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The trek practically across the continent was a long one, as expected, but it was also a good rest. It provided plenty of time for training, strategizing, learning how to be a parent, and learning all about their newest recruits. Lissa had taken it upon herself to try and find out exactly who every new child's parents were, with varying degrees of success.
Laurent, the mage, was the son of Miriel. He was always interested in learning, taking every opportunity to educate himself. Nobody could even come close to guessing who his father was because nobody could get a word in edgewise. He seemed to just disappear every now and again, making conversations very difficult.
Kjelle, the knight, was the daughter of Sully and Stahl. As collected and composed as she seemed, she instantly revealed who her father was. Nobody was all that surprised, considering how much time Sully and Stahl spent together anyway.
Inigo, the more suave mercenary, was the son of Olivia. His dancing was apparently something to behold, but only a select few had seen it. The only clue towards his other parent was his light-blue hair. His demeanor towards women was also quite the hint.
Yarne, the taugel, was Panne's son. Obviously. His timid nature was easily understandable, yet extremely annoying. He would run away from just about any attempt at conversation that somebody made at him… unless he was offered something sweet.
Brady, the priest, was the son of Maribelle and Lon'qu. Rumours of a relationship between the two Shepherds had been circulating the camp (courtesy of Lissa), and Brady's appearance essentially confirmed it. His common way of speak, despite a noble attitude, helped as well.
Noire, the archer, was the daughter of Tharja. She had quite the split personality disorder. One side of it was insanely fierce and scary, while the other was quite timid and shy. However, both of her personalities had quite the affiliation for the dark arts, and she never seemed to be afraid of any stray Risen.
Severa, the other mercenary, was the daughter of Cordelia. She had quite the snappy attitude, and was always the first one to criticize. She did seem to have a soft spot for a certain myrmidon, which made Lissa both scared and overjoyed. Severa often referred to herself as a sellsword; the only thing that came close to discerning who her father was.
Nah, the manakete, was the daughter of Nowi. Unlike her mother, Nah was very studious, preferring to read over play. She was generally quite shy around the other Shepherds, often keeping to herself and staying relatively quiet. Unless it was Ricken. She seemed to want to pester him nonstop about anything and everything.
"I'm glad you're still the princess of camp gossip, Lissa, but I don't see how any of this is important to me."
"I thought you wanted to learn more about them!"
"I do, but parental concerns aren't something I'm worried about at the moment. I'm worried as to how they'll fare against Walhart in… half an hour."
"That's no fun!"
"I know, but it is necessary. Although, given your clues, I think I have some pair-up ideas."
"See? It was helpful!"
Robin chuckled. "I suppose it was." Lissa smiled and ran off, presumably to find Maribelle and spread gossip yet again. He turned back to the map of Walhart's castle grounds, where the next battle would presumably take place. He didn't really want to know how Anna managed to get her hands on one. Ignoring the admittedly very strange ideas forming in his head, he started to mark where the scouts said the enemy was. Looking over it, Walhart had surprisingly left the middle of the field empty. Not the best strategy; unless he has a hidden weapon.
"So, Robin, any ideas yet?" He turned and saw the short blue hair of his friend.
"A few. I wouldn't mind your opinion on them."
Chrom gave a huge grin. "My, has the strategist of the Ylissean army hit the proverbial wall?"
"Do you want to help? If not, I can always send you in by yourself."
"Alright, alright. So, what were your ideas?" Robin returned the smile, and the two set to work.
It seemed Walhart had got wind of their arrival. He was standing in front of the wall that protected his home, looking down on the Shepherds.
"Turn back, prince! You have no idea the forces you are attempting to oppose!"
"Think again, Conqueror! We know the monster we face, and we have a few tricks for him!"
"You're not the only one." Walhart raised an enormous gauntlet, and gave some kind of signal. A roar that almost shattered the Shepherds' eardrums echoed across the field, filling Robin's mind with doubt about their plan. From behind the wall Walhart stood in front of, a pair of armoured wings began to rise. Their beat made the armour of Walhart's forces rattle, and sent a shiver down the spines of everyone there. Walhart grinned as the rest of the beast rose above the wall. Now Robin knew why the middle of the field was empty of Walhart's forces. It was so the gigantic armoured dragon had room to fight. Every flap of its red wings brought it closer to the Shepherds, black armour making it all the more intimidating. Once again, it let out an ear-rending screech, making Robin almost regret the decision to assault Walhart so soon. It was then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Link, that same determined look in his eyes that appeared every time there was an enemy that was, presumably, from where he was from. He pointed a finger at himself, then up to the sky.
"You need to get higher?" A nod affirmed his assumption. "Okay. Tiki, Link knows how to beat that dragon. Can you help?"
"I shall do my best." In a brilliant flash of light, the woman turned into a large green dragon. She leaned down, and Link promptly hopped on. The two took off towards the bigger, armoured dragon, and Robin set his eyes back on the rest of the battlefield.
