Epilogue

Nathan estimated telling his story took a few hours at most, but nothing more. Naga was quite intrigued at the man's tale, on the edge of her seat as she listened to every word. Once he had finished, the two sat in silence for a brief moment. All of a sudden, Nathan's body began to glow even brighter, slowly rising up in the air on it's own.

"W-what's going on?" He asked Naga, panic rising in his voice. The divine dragon smiled to the man.

"From telling your story, the gods have deemed your bonds to be strong enough with those of your world. You're going back." She told him.

"I-I'm going back?" Nathan yelled excitedly. "Haha! Amazing!"

"It was a pleasure to talk to you for all that time…" Naga declared. Nathan raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"All that time? We've only been together for a few hours."

"To you, it may feel like that…but back on earth, an entire year has passed since your death." Naga explained.

"A year?!" Nathan exclaimed. "Gods, Lissa is going to kill me for being gone so long…" He then remembered something he had thought of. "Oh! Naga-"

"No need to worry," The divine dragon smiled. "I know what you are about to ask of me. It will be done."

"Thank you!" Nathan called as he continued to float, getting farther and farther from the divine dragon. "I'm sure we'll meet again someday!"

Naga waved up at the man as Nathan faded out of her view.

Meanwhile, back in Ylisse, Lissa sat alone on her bed in the room she had once shared with Nathan. It had been a year since the man had given up his life, and that day was the one-year anniversary since his death. Everyone who had ever met the tactician had scoured the lands in search of the man, but with each passing day, it was becoming harder and harder to believe that he was ever going to come back. The Princess began to cry as she found herself looking at the picture Libra had painted for her, which she hung on their wall with pride, featuring Owain, Morgan, Lissa and Nathan all standing together.

The princess was caught off guard by a knock at her door. She managed to compose herself before calling, "Come in!"

Chrom slowly walked inside, looking at his little sister. Her red eyes made it obvious to him that she had been crying, which was understandable, given the day. He could feel nothing but frustration at having not been able to find Nathan, but never would he give up hope. He knew the man had to be out there.

"Lissa, I figured, I mean, from what day it is…maybe we could go to that field together? You me, and Frederick, I mean. You know…to where we found him, the first time?"

Lissa sniffled slightly and nodded, managing a weak smile on her face.

"S-sure! I mean…who knows!" She decided optimistically.

Chrom smiled back at her. "Don't forget his sword." He reminded Lissa, seeing Mystletainn sitting up on the desk that Nathan used to work at. "He'd probably get pretty mad if you forgot it here."

Lissa giggled. "Yeah…I'll meet you two down there in a few minutes, alright?"

The trio finally made it to the field just outside of southtown by midday, looking upon the grassy plain where their wild adventure had truly begun.

"Where exactly did you walk, Miss Lissa?" Frederick asked. "You tripped over him, if I remember correctly."

"It was…right over this hill, I think!" Lissa told them excitedly, rushing over to the area as fast as her legs would carry her. Chrom and Frederick followed closely behind, with Frederick leaving his horse at the base of the hill.

Lissa scanned the area as soon as she reached the top of the small mound; her heart breaking with disappointment once she saw her husband was not there.

"I was…really sure…this time…" She mumbled, doing her best not to cry. She tried to kick the ground in front of her in frustration, but her foot contacted something else instead.

"OW! What the…"

The princess looked down at a brown-haired tactician lying in the grass, eyes closed and unconscious.

"So the first time you trip over him, and this time, you kick him? You seem awfully abusive to your husband…" Chrom joked. Lissa simply rolled her eyes, too excited by seeing the love of her life once again.

"So, what do we do with him?" Frederick asked excitedly. Lissa turned to her older brother.

"Yeah, Chrom, we have to do something…"

"Well, I have no ideas. What do you propose we do?"

"I…I dunno!" Lissa declared, grinning widely as she saw Nathan's eyes slowly open as he stared up at the two.

"I see you're awake now," Chrom smiled.

"H-hey there!" Lissa timidly added, resisting the urge to jump all over her husband.

Chrom offered the man a hand, while joking, "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know…"

As he helped up the tactician, the group, and Nathan, all noticed that the purple mark of Grima that was once on his hand had now vanished. Once Nathan had stood up, Chrom looked at the man with a fond smile.

"Welcome back. It's over now."

The moment felt surreal to the tactician, grinning widely and excitedly as he looked around, realizing he had made it back.

