Fire Emblem: Awakening—A Future Intervention

Full Summary: Rather than a lost amnesiac, Morgan has arrived in the past on a mission to help her father. Unfortunately, she has arrived earlier than intended and accidentally divulged Marth's little secret shortly after the failed assassination of Emmeryn. Not only that, but the other children from the future begin to show up early as well (woops, was that her fault too?). Now, how will these future children effect the course of Awakening? And how will the Shepherds react to their children from the future arriving before any of them are even in a relationship?

Because of the mechanics of Fire Emblem: Awakening, the child characters couldn't really show up until you had paired off their parents. But I always thought is would be more interesting if they showed up before their parents got together. This story is here to answer the question of how that would play out. Poor Shepherds.

Chapter One

The city was beautiful. The early morning light glistened as it reflected off the white stone walls of the castle. The shadows of night had nearly vanished from the buildings, leaving only enough darkness to make the color of the tiled roofs stand out that much more in the sunlight. Smoke was already curling lazily into the air from a number of chimneys, despite the early hour. The whole town was fresh and clean and beautiful. It was almost nothing like the Ylisstol that Lucina remember from her ruined future.

Standing on a hill a few miles from the city, the blue-haired time traveler couldn't couldn't help but stop and admire the view for a few minutes. In her time the capital had been marred by constant wars with the Risen. It was a bit of a shock to see the city so clean and fresh.

The events of the previous night only served to increase the beauty of the scene before her. Thanks to Lucina's intervention the assassination of Emmeryn had been foiled and the Fire Emblem had not been stolen. Additionally, her father had made it through the ordeal without any injury—where he had suffered a lasting one in her timeline. The thought of changing her father and aunt's fates only served to highlight the warm glow of the new dawn.

Lucina had left Ylisstol castle in the wee hours of the night, getting away as soon as she was sure everyone was safe and that the Plegian assassins had been fully dealt with. Not that she'd gotten away quite as quietly as she'd intended. Chrom had caught her before she could leave the castle. And while seeing her father always made it harder for her to slip away, she had to admit that she was glad that he had spoken with her. Telling her that he trusted her and that he didn't think her talk of averting a terrible future was crazy had left her practically glowing, though she had been sure not to show it.

In all, this morning seemed the dawn of a whole new world to Lucina—one filled with long-lost hope. Certainly war loomed on the horizon for Ylisse, but with the Exalt alive and the Fire Emblem safe, the war seemed more of a formality to her. It was something her father could handle on his own as he had in her time. Now it was time for the lost princess to disappear and let history play out. She could go seek out her friends who had followed her into the past but had become separated in their trip through the Outrealm. Hopefully they had not arrived too far apart from her.

Lucina had returned to her inn room in the city after the battle last night and managed to catch a few hours of shut-eye. Though she wanted to get away from the city quickly, she wasn't foolish enough to travel at night without any sleep. As much as she wanted to spend time with her past father and mother, it was dangerous. Now that she had been unmasked, the more time she spent around Chrom, the greater the chance became of him noticing the Brand of the Exalt in her eye. Fortunately it was not easy to spot, but given enough chances he would surely notice it. Additionally there was the dull ache of longing for her family. It always intensified around the younger Chrom and it was probably better to avoid him, lest she be overcome with emotion. Fortunately, she had been able to avoid interacting much with her mother—sparing her some of the heartache that would entail.

She had left the city before the sun had even risen. Her horse had been kept at the inn's stable and she'd retrieved as soon as a stable boy was up to ready it for her. The chestnut-colored creature was no massive charger for riding into battle, but more of a pack animal for traveling long distances with. While she knew how to ride, Lucina was a bit more comfortable fighting on her own feet. Still, the horse was invaluable for moving around the land, and what few possessions the time-traveler had were easily stored away in her saddle bags. She had ridden out of the city, but chose to walk the horse for a while when the sun began to rise. It gave her the chance to enjoy the beautiful sunrise over the capital.

It was as Lucina turned away from the city view to continue her journey that she noticed something out of place. There was a dark, uneven shape one the ground that was too soft-looking to be a rock. Taking a curious step forward, the blue-haired princess realized the shape was actually a person lying on the grass. The dark colored robe on the prone figure had originally given off the appearance of a large rock, but, with the sun now firmly risen, the robe was revealed to be not just solid dark gray, but to contain a touch of blue or purple. Not a natural color for stone.

"Hello?" Lucina called out as she approached the figure. There was no response—the figure appeared to be asleep. However, sleeping in the middle of a grassy field was a ridiculous idea and Lucina immediately began to fear the worst. Had bandits left this person here after being knocked unconscious...or being slain? "Hello? Can you hear me?" she called again quickly covering the distance to the prone figure.

The person turned out to be a girl no older than Lucina herself. Maybe younger. Fortunately, she was breathing. Lucina shook her gently. "Hello? Are you all right?" she asked, but a soft moan was her only response. "Can you he-ah gods!" Lucina had touched the unconscious girl's cheek only to discover it was surprisingly hot. She quickly pulled off her glove and pressed her bare hand against the girl's forehead. She was burning up with a fever.

Glancing around, Lucina quickly realized that she was still closer to Ylisstol than to any of it's surrounding villages. Additionally, this girl needed medical treatment. Simply taking her to an inn would not be enough, and finding a staff wielder outside of the city could prove difficult, especially as she didn't know what type of curative magic the girl would need. The princess let out a soft sigh as she realized she knew of only one place where she could be sure of getting the girl adequate medical treatment and someone to look after her while she recovered (it wasn't as if Lucina carried around large amounts of gold for an extended inn stay). That was, of course, the castle she had been trying to get away from. Certainly Chrom and Emmeryn would be able to take care of this girl, but that meant going back and speaking with them again.

