-Tunnels Beneath Origin Isle-
-Second Guardian-
"I've been expecting you." Validar said. "The Foreseer and the Tactician."
"…I was wrong about who to expect." Morgan said. "You're supposed to stop us? What a joke."
"Morgan, don't underestimate him." Lucina shifted her grip on her weapon. "You don't know what he's capable of."
"Screw that noise. This is going to be over in a single strike. Black Astra." Morgan appeared past Validar in a flash. Morgan flourished her daggers and sheathed them. "He's Validar, Lucy. What could he possibly do to us?"
"Well, that was rude." Validar frowned.
"…He's not dead." Morgan observed. She checked her daggers to find that they weren't bloody but were chipped all over. "Armor?"
"A gift from Grima. Dragonskin." Validar gestured and blasted dark magic at Morgan who nonchalantly dodged it. Lucina charged the sorcerer, but Validar gestured and stopped her blow with a field of dark magic. "Welcome, failures."
"Oh." Morgan appeared behind Lucina. "He's going to try to make us feel guilty that we couldn't stop Grima around this time."
"Is that so?" Lucina howled and forced her blade forward, scoring a cut on Validar. The sorcerer disappeared in a flash of darkness and appeared twenty feet away. He narrowed his eyes at them, but Lucina just laughed. "Go ahead, Validar. Tell me that we failed to save Emmeryn."
"We failed to stop Valm from invading."
"We failed to stop Plegia from declaring all-out war, too."
"We let Grima have free reign as an imposter Robin without being able to do much about it."
"Not to mention that my traveling back here led Grima here in the first place."
"And caused Robin to lose all his memories."
"I tried killing him when he first met."
"And I lost my memories too, so I couldn't even do much until that point."
"Basically, what I'm trying to say is that we know." Lucina said. "We know we failed. We've failed a lot. But you know what else, Validar? We don't hide our failure. We pick ourselves up, and we learn from it."
"You would honestly have a better chance if you pointed out that I've been lying to the Future Children the entire time, on Robin's orders." Morgan said, cheerfully. "Should've done that. I mean, wouldn't have worked, but you should've tried that."
"But why would you be upset about that?" Validar narrowed his eyes. "Lucina would feel betrayed, but that was no failure on your part, Morgan. You acted beautifully."
"Right. So the fact that you don't realize that my betraying the Future Children was a fault on my part really just is why you have no chance of defeating us." Morgan said. "Lucina, maneuver twenty-two."
"On it!"
The two of them rushed Validar, Morgan slightly ahead of Lucina. Validar scowled and blasted at them with twin balls of dark energy. Morgan leapt over hers, flipping acrobatically, while Lucina quickly sidestepped and then stepped back right in front of Validar. Still quite a distance from him, Lucina set her feet for a straight thrust, holding Falchion parallel to the ground. Morgan, meanwhile, landed on her fingers and toes, setting herself in a runner's pose.
"What are you planning?" Validar narrowed his eyes. "Lucina is too far away, and you cannot hurt me, Morgan."
"Yeah. But I can still send you flying. Assassin-style movement: Pass." Morgan burst into motion, suddenly appearing behind Validar. She only had a moment to enjoy his shocked gaze before she struck him in the back with a powerful side kick, sending the sorcerer forward. "Alley-oop!"
"Royal House of Ylisse: Second Form: Parallel Thrust." Lucina lunged forward in a single swift motion and thrust with her sword, catching the sorcerer directly through his chest with her blade. "Your dragonskin is impressive, Validar. But it won't save you against an opponent with my blade."
"Check and mate." Morgan said, watching as Lucina calmly withdrew her blade from Validar's corpse. "Lucky for us he had all this hubris, eh? That might have been challenging if he didn't rely on that draginskin of his."
"Grima thinks that he can turn us against each other or force us to give in to despair." Lucina noted. "I take it that similar things are happening to the rest of us?"
"Yeah. You could say that." Morgan said. "But don't worry. They'll pull through. Probably."
-Third Guardian-
"Die, spawn of Robin!" Excellus sent more spells towards the young tactician, who avoided them on the fly. "You can't keep running forever."
"Well, we'll just have to see which one of us gives up first, then!" Ravena shot back, followed by a few wind spells. Excellus seemed to ignore it. "And once Argeni joins me, then I'll win this fight once and for all."
"Bold of you to assume that wretched woman would help you."
"ARGENI, HELP ME!" Ravena cried out. "I'll tell you everything that Vermil and I have been up to in our relationship if you do!"
"…Gossip? Really?" Excellus frowned. "That's just desperate."
"Hey, whatever works, right?" Ravena offered a sheepish grin. She raised her hands and summoned multiple vortexes of wind in her hand, getting them ready. "Something that you never seemed to grasp. Your solution to everything was just to backstab people or blackmail them. Not that I'm saying it's not effective, but it does have a tendency to backfire spectacularly, right?"
"Die."
"REXCALIBUR!" Wind blades shot out from Ravena as her magic and Excellus's collided, resulting in a magical explosion. Smoke shot out everywhere, and the small tactician used it to vanish.
