A/n: You know, this is the one chapter in the fic which might not be out of place in any other Awakening fanfic. Mostly.
-Port Ferox, Sea-
"Ah! Do you smell that, lads?" Dalton asked, the deck smooth beneath his feet as his gargantuan fleet of ships slowly made their way into Port Ferox, mist slowly rising as the early morning sun illuminated the sea. "The seawater spray? That's the smell of victory."
With over a hundred ships in his command, Dalton had taken his personal army of twenty thousand soldiers, and his elite guard composed of the finest soldiers the Duma Waste had to offer. Dalton had managed to get his hands on Walhart's plans for the invasion of Archaenia, and they said to attack Port Ferox. Dalton planned to do just that. He'd take the port in his invasion and fortify it to give Robin's army a beachhead, once the Battlemaster caught up with him.
Pegasus knights and wyvern riders flew between the ships, carrying last minute messages in preparation for an all-out assault. There was no attempt made to disguise it for anything else. Mages and archers were standing by to clear the docks for disembarking, and infantry behind that. The planks were specifically modified to give cavalry ease in dismounting.
Dalton himself was on one of the lead ships. He still had two ships taking spots in front of him, just so an amassed pegasus charge couldn't kill him, but he firmly believed in Walhart's principle of leading from the front. Dalton mounted his horse on deck, a feat that would have been impossible if his horse hadn't been a thoroughbred Duma, a fearless mount capable of riding anywhere its master required.
Dalton brought the horse to the bow of the ship and gestured with his spear. On his ship, his men rallied beside him, and the rest followed suit amongst the other ship until the entire armada was standing, weapons drawn, across the hundred ships heading into Port Ferox. A roar went out from the ships, and the sound carried clear across the sea. The port was in a frenzy, Regna Ferox soldiers frantically amassing defenses to prepare for the oncoming storm of steel and fury. Then the roar fell short, and silenced resumed once more as the Valmese ships continued their slow yet inexorable path to the docks.
A twang suddenly echoed in the silent air. A single ballista bolt shot out but splash short, missing his ships by hundreds of feet. They were testing their range. Dalton grinned and raised his spear again. A flurry of Valmese shots rang out in response, creating a spray of water in front of the Valm harbor. Dalton had no problem with posturing – it happened to be one of his favorite pastimes. In another few minutes, they'd actually be in range to properly to exchange fire. And once that happened…
War. War like the glorious days of old. And Dalton would be the spearhead of it all.
-Port Ferox, City-
"They really mean it." Chrom stared at the armada. The far scouts reported in over a week ago. Envoys were sent once the fleet was noticed, but they were chased off by archers. They flew Valm colors, and numbered in the tens of thousands of men, by the best guess. At that point, Regna Ferox had no choice but to mobilize for all-out war. Fortunately, the Shepherds were in Ferox for the annual tournament, so he'd been able to get them, and his royal guard, to the defense of the port when the alarm was sounded. They'd probably win the day … but at a cost. "I … can't believe it. Robin wouldn't…"
Flavia stared out with burning eyes. Her fingers played over the grip of her sword. She said nothing to Chrom, but the message was implied.
"It's too early to say things like that." Basilio grunted. "Robin may be dead for all we know. News doesn't travel fast out of Valm."
"I understand, Khan Basilio." Chrom solemnly nodded.
"Good." Flavia sheathed her sword and drew a pair of throwing axes. "Less of a chance of your faint heart screwing this up! Don't hesitate, and don't show mercy. Even if it's Robin himself on those boats."
"Don't worry, Flavia." Chrom shook his head. "The Shepherds will protect Port Ferox at all costs."
"Bet you a hundred gold he tries recruiting Robin when he meets him." Basilio said.
"Hah! He's probably dead, and that'll never happen." Flavia grinned. "Done."
"Do you have to do that?" Chrom sighed. Both Khans looked at the Ylissean Exalt and solemnly nodded. "Well, fine. But I am dedicated to stopping this threat. Even if it's Robin on those ships … I'll stop him. And then I'll find out what he wants."
