Disclaimer: Double digits! Oh, I don't own FE, except the copies I do own…that feels contradictory

Author Note: Hello! It has come to my realization during math class today that my action scenes have been getting shitty. Well, that first chpt was good. But I shall try this one! But now we're at large scale battles! Like, troop count in the thousands! Now those are exciting!

Chapter 10

You'll Fight on 'til the End

Well. It seems we have a problem.

A desert. An evil problem. Very much evil. Like the Plegians.

"Well, this is peachy," Vincent muttered.

Vincent tossed the peach he was carrying up into the air and caught it. The heat was bad for the small amount of fruit they had on hand. So Vincent stole a peach. But he preferred 'borrowed' or 'commandeered.'

I commandeered a peach…that's just peachy. Pun!

The desert was a desolate wasteland with few villages. And the villages that were there were small and isolated by the sandy dunes. The massive sandy dunes.

Hark! What's that in the distance? …Aw, SHIT!

He could see flags. Plegian troops. Vincent turned and made eye contact with Chrom. He was puzzled at Vincent's serious expression. Then he saw the army. And then he got serious.

"Alrighty Chrom, this time, I have a plan!" Vincent said triumphantly. "And maybe it'll even work!"

Chrom didn't look very happy at that thought. But Vincent quickly told him his plan. By the end Chrom was slightly smiling, "That might even work Vincent."

Anna stood near the front of the crowd with the rest of the Shepherds. She saw Vincent walk to address the troops. From what he had told her and what Ricken had said, Vincent never had commanded the previous small battles. And this was his first. Maybe all the reading he did would pay off…

"Hello Ylisseans and Feroxi! You're probably wondering who I am. I am the tactician!" The crowd murmured. Anna couldn't blame them, this was a man who had only been seen fighting, not commanding. "And you probably are thinking, 'who the hell is this guy to command us?' So, introductions, I'm Vincent! And you are to follow my orders today, from here to the end. Now I could go on about heroics and that stuff, but we kinda need to get into position. So, I need you to get into groups.

"Archers and mages, I need you to spread evenly across those two large dunes," he pointed to two dunes that formed an opening between them. "You are to emerge and engage the enemy at my signal. Knights and cavaliers and other infantry, remain back here with me. Healers, physic staves at the ready. Shepherds and Lord Chrom, with me. Move!"

He's putting on a lot of bravado for this first plan of his. He's banking on a payout. Metaphorically speaking.

Soldiers began milling about getting to their respective places. The Shepherds, as directed, remained behind. "Alright, we're the bait. Chrom, sorry, but you're the big bait. Kid, can you magnify voices with magic?" Ricken nodded. "Alright, quick teach me. Chrom, you're going to say something badass and challenging so we lure them to us. The rest of our army that's here and not engaged elsewhere is hidden well. They'll think we're very stupid. They may think it's a trap, but they won't resist a chance at Chrom. So they're lured here, archers and mages begin officer hunting. When they're in disarray, the rest of our force charges. Now, questions?" Vincent asked quickly.

I wasn't expecting something so elaborate. He's good, and not just at helping me in my shop.

Vincent had been helping her in the shop. He claimed he needed organizational skills. And Anna couldn't disagree.

The rest of the Shepherds seemed just as stunned at Vincent's plan. None of them expected him to be so…smart.

It would be only a matter of time to see if it worked…

Vincent casted the voice amplifying spell. Kid was a good teacher for being so young. It was just a variation of a wind spell, meant to carry the voice across great distance.

He nodded to Chrom to indicate he was ready. The most intimidating of the Shepherds stood up front by Chrom. They all gazed at the rapidly approaching Plegian army. Being used to the sand, they traveled quickly. Chrom took a deep breath and began his challenge, "Plegian curs! The Shepherds stand before you today to put you in your place! Come! Are you brave enough to face the might of me, Prince Chrom? Or are you too cowardly to fight me? Maybe my father was right, you are all cowardly bastards!" Vincent nodded, that had done it. Vincent had a clear view of the commander, and he was swelling with rage.

The enemy leader began barking orders to his flag bearers, who communicated the orders the rest of the army. And then came the charge.

It was disorganized to say the least. Well, it was orderly to an extent. They still ran in a formation, but it was shaky. They still quickly obeyed orders, but not as quickly as they should. Perfect.

Vincent let them get close enough, and signaled the Shepherd's retreat. They had stood still long enough for most thoughts of a trap to leave the commander's mind. Hopefully. But the Shepherds ran regardless, or they'd die. Vincent, Chrom and the others reached the point where they turned around and drew their weapons. Vincent had drilled it into each and every one of them not to take a useful stance, but an intimidating one. Vincent watched with grim humor as the infuriated Plegians ran towards their deaths.

Almost there…now!