"I…I'm alive!" He cheered, laughing to himself. It was a great feeling.

He then turned cautiously to Lissa, who was bearing into him with her gaze, unsure of who would talk first.

"You didn't re-marry, did you?" The tactician asked, earning a slap on the head from his wife.

"You idiot!" She scolded loudly. "Of course I didn't re-marry! What kind of question is-"

"Oh, good." Nathan interjected. "So I can still do this."

The tactician pulled Lissa into a tight embrace, locking lips with her. Lissa quickly melted into the man's arms, squeezing him back.

"Erm…" Frederick coughed. The tactician and Princess blushed, remembering that Frederick and Chrom were still standing right next to them.

"Er…sorry about that…" Nathan sheepishly laughed, but Chrom waved it off.

"It's been a year, you've at least earned yourself one free pass…" He joked.

The tactician winked playfully at his brother-in-law, before turning to Lissa. "Oh yeah, I asked for a favour from Naga for you. She's actually pretty cool. Anyways, check your hand."

Lissa raised an eyebrow at her husband, before her eyes widened in surprise and happiness upon seeing the brand of the Exalt, now surfaced on the back of her right hand.

"N-Nathan…how…"

"Oh, you know…I pulled a few strings for ya while I was dead. Figured I should." The tactician replied, pulling his wife into a hug again as she cried, now overwhelmed with happiness.

"Now then, shall we head home?" Frederick muttered cheerfully. "I'm sure the will be ecstatic to see you again…"

Once the foursome headed back to Ylisstol and their castle, Nathan caught up on what had happened since he had been gone (After getting back Mystletainn of course, as he had been quite eager to know the fate of his blade).

Lon'qu had taken over as the East-Khan for Basilio, with the old warrior finally retiring and marrying Flavia, who stepped down from her position as well. The two still resided in Ferox, giving their advice and aid to Lon'qu whenever he needed it. Chrom and the others were called upon whenever needed to represent Lon'qu as his champions to protect the man's position as reigning Khan. And while Maribelle certainly didn't enjoy the cold weather, but after seeing the pay her husband was making, she managed to overlook it.

Donnel had gone back to living on the farm with his ma, bringing Nowi and Nah to live with him, who quite enjoyed the quiet lifestyle, which offered plenty of room to roam.

Ricken had taken over one of the main divisions within the Ylisstol army, now a feared sage general who was small in stature, but powerful far beyond his years. He and Panne made for quite the force on the battlefield.

As for Chrom, he decided to enter retirement once the war had ended, with Lucina taking his place as Exalt. Morgan had assumed Nathan's duties as tactician, and the new duo was quite effective at filling in for the two.

Frederick had retired as well, and had plans to head to Wyvern valley to build a home with Cherche, which he had decided he would only do after Nathan's return. Gerome and Cynthia, who had gotten married since Nathan had left, had left for the valley to live together a few months before.

"So, they're married now, huh?" Nathan mused. "Owain got anyone? And how did Morgan and Yarne work out?"

"Well, Owain has no plans for marriage, from the sounds of things…" Lissa told the man, "But not long ago, Yarne proposed to Morgan."

"…And?"

"She said yes! It's pretty exciting, I freaked out when she told me about it!" Lissa told the man with a huge smile on her face, as the group had finally reached Ylisstol once again, and were nearing the Castle.

"Well, at least I won't miss the wedding!" The tactician replied.

Frederick turned back to the others, very excited that they had made it home. "I'm going to send out messages to all the other shepherds," The man told them. "We'll have a feast tonight, in honour of the return of our Grandmaster tactician, slayer of Grima!"

As the man raced off into the castle, Nathan turned to Chrom and Lissa. "Deep down, I suppose he never changes, does he?"

The trio laughed as they walked into the castle grounds once again, for Nathan, the first time in forever.

The first thing the tactician noticed was a sparkling golden statue of himself and Chrom, standing side by side with their blades drawn.

"That's a…tad much, don't you think?" He asked the Exalt, who chuckled.

"Frederick's idea," He replied. "I would certainly agree with you on it being excessive…"

Nathan sighed. "It's nice to see he's been spending our finances wisely…"

"Now then," The Exalt muttered, turning to the two, "I'm going to head inside. I'll catch up with the two of you later!"

Nathan smiled, waving to his best friend and brother-in-law as he walked off. He then turned to his wife as the two entered the castle together, and were instantly tackled to the floor by a certain very excited boy and girl.

