Okay, this bold segment is my rant about the Donnel-Olivia pairing. Skip if you'd like, but in re-reading it, I find it rather funny.
So I went onto GameFAQ the other day and I discovered that Donnel's Inigo is considered one of the worst possible Inigos. Well SCREW THAT! I'm going to explain to you why the Donnel-Olivia pairing is AMAZING!
1: Aptitude. 20% boost to all stat growths? OH YEEAAHH! For this reason, Donnel is, in my opinion, one of the best parents for ANY character (up there with Robin, Aversa, Chrom, Lucina, and Walhart).
2: So apparently, Donnel's Inigo doesn't get any advanced classes from his father. SO? Inigo has amazing classes anyhow. Besides, think about this: since they have the same classes, Donnel's stats are perfectly geared towards Inigo's classes. And if you want more skills that bad, just take Inigo and RUB A LITTLE DREAD SCROLL ON THAT BOY! YOU'LL BE AAAAAAAALL GOOD!
3: READ THEIR SUPPORTS! THEY'RE AMAAAAAAAAZZZZZIIIINNNNGGGG! SOOOOOOO BEEEAAAAAAUUUUUUTTIIIIIIIFUUUUUUULLLLL!
FAVORITE THIS STORY RIGHT NOW OR I'LL BEAT A GERBIL TO DEATH WITH A LEAD PIPE! THAT GERBIL'S LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS NOW, READER!
Oh, sorry there… I thought this copy of Noire's talisman was a fake but… dang. Anyhow, sorry about that! Enjoy this chapter!
"We're getting close, Robin." Chrom led the Shepherds over the hill until they saw all of the citizens of Plegia trudging slowly towards the Dragon's table. "All these strange travelers... What's happening here?"
"Let's ask them!" Lissa ran over to the nearest villager and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir? Sir?" The villager turned to face her and muttered, "the appointed...time...to the Dragon's... Table... our prayers... Grima..."
Gaius pulled Lissa away from the villager and held up his silver sword between them. "Back away, Princess. I'm not letting you go anywhere near that thing."
"Father, the only way forward is to the Dragon's table. We must press on! We can't give up!" Chrom turned to Lucina and replied, "Nor will we. Come on, Shepherds! To the Dragon's table!" The Shepherds made their way through the masses of slowly trudging Plegians until they saw Aversa and Validar standing by the entrance to the table.
"The Ylisseans have caught up to us, Milord." Aversa stood next to her dark Pegasus, not turning to face Validar as she spoke. "Delay them. But carefully. We need Robin's power." Aversa merely laughed and replied, "Ah, yes. Don't worry, I'll take extra care with daddy's special little boy. And the failed attempt? His step-sister?"
"So Phila survived our little set-up. Dear, dear. Fate must be set back on course, Aversa." The dark flier nodded as Validar went up the steps to the Dragon's table.
"Return the Fire Emblem now and this can end, Aversa!" Chrom stood across the field and challenged the lone rider. "We both know how this ends, boy. Eager to meet the Fell Dragon? Do you truly believe you can change this? And I thought Emmeryn had delusions of grandeur…"
"Do not speak ill of Emmeryn, witch!" Frederick pointed his spear angrily at the commander. "Even if you do defeat us here, you will never be as great a leader as she was!" Aversa chuckled momentarily before Robin called out, "I don't believe this is going to get us any further, Aversa. Time to die."
"Oh dear, I thought you were smart. You truly thought only I was guarding this table! No, no, I have the Deadlords, as well as some Plegians, to keep you entertained." As she spoke, twelve dark figures rose up from the ground. "These 12 generals were great warriors in life...and even greater, now, in death! I would introduce them one by one, but well, as you'll see, they're not much for talk. Besides, you'll meet them all soon enough!" She jumped atop her Pegasus and readied for battle.