Vincent sent a fireball into the sky. The Plegians were in position. Now was time to lay down the cards. The archers and mages sprung up from the sand they had partially buried themselves in. and they began the killing.

"Shoot for the officers! When an officer falls, it's one less person for the scared to look up to. They're the silly people with the funny hats or clothes. You can't miss them! Aim only for the officers!" Vincent had yelled only an hour before.

The Plegians were caught unaware. And the mages and archers were doing a fairly good job at their assignment. Vincent could have hoped for better, but he had what he had. He fired up his second signal. The Shepherds were about to begin to enter the fray, and they would die if they did that.

Only moments later, the Pegasus knights of Ylisse began their assent. The few hundred Pegasus knights flew gracefully over the battle. And struck! Some had attacked Plegian wyvern riders the archers and mages missed, but the majority attacked to the ground troops. And for Vincent's coup de grâce, shot the third signal into the air. The rest of the soldiers would take time to get there, and he wanted them there before they were all murdered. And at last, Vincent entered battle.

He stayed with the Shepherds, who mainly guarded Chrom and played defense. The mages and archers had begun killing mercilessly in the Plegian mob, taking care not to kill their own, though regretfully, it still happened. But this was war, not a children's game where everything turned out nicely. He had the luxury of not having to worry about that. Only Plegians stood before him. Vincent shot a fireball at the nearest archer.

Kill the ranged before they kill you.

The archer fell in the burning flames. Vincent quickly found Kid and Gaius and stood near them for support. Together, the three felled many troops. Maribelle joined them, or rather joined Kid shortly after. They fought like that for a few more minutes.

Chrom and Sully were tearing apart the Plegian soldiers like they were butter. Their fighting prowess was admirable to say the least. But Vincent was otherwise occupied.

Focus Vincent, not on peaches. 'Cause it's still in your pocket.

Vincent chuckled softly. It went unheard among the chaos. And then Vincent saw something that enraged him for an unknown reason.

He saw Anna fighting off three Plegian myrmidons at once. Merchanting must be a dangerous business for her to be doing so well. But that wasn't what angered Vincent. It was the fact that her arm was bloody and she clutched her chest and her sword weakly. Vincent made one of those decisions that happened before you could even consider it. The flames of his Arcfire tome swirled around him and shot towards Anna's attackers. Two of them died in the blaze and the other jumped aside. Fueled by adrenalin, Vincent was there by the time the myrmidon recovered and delivered his end.

He got Kid's attention. The tactician knew Kid would realize what had happened. Vincent focused on protecting the weak Anna. But many had seen a man guarding a fallen woman and targeted them. Soon, Vincent was surrounded by twenty Plegians with no escape.

Damn it all, is this good bye?

Slight relief came from Kid as he drew away six of Vincent's foes. But it did little in the short run. The archers took aim and fired at Vincent. It was a good thing they didn't notice Anna was still alive. An arrow struck Vincent in the chest. He fell over painfully and began to cough up blood.

Shite! I guess it's time to stop it with the risks permanently…is that…cheering?

Vincent saw none of the Plegians around him remained. And the reinforcements were here. His plan had worked. Now he just had to get a healer for Anna. Thankfully Kid hadn't forgotten about him and Maribelle was there in a flash by his side. Vincent grunted and pointed to Anna, who was unconscious, perhaps due to blood loss. Maribelle tiredly nodded and began to heal her while Kid began to pour a vulnerary on his wounds. Vulneraries weren't as painful as healing staves, they just healed wounds slowly. Staves healed quickly and painfully.

A short while later Vincent could see Maribelle move away from Anna and come over to him. Before he could try to say anything, Kid interjected, "Your sweetheart will be fine Vincent." He was grinning, it was clearly a jibe for all the times he had made fun of Kid and Maribelle.

Oh, just you wait…I'll get you…

Vincent coughed again. Before he could do anything else, Kid grabbed the arrow and looked at Vincent, "On three, one…two!" and he pulled it out on two instead of three.

He'll pay…eventually.

And Maribelle began the painful healing process. The feeling of one's skin being knitted together was not pleasant to say the slightest. But Vincent bit his lip and didn't say anything. He was going to live, his plan worked. It was a success.

Author Notes: Well, I must say that FELT better written than others. We'll get back to more Anna and Vincent stuff in a bit, I don't want to rush support A, and I want to have fun with it. And that plan Vincent came up with is the result of too many tactician fanfics. …And looking back on it, I forgot Nowi and Gregor. Oops, I'll throw them in next chpt.

This was almost late due to the anime Dangan Ronpa and a new fanmade FE game I found called Fire Emblem: Immortal Sword. Look it up, it's super legit. I mean it. Go. It's the 'prequel' to 7. Really cool.

"Keep your eyes on the nightmare dog thing!"

-Lowell, The Last Story