"FATHER!"

"DADDY!"

Nathan laughed as he slowly managed to get up, Morgan and Owain watching him intently with massive grins on their faces.

"You…you're back! My eyes do not deceive me!" Owain sputtered.

The tactician nodded to his son. "Yes, I suppose I'm alive again. That's what it seems like…"

Nathan looked excitedly at Morgan, seeing the ring on her finger. "…And you! Daddy's little girl is getting married! I can't believe it!"

Morgan blushed heavily at her father. "Y-yeah, it's pretty exciting…"

The tactician spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with Morgan before engaging Owain in one of his 'staged duels', where the two fought with dramatic flair and made up techniques being used to spice things up.

"Eeyargh! Thou strikest swiftly with that ebony blade, Owain dark…" Nathan muttered, pretending to writhe in pain as Owain stood over his father triumphantly. Lissa and Morgan clapped and cheered as the tactician and his son took a bow for their 'performance'.

"We'll catch up with the two of you in a bit, I've got to wipe off all my sweat from that…" Nathan told his wife and daughter. "Those may look like fun, but they really are a lot of work!"

The two walked off as Nathan wiped his face with a towel, looking to his son. "So, what about you? Any special women in your life you're planning on proposing to?" He teased.

"Actually, father…" Owain muttered.

"Yes?"

"…I decided I want to travel the world. There is still so much out there, so much for me to do…my sense of adventure, keeps telling me to go out there and explore! What do you think?"

Nathan smiled fondly at his son. "Do it." He told the boy. "We'll miss you greatly around here, but you're still so young…you need to get to see the world before you settle down anywhere."

Owain's eyes widened in surprise, as this was not the response he expected. "Y-you truly believe that?"

The tactician shrugged. "The world is a big place," He muttered, "And frankly, I don't see why you wouldn't want to explore it."

"T-thank you, father!" The swordsman stuttered.

Nathan winked at the boy. "Just remember, no matter where you go, no matter what happens…your mother and I will always be proud of you. And you can always come home. Always."

Owain couldn't hold himself back any longer, tackling his father in a hug. "I…I promise…I'll make you proud!" The swordsman declared, starting to cry. Nathan wrapped his arms around his son.

"I know you will, Owain. I know you will."

Once the two reached the bustling dining hall, Nathan spotted an older gentleman trying to talk to Lissa, who was seated at the front of the room at the table for the royalty of the castle. The Princess was clearly not enjoying the company of the man, angrily yelling at him from the looks of it.

"Is that…?"

"…A nobleman." Owain answered. "Ever since your death, they've been coming around, trying to woo Lissa into marriage…it's almost comical, considering that they all get turned down without a seconds' thought from mother…"

Nathan smirked. "Head up to the table, Owain." He muttered. "I think I'll give this man a nice little surprise…"

Nathan slowly walked up behind the Nobleman, who was still trying to convince Lissa that they should marry.

"Oh, come now, milady, your precious husband has been gone for so long! He left you all alone, never to return!" He argued.

"For the last time, NO!" Lissa yelled back. Nathan tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Can you not see I am busy-" The Nobleman began to snap, before his eyes widened in shock as he saw the smiling tactician of legend.

"E-er…sir Nathan…"

"Hi! You're kind of in my way, this is my seat here…" He teased. "Oh, and never talk to my wife again."

"M…milord…my deepest apologies…"

Nathan flared up his ignis ability, decided a fake show of force would be a bit of fun to put the man in his place. "If I were you, I'd start running…" He joked as his eyes turned dark purple and he reached for his sword slowly, with a smug grin on his face.

The man stumbled backwards, speechless, before rushing out of the hall. The soldiers and others all gathered in the hall let out a raucous cheer as the man bolted away, with Nathan sheepishly raising a hand to the cheering soldiers and castle workers as he took his seat.

Chrom stood up, raising his goblet. "I'd like to propose a toast!" He bellowed. "To Nathan, who made the ultimate sacrifice to save us all, and has finally returned to us!"

"TO NATHAN!"

The tactician wolfed through his meal pretty quickly, getting around to talking to many of the soldiers who were also eating in the hall. Some, he knew and had met before, and some were newbies who were awestruck at the chance to meet the tactician who had now become a legend across the land.

He also caught up with a few of his former fellow shepherds who were still at Ylisstol, so excited to get to see them again, all the while making him even more eager to catch up with the rest of the group, who were all making the trek to Ylisstol to see their friend once again.

