Author's Notes:
I don't actually have too much to say this time. As always, if you're enjoying this story, make sure to leave a favorite or a review! Thanks to all of my readers.
With that, here's chapter 24:
Just inland of Valm Harbor…
It was already pretty late by the time everyone got everything set up. Robin was gathered in their newly set up command tent with Chrom, Frederick, the Feroxi Khans, and Say'ri. They had regrouped here shortly after dinner. It would have been difficult to make all the food required to feed everyone in such a short amount of time, but the grateful locals were willing to accommodate some of the new Resistance members at their own dinners. Evening was drawing near, but the newly formed Resistance group had hoped they would be able to hammer out a plan before the end of the day.
"This was what I was thinking…" Say'ri began. "Since ancient times, many of our people, like the Ylisseans, have worshipped Naga. More precisely, the people of Valm worship the the divine dragon's oracle, Lady Tiki. Most know of her as "the Voice", and she is currently trapped in her temple as Walhart's prisoner. But if she were freed…"
"Then the Resistance could rally around her." Robin finished.
Say'ri nodded. "Yes. That's what I was thinking. If the people are not willing to follow me, hopefully they will be willing to follow her instead."
"Where is she held?" Flavia asked.
"There is a shrine built within the branches of the sacred Mila Tree." Say'ri replied. "She has been held there."
"But there's one thing I don't understand…" Robin said. "From what I hear, Walhart is attempting to unite the continent by removing universal religion, right?" This earned a nod from Say'ri. "So then," Robin continued. "What's stopping him from simply killing Lady Tiki? Isn't his goal to remove 'idols' such as Lady Tiki? Will she even be alive by the time we get there?"
Say'ri grimaced. "Aye, sir. I've thought of that as well. This hasn't been confirmed, but it is said that the shrine at the top of the tree emits a calming aura, causing anyone that makes it to the top of the tree to lose their aggression. Also, it's been said that when she's asleep, she is protected by the power of Naga." Say'ri shook her head. "Again, these are all rumors. However, if they prove to be true, then my guess is that Walhart has simply taken Lady Tiki prisoner by taking control of the tree itself."
"And what if they're wrong?" Basilio asked. "What if we get to the tree and the Valmese have already found a way to kill her?"
"Aye. 'Twould be a great tragedy." Say'ri conceded. "I hope that isn't the case, but if we're able to prove to the other dynasts that she had been killed by Walhart, perhaps it could fuel their rage at the Valmese empire. In either case, I believe that going to the Mila Tree would give us the best chance for the other dynasts to rally around us."
Chrom nodded. "That does make sense. Let's draft up a plan of action then." he turned to Robin. "You've already done so much today. Take the rest of the evening off. We'll take it from here."
"But!" Robin protested. "You all fought just as much as I did!"
Frederick chuckled. "Yes, but we did only just that. Fight. You did that, as well as direct the whole battle. Compared to that, we barely did anything."
"Frederick is right." Basilio agreed. "There will be a time where you will definitely needed. But drafting up the path we'll take to the Mila tree is not one of those. It'd be preferable for you to be well rested, as we won't know if we'll run into Valmese troops on the way there. Would be a damn shame if our master tactician wasn't in his best form should that happen."
Flavia placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "The oaf's right. We need you to conserve your energy for the fights that are yet to come. Go. Take a rest."
That finally convinced Robin. "All right then. I'll leave the rest of the planning up to you all. Don't do anything stupid!" he joked.
Say'ri smiled at him. "Good even, sir Robin."
Robin held up his hand as a sign of goodbye as he left the command tent.
When he stepped outside, it was already completely dark outside. He could see the two campfires nearby, one for the female shepherds and one for the males. He could also see all of the other fires in the distance, surrounding the shepherd's camp. They were no doubt the work of the other regiments of the Ylissean and Feroxi troops.
He mindlessly began to walk in the direction of where the men usually set up their campfires. He was still thinking over the events of the day, as well as the plans for the near future, and quietly sat down next to the others.
What he did not realize, was that he had sat down at the female campfire. He was made aware of this fact by a welcoming greeting from Lissa.
"Hey Robin!" Lissa chirped. "Whatcha doin' here?"
Robin shook his head and blinked a few times. He looked around, and under the light of the campfire, he was able to see all the curious expressions of the female shepherds.
"I'm sorry. I thought this was the other one." Robin hastily explained. He was about to leave, but Anna grabbed onto his sleeve as he was getting up.
"Wait! We talked with the boys and decided that we'd trade places tonight, just for fun." she explained. "But since you're already here, why don't you just stay with us?"
Robin chuckled. "Wouldn't that make things awkward?" he asked.
Anna looked towards the other female shepherds for some help. They didn't disappoint her.
"There's plenty to talk about without going into strictly girl topics." Sumia said. "I, for one, don't mind him here."
"We'll have more time to talk about those things in the future, but it's not every evening where Robin will be here to join us." Cordelia nodded.
"Yeah! It'll be a fun new experience!" Nowi agreed.
Tharja let out a rare smile. "I would actually prefer him to stay."