After a few more attempts to rouse the unconscious girl, Lucina finally gave up. She led her horse over and carefully loaded the girl on to it. The only real way to secure the girl was to sling her over the horses back right behind the saddle like a piece of luggage. Fortunately, the girl seemed to be ill rather than injured—this kind of riding would likely make injuries worse—but it was the only method Lucina had for transporting her back to the castle. After securing the girl with leather straps, the princess carefully climbed up the saddle herself. She turned the horse back towards Ylisstol castle and used her heals to prod the animal into motion. Fortunately, Lucina had chosen to buy a steed with a good. smooth ambling gait. This would allow her to reach the castle fairly quickly without bouncing her passenger too harshly.

Ylisstol castle was set back from the capital city on top of a hill. Civilians could evacuate to the castle in times of danger but the castle and city did not actually share any walls in common and one had to travel a short ways from one to reach the other. This separation meant that it was unlikely anyone in the city knew about the attack on the castle the past night. The information would eventually leak out, of course, but by then a public statement on the matter would already have been made.

More importantly, though, this meant that Lucina could travel straight to the castle, skipping the city entirely. This time, instead of seeking out the hole Chrom has once bashed in the wall, she rode up the the gate. With the sun out now sneaking in would have been much harder, and carrying an unconscious person would have made it virtually impossible. As such, she would have to try her luck at the gate. As she approached the guards signaled her to stop.

"Sorry, but the castle is closed," on of the uniformed men said. Neither guardsman made any particularly threatening gestured with their spears, but Lucina couldn't help but notice that they looked far more alert then usual. That was to be expected in the wake of an assassination attempt on their queen. "No one in or out. You'll have to come back later," the guard informed her.

"I have business with Prince Chrom," Lucina informed the guards. "If you will send a message to him I am sure he will command that I be let in."

"The prince is currently busy," the guard replied. "If you wish to leave a message we can have it delivered to him when he is free."

Lucina groaned in frustration. She had know she would likely have to rely on getting Chrom to have the guards let her in, but she hadn't expected to have trouble sending to him for his permission. "How about Princess Lissa then?" Lucina asked. "She could also authorize you to open the gate for me."

"The princess is also indisposed," the guard said flatly. "If you wish to leave a message it will reach her when she is available."

"I'm in a bit of a hurry here," Lucina said, forcefully maintaining her temper. She gestured to the unconscious girl slung over the horse behind her. "My companion needs medical aid beyond what the city healers can offer. The prince and princess would both wish to help her. Can you not at least ask one of them?" While Lucina wasn't sure what kind of medical aid her new charge required, the healers in the city would likely be very basic staff users, more capable of healing cuts and bruises than curing illnesses that could render one comatose. And she had no doubt that Chrom and Lissa would be more than happy to give aid—both for the sake of the unconscious girl and as thanks for Lucina's aid the night before.

"Look there are important things going on in the castle and we can't just-" the guard began but was cut off by a side door opening and another soldier coming out to them. The new guard clearly out ranked the first two, judging by his uniform. Additionally, his beard and hair were showing signs of graying, marking him as notably older than the others as well.

"Let her in," the senior guard commanded the first two.

"But sir! We can-"

"She was here last night. Helped Prince Chrom defend the Exalt. The Exalt, the Prince, and the Princess would all be furious if you turned her away. Let her in," the senior guard ordered. Lucina breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the guards who had helped in fending off the assassins were still on duty and for once, Lucina was relieved to be recognized.

Suddenly kowtowed, the guards quickly let her in. She'd chosen a small side gate that could easily be opened and closed instead of the large main gate specifically so that letting her in would be less of an ordeal. "Thank you," the future princess said to the senior guard who accompanied her in through the gate.

"It's us who should thank you," he replied. "I don't know all the details of what happened last night, but I saw you defend the Exalt from those damned Plegians. We owe you for your aid."

"Thanks aren't needed," Lucina told him as she slid off her horse. "But this girl needs medical attention badly. The castle is the only place I know with sufficiently able staff users."

The guard nodded and waved over a group of clerics who carefully unloaded the girl off Lucina's horse. "We'll get our best healers to take care of her," the guard said. He motioned for her to follow the clerics and then fell in line beside her. A stable boy took the reins of her horse and led it off. That wasn't a real problem-Lucina knew the castle well and could easily find the stables. "They will likely need to question you about her to figure out the best treatment. I have already sent a message to Prince Chrom about your arrival," the guard continued.

Lucina nodded thankfully, while hiding her inner disappointment. She had begun to hope she could be in and out before her father even realized she was there. But she could hardly explain to the guard that she didn't actually want to see the prince. "I found her collapsed in a field and was unable to wake her. I'm afraid I don't know much else," she said.

After a short walk through the castle the group arrived in the medical wing and entered a room where a group of healers was already waiting for them. The clerics carrying the patient carefully placed her on the bed. The guardsman nodded for her to enter, then took up position outside the door.

"Hi Marth!"

Apparently "our best healers" included Lissa and Maribelle, along with a few other magic users. Lissa had probably not stuck around for all the strategy meetings Chrom would now be attending. Indisposed indeed.

"Hello, Lissa," Lucina replied. Maribelle stiffened slightly. It was probably at the lack of honorifics, which Lucina just realized she should have used in addressing the princess.

Fortunately, Lissa didn't care in the least. "So you really are a girl, huh?" Lucina gave a somewhat shy shrug in response. Lissa chuckled. "Oh well. And I never really got to thank you for saving me earlier!"

"Think nothing of it," Lucina told her. Apparently Maribelle didn't really like that response either, but who knew with that woman?

Fortunately Lissa turned to the unconscious girl on the bed. "So what is wrong with your friend here?" she asked.

"I don't know," Lucina replied. "I found her passed out and couldn't wake her. She was running a fever. I didn't really have anywhere else to bring her for help."