"Chrom, we can't risk sending everyone forward at the Deadlords, since there's also going to be another fighting force of Plegians... I'm going to assign one Shepherd to each Deadlord." Chrom was about to protest this, then relented, saying, "Let their partners help them, though." Robin nodded. He recognized the Deadlords from somewhere, but he could instantly tell the weapons they used were holy weapons from ancient times.
"Okay, one Shepherd will be assigned to each Deadlord. Listen up!" All eyes were on Robin. "Some of you were just reclassed by me, so I hope you're used to the new stuff!" Robin looked at all the Shepherds, trying to make a good choice. "Chrom and Sumia, you're going to take down Mus. He's the General class. Lon'qu and Panne will fight the Bow Knight, Bovis." The four mentioned headed out towards their targets. "Gregor and Sully will fight Tigris, the Warrior. Brady and Nah will fight the War Cleric, Lepus. Noire, Draco. Ricken, Anguilla." The next group charged and entered combat.
Sumia and Chrom entered combat first, facing down the hulking General. The Dark Flier flew around to one side of Mus, while the Great Lord ran to the other. Sumia charged him, but Mus deflected her lance strike with his own. Chrom swung Falchion with force and struck the General's chest, but he barely made a dent. Mus swung around his lance un-naturally fast and struck Chrom in the chest, knocking him back. Seeing that Falchion would be of little use, Chrom sheathed it and switched to a rapier.
Sumia was having slightly better luck. She made quick, precise strikes, dancing around the General. When Mus nearly got her, Chrom stuck him with his rapier, setting him off balance. Seizing her opportunity, Sumia pulled in and swung her killer lance at the General's head, decapitating him. As he fell, Sumia landed and grabbed his lance, reading the inscribed name.
"'Gungnir.' Well, Chrom, you have a super-powerful ancient weapon. Now it's my turn!" Chrom laughed as Sumia twirled the lance around, admiring it.
Lon'qu and Panne walked quickly towards the bow knight, Bovis. As Bovis commanded his horse to charge them, Panne switched to beast form and began to charge as well. She lunged at the horse, but the rider avoided it. Lon'qu swung at the rider as well, clashing his silver sword against a strange sword with a large gap in the middle. He aimed for the center of the sword, but the bow knight knocked him away. Panne then jumped up into the air, rolled up into a ball, and landed on the bow knight, killing his horse and knocking him away. The bow knight stood up and deflected two slashes from Lon'qu before the swordmaster took him down.
"This sword he wields is called… Tyrfing. Hm. I think I'll use it myself." He took a couple practice swings with the sword, getting used to the feel of the larger, heavier sword.
Gregor, now reclassed as a Hero, held a Brave Sword in one hand and charged with Sully at the warrior Tigris. Gregor slashed at him, but the Warrior dodged his slice and kicked him down to the ground. Sully attacked from the other side with a quick stab with a lance, but Tigris sidestepped and slashed her lance in half. Thinking fast, the Paladin swung the stump around, knocking the Warrior back. Then Gregor charged at him, dodged Tigris's throw of his axe, and stuck him through. Gregor then picked up the axe, flipping it in his hands a couple times.
"Gregor no longer sell sword, so why stick with swell sword? Gregor likes, er, Helswath! Yes, that is the name! Is nice hatchet!" Sully rolled her eyes. "It's called a battle-axe! Or a Tomahawk! A hatchet is used to chop wood!" Gregor shrugged and twirled the axe in his hands, a plan beginning to form in his head.
Brady rushed into battle atop his Griffon and commanded it to swoop down at the war cleric. Lepus merely let the attack slide off of her strangely-designed axe. Nah shot off an ice blast at Lepus, which she merely cut straight through. She then slashed at the Manakete, catching her in the head, but that only made Nah angry. She bit Lepus's arm, taking it clean off. Now weaponless, Lepus merely stood while Brady brought the Griffon around and cleaved the man in half. Nah then spat out the weapon, with Lepus's hand still attached.