Lucina quietly nodded in agreement.
"Alright, it's settled!" Lissa stood up. "Robin will stay at our campfire tonight!"
Robin smiled, and sat back down. "All right, all right. You've convinced me." This earned a squeal of delight from Anna, which in turn earned a look of disapproval, and possibly jealousy, from Lucina. However, she was not the center of attention at the moment, and nobody noticed.
Cherche smiled. "So I suppose I should stop telling my story then? We should probably talk about something else."
Sully agreed. "Yes, that'd be a damn good idea."
"Hey Lucina!" Lissa exclaimed, always happy to start a conversation. The future princess looked up at her aunt. "Since you come from the future," Lissa continued. "Can you tell us about, well, US in the future?"
Most of the shepherds smiled. That WOULD be an interesting topic of discussion.
"Well, OK." Lucina agreed. "Aunt Lissa, you were a compassionate woman and a truly skilled healer. I haven't seen you actually fight in a battle, but I often saw you with a weird looking axe that resembled a bolt of thunder."
Many of the shepherds furrowed their brows, struggling to imagine what that weapon would look like. "It's a bolt axe. She's describing a bolt axe." Robin offered. "Much like Anna's Levin sword, it's a magical weapon that uses thunder magic."
"Oh wow!" Lissa exclaimed. "I can't wait to get one of those! It sounds so cool!" she turned to Lucina again. "What about children? Do I have any of those?"
Lucina smiled and nodded, remembering the friends she had come back with from the future. "You and uncle Lon'qu had a son named Owain. He was an extremely skilled swordsman."
"It appears that the gynophobe has successfully passed down his proficiency to his offspring." Miriel nodded.
"Wow! Owain, huh?" Lissa looked deep in thought. "Does he… I mean, do you know if he has the mark of the exalt?"
Lucina smiled. "He did. You were so happy when it appeared."
Lissa wiped her brow. "Phew! What a relief to hear!"
"What about me an' Stahl?" Sully asked. "Does the ol' mouse have any kids in the future?"
Lucina nodded again. "You two have a daughter named Kjelle."
"A daughter, huh?" Sully muttered. "Hope she's not a dainty flower and can actually put up a fight."
"She can." Lucina assured her. "She's an Armored Knight, and a formidable opponent in battle."
Sully nodded, feeling satisfied. "Good."
"And what about me?" Panne asked. "Does this taguel have any kits?"
Lucina nodded. "You had a son named Yarne. He is living proof that taguel and man can coexist."
Panne smiled. "Good." She was even more happy on this inside, as this confirms that there is a possibility she'll survive the war along with Frederick.
"What about me?" Anna asked.
"Um…" Lucina began, feeling a bit awkward. "To the best of my knowledge, you weren't even a shepherd in the future." she finally admitted.
"I wasn't?" Anna seemed a bit surprised.
"Yeah. I don't really know much about you in the future." Lucina told her. "Sorry."
"Oh, no worries!" Anna winked. "That just goes to show that I got really lucky in this timeline! And besides, it just means that my future is a mystery! It's not any different than most regular people."
"And me?" Cherche asked with curiosity.
"But Cherche! You're not married yet!" Olivia protested.
"So? That doesn't mean I don't have children in the future." Cherche shrugged. "That's what I asked about, and not who my husband was." she waved her hand at the Feroxi dancer. "Yes, yes. I know. If she tells me who my future husband is, it would spoil a lot for me. Then there's the issue of whether I marry out of love, or to fulfil the future… blah blah. But I just want to find out if I had children. Aren't you interested?"
The pinkette thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes… I suppose it would be nice to know…"
"All right, I'll tell you then." Lucina said. "Cherche, you had a son named Gerome, and Olivia, you had a son named Inigo."
Olivia smiled, and Cherche laughed. "Thank you." The Wyvern Lord told Lucina.
"What about me?" Robin suddenly said. "What children do I have?"
Lucina frowned. "You… um…" she laughed nervously. "You… didn't have… children." she finally stammered.
"Oh?" Robin said in surprise. "Was that a choice between my wife and I? Maybe we just hadn't had the opportunity to have any yet?"
"You… um… well…" Lucina began to fidget nervously, knowing how unhappy Robin might be at her response. "You… weren't married." she finally clarified.
"I… wasn't?" Robin looked dumbstruck. His face morphed into a sullen expression. "Oh."
"Sometimes…" Miriel began. "Solitude is the most companionable companion."
She meant for it to be words of comfort, but in reality, it had the exact opposite effect. Robin's continued silence was a testament to everyone else of exactly this fact. Sumia facepalmed, but also didn't want to criticize anyone in front of everyone else.
The mood of the entire circle fell.
"W-well, how about me then?" Cordelia said, breaking the silence, not wanting to give anyone else the opportunity to say something that would rub more salt into the wound of her friend, even if it were by accident.
"You had a daughter named Severa." Lucina told the redhead, relieved to change the topic of conversation away from Robin. "She was one of my best friends."
They continued to bombard the future princess with questions, but Robin wasn't even listening. His head was filled with disappointed thoughts. Finally, he decided to get up.