Fire magic exploded in the center of the arena, presumably around Excellus, but Ravena had not chosen to go there. Instead, she had made her way back to Argeni.
"Talk to me, please, Argeni."
"I don't appreciate being treated as a pawn, Ravena."
"Oh, great. I get to hear that from you of all people."
"What do you mean by that!?"
"Pot calling the kettle black, Argeni!" Ravena responded. "Yipes!"
While she had been talking, Excellus had cleared the smoke around him and sent more attacks at the young tactician, who dodged them with ease, but was still forced to run.
"Okay, fine." Argeni said, acrobatically dodging several of Excellus's attacks. "It's really kettle calling the pot black. Whatever. The point is, Argeni, that you are perfectly capable of using people, including Robin, as pawns yourself. What are you complaining about?"
"We're supposed to be friends, you little scamp!" Argeni shot back. "I don't mind someone using me if I'm using them, but I do mind when one of my friends does it. I know that Robin and I started by manipulating each other, but I would really like to think that somewhere down the line we became friends. Or did he just use me to help keep Zulas in line?"
"Like he would have needed help with that."
"Fair." Argeni said, after sighing. "My husband's loyalty is his only flaw, really. But that doesn't mean I appreciate being used as a pawn on Robin's board and I feel no need to help him right now. You seem capable. Kill him on your own."
"Right. So here's the deal – while I totally could do that…"
"As if!" Excellus snorted, launching more attacks.
"Oh, Excellus, you really think you can win." Ravena said. "That's cute. Anyway, Argeni, there's not point of me killing him by myself because we'll need every hand we can get to defeat Grima, and you're one of our best healers. So, it'd be really nice if you decided to help me."
"Mmm, not a compelling argument."
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T DEFEAT GRIMA!"
"Please don't underestimate just quite how spiteful I can be." Argeni said. "I understand that you think I'm necessary, but I think I'm not, and I don't care about anything you have to say to me now."
"Fine! Here's the truth!" Ravena said. "Robin is friends with you, he just didn't tell you anything because he didn't want to put any burden on you to keep secrets from Zulas."
"Well, I can certainly keep a secret, that's no reason to-"
"Zulas is finding out about it now. Among other things." Ravena said. "It doesn't matter how good you are at keeping secrets. Robin was doing it to protect both of you."
"Be that as it may, I don't like it when people make decisions for me." Argeni said. "I still feel used."
"Robin didn't do it because he wanted to use you, you stupid socialite." Ravena snapped. "He did it because he wanted to look after you, and yes, you have a right to be mad at him for making that decision for you, but that doesn't change the fact that he did it because he's your friend!"
"Very well." Argeni sighed and took a deep breath in. "I suppose that's an acceptable excuse. But I'll still want to have words with him afterwards. Rexcalibur."
A burst of wind went straight from Argeni and crashed into Excellus's magic shield. Excellus turned around and laughed at the troubadour.
"So, you've decided to join the fight after all! But you're useless. Your magic stands no chance against me!"
"Bu what about my steel?" Ravena showed up right behind Excellus and neatly decapitated him in a with a scissoring pair of knives. She twirled the knives around in her hand and they shot back in her sleeves. The headless corpse dropped.
"Ravena! You did it."
"Naturally. He was standing on a magic barrier with negated most of our magic attacks. Didn't do jack against actual weapons, of course." Ravena said, flashing her a smile. "But I needed him to be distracted long enough for me to get close. Thanks for that, Argeni."
"My pleasure." Argeni smiled. "So, onwards towards ending this nightmare?"
"That's the plan." Ravena paused. "Oh. Don't worry about Zulas. He's going to be fine."
"Hmph. I'd never worry about my husband." Argeni said. "But as long as we're on the subject, shouldn't you be worrying about your beloved?"
"Vermil? Pah. I just see him when I'm bored. Don't read too much into it." Ravena scowled. "I'm not worried about him at all. He's a lot stronger than he looks."
-Fourth Guardian-
The cavern exploded with the power of a thousand miniature furnaces as Vermil set off the spell, fully intending to kill both Chon'sin with it. He wasn't certain if he would survive it, but the fire mage was more than used to experiments blowing up in his face and was confident in his abilities to avoid being cooked alive.
The Chon'sin could burn for all he cared.
The aftereffect sent a wave of heat washing over him, and the entire cavern was filled with residual smoke, but Vermil stood in the center, unaffected. Vermi smiled grimly. "I'm not considered one of the strongest mages in Valm for nothing."
"Your power is truly incredible. It's a pity that you must use it for something like this."
Vermil spun, only to find a thin Chon'sin blade at his neck.
"Do you truly wish to serve a dead empire with that strength of yours?" Say'ri asked, with a hint of a grimace on her face. "Robin asked me a question long ago, and I shall ask you a similar one: Is this what Ravena would want from you?"
"Her? What do I care about her?" Vermil spat. "How did you even survive that?"