"Nah, that was darn repulsive. But check out this axe! It's called… Hauteclere. 'Ave you ever seen such a beautiful thing?" Nah looked offended, or at least Brady thought she did. He couldn't really tell when she was in dragon form. "What about ME? Do you think it's more beautiful than ME?" Brady rolled her eyes. "Of course not, darlin'! Don't be like this, Nah!"
Noire rode behind Laurent on his horse as the Dark Knight approached Draco. Noire jumped off of the horse just as she got in range of Draco as the two Snipers began to exchange arrows. As Noire's arrows continued to be dodged by Draco, Laurent charged at Draco and shot a Thoron bolt, but Draco jumped aside, dropped back, and put an arrow in Laurent's back. The dark knight fell off of his horse as he shouted in agony. But seeing Draco hurt Laurent only sent Noire into a fury. "YOU WILL BURN FOR YOUR INSOLENCE, FOOL!" She charged at Draco and shot arrow after arrow into him, then bashed him over the head with her bow. Still in a fury, she picked up his bow and read its inscribed name: Yewfelle.
"YES, THIS WILL DO NICELY!" Noire then suddenly fell back. "Sorry, Laurent, went out of control again… wait, Laurent! Are you okay?" Laurent nodded and replied, "That was utterly glorious, Noire! And what an amazing bow! I recognize it as one of the twelve weapons of the Crusaders of old!"
Ricken was on a mission. The Dark Knight brandished a Rexcalibur tome as he circled Anguilla, who readied a type of Wind tome that Ricken didn't recognize. Nowi didn't have the same patience and fired three ice blasts at the rival Dark Knight, who used his tome to redirect them at Ricken. He tried to over-ride them with his own tome, but Rexcalibur was not as powerful as the tome that Anguilla was using. Thinking fast, Ricken said, "Nowi! Freeze his horse's legs!" His wife shot an ice blast in front of the charging horse, immobilizing Anguilla when the horse was caught in it. Seizing his opportunity, Ricken jumped over and decapitated the enemy with a swing of his Killing Edge. Then he grabbed the tome and read it.
"Wow! This is Forseti! This is great! Now I will be respected by even the greatest mages!" Nowi laughed in delight and flipped around in the air. The thousand-year-old manakete shot ice blasts into the air in happiness while Ricken tested out the powerful wind spell.
While those 12 fought, Robin assigned the other combatants. "I want Stahl and Maribelle to take on Equus and for Libra and Miriel to fight Ovis. Then for Simia, I'll send in-"
"The Scion of Legend!" Owain ran forward and pushed past Robin, with Severa riding angrily after him. "Owain, get back here, you ignorant buffoon! You're still injured! You're going to get yourself killed!" Owain merely yelled back, "That undead demon wields Mystletainn! It must be mine!"
"Oooooookay then! Henry fights Gallus, Morgan fights Canis, and Gaius fights Porcus! Lucina and I will take down Aversa! Everyone else will fight the other Plegians! Go!"
Stahl the Paladin charged forward and threw a spear at the opposing Paladin, Equus. The Risen Paladin ducked under the spear and then spurred his horse towards Stahl, dodging a Bolganone spell from Maribelle. The Deadlord drew his lance and stabbed at Stahl, who parried it away with his steel sword. Maribelle tried to charge in and get a close shot in, but Equus spun around and knocked the Valkyrie off of her horse with the butt of his lance. Enraged, Stahl charged at the enemy Paladin and slashed again and again at him, occupying him to the point that Maribelle could take him down with Bolganone. Stahl then grabbed the lance and analyzed it, fascinated.
"Gae Borg. Well, I prefer swords, but I can still use it!" The victorious Paladin then went to help Maribelle up.
