like it was nobody’s business. Was this what it had been like for Dunban, during the war? …No, it couldn’t be. Back then, the Mechon’s forces had been greater in number, and there were far more of the stronger models. Whatever was spawning them in this world, it was not bringing them forth at their full potential.

Which was just all the better for them. Even if Shulk would have liked to see more of their technology, he knew well enough what seeing it first-hand would have meant. And this world already struggled enough against the Mechon to begin with.

Or rather, struggled against them without his help. At present, the Shepherds really were dealing with the Mechon so well that he almost could have forgotten that they did so without ether rifles, gunlances, or any heavy artillery.

By now, they had driven the Mechon all the way to the courtyard, from which not only they, but also the assassins seemed to have come from. Though by now, it really only seemed to be Mechon – Shulk did not see any more assassins, meaning they all were…

…Best not to think of it.

And there was something else drawing in his attention, anyway.

Decimating the rows of Mechon was-

“Mechonis!” Shulk shouted. For a moment, he paused – and then he fought his way towards her, leaving behind the Shepherds, and shouting once again, “Mechonis!”

The armoured woman, seemingly hearing his voice, slowed down her assault, letting her three underlings take charge. Without completely stopping her own attack, she turned her helmeted head towards him.

“Ah, Klaus’ discarded vessel. I should have thought that our paths would cross again. What is it that you want?”

Shulk hesitated. He still remembered all too well how their last encounter had gone. She was not one to bother with questions – so best just stick with the essentials.

“Why are you fighting the Mechon? Weren’t you the one who summoned them into this world? And why have they started attacking people?”

“That’s what I want to know,” Mechonis growled. “I only summoned these things into this world to have them search for Klaus. But something hijacked and copied them, and now they’re all over the place. I came here because I realized that a large group of them had appeared here. But I still don’t know what is summoning them.”

Feeling tense, Shulk just stood there and looked at Mechonis. With her helmet on, and her standing largely still, it was impossible to really read her body language. If her tone was anything to go by however, she was telling nothing but the truth… whatever that implied.

“If that is all then, discarded vessel,” Mechonis suddenly said again, “I need to get to-”

But before she could finish her sentence, a few things happened at once.

With the Monado’s power aiding them, the Shepherds had finally cleared a way to the point that the Mechon had been guarding. As Shulk watched them, Robin and Chrom moved in together to deliver the final blow to a tall, dark man that appeared to be the assassin’s leader. In desperation, the man raised tome to defend himself, dark magic gathering around him – but it was already too late.

Chrom brought his sword down on the man.

But at the same time, a blast of what had to be magic shot down from the sky, striking where the Mechon stood densest. Taken aback, Shulk looked up, and saw…

“A Telethia. A mystical beast that protects the sleeping Bionis. Though, I’ve never heard of one ever venturing down to where us Homs live. Strange.”

“…They can read your mind. Whether you have a vision or not, if they know your next move, it’s all in vain.”

“A… Telethia…?” Shulk muttered, absent-mindedly.

But apparently still loud enough for Mechonis to hear him.

“So that’s what it’s called,” she noted dryly. “What are they, in your world?”

“Oh! Uh, they are mystical beings that… are said to guard the sleeping Bionis-” Shulk stuttered, regurgitating what he remembered Dickson saying about them.

Dickson, and… who else?

“A servant of Klaus, then… no wonder it fled at the sight of me,” Mechonis cut him off. Up above, the Telethia continued to circle above the courtyard, attacking the Mechon from a safe distance. The Shepherds, in the meantime, had stood back to let it do the work for them. After a moment of this, Telethia seemed satisfied with what it had accomplished, and it flew out of sight.

“Stop this!” Mechonis shouted at her underlings, “I have a new target. We’re following this Telethia! And you ,” she turned back to Shulk, making him flinch, “You can figure out how to deal with these Mechon. Don’t disappoint me, discarded vessel.”

And with that, she turned around and walked further into the courtyard, where Shulk knew the cleft in the wall was. As the three men passed him by, he could hear the man in the bronze armour mutter something that sounded a suspicious lot like “Monado boy” – which was then repeated by the man in the black armour.

And both voices sounded quite familiar.

Letting out a deep breath, Shulk deactivated the Monado. The assassination had been prevented, the future had been changed… and he had much to think about.

The man with the sky-blue hair sighed. A close call. Had it not been for that dragon-like, bird-like creature drawing her attention, she might have just found him out, and who knew how that would have gone.

What should he consider her, though…? She was almost the same as father. Did that make her mother?

Now there was a thought… based on his impression of her, that was a guaranteed to get her angry.

Leaving that aside, these assassins really had been quite the disappointment. All the aid he had given them, and yet they been just slaughtered! He would have expected more.

But… it seemed like their leader wasn’t quite done yet.

The dark presence that had surrounded him was still there. And as the man with the sky-blue hair watched, the assassin leader’s body, unobserved by his enemies at the moment, was swallowed up by… something.

Now that warranted a closer look. Perhaps even introductions were in order.

Cheers erupted in the distance, and Lucina knew that they could only mean one thing. The assassins were defeated. Emmeryn had been saved.

Though she remained perfectly still, her grip on Falchion loosened. This… this was it. After all the time spent planning back in the future. All the desperate theorizing. The months spent here in the past, trying to figure things out. She… she had actually done it. The future that she had come from, the whole timeline that had led to her being as she was now… it could no longer take place. The future had been changed.

And since she was not erased from existence… perhaps she could allow herself to be just a bit less cautious.

“It seems your warning has paid off,” noted Emmeryn behind her. “I may not know the true nature of the mysteries surrounding you, but you did safe my life. For that, you have my gratitude, sir.”

She bowed.

Lucina sheathed Falchion and put her hands up defensively. “The gratitude should not go to me, milady. I merely spoke the warning. It was your brother and his tactician’s efforts that prevented the worst.” Them, and Shulk. She had no idea where the Mechon had come from, but she had seen them, too. Without him…

“Yet without your warning, I would not be alive now. Please, do not misplace your humility, sir.”

Lucina hesitated. If her own existence was not at risk by her actions, then… yes, she could allow herself this much.

“I fear my humility is something that I cannot just forego. My intent is to only act as a guide – one person can only do so much, and the necessary actions are better done by the Shepherds,” Lucina said. Then, after a pause, she added, “But leaving that aside… given the circumstances, I can lift at least one of the mysteries surrounding me.”

Slowly, she reached up to her mask… and took it off. Then, she reached around to her neck, and pulled out her hair.

The assassin’s leader trudged through a dark void, without goal, without purpose. It was a fascinating sight: perhaps his mind had not yet entirely caught up to the fact that, for all intents and purposes, he was dead. But then again, that is quite something to wrap your head around.

He should know.

“Nngh... How?! My purpose is too significant...to be thwarted...here... Aaargh…” he groaned, still planting one foot in front of the other as if he had somewhere to go.

And then the other presence showed itself.

“Validar,” it said, standing in front of him as if it had always been there, speaking in a voice that was not quite a man’s and not quite a woman’s either.

“What? Who are you... Where did you...come from?“ the assassin leader, Validar, said, suddenly reinvigorated.

“I am the power that compels you. You will not perish here. It is not written. You must live on to author a destiny greater than you know,” the figure continued, slowly walking around him. Now that he looked at them, they did look remarkably similar to the one that had helped kill Validar…

“I-impossible! It can't be you! It can't be… “

“I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I am the fell dragon, Grima... “

The man with the sky-blue hair clapped. Both of the other figures froze before looking around in confusion, trying to locate the source of the noise.

