The first update to my account since 2015. Don't worry, I will still update The Soldier and The Clone, I have a chapter almost done. School left me really busy, and since I just played Fire Emblem Awakening (and since Fire Emblem Fates is coming out in the USA the day after I write this), I thought I'd do a Robin x Lucina fanfiction (the pairing I used in my first play through). Other pairings include Chrom x Sumia, Cordelia x Henry, Sully x Gregor, Lon'qu x Panne, Ricken x Nowi, Donnel x Olivia, Stahl x Maribelle, Lissa x Gaius, Vaike x Tharja, Libra x Miriel, Inigo x Cynthia, Morgan x Yarne, Gerome x Kjelle, Severa x Owain, Brady x Nah, Virion x Cherche, and while it is impossible in the game, Frederick x Emmeryn. I am considering Kellam x Say'ri (Don't know why), but if I do it, it won't happen for a good number of chapters. The chapters will go in chronological order, but I will jump around and do a bit of non-canon or OOC (because I feel like it) and if you disagree, well, this IS my story. Also, not all pairings have formed yet in Chapter 1.

Chapter 1

(Shortly after flaming ships, Say'ri already recruited. Lucina is the only 2nd gen currently recruited.)

Camp was loud and crazy. In other words, like any other day.

Ricken and Nowi were running around acting like children as usual, while Maribelle stood to the side, turning up her nose at such childishness. Cherche, Cordelia, and Sumia were tending to their flying mounts, while Virion, Frederick, Stahl, Sully and Gregor tended to their horses. Lucina barely managed to avoid an ice ball from Nowi as she walked through the main area of the camp, past Libra having a conversation with Miriel in words that Lucina couldn't even begin to understand. She briefly heard Donnel and Olivia singing some song about a swan and burning towns and Tharja threatening to turn Vaike into a toad before entering the main tent.

Lucina found Chrom, Lissa, and Robin in the tent, eating and talking amongst each other. Chrom and Lissa looked like they were doing well, while Robin looked like he was tired out of his mind. Father did always joke about how he always overworked himself, Lucina thought as she sat down at the table with them.

"Really, Robin, did you have to stay up until 2 AM researching Grima?" Chrom laughed at his best friend's crazy obsession, but Lucina was actually quite impressed. She admired the fact that he so diligently tried to ensure her father's safety.

"If there is anything I can do to make sure that you don't die, then I will do it, Chrom. Oh, gods, I sound like Frederick." Lissa laughed like a crazy loon. "Oh, Lucina's face when you made that joke was PRICELESS! Even THAT joke she doesn't get!" Lucina stared at the ground, a little bit embarrassed by this statement. "Which reminds me! I have a bit of an… awkward question to ask you." Lucina paused, puzzled, as Chrom and Robin did synchronized eyebrow raises.

"Do I… have any children in your future?" Lucina froze at this, just as her father and the tactician did. Lucina didn't know whether it was a good idea to tell her about stuff like this, especially when they might still find Owain in this time. However, Lucina knew that even if she politely requested not to answer her aunt's question, Lissa would just beat the answer out of her.

"Yes, you have a son, Lissa. His name is Owain." Lissa squealed at this news and had a bit of a freak-out before asking, "So Owain, huh? What's he like?"

"Well, he is kind and noble, and very good with a sword. However, he can be a bit… exuberant." She smiled a little as she recalled her cousin's wild spirit. "He is utterly obsessed with… naming swords."

Lissa was puzzled by this. "Naming swords?" Lucina nodded, while Robin resisted the urge to laugh. Chrom, meanwhile, ducked out of the tent briefly, then ducked back in.

"I'm afraid we must cut this conversation short: a nearby village is under attack." Robin groaned and stood up, walking with Chrom out of the tent, moving rapidly towards the edge of camp as they spoke.

"I need to plan our approach carefully. Which town is it that's being attacked?"

"A small village around 8 leagues from Wyvern Valley called Sage's Hamlet. The gang leader's name is Gecko, and he is well capable in combat. There is a farming area to the east-"

"Which is where we will approach from. The fences may prove useful for archers and mages to attack from, while not limiting our fliers."