"A talisman. And some pure water." Say'ri said. "Your magic power is incredible, Vermillion, however, we both know your weakness is you lack the raw power behind it. With enough magically enhanced resistance, it's trivial for me to be immune to those little fireballs of yours."
"…Robin predicted this, didn't he?"
"Not anytime in recent history." Say'ri said. "When I joined five years ago, he warned me that this might happen and told me what your key weakness was so I might survive your assault. Admittedly, this was before you had that ace of yours, but your Unlimited Fire Works doesn't do much to mitigate your lack of firepower. As for your other comments, I cannot claim to speak for Ravena, but rest assured, I am certain that she does, in fact, love you. She merely lacks adequate means to express it."
"Why do I need you to tell me that?" Vermil sighed. "I'm throwing a tantrum, aren't I?"
"I believe that it is a normal reaction to finding out secrets of this magnitude."
"I knew that I was being manipulated. I knew some of the things that was going on." Vermil grit his teeth. "I was just kind of hoping that Robin was a good person under it all."
"Hmm." Say'ri considered and sheathed the blade in one of the sheaths by her waist. "I sympathize, then."
"…what?"
"Your point is a fair one." Say'ri shrugged. "It's undeniable that Robin has done things that many people would consider bad, himself included. If you decide that you are unable to work for such a man, then I shall not hold it against you. Instead, I ask that you remain clear of the fighting."
"Clear of the fighting?" Vermil cocked his head.
The smoke near them whipped aside as an ebony samurai cut through it. His armor was burned, slightly, but Yen'fay wasn't that injured from the blast either. Yen'fay wielded twin blades, holding them in perfect Niten Ichi No Ryu style.
"You may have beaten me when we were younger, but your skills have atrophied since your death, and I have only gotten stronger. And my pride doesn't stop me from using the strongest weapon at my disposal." Say'ri drew a single blade from her back, a seven-branched sword, and settled into a more traditional stance. "I understand and forgive you, Yen'fay! Come, let us duel like we used to when we were younger!"
"Sister … it would be my pleasure!"
With a quick flash, Yen'fay disappeared, and a split-second later, Say'ri did the same. Vermil tried following the pair of clashing samurai, but he had no chance as the two moved quicker than the eye could see. The smoke clearing away in the cave kept getting split by the force of their movements, and occasionally there would be a clash of steel on steel.
"You've … improved … quite a bit … sister …"
"And you're … still as … tough as … I remember!"
Twin sharp cracks echoed as Say'ri blade shattered through both of Yen'fay's swords. The two fighters appeared briefly, Yen'fay holding twin shattered hilts, Say'ri swinging down with her blade. Then, with a quick step forward, Say'ri thrust, only for Yen'fay to back away as fast as he came in a blur. Say'ri went after him with another blur of motion.
They're fast. The fastest I've ever seen two people fight. Vermil sighed. What am I do here? I'm strong, but Ravena was right – I'm way out of my league when it comes to physical combat. That is, even if I wanted to interfere.
I wonder what the Zulas is finding out. Vermil winced. He's going to be so furious when he finds out Robin killed Walhart. And probably still going to help because he's that kind of a loyal lapdog. Now I feel bad thinking about that.
"Fie!" Say'ri appeared next to him suddenly, holding her blade in a guard position.
"Say'ri, what's going on? Didn't you break his swords?"
"Aye. My blade is stronger than his." Say'ri nodded. "But Yen'fay is stronger than me, even still, and evades my efforts to kill him. I cannot land a blow on him, even with my blades. That being the case, he cannot hurt me either without getting too close."
"So I'm going to have to get involved then." Vermil scowled.
"This is my fight. You do not have to step in."
"Don't give me that. You know as well as I do that Robin gave the job to both of us." Vermil said, focusing. A ring of magical energy appeared in front of him. Vermil concentrated, and a second, then a third ring appeared. "Listen. I'm still pissed at you, and at Robin. And this doesn't mean that I'm fighting with you for the remainder of this."
"You did try killing me not five minutes ago."
"Quick to flame, quick to extinguish, as Ravena says." Vermil said. "The explosion got most of the anger out of my system. I guess I can't really blame you or Yen'fay for what happened. And Walhart was kind of a jerk. I'm still not going to be staying around Robin after this, though. That said … I was taught by Yen'fay to always pay my debt. Not to mention that Grima is a colossal jerk who no doubt has it coming."
"So, you'll fight me too, Vermil?" With a sudden flicker, Yen'fay appeared on the other side of the cavern from them. "Sister, I warn you … this next exchange will take the life of one of us."
"Then let us make it a good one." Say'ri responded. "Just like old times."
"Not just yet. Barrier of wind." Vermil thrust his hand forward. "That'll stop him from overhearing. Say'ri, we'll have to work together to defeat him. Can you trap him in one spot?"
"No."
"Well, that's Plan A gone." Vermil said. A fourth ring appeared in front of him. "Okay. Can you force him to go to a specific spot? I'm going to mark a spot with a flare, and I need to you to force him there. Can you do that?"
"Not if he can see the flare." Say'ri shook her head.