"I'm… really tired." he said as an excuse. "I'll head back to my own tent and call it a night."
Anna, who was sitting next to him looked reluctant to see him go, but knew that he must have not been feeling too happy, and didn't try to make him stay.
Once they were sure Robin was out of earshot, Sumia was the first to speak up again.
"Lucina dear…" she began. "Maybe telling him that wasn't the best of ideas."
"Yes, I felt really bad telling him." Lucina grimaced, but agreed. "But he was asking! Wouldn't it be too suspicious to answer everyone else but not him?"
"I think she brings up a good point!" Olivia said earnestly. "If she were to do that, someone as smart as Robin would definitely know something is up!"
"Maybe you could've lied to him then?" Sully offered. "Tell 'im that he married some village girl, and you weren't sure about the state of their family."
Lucina opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. That would have been such a blatant lie, she honestly couldn't have come up with it on her own in such a short amount of time.
"Scallywags!" Maribelle exclaimed. "How could Lucina lie to him about matters of the heart? That would be unbefitting of someone in the Ylissean royal family!" the Valkyrie exclaimed angrily.
"Hey, it would have been a harmless lie!" Sully defended herself. "He might've not stormed off like that!"
"That's enough." Sumia said. "In either case, Lucina was in a very tough situation. Let's not hold it against her, even if you think she should have acted in a another way."
This was met with many nods.
The circle was silent for a few awkward moments. No one knew what to say, or didn't want to accidentally say something inappropriate.
Nowi was the one to finally break the silence.
"So… uh…" the Manakete began. "Is it just me, or do you all ALSO find it really weird that Robin, of all people, would not find a wife?"
A couple of the shepherds, namely Cordelia and Sumia, cringed at the question.
"Why?" Sully asked. "Are you fancying your chances with him now?" she joked.
"Well…" Nowi swung her feet upwards, and stretched out her arms, giving a very innocent look. "Let's just say, that if I were to end up with someone at random and it happened to be with Robin, I would be more than OK with it."
This was met with a couple of chuckles from the other female shepherds.
"Wha-at!?" Nowi whined in protest. "You can't deny that he's so smart, he's so nice, he's fun to be around, and not to mention, he looks good too! Right? Tharja? Olivia? Back me up here!"
Tharja nodded. "All of those are true." she said matter of factly. "I would be happy if I ended up with… someone like him."
Olivia, on the other hand, began to blush furiously, and covered her face with her hands. Many of the other females began to laugh at how embarrassed the tiny pinkette got.
"Well, what say you?" Maribelle asked curiously.
Olivia bit her lip after the initial bout of embarrassment. "Actually… yes." she finally admitted. "I think Robin would be an extremely lucky catch. For anyone… really. It's pretty surprising that he ended up by himself."
"And even those of you already in a relationship," Nowi continued. "If you swapped who you're currently with, with Robin, would you be EXTREMELY upset?"
Many of the already married shepherds winced, and took some time to actually ponder it.
"I… actually don't think it would be that bad." Cordelia admitted.
"Yeah, he's so nice to me, all the time. I'm sure I'd be content with it." Lissa agreed.
Sully nodded. "Probably wouldn't trade him for Stahl on purpose, but if it was caused by something outside my control? Sure, why not. He's a pretty respectable man after all."
Sumia nodded as well. "I agree with Sully. I wouldn't leave Chrom for Robin if I had the choice, but Robin's not such a bad guy either. I can understand your point."
There was another moment of awkward silence. Lucina had a frustrated look on her face. Not only did she manage to upset her long time crush, she also alerted the rest of the female shepherds that he was available to be snatched. If what she suspected was true, then there's more than just a couple people in the shepherds that could be a potential obstacle in the future.
At the same time, a certain redhead was having some thoughts of her own. 'If I wasn't a part of the shepherds in the future, and Robin was single, then I'm not messing with the future too much if we end up together, right?' Anna reasoned. 'While Robin might be pretty upset about it, I think that it actually is some good news for ME.' she giggled to herself internally. 'I don't think I've felt this excited since I sold that one sucker in northern Ylisse an iron sword for three grand!'
"So… uh, Cherche do you want to continue your story, since Robin left?" Lissa asked, finally breaking the awkwardness.
Cherche smiled. "Ok, why not. Well you see, I knew the man was lying to his wife because..."
The female shepherds resumed what they had previously been talking about. As the night grew later, they began to slink back to their tents, one by one, for some well deserved rest after a long day.
"Maybe I can make things right in the morning…" Lucina muttered to herself as she got into bed.
With Robin…
Robin slowly made his way back to his own tent. He flopped onto his bedroll.
"The river of time always favors its original course." Robin chuckled, quoting the future princess. "It seems that there's every reason in the world why I won't end up finding the right one in this timeline either."
He sighed. "What am I even supposed to do?" He stayed on the bedroll, letting his thoughts run for a few moments.
