(A/N: Fun fact: the Mini Shepherds' performance is taken from how well my level 10 first-tier Gregor did against level 10 second-tier enemies, then with the damage that they deal being less then what Gregor dealt. The reason why it's not level 20 second-tier enemies is because I didn't want to use a Reeking Box on a level where literally no one but my maxed out people could kill anyone. So, yes, Malin, Marth, and Lon'qu are level 20 second-tier class units, while the Mini Shepherds range from level 10-12 first-tier. They never stood much of a chance.)

The tournament didn't start until two days after their arrival. Flavia and Basilio insisted that the dates were the same as planned, but Lucina seemed to believe that they were favoring her (not that Morgan blamed her, because she wasn't as tolerant about being fussed over as he was).

When it did start, Basilio and Flavia rounded up their respective mini-armies and led them to the arena. Flavia proceeded to go over the rules and contestants.

"My army consists of Lon'qu, Marth, and Malin," she said. "They will be on one side of the arena. Basilio's army, the Mini Shepherds—there's a lot of you so I'm not listing your names separately—will be on the other side. To make up for the strength gap and to stay a raging bird"—the comment got a chuckle out of Basilio, but it took Morgan a bit too long to realize she was talking about Robin—"my army will also be wielding wooden weapons and Basilio's army will be wielding whatever weapons they can handle. You will be given thirty minutes to prepare, so get your weapons from the pile and plan out your tactics. If both armies are ready before the thirty minute mark, we can start early."

That was everyone's cue to turn to Morgan. It was both flattering and mildly stressful, but he was given those tactics lessons for a reason.

"All right," Morgan said, determination clear in his voice. "First things first, weapons. Kjelle, get some swords and lances. We already have tomes and staffs."

"No axes?" Brady asked. "I can't fight if I can't wield anything!"

Kjelle was already on her way to the weapon pile near Basilio and Flavia. Morgan replied to Brady nonetheless. "No offense, but you're not the strongest fighter here. You have staffs, so make use of them. Unless any of them can pull out staffs out of the blue, we have an advantage there."

Laurent eventually went to help Kjelle, and Morgan waited until they were both back before continuing.

"Lucina, Kjelle, you two saw how Marth fought," Morgan said, turning to the two people in question. "So, assuming Malin and Lon'qu are roughly as strong, how would you rate their strength on a scale of one to ten?"

"Is eleven an option?" Lucina asked, joking a bit. "Even when she was holding back, it was hard to land a hit—harder still to dodge. When I did manage a hit, it felt like I was trying to attack one of the walls surrounding the castle."

Morgan sighed a bit—not because of Lucina, but because that made their job a little harder. He sincerely hoped Basilio didn't expect them to actually win, because even with his optimism he couldn't find a lot of ways to defeat all three of their opponents. "So we have more people, but they can cut us down easily. That's tough. We'll have to catch them off guard, which will be hard because we can't hide anywhere. But! I think we can get an advantage—you guys just can't do anything reckless, okay? Wooden swords can still hurt, so if it gets too bad, just retreat."

Everyone gave a collective nod of agreement, and Morgan went on to explain the strategy.

…

It was true that the Mini Shepherds had grown since they started traveling around Ylisse. Morgan's sword improvement was a testament to that. However, if the tournament made anything clear, it was that they still had a long way to go before they could be as strong as their parents.

They went against their opponents with Lucina in the lead, flanked by Kjelle and Owain. Behind them was Morgan and Laurent, with Cynthia and Brady in the middle as the last resort and protected healer respectively.

Meanwhile, their opponents strategy was less complicated: Marth, Malin, and Lon'qu simply moved at their own pace, but still remained in the same general area. Marth attacked the castle kids exclusively, Lon'qu avoided the three girls, and Malin was the only one actually fighting all of the Mini Shepherds. All three had swords, but it was still hard to try to get an advantage. Morgan and Laurent could attack from further away, sure, but it didn't take long for their opponents to attack up close.

All of the Mini Shepherds started retreating, one by one. Brady was the first—Morgan should've known that he would be the only one to decide the plan wasn't enough. He tried to wack Marth with his staff, not even able to get close before she hit him once, making him decide to retreat.

Morgan would've tried to replan, if not for how they would still be pursued by Marth, Malin, and Lon'qu. Once Brady retreated, it took down a good chunk of what they would've done—fall back if they get hurt, try to stay for as long as possible—and eventually Kjelle took to just madly trying to hit Lon'qu.

She got him to retreat, but it left her vulnerable for an attack by both Marth and Malin. She dodged Malin's attack, but Marth hit quick enough that she couldn't dodge and, similarly to Brady before her, was forced to retreat.

Eventually, Owain and Cynthia retreated, and Morgan could almost feel the plan slowly falling apart. Still, though, he didn't see it bitterly—it just meant he still had room to improve. A lotof room to improve. After Owain and Cynthia left the arena to sit with Flavia and Basilio, Lucina was the next to go. Suffice to say, she didn't seem very happy about it. Her opponent, Malin, didn't seem much happier (he even muttered a quiet apology, to which she replied neutrally).

With only Morgan and Laurent left, the two genuinely tried their best not to immediately withdraw. When Laurent was caught by a sneak attack from Marth, Morgan retreated as well. In an actual battle, he would've fought to the last breath—that much was certain. But by now, they had been doing this for a good hour or two, and he knew that he wouldn't last very long by himself.

Everyone gathered back in the arena shortly afterwards. "And the winner is…" Flavia began, no doubt waiting for dramatic effect. However, the slightly smug smile gave the answer away. "Me—but in no small thanks to Marth, Malin, and Lon'qu."

"Damn," Basilio muttered. "I thought I picked the better crew."

"To be fair, if you chose us because of our parents, strength isn't genetic," Laurent pointed out.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again, though," Morgan said. "It felt pretty good putting my tactics study to use—even if we didn't win. So…good game?"

Malin laughed a bit while the other adults stared at him like he said he wanted to kill them. "Huh. Robin raised you well, kid."

Morgan smiled at the compliment, finding himself happier in defeat than he would've been in victory. Everyone else might not share the sentiment, but at least now they all knew how much longer it would be until they were strong enough to just be 'the Shepherds.'