A/N: Hello and it's good to see you all! It has been too long, but unfortunately, growing up means less free time :P Nonetheless, as I have stated before, once I start a project, no matter how long it takes, I will always finish it! So let's get back to invading Valm, shall we?

Taking the Capital, Part the Third

The empire's capital was in complete disarray. The Ylissean League stormed into their streets, laying waste to any that dared take up arms against them. The Feroxi troops were up front, smashing into the discombobulated Valmese while the Halidom finished them off with their spears, magic, and bows. Lastly, the regathered Resistance of Valm took care of wiping out stragglers, or those that went into hiding to try and ambush them from the rear.

But the fact that the Resistance was now invading the Capital was not the part that was terrifying the Valmese. No, it was the nine warriors all armed with weapons of the finest make descending from the sky on shining wings that was destroying troop morale.

Walhart looked down on it all with a calm exterior that betrayed the volcano about to erupt. "Tell me, Excellus," he said in a quiet rumble. "How do you think that this came about?"

"I- I have no idea!" the fat tactician stammered. "I-I had their loyalty completely aligned in our favor! There's no way- Unless…" He suddenly paled. "Was it Yen'fay they feared all along and not me?"

"FOOL!" Walhart bellowed as he rounded on his advisor. "Do you truly think anyone ever feared you?! Without Yen'fay, your threats were no more than the shadow of a tiny spider!"

Now Excellus' vanity came to the fore as he screamed, "A spider, am I?! Well this spider has woven webs in secret that not even you could-"

"Are you referring to the Fire Emblem?" Walhart said, his voice going ominously quiet again. "And that woman? Aversa, I believe it was." He nodded with satisfaction as Excellus paled further. "Yes, I know, worm. You have no secrets from me."

"If you knew…?"

"Why haven't I killed you yet?" Walhart shrugged. "Even I can admit that you have your uses… Such as amusement. No matter. You'll stay by my side until the end of this battle." Finally fed up with the all of the failures and arrogance, he grabbed Excellus by the collar and began dragging the obese man towards the armory, where he would be outfitted for his final battle.

Chrom and Robin took a moment of respite to gaze up at the sky in wonder. The warriors of Alfheim were showing coordination and teamwork that not even the Shepherds had ever seen in their lives. Robin's tactician eye in particular kept track of their movements, trying to figure out patterns that he might be able to apply to his winged units in the future.

Two of them flew on purple-black wings and wielded single dark rapiers. They were working in unison, one landing in front of a group and keeping them distracted with a series of blindingly fast and complicated swordplay moves while the other would come back around and take them by surprise from the rear. Their work done, Yuuki and Aiko would take to the sky in search of their next targets.

Sinon was up on a spire, mostly staying in one fixed place and only using her wings when she was being targeted by an enemy spellcaster. Her arrows flew true every time, no matter how far her target, and Robin realized that Virion was no longer their ace archer. If Sinon could see it, she could shoot it.

Leafa and Silica were unleashing multiple wind spells as they flew above the rooftops, picking off pegasi and wyverns as their primary targets. Pina, Silica's wyvern, would charge ahead of them, attracting the attention of other riders so that the girls could target them with their air magic.

Flying more slowly than the others was one of the new recruits, Sachi. Accompanying her was Yui, the daughter of Kirito and Asuna. Yui was using her divine magic to disable enemy soldiers while her older partner set down to heal those that were wounded from the League. Part of Robin wished that girl wasn't holding back, but it was not his place to tell her how to use her powers, nor would it be morally acceptable for him to tell a little girl to kill people against her will. That would make him no better than Excellus or Walhart.

Of course, the greatest spectacle the Black Lightning pair. Asuna's speed with her white rapier and lightning magic were unmatched by any of her comrades, though Aiko and Yuuki were close to her level of speed when it came to swordplay. Kirito's twin blades could only be described as dancing as he held them in defense of his loved one. They were seen the least by friend and foes alike, due to their speed and dexterity as they flew low in the streets and in between buildings.

She would stab an opponent so fast that he would be dead before he hit the street and she flew past him in between houses. He would follow up by plowing into a group of people, cutting them down with eyes like steel before shooting skywards and unleashing dark energies through his elucidator and dark repulser.