He eventually sat up and pulled out one of the bottles of wine. He tried opening it, but found that he had trouble. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Eventually, he decided to just burn the cork. He tilted the bottle in order to not make the burnt cork fall directly into the liquid below. Once the cork had been burnt out, he reached inside the neck of the bottle with his finger to pull out the ashes that remained. He didn't even notice his fingers feeling extremely hot from directly touching the ashes.
Once again, Robin downed the bottle. This one tasted slightly worse, although it's possible that it was because he burnt out the cork. Regardless, he reasoned that there's no way for him to effectively store an opened bottle of wine, so he may as well finish it.
Once again, Robin fell asleep under the influence of alcohol.
Once again, he fell asleep feeling quite depressed.
Some time in the distant future…
A seven year old Lucina was anxiously waiting. It was Friday afternoon, which meant that mister Robin would be coming soon. She kept looking out the window, hoping with each passing moment that she would see the man walking up to the castle.
Finally, her patience has paid off. She immediately ran out of her room when she saw the familiar looking cloak in the distance. It took her some time to get through the hallways of the castle, as the place was so big that it still confused the little girl a bit, despite living there.
She finally reached the entrance of the castle. Robin was currently talking with her mommy about something. She didn't want to interrupt them, and was also curious, so she hid herself behind the corner in order to listen to them.
"Sumia, do you remember that girl I got with?" she heard Robin say. "The one Maribelle introduced me to?"
"Yeah. The girl from the Silverman family." Her mommy responded. "What happened between you two?"
"I found out… I overheard her talking." she heard Robin reply in an almost broken tone. "She was telling one of her friends about how her family pressured her to get with me in order to restore some of their family's name. She's not actually interested in me as a person at all."
"Oh no!" Sumia replied. "Another one?"
"It seems that it's something I can never avoid. At least, not anymore." Robin sighed. "This isn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last. If only I could find a nice girl that doesn't know of my title or position..."
"Don't lose hope, Robin." Sumia told him. "It will happen any day now. You won't even see it coming."
"But what if it doesn't?" Robin replied almost angrily. "What if I just end up by myself for the rest of my life?"
"Then… then I guess you'll still have the rest of the shepherds. Remember, we're basically a family too." Sumia sighed. "I'm not the best person to give you advice on this sort of thing, because I've been extremely lucky. I'm sorry, but that's all I can offer you."
Robin sighed. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to get used to it then."
Hearing the conversation reach a standstill, Lucina ran around the corner and tackled Robin with a hug.
"Mister Robin!" the young princess exclaimed.
Robin chuckled, and Sumia smiled. "I'll leave you two then. Call me if she needs anything." Sumia told the tactician as she walked away. "Cynthia should be waking up from her nap any time now."
Robin picked the young princess up. The little princess was basically sitting on Robin's arms, with her head at about the same height as the tactician's. Lucina looked at Robin for the first time since he arrived. She noticed the tear stains around his eyes, and reached out to feel the tactician's wet face.
"You're sad, mister Robin." Lucina noted.
Robin chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I am."
"Why are you sad?" the princess pressed curiously.
Robin hesitated. "I'm having trouble… with a girl. We used to spend a lot of time together, but it turns out she doesn't actually love me." he explained, not expecting the young girl to understand.
"So… you want to spend time with a girl that loves you?" Lucina translated.
Robin chuckled in surprise. "Yes. I guess you can say that."
"Then spend more time with ME!" Lucina half suggested, half demanded. "I'm a girl, and I love you!"
Robin was dumbstruck for a moment. Then, he began to laugh.
"Hey!" Lucina pouted innocently. "What's so funny?"
"Yes, you're right, Lucina." Robin finally told her. "I suppose that's what I'll have to do in the future. Now c'mon! Let's go have some fun!"
"Yay!" Lucina celebrated and clapped her hands together. "Let's go play!"
The two went off to go do just that.
The next morning…
Despite the heavy drinking from last night, Robin woke up feeling normal. He got up, had breakfast with the rest of the shepherds, and began to clear down with the rest of the shepherds. He resumed his usual, somewhat cheery personality.
A few of the female shepherds were looking at Robin with concern. Some of them were still worried about him being upset about what he had learned the previous night. Others that knew him a bit better were concerned by his sudden lack of care for the subject.
After everything was packed up and ready. Chrom informed everyone of their plans for the day. Simply put, they were to just march towards the Mila tree. The plan was to keep a low profile as much as possible, and hopefully they could get there without being a part of any major skirmish.
After the orders were passed around to the other campsites via pegasus knights, they began to march towards the west. They tried to stick to roads that lead as far away from nearby towns as possible. The only exception is when there is no other path to take. In that case, they would charge into the settlements and eliminate the Valmese soldiers and guards. Whenever this happened, the shepherds built up a lot of goodwill among the populace.
It took around three days for before they were close enough to approach the Mila Tree. There were a couple minor skirmishes between them and the Valmese, but Robin always made sure that there were as few survivors on their opponent's side as possible. This meant that the main forces of the Valmese would have a much tougher time pinpointing their strength or location.