"Fine." Vermil said, as soft as he could. "Thirty feet behind Yen'fay, five to the right. Force him there, and don't be directly in between me and that spot, alright? Give me twenty seconds."
"I can manage that."
"There's … there's not going to be anything left of him after I cast it." Vermil warned. "If you have any last words, you'll want to say them now."
"Our blades can do the talking." Say'ri reassured him. "It will be sufficient."
"Alright, then. Let's do this." With a quick flick of his wrist, Vermil disabled the wind barrier.
Say'ri disappeared and went after Yen'fay, who disappeared on his own. The two went at it again, as Vermil concentrated and began forming the fifth and final circle for the spell.
"Focusing array … check. Targeting array … check. Sublimating mana into heat, focusing the mana through the lenses. Beginning the creation of high-density plasma." Vermil focused. "Alignment grid matches with the targeting array, activating magnetic resonance field alongside the plane. Wind funnel has been created to shield the launch plane. Focusing magnetic energy, stabilizing plasma shot, reinforcing magical barriers. Magical expenditure is has stabilized at 96% of maximum allocated safety level."
There was a furious string of clashes even as Vermil focused the spell, and shards of metal flew throughout the arena from the clash of blades. He could barely make out the figures but as he watched them, it seemed that the one in black, Yen'fay, was giving looks in his direction.
"Since when was I the type of person to care about safety? Fire magic isn't supposed to be safe and if you're scared of getting burned you shouldn't be messing around with it anyway." Vermil grinned. Even with Say'ri baiting him, I'm not going to be able to hit him with my magic unless I give it everything I have. "Exceed the safety maximum and push all the way to the theoretical structural limit!"
There was a final ring of steel, followed by a sharp cry. Say'ri appeared, falling back wounded with a gash in her left arm and slashing desperately with her other one. Yen'fay, for his part, stepped back from her one-handed swing and stepped right where Vermil had set the brackets for the spell.
"Bidden by pact, forged in chains, called by summons, I command magic tainted! I cast thee, Vermillion Flare!" Vermil said. A blast emanated from the magical array in front of him, a brilliant purple meteor-like projectile that launched itself straight alongside the path, a plasma wake trailing behind it as it went clean through the chamber at supersonic speeds. The attack hit the ebony samurai and punched clean through him, disintegrating him until nothing was left.
"…" Say'ri stared at the attack, shocked. She turned to Vermil. "What was that?"
"Superheated material to the point where it stops being a gas and turns it liquid fire. It's then fired faster than the speed of sound carried across the wind with a force that's unsurpassed by any other attack." Vermil said. "But it takes me time to set up in preparation to cast and drains my magic reserves – I can't cast anything for another three minutes at least. Overall, it's just a gimmick that takes too long to cast to be useful during a pitched battle."
"I'm sure Robin would have disagreements about that."
"Pah. I'm still annoyed at him." Vermil shook his head. "Anyway. I would have liked a cleaner kill than disintegration. Sorry about that …"
"Pay it no mind. I knew we would need to kill Yen'fay, and I'm glad we were able to part again on better terms. Besides, he already died. If you want to blame anyone for defiling his body, blame Grima." Say'ri said. "You will help us kill Grima, right?"
"Yes. You've my cooperation for that. Lead the way." Vermil winced. "Oh."
"Hmm?"
"Zulas. He's probably the worse out of any of us."
"Ah. Yes, perhaps." Say'ri conceded. "I would not want to be him right now. Still, there is always hope."
-Fifth Guardian-
There was a clash of steel upon steel as Balt's lance narrowly blocked Cervantes's axe from splitting Zulas head to toe. Zulas did not move, and stood where he was, motionless, while Balt strained, struggling to hold the single axe in place.
"I can't believe I'm the one saying this!" Balt said. "I can't believe that I'm defending Robin now. And that smarmy dastard knew that I'd be doing this, and he also knows I'm not spiteful enough to let you die just to get at him. That's why he paired me up with you."
"Balt… stop…"
"NO! Get off your high horse, Zulas!" Balt said. "There's no family curse! There never was! Don't you understand that every single one of us has the same stupid set of ideals and stubborn loyalty which causes this? It's not a curse. It's just how every single one of us act! This would never have happened to Robin, or any of Robin's other friends, because they don't have their head shoved up their own ass!"
"This world isn't black and white! It never was! Robin's not a good person, but he's not evil personified either!" Balt continued. "He killed Walhart because he considered Walhart to be a bad person, and that's the reason, not because he's power-hungry! And you! You'll never get your happy ending if all you do is whine about how you can't change things and stick like a stubborn mule to the one path you know."
"Stop, Balt." Zulas said. "We had a good run while it lasted. But we're done. We need to die, like traitors deserve."
"See that? That's why I left." Balt said. "Look at the bigger picture! Your death here accomplishes nothing, even if you want to die to spite Robin, because another team can just mop Cervantes up. Not to mention that if Grima wins, it's curtains for humanity, everyone dies. Refusing to compromise on your principle means that you won't make headway whenever you hit something in your way! If we die here, no one wins. If we kill Cervantes, the two of us live another day and with that day comes something else. I'm not saying there aren't times when it's fine to sacrifice yourself and I don't mind taking the occasional risks, but I'm not going to just lay down and die."
