Well, this is it. One or two more chapters left in this story arc.
Once I'm done, I will take some time off updating and write ahead a few chapters for the next arc. Speaking of updates, I may not be able to make the next update on time, as I'm going on vacation a week from now and I don't want to rush things. It all depends on how the last days of school go.
Other than that, special thanks to Hyperninja39 for following!
If anyone has any suggestions of possible pairings, let me know, please.
Well, enjoy the chapter, and leave me a review!
Fire Emblem: Dragon's Claw
~ Chapter 26 ~
Renewed Resolve
Ryoko moaned pitifully as she worked on her pile of paperwork.
Levi came in with more paperwork, causing her to moan again.
"Don't worry." He told her, "It's mine."
He promptly found somewhere to sit near her and started working.
"You alright?" he asked concernedly.
"Noooo…" Ryoko replied with a groan, "'M drowning…. Too much work…."
Levi chuckled, "As soon as the boss man and 'Ren get up off their depressed asses, we're dumping everything on them."
Ryoko nodded, slumping over the papers, yawning.
"Are you alright?" he questioned carefully, "You seem exhausted, and you're eating more than usual."
His reply was a nigh incomprehensible grumble that loosely translated to, 'How would you know? You're never here that long.'
"I know because I talk to the healers during checkups." He told her.
"Unfair…" she complained, "Sho, Sho unfair…."
"Answer the question, please." He pressed.
"Fine…" Ryoko replied, "Just tired…. Hate mornings. They're dizzy."
Levi sighed. His partner almost behaved like that one guy he had met who was trying to get off his addiction to some herbs.
Almost, because she was only this miserable when doing paperwork or in the mornings, from what he gathered.
Still, he worried about her.
He didn't want the stress getting to her now. She was the only thing keeping the war from doing more damage than it already was.
Besides if Ryoko died… he didn't even want to think of what he'd do.
Hearing her soft snores, he sighed.
Looking up, he saw Gaius standing on the doorway.
Sighing again, this time in resignation, he left a note on the desk with an apology and cast a warming spell on her cloak.
Levi really hated that he couldn't be with his beloved, but he was needed in gathering information with the spies.
.
Verna carefully went through her forms with her short sword.
The past weeks had been exhausting.
She had been ferrying information between the various spy teams, Fort Ravenshear and Ferox.
She was lucky to be able to stay on the ground two days per week until now. From tomorrow, Frau would take her place while Verna would stay to defend the Fort.
Mather was needed here full time, especially now that her bow skills had improved.
Speaking of bows, the azure-haired woman was practicing with Virion and Syrenne on some wall where targets had been hanged.
Without her Pegasus, Syrenne had to fight on the ground most of the time, but she had previous experience with hunting and once she could handle war bows reliably she got a couple of turns with the archers on the walls they had erected on the Fort's perimeter.
The woman was tall, muscular and somewhat crass. She was the youngest daughter of a half-Plegian merchant, her naturally dark skin proof of that heritage, and had begun her training right as the previous war ended. She kept her dark brown hair at just below her shoulders in dreadlocks and out of the way, proudly displaying the numerous scars she had gained on her face before retiring from active duty to train the new recruits, including the one that had nearly cost her one of her admittedly beautiful olive eyes.
From what Verna heard, the woman's well-justified paranoia had prevented a few disasters and she was considering returning to active duty.
Frau was helping Thite, who had been a new recruit barely out of basic training when Gangrel attacked Ylisstol.
Despite this, Thite was still cheerful and a massive troublemaker, especially when she worked with Fae and Nowi.
They let her be most of the time, both for morale and because it taught her magic and stealth and made her run away really fast if some victim didn't appreciate her latest prank.
The blond's hair was a mess of curls that she somehow managed to get into a pair of low twin tails, while her eyes reminded Verna of honey.
In another corner there were a group of soldiers running through drills with their spears, led by Yuno.