"Good to hear that." Flavia said. "We've got two minutes, max, before all hell breaks loose. Remember, you're to take the center position. My eyes are picking out some important looking bloke on the center ship. It's apparently a Valm tradition to lead from the front, so I'm glad I had the foresight to put you there."
"I'd do it anyway." Chrom stared over the bay, his blue eyes narrowing in on who Flavia was talking about. It was a man on a horse, brandishing a lance. "No, that's not Robin."
"Yeah, anyway, you Shepherds have the most experience with this stuff." Flavia said. "Think you can handle it?"
"It'd be my pleasure, Flavia." Chrom said, drawing Falchion. Flavia raised one of her axes and the two leaders clashed, then turned around, Chrom heading to where the Shepherds were stationed and Flavia remaining back, ready to plunge were the fight was thickest.
"I'll-"
"You're with me, oaf!" Flavia called out. "You're good for a few hits, right?"
-Port Ferox, Docks-
"Brace yourselves…" Chrom said. The nearly two dozen Shepherds were formed around him, weapons at the ready. Morgan was unwilling to lead her team into the fray without Marth, but she'd given instructions to them. Even still, they weren't joining the Shepherds proper, and guarding one of the flanks. The docks were abandoned, and the first wave of defense was set into the warehouses behind that. The air was thick with magic and arrows, the Shepherds had taken cover in a warehouse. Ricken, Miriel, Tharja, and the new addition Henry were firing back from a position near the front where Lissa and Libra worked Ward staves to protect counter magic.
It'd be better to have them actually on the docks, but Chrom was unwilling to put them directly into the confrontation and take the projectiles. One of the Valm's ships that Chrom could see was already on fire. Henry, the newest member, was doing well. Chrom didn't know what to think of him. Henry seemed to be a self-appointed joker but tended to only joke about death and destruction. Still, he somehow fit within the Shepherds, which was to be expected. The Shepherds were, something Chrom rarely admitted, somewhat of a collection of diverse and off-putting characters.
A loud horn sounded in the distance. That was the signal. Valm had landed. Chrom reached for his belt and drew his rapier. He held it up. "For Ylisse!"
Chrom charged out into the fray, making a startling image, holding the Fire Emblem aloft on his left arm. The indestructible relic served him well, as Chrom used it to punch projectiles out of the air. Not a lot of archers, but a wave of javelins were launched, which Chrom deflected and cut through by himself. Around him, the Shepherds slowly began assembling in the tight unit they'd been trained as, ready to pierce the enemy lines.
The Valm were sending a wave of cavalry, and then following them by slow moving armor knights. Chrom grinned. "Vaike, Panne, Sully, Stahl! Form up and splinter them!"
The Valmese cavalry shattered. A gigantic and ferocious bunny ripped through the initial charge, using two-foot-long claws to slice apart horseflesh and rider with ease, dexterously bouncing among them. A blond haired and bare chested axeman lunged in the fray after her, howling a ferocious warcry as his blade cut through the survivors, working around the monstrous rabbit with a practiced ease.
And then two riders crashed into the fray as well, one in red and the other in green, both wielding Beast Killer lances, tearing the riders asunder. Moving together with even more practice and cohesion than the previous two, they split the Valm charge further.
That was when Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds entered the fray. With the charge robbed of its momentum, they stood little chance against the most elite fighting force on the continent. Axe, lance, and sword were all wielded at close quarters to cut the red Valm soldiers to pieces, while magic blasted them from afar.
"Let them retreat if they attempt it!" Chrom sliced through a bow knight without even a second look and braced to block a charging cavalier. He caught the force of the lance on the Fire Emblem and was sent back a few steps. Then his feet found purchase and he shoved, sending the horse and rider toppling.
"FOR THE EXALT!" The cry was raised from the Shepherds.
Those who knew him compared Chrom to a sleeping bear. He had a gargantuan appetite and had a tendency to break things. He was warm to people, had a charismatic smile he was generous with, and was always willing to help. But when his strength was called upon, he could be someone else entirely.
Two thousand years ago, Marth the Hero-King had wielded the Fire Emblem and Falchion, leading an army composed of some of the strongest fighters on the continent including his good friend and eventual enemy Emperor Hardin. He had passed through the trials needed to gain the true power of the Falchion with that army, and with their aid, sealed Medeus, the Dark Dragon of Earth.