"Life without honor isn't worth living!"
"It's still life!" Balt countered. "And, Argeni would have mine if I let you die like this. Do you think she wants this? Hmm? Do you think that Argeni wants you to die here, accomplishing nothing?"
"Argeni might be involved with-"
"Don't even start that. I don't know what she's involved with, but I do know this. Argeni loves you!" Balt said. "Some of us aren't so lucky to have a wife that loving. And if you can't live for her, then I'll kill you myself!"
There was a pause in the room only interrupted by the sound of metal grinding against metal as Balt kept Cervantes' axe from moving any further. Balt grit his teeth as he kept the blade away, straining to keep it in place. "Any time now, Zulas…"
"For Argeni's sake?"
"Yes, for Argeni's sake!"
"And we won't let Robin get away with what he's done?"
"I'm as mad at him as you are right now, trust me. But I can see the bigger picture!"
"You'll have my back when we face him?"
"If it's the only way to stop you from acting like an idiot right now and if it eventually comes to that, yes." Balt said through gritted teeth. "Someone has to."
Fire lit up in Zulas's eyes. With a whirl of steel, Zulas brought his weapon into the fight, slapping Cervantes' axe away as he joined the clash, forcing Cervantes back. The two brothers stood together, pointing spears at Cervantes.
"I've got a lot of aggression in me right now." Zulas growled. "And I'm going to take it out on you."
"Sorry, General." Balt said. "But I'm familiar enough with your fighting style. Without having to protect my brother, this is only going to end one way."
-Sixth Guardian-
"Stand aside, Chrom." Aversa said. "I can't defeat both you and him."
"Morgaine, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but we can't kill him." Chrom said. "That is Basilio, standing there."
"No, it's merely a Risen." Aversa said. "Basilio died."
"But that looks like Basilio. And it has all of Basilio's memories and personalities." Chrom countered. "It's a living person, Morgaine, and that living person is the continuation of my friend, Basilio. It may even possess his soul."
"It's highly likely that it does." Aversa agreed. "But that's not a living creature, Chrom. It's a construct held together my magic, it does not grow and it does not reproduce. It's a sterile automaton which a person was forcibly shoved into from beyond the grave."
"So killing him would be akin completely to murder." Chrom said.
"Oh. Hmm." Aversa considered. "I'm no expert on morality or ethics myself, you understand, but I think I understand your point. Yes, it might be similar to murder, though, of course, I'm far from qualified to make any kind of decision on that. That's what I have Robin for. And what Robin has Pheros for. So what?"
"So what?" Chrom said. "Murder is wrong!"
"What? No, it isn't. You've killed before, Exalt. Even for all your attempts to stop war, you've cut your own fair share of bloody paths through a battlefield." Aversa countered. "I suppose it's wrong under some conditions, but we're on a field of battle right now, and Basilio is opposing us. How is this any different from what you normally do?"
"Basilio is not our enemy!"
"Of course he is. He's stopping us from killing Grima."
"Because Grima is forcing him to do that!"
"I fail to see how that's relevant. Many of those that you killed in your quest to save your sister were driven by similar motivations – the late General Mustafa, for instance." Aversa replied, gathering her magic. "Robin desires to kill Grima. Anyone stopping him must be dealt with. And, if the only way to deal with them is to kill them, then that's what we must do. I may be a psychopath, Chrom, but I'm not cruel or callous. I wouldn't choose to kill Basilio unless it was the only to make progress here. And it is."
"Morgaine, stop."
"Why would you ask me to do that? You know I'm not going to listen to you." Aversa said. "Robin, he has changed since you first met him. But I have not. I serve my master, and I do not question my master's orders. Robin gave me a chance for revenge against Validar; and he's my brother. I would rather die than fail him."
"IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!"
"Very well." Aversa sighed. "I'll simplify things for you. I'll give you a count to ten, at which point I'll attack Basilio, unless you are protecting him, in which case I'll attack you. If you want to stop me, then you'll be forced to kill me. Else, if you do not wish to die, stay out of my way."
"…You're not joking." Chrom said, reading the look in her eyes. "Aversa … you're really willing to do it."
"It's alright, Chrom." A hand lay itself on Chrom's shoulder. The Exalt turned to see Basilio standing beside him. "If it makes you feel any better, I've already died once. A second chance at life shouldn't be wasted on someone like me, and I was lucky to get this one."
"Khan Basilio, are you ready to fight me?" Aversa asked.
"It's not going to be much of a fight, is it?" Basilio laughed. "I'm forbidden from doing anything until one of you lands the first blow. That means you've got as long as you want to land it, and you get to land it clean. So, make it could, would you?"
"That doesn't make any sense…" Chrom said. "Why would Grima tell you to go to even those lengths?"