Yuno was a beauty with long, silky black hair, dark blue eyes and pale skin who led the Redwings before the attack. She had a grandmother from Valm's nobility, the state of Honsaki if she recalled correctly, and her distant relatives had tried to make her a spy for them. The woman had refused quite vocally, though she was rumored to use her connections to aid Ylissean spies in Valm.
Among the drilling soldiers there was also a pair of sisters, Miisha from the Redwings and her younger sister Karin, from the Skywings. They both had light brown hair and chocolate eyes, though Miisha's hair went to her mid-back and Karin kept hers to her shoulder-blades.
The last of the rescued Pegasus Knights was Clair, a no-nonsense woman a few years older than Ryoko with dark red hair and black eyes, formerly of the Skywings, who was sparring with Fae's bodyguard— Longinus.
The Manakete in question was currently being instructed by Ryoko on the use of her daggers in one of the Dragon's rare moments free of paperwork.
On another side of the courtyard, far from the others, was a group of aspiring mages training, while Kynthelieg was nearby lecturing two soldiers on the basics of staff use.
All considered, today was a rather peaceful day.
There were no alerts, the weather was good, they weren't doing stamina exercises and nobody had blown up anything important.
Verna let herself enjoy the feeling, but forced herself to stay focused, knowing perfectly that this could change at any moment.
Yes, for now most of those patrolling had already gotten the day off or were Ryoko's Horde, but everyone would be on the battlefield as soon as Aversa or Gangrel and their forces were spotted.
Just two more weeks, she reminded herself.
Two more weeks before the reinforcements came.
Soldiers were already deserting the Plegian forces— some having even contacted Levi, Gaius or Nowi in order to do so.
If they managed to force Aversa to retreat, they would have a chance.
.
Sumia bit her lip nervously as she re-read Ryoko's letter.
She had asked the Dragon for some advice in how to help Chrom and Daraen, because, honestly, she didn't know much on how to deal with people besides healing.
She had thought of the Pegasus Knights' Commander and that she often said that a good slap was a good way to snap people out of their thoughts when they were not paying attention, and Ryoko had agreed.
Still, Sumia didn't want to get in trouble with Frederick for it, which was the reason of her nervousness.
Ryoko was, after all, a known prankster and had a very low tolerance for idiocy, so Sumia was debating asking someone else for confirmation.
With a sigh, she folded the letter and put it on her desk, before marching out of the room to find Tharja and Chrom.
She had a message to deliver and a captain to 'slap', after all.
.
Tharja muttered irritably to herself, having lost her beloved when he had gone to the baths hours ago.
His foolishness was starting to annoy her, in all honesty.
They were in the middle of war, and he was wallowing in his own pity.
So she could forgive Ryoko for suggesting cursing Daraen with one of the nastier prank hexes to get him to work if the scheme she and Sumia had devised did not work.
He had caught her following him (as per her orders) and he acted a little more like a person than before ever since.
Maybe shocking him would work all the way rather than partially.
She was also nearly certain that Sumia was lurking nearby, as Chrom was currently away, and was going to use that 'Recording Tome' of the Anna woman to catch his reaction and spread it around as retribution for the headaches he caused.
Tharja had consented to it only because she would be recording Sumia slapping the prince, though considering the woman's smile she rather doubted it would be an actual slap.
It would be good entertainment, if nothing else.
She bumped into someone just as she was entering the courtyard.
"Why good day, Daraen!" she exclaimed as chipper as she could manage to be, "How fare you? Enjoying this good weather while it lasts?"
Daraen blinked, "…Tharja? What are you doing?"
The Dark Mage feigned surprise, "What, me? Ho ho! Whatever do you mean? Just a normal greeting on a typical day. Why? Are you concerned for my welfare, good sir?"
He shifted nervously in response, "I… suppose, in a way."
"You are!" she exclaimed with forced excitement, "How sweeeeeeeeet!"
"I'm more concerned about whatever you're planning for me." The tactician muttered.