“What an entrance. What a show! You two really know how to entertain,” the man with the sky-blue hair said. Goodness, he almost sounded like Akhos there… the others really had rubbed off on him.

“Who are you…? How can you be here?!” the darker presence asked breathlessly, a fierce glare on their eyes.

The man with the sky-blue hair laughed. “You call yourself despair and ruin… well, then you are in good company. I am the Endbringer. And I am interested in… alliance.”

Saying this, he summoned more of the machines. It could not hurt to show what he brought to the table.

The eyes of the dark one, Grima, widened. This was not going how they seemed to have expected it.

But they appeared open for this new direction.

“What is your name?”

The man with the sky-blue haired continued smiling, but the corners of his mouth dropped just a little. A name… now that was something that he hadn’t really given much thought before. In all the time that he had spent in this world, he had not really interacted with any sentient beings enough for a name to be necessary. Now however…

Of course, his first instinct was to go with Malos. But he couldn’t really do that, now could he? He had changed. He was different. But he also knew that Malos’ conscious still resided within him, if weakened and asleep. He could have called himself Logos – but that power was truly lost to him, and he only barely wielded it in the first place.

So then… why not take a page out of her book? She had gone from light to fire. He had gone from darkness to what appeared to be water. There was a name to be had in that.

“You may call me Hydros."

Chapter Text

In the flickering light of the lantern, it was somewhat difficult to make out the expression on aunt Emmeryn’s face. As far as Lucina could tell it did not change, and neither did she say anything. Rather, she seemed to be taking in the sight, thinking it over…

In spite of the overwhelming triumph of Emmeryn’s life having been saved, Lucina could not help but to feel tense. Unmasking herself had been a decision made in the spur of the moment, a sudden fancy born out of the elation over having undeniably changed the future. But whether it really had been a good decision, that was something that Lucina was starting to doubt.

“So you are a woman…?” Emmeryn finally said, sounding quizzical, thoughtful. “Or… no, I shouldn’t assume. Either which way, you are quite handsome, my saviour .”

“Your assumption was correct nonetheless, milady,” said Lucina, feeling her cheeks flush just a bit over the last comment. The way in which Emmeryn had spoken had made it clear that it was meant as a genuine compliment rather than an attempt at flirting (and thanks gods for that. Beyond the obvious which made that thought uncomfortable, it really would have been hard to reconcile that with the image she had of Emmeryn), but it was still an unexpected thing to be told at such a time.

“And I must confess that I am a bit surprised that none have been able to see through me in that regard as of yet. Of the skills I possess, I would not have taken acting to be one of them,” Lucina continued.

“Hm,” Emmeryn hummed. “I suppose my brother is not the most apt at picking up these things. Though to his credit, it seems that all your encounters with him thus far have been rather tense situations, which I believe are not the best opportunity to really take in the full sight of a stranger.”

As she talked, the Exalt had slowly taken a few steps closer to Lucina, having previously stood further in the back of her room, far away from the door which the time-traveller had guarded. At first, Lucina thought nothing of it – with the assassins defeated, there was no more direct threat to aunt Emmeryn’s life, and she would obviously wish to meet father and discuss things with him.

Then Emmeryn furrowed her brows, as she kept her eyes locked with Lucina’s. For a moment, Lucina was confused. What was there that could have caught her attention?

But then she realized it. 

Emmeryn was staring right at her eyes.

In the left of which the Brand of the Exalt was clearly visible.

Lucina’s eyes widened. Unmasking herself had been one thing, but this was easily a bridge too far! If Emmeryn now figured out who she was, then… then who knew what could happen!

Just at that moment, the sound of hasty footsteps could be heard from the hallway. Deeply grateful for the distraction, Lucina whirled around and looked into that direction – though not without leaving Emmeryn out of her sight entirely. For her part, the Exalt simply paused and then also looked at the hallway. It seemed that if she had noticed anything, then she had paid it no mind.

Meanwhile, from down the hallway, a group of figures hurried towards the two of them. Before long, she recognized them as her father, aunt Lissa, Frederick, Phila and Shulk. The fact that none of them were outright wielding any of their weapons only served to further confirm what the earlier audible cheers had already implied: the battle was over. 

For now.

“Sister! Oh, thank the gods you’re safe. I almost thought that some of these bastards had given us the slip, and we’d have lost you while we were dealing with these metal beasts…” Chrom said exasperatedly, rushing past Lucina without sparing her a look, and grabbing Emmeryn by her forearms. Lucina let him.

On some level, it was a bit of a weird feeling. Her father was just rushing past her without acknowledging her at all, in spite of the dangerous situations that they had just lived through. Even if this version of Chrom had obviously no idea who she truly was, it… still somewhat stung. Seeing him again like this only could.

But then again… but then again. It went both ways, didn’t it? While he didn’t know what he was to Lucina, she had trouble actually seeing him as her father if she was being honest with herself. The feeling had been ever present in her previous encounters with him, but regardless of whether it was due to recency bias or a genuine feeling, she now felt it stronger than before. This man, this boy… he was too young, too short, too inexperienced, just all around not enough to be her father.

And the fact that she was just continuing a line of thought that she no doubt had had before did not make it much easier to truly accept.

In the meantime, the others rushed into the room around her. And while Robin, Lissa, Frederick and Phila also crowded around the Exalt, Lucina stepped to the side, and exchanged a glance with Shulk. 

He looked exhausted in much the same way that she felt, and gave her a puzzled look, but overall seemed to be holding up reasonably well. For a second, she wondered about the meaning of his look - only to realize that it could only be due to her no longer wearing the mask. Her eyes meeting his, she just shrugged lightly. There would be time to talk about this later.

Just as she started to wonder if perhaps they could use this opportunity to just slip away, her attention was caught by the conversation unfolding in front of her.

“…failed in my duty – they never should have made it in the castle in the first place!” Phila lamented, bowing her head so low that Lucina briefly wondered if she was going to fall over.

Another weird thing, that… actually getting to have entirely silly thoughts like that. And when she had just changed the future, too…

“Peace, Phila. You couldn’t have known what was coming,” Emmeryn said, “Only Marth and her partner knew anything about-”

“Wait – her ?” aunt Lissa asked, incredulously… and then, all heads turned towards Lucina.

Well, she had decided to unmask herself. Now to deal with the results of that.

But instead of saying anything, she decided to just hum and nod. No need to make a big deal out of any of this.

“It seems like you had us fooled quite well, Marth,” her father said slowly.

“Fooled in what sense, sir? I never claimed to be a man to you. It was all just your assumption.”

Robin chuckled. “I believe she has you there.”

Chrom however did not respond to what his tactician had to say in any way. Instead, he just stared at Lucina with an expression that was difficult to read. For her part, she was just glad that she was now standing further away from the light, making the Brand of the Exalt all the more difficult for anyone to see.

“Be that as it may – I believe you have more important matters to tend to, sir. Our work here is done,” Lucina said, “And we should take our leave now.”

Saying this, she turned to leave the room - only to find herself being held back by her father grabbing her shoulder.

“Going already? You have a bad habit of leaving as suddenly as you show up, you know.”

Without facing him, Lucina smiled weakly. “Yes, I’m afraid I have a few bad habits.”

Though subtle, she could hear Shulk exhale audibly through his nose at that. She only barely managed to stop herself from raising her eyebrows at that. This was not the time or the place to confront him about that.