With Robin…
The shepherds had just left Valm Harbor a few hours ago, and were steadily moving towards the Mila Tree. Robin was slowly moving along, just like everyone else around him. However, his mind was drifting elsewhere. Although he didn't really show it on the outside, he was still upset about what was revealed to him the previous night.
Still, he tried his best to cheer himself up. 'At least it's something I know about the future. Now that I know ahead of time, perhaps I can do something to change it in this timeline.' He thought to himself. 'After all, wasn't the point of Lucina coming back to change the future in the first place? Maybe I just need to more actively look for someone.'
His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. Robin turned around to see Anna smiling at him.
"Hey!" the redhead greeted. "Mind if we chatted a little while we march?"
"Sure." Robin shrugged. "Why not."
"I never ended up asking," Anna continued. "When you first rescued me, why did that Berserker have something against me? I was really confused. Was it something one of my sisters did? Did one of them rip him off or something?"
Robin thought back to around two years ago. "Yeah, actually. We were on our way to Regna Ferox, and there were some bandits raiding a village in northern Ylisse." the tactician explained. "Apparently, and this is some educated speculation, one of your sisters was helping defend the village while we intervened. We ended up killing the bandit's leader, which happened to be a Berserker that looked extremely similar to the one we killed before rescuing you. I think it might have been his relative, which would explain why he'd have a grudge against you."
He turned to look at Anna. "That actually reminds me. I have a question for you as well." he had a quizzical expression on his face. "When we arrived, you were already in the bandit's nest. What were you doing there by yourself?"
"Well…" Anna's eyes rolled to one side. "I had heard from the locals that they were amassing some sweet loot they had taken from the surrounding villages. I was hoping I could sneak in and grab some of it for myself."
Robin deadpanned. "So you were just being a profiteer." he translated.
"Pretty much." Anna grinned cheekily. "But I overestimated how sneaky I was. They discovered me, almost immediately. I was actually really lucky that you all decided to show up." her expression turned serious. "If not. I don't really know exactly where I would be right now. Possibly sold on the black market as a slave, or worse."
She grabbed onto Robin's hand and looked him right in the eyes when the tactician turned towards her in surprise. "Thank you. It's something I could never truly repay. I really mean it."
"Uh… yeah. It was no problem. No problem." Robin managed to get out.
'Do I ask him right now?' Anna wondered to herself. 'No, I don't think this is a good time. The others around us might hear me.' She finally decided to let go of Robin's hand.
"Hey, it was really nice talking." Anna winked at their tactician. "Let's do this again sometime!"
Robin chuckled as the redhead waved him goodbye and returned to her original marching position.
Slightly ahead of them, Lucina gritted her teeth after noticing what had gone on between Robin and Anna. It would seem her initial suspicions were proving to be correct.
She sighed. 'You really messed up. Now things will get much more difficult.' she mentally scolded herself. This action, however, was noticed by her mother.
"What's wrong?" Sumia asked. "You seem a little upset about something."
"N-nothing!" Lucina held up her hands defensively. "I was just… just taking a deep breath."
Her mother looked at her skeptically. "Ok honey, if something's bothering you, you could always talk to me about it."
"Thanks…" she absentmindedly muttered.
A couple days later…
After what seemed like an endless amount of marching, the shepherds and their allies finally drew near the Mila Tree. Even from a distance, before they could make out the Valmese troops dotted around the base of the tree, they could see how massive the Mila Tree truly is.
"So that's the Mila Tree." Robin remarked. "Man, it really is an eye opener."
"Whoaaa…." Lissa breathed. "I don't think I've ever felt so small…"
"I can't even see the top of it!" Basilio remarked.
"Is that… Is it in the middle of a lake?" Chrom asked. "Why is there so much water?"
"Aye sir." Say'ri confirmed. "They say that the water surrounding the Mila Tree is sacred, and blessed by Naga. The water remains clear, even if someone intentionally tries to muddy it. The Mila Tree is able to sustain such a large size because it draws from this source."
"Most impressive indeed." Frederick nodded. "So the shrine where Lady Tiki is… it hides all the way up in its branches?"
"Aye sir." Say'ri nodded. "A great staircase on the inside of the trunk leads up to it. However, it seems the Valmese have closed off the only route to its steps. Or perhaps the 'roots', I should say."
There was a moment of complete silence. One could almost hear the crickets chirping.
Suddenly, Robin burst out laughing, not at the pun, but rather at everyone's reactions. It was rather contagious, and soon everyone near them began to laugh or giggle along. The shepherd's spirits were rather high as they approached the Mila Tree.
At the base of the tree…
A Valmese General stroked his large mustache as he looked off into the distance. "So! They arrive at last, eh wot!" the General muttered to himself. "'Yes, come closer,' said the hairy spider to the flies…"
"General Cervantes!" one of his soldiers exclaimed. "Lord Excellus was right! The Ylissean League approaches!"
"Are you daft, boy?" The General huffed angrily. "Did you not hear what I was JUST saying?"
"A thousand pardons sir!" The soldier saluted him.
"Hm…. They've got some skill in order to make it this far." Cervantes mused to himself. "But no matter. We shall teach them of the word 'fear'."