"Of course I have a plan for you, silly-billy!" Tharja fake-gushed, "Now close your eyes, and get ready for…" she took out an object wrapped in cloth, "a slice of liver-and-eel pie! That's your favorite, correct? Oh, I do so adore baking…."
That last part she said with a completely flat tone, as if she was reciting a script.
In a way, the Dark Mage supposed she was. 'Normal' was not something that was commonly associated with her kind of people.
Daraen looked entirely unconvinced, "Are you sure you're all right, Tharja? You didn't eat anything strange, did you? Miscast a hex? Hit your head on a rock?"
She very, very nearly smirked triumphantly. Finally, a reaction!
Well, one that had genuine emotion, in any case.
Instead, Tharja made a poor imitation of some noble lady's laugh, "Oh ho ho, goodness me! Such an imagination you have, good sir. I'm sure I wouldn't know anything about anything strange, much less eat it! Just a typical day for a typical girl here."
"This is about our last conversation, isn't it?" Daraen asked, deadpanning.
"Don't be silly." Tharja dismissed his concerns, trying to hand him her pie, "Now have some pie."
Damn it, she had worked so hard on that recipe! If he was going to be an ingrate about it, he should at the very least taste it beforehand!
"Look, I don't even w—"
She shoved the slice of pie into his mouth, staring expectantly.
Slowly, he munched on it and swallowed.
He grinned stupidly, "Skies, that's delicious."
"Oh, huzzah!" Tharja exclaimed happily, "I've been working on the recipe every day!"
Daraen's smile fell immediately, and he backed away from her warily, "A-Actually… can you please stop that? It's getting really creepy coming from you."
Tharja's fake smile dropped immediately, "You done being depressed, then?"
"Y-Yeah." He replied, "Done."
A cold breeze blew through the area, making her shiver slightly.
Daraen shrugged off his coat, putting it on her shoulders, "You should really wear a cloak outside. You'll get sick otherwise, you know?"
Tharja giggled to herself, 'My love is concerned about my health!'
He sighed, "I like you better like this. Thinking of you as 'typically normal' is very, very unsettling."
The black-haired Plegian smiled happily.
She knew she could manage to bring him out of depression without need for hexes.
Speaking of….
"Say, have you been introduced to 'The Game' yet?" she questioned.
"What game?" he asked warily.
Tharja's smirk was not meant to be reassuring, "Why, Humiliate-Everyone-With-Annoying-Hexes-And-Curses-While-Killing-Everyone-Who-Gets-Too-Close, of course! It's a common game among dark mages and Shadowgifted."
Daraen groaned, "I knew those two didn't come up with it."
.
In one of her rare moments of free time, Ryoko went flying with Fae outside the tiny boundaries of her Territory.
Speaking of, she would have to take it down as soon as she had the chance to vacate Ravenshear Fort.
The two Dragons relished in the few minutes of relative freedom.
The siege was starting to take its toll on everyone.
Just one more week.
The reinforcements would be coming in soon, and among them there would be Daraen and Tharja. Those two thousand men would drive off the damned Risen army that had been harassing them all.
One more week, and the rumors they had planted around the country would finally be taken as the truth they were even by the higher ranks of the Plegian Army.
Aversa had tried to get past her defenses multiple times, but they all failed, and every time she saw less and less human soldiers than they left.
One more week, and everyone would be together again.
Azura landed quietly behind some rock near the flower field they had been aiming for, letting the two Dragonkin dismount.
Fae hummed a song as she looked at the various herbs, picking some up as she went and putting them in a basket she had brought with her.
Ryoko sat on the edge of the closest cliff, and closed her eyes, focusing on her Adult Dragon Form, trying to understand all its little quirks.
It was slow progress.
To do it properly, one needed most of their magic, leaving only enough for automatic defenses available.
Ryoko was already constrained by the Seal, but she also had the two Hordes, a Territory and her other spells to consider, mainly the one to properly focus her vision.