Once supper had ended, Nathan was asked as to what they should do for the rest of the night. The tactician thought for a minute before remembering the perfect idea.

"What about having a ball?" The tactician proposed, quickly winking at Lissa, whose eyes lit up at the idea.

Chrom shrugged. "Gather the musicians, and let's head to the ballroom, then!"

The idea was well received by the others, the room being packed to the brim with soldiers and former shepherds who had made it in time, swaying about the room.

Nathan and Lissa held each other tightly as they moved to the slow, calm music.

"I told you I'd keep that promise," Nathan teased, beaming at his wife.

"Well…I suppose you did, I bit later than I would've liked, though…" The Princess replied with a giggle.

The two danced together well into the night, content as they were locked in each other's loving embrace. After a while, Lissa yawned and buried her face in Nathan's chest.

"…Does that mean it's bedtime?" The man joked. Lissa responded with another yawn as she nodded, pulling the tactician with her off the dance floor.

"I've been waiting an entire year to share a bed with you again, so quite frankly, I'm very eager…" She confessed with a giggle.

"I'm half confused, are you implying 'making Morgan' type things, or…?" Nathan asked.

Lissa laughed loudly, snorting as she did. "No, no! We'll leave the kid making for once you've been around again for a while. Besides, we've got baby Owain for you to catch up with…"

"Where is that little rascal, anyways?" Nathan asked curiously. "I was up in our room to get changed earlier, and I didn't see him…"

"Oh, he rooms with Morgan now." Lissa explained. "He still has the crib, but he can talk a bit, and walk, so he's old enough to be over there…and I wasn't in any state for parenting while you were gone, quite frankly."

"Ah," Nathan replied, before seeing their room down the hall. "I think this is our stop, milady." He joked.

The two entered the room as Nathan carefully placed his cloak on the chair at his desk, stripping down to his underclothes as he and Lissa hopped into bed together. The Princess happily snuggled up with her husband, and it was just minutes before the two had drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Nathan sleepily opened his eyes as he could hear Lissa softly muttering things. He turned to the woman, seeing her starting to kick about as tears rolled from her closed eyes, as though she was having a nightmare.

"Nathan…no…please don't go…" He was able to hear the Princess mumble, so he quickly shook her awake.

"Hey! Hey, Lissa, what's wrong?" He sleepily asked, yawning as he did.

"I…I had a nightmare…" She confessed, tears still rolling from her face. "I always have the same one…it's that moment when we were on the fell dragon and…and you were covered in all that blood…I thought I had lost you, forever…and then you disappeared, and I really thought…t-that I would never see you again…"

Nathan sighed, pulling the weeping Princess into a tight hug. "Normally it would've been you comforting me from a nightmare," He mused. "It's alright now though, Lissa. I'm here, and I promise, I won't be leaving anytime soon."

Lissa nodded slightly as she pulled herself as close as she could to her husband, and quickly fell back asleep yet again, snoring away.

"Never again…I'll never leave you again." Nathan sleepily muttered, before he drifted back to sleep with his wife.

The two did not get the luxury of a long sleep, however, as they were quickly awoken by Morgan and Owain a few hours later.

"Can we…help you with something?" Nathan yawned.

Morgan laughed. "Not exactly daddy, but we figured you might want to watch the sun rise…it has been a year since your last one, after all…"

The tactician thought for a moment before smiling at his daughter and son as Lissa woke up as well, sleepily sitting up next to her husband.

"Yeah, actually, that sounds pretty nice, Morgan."

The four quickly made their way out onto the balcony outside of Nathan and Lissa's room, and looked on in awe as the sun peeked it's way over the hills, shining down on the kingdom.

Nathan smiled as he stood side by side with his family. It was finally over, after all the fighting, all the wars, and all the bloodshed. And while his family and friends now had separate paths, their experiences together would be something they would never forget. The tactician sighed contentedly, putting an arm around Lissa and pulling her close to him.

"I…I've made it. I'm home."

The End

Wow. That's really all I can say. This has been such a fun adventure, writing this story, and the one previous, and I'm so excited but also sad to see it finally done. Please let me know which ending you prefer, the first one or the 'extended' version!

Thanks so much to everyone for their support over the years ,I'm going to take some time off but look for some new stuff to come after fates if you know what I mean ;) (Cough OWAIN Cough)

-Nate