"Beard?" the soldier asked. "Er… yes. I'm sure they would be most impressed. But perhaps…"
"FEAR!" Cervantes angrily corrected. "Fear, you deaf ignoramus!"
"Y-yes sir!" The soldier stammered. "Of course sir! I'm sorry sir!"
"They are impressive though, aren't they? My whiskers?" Cervantes asked his subordinate. "I've not shaved since my first battle, and have I ever lost? No! Not even once! Ergo, my moustache makes me invincible! It's science, my boy! Science!"
Cervantes laughed to himself. "Instruct everyone to prepare for combat."
With the Shepherds…
As they drew closer and closer to the Valmese, Robin pulled out his Hekseer.
"It seems that the Valmese forces are divided into groups." he told the rest of the shepherds. "There's a main force guarding the actual tree, while they have others stationed further away, possibly because they can have rotating shifts for guarding the tree. This means, we're going to have to take them all out at once, or they'll receive a large amount of reinforcements. I've already told Basilio and Flavia, and they'll lead the rest of the troops on an assault on the Valmese forts located a little further from the tree. Our task is to defeat the Valmese directly underneath the tree, and to secure the path upwards."
"Sounds good." Chrom nodded. "Is there anything special to keep in mind for this battle?"
Robin thought for a moment. "We'll be fighting on the roots of the tree, instead of on flat ground." he eventually said. "Just be careful of your footing. Otherwise, it's like any other battle. Stick to the place I've assigned to you in the past. Cover each other's blind spots, and help each other out."
Just as he was finishing his advice, the shepherds reached the ends of the roots, and began to move onto them, towards the base of the Mila Tree. The battle had officially begun.
Many of the Valmese began to panic at the sight of Robin. "It's the demon tactician!" many of them exclaimed in fear. "He's the one the escapees from Farber's group told us about!" Many of the Valmese soldiers began to feel unsettled.
"Enough!" Cervantes roared. "Unlike with Farber, I will follow the empire's laws and kill deserters where they stand! Chins up everyone! We make our stand here! Reinforcements will be making their way here shortly!"
A Valmese fighter approached Sully and swung at her, but was unable to deal damage against her shield. She merely scoffed and drove her axe into the poor soldier's shoulder. She flicked her axe to the side, throwing the Valmese into the waters below.
Another fighter charged at Lon'qu, but the swordmaster didn't even flinch. In one smooth motion, he drew his killing edge and slashed his adversary across the chest, killing him. He wiped his blade off, and prepared for the next, perhaps more worthy opponent.
In the air, Cordelia and Cherche were engaged in combat with two opposing Pegasus Knights. Both fights were of no contest. A flimsy spear of a rather new Pegasus Knight couldn't hope to even put a dent through the hide of an armored wyvern, but Cherche's axe certainly could harm the much softer Pegasus. As for Cordelia, she truly was a prodigy at using a lance, and her extremely aggressive fighting style gave her an extreme edge over the meeker Valmese Pegasus Knight. They both defeated their opponents at the same time, sending both the mount and the rider crashing into the waves below.
A Valmese Sniper tried to shoot at the unarmed shepherds, but was largely unsuccessful. Some of his arrows were blocked by the armored bodies of Frederick and Kellam, and when he tried to arc a few arrows over the heads of those two, Ricken easily knocked the arrows astray with a blast of his wind magic.
"Damn youuuuuu!" The Sniper grunted, firing arrow after arrow in vain, hoping that one of them would stick. His vision tunneled, and he ignored the figures moving to his side in his peripheral vision, dismissing it as the movement of his allies. He also ignored the cries of alarm from behind him, thinking it was just because they were being attacked. This meant it was a complete surprise when he heard a voice from right behind him.
"What a cupcake!" was the last thing he heard before his neck was slashed open by an assassin's dagger. Gaius stood over the body of his target and popped a sucker into his mouth. "Like taking candy from a baby!" the Assassin chuckled before darting off and rejoining the rest of the shepherds.
An enemy Hero charged after the retreating form of Gaius, attempting to avenge his fallen comrade. He was dissuaded from doing so by a couple spells from Sumia, which helped cover Gaius's retreat.
This, however, opened the Dark Flier up to being targeted by an enemy Ranger, who rode up and took aim at her.
"Big mistake!" Maribelle shouted, and blasted an Arcwind spell at the preoccupied Ranger. The spell hit her target's bow, snapping it in half. The Valmese, seeing as his ranged weapon was broken, drew his silver sword and charged.
Stahl met him head on, and stabbed his spear through the man's chest, knocking the Ranger off his horse. Without a rider, his mount panicked and galloped away.
Lucina ran at an approaching Valmese Warrior. She dodged his opponent's initial swing, and slashed in with her Parallel Falchion. The Warrior let out a grunt of pain as the weapon slashed across his pectoral muscles, but didn't faze. He swung at Lucina again, but the princess was too quick. However, this move forced the princess to the edge of the root they were fighting on. The Warrior smirked arrogantly and swung again, knowing that his opponent didn't have the luxury of space to dodge his strike this time. Reluctantly, Lucina blocked the strike with her sword, but it terms of strength, it was no contest. Lucina gritted her teeth, and attempted to hold on, but the Warrior began to slowly apply more and more force, trying to push the future princess into the waters below.