Using glasses in close battle was just an invitation for trouble, after all, and they needed to be ready to haul ass to Ravenshear at a moment's notice, weapons drawn.
Still, she was stubborn enough to get on her age group's level even in the middle of war.
Escorts and ritual chambers were for sissies.
She would damn well manage to figure out her Specialization and gain her final form well before thirty like all other Dragons!
Still, the first step was to get to know the base form on which she would build on her strength.
She was getting there, if slowly.
For all that she sometimes forgot about being a Dragon, she was well aware of her body's limits, something that had been necessary for her to survive in her early years.
Slowly, her hair became red.
The magic focused on the Dragon Mask in her lap, feeling out the changes it had gone through now that she had her Adult form.
Now that she thought about it, she should probably get Fae started on actively using her Dragonstone once the Manakete could cast Arc-level spells.
Ryoko was really enjoying the chance to relax somewhere where the only sounds were the wind and the rustling grass.
The only thing that interrupted it was Fae's soft footsteps when she occasionally moved.
Her eyes snapped open.
Wingbeats.
"Fae." She whispered, "Hide."
Hopefully the Manakete heard her.
Aversa's black Pegasus landed, the woman on its back.
Ryoko activated the Dragon Mask and let it slowly change her to Half form, lowering herself into the thick grass.
She cursed mentally.
.
"Do you have any ideas, oaf?" Flavia asked irritably.
She already felt like this meeting was going to be a stressful one, and they hadn't even started.
Basilio shrugged, "Don't look at me. I'm not in charge."
The Khan huffed, "I picked a damn fine time to regain the full throne…."
"…It's my fault…." Chrom muttered miserably.
Daraen resisted the urge to take the blame, well aware that Tharja had orders to hit him with stinging hexes if he tried to.
Instead, he sat back and watched the show.
Sumia marched over to Chrom, her hand in a fist….
"OW!"
"Stop blaming yourself, Captain!" the Pegasus Knight shouted, "You did nothing wrong!"
"She did it for me, Sumia." he rebutted, a haunted look in his eyes, "So that I wouldn't have to live with the guilt of either choice, she chose for me. She sacrificed herself rather than give up what could one day save her people…."
"There was nothing any of us could have done." Sumia reminded him, "Not even Ryoko."
"Gods, I was just so powerless!" he whined.
This time, it was Daraen who punched him.
"So stop wallowing in your own pity and do something about it!" he snapped, "While we're sitting here on our asses, the Dragonwings are under siege with most of our troops!"
"And then what?" Chrom demanded, "What can we even do?"
"SHUT UP!" Daraen roared, "I was powerless too, remember? We both were. And yes, alone, I don't think either one of us is half the person your sister was. But together… maybe we can be something more. If you fall, I'll be there to pull you back up. When you fight for your sister's ideals, I'll be by your side. You don't have to become your sister, you know. You can still be true to yourself. You just have to give people hope in whatever way you can."
The Ylissean prince was stunned into silence.
"And what if I can't?" he questioned quietly, "What if I'm not worthy of her ideals? Daraen, what if I drag you down with me?"
"If you aren't worthy, you'll keep at it until you are." The tactician replied, "Skies know you're stubborn enough. And if we both fall down, well, that's what friends are for, isn't it? And, right now, those friends need our help."
Chrom nodded, "Y-You're right. Let's go rescue them."
"Now we're talking!" Flavia shouted exuberantly, "Mount up, everyone! We're off to Fort Ravenshear post-haste! Let's kick Plegian arse!"
Daraen shook his head at her antics, but she didn't care at this point.
There were better things to do.
Like packing her best battle ax and some food.
.
"Damn that blasted Wyvern Rider." Aversa muttered, "That brat has been getting in our way far too much already. If only I could take down that stupid barrier of hers…."
Ryoko pressed herself closer to the ground, slowing her breathing as much as she could on instinct.
