Chapter 4

"Vaike, are you kiddin' me?"

"What, Sully?! I thought you were gonna wait for Teach when you said 'we're leavin'!"

"'We're leaving' means precisely that, Vaike."

"Well, whatever! How'm I supposed ta know that, Freddie?!"

"Frederick. It's Frederi-"

"Hey, who's the new guy?!"

"Hi Teach, it's- er, nice to meet you, I guess."

"Heeyyy, lookit that!" The tanned, blonde man grinned and turned away from the grey-haired tactician, facing the rest of the Shepherds. "Teach's teachings have left Ylisse!"

Sully groaned from the other side of Vaike. "Ugh, now look at what you've done. He won't shut his stupid mouth for another freakin' year now."

Robin couldn't help but chuckle, though keeping half his attention on Frederick's all too narrowed eyes. "You kidding? He'll forget within an hour."

"Ha! Yeah that's… uh, that's probably true." And with that, Sully was once again wearing that suspicious look. Robin quickly maneuvered himself in front of her.

The procession they lead on the stone path to the Ylisse common grounds wasn't exactly normal, but by Shepherd standards, Robin supposed it could pass for standard fare. Most of the usual Shepherds lead the line with Robin (and Vaike, who'd come sprinting out the gate as they approached, totally prepared to catch up to the main group who'd left half a day earlier), while a couple others (Chrom and Sumia) stayed in the rear to keep an eye on the still-unconscious prisoners and keep the muzzled wyverns as calm as possible.

The concept of dragging back several (supposed) renegades and three wyverns into Ylisse was naturally met with some initial concern. Frederick, as usual, was most vehement, but Chrom was too benevolent to do anything but take them back. "Especially," he had said, tossing an odd look at Robin, "without… er, Robin's advice."

Honestly, Robin was throwing him weird looks too. He wasn't totally sure how to react to hearing his best friend say his name like… that.

Soon enough, the group arrived at the front gates of Ylisse. Cherche and Virion were entrusted with the prisoners and wyverns to send them to the back entrance to the shepherd's hovel (Which itself had a back door entrance to the dungeons), while the rest of the group proceeded into the hustle and bustle of Ylisse.

It was truly surreal from Robin's perspective. Not only because 'Oh my gods, I'm back in Ylisse', but also because he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to find his way around town blindfolded anymore. The Anna shop normally on the left was directly opposite on the right (and empty, sadly), his favorite bakery was nowhere to be seen (instead replaced with a crummy seafood stand), and the trash heap was replaced with an antique shop (apparently, some things never change).

"Something wrong?"

Chrom's guarded tone was another odd thing to hear. "Er, uh, yeah," the gray-haired man stammered, stuffing his nostalgia away as best he could. "It's just a little different than I remember. Was that always a seafood stand?"

The Exalt nodded, absently smiling and waving at a group of commoners. "Mm. Pretty terrible, though."

"Probably 'cause the man's a baker," Robin muttered. Chrom's eyebrows rose a degree.

"Yeah? Is that what he is in your world?"

Robin hummed an affirmative, ignoring Frederick's scoff. Everyone knew about his general theory (that he came from another world) because Frederick had all but forced him to explain just how he knew so much about the others. Although few still really believed him (minus Chrom, naturally), they decided it was enough of an explanation to allow him into Ylisse.

He'd refused to explain any more than the basics, though. He wanted backup before he dove into exactly why he had teleported there, since he was fairly certain he knew why he had... and their Robin hadn't.

Back in the present: "He's a damn good one, too."

"Maybe I should tell him to try baking…"

"That's not just an abuse of authority, that's just weird."

"So… par for the course for me, right?"

"Heh, exactly."

It didn't occur to either of the men that they'd been verbally jousting like old friends until Frederick let out a pointed cough. They both veered away from each other.

The awkward moment was short lived, as a castle guard standing on a battlement of the inner castle shouted a greeting down to the Shepherds. Adopting his friendly business face, Chrom moved to the front, exchanging a few formal words with the guard before he signaled to raise the gates.