The Alfheim squad was the equivalent of a small army, Chrom and Robin thought. However when they lowered their gazes, the blond man had to smile brightly with pride.

Marth and Morgan's combination of magic and sword use was flawless, he thought, though he did realize that it might be his pride blinding him to any faults in their technique. Morgan would weaken their opponents with magic, allowing Marth to have an easier time of finishing them off. They were working so fast through the enemy ranks, their mother and grandmother, their assigned guardians for the battle, could barely keep up.

"Your children are really something, Robin," Chrom said, startling Robin. "I hope you do just as well raising them this time around."

"Er, thanks Chrom," Robin stammered, his face flushing slightly, and not from the exertion of battle. "But perhaps we should wait a while before I think about having any children in this timeline, eh?"

"Oh, but of course," Chrom said with a mischievous grin. "Because if you touch Lucina anywhere you shouldn't before I say you can, you'll lose your manhood in every sense of the word." And he re-gripped Falchion before gesturing for a pale Robin to follow him.

Marth and Morgan and run into an ambush. "Boy, I hope Dad doesn't see this," Morgan muttered nervously as she saw one of the twelve enemy soldiers preparing to cast a fire spell.

"Right now, I actually wouldn't mind it if he did see us," Marth argued back. "We could use some backup."

Just before the magics could be flung, a small figure dropped down on the man, breaking his shoulders and smacking his head into the ground hard enough to knock him out. Long black hair splayed out as Yui whipped her head to side to see a swordsman running right at her.

Beating her wings hard, she shot backwards and over the sword swipe that would have cut her in two. Marth seized the opportunity and darted forward to kill Yui's attacker, even as Sachi hovered above them all and cast a blast of fire that stunned a spearman that tried to go for Morgan, leaving her open to unleash a Thoron spell that speared two more men and blasted a hole through a house.

After that, the next few seconds were a blur to all that stood in the alley. The children pummeled, blasted, slashed, and beat down their enemies until only one of them was left.

Unfortunately, they were not aware that he was still capable of fighting until Marth strode by him, in the process of putting away his sword. Just as the boy stepped by him, the man ceased faking his comatose state, and stabbed Marth in the side, just below his ribs. The boy with blue hair simply looked down at his attacker with shock in his eyes as the sword left his body, causing a red fountain to erupt from his side.

His vision flickered as he fell forward and blacked out as soon as he hit his head on the dirt street. But just before the light left him, he saw Yui stretch out her hand at the same time that Morgan opened a page in her yellow tome. The man was struck first by three bolts of chain lightning, causing him to scream in pain just before a brilliant beam of light completely disintegrated him.

Sachi's eyes widened to the size of grapefruits as she saw Yui unleash the deadly might of her divine magic. One moment, the Valmese man had been getting to his feet, preparing to fight the remaining children. The next, he was gone, and Yui was standing there with wide eyes, remnants of her powerful magic emanating from her hand.

Morgan looked over at the raven-haired younger girl with surprise for a brief moment before rushing to her brother's side, using her long sleeves to try and staunch the bleeding. "Marth!" she shouted, trying to get him to respond. "Marth! Wake up! You need to stay awake!"

"Move back," Sachi said as she snapped out of her shocked state to bring her staff next to Marth's wound. "Yui, I need your help."

Yui shook herself and moved to kneel beside Marth while telling Morgan, "Move your hands. We need to have direct access to a wound this bad." Reluctantly, Morgan did so, and Yui placed her own pale hands over the ghastly wound.

Sachi put the orb of her staff on the little girl's hands and let her own inner magic flow into the tool, amplifying the energy that then flowed into Yui. The Kirigaya daughter now let a new, softer light flow out into the stabbed flesh. The edges of the cut drew together, bit by bit, even as the light spilled into the wounded prince's insides, sealing the terrible damage done to his organs.

Morgan looked on in pale fright as dark thoughts of a life without her brother swirled about. It was maddening to her that for all of her skill in battle, she could do nothing to stop the loss of life when it came down to situations like this. It took about a minute of concentrated healing from both of the girls, but at long last, Marth's life was out of danger.