“Good ones as well,” her father said, letting go of her shoulder. He knew that now she wasn’t going to leave yet. “You saved my life as well as both of my sisters. Is there a way I can repay you? Some favour I can grant?”

“Hearing you offer is reward enough.”

“But there must be something…” Chrom asked. He did not seem to be pleading or suggesting anything as much as he wanted to keep her engaged in conversation, try to find out what he could about her. She could probably tell him more, Lucina thought… her current understanding of time should allow for it.

Which was however still no reason to go overboard, mind you.

“I already have what I came for: history has been rewritten.”

“And what future averted?”

Lucina turned around. This was best said face to face, and not while she was still halfway in the process of leaving. All the present Shepherds looked at her expectantly… while Emmeryn did so with an expression more difficult to read.

“After the Exalt’s untimely assassination, the Fire Emblem would be stolen. This, in turn, would lead to a great war, and soon the end of mankind itself.” She paused, and looked from face to face. Then she sighed quietly, and lowered her gaze. “…But I’m sure that sounds like madness to you.”

“Between your warning, and his,” her father pointed at Shulk, who, judging by the noise he made, had not expected to be addressed at all, “foresight in helping Robin turn the tides in our favour, I honestly do not find it hard to believe that the future is known to you. I am glad that you are on our side.”

“Something I’m wondering, though…” Robin suddenly chimed in, “These metal creatures. How do they factor into all of this? The Risen I know must be related to what you are trying to prevent, seeing as they showed up when you first came here. But these metal creatures… they’re nothing like them.”

Lucina quietly clicked her tongue. Now they were firmly entering the territory of topics that were better of not being discussed. Or, rather: the Shepherds were better off knowing about the Mechon. That much was true. But it was already challenging enough for her to not make it clear that in truth she hailed from a future that she was trying to prevent. How could she even begin to incorporate beings from another world into all this?

“They’re called Mechon,” Shulk said, while her own mind was still racing. “And it would be inaccurate to refer to them as creatures. They are not alive in the sense that us or any animals are. There’s absolutely nothing organic about them: they consist entirely of metal, and whatever force it is that animates them. Comparing them to the Risen also isn’t completely wrong, since they are just as dedicated to eradicating everything that gets in their way.”

While he was still talking, Lucina shot him a quick thankful glance. That really was the simplest solution, wasn’t it? Let him do the talking for once. The night really had been too long, if she was only thinking of that now. Shulk, for his part, did not actually look at her, instead fixating firmly on the Shepherds as he explained.

“That… would be fascinating if it wasn’t so concerning,” Robin slowly said. “But it also still doesn’t answer my question. What exactly are they? Are they related to the Risen in any way?”

Shulk shook his head. “They’re not. It’s best if you think of it this way: just as… Marth came here to prevent what the Risen stand for, I am here to deal with the Mechon, and everything that comes with them.”

“So you’re saying that there is another greater threat at large that is separate from the Risen?” Emmeryn asked, her tone a firm mixture of concern and authority. And in this moment, now more than ever before, Lucina understood why her father, why aunt Lissa had always held her in such high regard. The mantle of authority and the burden of command came easy to her, to the point that Lucina began to doubt that she herself had ever wielded them appropriately.

…Even if that all was a bit much to think over having heard her say just one sentence. Still, coupled with her own conversation with Emmeryn earlier… she was rather certain that her impression of her aunt was not that far off.

Before giving his answer, Shulk hesitated for a moment. When he did, he shook his head. “I can’t say for certain. I know how they came into this world in the first place, but I don’t know what is responsible for their continued presence. If there is anything behind them that uses them to pursue a larger goal… I don't know who it is, or what it is.”

Emmeryn gave him a thoughtful look. “That is really rather vague. Can you not give us anything more specific?”

Shulk smiled weakly. Then, with a side glance at Lucina, he said, “This would be a lot to explain, and nothing that would be of any aid to you right now.”

“And that’s all that we’re going to get out of you on this matter, I suppose. Both of you, that is,” Chrom noted dryly.

“Rest assured that all that we do is to assure that this world avoids a bleak future,” Lucina said, smiling sympathetically. “I believe our actions thus far should attest to that.”

Chrom sighed, but nodded. “I just hope that I can repay you some day for everything that you have done for my family, and for Ylisse.”

Just like Shulk, Lucina now also smiled weakly. “Perhaps one day you shall. Until then…”

Her voice trailed off. Then, she turned around and left the room. Shulk followed after her just a few seconds later. In the hallway they exchanged another glance, just enough to come to an unspoken agreement: they would talk later. Before they would get to that, they would need to leave the castle.

Around them, the Shepherds half celebrated their victory, half recovered from the unexpected battle. It had been a long night for everyone – and of course, if Lucina remembered things correctly, Gaius and Panne had now also joined the ranks of the Shepherds. So, introductions aplenty. Those and explanations, what with Panne being the last of the Taguel.

Without being noticed or stopped by anyone else, Lucina and Shulk left the castle. Before long, they were wandering the streets of Ylisstol once more.

As they made their way back to the inn, Shulk kept looking at Lucina. Outside of the very first time he did however, she never returned any of these looks, and just kept walking forward undeterred. Whatever was going through her head, she was good at not having it show at all – which he felt was remarkable, considering that by his estimation, there should be a lot going through her head right now.

(But then again, he admittedly never had been the best at judging what was going on inside other people. That was something that had not changed between his own world and this, either.)

This had been the big event that she had to prevent, the main fate that she wanted to alter… and now that was done. Now… now what?

He didn’t know. That was entirely up to her.

From the start, this had all been Lucina’s mission, the one goal that had seemingly dominated her life. Shulk, on the other hand… he was just along for the ride. And he was happy to be able to help, that much he was certain of. But it did bother him that as far as he was concerned, there were now no further goals to work towards – unless Lucina had something else in mind, after all.

Which of course wouldn’t really help him with what he was trying to do. Even now, he was not a single step closer to figuring out why he was here in the first place, let alone how he could get back home.

If only he remembered more of what had happened before he had vanished from home! Based on everything that he did remember, he had made quite the journey away from Colony 9. Maybe somewhere along the way, he had found out more about the Mechon, how they worked, and why they did what they did?

…Well, that was probably not likely. The Mechon had killed Fiora. There was no way that he would have stopped to figure out their reasoning for everything they ever did against the Homs. Or… would he have? Looking back on it now, he somehow couldn’t feel the blinding rage that he had felt in the moment, when the pain of Fiora’s loss was still fresh in his mind. Now, more than anything, he would want to do what Dunban told him, to cherish this life of his that she had saved.

But even so, it wasn’t like this changed viewpoint really mattered much. In this world, he was not one step closer to figuring out anything about the Mechon than he had been back at home. He had met Mechonis – the woman, not the titan – to be sure, but she seemed to be as ignorant about the machines as he himself was.

What was it that she had said about them? That they had been hijacked and copied? Now there was another mystery still…

Shulk sighed as they entered the street that the inn was on. Even though he could see into the future, it still felt to him like the path ahead was entirely shrouded in darkness, and that even knowing what was to come would do little to lessen his uncertainty.

The interior of the inn was completely empty by the time that they made it in. Just like the entire rest of the city, people here were fast asleep, utterly oblivious to the fight that had taken place not too far from them, and not too long ago.