"I'm guessing that each of the six Dreadlords has different orders." Aversa said. "Basilio's is to come as close as possible to cold-blooded murder. Grima isn't trying to stop you, Chrom. He's trying to break you. That's why he sent Basilio here."
"I won't allow him to break me."
"No." Aversa agreed. "Just stand aside, Chrom. I'll take care of this quickly."
"…No." Chrom shook his head.
"For the last time-"
"I'll be the one to kill Basilio."
"Exalt." Basilio said. "Are you sure about this?"
"Sorry, old friend." Chrom said, pointing Falchion at him. "But Aversa is right. If you're alive, that means you are committing treason right now. I can judge you and find you guilty. This isn't going to be a cold-blooded murder. It's going to be an execution."
"Very well." Basilio said. "Don't tell my grandkids about this, alright? Wouldn't do for them to think the great West Khan ended up being a traitor."
"If we're to have a trial, then we'll do it properly." Chrom said. "Morgaine, given the extenuating circumstance, I can act as the judge, jury, and executioner. But I can't be the accuser if I'm to judge to case."
"If I must." Aversa stepped forward. "Khan Basilio, formerly of Regna Ferox, now a resurrected thrall to Grima, you are being charged with conspiracy against Valm as well as high treason during a time of war. The punishment sought is death."
"Basilio?" Chrom turned to him. "Do you understand the charges?"
"Yes." Basilio nodded. "I'm guilty, Chrom. But I'm not doing this by choice."
"Valm recognizes that you are performing the actions under extreme duress, and thus, your name will be stricken from all records henceforth. Your crimes shall not be remembered. However, the only suitable punishment is death." Chrom said. "You will be killed by the Falchion's behead."
"Well…" Basilio said, hefting his axe. "Come and try."
Chrom drew his Falchion, and set himself in place, ready to slice Basilio's head from his shoulders. Basilio, for his part, had set his stance and held his axe ready, perfectly prepared to clash blades with Chrom for the final time.
"Goetia."
A cloud of dark magic rose up and encircled Basilio. Before he could react, the Feroxi giant was suddenly deluged by a swarm of dark miasma, draining away his life. He tried resisting, but to no avail – the magic had caught him by surprise. Within moments, the man was dead.
"AVERSA!"
"The head can understand, but the heart takes a while to catch up." Aversa replied calmly, walking past him towards the far end of the tunnel. "I worry that if you had executed Basilio yourself, despite the fact that you rationally accepted it, it would have taken a mental toll. If we had weeks to spare, I would have let you do it, but we don't."
"Did Robin order you to do this?"
"No." Aversa turned and flashed him a smile. "Assuming it was Basilio the pair of us faced, my orders were to allow you to kill him if you so managed to work up the capacity to do so. However, Robin lacks a finer understanding of how people like you work. Killing him was my choice. If you're mad, take it out on Grima."
"Excellent advice." Chrom said, a look of fury barely concealed on his face. "I think I will."
-First Guardian-
"So. You've come to challenge me again." Walhart said. "Robin Obsidian, it's good to see you. And Pheros, likewise. Grima's knowledge has been imparted into me. I see that Robin has installed you as a puppet for him."
"Robin, why does he think that?"
"Because that's how Grima sees the world." Robin explained. "He sees the worst in people and will always assume that everyone is only working for their own benefit. Walhart knows the world through Grima's understanding."
"Am I wrong, Robin?" Walhart asked. "I know enough not to believe Grima's assumptions, but I know you as well. You're a schemer, you are crafty. You aren't so different from me, you realize."
"Also because Walhart is a nasty piece of work himself. Do you know why I decided to kill you, Walhart?" Robin asked.
"Because you believe you were stronger than I, and thus more deserving of leadership." Walhart said. "And now you have a second opportunity to prove it."
"So you want me to kill you?"
"Prove to me that your victory wasn't a fluke, Robin!" Walhart charged, with speed that defied his build, swinging his massive axe to cur Robin in two. "Prove to me that you can defeat me again!"
"No."
Walhart's swing exploded into the ground, sending a massive spray of rubble up from the impact. But he hit nothing. Robin had moved past him in a single step, black flames surrounding his body.
"I will not fight you." Robin told Walhart as the Conqueror turned around. "Walhart, I had hoped that you were rotting in hell for what you had done to me. I take no joy in seeing you, and even if I obliterate you with a single wave of my hand, I would take no satisfaction."
"What are you doing?" Walhart swung again, only for Robin dodge it as well, letting Walhart's barrage of attacks fly by him as the once-Battlemaster almost gracefully danced through the attacks. Robin stepped in close, exerting almost no effort and placed the point of his spear right beneath the Conqueror's chin.
"Let me make this clear, o Conqueror." Robin said. "This stops now. No more violence. Do you understand? You, who would force conflict in everything for now other reason than you knew you would win?"
"Why would you take that attitude against me like this, Robin?" Walhart asks. "Didn't I make you strong?"