Lissa nodded knelt beside the bed, placing a hand on the girl's forehead. "Yeah, that's a pretty high fever," the princess announced. "Get some cold water and some wash cloths," she ordered and a couple of the lower ranked clerics scurried off to comply. "Does she have any sort of poor constitution or tendency to be sickly?" she asked, turning back towards Lucina.

"I don't know," the time-traveler replied. "I don't actually know her. I found her collapsed and alone and couldn't very well leave her there."

At this, Lissa blinked several times before laughing. "Gods! You sound just like Chrom!" she announced giggling. Lucina was caught off guard by the comment. It was one of the greatest compliments you could give her—though Lissa had no idea it meant so much—but it also worried her. Being linked too closely with her father was something she wanted to avoid. Fortunately, Lissa turned back to her patient and began addressing the other healers. "Let's try a Restore staff for sure. And what do you think? An Anodyne staff?"

"Perhaps an Emend staff instead, darling?" Maribelle suggested, hunching over Lissa.

Lucina was not particularly well versed in the use of staves, but she knew the basics. With the ones used on the battlefield, healing power was the most important aspect of a staff and a staff user. In reality, the healing staves used there were rather basic; they fixed wounds. It was all a matter of how sever a wound was demanding higher levels of healing magic to successfully mend.

Dealing with illness was actually a much more complex matter than healing a wound. There were many more types of staves for treating illness because each one was designed to treat a specific ailment. Magical treatment was largely focused around determining what type of staff or staves a patient needed to have used on them. And, aside from wasting money by using unneeded staff uses, you had to be careful not to use a staff that might have a harmful effect when used on someone who didn't actually need it. The castle medical staff would have the largest collection of staves available to them, where as a local city doctor would likely only have a few of the most commonly used ones. Additionally, some of the staves would require greater power and skill to use. Of course, there existed some extremely powerful staves capable of healing any (or at least most) illnesses on their own. But those would be incredibly expensive and require and extremely skilled user.

Fortunately, treatment using healing staves was actually quite fast. After a few minutes, and several staff uses, one of the healers announced that the patient's fever was breaking. After a few final examinations, Lissa dismissed the other healers. Lucina was keen to leave as well, but she was sure the guard was still waiting just outside the room and, now that the treatment was over, Lissa had turned her attention back to her. "So. It seems you friend was suffering from some sort of extreme exhaustion," the blonde princess informed her.

"I've never heard of exhaustion like that before," Lucina replied in surprise.

Lissa nodded. "That's because it wasn't just a physical exhaustion, but a magical one as well. Quite a bit more serious. And more dangerous. It's like her natural magic was drained from her. Normally only happens to wizards going to far with their attempts at magic—often from trying to use a tome beyond their abilities. This was way more severe than that usually is though. If you hadn't brought her in she may have eventually wasted away from a lack of energy." Lucina blanched a bit at that. At least it seemed she had been fully justified in bringing the girl to the castle. "We have no idea what could cause something like that," Lissa continued. "So where exactly did you find her?"

"On my way out of the city," Lucina answered. "I spotted her laying passed out in a field."

Lissa gave her the most curious of looks at that, but before she could say anything another voice responded from behind them. "In a field? Maybe she's a tactician. I hear those grow in the fields around here."

A second voice replied, "I may not remember much, but I'm quite sure I wasn't growing in that field."

Chrom and Robin had silently entered the room. Chrom was the taller and more muscular of the two young men. He also had blue hair that matched Lucina's own. He wore a high-class uniform much like hers too, though his frayed cape showed clear wear and tear. The sword on his hip was also identical to Lucina's—owing to them actually being the same sword from different points in time.

Robin was shorter and more wiry. He wore loose clothing with a dark robe over the top. Next to Chrom he looked almost sloppy, though that probably wasn't fair. He had sharp eyes and silver hair, which was a touch shorter than Chrom's.

Behind the two, a third man entered the room. Frederick stood silently behind his lord, hands classed behind his back. His massive plate armor, however, ruined the image of him as a servant waiting patiently.

"Hello, Marth," Chrom said, nodding to Lucina. "I'm surprised to see you again so soon. Even more surprised to hear you used the front door this time."

"Greetings Chrom," Lucina replied. "And I really should be on my way. I'd already be long gone if I hadn't run into this girl passed out in a field."

"Feel no rush to leave on our part," Chrom told her. "We are grateful for the aid you have given us."

"So far you've saved Lissa, Chrom, and Emmeryn's lives. I think at this point even Frederick would have trouble doubting your intentions," Robin added.

The knight in question gave a noncommittal grunt. "I suppose you have—is that our mystery girl's coat?"

The question caught everyone off guard. For a second they all scanned the room looking for said coat. The girl's robe had been removed by the clerics before they placed her on the bed. It now sat draped over one of the chairs in the room.

"Yeah, I guess?" Lissa said. Having wound up the closest to the chair and also having most quickly caught on to what grabbed Frederick's attention, Robin was already moving towards the chair. He picked up the robe, grabbed it by the shoulders and held it up, letting it dangle free. Everyone suddenly went silent. Even Lucina was quite startled. Robin lifted the sleeve of the girl's robe and compared it to his own. The two cloaks were virtually identical.

"Alright...now things are getting weird," Chrom announced.

"It could just be a coincidence," Lissa offered.

"Have you ever seen another coat like it?" Frederick countered.

"Maybe you get them from sleeping in fields!" Lissa argued, practically forgetting the whole point and just defaulting to arguing with Frederick.

Lucina was suddenly very worried. She had only encountered this girl as a matter of chance—or at least so she thought. Was this girl somehow involved in the events surrounding her father? Or worse, in the events surrounding the fell dragon Grima? She was now unsure that bringing this girl to Ylisstol was such a good idea.