A thousand years before that, Marth's ancestor Anri, by his lonesome, had completed the same quest and slew the same foe. Those who knew Chrom compared him to Anri, and not Marth. For when his rage and power were summoned, he was truly a force without equal.
"FOR ARCHENEIA!" Chrom lead the shouting. He charged deeper into the fray, past the cavaliers. He trusted the Shepherds to follow their best instincts, following him deeper or staying back as they saw fit. After years of fighting, they had the experience to make such judgements.
His rapier darted, wielded his superior speed and strength. The rapier was heavier than most people gave it credit for yet yielded the best results to one with the speed to wield it efficiently, making it a perfect weapon for the Exalt.
Valm fell before him. The Exalt cut a bloody path through Valm, alongside his Shepherds. Chrom was forced to grow the strong, and he used that strength to protect those close to him.
"For the Exalt!" The cry came behind him, a weak cry from one used to being too shy to do so. Chrom paused, letting the woman he knew who made it catch up with him.
"I thought you said you were helping the city evacuate, love."
"My dances helped move them faster." Olivia said. "But the worst of it is now over. Now that they're out of danger, I need to make sure they have a place to go back to. We can't let Valm take this harbor!"
"Wasn't planning on it." Chrom grinned. "Can you help me break through the ranks of armored knights?"
"Can I?" The pink-haired Ylissean queen, adopted daughter of the West Khan, stepped forward and drew a massive black iron wrought blade, with a curved wide tip. An armorslayer, meant to crush and rip through armor. "Khan Basilio gave this to me. He said I might find a use for it."
"Then'll we'll find one. Mages!" Chrom called. Ricken, Tharja, Henry, and Miriel stepped forward, advancing. The chaos had split open the enemy lines, and now there was a direct path to the armored knights forming a defensive barrier before the ships. "Escorts, go! Nowi, Kellam, protect them! Libra, standby to heal."
Meanwhile, Lissa and Maribelle were now healing the injured members of the previous clash, with Lon'qu and Frederick respectively guarding each one.
"Your orders, captain?" Sumia asked.
"Wide sweep." Chrom said. "Gaius can ride with Cordelia, right? The three of you circle around the battlefield. I want you to show up when I charged the boats."
"Right."
"Do you think we're going too fast?" Olivia asked. "What if we overextend?"
"That's what everyone else is for. Flavia gave us the job to spearhead the center, and we're going to do that. It's about sending a message." Chrom said. "They attacked us right when the treaty went into effect. It's like they were waiting to declare war on all three of us in one fell swoop, and they decided to attack Port Ferox, the most heavily defended and inhospitable location they could attack."
"They want war, don't they?"
"Sorry, Liv." Chrom turned to look her soulful eyes. "But war is going to return. And they've thrown down the gauntlet as hard and fast as possible."
"So it's our job to rid the world of people like them." Olivia said. "But what about Robin? Is he with them to?"
"I pray he's not there." Chrom gripped Falchion. "And if he is … then I'll do what I must."
-Port Ferox, Docks-
"Out of my way, you clueless oaf!"
"Watch where you're swinging that, you clumsy she-hag! I don't care to lose my other eye!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a slow lumbering old bear, you wouldn't have lost the first one!"
"And maybe if you weren't such a stick-in-the-mud, you'd get a second look from men!"
"Auggggggh!"
Flavia savored the dying scream of a Valm soldier, as it drowned out more comments from the useless oaf. The ruling Khan swung her blood-red sword around, red liquid dripping off it in rivers. Her handaxes had been spent in Valm skulls, and now she was getting her aggression out using her sword to cut through Valm lines. She spun, looking for more opponents.
And that was when Basilio stole the last kill from under her as an arrow took the man's life.
"Thief!" Flavia scowled at him.
"Says the one who took the Khan from under me." Basilio growled. "Woman, you will be the death of me."