"And that is why I have you here, Robin. Brilliant as always. What next?"

"Once we break the front group Cherche and Virion will sweep left and take out anyone ransacking the south part of the town."

"Yes, a perfect honeymoon for the newlyweds." No-one was really surprised when they announced their engagement, and Robin had been Virion's best man at the noble bow knight's wedding, meaning he had now been the best man of two different Shepherds of Ylisse (the other being Chrom, of course).

"Indeed. However, I will probably send Gaius, Lissa, Stahl, Sumia, and Maribelle with them to provide support. They can sweep in and meet you and I in the center if they aren't met with resistance."

"Making me fight away from my sister and wife again, huh? Is this your extended way of getting back at me for the wedding night thing?"

"Fine, Sumia can fight with you, but I'm still mad at you." Robin could not forget the fact that he walked in on the bride and groom getting in the mood.

"One day I'll walk in on you making sweet love and then we'll be even." Chrom immediately sensed that this statement would come back and bite him in the butt one day.

"I hope not. Anyway, Cordelia, Henry, Ricken, Nowi, Donnel, and Olivia will sweep the north houses and also sweep in as necessary to join the rest of us as we move down the center. This will form a pincer motion."

"Sounds like a plan." Chrom stood at the front of the Shepherds, Falchion in his belt. "Alright, everyone, let's go."

"Fear not, you most noble citizens! I, Owain, a scion of legend, have come to save you all in your hour of need!" Lissa's son swung his sword extravagantly as Gecko just groaned and yelled, "Someone shut him up already!"

Lissa gasped audibly when she heard this. "Owain? Is that you? It's me, Lissa!"

Owain's face went through a series of emotions ranging from shock to excitement to joy. "Mother! It's really you! I missed you so much!" He ran to Lissa and hugged her tight, half laughing and half crying. "Wait, you knew my name and who I was! That means one of my cousins probably joined you! Was it Lucina or Cynthia?"

"Me." Owain looked up to see Lucina standing behind his mother the war cleric. Lucina silently gave him a warning look for revealing the name of Lucina's sister. "It's good to see you, cousin, but there's no time for a reunion now. You can go with your mother on a side sweep through the town."

"I thrill at the opportunity to fight alongside my mother and other heroes that I could never stand beside in my time! Onwards, my friends!" Owain charged to the southwest with Gaius, Stahl, and Maribelle in tow.

"Wow, Lucina. You weren't kidding when you said he was exuberant." Lucina laughed as Lissa ran to join her group. As Lucina went to join hers, she realized that everyone was paired up with someone for combat except her. Oh gods, what if my sudden appearance messed up his planning?

"I didn't assign a battle partner to myself, so you can just fight by me." Lucina whirled around to see Robin readying an Arcwind tome and a Levin Sword.

"How did you-"

"Tacticians are trained to be perceptive, you know. I could easily tell that the paired combat had concerned you. Now come- we must hurry." And at that, they charged.

For all of his bragging, Owain did prove to be very capable in combat. When two myrmidons and a barbarian charged at him, he deflected one sword, ducked the barbarian's axe, and kicked the second myrmidon. He impaled the barbarian through the chest, swung his axe around to block the first myrmidon's sword, who was then slashed at the chest by Stahl. Owain turned to finish off the other myrmidon, but he turned to only see his mother's axe through the man's neck.

Meanwhile, three different Pegasus knights swooped down on Lucina and Robin. Lucina managed to knock one Pegasus rider off her mount, while a well-aimed Arcwind sent another spiraling down. The third slashed at Lucina's back, but Robin pulled her out of harm's way, very close to his own body. She reddened in the face at this sudden unexpected close physical contact in a way unusual to her character and demeanor. He is- very handsome… Lucina thought as she looked right into Robin's eyes.

They stood there for a full five seconds before hearing Panne say, "Humans pick the most inopportune times to express affection." At this the two jumped apart, their faces shifting from slight pinks to scarlet reds before they turned their attention back to the battle as the Taguel tossed Lon'qu up into the air to take down a Wyvern.