"Well, now we definitely have some questions for her when she wakes up," Robin said. Everyone readily agreed.

"You may not have to wait long," Maribelle announced. She had remained by the bed. "Our guest is stirring."

Lissa moved away from the others to rejoin Maribelle by the bed. Before she went though, she turned to Frederick and said, "Now don't going diving right in to an interrogation! Whatever is going on, the poor thing is recovering from quite an ordeal." Frederick said nothing, though he did adopt a somewhat more defensive stance, as if fearing he might need to shield his lord from the girl on the bed.

"Man, magical healing sure is fast," Robin commented.

Lucina was a bit torn. On the one hand, everyone was now focused on the girl, who was moaning slightly as she began to stir. It wouldn't be all that difficult to slip out behind them and leave like she had intended to. On the other hand, she was no longer sure that this girl was some simple innocent in need of help. Staying to hear the girl's story would at least help her decide if there was a new danger to her father.

In the end, her curiosity is what won the day. Lucina continued to watch with everyone else as the mystery girl stirred and finally opened her eyes. "Hello. Are you alright?" Lissa asked gently, sitting next to the girl who mumbled something unintelligible in response. "Easy now," Lissa told her. "You're safe. Just wore yourself out really bad. How are you feeling?" The girl moaned and then muttered something with the word "headache" in it.

"I'll prepare some herbal tea for that," Maribelle said softly, moving away from the bed after receiving a nod from Lissa.

The girl on the bed shook her head a few times as if to clear it and rubbed her eyes before propping herself up slowly. "Easy there," Lissa told her, helping her steady herself.

"'M 'kay," the girl muttered. She finally took notice of the large number of people in the room watching her. "Oh...hi," she said.

For a moment she scanned the faces of the people in front of her. Strangely she'd didn't seem all that alarmed to wake up surrounded by strangers. As a matter of fact, after examining the crowd around her she let out a relieved sigh. "Oh good. I made it," she said.

For her part, Morgan was feeling pretty drowsy. She also felt like a pegasus was tap-dancing in her skull. When the room had first swam into view for her, she had just been glad not to see any Risen around. A pleasant voice calling to her—which had turned out to be Aunt Lissa—was also a relief.

The last thing Morgan remembered from before had been the Outrealm, where she had been traveling to the past. She'd become separated from her friends when they were attacked by Risen. They had fought to hold off their foes so that Morgan could make the trip. She was, after all, the focal point of their attempt to alter history. If she didn't make it, nothing else mattered. But she had been attacked as she summoned the portal to open at the right place in time. She had fired off a magic blast at the Risen, blowing it to ash, but the magic had reacted with her portal. There had been some sort of feedback—she lost her focus. The portal had sparked strangely and then everything had gone black.

In all, it was a huge relief to find herself in front of the people she had been looking for. They all appeared younger as well. Aside from her father's and Chrom's youthfulness, it was her mother that really proved she was in the past where she was supposed to be. Lucina was young, yes, but she was still carrying her version of Falchion on her hip. She had hidden it away soon after the battle with Grima to avoid raising suspicions. Also, she wasn't wearing a mask and was with Chrom and Robin. That was as good of evidence as any that Morgan was in the right time.

It was almost a shame really. Morgan had wanted to arrive extra early and watch her mother play around at being "Marth." But there hadn't been time for that kind of messing around in the Outrealm; particularly after the Risen had attacked. And besides, if she had arrived that early it would have been important to stay hidden and not interact directly with her parents or the others. Oh well.

"Oh good. I made it," Morgan said after scanning the room-full of familiar faces. Her head was still pretty foggy, but at least the headache was subsiding. And the tea Maribelle was beginning to prepare off in the corner would probably help with that.

"You made it?" Chrom asked. "You were trying to reach "Ylisstol?"

"No—ngh," Morgan moaned as she sat up a little straighter. "I was looking for you guys."

"You were looking for us?" Chrom asked in surprise. Morgan nodded and noticed Frederick stiffen and inch closer to the blue-haired lord. Frederick the Wary in action.

"So, who are you?" her father finally asked.

Despite her head swimming, Morgan couldn't help but grin at that. In her opinion, it was one of the best parts about coming to the past. She wanted to savor her father's reaction to having such a huge revelation dropped on him.

"I'm Morgan," she replied, looking straight at her father and smiling. "I'm your daughter."

Robin blinked several times in confusion. "What?" he said dumbly.

"Your daughter," Morgan repeated.

"Um...I...that's not possible," Robin finally replied.

"I don't know," Lissa chimed in. "It's not like you can remember anything anyway."

Robin shot a glare at the princess. "If she was two-years-old you might have a point," he replied dryly. "She's too old to possibly be my daughter."

Morgan had always thought her father was the funniest when his dry sense of humor came out. But right now, he was being a bit on the dense side; couldn't put two and two together. She winced in pain at her headache but still managed to grin. "Well of course," she replied. "I'm your daughter from the future!"

That statement did not have the desired effect. Her father looked at her blankly before turning to share a confused look with an equally bewildered Chrom. The other Shepherds exchanged glances and a bit of muttering. Frederick was glaring at her sternly and Lissa was looking almost... sorry for her.

Had Morgan not still been quite groggy from her ordeal in the Outrealm and from being knocked unconscious, she would likely have added up the pieces more quickly. Had she been more focused on understanding everyone's reactions rather than focused on her disappointment in said reactions, she might have noticed quicker what was wrong with how the past Shepherds reacted. If she had been less focused on being dramatic, she might have noticed that only Lucina seemed to take her reveal seriously. But no. Morgan's mind was foggy, her headache distracting, and her lack of a dramatic reveal discouraging. So, instead of playing sick and confused or passing it off as a joke, she said pretty much the absolute worst thing she could have:

"You know, like how Lucina is Chrom's daughter from the future."