As they waited for the gates to open, Robin found himself standing next to Frederick. "I'm not gonna lie," he said quietly. "I kind of thought you were gonna follow the prisoners into the dungeon to make sure they were locked up securely."

The brown-haired knight nodded. "Normally, I would. But I have a bigger concern to worry about."

"…Me, right?"

"Indeed. I do not know if what you say is the truth, but you fight exceedingly like… our Robin." The taller man's eyes narrowed and he looked down half a foot to meet the grey-haired tactician's stare. "And if there is one thing I learned from my many wars, it is that a tactician is always the one you should watch."

The men held eye contact for a few long seconds until the grinding, creaking moans from old chains holding the gate caught both of their attention. The sounds were a hardly a good sign of their durability, but hearing a gate that didn't sound like it was oiled and prepped for a battle was music to Robin's ears.

The group made their way inside, passing the saluting guards (who made Robin just as uncomfortable as he remembered) and following the plush red carpet trailing a line down the hall. Robin squinted as they entered a hall with sunlight pouring in from its many windows, painting the room a bright orange.

One flight of stairs and several maze-like corridors later, the Shepherds (plus Robin) faced a massive, oaken door, with a woman and man's voices filtering through it.

"Well, have you tried talking to them about it?"

"W-well, no, not exactly-"

"Then why are you coming to the castle with a request like this?! Go and talk to your neighbor before coming here! Next!"

The door opened slightly with a creak that almost covered Chrom's sigh, and a terrified, small-looking man came rushing out. He bowed as soon as he caught sight of the returning shepherds, muttering apologies about something or other, until Chrom's arm on his shoulder made him look up.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a tired smile. "She doesn't really mean all that. She shouldn't be listening to requests in the first place right now."

The man listened hesitantly until Chrom's voice soothed him into relaxing his tense frame. "Thank you, Exalt, I'll keep it in mind!" He still rushed out of the palace, but with a much lighter gait than before.

Robin couldn't help but marvel at that. He'd seen hints at Chrom's easy-going friendliness earlier (and he'd known it personally during the wars), but the Chrom he'd known was a little awkward around people he wasn't familiar with. So this Chrom was either good friends with all these people, or he'd coached himself into being at ease with all his subjects. And honestly, neither was less impressive.

However, the tactician realized with apprehension pooling in his stomach, only the royal family could listen to requests from the townspeople. And since he couldn't see Lucina doing that, then the woman in there must be-

"I said next! Come on, who's sending the rest of them in?!"

At that yell, the other shepherds looked at each other with similar grins, some of them bumping shoulders and snickering. The only ones who weren't were Frederick and Chrom, who traded vaguely exasperated glances.

"…I suppose we knew this was going to happen, didn't we?"

"Yes, milord, we did."

They shared a small smile before Chrom pushed the gates open and the Shepherds slowly filtered into the room. "We're next, Robin. Couldn't you just listen to me once and not listen to requests when I'm not around?"

"Why would I do that?" Robin couldn't see the woman yet, but the huff was still clear in her voice… though, her tone had softened at (apparently) her husband's voice. "It's not like you'll ever get around to doing them by yourself."

Just before the next statement was uttered, Robin (as the last member of the current party) entered the room. So he wasn't sure if his sudden freeze and jaw drop was more because of the sight of the woman, or Chrom's chuckle of "Well, maybe because you're pregnant?"

The woman was a carbon copy of Robin. Everything, from the cheekbones to the eyes to even the coat were the same. Their hair was admittedly different, with hers long and tied back in 2 long pigtails, while Robin's was shorter and messily scattered about his head, but they shared the exact same grey coloring. But with only that exception (and a few marks and scars on each of them), Robin could have sworn he was staring in a mirror.

Well, except for the gender. …And the immense swelling of the girl's stomach.

Chrom hadn't been joking. His wife was really was pregnant, and it showed. As Robin could have guessed from his own slight frame, pregnancy didn't take well to his "twin." There were certainly smaller women out there, but this poor woman was still as round as an irritable balloon.