Owain reached Gecko with Lissa following close behind. "Argh! Why won't you just die!?" Gecko charged at them while yelling, "Ignore the enemies! Just find the treasure and run!" He slashed at Owain's legs, but the son of Lissa dodged the attack. Owain then rained down blows on Gecko, who blocked with his own sword. Taking advantage of a good opportunity, Gecko slashed upwards quickly, knocking Owain's sword out of his hands. Laughing evilly, he jumped back to take deadly aim and put an arrow in the swordsman, but got a hand axe in his shoulder instead.

"I ain't going out like this! If I go down, I'll take your Exalt with me!" Owain grasped Gecko's silver sword and aimed to decapitate him, but Gecko had the vantage that he needed to get one shot off at Chrom.

"Chrom, look out!" Robin dived in front of Chrom, taking the arrow in his own shoulder. He grunted in pain as Lucina ran to him. "Mine… It's all… Mine…" was all Gecko could say before he lost his head.

"Robin, are you alright?" Robin pulled the arrow out of his shoulder as blood poured out. "You idiot! Why would you pull out the arrow without any treatment first?" Lucina ripped off a section of her sleeve and pressed it on the wound as Maribelle rode to them.

"I can slow the bleeding, but that wound will need to be sewn shut. I can cast a sleep spell on you later and seal it." Maribelle raised her staff and slowed the torrent of blood to a slight trickle.

"No need. Gaius can do it now." At those words, Gaius walked over, removed a needle and thread from one of his many pockets and began to sew up the wound. While he did this, Robin proceeded to talk to the others.

"Is everybody okay? I haven't seen the people who I sent down the right flank."

"They're helping evacuate. A couple people got minor injuries, and Virion's horse was shot, though not fatally. The worst injury was yours, Mr. I-can-have-my-Wounds-Sewn-Up-While-I-talk-casually." Cordelia slapped Robin on the face lightly, which resulted in Lucina throwing Cordelia ten yards across the square.

"Relax, Lucina. She was just joking. Leave the over-protection of important Shepherds to Frederick." Frederick just rolled his eyes at this, since he was well used to being called over-protective.

"Wait, Teach is an important Shepherd, right?" Tharja pulled Vaike to the side and started telling him that someone with the brain capacity of a toad was most definitely not important.

"Speak for yourself, Uncle Chrom. I don't think I'll ever eat again." Owain, the newest semi-officially hired Shepherd, sat with the group, cleaning his sword with the fur on his belt.

"So you're my sister's son, huh? Your father clearly taught you how to use your sword well."

"We can talk about that later. I'm going to go check on Donnel's group. I think I sometimes give him more enemies than he can handle. The man so quickly switched from a weak villager to the Mad-slayer." At this last statement about the sword-wielding hero, Robin walked towards Donnel's group.

"Seriously, though, he didn't shed a tear or even wince as Fa- Gaius sewed up his wound. Was he always so tough?"

"As far as his battlefield demeanor, he has always been on-task and tough, but he is still cheerful, which is why he is so popular among the Shepherds. He can seem a bit unpleasant, I guess, but he once explained why he never even winces."

Owain gave him a curious look. "What is this tale of the master tactician of Ylisse that I have not heard? Pray, do tell!"

"You do talk exuberantly. But very well, I will tell you. It was after we were escaping Plegia shortly after your aunt's death…"

"We have to strike back immediately, Robin! They will pay for killing my sister!" Chrom was in hysterics now that the battle was over, repeatedly stabbing the corpse of a dead Plegian in rage.

"Chrom, stop! We can't just charge off into a vengeful battle. Take time to heal your wounds and for everyone else's wounds to heal. You could die, and Lissa and Sumia don't need another heartbreak."

Chrom began to get angry at this man, this insolent tactician, for being so calm and unaffected, not by wounds, or by the death of one of the people who welcomed him most when he joined the Shepherds. He was too cold and emotionless, and was amused by Chrom's suffering.

"Easy for you to say! You don't care about anyone! You have no family, nothing to protect, and you just shell up and give the world the cold shoulder, never letting anyone in, no matter how great the tragedy or how bad the injury!" A crowd was beginning to gather, consisting of all of the shepherds, from Frederick to Tharja, both of whom had to be held back to keep from defending the party they sided with.