"The only way would be for something on the same level as a damned Dragon to attack it, but there's nothing that can do it!" the white-haired woman shook her head irritably, "It won't matter. The brat is certainly tired. She won't last another large-scale attack."
There were a few seconds of silence, during which the woman moved closer to her position.
Ryoko held her breath.
"I'll just have to make sure of it and poison the river, then." The woman decided, "It's not as if it goes anywhere other than the Lake of Despair."
Fae whimpered in fear.
Aversa's attention snapped onto the source of the sound, "Forblaze!"
"Svalinn!"
Fae screamed in fright as the spell was stopped just short of her, scrambling to her feet.
"Run!" Ryoko commanded, punching the woman only to have the blow blocked.
She grabbed the woman's hand and threw her on the ground.
Fae did not move, watching her with eyes wide with fear.
"Take those herbs and go!" Ryoko commanded, "Now! That's an order!"
She quickly shot a series of stunning spells at Aversa, finally paralyzing her with an overcharged Spark.
The Dragon quickly relieved her of whatever she was carrying besides a knife, stunned her Pegasus and stole the rest of her supplies.
Then she took out of her own pouches a tiny vial with a swirling orange liquid, threw it on the ground and jumped off the nearest cliff, flying off.
She left the field to burn in holy fire, not once looking back as she flew to a far off cave, burned Aversa's stuff and returned to Fort Ravenshear.
.
Seeing the Risen army approach Fort Ravenshear four days later had Ryoko cursing in all of the twenty languages she had learned over her life, knowing that Aversa had, somehow, survived the fire.
On the bright side, though, Ryoko had been able to drop her Territory and recover her magic a bit more, as Levi's own personal spell was similar to hers, if based more around the concept of Hellfire rather than thunder-elemental siege spells.
Also, having Nowi around on a permanent basis meant that they could now have the two Manakete, who didn't need to use magic as often, alternate between sustaining the other two spells, leaving the blue-haired Dragon free to leave minor but annoying traps laying around the grounds.
"We'll never make it at this rate." Levi despaired, "We won't last a day like this."
The reason for the rather pessimistic thoughts was a very angry and possessed Aversa was assaulting the anti-magic portion of the Territory with Forsaken magic, and powerful one to boot.
"We need Daraen." Cordelia declared, "No offense, Ree, but…"
"I'm too passive for it to work." Ryoko continued for the redhead, "I know that. It's a good battle style, but as a strategy it's only good for holding ground."
"Lady Ryoko makes a good point," Mathias agreed, "As an individual, these tactics conserve her energy and make her a formidable opponent, but it does not work in a large scale. We need an experienced tactician to push back the enemy forces."
Levi nodded, "Exactly. Ryoko did well in stalling the Plegian until our commanders could return, but we can't last much longer without risking a repeat of the previous war."
Ryoko paled, "Blood River."
Everyone, with the exception of Fae and Nowi, nodded darkly at that.
What the short woman had referred to was the Battle of Blood River, a massive battle near the end of the War which had very nearly spelled defeat for the Ylisseans holding Fort Ravenshear, in which Mist River had been said to have turned red with the blood of the fallen.
It was only the actions of a small group of brave men, who had managed to bring extra tomes and weapons to the Ylissean forces, that they managed to force the Plegians into retreat and regain momentum.
Those had been the darker years, where Ryoko had vague memories of fearrunspellseverywherehideitsnotsafe and little more.
Her father had spoken of it little in her history lessons, his face darkening as he spoke of it in vague terms. When she had been older, she had researched it for herself, and understood why her father had kept it from her when she had trouble sleeping from nightmares.
"Who goes?" Ryoko asked, "We need to bring Daraen here as soon as possible. Possibly Chrom, too."
Everyone turned to stare at her.
"No." Ryoko said, disbelieving, "No way. What about the Territory? What about—"
"Go." Fae told her, "Fae can handle herself. Everyone needs Daraen here. You're the fastest one, Ryoko."