"Don't give me ideas!" Flavia looked around. The ranks of corpses – Feroxi and Valm alike – had scared the rest of the Valm, who were still on their boat, staring at the remaining Feroxi warriors who were still on the pier. They very much did not watch to get involved in the butchery that was ongoing. At a guess, that meant the fight was going poorly for them elsewhere – the ones on the ship had a better vantage point than Flavia.
Flavia looked to them, grinned, and licked her lips. The Valmese captains saw her, panicked and yelled at order. Lines connecting the ships to the docks all over started getting cut and the ships began to withdraw, presumably to enter the docks somewhere that two bloodthirsty Khans weren't protecting. Or to clear out from the fight altogether.
Flavia charged down the docks, pausing only to pick up a dead Valm knight to use his body as a shield against arrows being fired against her. Basilio was beside her, keeping pace and also using a knight to protect himself.
Now, Flavia chucked the corpse aside and leapt off the pier, her powerful muscles sending the lithe Khan through the air. She made the gap easily and grabbed the railing with one hand. This is the fun part.
"Any last words?" A Valm soldier raised a sword at her.
"Next life swing first." Flavia let go. She dropped, and both her hands found the purchase in a seam. She kicked off her feet and flipped high over the railing, landing behind the man and cracked her elbow into the back of his head before turning around and giving him a hearty shove. The surprised Valm soldier didn't have time to even yell out before he flipped over the railing. Flavia knew he was as good as dead – waterlogged armor in icy water would do that.
A soldier on deck attacked her. Flavia moved with the grace of a lioness, dodging the next attack and slaying the man with a drawn sword. A pegasus knight swooped at her, only for Flavia to slice through her and her pegasi with her sword, then running along the deck, leaving a trail of death with her blade. These Valmese had experience fighting on the ship, just not enough. Flavia slew her way through them.
On the ship to her right, Basilio was doing the same, but instead of her feline grace, he used the strength of a berserk warrior. His silver axe moved with less speed, but more power enough so that the Valme soldiers were more often than not hurled off the ship, leaving bloody arcs as they did so. Basilio was a terrifying person to make an enemy of.
Flavia reached the stern, dodged the captain's axe strike and impaled the man. Then, as the afterthought, she withdrew her sword and sliced his leg clean off. The man collapsed, leaving Flavia to smirk as she spun the wheel of the ship so that it was now on course to crash into another ship, with the helpless and dying captain watching.
Now it was just a simple matter of repeating the process.
-Valm Fleet-
Dalton howled in frustration. His forces weren't massacring the Feroxi. The Khans were formidable foes, certainly, but it wouldn't have been a problem if his forces had just stayed there instead of retreating. Apparently, that was a bad idea in the water, because now the harbor was a mess of crashing ships.
On the bright side, now he couldn't retreat. The Battlemaster spoke highly of such situations. The Feroxi weren't doing better in the other areas, fighting more to a dead even. But now the day could be his. The Ylissean Exalt and his Shepherds were fighting through his troops. They were, without a question in Dalton's mind, the finest fighting force he'd ever seen.
That would of course make winning the fight once he beat them so much easier.
"Charge!" Dalton charged forward, his horse leaping off the bow of his ship, landing smoothly on the deck below as his horse galloped forward. The Ylissean Exalt and his wife? consort? bodyguard? were currently sweeping through his troops. The rest of the cavalry landed after him, leading a narrow charge.
One of his knights went first. Dalton let him, he wouldn't dare stop the brave soldier from claiming glory. Or, as it happened, death as Chrom slashed through him after leaping up. Another went for the pink-haired swordsmaster, only for her to knock him clean off the dock with a sweep of her massive iron blade. Good. It seemed that the Exalt's woman could fend for herself. There was no glory in killing defenseless women.
"Good job, Exalt!" Dalton said. "You'll still be crushed beneath my boot, but it'll be fun fighting you."
"What happened to Robin?!" The Exalt pointed his thin blade at him. Dalton waved his soldiers back.
"The Battlemaster?" Dalton asked. "Probably on a fleet of his own by now. I was the first, but Robin enjoys a good war as much as the Conqueror did. I'm only here because I managed to arrive in Regna Ferox first. The glory will be mine, not his."
"Liar!" Chrom said. "Robin would never order this attack!"
