Chapter 11
"FREDERICK!" Nathan screamed, looking on in horror as he saw the man crumpled up against the wall, a gaping hole in his upper chest, the area where he had taken the entirety of Validar's blast. The tactician rushed to the side of his friend, as did the rest of the shepherds, save for Sumia, who dashed to her husband's side, helping the man up and bringing him over to them.
Nathan and Ricken helped Frederick up, although the man could barely stand, as Owain, Morgan, and Elise combined their powers to create a wall of fire between them and Validar, giving the group just enough time to scurry out of the room.
Once they were gone, another figure manifested out of the shadows. It was a tall, hulking, brute of a man. His skin was a sickly grey and he was dressed in black royal garb fit for a king. He carried a giant axe in his hand as he tentatively stared over at Validar. He was not one for taking orders, but as a leader and ruler he knew now was not the time to fight the Plegian sorcerer. That time would come later.
"Shall we follow them?"
Validar cackled and shook his head. "Oh, Let them run," He replied. "After all, what can they do but try to outrun their fate before it reaches them?"
Once they arrived in the lower tunnels, Nathan and Ricken managed to set down the great knight. Nathan tore a sleeve off his black robe, trying to use it to suppress the bleeding from the great knight by pressing it up against his chest, but to no avail. Lissa and Elise used their staffs to try and seal the wound, but it appeared the magic used made it impossible.
"Th…there's nothing we can do…" Lissa whimpered softly, pulling back her staff as the tears rolled from her face. Nathan looked on in horror at Frederick's barely breathing body. The man hacked and coughed up some blood, and managed to lift his head, locking eyes with the tactician.
"Re…remember…when we…talked alone…under that tree?" He managed to sputter. "Many moons ago…just before…you…died?"
Nathan thought back and nodded to his friend, remembering the night. "I asked you what you would do, if put in my situation, where you had to sacrifice yourself for the good of the people."
"And…what did…I say?" Frederick wheezed.
The tears began to roll from Nathan's eyes as he helplessly watched the final moments of his close friend. "Y-you…you said you would. You would die to protect those you love."
Frederick managed a weak smile, nodding to the man. The tears were starting to roll for him as well. He looked over to Chrom, who had joined Nathan, the two standing alone in front of their friend. Over the years, the group of three had been through so much together, and was nearly inseparable.
Frederick managed to hold out his hand to Nathan. As the tactician reached out to meet it, the great knight carefully placed his silver necklace into the man's outstretched hands.
"The…duty…of protecting…the house of Ylisse…it falls to you now." He coughed weakly.
"Hey, save your breath, Frederick!" Chrom sternly warned, tears falling from his eyes. "You're gonna be just fine, okay? You just need a bit of r-rest, that's all!"
The older man managed to chuckle slightly, and smiled warmly at Chrom.
"It is such an honour milord…" He muttered, "To die…in your service…"
The great knight kept his arm stretched out. "Will you two…make a promise to me?"
Nathan and Chrom put their hands on top of Frederick's, strengthening the bond.
"Of course."
"Do not…come visit me…in the afterlife…any time soon," He told them with a smile. "And tell Cherche…I love her. And Gerome… that he is a better man…than I could ever be."
As hard as they tried, the tears refused to stop flowing for both Chrom and Nathan. The two nodded to their friend, whose breathing was beginning to get more and more ragged.
The great knight looked around one last time, seeing the faces of the people he had called family for so long. He locked eyes with Lissa for a brief moment, smiling to the Princess.
"M-milady…if you are sad…I will have to…put on…a play, for you!" He joked, which made Lissa cry even more, but also got her to smile. "Or perhaps…sing you a song…"
He then locked eyes with Elise for one moment, and slightly shook his head to her. None of the others caught this nor would know what it meant, but Elise nodded to the great knight as she continued to cry.
Frederick looked up at Nathan and Chrom one last time before closing his eyes as he took in his final breaths.
"I am…so glad…to die…for those…I love."
And with that, the great knight breathed his last.
The tunnel was silent for a brief moment, as the only sound that could be heard was the mourning of the shepherds over the loss of a great warrior and friend. That silence was suddenly broken by Nathan slamming his fist into the wall, his eyes flickering with a purple flame as he did.
The tactician let out a loud, long, scream of anger. This was the final straw, as he was beginning to boil over.
His hands were shaking as he turned to Corrin, leaning up against the wall with Niles, away from the rest of the group.
"This is all…your fault…" He muttered.
Corrin warily looked over at the man, beginning to tense up. "What was that?"
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Nathan screamed, drawing his blade. Chrom quickly jumped in front of Nathan, staring the man in the eyes, seeing the purple flames of hate and anger burning brightly within them.
"Hey, Nathan, Nathan!" He yelled. "This isn't the time for fighting!"
The tactician shoved Chrom out of the way as a sinister purple aura formed around him.
"Don't worry. I won't be long."
Corrin drew his Yato and stared down Nathan. While he did feel at fault, he wasn't going to simply roll over and take the blame. Not like this.
As Nathan clashed steel with Corrin, his swings were fueled by hatred and blind rage. Every attack was simply a show of brute force, trying to rip into the man's heart just as Corrin had just torn out a piece of his. While Corrin's sword skills were superior to Nathan's, it was almost as though there was another force elevating the tactician, egging him on to push his own limits.
Corrin was quite quickly put on the defensive by Nathan's suddenly aggressive fighting style, and was forced to react quickly as the man continuously smashed his blade against Corrin's Yato.
"You – need – to – calm – down!" The Nohrian prince managed to sputter between blows, gritting his teeth, starting to feel the affects of Nathan's blows.
Finally, the tactician managed to find an opening, parrying a blow and using it to fling Corrin's sword down the hall. From there, he threw his own blade aside and proceeded to grab Corrin by the collar with one hand and repeatedly pummel the Prince in the face with his other.
The man was stopped as Chrom grabbed him from behind, doing his best to hold him back while Elise tended to Corrin's wounds. Nathan looked angrily back at Chrom, breathing heavily.
"What the hell are you doing?" Chrom berated. "You could have killed the man! I know how you feel, but that – what the hell was that?!"
"Just like he killed Frederick," Nathan spat back. "An eye for an eye sounds fair."
"STOP THIS MADNESS!" Marth suddenly yelled, instantly grabbing the attention of the entire gathered group. The young Prince turned to Nathan with a disappointed frown.
"Do you think this is anything like what your friend would have wanted?" He snapped. "You to kill a man in his honour?"
With that, the purple aura about Nathan seemed to vanish, his eyes returning to their normal colour, almost as though he was snapped from a trance. "I…"
"Yes, this man shares some blame for what has transpired," Marth continued sternly, motioning towards Corrin. "But he, and EVERYONE ELSE, do not deserve to die for such actions!"
Nathan let out a long sigh as Chrom relaxed his grip on the man, allowing the tactician to pull away. Nathan picked up his sword from the ground, and after sliding it back into its sheath, walked off in silence down the tunnel. Lissa and the others looked on as the man disappeared into the darkness of the expansive hall.
As he walked off into the shadows, Chrom turned to Marth, a look of worry upon his face.
"Well that certainly wasn't helpful. We have more than enough problems on our plate at the moment…what do you propose we do?"
The hero-king sighed. "For now? We run. We regroup, we recoup. And then…"
"…And then?"
"I…I honestly don't know."