She even jabbed her thumb at her mother, in case anyone didn't notice Lucina there in the back leaning against the wall.

It was then that Morgan realized something was very wrong. Her father stared at her in confusion before glancing back at Lucina as if unsure who she was talking about. The look he gave after turning back around was even more peculiar, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle. Frederick announced that this was all clearly a farce. Chrom kept glancing back and forth between the two time-travelers. But the most telling response, the one that really made Morgan snap out of her groggy state and take notice, was the look of absolute mortification that had passed over her mother's face at that announcement.

"What is she talking about?" Chrom finally asked, turning towards his daughter.

"Uh, I don't...she's clearly delirious..." Lucina stuttered. Her weak refusal was actually more telling than anything.

"Judging by that look you made, you clearly know something of what she's talking about," Robin stated.

"This is completely absurd," Frederick chimed in. "There is no way they are from the future. Perhaps they are in league and—"

"Peace Frederick," Chrom said, cutting the knight off. "What does she mean about being from the future?" he then asked Lucina.

The princess squirmed under his stare. "I...really should leave." Unfortunately for her, Frederick was the one closest to the door. With a single quick stride, he positioned himself in the doorway, blocking any attempts at leaving.

Lucina shot a withering glare at Morgan, who was beginning to realize that is was probably well deserved. She hadn't known there was a point in time where her mother had been unmasked but had not yet revealed her true identity. It also meant that Morgan had not arrived at the correct point in history. She was early.

Chrom started to make a motion towards Lucina but then stopped short. Instead, to everyone's surprise, he said, "Let her pass, Frederick."

"But my lord—"

Chrom held up a hand to silence him. "Since arriving here from where ever she came from, Marth—or Lucina or whatever your name is—has saved my life and the lives of my sisters. I'll not have her pressed for answers she is not willing to give." At this Frederick backed down and reluctantly stepped to the side of the door. Lucina glanced at the open frame warily, as if unsure what to do now that she was actually able to leave. Chrom turned to his future daughter. "I apologize. We got a bit over excited. You needn't reveal anything you do not wish to. You are free to go or stay. We still have some questions for Morgan here. Only..." He hesitated for a moment. "Only, would you mind telling me, is Lucina your real name?"

She hesitated for a minute. Morgan was pretty sure she wasn't the only one to notice the emotions boiling behind those eyes. Eventually, she spoke, "Yes...my name is Lucina."

"Are you really from the future?" Lissa asked. Chrom shot her a stern look, as if to ask what did I just say? but the cleric held up her hands defensively. "She doesn't have to answer or anything. But Chrom, you remember the night we first met her? She came out of that gate in the sky. I've never seen anything like it! I've never even heard of magic like that! If you want to tell me that was some kind of portal to the future, I couldn't argue with you."

Lucina was quiet for a moment and everyone turned towards her. Morgan could tell her mind was racing with trying to decide how to handle the situation—hers was doing the same. On the one hand, interacting with the past any more than needed could be dangerous. Especially considering neither one of them had been born yet. Of course, it's not as if they would disappear if their parents never got together or anything. Sure, no younger versions of themselves would be born, but the two time-travelers were already severed from their futures by being in the past. Nothing done here would effect them, and they would have no future to return to. At least, that was the belief. No one was volunteering to test it.

Still, the damage was largely already done. Chrom would not likely forget Morgan's claim that Lucina was his daughter from the future, nor would her own father forget her claim. And unlike Lucina, Morgan was not free to leave. She would have to answer questions one way or another. Confirming her own identity would all but confirm Lucina's as well. At this point, it might be safer to confirm their identities and then control what information they gave the people from the past. Not to mention the simple fact that it was painful to be around people you knew and loved without them knowing you.

"You don't have to answer," Chrom repeated.

"No I..." Lucina started then paused for a moment. She took a deep breath as if steeling herself up for what was to come. "I told you last night that the assassination of the Exalt and consequential theft of the Fire Emblem would eventually lead to the end of mankind itself."

Chrom nodded while everyone else looked a little more surprised at this news. Lissa gave a, "Wait, what?" while Frederick narrowed his eyes and Robin rested his chin on his hand in thought.

"You said that future had been averted," Chrom said, remembering their parting discussion.

"Yes," Lucina replied. "Had things gone unchanged, several years from now the Fire Emblem would be used in a ritual to revive the fell dragon, Grima."

"The evil dragon the first Exalt defeated a thousand years ago?" Lissa asked.

"The same," Lucina confirmed. "The Grimleal have long wished for the fell dragon's return. However, the Fire Emblem is a key artifact needed for actually reviving him. Had it been stolen last night, it would have eventually worked it's way into the hands of the Grimleal zealots who would use it to finally awaken Grima. Death spreads across the world, following in the fiend's wake. Grima is the source of the Risen. He can create them endlessly. The more who fall fighting him, the more Risen he can make."

For a moment the Shepherds in the room exchanged nervous glances and some quiet murmuring. Finally Frederick said, "And you know all of this...because you're from the future?" His questioning tone said he was not yet ready to believe her, but it was not outright dismissive and he wanted her to explain further.

All eyes turned back towards Lucina. She took a steadying break and continued, "Eventually, when mankind is pushed to the brink of annihilation, the divine dragon Naga revealed that she had prepared a ritual in case of such a tragic situation. It would allow humans to travel into the past and alter the course of history already written. I made the journey with companions, but we became separated and only I arrived at the correct time and place."

"There are more like you?" Robin asked.

"Yes. My friends. My plan was to go search for them now that history has been averted." Lucina gave a wistful smile at that.

"Don't worry! We'll help you find them!" Lissa promised.

"That is," Frederick interrupted, "after our current war with Plegia. And assuming you can offer us some proof to back up your story."

"Frederick!" Lissa screeched, preparing to go on a tirade against the skeptical knight, but Lucina held up a hand to silence her.