"Why do you think I hate you?" Robin demanded. "You took me, a man with my skills and abilities along with total amnesia and tossed me to the wolves. You sent me into a nest of backstabbers and traitors, into a war that was barely justified, all in an attempt to sharpen me into a weapon. I didn't want it. I never wanted it. I was just a wanderer who wanted to be free from his past. And then you reaped me from that to grow me into the deadliest weapon you could. Well you reaped what you sowed. Your death was your fault, Walhart, and no one else's. You wield an axe, but that's not a fitting blade for a man like you. You should wield a double-edged sword."
"And, you, Pheros?" Walhart said. "Do you believe what Robin says? You were among my most loyal disciples. If you are stronger than I am, than I do not mind you taking the throne, but do you agree with Robin's hatred of me?"
"I didn't join you because I believed in your drivel about strength." Pheros said. "I joined you because I thought you had the best chance of unifying the world, of fulfilling Exalt Emmeryn's dream."
Robin withdrew the spear from right before Walhart's neck and spun it around, walking off. Walhart immediately swung down with his axe, but hit nothing but ground as Robin dodged again, neatly sidestepping the blow. This time, Robin reached down and pulled, ripping the weapon free of the Conqueror's grip, tossing Walhart's axe away.
"All right. I guess I'm going to have to act like I'm disciplining a three-year-old if you're going to be like that." Robin turned to Walhart and sternly shook his finger. "If you can't be trusted with that axe, then you're not going to be allowed to have it. Taking my spear away from your throat was not an invitation to attack me."
"You believe in 'an invitation to attack'?" Walhart said. "That is not how wars are fought, tactician."
"Regardless." Robin said. "It's how I fight them. If you have a justifiable cause for war, that's fine. But using your strength to take advantage of the weak is wrong. And it will never be right."
"The weak should not be weak."
"Of course you believe that. You are evil, Walhart. Not 'I had good intention but did despicable things'. You are genuinely evil." Robin said. "You're perfectly willing to exploit and corrupt those beneath you for your own advantage, without a single care for them, under your own philosophy. But having a philosophy does not justify your cruel and inhumane actions. Why do you think I made Pheros the Empress? I'm a tactician, a man whose job it is to give people orders and send them to their deaths. You may be right that we're not so different about that. But the job of a ruler, a leader, is completely different. You bear the responsibility for every soul that you can give absolute orders to. Those who rule cannot complain about being ruled over in turn. There is always an exchange for power, and the cost of ruling over others is the responsibility of bearing that cost."
"What utter foolishness."
"I'm not interested in hearing it from you. You can believe whatever the hell you want. You probably do. And there's not much I can do about it. But don't believe things for other people. Your philosophy of 'might makes right' doesn't mystically absolve you from mass murder." Robin said. "Soldiers can't complain about dying once they are willing to kill other soldiers. But they can complain when they aren't given a choice whether or not to fight. I'm not holding someone accountable for killing in a kill-or-be-killed situation. But I'll hold you accountable for putting them there. All 1,017,526 soldiers in the Valm army. Once you deal with the blood on your hands from them, I'll give you time of day."
"And what of you, Robin?" Walhart countered. "Are you not responsible yourself?"
"I wasn't given a choice!" Black flames roared around Robin, causing an inferno as they formed a column surrounding him, scaling with the man's hatred. Pheros let go of her own blaze and took a step back to avoid the worse of its effects, and even Walhart was forced back. Robin began stepping forward, forcing the Conqueror to back up, step by step. Robin's eye lit up as well, a dark blaze coming from his countenance as he stared down Walhart. "I was forcibly drafted and tossed to the wolves. I was thrown in battle after battle, with no choice being given as to whether or not the battle would happen, and the only solution I could find to stop was to kill you!"
"Rrrrrh!" Walhart tried bracing himself against the onslaught of flames and stood. But he didn't need to. The flames relinquished of their own accord.
"No. That's wrong." Robin stopped short, and the flames died down. "That's what I would like to say. But I am responsible. Not to the extent you are, but every man is responsible for his actions. I'm just as responsible as you are for all the evil I did. More, even."
"Robin, you don't have to carry the full weight of your decisions." Pheros said. "You aren't entirely to blame for everything that's happened. Not like Walhart is!"
"You would turn against me too, Pheros?" Walhart said.
"I told you! I only joined you because I thought you could unify the world." Pheros said, staring at him. "But I was blinded! Your death and Robin's words have brought me clarity. You're no saint, you're no savior. Robin, even on his worse day, is a thousand times the man you are, even on your best! Robin bears the responsibility for helping you, true, even though it's mitigated by all the extenuating circumstances. But his intents have, and always will be, better than yours! He seeks the good for everyone, and even though he's stumbled on the path to get there, he keeps moving forward!"
"You are dead to me, then." Walhart raised his hand, and Wolf Berg appeared in it. He hurled it at Pheros, intending to cut her in two. A spear intercepted the throw, sending both weapons flying aside. Walhart turned his attention to Robin, who had thrown it.
"I said I had no intention of fighting you." Robin said. "That was true. You see, I believe that your violence first approach is wrong, and furthermore, I believe that responding with violence, even when justified, isn't right when you have other options available. Or, to put it in a way your feeble mind can comprehend, the gap between us is so wide right now that you aren't a threat to me. You're an ant beneath my boot, and I don't believe in crushing ants, not matter how annoying they are-"
"Foolish-" Walhart started.