"What if they attack while I'm not here?" Ryoko questioned.
"We'll defend ourselves." Levi reassured her, "My personal spell can get rather… vicious… when someone tries to break it. We can hold on long enough for our tactician to get here."
Reluctantly, slowly, Ryoko left the meeting room, walking briskly towards the bridge between the towers.
She considered, briefly, calling Azura.
She discarded the idea immediately. Speed was the most important thing.
Instead, she shifted into Half form, letting the Mask cover her whole body until the only pieces of clothing left on her were her belt and her scarf, and jumped, Flashing herself outside the Territory as far as she could see.
She nearly fell when she returned to normal speed, but managed to regain her balance in time to keep all the momentum she had gained by Flashing.
Reaching Daraen's position took very little, merely an hour.
"Daraen!" she called while landing.
"Ryoko!" Flavia said happily, "It's been a while! You know I'll get you back for that little trick, right?"
"Later." Ryoko snapped back, "Aversa is getting desperate. We need Daraen to push her back significantly and force her to back the hell off."
"That bad?" Daraen asked, grimacing, making Flavia jump slightly.
"Yes." Ryoko confirmed, "I'll Flash you there."
"How many can you bring with you?" the tactician questioned, already working on strategies.
She thought about it, "Five. Three if you bring Zeiss and Sumia with her partner. Anything more and I'll risk shattering the Territory I built at the Fort."
She got a raised eyebrow in response, "I thought you handed it off to Levi and the girls?"
"I did." She confirmed, "But it just means that they control its effect. As its creator, coming in with a heavily disrupted signature will make it explode. Horribly."
"Cheery." Flavia commented dryly.
"What can you tell me?" Daraen asked, trying to get a feel of what he would be working with.
"We set up an anti-aerial defense on the towers." Ryoko explained, "There's a trebuchet we use sometimes, when we have ammunition. The bulk of the fighting will be done at the edges of the Territory— this time it's full of traps to bog down the enemy —or just outside. We are about a thousand total, including my two Hordes, only the Dragonwings fliers. We have ten healers inside and about sixty-seventy fighters who are also field healers, a hundred more can use staves. A little less than eight hundred of us can use battle spells, fifty of which are on the wall with the archers, three are healers and one is Fae."
"What about the enemy?" he questioned, "What are we expecting?"
"Mainly Risen." Was the quick reply, "They normally outnumber us two to one, but Aversa is desperate, she'll summon as many as she can handle, possibly even more. She has a lot of fliers, but the ground forces change far too often to really say. Aversa has powerful tomes— one of which is a Dragon-slaying spell, Forblaze, and another creates powerful winds. I haven't seen her use Balberith yet, but I saw the tome."
Daraen frowned. "It'll be tough."
Ryoko nodded grimly.
They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Get ready." Daraen ordered, "We're returning to the fort as soon as I get Sumia."
Ryoko nodded, "Move off to the side, I need to focus for it."
.
Chrom stood in the middle of the gathered crowd, waiting for Ryoko's speech.
The battle had been tough.
When he had arrived, flanking the Risen army, it had been a massive mess.
There were weapons scattered everywhere, people picking up those weapons and throwing them charged with magic, and spellfire being flung about by both sides.
The Dragonwings were harassing the enemy's flying units, Daraen barking orders whenever he was low enough for his voice to be heard and Ryoko or Levi relaying them when he wasn't.
Aversa summoned more Risen, focused solely on Ryoko's Wing.
For a moment, he was back at the castle.
For a single, horrible, terrifying moment, he was watching as first the Pegasus Knights and then his sister fell to the ground.
Then, Ryoko jumped, changing into an unfamiliar (but still silver) Dragon, and flew right through the arrows, not even flinching, before creating a massive thunderstorm right on top of them, also catching and shattering any arrow that had flown past her.
A moment later, she swiftly returned to the others.
The rest of the battle was a blur, but they had managed to force Aversa to retreat.