Which was probably for the better. At least, Shulk thought so. Let them have their peaceful nights while these were still possible. He had lived through far too many that were not so to wish the people of this world anything else.

Once finally back in their room, Lucina quickly found a candle and lit it. For his part, Shulk still wasn’t entirely used to never having any light switches around – travelling could only do so much to prepare you for living like this all the time.

With all his body heavy, he put the Monado against a wall near his bed. Then he let himself fall on it. He definitely wasn’t getting up again today.

“So…” he finally said, looking at Lucina who was just now also sitting down, “what now? What is the plan from here?”

Lucina breathed out audibly. Then, she reached for her bag, and began to rummage through it.

“I’m… not quite sure myself. With this prevented, my timeline-” she pulled out the little notebook that Shulk had seen several times before, waving it in front of him, “Is not going to be infallible any more. But I think it will still be enough to get a rough idea of what is going to happen next.”

“...I mean, I kind of figured as much. But that doesn’t really answer my question – what do we do now?”

“Stay hidden. Just because the assassins that killed Emmeryn in my timeline have been defeated, doesn’t mean that Ylisse is just going to win the war against Plegia. In the history that I came from, it was a long and drawn-out conflict, one that lasted for several years. For the time being, I think it’s best to simply observe how things unfold from here, while I try to see if my timeline offers any clues on what could still reasonably be altered.”

“So you really don’t intend to join the Shepherds yet,” Shulk said. It was more an observation than a question.

Lucina looked at him unhappily. “Of course. Why would I? The fact that I can operate like this, beneath the notice of all major players, is my biggest advantage right now. It would be foolish to throw that away. And… I’m still not entirely convinced that altering the future can’t erase me .”

“I mean, I… can understand why you feel that way,” said Shulk uncertainly. “But based on everything that happened, don’t you think that it’s more likely that you can’t get yourself erased? And- even leaving that aside. I get that there’s advantages to staying hidden like this. But if there’s a war coming, will you really be able to do that much? With your knowledge, you should be able to do a lot more if you join up with the Shepherds! And that’s not even mentioning what my visions could do for them!”

Instead of responding right away, Lucina remained silent for a moment. Her eyes began to wander, breaking off eye contact with Shulk, all while she let out a deep breath. Then, she shook her head.

“That may be so… but if I take that plunge, then there will be no going back. Any advantage that I have in my current position, it would be entirely gone. And if I realize too late that there was something that I could have done by remaining hidden, then that’s something that I can no longer do. With the world at the brink of destruction even now, that is simply not a risk that I want to take.”

Shulk said nothing to that. He could see where Lucina was coming from. He really could. Based on everything that she had told him, the timeline that she had been from had been even worse than what things had been like for the Homs back on Bionis prior to the Monado being discovered. With her goal to prevent this, it was easy to see why she would remain as cautious as possible, and avoid any risk that could threaten things getting out of control.

But he still wasn’t convinced.

He had full faith in his visions, and that they would be able to warn him if there was a threat to them. And he knew that Lucina believed in them as well. Granted, they weren’t perfectly reliable in that they didn’t offer the full picture of events that were still quite a ways off. But they were more reliable than her written timeline was now. History was something consisting of so many moving parts, so many individual people playing their role in tiny ways that led to huge, significant outcomes. So if even just a tiny bit of all that was changed around, who could possibly retain a grasp of its entire scope with just a factual account of events that would have taken place if things had been just a bit different? There was so much to keep in mind!

He ended up voicing not one of these thoughts.

“I suppose that’s fair enough,” he conceded instead. Then, he stretched and yawned. “Has been a long day… whatever comes next, we will probably have an easier time facing it if we’re well rested.”

Lucina chuckled. “Now that I am inclined to agree with. Today has been quite a lot.”

Quietly, the two of them undressed to a point that they were still comfortable with around each other, and then laid down in their beds. After wishing each other a good night, Lucina blew out the candle, cloaking their room in the mantle of the night.

Yet even though he was tired, Shulk did not fall asleep right away. His mind kept going back to the brief argument he had just had with Lucina. Doing things her way… it just did not feel right. Even if this was not his world, he had spent enough time here already and gotten to know too many people as to not care what would happen to it.

And above all of them, there was Lucina. Without her kindness and help, he truly would have been lost in this world. Even if he had the Monado and his visions to help him, There was no knowing where he would have ended up. For that alone, he needed to repay her, help her with what she wanted to accomplish.

But if her way of doing things wasn’t going to work… he should do something about it, shouldn’t he? If he couldn’t convince her, then maybe it was for the best if he… went his own ways…

Shulk turned over to his other side. Even if that was an option, it was not one that he would take. He owed far too much to Lucina to just abandon her like that. This was her world. Her future. And her decision on how it should be saved. He was just helping, however she felt it was best. That’s how it should be.

Still… a single person could only do so much. And if anyone was going to truly do the actual work to safe this world, it would be the Shepherds.

And they would need all the help that they could get.

Sauntering without a care in the world, Hydros took in the sights around him. In contrast to Ylisse, the climate here in these parts of Plegia was a lot more arid. In a way, it reminded him of the Dannagh Desert on the old titan of Torna – but given that this was the only other arid region that he had ever seen for himself, he was probably exaggerating the similarities. Culturally speaking, Plegia and Torna didn’t really appear to be that similar, after all.

Well, he would have plenty of time to observe the culture going forward. And the castle was already a good start for that. Even if his guide… what was her name again? Aversa? Something, or rather someone else that he would need to get used to, at any rate. Even if she did not exactly explain any of his surroundings to him, he still had fun getting to see everything here.

Because who knew just for how much longer it would exist.

He had already learned plenty of the fate of this world. What had already happened to it in another timeline, and what was going to happen once more. He had also learned that there were interlopers, meddling with the predetermined way of the world – so, the young man and the young woman who were using his other partner’s power.

He really could not have asked to appear in a more interesting world after he had seemingly breathed his last in Alrest.

Of course, deep down he was aware that if you got right down to it, he was just attempting a third time what he had already done twice at home. First he had sought to end the world out of his own innate desire, imprinted on him by Amalthus upon being awakened. Then he had done so in order to fulfil Jin’s wish. And now…

Now he would need to figure out why. Now he would need to figure out what to do.

Perhaps trying to bring destruction upon yet another world wasn’t the best way to go about this, but it was what he was familiar with. Besides, technically he wasn’t Malos, but Hydros. For him, this was the first time doing it.

…Sort of. He still needed to figure out that whole identity thing, and just what he was now. Going through it himself now, he really wasn’t surprised that she had still seemed a bit uncertain about that all even after 500 years.

Regardless. Leaving that aside, it also wasn’t like he was doing anything to bring about oblivion on his own. He really was just helping some plans along that already were in motion. He much preferred it that way.

As he was reflecting on all these things, the woman had led him through the castle all the way to the throne room. The king of this nation already awaited them there, sitting by himself. Hydros was near certain that he had already been told his name, but he did not exactly remember it right now. Not that it mattered, anyway… based on what he had been told, this king was not exactly the future. Still, he should probably put in some effort to learn his name.

While he still wasn’t paying terribly much attention, the woman – Aversa – engaged in a conversation with the king. He was vaguely aware that she went on and on about the most amazing new recruit to their cause, and what aid he could bring to the Plegian forces. The king, for his part, seemed to be listening eagerly. But even though this conversation was directly about Hydros, he still did not care much for it. This was all just a formality, and those bored him – something that hadn’t really changed about him, in spite of the new appearance and probably personality.