"You think it's funny to see us suffer? To sit back, grab a nice piece of jerky and watch the world burn? Well, guess what? Not everyone is an unbreakable, emotionless shell like-" Chrom was cut off when Robin punched him in the face, hard. Chrom toppled to the ground wheezing as the entire crowd around them gasped at this bold action. Robin had never lashed back or struck Chrom during the entire Plegian campaign.

"You think I don't feel pain, Chrom? You genuinely believe that I give everything and everyone the cold shoulder? You say I have no family and nothing to protect, but I do have a family to protect. YOU are that, Chrom. So is Frederick, and Gaius, and Kellam, and… Tharja and every other Shepherd of Ylisse. And do you know how hard it is to win a game of chess? Now try winning it without losing any pieces.

"I would love to just break down and weep for days on end. I would like nothing more to wallow in self-pity, but this army needs me- and clearly YOU need me- to be the one who helps you forward and not hold you back." At this, he pushed through the crowd to their makeshift camp, saying, "Don't you all have things to do right now?"

"Father, he actually punched you? In the face?" Lucina had never been told about this, and was kind of shocked at how out of character this seemed for the cheerful tactician she had gotten to know a little bit over the last few battles.

"Yeah, he brought me back to my senses, and it made me understand just how much he gives to us." As if on cue, Robin walked up and joined the group that sat on the steps of the nearest house.

"I just finished talking to Donnel." Robin had a shell-shocked look on his face.

"Oh, Teach knows that look. You just saw or heard something that put you in shock. Last time that happened was when you walked in on Chrom and Sumia's 'wedding celebrations.'"

"Wait, Robin walked in on you and Mom on your wedding night?! You never told me that!"

"Nothing you need to know about, Luci." Chrom stopped Lucina from asking any new questions. "So Robin, what did Donnel say that got you into the terror face on this fine afternoon?"

"Increase the number of times that I will have been a best man at a Ylissean Shepherd's wedding to 3," Robin replied, still with the horrified look on his face.

Maribelle, Cordelia, and Sumia, who had just joined them, squealed in delight at this news. "Donnel is getting MARRIED? Wait, who is he marrying?"

"I think I know, Maribelle," Lucina said, turning all heads except Robin's to face her. "Olivia, right?" Robin nodded, still with a terrified look on his face.

"OHMYGOSH! I mean, I knew that they sang together, but they're ENGAGED? Oh, they're so cute together!" Cordelia was taking her own turn to Fangirl.

"I'm actually a little bit worried about another little dancer crawling around." Everyone except Lucina and Owain chuckled at this statement, while the cousins exchanged terrified glances.

"That reminds me," Chrom added as he turned to face Owain as the other groups of Shepherds approached them, "I have to ask, Owain, who is your father? I would really like to know who my brother-in-law is." Everyone dropped to dead silence after this question.

"Yeah, Owain, who do I marry in the future?" Owain gulped and blanched, not knowing what the best way to answer this question was.

"I-uh… can't tell you that, Mother, it would ruin the timeline and might keep you from actually falling in love and going through everything the way you're supposed to." He actually began to look like he was about to break down into tears, but Lissa didn't notice.

"Come on, Owain, tell me right now or I will hug you so tight that your eyes bug out! I deserve to know who your father is!"

"NO, Mother! I will not tell you who my father is and that's that!" His face was crimson with anger now, almost to the point where he didn't notice something brush his back. He did, though, and he whirled around in anger as everyone stared at Gaius as he looked intently at the tiny object he had in his hands. The anger vanished from Owain's face and everyone stared at Gaius, some trying to see what he held in his hands, others starting to add 2 and 2 together.

"Look at this, Princess," Gaius said with a somewhat shocked look on his face as he tossed the tiny object to Lissa: a bag of chocolates. "Look what it says on it: Gaius's chocolate confections, then the words for my brave, heroic, funny son." Multiple people's mouths were hanging open, Lissa had her hand over hers, and Owain was suddenly fascinated with the ground.

"I did promise myself that I'd only make my signature never-melting chocolate confects for my children and no-one else. But why haven't you eaten any of them yet? They're delicious and I don't make those for just anyone."