"SOLDIERS!" Ryoko roared, "Today, we have survived! Today, we managed to push back the enemy! Today… the Siege of Ravenshear… is no more!"
The gathered soldiers all cheered loudly, while Azura screeched.
"BUT!" she continued, interrupting the cheers, "There is still work to be done. Houses need to be rebuilt, wounds need healing, bandits have to be taken care of…. However, before that, there is one more foe to defeat, one more battle to be fought. The Mad King Gangrel is still out there. He won't stop until Ylisse is in flames, maybe not even then."
She sighed, "As most of you know, as of today I will be regaining command exclusively of the Dragonwings, rather than a small army. We have fought long. The injured will be sent back to Regna Ferox to recover, and then they will be returned home. Some of you have also been deeply affected by the war. Of you, I ask only one more battle. If you feel that you cannot give it, make it be known now."
Surprisingly, no hands were raised, no mutterings were heard.
From what the prince had heard, Kynthelieg had been one of the worst hit by the events at the castle.
"Thank you all." Ryoko said, "Get some rest, everyone. We'll be leaving soon. Shepherds, Dragonwings, come to the meeting room."
The soldiers dispersed, everyone going their own way.
Less than half an hour later, everyone was gathered in the meeting room, including the six Pegasus Knights who had been rescued from the massacre.
They all stared at Chrom expectantly.
"Well, fearless leader?" Levi prompted with a smile, "Don't you have something to say?"
Chrom looked down for a moment, ashamed of himself.
"I'm sorry, everyone." He said, "I've been a terrible commander these last few months, lost in my own grief as I was."
He sighed, "I can't promise that it won't happen ever again. Exalted blood or not, I am still just a man. I care for all my men and women, and I will grieve should any of you die. That day, I was powerless to do anything but watch. I couldn't do anything but watch as Emm sacrificed herself for us, as she passed the task to make Ylisse peaceful to me."
His gaze steeled with determination, "I am not my sister. I still wonder if I'm worthy of her ideals…. But I feel that, with all of you by my side, I can be, someday."
"That's right!" Nowi shouted, interrupting him, "I wouldn't even be here if not for you."
Tharja scoffed, "You gave me your trust, and now you have mine. …For the time being."
"Were you unworthy, I would have left long ago." Lon'qu told him gruffly.
Virion smiled, "It took great courage and charisma to unite all of us. You aren't as lacking of them as you might think."
"Yeah!" Ricken exclaimed, "We all look up to you! You're like a hero to us."
"We made it this far thanks to Daraen." Levi said, "But remember that we wouldn't have even started without you bringing us together, Chrom."
The Ylissean prince nodded resolutely, "Thank you, everyone. I will treasure your words. My Shepherds… Dragonwings… my friends…. There is much to be done. Gangrel needs to be stopped before he has the continent burn in the fires of war. Will you help me on this quest?"
"You can count me in!" Lissa volunteered immediately, "I've had enough of sitting around, it's time to start punching stuff!"
"Hear hear, darling!" Maribelle agreed, "Our people have suffered enough."
"Gladly would I fight and die for House Ylisse!" Stahl declared firmly.
"Gladly would I fight and kill those dastards for House Ylisse!" Sully stated proudly.
"Gregor help you for free!" the mercenary said.
Fae grinned at Chrom, "Fae will help as much as Fae can."
The six rescued Pegasus Knights looked at each other for a second.
"We may not be of much help." Syrenne spoke for them all, "But we will fight with you, for all our sisters."
"I'll make them taste my arrows." Mather said ferociously.
"We're in this, no matter what." Verna affirmed.
"Though candy would be nice to have, too." Gaius piped in jokingly.
"I-I will fight with you!" Frau declared.
Cordelia raised her lance, "For Ylisse!"
"Our hearts echo yours, sire." Libra said calmly.
"Teach is here and class is in session!" Vaike shouted loudly.
Kellam waved, "I'm with you, too!"