"Are you stupid? I just said he didn't." Dalton wondered. Pacifists tended to be a bit soft in the head. That was why they were like that in the first place. He'd heard that this Ylissean Exalt wasn't one, but that seemed to be wrong. "I told you, I ordered it, and he's just going to follow me into battle.
"You don't have to fight us." Chrom said. "There's no need for this."
"It's not about need, it's about want." Dalton said. "Pity I got you, though. I thought you'd be a challenge, but it seems you're just soft. Basilio would have been fun to fight."
"This is a game to you?"
"No." Dalton said. "This is war, boy. A lot more fun and satisfying than any game. If you don't understand that, you don't belong on the battlefield."
"Sorry, Em. I tried. But there's no helping some people." Chrom said. "Ready, Olivia?"
"Here we go!"
"Die, Exalt!" Dalton dug his heels to spur his horse forward, charging towards the Exalt. The Ylissean charged forward, wielding a long, thin blade. Dalton thrust his spear forward, aiming to stab him through the heart.
Chrom moved fast, though. He sidestepped and then deflected the head of the spear with a precision strike, causing Dalton to miss. Dalton swore and prepared to retract his spear to thrust again, when his horse suddenly collapsed under him.
The would-be Valmese conquering general rolled to his feet as fast as possible and spun around. The pink-haired woman had managed to move in to his blindside and slammed a massive heavy iron blade against his poor horse's knees, shattering them. He'd have to put the beast out of its misery now, after he did the same to the Ylissean Exalt and his obnoxious woman.
Dalton went for her first, only for Chrom to suddenly appear in the path of the spear and deflect it again, this time taking part of the blow off the armored left should he wore. The woman dashed in, closing the distance and rendering Dalton's spear useless and brought her heavy blade down.
"Tch!" Dalton spun the spear behind him to cycle it around, a trick Robin had taught him, a managed to slam the iron-capped butt of it into the woman's descending sword, sending the blade off course. Instead of ripping through him, it merely tore a large gash through his chest.
"HEALER!" Dalton tried howling out.
"Sorry, but they can't help you." Chrom started walking towards him. Dalton tried a thrust, but Chrom just caught the weak attack by his spear's haft and threw it aside. "Sumia and Cordelia have driven off all your support. You're all alone, with no one to help you. So how does that feel?"
"You think this is alone?" Dalton snarled, going for an elixir on his belt. "There's an ARMY of us! I'm only the vanguard! Robin will-!"
"You talk too much." Chrom cut his head clean off. "Is this still a game to you now?"
-Port Ferox, Docks-
"Good fight." Basilio grunted.
"I got three big ones." Flavia said. "How much did you two get?"
"This isn't really a competition, Flavia." Chrom frowned.
"Bah." Basilio said. "Forty-two, if you must know. The last had thick iron enough to nick my axe, but I killed him all the same. You disappoint me, Flavia. Only thirty?"
"Thirty? No, I was referring to ships when I said three." Flavia grinned viciously. Even Chrom had to chuckle at that when Basilio started spurting furiously, until he was reduced to nothing but silence and glared at Flavia with one baleful eye. "I don't bother counting the ants beneath my boots. Didn't know you did, Basilio."
"Except they weren't ants." Chrom frowned. "The Shepherds didn't take any losses, but we came close. And there are injured among us as well – it'll take a while to cure all the wounds we took. And the Ylissean troops I had with us did worse. How was it among the Feroxi."
"Not good." Flavia sighed. "Honestly, we won but it was a bit harder than I expected. They took blood from us, and we were defending."
"Measure for measure?"
"No. What kind of weaklings do you take us for?" Flavia rolled her eyes. "But I expected taking three Valmese for every Feroxi. It wasn't even two."
"Hmph." Basilio said. "And that was their rank and file. There weren't even any Wolfguard present."
"Wolfguard?"
"Robin's army." Basilio said. "They're supposedly elite infantry that the Valmese Battlemaster uses on his campaigns. And they've never lost a fight."