"I haven't eaten any of the chocolates because they're for your heroic son! I act like I'm strong and heroic and good with a sword, but I abandoned you when you needed me most, Father!" Owain was now at his reddest yet, letting out the emotions he kept pent up inside of him for so long.

"You loved Mother more than any dessert or anything in the entire world, but you could never marry her in normal life because the royal court would not allow the Duchess of Ylisse to marry the most wanted thief and assassin in Ylisse. That didn't stop Mother of course, as she convinced you to run off and return to thievery as she tagged along. But when the Risen came in droves, there was not much we could do.

"You and Mother actually managed to fight them off for a month as we stayed in the Farfort on our own, even finding a priest to do a marriage ceremony, but we still eventually were overrun. On my 16th birthday, as you gave me that bag of chocolates, the fort was overrun by hordes of Risen. You and Mother were fighting them off at the gate as we tried to escape when I brought the two horses over that we still had. I helped Mother onto the first horse and got on with her, thinking you would get on yours and we would try to ride back to Yllistol. But you walked over to me and whispered the words that appear in all of my nightmares: 'Keep your mother safe, for the words on the bag are true.' Then you spurred the horse on while I tried to keep Mother from jumping off and helping you. I held her tight, and as I looked back, the world flashed black and red again and again while you cut down Risen by the handful. But then a hooded figure approached you, kicked you to the ground and snapped your neck."

"I failed to even protect Mother after that! She lost the will to keep going without you and she couldn't fight off the Deadlords that attacked us at the Longfort. She died in similar fashion to you, pushing me away as you ran off to your death."

"And you think that makes what I wrote on the bag false. You know something, Son?" Gaius placed his hand on Owain's shoulder, looking into his own eyes. "The world you lived in is a cruel one, even more than the one that you're in now. Even managing to find your cousin Lucina and get here, plus fighting off these bandits, proves that you're worthy of everything that I wrote on that bag of candy. So why don't you share a bit of chocolate with your old man and the Shepherds in this cruel world, huh?" Owain nodded, the smile finally returning to his face. Gaius hugged his son and Lissa tight as the Shepherds cheered, until Vaike yelled, "Teach still wants that chocolate!"

"Okay, we can share the chocolate. You first, Blue, then Blue Jr and Bubbles." Gaius began to distribute chocolate to the Shepherds, who ate the chocolate happily while generally giving Gaius and Lissa a hard time, until a letter fell out of Owain's belt.

"Oh? What's this, Son? Will this reveal that you have siblings or something?" Gaius started to open the letter before his son snatched the letter out of his hands.

"That's actually for Grandmaster Bubbles over there." Everyone gave Owain and Robin weird looks, for they have never heard the tactician being referred to by that title before.

"Whoa, Owain, take it easy. I am nowhere close to earning the Grandmaster's shoulder-guard. Besides, that title can only be bestowed on someone by the King of Plegia or the Emperor of Valm, and as you know, Walhart is my enemy, and Donnel killed the Mad King." Robin was actually swelling with pride on the inside, for he now knew he would one day attain that rank. "Anyways, what's in this letter that you brought me?"

Owain had a somewhat worried look on his face now, pale and without Gaius's signature smile. "It's… oh, crud, I didn't think through how I would explain this… It's… the last page of your mother's diary."

The shell-shocked face was back now, more intense than before. The Shepherds watched intently as Robin snatched the letter out of the swordsman's hands. He broke off the wax seal and removed the parchment from the envelope. He unfolded the paper and started reading, slowly walking towards the side of the group of Shepherds that was closer to camp as all of the Shepherds looked on. After a few seconds, he dropped the envelope to the ground.

"Owain… Thank you." His eyes looked sad and terrified at the same time as he said this. "Chrom, I'll meet you at camp to talk about the Valmese campaign." He stuffed the parchment into his pocket and started walking quickly away from the group.

Lucina picked up the envelope as the other Shepherds began to whisper among themselves about what they had just seen. As she looked closely at it, there were tearstains on the envelope. She turned to find and talk to him, but saw that he was already nearly out of sight, running down the path back to the camp.

That's all for Chapter One! Please Review, it helps a lot!