What did however catch his eye was the king himself. There was something about him… a kind of fundamental rage, rooted in something far deeper. He wasn’t exactly like Jin, himself, or even Amalthus. But there was more to him than just a bloodthirsty warmonger.

This all was promising to be fun.

Even though the assassination attempt on Emmeryn took place in the dead of the night, and solely within Ylisstol Castle, where none of the common folk ever went, the story of what happened still spread throughout the city in the following days. As far as Lucina could tell, it was not like her or any other officials, or even Shepherds really put in much of an effort to keep things hidden. Everyone knew that another war between Plegia had begun – and this was just one of the things that it entailed.

What did however remain a secret to everybody was what actions the Exalt took in reaction to the attack. Even Lucina herself only barely managed to find out what happened. It took her another secret trip to the castle (aided by Shulk, with his visions allowing them to bypass detection), coupled with plenty of snooping around to figure out, though when she did, she was rather glad about it: in an operation that was beyond secretive, the Shepherds had evacuated Emmeryn from Ylisstol, and were bringing her to the eastern palace. 

Learning about this had been the biggest relief that Lucina could have possibly had: if she had had this much trouble learning about this, then there was no way that Plegia would be able to find out where Emmeryn was. And as far as she knew, the eastern palace was remote and secure. Emmeryn would be safe.

Though that did not mean that the war wasn’t a concern any more. All over town, the atmosphere was tense. Ylisse’s Pegasus Knights, which in days before had always moved out to suppress either Risen or Mechon were now no longer to be seen. All of them had been moved to the border, bracing the halidom against the attack from Plegia that would come any day now. The city was by no means undefended, as the city watch was still there, performing its duties. But between Emmeryn, the Shepherds, and now the Pegasus Knights all gone, it all felt… empty somehow.

Empty, in a way that reminded her of the Ylisstol of her time. With her father, aunt Lissa, and Robin gone, the other of the old Shepherds also perishing one after another, the city had often felt empty to her, as if it had lost everything that had made it what it was. Seeing the Ylisstol of this time like this… it really did make her feel uneasy, on a fundamental level.

But, here none of these people were actually lost yet. It was all just temporary… yes, a necessary precaution in order to ensure that the future was safe.

Though in the meantime, while she was waiting for this future to happen, Lucina found herself… at a loss on what to do. The days leading up to the assassination attempt on Emmeryn had been easy enough in that regard. There had been mercenary missions enough.

But with the war moving closer and closer, those were not really a concern any more – the gathered armies were enough to catch the attention of both Risen and Mechon, ironically leaving the common folk safe for the time being.

These kinds of days were more than familiar to Lucina. How many days had she spent in Ylisstol, waiting for the next wave of Risen to come crashing down on them, suffering through the calm before a storm that never ceased? She had long since lost count. And just as it had been in those days, she felt… powerless. Sure, she had done all she could. But right now, there literally was nothing else she could do.

And having to wait was killing her. Even if she had experience with it, that didn’t make it any easier.

Yet while she was now spending her days constantly on edge, Shulk seemed to be doing just fine, as far as she could tell. After some initial restlessness on the day after they had been to the castle, he was right back to being all over town, helping people out wherever he could, and running various errands for them.

As she came to realize this, Lucina began to observe him at it. Not in the sense that she outright followed him around all day, but rather by paying some more attention to him as he headed out from the inn for the day, and returned to it in the evenings. On some occasions, she did outright follow him, though only briefly while she went about other business in the city. If Shulk took note of this at all, then he either didn’t care, or didn’t show it.

Until eventually, she had had enough of it.

“How do you do it?” Lucina asked, staring at him with a blank expression.

“Er,” Shulk said, scratching his head. “You’ll need to be a bit more specific there. What are you talking about?”

Lucina sighed exasperatedly. “I mean, all this. There is a war coming, and you just… carry on as usual. You still just go out to do what you did these past couple of days, helping people. How ?”

“Ah,” Shulk made – and then paused. As he thought about it, he scratched his head again. “To that… I can’t really give you a satisfying answer. Best I can say is that that is just how it’s always been for me. At home, the Mechon were always a threat, so I and everyone I knew had no choice but to… be normal about it. Wasn’t it the same for you with the Risen?”

“I think you’re forgetting a basic difference between us,” Lucina said, laughing joylessly. “If I understand you correctly, you only ever had to look out for yourself, as well as your friends. As for me… I was the Exalt in my time. I carried the weight of not only my own life, or those of my friends, but all of Ylisse. Every loss we suffered, every person that died, they were my responsibility. And I failed them, time and time again. In the end, I even outright abandoned them. And even if there is no one in this timeline who is my direct responsibility, it is hard to shake this conscience. The feeling that whatever happens to these people falls onto me.”

“But- you can only do so much!” Shulk exclaimed. “I know it must be hard to rid yourself of these thoughts, but you are already doing all that you can! And… let’s not pretend that I’m doing anything noteworthy. All I’m really doing is helping townsfolk in really mundane ways. And sure, my visions are good for that. But it doesn’t really make much of a difference, does it?”

“I’m sure all the people you’ve helped would disagree with that,” Lucina said gently. “Have you already forgotten the day we went out for a picnic? That was the first time I saw for myself how the people of Ylisstol talk to you. And it really felt like everyone was grateful for some thing or another that you did for them. That… that I think has a much bigger impact on them than anything I do. The whole point with what I do is that the people don’t notice it, or have to worry about it. But with what you do… they see you. They remember you. And they thank you. I wish I could see the impact that I have on them.”

Shulk smiled weakly. “And I wish I could feel like I’ve actually had an impact. I feel like all I’ve really been doing while here in this world is to follow you around, complicate things, and create piles of Mechon scrap… as well as corpses. At least you have a larger goal you can follow. I’m still very much in the dark here.” He paused, briefly lowering his gaze. When a moment later he looked up again, he added, “But if you want to feel like you’re actually doing something, you could always join me while I head out into town. I can’t promise that it’s going to be the most fulfilling thing in the world, but it might help take your mind off of things.”

Instead of giving an answer right away, Lucina slowly looked out the window. It was a rather sunny day, with only a few clouds dotting the sky. Summer was as of yet still in full swing, the relaxing temperatures at odds with the tense atmosphere that was all over Ylisstol. Even at this time of year (which in itself was a concept that Shulk still needed to get used to, as the Bionis had no such things as seasons), it didn’t compare to how warm it could get in Colony 9, but it nonetheless still reminded him a bit of home. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he had gotten so into helping the people here out…

“You know… I think I really just might join you,” Lucina finally said. “It certainly beats sitting around all day doing nothing. And even training can only pass so much time.”

“Ah! Well, let’s go then,” Shulk said and stood up, holding out a hand to Lucina. She took it and pulled herself up. A few minutes later, the two of them were walking out the inn together.

“So, are there any specific tasks that you still need to take care of? Or did you just intend to go around town until you found somebody who needs your help?” Lucina asked, shielding her eyes against the sunlight.

“There are still some tasks that I haven’t actually done yet, but I can’t really get those done as of yet. So I… really was just thinking about seeing if there is anybody who needs help.”

Lucina laughed. “You know, I would like to show you around town to help you find somebody. But I think at this point, you’re more familiar with this version of Ylisstol than I am… so, lead the way.”

Joining in on her laughter, Shulk began to vaguely saunter into the direction of the castle. He didn’t expect to find anything to do at the castle itself, of course, but from where the inn was, it was as good a direction to go into as any.