The war monk Libra and the sage Miriel carefully approached Ovis. The Deadlord attacked first and summoned a powerful burst of fire, which the couple jumped away from. Libra threw his tomahawk at the enemy Sage, but Ovis rolled away, a feat that is difficult in Sage's clothes. Miriel shot a Thoron bolt at him, resulting in a flurry of exchanges of fire and lightning. When Ovis turned to ward off Libra with his fire tome, but Miriel used Arc-wind to blow it away, allowing the war monk to strike Ovis down. Miriel then picked up the fire tome and looked through it closely.
"If I have deduced it correctly, this is the ancient fire tome Valflame! What great fortune for us to find this tome! It should give us an advantage in future engagements!" She restrained from using the spell on site to preserve it.
Owain charged at Simia the sword-master with the wrath of a demon. The assassin, followed by the bow knight Severa, crossed his own Missiletainn with the true sword of legend, Mystletainn. When he saw an opportunity, Simia kicked Owain back, but this allowed Severa an opening to put an arrow in Simia's shoulder. Owain ran back towards him and after a few slashes, both swords were knocked up into the air. As the two soldiers leaped up, they landed with each other's sword. Delighted to hold the sword, Owain fought with confidence and quickly cut down Simia.
"The great Mystletainn is finally in my possession! My sword hand has calmed its roar!" Severa rolled her eyes until Owain suddenly fell over. "That being said, in my legs, I feel nothing. Would you be willing to help me, Severa?" The red-headed bow knight helped Owain up onto her horse, and while Severa retrieved Owain's main sword, the scion analyzed his new-found weapon.
Henry the sorcerer and Cordelia the Falcon Knight cautiously approached Gallus. The enemy Sorcerer shot a blast of dark energy at Cordelia, which she flew away from. Henry, still a great distance away, used a Mire tome, weakening the Deadlord. Cordelia took the opportunity to put a spear in the sorcerer. "Time to die, my friend!" Henry laughed as he used Nosferatu, draining away the last of Gallus's life. Then he dashed up and picked up the dark tome that Gallus used.
"Loptyr! Oh, I can't WAIT to kill people with THIS!" Cordelia flew close to him and said, "You will give me a chance to use it sometime, right, love?" Henry rolled his eyes. "Fine. But only if you wear the same dark mage outfit as Tharja! Nya ha!" Cordelia rolled her eyes and replied, "Only when we're alone, Henry."
Morgan ran towards the Valkyrie, who rode towards her. As they got close, she shot an Arc-thunder tome at Canis, but she rode around it and launched a flurry of lightning at the young tactician. As she sidestepped it, Morgan charged Cynthia's lance with lightning while the Dark Flier stabbed at the Valkyrie, felling her horse. Standing up, Canis shot another flurry of lightning at Morgan. Thinking fast, Morgan drew her Falchion, used it to absorb the lightning, then charged forward to fell the Valkyrie.
"Hey, Auntie Cynthia! Check out this tome and this staff!" Morgan tossed it to Cynthia. "These are the weapons that my father talks about!" Cynthia nodded and replied, "Yeah, Robin shouldn't need Mjolnir, though. What do you say we neglect to mention it to him?"
Lissa the war cleric and Gaius the assassin cautiously approached Porcus, another assassin. Dodging around an arrow from Gaius's bow, the Deadlord focused his attack on Lissa. The enemy assassin's curved sword was easily deflected by Lissa, however. Seizing an opportunity, Lissa got the sword caught in the gap in her Brave Axe, then twisted it out of Porcus's hands. Gaius then caught the blade and cut the Deadlord down.
"Balmung, eh? Not bad. You alright, Princess?" Lissa rolled her eyes. "You know, Gaius, I pretty much did all the work just now."
Gaius shook his head. "But I got the sweet finale. You may have undone the wrapping, but I still got the chocolate." All this got Gaius was a smack on the head. Gaius chuckled and pulled her in, pressing his lips against hers.