"No, he's right Aunt Lissa. It would be foolish to accept my story without proof."

"That's—wait, what did you...?" Lissa trailed off as Lucina turned towards Chrom.

"As...Morgan, yes? As Morgan said earlier...I am your daughter," she finally told him. "If you wish for proof, please, look into my eyes."

"Your eyes?" Chrom muttered, equal parts confused and dumbstruck. Though a part of him had already guessed at the truth, having it confirmed was still a bit of a shock. Lucina took two steps towards him and looked up at his face. He gazed back, meeting her stare. "What am I—oh!" His eyes widened in surprise before he leaned forward to look his future daughter straight in the eye. "You have the Brand of the Exalt in your eye," he said, earning gasps from the others in the room.

"That and this sword are all I have left of you...father," Lucina replied softly. "That's how there can be two Falchions, one is from my—urk!" the time-traveler let out a surprised grunt.

Chrom had already figured out how the twin swords had come to be and he had already decided that he believed her. Instead of letting her continue on trying to sell her story to the group, he had reached out and grabbed her should in order to pull her into a tight hug. "It's alright, Lucina," he said softly into her hair. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much."

"Father..." Lucina whimpered. Her face had shown confusion when Chrom had suddenly hugged her, but soon tears began to well up in her eyes. Finally she broke down and began to cry against his chest while he stroked her hair.

"Frederick," Chrom said looking up from his daughter. "She's telling the truth."

"Understood, milord," the knight replied. "I'm sorry for my rudeness."

"Don't be," Lucina said, finally pulling away from Chrom and wiping the tears from her eyes. "You were only looking out for Father's well being."

"Father..." Chrom muttered.

"Oh!" Lucina exclaimed, only just realizing she had reverted to calling Chrom her father. "I'm sorry. That...that's weird, isn't it? Would you rather I call you Chrom?"

"That..." the blue-haired prince started before pausing for a moment. "No, it's fine. It is weird, but not in a bad way." Lucina gave a happy nod to that.

The room was more or less silent for a few moments before Lissa commented, "Well now I have so many questions!" A murmur of agreement ran through the room. "Firstly" she started, "who is y-"

"Firstly," Robin cut in over Lissa, "Maybe we should question our other guest claiming to be from the future."

And with that, all eyes turned towards Morgan. Gee thanks, Dad! she thought with a groan. Outwardly she gave as awkward smile and a little wave. "Uh, yeah. Hi. No point trying to take it back, I guess. My name is Morgan. I'm Robin's daughter from the future," she said wryly.

"You know her?" Chrom asked Lucina after a short pause.

"No," she replied. "Actually, I know for a fact that Robin never had any children." This caused another murmur to pass through the room.

"But she knew who you were," Robin pointed out. "Even your name."

"That...yes, I'm actually very curious about that too," Lucina replied. "How did you know who I was?"

"Well that's...err, I want to say simple, but it's actually kinda complicated," Morgan replied bashfully. "You see, I'm from the future—just not the same future Lucina is from."

"How does that work?" Lucina asked, folding her arms and giving Morgan a rather pointed stare.

"It's like this," Morgan began after a second of thought. "You and your friends traveled back in time to change history, yeah? But now the future you are from no longer exists. You can't go back to it. Only those of you who traveled to the Outrealm by Naga's ritual still exist from that future. You follow me?"

Lucina gave a nod of understanding. Robin also nodded as if he was following along, while Chrom just shrugged as if to say "Sure."

Morgan continued, "So, now the only future is the one where a bunch of time-travelers have arrived and changed things. You guys more or less succeed and save the world. Happy endings for everyone! And now we have a future where there are two Lucinas—you, who are nearly the same age as your father, and baby Lucina, who hasn't even been born yet."

Morgan paused to take a sip of the tea Maribelle had given her. She was wide awake now, and any remaining headache was likely caused by her own slip up, rather than her physical condition. "So you see," she went on, "That's the future I am from. One where Chrom and Father don't die while you are young and where Dad actually does have a child. That's why I know all about you," she gestured to Lucina, "while you know nothing about me. I grew up in a world where there were actually two of you."

"I...guess that makes sense with what I know of time travel," Lucina finally said. "But if we won and saved the future, then why are you here?"

"Well..." Morgan knew that question would come, but she wasn't really wanting to deal with it. "I'm going to have to be a bit vague about that." Clearly that was not an answer Frederick could accept. He began to object, but Chrom silenced him almost immediately. "I didn't say I wouldn't tell you anything!" Morgan added quickly. "I just can't fully explain it all right now. But, to make it simple, in a few years from now, you guys will be victorious over the forces of Grima. At that time, Chrom will have a choice. He can either seal Grima away—as his ancestor once did, or he can slay Grima for good." At that point, Lucina looked like she wanted to interject, but Morgan raised a hand to cut her questions off. "The problem," she continued, "is that slaying Grima forever required a sacrifice to be made. One that Chrom was not willing to make. So instead he sealed Grima away."

At this point, Lucina did interrupt, "I highly doubt Father would be so unwilling to make a sacrifice to save the world."

"That's true," Robin agreed. "I get the feeling he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice his own life if it meant saving the world."

Chrom blushed a bit at the way people were standing up for him, but Morgan raised her hands to cut them off. She countered, "Sure, Chrom would be willing to give his life. I don't doubt it. But would he be willing to sacrifice someone else?" The room went silent at that. "Again, I have to be vague here, but while Chrom is the one who has to make the choice, he's not the one who has to pay the price. As such, are you really that surprised that he might choose to take the sealing option—as the first Exalt once did?"

Whispers ran through the room. "Well...I suppose that would make more sense," Lucina conceded. "But that still doesn't explain why you are here."