Suddenly, a blast of dark magic struck the almost victorious Warrior across the chest. This weakened the Valmese's grasp, and Lucina was able to slip away. She took the opportunity to dash around to the other side, and quickly slashed her opponent across the back in the shape of an X. She then proceeded to kick her opponent off the root of the Mila Tree.
Lucina turned back towards the shepherds. Tharja and Henry were a good distance away, so it couldn't have been them. The only one close enough to have cast that spell was Robin. The tactician seemed to be currently focusing on directing the battle, which probably meant he absent mindedly threw out the spell when he saw Lucina struggling. She smiled to herself. "Thanks."
Nearby, Gregor was busy taking on a Valmese Hero. He had the advantage, as he always favored using the sword, while his opponent clearly was better at using an axe. The two traded blows, with neither of them able to beat the other completely outright. However, Gregor was experienced, and he began to slowly chip away at his opponent, building up a slight lead over time.
Gregor's plans were interrupted by an opposing Falcon Knight that dove towards him with spear extended. 'Oi! Not good!' he thought to himself.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" came a loud shriek as Nowi barreled towards the Falcon Knight in her dragon form. She took the Falcon Knight by surprise and blasted the the wings of the pegasus with her breath attack. The impact of the attack knocked the Valmese flier off course, and sent them hurling towards the roots of the tree. They hit the ground hard, and the impacted killed both the rider and the mount.
This distracted Gregor's opponent enough for him to swing his leg and knock his opponent off of his feet. Gregor jumped on top of the Valmese and drove his sword into his opponent's chest.
Gregor looked towards Nowi, who had landed and reverted to her human form. The girl ran up to him with a smile on her face. She held up her hand. Gregor grinned cheekily, and met the Manakete's hand with his own in a high five.
Donnel was also taking on an opposing Hero. Both of them were using a sword, so he was just able to go even with his opponent. What was different between the two of them was that Donnel had friends. Olivia, seeing an opportunity, darted in and slashed at the preoccupied Hero. Against two opponents, the Valmese Hero didn't last long.
Miriel and Virion stayed towards the back, focusing an hitting the Valmese fliers. Their combined efforts made it extremely difficult for them to harass the shepherds, and Cherche and Cordelia were able to roam around the air freely.
Vaike ran at an opposing Ranger with some support from Anna's Levin Sword. Everytime the Valmese Ranger would prepare to shoot at the oncoming axeman, Anna would send a bolt of lightning hurling towards the bowman. Finally, Vaike got within range, and finished his opponent with one swing of his silver axe.
Chrom and Say'ri were keeping an enemy Warrior busy. Chrom was the main fighter, and Say'ri tried to help the Ylissean Exalt as much as possible. They slowly, but surely, beat back the Valmese Warrior. After they had defeated their opponent, Chrom looked up to see that most of the Valmese guarding the tree had already been taken care of.
{What's the plan?} Chrom asked.
Robin checked the Hekseer, and cursed. {There's reinforcements coming! Here's what we'll do… Our frontline will change places with the backline. Chrom, you and Say'ri are the closest ones to the commander. He's the only one left near the tree. I'll follow along with Henry and Tharja, and the five of us will take care of the General. Everyone else, repel the reinforcements, and act with caution.}
The shepherds immediately began to follow instructions. Chrom and Say'ri charged the Valmese General, with Robin, Henry and Tharja not too far behind.
"Eh wot?!" Cervantes seemed shocked. "It cannot be! Say'ri… my mortal enemy…"
Say'ri gritted her teeth. "General Cervantes... we meet again. Unfortunately."
"Fiend!" Chrom accused. "You invade kingdoms and bully them into submission! Why? What does it achieve?"
"Do you even need to ask, welp?" Cervantes replied. "Walhart seeks to rule the world. His great mind is beyond the grasp of common men. Once, I had dreams myself of commanding a nation… but Walhart? Aye, he dreams bigger. Mine is nothing compared to the moxie of the Conqueror! I am but a single tiny hair on the beard of a flea in his great moustache! Have you not tasted the thrill of being a part of something greater than yourself?"
Chrom shook his head. "Not at the price of inflicting cruelty and suffering, no."
Cervantes snorted. "Then I guess we have nothing further to discuss. Prepare to know the meaning of the word 'beard'." he shook his head and quickly corrected himself. "Fear! I mean fear."
"Your beard again?" Say'ri deadpanned. "Can you talk of nothing else, you imperial pig?"
With that, Cervantes lifted his tomahawk, and Say'ri charged the General along with Chrom.
They weren't alone. Robin quickly got into position a short distance away, along with Tharja and Henry. They watched the fight closely, and each prepared their own tomes.
Whenever Cervantes swung his great tomahawk around, Say'ri and Chrom were forced to back off. However, this played perfectly into the hands of Robin. It gave him and his two companions the perfect opening to launch a wave of spells at him.