Robin and Lucina stood nearly motionless, facing down Aversa. "For a long time, I thought you were like Excellus: a pawn in your ruler's game. But it seems I was wrong: you're a rook. You planned everything, from Emmeryn's death to our defeat of Walhart to my turning over the Emblem. But despite all of your work backstage, Validar is still the director. He still has the power and you are just a tool in his ambitions." Aversa merely chuckled at the grandmaster's little monologue.
"Clever boy. I was wondering when you'd figure out Validar's plan. Although originally, it was going to be easier: we would have his daughter become the general of the Pegasus knights so that she could kill Chrom and take the amulet with ease. But Validar found that his dark inheritance wasn't enough- Phila and her mother were useless. We needed a woman who was a direct descendant of the fell dragon to be your mother. And now, here you are."
"Shut up, wench!" Lucina pointed Falchion at the dark flier angrily. "We will not let your plans come to fruition! I am proof that your master's plan failed, Aversa." The dark flier merely laughed again. "Your presence here was brought to our attention even before we first attempted to control your darling Robin. Every entrance and exit was planned from the start, dear."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Aversa," Robin replied, "I've kept some actors on the stage longer than the director intended. Walhart, for example, is still alive. I know he wanted to destroy the Grimleal. We'll recruit him later. Point is, I'm smarter than you think. And I seem to have an uncanny ability to keep actors on this stage."
"Well, if you're as great as Validar says you are, I shouldn't need to hold back." Lucina spat at Aversa and replied, "No, you shouldn't. And neither will we!" Lucina ran forward and slashed at the dark flier in rage. Robin readied his Rexcalibur and shot off the gust of wind at Aversa. Her Pegasus was thrown off balance, but the flier still managed to use a dark spell to blast Lucina away. She got up in a fury and ran back towards Aversa, while Robin readied a Brave Sword and followed her. They were able to drive the Grimleal woman back until Lucina killed her Pegasus and Aversa fell to the ground.
"Ooh... You play rough... But the ritual has already begun. You are too late! Farewell! Perhaps we shall meet again? Oh, actually...I suppose not! Heh hah!" Aversa laughed as red light surrounded her, and she disappeared.
"Damn! She escaped!" Chrom, along with Sumia and the other Shepherds stood behind Robin and Lucina, holding their powerful new weapons high. "Aversa wouldn't leave Validar before he was ready, even with her wounds. His preparations must be complete..."
"We have to stop him, Father! My future is upon us!" Lucina's urged words received a simple reply: "We will, Lucina. I swear to you—we will."
Robin stood before them all cautiously, choosing his words carefully. "I have a request to make, Chrom. And for that matter, to all of you." Robin took a deep breath, then said, "If we get in there, and Validar manages to get control of me… whoever's near me needs to kill me."
Loud protests ensued. "You can't ask that of me, Robin!" Chrom's statement was followed by Lucina seizing the grandmaster's hand and pleading, "Don't talk about that! It won't happen! You can't let it!" Then Robin saw the anguish in Morgan's eyes and came to a tragic realization. Morgan has Fell Blood as well. She could turn. I have to get someone who is willing to do me that favor.
"I doubt it will come to that, but you all need to promise me that." The Shepherds begrudgingly nodded. "Now we mustn't waste any more time! Let's go!" But as the Shepherds followed Chrom up, Robin grabbed Inigo and pulled him to the side.
"Now Inigo, I know that you've helped me in the ring a lot, but I have one more favor to ask you. If necessary, I need you to…" Robin started to choke and tear up. "To… kill Morgan. If she turns."
Inigo was horrified. "Robin, I love her." Robin gave him a half-annoyed, half-sympathetic look. "I know, you have no reason to believe me, but… I do. And I'm not sure I can do that to her. But for your sake, and as thanks for the way you've treated my father, I'll do what you say if I must. And I pray to the gods that I don't need to." Robin stood there for a few seconds, catching his breath. Then he followed Chrom to the Dragon's table.
