The sweltering heat kissed her cheeks as the hood of her cloak was pulled back by an arrow whizzing by, missing her head by a mere inch. She clutched her fire tome to her chest, as if she were trying to keep her racing heart under control, but before she could release a powerful burst of magic at her attacker several metres in front of her, she saw her partner surge forward and drive his sword into the enemy. Not even bothering to spare a few seconds to put her hood back on, she wrapped both arms around her tome and dug her feet into the hard volcanic rock and then sprung forward, sprinting towards him. She lengthened her stride, keeping every single contact with the scalding floor short and limited. She was panting, trying to take in as much air as she could. There was close to no moisture in the air, every breath scorched the insides of her throat, but nonetheless, she had to keep going. When she finally reached him, she spun on her heel and pressed her back against his, making him support most of her weight.
"The only enemies left are the ones protecting Yen'fay, the commander," he said, informing her on their status, "Any words of advice on how to proceed, master tactician? I thought maybe we could use a diversion: have the Pegasus Knights swoop in from the front and distract them, and then then we come in from the right and take Yen'fay down."
Before answering him, she surveyed the battleground through squinted eyes, trying to see past all the steam and ashes. She could see a few feet in front of her very clearly and anything past that was a blur, just dark silhouettes against the minimal light from the lava spewing out of the cracks. There was no more action going on; no more flashes of potent magic or illuminations from healing staves, no more clanking of metal against metal, no more war cries or shrieks of pain. Nothing. It was like they were standing in the eye of the storm.
"Well commander, Say'ri told us about his strength and intellect, so there's a high chance that he would see through that diversion," she started, "but instead if we have the—Chrom!"
She pushed herself off of him and grabbed his hand, yanking him to her side so he could see what she was looking at. There was a silhouette of a tall, slender woman running towards enemy ground, and from the looks of it, she was going straight for the commander. Not too far behind her was another silhouette who was just as tall, but more curvy.
"Robin, let's go," he said, his voice both commanding and urgent, "We can't let them confront Yen'fay alone."
He quickly broke into a run, dragging her behind him. When she finally matched her stride with his, he let go of her hand and pounded his feet against the rocks even faster. She wrapped her arms around her tome and willed her legs to match his speed once again. Didn't he know she had shorter legs than him? At this point, she was gasping for air and her legs were burning with exertion. Maybe she should spend more time working on her cardio and less time reading her books in her free time. That would be a good idea.
By the time they caught up with the other two silhouettes, all the enemies surrounding the commander were lying on the ground. A few of them were still breathing, you could see their chests rising and falling, but the rest were already dead. After taking a closer look, Robin saw that they were bleeding out from large gashes on their legs. Some of the blood was trickling into the lava, and upon contact it sizzled and bubbled until it mixed evenly with it.
"What do you two think you're doing?" demanded Chrom, who looked like just another silhouette among the other two from where she was standing, "You had to wait for our signal and our reassessment of the battlefield before making a move."
She could just imagine his facial expression. He would be looking down at them; his royal blue bangs creating a shadow over his eyes making them look like an even darker shade of blue than usual, and his eyebrows would be knit together, his jaw would be clenched. His right hand would have also subconsciously moved to the hilt of his sword resting at his side, his other hand in a fist, making the muscles in his arms flex.
"Prince Chrom, I am to be the one to take him down. Please, let me do this," the slender silhouette pleaded with him. Her voice was warm and deeper than most females, but also enchanting and filled with purpose. It befitted her title of Princess of Chon'sin perfectly. "I know his skill and his moves far better than you and Robin."
A few moments passed before he finally answered her: "Fine, go ahead, Say'ri," he agreed, "But don't be getting—," Right after he conceded, she walked off towards Yen'fay. "Hey! I wasn't done!"
"I don't think she even realizes you're still speaking to her, handsome," said the silhouette that accompanied Say'ri in an upbeat tone, bumping her hip against his side. Robin saw his silhouette look down at her for a second, but he said nothing. Instead, he looked up at the scene unfolding in front of them.
"Brother!" Say'ri cried out, catching Yen'fay's attention, his silhouette now facing hers, "I have always wished to tell you how I have looked up to you, but know that that respect is long gone. I see no point in asking why or how you could have done all that you have done, just know that I will never be able to forgive you, Brother. That is why it is today that you will be vanquished from the world of the living!"
He spoke up, his voice rich, but grave, and equally as purposeful as his sister's "What is your goal in telling me this then, Sister? I need not your forgiveness—nor do I want it. You cannot understand what drives me forward."
"How could there possibly be something that can drive you to abandon your country, the country you were entrusted to protect as king, and leave all of us be murdered? How could you just watch as the village you grew up in was burned down to mere ashes? Have you no heart, Brother?!"