"Our plan should still work. With Link and Tiki distracting it, the unexpected dragon shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"Right. Shepherds! Like we discussed!" Each team set off to their specified positions. Robin and Chrom headed across the middle of the field, Walhart as their goal. As they reached the first of the Conqueror's guard, the earth shook. The tactician and Exalt turned around to see the massive dragon lying on the ground, some of the armour falling off. Attached to its tail was Link, holding his strange chain shooters, one of them grabbing the tail, and in metal boots. He quickly let go, and motioned to Tiki, who picked him up again. Walhart's beast slowly stood up, giving off another roar. It once again took to the skies, spewing breaths of fire at whatever was closest. Robin turned back to the guards at hand, and got an axe in the shoulder. Fortunately, he managed to move enough so that it wasn't too bad of an injury, but it still hurt.
"Ouch!"
"Robin, are you okay?" Chrom slashed through the guard, ending his breath.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We need to focus on Walhart." Chrom gave him a worried look, but continued to fight Walhart's guard anyway. As they fought towards the Conqueror, another tremble made everyone go off-balance. "Link strikes again." Robin fought on, ignoring the pain in his arm. Just before they reached Walhart, the ground shook for a third time. Able to ignore it, they strode up to the Conqueror.
"Your reign ends here, Walhart!"
"You impress me, princeling. I didn't expect you to deal with my dragon so easily." He made a nonchalant wave towards the monster, now devoid of armour, having a duel of fire with Tiki. "That is a fine warrior atop that dragon. The only one I see here."
"Stop now, Walhart! If you don't surrender, I'll prove just how much of a warrior I am!"
"How amusing. The prince and the tactician wish to challenge me. Come, then! Fight with all your strength! I will show you why they call me the Conqueror!" He swung his weapon, an intimidatingly deformed axe, at the two of them. They swiftly moved out of its deadly reach, and attempted to return the attack. Walhart drew his axe back up, deflecting it. Both sides clashed, a flurry of hits and misses, most of the collisions happening between weapons. Sparks flew with every strike; every movement was accompanied with a grunt of effort; every breath was steady and measured; equal forces, neither side giving an inch. The only actual hits the tactician and the prince managed to get on Walhart were scratches, until they were interrupted yet again by the red dragon. It had let out a fearsome screech, distracting the three combatants. They looked to the sky and saw it writhing in pain, a small green shape rapidly swinging a piece of metal that glinted against the dying sun. With each slash of the sword, it let out the same horrific screech that pierced everyone's eardrums. Robin was slightly surprised that he could hear Walhart chuckle at the situation… and that he could still hear.
"Something funny, Conqueror?"
"You send your best warrior to dispose of a mediocre dragon, but only two worms to oppose me? Your tactical prowess is over-exaggerated."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"What are you- Gah!" Falchion's blood-stained tip protruded from Walhart's shoulder, its wielder sporting a somewhat disturbing grin. He withdrew the legendary blade and watched the Conqueror grasp his punctured shoulder.
"Problem, Walhart? Did I manage to stab your ego? It was the biggest target." Walhart gave a guttural growl and raised the axe in his other hand, preparing to strike down the smug exalt. His swing was stopped for a final time as an all-too familiar roar echoed across the field, turning the head of everyone present. The red dragon was falling to the ground, Link on its back and Tiki flying triumphantly overtop of it. It hit the ground with enough force to create a dragon-shaped crater, making the armour of every soldier rattle. It gave one final squirm then became still, with Link pulling his sword from the dying jewel on its back. He jumped off the monster, sheathing his sword. It disintegrated into black rectangles, and disappeared into the evening sky. Robin, now sporting the smug smile that Chrom had on only minutes ago, turned back to face his adversary, who wasn't there. Robin's smile instantly left his face as he frantically glanced around, looking for wherever Walhart could have gone. Chrom had also just noticed, and only shrugged his shoulders at the tactician.
"Damn it! Walhart got away!"
"Don't worry; he's wounded. I made sure of that. He won't be doing much for some time; at least for tonight."
"That still doesn't mean it's time to celebrate." He gestured towards the group of Shepherds, who were toting Link on their shoulders and shouting his name.
"I thought Lissa would have trained you better by now. Lighten up a little, would you?" Chrom gave him a smile, and went to join the merry band of warriors. Robin couldn't help but feel a little bit of anger at the bluenette. Yes, he probably did need to loosen up a bit, but that didn't change the fact that Walhart had gotten away, and would be all the more ready for them the next day. The next battle would not be an easy one.
A/N: Sorry this took longer than usual! There were a few intrusive things that happened, and I couldn't write as much as I wanted to. That aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and are looking forward to the next one; some exciting things are going to happen. As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns or suggestions, please review or PM. Everything you say will help!