"Chrom... Come to witness the glorious culmination of your failure? How nice. I have the Fire Emblem, and the Dragon's Table is set for a feast. I will return Grima to this world! And you've kindly brought along the one person I needed to do it! If only Phila had Grima's mark… then I'd have been done with this long ago. But no matter- Robin, you being here is proof that this is destined to happen."
"If I had WHAT now?" Phila was confused for a second, then came to a sudden realization. "You're my father, aren't you?"
"I was indeed, until we found out that you didn't inherit the mark. I would have just killed you, but you were already placed in a Ylissean household. So I tried again, with a little more success, until Draco- or Robin's- mother stole him away! And despite all of this, I continue to prove that fate is on my side!"
Chrom unsheathed Falchion. "You've proven nothing but your own madness. This can be stopped. YOU can be stopped!"
Validar laughed. "Be still, my son. Soon Grima's power will flow through you. Your life began with Grima; you are merely fulfilling your destiny."
"My life did not begin with you. It began the day Chrom found me in that field. I have been all over this world, and I have helped change it—for the better. I have fought and laughed-" He glanced at Lucina, "And loved and bled with my friends, and THAT is what matters! The ties we forged, the bonds we share—they are of a power greater than Grima."
"A ludicrous idea," Validar arrogantly replied, "As you will know better than anyone soon enough... Very well, pup. Come! Do your worst! Come at me with all you have! There is no damage I can do your body that the fell dragon cannot repair!" As the Shepherds charged forward, Validar conjured a giant wall of energy, cutting off Chrom and Robin from the rest of the Shepherds. "So long as the dark barrier stands, no other soul can reach us. You must face your grim fate alone!"
"Robin, listen to me!" Robin looked through the barrier to see Lucina on the other side. "Don't listen to a word he says. I believe in you, Robin." The grandmaster nodded, then turned to join Chrom.
"This is it! Our final battle! You're one of us, Robin, and no "destiny" can change that. Now let's kill this dastard and be done with it!" Lucina remembered. She had a dream like this. And sadly, she knew how it ended.
Robin ran forward in anger and swung a silver sword at Validar, who blocked it with a surge of dark energy. Robin's father blasted him back as the Plegian king turned to ward off Chrom. "Robin, why insist on these games? You only delay the inevitable." He pushed back Chrom as Robin shot a Thoron blast at Validar. "And besides, the alternative? Have you considered what happens should I fall? These followers of Naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. Kill me, and you incur the wrath of the Grimleal as well... Would you truly choose to be so utterly alone?"
"Ylisstol will always welcome you, Robin! Do not listen to him!" The two attacked Validar in unison until Validar pushed them back once again.
"Do you truly believe that, young man? Humans are weak, pathetic creatures... Your 'bonds' with them will bind you. You are destined for a greater purpose! The GREATEST purpose! You are to be the vessel for a GOD!"
Robin put away Thoron and readied the Book of Naga. "Not your god. Not today." Chrom ran to the other side of Validar as Robin shot off a whirlwind of draconic energy. Validar was pushed back with immense force- enough to push him back onto Chrom's Falchion.
"Even this… was meant to be. I've won, hehe…" The king of Plegia dissolved into purple dust as Robin and Chrom caught their breath.
"Are you alright?" Robin nodded in reply to Chrom's inquiry. "That's the end of him. Thanks to you, we carried the day." Suddenly Robin fell to the ground, convulsing in pain.
Lucina glanced away from the fight outside the barrier to see Robin fall. "Robin, no! Please, fight back! Don't let Validar take you!" Robin suddenly stopped screaming. After glancing towards the corner of the giant chamber briefly, the grandmaster stood up and began to walk quickly towards Chrom.
"Robin, are you alright? What's wrong?" Robin pulled a tome out of his jacket and, summoning a beam of light, stuck it through Chrom's chest. The exalt gasped as his daughter screamed, "No! F-Father!" Validar materialized once more, laughing evilly as Chrom crumpled to the ground.