"I said you cannot understand!" he bellowed. Robin saw his much taller and bigger silhouette advance towards Say'ri's that looked much smaller in comparison. Then there was the sound of metal hitting metal and their silhouettes became one.
"What has come over you, Yen'fay?" she asked, her voice cracking as she said his name, "You were never like this: you would have never put me in harm's way! You would have never let anything bad happen to our people, and yet now you oppose us?"
He didn't answer her. Instead, he jumped back from her, but Say'ri didn't let him go far: she took the offense with endless attacks. It looked like they were dancing together; it was like they were one being. But Say'ri… She was holding herself back. If this were some other enemy, Robin knew that this battle would've been over long ago.
She stepped closer to the battle to have a better look. Analyzing their moves, she started looking for any openings she could use if Say'ri needed her help. Instead, she got distracted by how stiff they both were. Their stances looked so tense. Whenever one was defending themselves, the other looked so unwilling to continue their attacks. It was like they were being held back by chains attached with boulders at the end. Their moves were so slow. Much slower than they had the potential to be. When they simultaneously attacked each other, it was like they were attacking blindly, just hoping for the best. Never has she seen Say'ri battle like this.
"Dammit, Brother!" she cried out as she jumped back a few paces, "Is being silent all you can do? Is it only when you are with the Valmese Army you will speak? With our enemy?"
It was so silent Robin could hear both of them gasping for breath, despite how far they were from her. She could even hear the lava boiling and the bubbles of air it created popping.
"Answer me, Brother," she practically begged. She raised her sword and crouched down, preparing her next attack. "Do not just say nothing!"
When she pounced at him, Yen'fay stood still, not making a move to dodge her attack this time. It looked like he was going to take the blow head on. Say'ri ran into him, but at the last second before she came into contact with him, she aimed her sword at the empty space next to him and flung it to the side. The force of Say'ri's impact sent Yen'fay flying backwards, and with his arms wrapped protectively around her, he landed on his side with a groan. When Robin saw that Say'ri had thrown away her only weapon, she forced her sore body to join the battle. Or at least she would have joined the battle if it weren't for Chrom holding her back by the waist.
"Chrom!" she whined as she resisted against his hold, "What do you think you're doing? Say'ri's vulnerable right now being held by him!"
"Don't you think that if he truly wanted her dead, he would have done it by now?" he said, tightening his grip on the struggling Robin, "Say'ri never does anything without first planning it out. We just have to trust her."
"It's not that I don't trust her, Chrom," she replied, her strength behind her resistance slowly fading, "It's this situation I don't trust. Haven't you seen how her brother doesn't want to do this? But then why does he still go along with being a General in the Valmese army?"
"I-I don't know, Robin," he said, loosening his grip on her, "I don't know any more than you do."
Robin heaved a sigh, immediately regretting it as she felt a sharp pain in her throat, and leaned against Chrom's firm chest. He kept his arms around her waist, but with a much less restraining hold on her, and she placed one of her hands on his, her other hand still holding her tome to her chest.
"Sister?" called Yen'fay as he propped himself on his elbow, his other arm still holding her to him, "I am glad that you have found such powerful comrades because I… If it were not for them, I could not have been able to tell you this. I would have had to stay silent around you for much longer, maybe even until my death."
"Tell me what, Brother?" she asked as she rolled off of him, giving him his space. As soon as she did so, he leapt onto his feet and offered his hand to her.
"I believe I need no longer fear having to protect you, Say'ri," he admitted as she placed her hand in his and he pulled her up onto her feet, "You have become so strong, there is not a chance Excellus can get to you now."
"Ex-Excellus?" she repeated, she grasped his hand with both of hers, "Brother, is all this his doing?"
He gently stroked her cheek with his free hand, "Excellus and I, we had an agreement. He would not kill you as long as I served his boss, Walhart, as one of his Generals in his blasted Valmese Army. Back when I agreed, I did not know it involved me having to stand back and watch everything dear to me be destroyed. Excellus forced me to watch you suffer, then he had always reminded me how easily and quickly he could have taken you…"
"Brother, why did you not come to me with this? I could have helped you. I would have understood. We could have found a way out of this together."
Yen'fay pulled his hand out of hers and instead enveloped her in his arms, pulling her towards him tightly, "I could not bring myself to tell you, in fear Excellus would find us out, so protecting you drove me forward, Say'ri. But that no longer matters now. All that is that matters is being your elder brother you deserve."
"Excellus might never know the pain of losing what is most important, but I promise you, Yen'fay," she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, "He will feel the pain of being cut down by my blade, and after I am done with him, he will no longer have the luxury to feel again."