Yui slumped forward, exhausted, and Sachi needed her staff to support her wobbly legs. The older healer was less experienced, and the younger one had provided the skill necessary to save the young man's life. Both were completely drained of power at this point, and were in no condition to fly, let alone fight.

Marth woke up with a jerk and wide eyes. "Where is the dastard that-"

"You're okay!" Morgan cried as she threw her arms around her brother. "I thought that I had lost you for a moment!"

Marth looked around, taking in the situation before hugging his sister back and saying, "You very well might have… Next time, I'll have to make sure of things before I move on… But how did you take out the man that did me in?"

"I didn't," Morgan said as she leaned back and looked over at Yui, who was looking down numbly at her blood-stained hands. "Yui did."

"But…" Marth shook his head, both confused and uncertain on how to ask the next question: hadn't Yui taken a vow not to take a life directly with her abilities?

"I… killed someone…" the little girl whispered.

"It wasn't avoidable," Sachi said as she placed a hand on her companion's shoulder. "You did nothing wrong, Yui."

"But I did," Yui said as she started to cry. "Morgan… was already taking him down… And I… I… No… How could I…" She started to sob uncontrollably, and Sachi threw aside her staff to embrace the younger fairy. Morgan looked on awkwardly, unsure of what to say. For her, taking lives was not something she took pleasure in, but neither did she shed tears for her fallen enemies. So she were uncertain of how to comfort the younger girl when it was apparent to her that she had done nothing wrong.

Marth, on the other hand, was still overwhelmed by what had just happened. He had been so close to death, and then he thought he saw the timid little girl transform for just a moment into a fierce warrior and destroyed the man that would have taken his life. But then everything was dark, and the next thing he knew, the Yui he was familiar with was saving his life. It was in such a contrast to her character that he didn't know how to handle her at this point.

So they did nothing as Yui cried… and cried… and cried.

"We have the southern half of the city under our control, and we're lookin' at moving up to finish securing the north," Kirito said as he landed with Asuna. "If you ask me, I think we're ready to move onto phase three. Let the khans finish taking care of everything out here."

"I agree," Robin nodded, though he did seem a bit distracted. "Are the Shepherds gathering yet?"

"Some of them are, but I hadn't given the order to gather at the palace just yet," Kirito replied. "Should we get to it?"

"Yeah," Robin nodded. "We'll meet you there and bring anybody we find along the way."

"Stay safe out there," Kirito said just before he shot up into the sky.

"Don't worry, Robin," Asuna smiled at the blond man. "We'll find Marth and Morgan and make that they make it to the palace."

"Thank you, Asuna," Robin said with evident relief. "Safe flying." And she took off to follow her husband.

"You're becoming quite the father there," Chrom grinned at his best friend. "Are you worried about your little ones?"

"Technically, they're your little one's little ones, so I'm surprised that you aren't more concerned about them," Robin shot back, slightly annoyed.

"Robin, that's why I'm not worried," Chrom laughed as they began jogging in the direction of the palace. "I've seen both you and Lucina fight, and if those kids are half as good as either of you, I think that they'll be fine."

"I'd rather know than think," Robin muttered, though he did appreciate the compliment.

"You're always thinking, Robin," Chrom teased. Robin rolled his eyes and said nothing. Right now, he needed to focus on preparing the Shepherds for the final battle against the forces of Valm, where they would finally confront the dark tyrant that had murdered many, a valiant Shepherd named Klein among them. In their names, he would not fail.

Kirito: Man, I almost felt like we were on a hiatus there!

Asuna: Tell me about it. Mataras is getting pretty late with his updates, don't you think?

Mataras: Hey! Two jobs, one of them full-time, remember? I don't have all the free time I used to! Updates are going to be kind of slow from now on! If they come out in bursts like they used to, it will only be every once in a while!

Kirito: Man, growing up sounds like a pain.

Mataras: Okay Peter Pan, not in front of the kids.

Asuna: You're both still little children, aren't you?

Mataras: Hey, writers have to stay young in some respects, no matter how much we have to mature everywhere else! I dunno what his excuse is though.

Kirito: Cut scene!