"Neither have the Shepherds." Chrom said. Technically, not a lie. The Shepherds never lost a battle but have been forced to retreat after winning. Especially during the Plegian War, when trying to rescue Emmeryn. "But we can't be sure Robin's behind this, can we?"
Basilio and Flavia exchanged looks. "You spoke with the leader, right?" Flavia asked. "What did he say?"
"He said that Robin is probably on a fleet of his own and – hey!" Chrom noticed both Khans swap worried looks and start to walk away. "Where are you going?"
"If he's on his way here, we've got one option – prepare for war."
"And what if he's not?" Chrom countered. "What if Dalton was lying to us?"
"You mean what if the warmongering warmonger from a nation of warmongers was lying to us about warmongering?" Flavia responded.
"…Yeah?" Chrom said weakly. It sounded wrong, even to him.
"I'll take my chances, thank you." Flavia said. "I'll move every warrior we have west. Basilio, much as I hate it, you've got to help me here. This is your home turf."
"I'll see what I can do." Basilio loudly crackled his knuckles.
"We need to go on the offensive." Chrom found himself saying. "Plegia has ships – if we mobilize them, we can take the fight to them. I'd rather take the fight to Valm then let them bring it to us, if there's going to be a fight. And that'll let them know we mean business."
"Good thinking!" Flavia nodded. "I approve. So, we move out tomorrow?"
"Flavia, Plegia has no army, and Ylisse isn't mobilized." Chrom said. "It'll take at least five months for me to do that."
"Five months?" Flavia scowled. "Can't you do it sooner?"
"It shouldn't be necessary." Morgan popped up suddenly. "I, ah, heard what you were saying. We should have some time."
"What makes you think that?"
"Simple enough, really." Morgan gestured. "This wasn't strong enough to conquer the port. It's a first wave, designed to test our defenses. But it's useless unless they get the information back to Valm. They'll need to cross back across the ocean, and once they do that, Valm will need to organize and plan a second wave."
"You're sure?" Basilio asked. "I mean…"
"I can't say it's an ideal strategy." Morgan said. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated. "Hmmm. Robin must not be threatened by a counter-attack, or perhaps he does not care. Yes, this must be a method for testing our defenses. It's the only logical explanation if Dalton was acting under Robin's orders."
"Huh. We should be fine, then." Flavia shrugged. "Still, five months?"
"We're a nation of peace, Flavia. The army I keep is the bare minimum needed to defend Ylisse. I'll need to call the reserves to arms, start conscription, and clear it with the nobles, which will be a nightmare itself. And they'll drag feet, seeing as this is an invasion. I'll be back with an army, and we'll meet at Dread Isle. I'll send a runner to Mustafa and have him ready his fleet." Chrom said. "Five months."
-Sea-
"Hrrrr." Robin growled under his breath. He was standing on the bow, letting the sea spray hit him. Nothing but ocean as far as eye could see for him.
"Something wrong?" Zulas asked. His lieutenant (and now technically a council member, thus a general in his own right) was the one currently supposed to be out on deck. "See something?"
"No. It's the something I don't see which is bothering me." Robin said. "We're losing time. Dalton hit Regna Ferox today. Plegia's slightly closer to us than Port Ferox is so we have less travel time than Dalton, but from now on, it's a race against time."
"They'll be getting ready, won't they?"
"I think so, yes." Robin said. "The question just is, how fast can they mobilize? Because once we take out their ships, the war's as good as ours. Two months until we reach the Plegian ports. And if they aren't ready, they're finished."
A/N: Okay, so can we talk about Walhart's initial plan? It was stupid. You don't launch a naval assault without the means to take and hold territory, and Dalton's force couldn't do that – it wasn't large enough and there's no way Ignatius would have arrived on time for backup, seeing as they had time to rally both the Feroxi and Ylissean armies, negotiate a deal with Validar, and then move all those armies to ships and launch them. Dalton was literally just sent to his death because Walhart couldn't be bothered with tactics. Or Excellus was just an idiot. Anyway, seeing as none of the characters in the original timeline showed any care about the prospect of Valm attacking in the interim, I don't feel bad about them assuming they've got more time, especially as Morgan points out, the short time gap only makes sense if Robin and Dalton were acting independently.