And yes, she was irritable.

"I am tired of everyone holding that over my head like some sort of… of… excuse! I'm totally capable of doing things on my own, you know!"

"I do hate to contradict you," Frederick began with a deceptively gentle smile, "but you did just sent a farmer packing who was merely asking for help with a small land dispute."

"Yeah, you chewed 'im out like you'd caught him crapping on the castle steps," Sully added, smirking.

Robin's returning glare was fierce, but significantly mollified by Chrom making his way behind her and rubbing her shoulders. "Don't get me started – a little left, Chrom, left - on you two, I have enough nonsense to deal with- no, a little to the right now, I said right – already, alright?!"

"Well, that's for sure." Her husband chuckled behind her. "A lot of stuff you shouldn't be dealing with."

"Don't start with me either, Chrom, I only have so much patience, and- Ahhh!" She clutched her stomach and glared down at it. "Morgan…! I swear, if you keep kicking me, I will train you twice as hard as the first time! A tactician never forgets!"

"Aw, come on, Mom, that's just wrong!" a voice chirped from another side of the room… a male voice.

Robin's stomach sunk even further.

A blue-haired boy strolled into the room from another hallway, grinning at his Mom and nodding at the Shepherds. An all-too-familiar purple-tinted cape scraped the ground behind his feet, and his face looked similarly familiar… just, a different gender than Robin was expecting.

And any doubt Robin had that this truly was this world's Morgan was banished when his eyes locked onto the boy's; immediately looking for an inconsistency, for a motive, for some exit strategy.

Like a tactician.

Oh, brother.

"Hey, who's he?" The Morgan asked. His Mom followed his finger towards Robin, and she promptly narrowed her eyes.

Robin knew that expression well. Just like he'd get pissed when he missed something… so did she. And with her current emotional state, Robin was pretty sure he knew how she'd react.

"Okay… why did nobody tell me that we had a Plegian hierophant in the gods-damned room?!" She hissed, clenching her fists against the armrests. "Is he part of the-"

"Woah, Robin, take it easy," Chrom soothed from behind her. "I don't think he's a hierophant… or, at least, he's not in league with the current rebellion."

'Current rebellion'…? Robin's mind whirled around that statement. So there really is another faction?

"So? Got anything to say in your defense?"

Robin's irate "twin" dragged his mind back to the present. "'Defense'? The hell are you talking about, I haven't done anything wrong!"

Silence crashed onto the room, gently reminding Robin that he'd just cursed and spoken back to the Exalt's wife. "Uhm…" the tactician stammered. "I mean… innocent until proven guilty?"

Only Naga knows what would've happened next, but fortunately, Robin never had to. At the next moment, a side door to the room boomed open, letting a conversation between two women enter the corridor.

"…I'm serious, Luce, you looked stylish in that kimono. Like, 'jaws-needing-to-be-picked-off-the-floor' stylish."

"D-Do you really think so? I have my doubts, personally. I don't think I can really pull off… what did you call it?"

"'Looking like a million coins'? Trust me, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to cash, girly, and you totally looked the price."

"…Thank you?"

"It was a compliment!"

"Heh, of course, Anna."

At that, two women entered the room. Anna looked just as she always did, large bag of merchandise bouncing on her red-shirted back, and the other girl (obviously this world's Lucina) strolled in beside her, blue hair flowing down her short navy cape and parallel falchion dangling off her side.

The tension in the room must have been strong, though, as both girls quickly quieted upon their entry to the hall. As Lucina's eyes were drawn to the center of attention, the guilty tactician himself, her eyebrows drew down as Falchion (though still sheathed) was suddenly gripped in one hand.

But Robin's attention was on the red-haired merchant, whose eyes widened and jaw dropped as she laid eyes on the tactician.

"Oh Naga… there's no way…"

The room's attention abruptly pivoted to the redhead, who dropped her bag with a heavy clunk and walked in a semi-trance up to the grey-haired man.