Speaking of the castle… having spent some time around town, it really did seem like the absence of the queen was a well-kept secret. Any of the staff that lived in town either didn’t know about it, or were so sworn to secrecy that knowledge of it hadn’t seeped through yet. Security hadn’t really notably increased either, so to all the town, it was like nothing had changed.

Come to think of it, he obviously hadn’t been in the castle since that night. While he had helped Lucina get in to snoop around, he hadn’t gone in himself. He wondered what it was like right now…

And then he had another vision.

The queen was standing at a window overlooking the city. Off in the distance, what seemed to be a huge mass, swallowing up the land was approaching… an army. Then the scene shifted, and he saw the throne room. The queen was sitting on the throne, surrounded by soldiers of Ylisse, Pegasus Knights and others. But none of them were carrying weapons, them instead lying firmly on the ground. And on the other end of the room, soldiers that were clearly not from Ylisse were pouring…

Then the vision was over.

“…What?!” Shulk exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks – meaning that Lucina, who had been right behind him, walked into him, nearly making him fall over.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Is everything alright, Shulk?”

“Another vision…” he mumbled, still trying to process everything that he had just seen – when he realized what exactly he should actually be focusing on.

“The- the queen! She’s going to be back in Ylisstol! Or… maybe she already is back, I’m not sure…”

Lucina hurried in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder, leaning in, and giving him a mortified stare. “Wha- what exactly is it that you have seen?”

“An army invading… she’s watching them. And when they make it to the castle, she’s expecting them, not putting up any resistance. That was all I saw.”

Her expression still every bit as mortified as it had been in the first moment, Lucina’s head whirled around to look at the castle. For just a second, she was silent. Then-

“We’re going there. Now .”

Shulk wanted to object. It was still the middle of the day, and they’d be heading up to the castle in broad daylight. It was more likely that they would be discovered than that not happening, especially with security being seemingly heightened.

But at the same time, her tone left no room whatsoever for arguing. This was urgent – this was important.

Whatever it actually was.

Lucina was not running, but her pace was still hasty. Everything else had become unimportant. She needed to get to the bottom of this. Emmeryn had been saved! She had survived, setting the future on an entirely new course! So why would she return here? It didn’t make any sense!

Behind her, she was vaguely aware of Shulk hurrying after her. Maybe his vision was wrong? But then again, whenever he had had any, they had always been infallible… and warnings. A warning only ever made sense when there was something that could be done about it. So that was what she would cling to.

On their way up to the castle, Shulk ended up hissing a few more warnings, only narrowly making them avoid detection. Without him, Lucina would have easily been found: focussed as she was, she had been blind to anything in her surroundings. Yet even with Shulk’s warnings, it was not enough to make her pay more attention to her surroundings. She had somewhere to be.

Without being discovered and no further noteworthy incidents, the two of them made it back to the cleft in the wall. As expected, it was still wide open and not guarded at all: with the secret relocation of Emmeryn, as well as the assassin’s having come in through another way to begin with, there simply had not been the time or need to take care of it already.

In much the same way, the maple grove on the other side was also devoid of any activity. Had there not been a storm raging in her head, Lucina might have taken a moment to take note of the contrast between now and the earlier night. How the courtyard had been the centre of the battle with the assassins, and now it lay there empty, in broad daylight.

But her mind was far too preoccupied with everything else. With nary a thought wasted on whether or not anyone would spot her – if there was danger Shulk would warn her, and it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be recognized here in the castle – she hurried deeper into the castle. Her goal, though thoughtlessly picked, was clear to her: Emmeryn’s own room.

Maybe she wouldn’t be there. Maybe she wasn’t anywhere in the castle. That was the whole point of Shulk’s visions, wasn’t it? To warn them of things to come, and to prevent them. So maybe, Emmeryn had not yet even made her way back to Ylisstol, and Lucina would be able to intercept her on her way back, convince her that she couldn’t be here…

And when, after a brisk walk through the castle’s corridors where they encountered no one, they reached Emmeryn’s room, that hope only grew. The room was entirely empty, and from the looks of it, didn’t appear like it had been in use for the past few days.

“Not here…” Lucina said absent-mindedly. While she was scanning the room, Shulk was finally able to catch up to her, him having nearly been left behind as she had stormed ahead.

“I mean, would she even spend most of her day here? Maybe she’s elsewhere in the castle,” he pointed out, while catching his breath.

“Or she isn’t back yet… did you perhaps see anything about that?”

Shulk paused. And as Lucina was watching him, his expression went blank for a moment, and she could have sworn that she caught a flash of bright blue light in his eyes.

“Down that corridor…” he laconically said, pointing to her right. Closing her eyes, Lucina breathed out. Then, she nodded and went in that direction.

A few moments later, they found themselves face to face with Emmeryn and Phila, who had been going in their direction. Upon noticing them, Phila immediately and visibly tensed up, getting in front of Emmeryn in a battle-ready stance.

“You again! What are you doing here?” she shouted, glaring down both Lucina and Shulk.

Before Lucina could however give any answer, Emmeryn put a hand on Phila’s shoulder. “Be at ease. I am fairly certain that neither of them means me any harm… and I have a vague as to the reason for their return.”

“Your Grace, I must protest!” Phila exclaimed, only half turning towards Emmeryn, making sure not to leave them out of her sights. “Any individuals who can come and go to the castle without being noticed and as they please is a potential risk. Who knows who could have followed them? The hierarch may have been exposed as a traitor, but there is no telling just how deeply treason runs within our ranks!”

In spite of the situation, as well as her own agitation, Lucina could not help but to pause and consider Phila.

Accounts of the pegasus knight captain had always been sparse in her own timeline. With everything that happened, there was not much of a reason to dwell on her: she had failed in her duty to protect Emmeryn, and either perished along with her, shortly before, or some time after that. What exactly it was, Lucina did not know. And truth to be told, she did not know much of anything about Phila, either. By the time that Lucina was growing up, she had been left as little more than a footnote in a history that was getting more dire with each passing day.

Now that she witnessed the woman for herself, she somewhat reminded her of Frederick: conscientious, distrusting towards any perceived threat, and deeply loyal. So loyal in fact that Lucina could not help but to wonder if there was more between them… her talk with Emmeryn in that night certainly made it seem plausible. If it was the case, then for her sake, too…

“Lady Emmeryn speaks the truth, milady,” Lucina said. “I seek her no harm – quite the opposite. I would have thought that my recent actions would have sufficed in making that evident. Yet your caution is a credit to you, so I do not judge you for it. And regardless, my question to you, Lady Emmeryn, is the same as hers to me: what are you doing here ? Surely you must realize that remaining here will be your death!”

Emmeryn smiled weakly, and stepped past Phila. The pegasus knight captain, in turn, still seemed unhappy about the situation, but did not protest any further. Behind herself, Lucina remained aware that Shulk kept quiet.

“Would you mind if we moved this conversation elsewhere? I believe it is in your interest as well if we do not have this in the middle of a corridor.”

Reluctantly, Lucina nodded. The sheer calmness with which Emmeryn was acting made it seem to her like she was already fully resigned to this course of action – and all that she herself could hope for was to learn the reason.

Which however didn’t mean that she shouldn’t try.

A few minutes later, they found themselves in the courtyard once more. Emmeryn had led them to a bench in a quiet corner, on which she sat down. Phila had been ordered to stand guard a short distance from them, just far away enough as to not be able to hear what they were talking about. With all the statues and plants surrounding them, the whole scene had something almost idyllic about it… or at least it would have, had Lucina not been all too aware of its broader context.