"With the five Gemstones in hand, my magic knows no bounds. Robin is powerless to resist me. Do you see now, my son? Human bonds are leaves in the wind. They offer you nothing. Your struggles were worthless."
"The hell they were!" Lucina looked up and as the barrier of energy fell, Basilio stepped out of the shadows that Robin had glanced at earlier. "Khan Basilio! I-I thought... We all thought you were-"
"Worm food, back in Valm? It almost went that way. But I scraped by, thanks to you." Robin stood up and gave Lucina a thumbs-up with his signature goofy smile. Chrom got up and slapped Robin on the back. "Once I took a couple hits from Walhart, I knew he was too strong for me. Normally pride would've had me dead before I'd even thought twice about it. But your warning gave me the courage to be a coward, hah ha! I played dead like a big, bald opossum! It wasn't hard. In truth I almost WAS dead. You saved my life, Lucina. Had you not said anything... I'd have stood my ground against that monster and died on the spot."
Lucina fell to the ground, going through an emotional overload. But she was nothing compared to Validar. "This...does...not...MATTER! If you didn't die there, then you can die HERE!"
"Hah! You're no Walhart, snake eyes! Not as strong, or even as clever... For example: you STILL haven't realized that you've been tricked. Robin predicted everything that would happen here. He saw it in a dream. Saw this very fight with you." Validar's face was one of pure confusion. "If you think-"
"Guess what else was in the dream? The five Gemstones. When Flavia gave my stone to Chrom, Robin saw what fate had in store. He knew Chrom couldn't bring the real Gemstones here to Plegia. That would be like swinging a big, juicy steak right in front of destiny's choppers! So he had me substitute out the fakes- and your spies were only looking for men who were alive!"
"GRAAAAAAGH!" Validar was in an utter fury as the Shepherds converged in on him. "Damn you all, and your stones! I won't need them to kill you!" The Plegian king warped behind his own troops. Chrom drew Falchion once more as Flavia and Basilio ran to them. "We are yours to command, Robin!"
"Ready to end this, Robin?" He nodded. "I'm ready to see what our true future has in store." Chrom nodded before adding, "You won't get to see it if Lucina kills you for not telling her the plan." Robin gave him a puzzled look, then turned to be punched in the face by Lucina.
"IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO YOU TO FILL ME IN?!" Lucina was furious. "I thought I had lost my father AND you! I can't believe you-" She was cut off when Robin grabbed the collar of her armor and pulled her lips onto his. After a second or two they pulled apart, and Robin leaned his weary head against Lucina's. "We changed fate, my love. We'll be able to live together for the rest of our lives."
"I think I understand now." After Validar spoke, the Shepherds reformed their attack line, facing down the Grimleal. They watched Validar intently. "I didn't understand how my own son could POSSIBLY betray his destiny- turn down the opportunity to become a GOD! And since it seems the mark of the exalt keeps me from persuading my granddaughter-" he pointed at Morgan, making Inigo, as well as her parents, scowl, "I didn't think I'd get my answer. But I have. I thought it was Chrom, but no- it was you!" Validar stretched out his hand and warped Lucina close to him, then put up the same barrier spell that Robin liked to use around them. "Luci!" Chrom and Robin took steps forward, but Gerome blocked them. "This is Lucina's fight to win or lose. You must not interfere."
"You impudent, meddling whore! You seduced my son with your talk of changing fate! You poisoned his mind! Made him shirk his destiny! Your brain-fucked lunacy has ruined all of my plans! And yet you have failed to change the future at every turn. What makes you think this time will be different?! What makes you think that you can change what is already written?"
"Mother!" Lucina turned to see Morgan at the edge of the barrier. "I wouldn't exist if you hadn't changed time already. You can beat him. I know you can." The Great Lord nodded and turned back to face Validar.