"…Robin?"

The rest of the room almost drew a collective breath as the man chuckled and relaxed. "Anna. Though, I'm pretty sure I've never met you before."

"Naga's knees, it really is you, huh?" The merchant stared at him with a look between bafflement and amazement. "No other Robin in our sector can tell us apart. In that case,"

Crack!

The room once again reeled back as a red mark looking suspiciously like a hand slowly started forming on Robin's cheek. He started rubbing it. "I guess I sorta deserved that, huh?"

"I know it wasn't easy, leaving my sister and niece," Anna said, eyes narrowed. "But what you did to your family was unacceptable."

The female Robin's head shot up, though she remained silent as Anna went on. "But I also know why you did it. So, for everyone else that you'll affect in the future…" The merchant drew him into a hug, shutting her eyes as a little smile peeked over Robin's shoulder. "Thank you. Really, thank you so, so much."

"It's okay, Anna," the man said quietly, eyes on the rapidly paling face of his pregnant twin. "I get it. And you're very welcome."

"If I may interject," interrupted the bassoon tones of Frederick, spinning the duo's heads as they separated, "I believe an explanation is in order. Anna, I presume you know this man?"

The merchant girl shot a quick glance at the man, who nodded, flicking his hair as he did so. "I've given them a basic overview, but I haven't discussed exactly why I'm here."

"Gotcha." She nodded and turned to the group. "Essentially-"

"He did it, didn't he?" The female Robin's voice cut over Anna's as she looked at Robin with a pained, pinched frown. "He chose the other option. On Grima's back."

"…Yeah," Anna began, sweeping her gaze around the room as more and more shepherds caught the drift of Robin's comment. "In this world, Chrom dealt the finishing blow, so Grima is merely sleeping. But in his world… Grima is gone. Dead, deceased, kaput. This Robin chose the path of a Grima-slayer."

The room fell silent. Crackling torches were the only noise as all attention was drawn to Robin, now shuffling his feet and avoiding their gazes.

...Well, silent until: "…Jeez," muttered Inigo's lilting voice from the back. "Could they have invented a more ridiculous title?"

"Hey man, I didn't come up with it," Anna shrugged. "Blame the original author for that one."

Chrom's wife cut the two off. "We're getting off track here. You're saying that he killed Grima himself? That his Grima's dead?"

"Yeah." The male Robin nodded. "I'm still here, technically."

"But that's not right! There was supposed to be nearly no chance of returning!"

"Robin-"

"Gods, if I'd known that…"

"Hey, Robin-"

"Dammit, everything would've been-"

Before the woman could continue, Chrom interrupted with finality, gently grabbing her shoulders. "Robin, no! Don't say that! We need you here, all of us, okay? The Shepherds, the Yllisean people, and probably a couple nobles in Valm and Ferox all need your help. Not to mention Luce and Morg and me."

"Luce and Morg and I," his wife automatically corrected in a mutter. "Yeah, yeah, I know… I know."

But Robin knew there was nothing certain about his counterpart's scrunched eyebrows and thin lips, and how her eyes darted away from his.

"…That's all in the past now," the male Robin began, once again collecting all the room's attention. "Right now, it's irrelevant to the current decision we need to make. Which is, I guess, what to do with me."

"Quite true," Frederick picked up on that tack. "I suppose, since you have Anna's support, we can determine that you are not a current threat" ('Current' threat? Robin thought with a mental eye roll) "to Yllise, so you are free to leave whenever you'd like."

"Or," Chrom butted in with his usual tact, "you could help us with our current problem."

Chrom's ever-faithful knight already had stiffened his posture at his master's first word. "Milord, although he may have helped his world, there's no telling-"

"If he's a parallel universe version of my wife," (the male Robin winced a little at that), "then I don't believe for a second that he'd be out to sabotage us or sell us out to the Plegian rebellion."

"What if he wants to go home, Chrom?"