Cervantes grunted as each of the three spells, Nosferatu, Ruin and Arcthunder, connected. The damage dealt to him caused the General to drop to one knee.
"Nya ha!" Henry laughed. "Just like the good ol' days. Right, Tharja?"
The female sorcerer rolled her eyes.
Robin ignored Henry's comment. "Again!" he shouted.
The three continued to launch spell after spell at the weakened Valmese General, until the General fell on his back.
Chrom stood over the fallen General. "You're on the wrong path. We'll take the one that leads to peace, not suffering. But rest easy, as your part is done."
With that, he kicked the Valmese General off the roots of the tree, and into the water below.
On the other side, things were going well. There weren't many Valmese reinforcements. Robin guessed it was just the ones that were able to get away from Basilio and Flavia's forces. In any case, they were quickly taken care of by the rest of the shepherds. Aside from a few minor wounds, which Lissa and Libra quickly took care of, everyone had made it out OK.
The shepherds took a short rest at the base of the tree while they waited for Flavia and Basilio.
Robin was sitting on the side of one of the roots, with his legs dangling off the edge. 'The water is still clear…' he mused to himself. 'I could've sworn there were so many Valmese that got pushed into the lake that fight… many of them had open wounds too… but there isn't a trace of any of that. It's like they all just… disappeared.'
His thoughts were interrupted when Lucina came and sat down next to him.
"Hey." the future princess nudged him. "Was it you that helped me beat that Warrior in the fight?"
Robin thought back for a moment. He looked away from her for a second. "Be more careful of your surroundings next time." he told her, without making eye contact.
Lucina smiled. "Thank you. You saved me… again."
Robin chuckled. "You're on the front lines, putting your own life in danger for the sake of Ylisse. I'm just directing things from the back. It's my job to help whenever possible. Don't worry about it."
"Still…." Lucina murmured. She sighed. "Robin, I'm sorry. I told you something I shouldn't have. I never had the chance to apologize to you in the past few days." she turned to face him. "I know it's hard… but can you please forget what I told you about your future?"
Robin blinked. "Oh that? Don't worry about it. The future was the future. There's no avoiding that." he didn't turn to look at Lucina, but a smile appeared on his face. "Actually, it's very useful information for me to know. Now I understand that I have to try harder to find someone in this timeline. Maybe, just maybe, with enough effort, I can change things for me this time around. So don't apologize. I must thank you for that, actually."
Lucina opened her mouth and was about to say something, offer something, but she was interrupted by Henry's call. "Nya ha! Robin, those Feroxi people are back! Chrom says he needs you."
Robin patted Lucina on the back and got up. Lucina was left squirming by herself. 'What unfortunate timing…' she thought to herself.
"Well, how did it go?" was the first thing Robin asked as he rejoined Chrom, Say'ri and the Khans.
"We had some light casualties." Basilio said. "But over all, it went well. Their camps were well hidden, and I doubt any regular army would've been able to find them. We certainly wouldn't have without your information, that's for sure. Took most of 'em by surprise. They didn't stand a chance."
"A few of the faster ones managed to slip away though." Flavia lamented. "They rushed over in this direction. I hope they weren't too troublesome?"
Robin shook his head. "No, it was completely fine on this end. We're able to achieve a clean victory because of your efforts."
Basilio laughed. "You shower us with too much praise, Robin. We didn't do much but bonk the heads of some napping Valmese soldiers."
"Say'ri, you said the Voice is located at the top of the tree?" Chrom asked, changing the subject.
"Aye, sir." The woman from Chon'sin nodded. "Now that the Valmese forces are gone, we should be able to make it up to the top of the tree. Although… we may not be able to take everyone with us."
Basilio nodded. "We'll take guard of the bottom of the tree and set up camp around it. You all have a fun time up there."
"You're not curious about meeting the Voice?" Chrom asked.
Flavia laughed. "Oh I bet the oaf is! But it's fine. The shepherds fought their way past the tree's guards, and so they should be the ones that get the honor. We could use some time for some rest and relaxation anyways."
"Very well then." Say'ri nodded. "Shall we make our way up then?"
Chrom nodded. "Let's inform the other shepherds. Lead the way."
Robin, Chrom and Say'ri headed back towards the trunk of the tree while the Khans went the other way to inform the soldiers of the plan.
A short distance away…
Cervantes opened his eyes and began to pant. His entire body and armor was soaking wet, but he was otherwise very much alive.
"What in the-" the Valmese General began.
"Wakey wakey!" A short, round, Sage said to him.
Cervantes's expression darkened. "Excellus! What is a toad like you doing here?"
It was the sage's turn to make an angry face. "I just saved your life, dear General. Saved you from drowning, I did! It would do you some good to show some appreciation. It takes a lot of magic to warp someone… as heavy as you."
"And why would you choose to save me?" Cervantes asked skeptically.
"Walhart says you're not allowed to die yet." Excellus shrugged. "If it were up to me, I would've let you drown as well. Now come, we have to go report to the Conqueror."
Cervantes picked himself up off the ground, and warped away with the Sage.