"Perhaps it won't change our destiny. But that doesn't mean you don't deserve to die here!" Validar laughed. "Foolish girl! Why can't you accept it?! YOU WILL FAIL! IT IS YOUR FATE!" The time-traveling swordswoman walked slowly towards Validar.
"I CHALLENGE MY FATE!" Lucina charged forward in anger and swung at Validar again and again, and while he blocked it, he began to falter under the strong attacks. After a few seconds of fighting, Lucina successfully cut off Validar's arms. He fell to his knees as the barrier dissolved around them.
"Why, my son… why would you squander your birthright…" He was cut off as Robin drew his sword, rushed forward, and decapitated his father, Validar.
"We did it, Robin." Lucina wrapped her arms around Robin. "We changed our destiny."
"You may have altered the course of history, but not its destination." Robin turned to see himself. Or rather, the strange Plegian who was identical to him. "You! Why have you come here?!"
"Isn't it obvious? I came to see you fulfill your- our- destiny, but you had to go and kill your father." Chrom swung his Falchion at the other Robin, but he dissolved and reformed by the altar of the Dragon's table. "Who are you really, doppelganger?"
"I'm Robin. Or rather, the Robin that murdered you and became the fell dragon, Grima. The Robin who had the goddamn good sense to leave his pathetic friends behind and become a god more powerful than Naga herself!" He reached down and picked up the Fire Emblem. Then he pulled the real gemstones out of his coat. "And if you will not resurrect Grima, then I will do it for you!"
Dark matter began to swirl around the Table. The Shepherds tried to stop him, but were pushed back. "Myeh heh ha ha ha! The fell dragon and I are one! And though my journey through time has diminished my power...the life force here shall renew me!" The alternate Robin vanished as pieces of the ceiling began to fall, and the Shepherds looked up to see Grima.
The fell dragon had been fully resurrected. The four-winged dragon was larger than the entire Dragon's table. Grima's roar shook the very ground on which the Shepherds stood. "Yes, yes! I have my full power once more! Now, for another servant, since Robin won't help, well, himself, I need someone else. And it seems there's a young man here with my blood!" The shepherds shouted in alarm as Kenshin drew a lance and struck out at his father.
"Kenshin! Don't do this!" Kellam blocked two lance swings from his red-eyed son. Phila put her lance over Kenshin's head and tried to cut off his breath. He kicked her in the knee and slipped out. As Gaius tried to stop him, Kenshin's sleeve was cut off, revealing the mark of Grima on his arm. As he walked up to the altar, a large white bird appeared- bigger than a Pegasus. He jumped on top of the bird. "Do not follow me, fools. But since I know you will anyway, write your wills first- because this Kinshi is the last living thing you'll ever see."
"Kenshin, No! Please, don't leave us!" Phila's angry shout fell on deaf ears. Kellam grabbed Phila's arm. "There's nothing more we can do, Phila. We don't have the Fire Emblem."
"You mean this Fire Emblem?" Kellam, Phila, Chrom, and the other Shepherds turned to see Robin triumphantly holding the Emblem in his hands. "I stole it from you, so I figured the least I could do was get it back."
"Robin, you sly bastard!" Chrom slapped his friend on the back. "If we want to perform the Awakening and defeat Grima, we need to go to Mount Prism! Everyone back to camp!" As the Shepherds ran back down away from the Dragon's table, Robin saw Kellam and Phila still standing by the table alone. "He's gone… our son is gone…"
"Phila, we'll get him back. I will not allow our son to fight for Grima." As the two embraced, Robin said, "We have to go. Now." They pulled apart, and after Phila nodded, the three ran away towards the camp.
Just so you guys know, a lot of the pairings I use in this story have almost no fan art. And since I am a terrible artist, I will take requests in exchange for fan art of pairings I use. I'm desperate. If you have a way of getting this art to me, let me know.
Secondly, there is a reason I had all of the deadlords wield holy weapons. You'll see soon enough.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review so that I can improve my work!