“So,” Emmeryn finally said after a moment, “you wish to know the reason I have returned.”

“If you would tell me,” Lucina confirmed, forcing herself to speak calmly. Yet even so, she could not help herself, and added, “You must realize that all that awaits you here is death. Even if the assassins bore no flag or crest, it should be plainly obvious who sent them. So even knowing what they intend for you… why ?”

The look that Emmeryn gave her could only be described as kind and thoughtful. Before answering, she maintained it for so long that Lucina really could not help but to wonder what was going on in her aunt’s head.

“Tell me, Marth. With me surviving that recent night… how had you expected events to proceed? I believe the two of you have knowledge of the future, to an extent that people would consider impossible. Does that knowledge extend to what is to come now?”

“I… I do not know what is going to happen next,” Lucina conceded in a strained voice. “But I do know that your survival is vital to Ylisse making it through the war without being devastated! I have seen the future that comes about without you, and it is one that sends the whole world off towards destruction.”

“Ah,” the Exalt said, “You speak of Ylisse, and I can understand why it would be what you focus on. But what of Plegia? Do its people not deserve peace as well? And should its soldiers not be given the chance to stand down?”

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Lucina shouted, unable to stop herself. “Plegia, Ylisse, or any other nation of the world, they all are doomed if events proceed as they did! The only ones who can stop what is coming is Ylisse!”

The Exalt sighed. “And do you truly believe that Ylisse can stand alone against whatever darkness is coming? Besides, even if that were the case… all that is happening right now is just our past catching up to us. Ylisse is not without fault, and neither am I. If we were to simply defeat Plegia, it would not be just. And while I can only guess at what brought about the ruin of this world in the future that you are trying to prevent… I do not think that just my survival is going to fix what led to it.”

“But it would change things for the better!” Lucina shouted. At this point, she didn’t even care any more whether or Phila could hear her – besides, if she was judging the pegasus knight captain correctly, then she was only voicing what were her own thoughts as well.

More than that though, Lucina could feel the all too familiar sensation of despair rising up within her. This simply wasn’t fair. She had done it! She had changed the future! So why was aunt Emmeryn now so dead set on returning it to its original course? It simply could not be!

“Staying here and facing your own death will not bring peace to anyone, Your Grace! Ylisse needs you. Please, be selfish for once in your life!”

Whatever effect she had hoped her words would have, they were not what wound up happening. Lucina would have hoped that Emmeryn would have stared at her, taken aback, that she would have lowered her gaze, or maybe even glanced over to Phila, who seemed to be making a point of acting like she hadn’t heard a thing. Instead of any of those things however, her aunt just looked at her with a sombre smile on her lips.

“It is quite strange, this… I have heard such words directed at me not too long ago. And even now, I must admit that they cut deep. Deeper still perhaps, since I know that unlike my brother, you know exactly what you are talking about. I must apologize to you then, but this is something I must do, in order to truly heal the wounds that the last war has left both Ylisse and Plegia with. I’m sorry… my niece.”

Lucina heard the words. They got through to her head, too. But the matter of reacting to them was another one entirely. She could outright feel how her eyes widened, as her body froze up, just staring Emmeryn with her unchanging expression.

“I- you- no idea… what you’re talking about-” she eventually managed to stutter after a torturous few seconds that seemed to be lasting for so much longer. But even as she spoke, she realized that it was pointless: Emmeryn had been far too certain.

“…How?” Lucina asked a moment later in a small voice.

Emmeryn chuckled quietly. “My dear, figuring this out was not too difficult. If you have such reliable knowledge of the future, then either you must have visions of it… or you must hail from it. And with you looking so remarkably like Chrom, and behaving rather similarly to him, too… it certainly seemed like an option. Not to mention that I do think I caught a glimpse of something in your eye when you revealed yourself to me in that night…”

Instinctively, Lucina put a hand to her eye. It really had been a bad decision to unmask herself to Emmeryn! Now all she could was to pray to the gods that this act of carelessness would remain without consequences beyond her control…

“So if you are my niece,” Emmeryn meanwhile continued, looking past Lucina at Shulk, who had been standing quietly behind the latter, “then I presume that you are my nephew? Considering that I was originally going to die that night, it’s unlikely that you are my son, which then only leaves Lissa.”

The noise that Shulk made sounded vaguely like something in the middle between coughing and snorting. The only thing Lucina was certain of without looking at him was that he had trouble breathing for a bit immediately afterwards.

“I’m afraid that’s not quite true,” Lucina said, still feeling a bit like she was in a dream-like haze. Behind her, Shulk finally managed to catch his breath.

“I am not her son. Or the son of anyone you know, for that matter,” Shulk added, his voice still sounding a bit strained.

Emmeryn furrowed her brows. “Then how do you fit into all this? The two of you seem to be working so closely together… you must have some kind of connection with each other.”

Lucina considered this. Was this really how they came off towards others? On some level it made sense, she supposed. Two mysterious swordfighters, travelling together, and appearing at the most unexpected times… but right now, this was honestly the least of her worries.

“I am from… elsewhere ,” Shulk said. “The mechanical creatures that have been appearing all over, they are from the same place as me. What she is trying to prevent is completely unrelated to me. I just had the luck of being found by her when I first appeared in this land, and I have been sticking with her ever since.”

Emmeryn’s eyebrows remained thoroughly furrowed. Slowly, she let her gaze wander back and forth between him and Lucina. Eventually though, she just shrugged.

“Very well then… but, be that as it may. Would you tell me your name, niece? Or is it truly just Marth?”

Lucina hesitated. This was all wrong. She shouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place, and she certainly shouldn’t be around any of the major players of this time without her mask. But now that she was… what difference did it even make anymore?

“…It is Lucina. But you must promise that no matter what happens, you do not tell father or anyone else about this!”

“Lucina… Lucina,” Emmeryn slowly said, seemingly trying to get a feeling for the name on her tongue. “It is a beautiful name. Chrom and your mother really have chosen well… alright then, Lucina. You have my sincerest promise that none of what we talk about shall reach the ears of anyone not here right now. But, know this: just as I have told your father, I am firm in my conviction. The blood of the first exalt Leopold flows strong in us. We will keep this world safe – if not me, then Chrom, Lissa… or you.”

“And you’re keeping it safe by giving Gangrel almost everything he wants?” Lucina asked bitterly. “If he gets his hands on you, it will not end well.”

And there was that smile again… that sombre, weak smile, which Emmeryn had been giving her this entire conversation already. It infuriated Lucina to no end – and yet she knew that she could not speak out against her any more than she already had.

“We all need to make sacrifices for a better world. But at least I can rely on there being a secret protector looking out for me no matter what happens, no? I believe there is a reason why you have not joined Chrom and the Shepherds, after all.”

“…Indeed there is. And I promise to protect your life with all that I have,” said Lucina, managing to sound at least a bit solemn. It was all that she could do.

Even if she hated it.

Chapter Text

“We meet again, Galea.”

“I really wish we didn’t,” the wanderer growled, sitting down on a rock opposite of Alvis. Her followers retained a respectful distance, and sat down as well. Around them, the land was getting brighter in the sunless dawn just before sunrise. Even with this poor lighting, it was easy to see from up here that there was no human settlement anywhere in the vicinity. They were in the wilderness.