"Right. So. Sealing away Grima is supposed to be a long-term deal," Morgan continued. "Like a thousand years. But something went wrong. Grima had made some sort of contingency plan before he was defeated. So, a bit more than a decade after he was sealed away, some of his followers were..." Morgan trailed off as a painful expression passed over her face. After taking a moment to gather herself, she went on, "Well, they were able to revive Grima early." The act had involved them capturing her father while he was unawares and sacrificing him to revive Grima. In her future, Robin had been the first casualty of the Fell Dragon reborn. Pushing unwanted thoughts and emotions from her head, Morgan continued, "So then we were all back to square one. Grima, the Risen, the end of the world. It all just came a bit later than in your time." She nodded to Lucina.

"You make it sound like we had defeated Grima before," Chrom commented. "Could we not do it again?"

Morgan shook her head. "Yes, you actually did manage to defeat Grima the first time. But when he returned he took everyone by surprise. Several...important people died before we really knew what was going on. People who had played key roles in defeating Grima the first time." The Shepherds had, of course, tried to follow and rescue her father when he was kidnapped. But they had been wholly unprepared to find themselves facing a a revived Grima. Several had died, and, while Chrom had survived, he never fully recovered from the sudden loss. Drawing strength from his bonds was what had allowed him to triumph the first time, but the sudden loss of those bonds was a wound more crippling than any other.

"So then," Frederick spoke up for the first time in a while. "You are here to insure Lord Chrom chooses to slay Grima regardless of the cost this time?"

All faces turned back to Morgan once again. "Well kind of," she replied. "See, we found a way around it. I have a...method that will allow you to slay Grima for good without having to pay so severe a cost. I can't say it will be entirely free...but no one will have to die for it."

"And that method is?"

Morgan shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to be vague here. You guys are not ready for that. Until you discover for yourselves how to slay Grima in the first place, I can't explain it to you."

Frederick folded his arms and grunted, clearly unsatisfied. The room fell into silent contemplation for a few minutes. Finally, Frederick spoke again. "So, do you have any proof to support your story?" Everyone looked at him quizzically. He shrugged and motioned to Lucina. "She has the Brand of the Exalt, a second Falchion, was witnessed arriving through a magical portal, predicted the attack last night, and has protected every member of the royal family in battle. Your only proof thus far is that you knew Lady Lucina's identity." Everyone exchanged glances and Lissa opened her mouth to berate him, but he held up a hand to stop her. "I'm sorry milady, but while having one person from the future does make her story possible, perhaps even plausible, it is far from proof."

"He does have a point." Surprisingly, it was Morgan who replied. " I don't exactly have a legendary sword or mystic birthmark to validate my lineage or anything." Well, she did have the birthmark, but that would raise entirely different questions she wanted to avoid. "And you all just met me. So, Frederick, what do you think would constitute as good proof?"

The wary knight blinked in surprise as the question was turned back around on him. But he quickly went into critical thinking mode, as did Robin and the others. How could they prove or disprove Morgan's story?

"She not only knew of me, but also knows quite a bit about Grima and the future," Lucina commented. "She most like is from the future. At least a future."

"Perhaps," Frederick agreed. "But is there anything to prove she is actually Robin's daughter or that her story is true?"

"Well it's no magic sword," Lissa noted, "But she does have a jacket just like Robin's. You're the one who first pointed that out, oh Frederick the Wary."

Before the knight could reply, Morgan interjected, "Oh it's not just like Father's jacket, it is Father's jacket. He gave it to me a few years ago. Brady hemmed it for me because it was a bit too long, though."

"In that case, let me check it over," Robin said. "It may not be the Falchion, but if it has the same stitches and patches mine does, that's pretty good evidence."

"Anything else?" Chrom asked as those gathered there considered what proofs they could ask for.

"How about you tell us your mother's name?" Lissa suggested. "That might help."

"None of you know my mothers name to know if I'm lying," Morgan replied. "Besides, it is probably safer that I don't tell you that." She had a distinct feeling that the question had been more about getting information out of her than proving anything.

And Lissa's follow up question confirmed that. "Okay. How about you tell us who Lucina's mother is and she can confirm it?"

"How about not," Lucina cut in. "I would have rather not revealed my identity until well after Father was married and my younger self was born—if at all. It's probably better if you all don't know in advance."

"Yeah, I have to agree," Morgan said. While the looks everyone was giving showed that Lissa had now firmly planted the question in their minds, they seemed to accept the reasoning behind the silence. "I actually arrived here earlier that expected. I was supposed to arrive after you already knew who Lucina was and had also met her other companions. I didn't intend to give her identity away."

"Maybe you should have confirmed that before you said anything," Lucina commented. She didn't appear angry, but she clearly had a bit of a grudge at Morgan for giving her away.

"But I did! Where's your mask?!"

"...what?"

"Your mask!"

"I lost it during the battle last night. Father and Robin found out I was a woman, but that was all," Lucina explained, slightly confused.

"You never told me you lost your mask early!" Morgan practically cried. "I thought you not having it meant they knew who you were."

Lucina let out a slight murmur of understanding at the cause of Morgan's confusion, but before she could say anything, Robin spoke up. "Well, it seems this is definitely my coat." Everyone turned to him. "Look here," he said, holding up both coats. "It's the same stitched up tear. And there is another one here. Morgan's coat has more repairs than mine, but the tears and marks are all either there, or that part of the coat has been completely replaced."

Chrom nodded. "That's pretty convincing. Anyone need more proof?"

Frederick shuffled, clearly not satisfied, but it was actually Lucina who spoke up. "I have an idea." She turned to Morgan again. "You say you know me and my friends well from your time. Can you tell me something about us? Something personal. Anyone from the future could know who my mother is, but if you were part of the Shepherds family, you should know some more personal things about us."