"I will be the unbreakable shield by your side!" Sumia promised.
Panne smirked, "Your sister earned my respect. The last Taguel shall champion her."
"I once said I would fight for you." Ryoko said, "A minor setback won't have me going back on my word."
Chrom smiled, "Thank you all. Truly. You honor me with your fealty. I will not falter again. We shall answer this outrage! The Mad King must be stopped!"
A good number of those gathered cheered loudly.
"Right!" Flavia snouted, "It's high time for ol' Gangrel to get a dose of his own Vulnerary! The Feroxi will be happy to teach the madman a thing or two."
Basilio barked in laughter, "You young folk— your passions run so hot! If I had any gray hairs, you would've singed 'em right off. You kiddies can count me in!"
"I'd like to go, too, if I may." A beautiful young pink-haired lady said shyly, "The Exalt did me a kindness once."
Chrom frowned in confusion, "She did?"
The woman, Olivia, if he recalled correctly, shifted nervously, "Y-yes, sire. It would honor me to have a part in giving her justice! Although all I can do is dance…. And I'm not so skilled at that, if we're being honest…."
Basilio scoffed at that, "She's too modest! Olivia is a Feroxi treasure. You won't meet a finer dancer in all the realms! Her moves inspire soldiers to work twice as hard! You'd do well to bring her along, Commander."
The Ylissean prince raised an eyebrow at that, "'Commander'? What happened to 'boy'?"
The former reigning Khan waved his hand dismissively, "You've earned your way up from that name, I think."
He became serious again, "Now, where were we? Oh yes! I was just about to start cracking skulls! Flavia will lead me and the other Feroxi in a head-on assault. That should buy you enough time to take down Gangrel. Hear that, boy? You get the fun part!"
"All right, enough talk. It's time to raise some hell!" Flavia shouted impatiently.
Chrom nodded, "Right."
"Better get ready then." Levi said, "Gangrel might try to attack us while we're still licking our wounds, even with Aversa's siege."
Ryoko's hands sparked with magic as she bared her teeth, "Let him try."
And with that moment of awesomeness, I end this chapter.
Now, as for the notes. This is gonna take a while, there's a lot to say...
First, while Ryoko is NOT a morning person, there's more to her dizziness than just long hours. Can you guess what it is?
For some reason, I feel the need to say that Honsaki is, as far as I know, a completely original location, and that the six new girls (i.e. Syrenne, Yuno, Thite, Miisha, Karin and Clair) are OCs and are thus mine. You'll see them again quite a few times in the future.
Next, Tharja and Daraen's B-Support. While I do like the original version, I felt as if in this case it would work out much differently, especially considering the circumstances are a lot different. And, yes, Sumia was recording Daraen's reaction for future blackmail. Also, 'The Game' makes a small comeback!
Before anyone asks, yes, Ryoko has been fighting as a kiddie Dragon until about early Chapter 20. Can you imagine how much damage she can do now that she has tougher scales, even more power and greater power-efficiency while transforming? Worry not, she'll reach the next level in power and forget about it shortly after unless it's actually needed.
Actually, looking back on it now, a good portion of this chapter has parts of the game's Chapter 10 post-battle dialogue in it. Different, yes, beacuse male Robin never punches Chrom in the game. Still, I felt it fitting to keep the pieces of the scene where Chrom gets his head straight and brings the fight to Gangrel.
I have nothing much to say about Aversa not poisoning the river earlier except that I was an idiot and forgot about the possibility until now- I mean, she was too angry to think about it. Yes, that's definitively it.
Yes, Ryoko does know twenty languages. She's only fluent in a couple, though. Also, I'm working off the assumption that everyone speaks a common language that had been introduced to make trading easier.
Finally, I had Ryoko give a final speech before returning command to Chrom mainly to raise morale and keep everyone together.
The final scene with the Shepherds was something I simply could NOT take out, though I did give almost everyone a line in there.
Well, I think that's everything. Let me know what you think!