Robin hit him with a flying knee directly to Walhart's face. Pheros winced as there was an audible crack from the connection of Robin's greave directly to the center of Walhart's head. Robin spun and finished the attack with a spinning kick, snapping the Conqueror's head to the side with another crack. Then Robin raised his hand, summoned his own spear and proceeded to ram the blade through the bloodied remains of the Conqueror's skull.
"-but that was before you tried killing my fiancé." Robin finished. "My aversion to violence isn't my abstention from violence."
"While I do appreciate the thought…" Pheros walked up to Robin, surveying the corpse. "…a bit overkill?"
"Thank you for backing me up." Robin said. "Mentally, I mean. Grima put Walhart here, knowing it would rattle me and get my blood to boil, maybe even send me into introspection. It was nice to hear you say that there was a clear difference between us."
"That's part of what I'm here for." Pheros embraced Robin from behind. Robin let himself relax as she did so, and turned around, reciprocating the gesture, hugging her tightly. He tilted his head down slightly and kissed her, once.
"Robin! Is this the time and place?" Pheros said. "I know I started, but…"
"Sorry, my love." Robin said. "But we're relatively safe now that we've defeated the guardian and this is the last respite we'll have before Grima. Please forgive me."
"Alright. But as long as you have my attention…" Pheros kissed him back, holding the embrace alongside it for a few seconds more, to Robin's both surprise and delight. She then released him, and the two slowly went back to their battle stances. Pheros summoned forth her fire magic to conjure an orb to illuminate the cave around them.
"You two are such a cute couple, you know that?" A figure shimmered into existence before them. He had a similar appearance to Robin, save his hair was short and he still had two eyes. "Really, quite sweet. Of course, I wouldn't know, considering the Pheros from my time is dead. Killed by my own hand, at that."
"Grima." Pheros spat. "Dark Dragon, enemy of the Naga Devout. Too much of a coward to face us in flesh and still pretending to be a human?"
"Not exactly. The same barrier which stops you from killing me stops me from killing you. So I can only project." Grima shrugged and smiled. "And, Pheros dear, you may not want to believe this, but I am the same Robin over there. Just one who made a few small choices a tiny bit differently."
"Don't even try that." Robin said. "I happen to know that the current body you're possessing isn't in your possession willingly at all."
"Mmm?" Grima smiled smugly. "And what gave you that impression? Are you so sure that the Robin from my world wasn't playing Chrom from a fool from day one?"
"Yes." Robin said. "There are so many things wrong with that story, it's more or less impossible for me to even start with the flaws. Lucina told me about your Robin, and if that was his plan, he'd do like ninety percent of the things differently. Not to mention that I know how demonic possession works."
"Eh. Worth a try." Grima said. "This is the most I can do for now. Trade barbs and whatnot. You killed Walhart quite a bit faster than I would have expected. From my time, it took the combined might of all the Shepherds to kill that one and it took Chrom himself to land the final blow."
"Keep underestimating me and suffer the consequences."
"…No. I've stopped doing that." Grima said. "As far as your friends… well it does seem that my guardians are being defeated one by one, so the guardians perhaps aren't working quite as well as I expected. But don't think that was my only plan, even if it fails. I have a plan for you. A very special plan indeed."
"And what makes you so certain you're the only one?" Robin asked. "One way or the other, we'll end this."
"On that, we can agree."
***WARNING:Long Author's Notes:WARNING***
A/N: So I don't talk about the writing process a lot in my notes. Well, that's going to change, starting now. You see, when I was planning out this arc I came up with a brilliant idea to have a modified version of the 'Dreadlord' system to end everyone's character arcs. The problem is that I decided to make ALL SIX FIGHTS happen in TWO CHAPTERS. That means I had to write a total of six different scenes in this chapter, each one representing a different set of character growth, which is why this took me three weeks to finally finish even after I had half of it already drafted.
I'm not saying the chapter is bad, just that if I was given a chance to rewrite this, or write something similar to this, I'd use a different method. I'm not sure what - I didn't want to pad out the individual confrontations, but maybe I should have done so just to avoid the cram here. I was also toying with the idea of just doing vignettes of around 2000-3000 words for each one, as opposed to two 7000 word chapters, but I wasn't sold on that idea either.
Anyway, I'm still pretty happy with how it all turned out - the character arcs actually got completed for everyone - well, not completed, but all the characters are pretty much where I want them to be for the final battle. Speaking of which, two announcements: 1) The voting contest is more or less over. The decision is made in the next chapter, so if you have a last minute vote, go vote! Link can be found at the end of the previous chapter. 2) The count of chapters is final. There will be a total of 62 chapters - which means three more chapters to go until the end of the story. Yay! I'll probably have longer author's notes for the next few chapters discussing this stuff. Also, feel free to leave reviews asking me questions and whatnot - I'll try to respond if I can.