Everyone considered this before looking to Morgan. "Hmmm. That's a good idea," she said, thinking for a moment. "What was it he used to say...? Oh yeah. 'Pretty Princess Puddin-pie' wasn't it?" The whole room gave Morgan the most confused look yet. Except for Lucina. Lucina's face had gone bright red. But Morgan continued, "And of course there was Pega-Pon-mghf!"

With speed that took everyone by surprise, Lucina clapped her hand over Morgan's mouth. "Not. Another. Word." she stammered, her face burning. The rest of the room just stared at the two of them as a surprised Morgan nodded slowly and Lucina eventually released her. After taking a deep, calming breath, Lucina finally said to he rest of the room, "I think she's telling the truth."

"So," Lissa said after an uncomfortable silence. "If Pretty Princess Puddin-pie here is convinced, so am I."

Lucina's face went even redder than before. Robin snickered, but tried to pass it off as a cough. Maribelle let out an unladylike snort of laughter, which she quickly tried to hide. Chrom gave a good-natured chuckle while turning a bit red himself. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had given her the nickname that Lucina found so embarrassing.

Recovering himself, Robin walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed Morgan was sitting up in. "So you're really my daughter then?" he asked. She nodded and he reached over and ruffled her hair. "Sorry for all the interrogation," he told her. "This is all pretty weird."

"You don't know the half of it," Morgan replied, giving a grin as a few tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing this, Robin reached over and (somewhat awkwardly) pulled her into a hug. As they pulled away, Morgan mutter a quiet "Thanks."

"So," Frederick finally said, breaking the silence. "Where exactly do we go from here?"

"We should obviously keep this whole thing under wraps," Robin spoke up. "I don't think we want word about time-travelers spreading." The whole group immediately voiced agreement to that.

"We'll need to tell Emm," Chrom stated. "Besides her, there are the rest of the Shepherds. We should limit the knowledge to just them." He thought for a minute. "So what will you two do?" he finally asked, turning towards Lucina and Morgan.

"What do you mean?" Lissa asked, confused at Chrom's question.

"Lucina said she had intended to go find her friends," he replied. "She obviously doesn't want to give away too much information about the future, but now the cat's out of the bag, as it were." He turned back to the time-travelers. "You are totally welcome to stay here with us. We are currently gearing up for war with Plegia, but afterward we would be glad to help you find your friends."

"It's true that a big part of why I tried to avoid you was to prevent you from discovering who I was," Lucina said after a moment. "But if I were to stay here there are many other things I would have to be careful not to reveal about the future. Mine may no longer exist, but I would like to allow your lives to play out as much as possible without interference."

"And, frankly speaking," Morgan added, "the more we are here, changing things, the less accurate my knowledge of the future will be. Although..." she trailed off for a moment. "On the other hand, things have already changed, even if just slightly. It might instead be safer to stay close by to keep an eye on things." She groaned. "This is why I had intended to arrive a few years from now. I'm not sure what the best course of action is."

"That is a fair point," Lucina conceded, furrowing her brows in thought.

"Not an easy choice," Robin noted sympathetically. He could tell that this was hard decision—one where there was no real way to tell what the right thing to do was. Both possibilities had benefits and drawbacks.

"Actually, would it be possible for us to have some time to speak privately?" Morgan finally asked, motioning to herself and Lucina.

"What for?" Lissa asked.

"So we can discuss what to do without worrying about saying something you guys shouldn't overhear," Morgan replied. "We're kind of in the same boat now. And there are things I can tell her that I can't really tell the rest of you."

Lucina nodded. "She has a good point. And I have some questions for her that I can't really ask with all of you around."

"That makes sense," Robin admitted. "But how a bout waiting a few hours on that."

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"Because you look ready to keel over any moment now," he told her.

It wasn't until he said something that Morgan really noticed how tired she was. "I'm fine," she said anyway, sliding her legs out to get out of the bed she had been placed one—only for Lissa and Maribelle to stop her.

"Oh no. You are staying in bed," Lissa told her, physically pushing her back.

"You are recovering from an extreme magical exhaustion," Maribelle added. "You could have died. You need rest."

Robin nodded. "Get some sleep and we will talk later. You and Lucina can discuss how best to proceed then."

Morgan began to protest, but Lissa cut her off, swinging a staff in her face. "Nope. You are going to rest. Now," the spunky princess said. Only as the tip of the staff began to glow did Morgan realize it was a Sleep Staff. And then her world went dark.

"You...are kind of scary sometimes, Lissa," Robin commented as Morgan fell away into a magic-induced slumber.

"And don't you forget it!" she replied. "So what now?"

"Well, first off, you, Lucina, and I are going to go have a really awkward chat with Emmeryn," Chrom stated. Lucina began to protest but he shook his head. "You're not getting out of this one," he told her. "After that, we'll meet up with the rest of the Shepherds."

"I'll keep an eye on Morgan," Robin said, brushing a lock of hair away from her sleeping face. "Come get me when you are ready to head over to the Shepherds."

"Sounds good," Chrom agreed. "And you Maribelle?"

"I still need to make a few rounds with the castle healers," she said. "After that I will go the the rest of the Shepherds. I shall refrain from telling them anything until you arrive."

"Thanks for covering my rounds," Lissa told her.

"Anything for you, my sweet."

"Sounds like a plan," Chrom concluded. "Let's go."

Author's Notes:

It has been a long, long time since I have published anything on here. I used to write a bunch way back in the day (though I rarely finished). However, this story has been gnawing at me for a long time. I'm a huge (and old) Fire Emblem fan and I also love time-travel stories, so Awakening was right up my ally. Finally, I decided to actually start writing this sucker out. Updates may be slow (I am quite busy), but I intend to make sure they are all significant in length and (hopefully) in quality. Suggestions are always welcome, though many of the pairings are already decided (there are some I am still unsure of, though). Thanks for reading!