The female Robin's question stumped her husband, as his face morphed into a 'huh, didn't think of that' expression. Meanwhile, the woman turned to her counterpart (with all previous signs of hesitation disguised) with a question written on her face. "We really could use your help, but I don't want to force you into anything."

"…Honestly, I would just like to go home," Robin began slowly. "I really, really would. But…"

He glanced around at the many faces in the room, all morphed into varying familiar, foreign expressions. At the hope in some, the wariness in others, the rigidity and neutrality in a few. And at the people he knew in each of them.

"…I don't think I could go home and just forget about neglecting you guys. And I know Anna- er, my Anna would agree. So," he sat down cross-legged on the floor and clasped his hands together, ignoring the single raised eyebrow from a certain blonde shepherd as he tried hard not to grin at Chrom's lit-up face, "what's the situation?"

The female Robin huffed a bit at the boys' expressions, lips momentarily curling slightly upwards, but continued regardless. "It's Plegia."

And the room's energy died like a match in water.

"After Grima's… defeat, all was quiet for about a year as Plegia began to rebuild itself. Obviously, they were out of most materials, so there was a trading system set up: they would trade a bunch of sea-based goods for lumber and metals. They were being watched over by Ferox; the feroxians were the only people that the Plegians would even think about letting into their territory, since Valm is rather far, and nearly everyone holds resentment towards Ylisse. To this day, it's dangerous to be an Ylissean in Plegia, since the dominant religion still worhips Grima."

"I barely get that," Morgan muttered on the side. "How can so many people still worship that… that gods-damned snake after he almost killed the entire population?"

"It's all about what you know, Morg, and all these people know is that the Dark Dragon is their deity," his mom said, automatically switching to her teacher voice. "And besides that, mind your manners, Morgan! There's a guest here!"

"Actually," the male Robin said, a smile curving his lips as he looked at Morgan. "I'm on the same page."

The boy's head popped up with raised eyebrows to meet the older man's gaze. The surprised eye contact lasted for a second until Morgan gave a little chuckle and nod at the man.

The female Robin's less-than-amused cough snagged both boys' attention. "Anyways, yes, Plegia is still hostile to Ylisse. However, that wasn't much of a problem for a while, since the Feroxians, although allied with us, are… well, they're considered our opposites in terms of how they carry themselves. The Plegians reacted well to that."

"Yeah, they're pretty rough and tumble," muttered the male Robin, scratching his chin. "But, 'for a while?'"

His counterpart nodded. "After the first anniversary of Grima's death, things began to change. There was a massive drought, and as crops died, the Feroxians suddenly faced animosity. Bandit attacks on their and our borders not only increased, but also began to sport a symbol of Grima: carved into houses, smeared onto the floor with blood… you name a way to do it, and they've done it."

"So, in their time of need, more people have returned to Grima?"

"Correct. But if that was it, it might not be too bad. The problem is how they return to Grima."

The male Robin's brows furrowed. "'How?'"

"How. These people aren't just returning to the Dark Dragon; they're being converted. Actively."

"So… A new hierophant?"

"Several new hierophants. We have nearly no information on them, but they're damn wily. None of our spies have made it back. But we know enough from the interrogations that they're definitely the instigators."

The silver-haired man froze for a moment. …Spies? Interrogation?! If she was like me, she'd absolutely loathe both. He flicked his eyes up.

"How many spies?"

"…Five."

Her quiet word did laps around the room until she continued a few moments later. "Regardless. We're all but certain that they're the ringleaders of this entire operation. We still don't know what to do about the famine, but if we can knock out this terrorist group…"

"…Then it's at least a good way to stop the attacks, right?" The male Robin sat pondering for a split second more, then looked up at his twin with an expectant look. "Well then… what's the first step?"

At that, the woman leaned forward with a growing smile, letting a familiar rush of excitement go through the silver-haired man as he saw a plan dancing in her mind. "I thought you'd never ask!"

The wind was howling in the dark of night, whipping around a short man struggling to make it to the dim light of a tavern beside a now-churning lake. His purple robe tossed about his legs as he went, making him curse as it tangled about him for the umpteenth time.