And Alvis wasn’t talking, the wanderer noticed with increasing frustration. They had changed their appearance, too… rather than the feminine-looking face from before, they now had a somewhat more masculine face, were wearing a jacket with fur trimming the collar, and had the key that they had previously worn as an earring now on a choker around their neck.

The wanderer decided not to question the change. If this personified machine wanted to change how they look, then she really did not care. The only thing she cared for was something else entirely.

“So. We wouldn’t be meeting if there wasn’t something you wanted of me. This thing that attacked the Mechon that were at that castle… you have something to do with it, don’t you?”

“Oh? Have you already forgotten her? You have seen her before, you know,” Alvis said. Then, they raised their hand – and with an ear-deafeningly loud flapping of wings, it appeared. A large, vaguely draconic, vaguely avian creature, with a body that looked somewhere between skin and scales, shimmering in a somewhat yellow tone of green. Carefully, it descended, landing right next to Alvis and nuzzling their hand.

“Ah… the fourth one,” the wanderer said, sounding not particularly impressed. “So it went to you after it fled.”

“Not quite,” Alvis said. “ She sought out something else entirely after leaving you behind. As a Telethia, a being made to serve Zanza, she was naturally drawn to his essence – or whatever came closest to it. And she found-”

“So this thing knows where Klaus is!” Galea cut him off, jumping to her feet, and taking a step towards the two of them. Before she however got any closer, Alvis raised their hand, gesturing for her to stop. To her own surprise, she did. Well… might as well hear them out.

“ She has found him, yes. Or at least, part of him.”

Galea glared at Alvis. There were questions on her mind, obvious questions. But she also realized that there was something that she should be asking instead.

“Why do you keep referring to this… Telethia as a “she”? Is it not just essentially an animal?”

“In Zanza’s view, perhaps,” Alvis vaguely stated. “But a Telethia is not her natural form. On a random whim, he decided to bestow sentience upon the Telethia eons ago, evolving them into humanoid beings known as the High Entia. But though they left behind these forms generations ago, dormant within them was a gene that – coupled with high density ether exposure – could return them to the form of a Telethia.”

“And that’s what Klaus did.”

“Indeed. Upon his reawakening, he caused such an exposure in the capital of the High Entia, reverting most of them to this state.”

“So this one…”

“Is one of the unfortunate victims of his actions.”

Galea grimaced. “This is just like him… but, tell me now. What did you mean by her having found part of him?”

“I mean just that. She has found a part of him, and not the one that she should be drawn to.”

Galea glared some more. She was not going to humour all their deliberate vagueness. There needed to be something that she could get out of them without having to ask about it.

Alvis, seemingly aware of her frustration, smiled. “Much like how you existed both in this world and the one that I hail from, Zanza, too, was split into two separate but connected beings. Zanza, as he called himself, is the one from my world, and the one that she should find herself being drawn to. But what she found instead was his other half, who had been left behind in the remnants of the world where the phase-transition experiment took place. It seems that in attempting to escape his own demise, Zanza inadvertently pulled his other half into this world as well.”

“So there’s two of him,” Galea said. “No matter. I’ll take them down, one at a time. Where is he ?”

“Mount Prism, to the east of the halidom, near the coast. Though I can assure you that you are not going to be satisfied with that encounter…”

Galea heard the warning, but she didn’t care. She already had had more than enough of dealing with Alvis. Without another word, she left towards the east, the three men following her.

Alvis kept looking at her for a while longer still. Then, following a sudden whim, they made a decision. For a brief moment, their entire body was enveloped in an orange light – and when it dissipated, they were sitting there with their feminine appearance again.

The future was always in flux, never set in stone. Countless little actions by countless individuals each came together to form a larger whole that was nigh incomprehensible in its complexity.

But even so, it seemed really rather likely that another meeting with Lucina was not too far away. Right now, it was for the best to be consistent in how they showed themself to her.

Standing atop the city walls, Shulk let his gaze wander across the plains outside of Ylisstol. As of yet, all was still empty – more empty than usual. The steady stream of travellers coming to and from the city that filled the roads on regular days was nowhere to be seen, news having travelled faster than what else was coming.

And what else was coming was already visible on the horizon.

From the distance, it looked like a dark band crawling over the landscape, inexorably making its way towards Ylisstol. But even with him never having seen such a thing for himself, Shulk knew exactly what he was looking at.

It was the army of Plegia.

Information has a way of travelling faster than people, and so everyone in Ylisstol already knew that the Plegian army was approaching. More than that, it was not just the army on its own, but rather the army, led by the king of Plegia himself. What he was here for was not hard to guess: armies are rather straightforward in terms of what they are used for.

And all that anyone in the city could do was to wait and watch it approach.

Along with Shulk, there were several men and women of the city watch on the walls. Of course, if given the chance, countless people from the city likely would be there as well – even if it could be doom approaching, it seemed to be in the nature of Homs (or, well, humans) to just be curious. The city walls however were entirely off-limits to the townsfolk. The only reason that Shulk was even allowed up here was because he had already done several favours to members of the watch, so that they just couldn’t really refuse his request.

Not that that made any difference. The city watch and the halidom’s officials in the castle could never make the people believe that there was no war in Ylisstol.

“How much longer do you think we’ll have before they get here?” he asked a woman of the watch standing next to him, not taking his eyes off the horizon.

The woman, likewise not turning to look at him, shrugged. “I dunno enough about armies and their movements for that. If I had to guess, two days? Maybe three? Not long, though… oh, and some scouts might be there before that.”

“Mh,” Shulk hummed. That still was some time. Time enough for… 

He had no idea what. It was not like there was anything that just he could do. Even if the Monado was a mighty weapon with many abilities, it was still only one.

Not to mention the mental burden of having to cut down another person to accomplish anything with it… in some ways, this world really was an awful place.

“I hope you keep a low profile when they get here,” the watch woman suddenly said, interrupting his train of thought.

“Huh? What?”

“I said, you better keep a low profile when they get here. You’re a real good person, and from what I hear, a pretty good fighter, too. I’d hate for you to get captured by them, or forcibly recruited.”

Shulk chuckled quietly. “Oh, there’s no need to worry about that. I’m… reasonably confident that I can avoid these things.”

Instead of responding verbally, the woman just grunted. Another moment later, Shulk decided that he had seen enough for now, and bid his farewells. Then, he went back down to the city.

As he did, he tried his best to push the large, dark figures that he thought he had seen towering over the army out of his mind. The thought simply was too harrowing.

Down on the streets of Ylisstol, there were already a few people expecting him. Though a bit shocking, Shulk wasn’t surprised: with everything he had done all over town, he was decently well known by now, meaning that people were bound to notice if he got the chance to be up on the city walls. And although no one openly asked him about anything, the question still hung plainly in the air.

In response, Shulk just shrugged. There was nothing to say. When went on his way a moment later, no one stopped him.

Perhaps he really was getting too recognizable here in Ylisstol, he thought. While he didn’t share Lucina’s worries about potentially erasing his own existence by meddling in affairs too much (even if that was by now obviously unfounded), it probably still wasn’t a good idea to become well-known if he wanted to help her.

Not to mention that in spite of how much he had familiarized himself with the people of this world, he would still return to his own in a heartbeat, if given the chance…

Of course, he did still want to help. Both Lucina and the people who lived here, regardless of what kingdom they were in. If the Monado and his visions could do something to save this world, then he would never be able to live with his conscience if he didn’t.