"I swear to Grima himself, I will end you if you don't knock it off," the man muttered to the cape.

It didn't reply.

After making the 20-foot odyssey from the main road to the bar, he opened the door with a dull ding ding from the rusted bell attached to its top. Stumbling inside, he let the dank smell of alcohol and sweat slam into him while his belligerent coat fell to rest. Water dripping off him and warmth sneaking into his coat, he took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh.

"Think you've been scoutin' too long if you're enjoyin' this air."

The man turned. In the booth next to the door was another man, similarly dressed in a purple robe with the hood up, but possessing a much larger frame and muscle mass. An old axe with dark stains and chips covering it leaned next to him, but the larger man's hands were firmly around a tankard of some frothy drink, with several empty ones accompanying it.

"Ha! Like you're one to talk." The newcomer grinned as he sat across from the other man, mouth barely visible beneath his hood. "How many hours have you spent in this corner here, huh?"

"Doesn't matter. It's my corner."

"And don't I know it." The shorter man chuckled, slinging his previously hidden bow off his shoulders. "You only get angry when someone takes your spot, I swear."

The man grunted.

The duo sat in silence for a few minutes, until the shorter one glanced at the door. "Who else is coming tonight?"

"Just Ace."

"Oh yeah? Hey, it'll be a reunion! The first three members, just like old times!"

"Get a grip. It's still a meeting of The Flock."

The archer chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I can't be nostalgic, ri-"

The door slammed open. Rain battered into the room, soaking the floor as another robed figure stepped into the room, footstep cracking on a creaky floorboard.

"Blitz. Cash." she barked at the men. "We're leaving, now."

"…Now?" the shorter 'Cash' said, taking another peek out a nearby window. "Like, now now?"

"Now," she repeated. "A Grima-Slayer's here. In this world."

With respectively wide eyes under their hoods' protection, the duo leapt up. Cash wiped the humor from his face and snatched his bow, while Blitz downed his drink and hefted his axe onto his shoulder. At a nod from their new companion, the trio left into the storm, leaving only empty tankards and a small amount of gold behind on the table.

As wind slammed the door shut, another denizen of the tavern rose from a table. The figure walked over with a tap, tap, tap on the floor.

"Stingy," a female voice muttered, glancing at the change scattered on the table. "Especially for that amount of beer, come on now."

Glancing at the door again, the figure removed her hood, revealing a bright red ponytail and narrowed eyes.

"So," Anna muttered. "Just what the hell are you up to, 'Flock'?"

AN: Woah, a new chapter?! And it hasn't even been 6 months yet!

Real quick note: No, the last paragraph of the first section ["At that, the woman leaned forward with a growing smile…"] isn't implying that male Robin has a crush on female Robin; he's just excited because he knows she has a plan.

Also: Yes, there is a character named Ace here, but no, it's not a One Piece crossover or anything. Sorry!

Shout-outs to: bearclaw13, SuperPanda9000, FlameSpear, AshlyKagome15, and Lophii for following; SuperPanda9000, AshlyKagome15, and kingofdarkdragons for fav'ing; and pokemon-dot-rhoades, bearclaw13, and e-parasite for reviewing!

Okay, having said all that, I'd like to actually apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I don't really have an excuse per se, but I don't have as much writing time as I used to, sadly. I have so many ideas for this story, so I don't want to ever give it up entirely… but it's not my main focus right now. I can only truly give one story my attention at this point in my life, and I've decided to give it to my other story (for now).

However… I won't say that this story's on hiatus, because man, writing this was so damn fun! Seriously, I'd forgotten how fun it is to write these guys.

Okay, let me stop rambling here. What I'm trying to say is that I can't promise any update schedule for the time being, but I'll still keep writing chapters when I need a break from… well, anything, really. This story might not see an update for who knows how long, but I won't kill it yet!

Phew. So, with that said: thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, but let me know what you think if you've got the time to drop a review.

I'll see you guys in the next update… whenever that'll be!