Previous Boss: Argorok, the armoured dragon from the City in the Sky
"So, you wish to challenge me yet again, prince? And in my own house? How brave."
"You won't escape this time, Walhart! You couldn't fit a dragon in here no matter how hard you tried!"
"True enough, but I don't need a dragon to finish you off, boy! I only need this!" Walhart held up one enormous gauntlet, clenching it. "But your little band of mercenaries get something special!" With a small movement, Walhart summoned a figure up through the ground. It was a light blue, seemingly fading in and out of existence. It hovered just above the carpet it had risen through, staring down the Shepherds before it. Then, without warning, it vanished with a sound not dissimilar to one of Robin's weakest Thunder tomes.
"Looks like your 'help' has run."
"Look again." The entire band of warriors saw an intensifying red light coming from behind them. Every head swiftly turned to face the same shape, this time levitating a ball of red and black energy above its head. The enormous sphere shot out and stopped above the Shepherds before morphing into a warped version of the portal that had brought the black beasts at the Divine Dragon grounds. From the portal spewed forth a collection of darkened monsters; several plants alighted on the ground, and black bats took to the skies. Every Shepherd leapt in surprise as the plants began to snap at their legs, and the bats dove at them. Walhart gave a smirk at the squirming Shepherds, almost radiating pride despite his defeat at their hands the day before.
"Link, any hints?!" The boy gave Robin a somewhat exasperated look, and proceeded to slash one of the bats from the air, which exploded into a mass of black rectangles. He then looked back at Robin with somewhat of a smile. "Really? We just hit them?" Link nodded. "Okay then. Shepherds! Plan stays the same; just be more careful. Let's end this!" An enormous battle cry rang out from the group of warriors, and everyone went into action. The sounds of weapons striking flesh and plant matter echoed around the vast chamber as the squadron of fighters made their way to where the tyrannical Conqueror was smugly sitting. Robin had his eyes trained on the man in red until about halfway up the middle of the room. Cutting down a soldier that was in front of him he charged forward, and slammed into a blue figure. It was the ghostly person, once again beginning to charge up the red orb of intense power. Slightly dazed from the impact, Robin barely had time to register what was happening before a green blur appeared before him, wildly slashing at the distorted figure before him until it disappeared with the same unsettling sound it had made previously. It then dashed off again, this time to deal with a large amount of plants that had surrounded some of the other Shepherds.
"Robin, are you alright?" Chrom's familiar voice brought Robin back to the fight at hand.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Once again, our boy in green managed to save me."
"Now I'm really glad we decided to trust him," the exalt chuckled. "All that stands between us and Walhart is Excellus. Shall we?"
"Actually, no."
"No?!"
"Excellus is Say'ri's fight. She deserves a chance to avenge her brother."
"I suppose you're right. Well then, how do you propose we get past them?"
"Wait thirty seconds."
"Um… okay." So, for the next thirty seconds, they simply sat and surveyed the battle. Robin's side of the family, being Owain, Lissa and Morgan, were getting close to where the prince and Exalt stood. Frederick, Cherche, Lon'qu, Maribelle and Vaike were all finishing off the soldiers Chrom and Robin had left behind. To the duo's right was Miriel, Laurent, Cordelia, Severa and…
"Right on cue." Robin saw Say'ri running over to Excellus, taking the mage completely by surprise. The pair toppled out of the way, leaving just enough of an opening for Robin and Chrom to get through. "Let's go!" They charged through the opening, swords drawn and aimed at Walhart. The Conqueror was unmoving, aware of the threat but not in the least bit concerned; and with good reason. Unnoticed by Robin and Chrom, a barrier composed of dark energy had been placed before them, similar to the one used at the Divine Dragon Grounds. The two ran straight into it, bouncing back a foot or two.
""Coward! Standing back from battle, hiding behind an invisible shield!" Chrom repeatedly hit the shield with Falchion's pommel, sending lines of red energy coursing down the barrier.
"Chrom, that won't do any good." Robin attempted to hold the enraged Exalt back as Walhart gave them a smile from behind his barrier. "We have to destroy whatever's making this wall; then we can go after Walhart." Chrom shakily lowered Falchion and turned his attention to Robin with a sigh.
"You're right. The problem with that is that we have no idea what's causing it."
"Actually, I might have one." Robin turned his head to look at the teleporting blue figure.
"Of course." Chrom gave an exasperated sigh. "It figures that the one thing preventing us from reaching Walhart is a teleporting ghost that controls dark magic."
"Don't worry too much, O whining one. Everyone else has already been attacking it whenever the opportunity arose. It should only take a few more hits."
"Right." Chrom gave a brief pause before giving a joking glare at Robin. "You know, just because we're related now doesn't mean that you can insult me." Robin shrugged.
"The issue of being related never stopped me before," he smiled. Chrom did the same, and the two began to move back into the thick of the battle. The ghostly figure was teleporting everywhere, only getting hit when it appeared carelessly. Eventually, it stopped and began to charge another ball of dark energy. Quickly, Robin and Chrom moved towards it, both of them managing to slice it through the torso. The hit seemed to have worked due to the thing's reaction, and it disappeared once more.
"Did that work?"
"No, the barrier's still up. It's around here somewhere." Robin scanned the room for signs of the blue figure, and came up with nothing. It must be on the other side of the wall… As if hearing his thoughts, the top of a ball of energy appeared from behind the wall. "There!" The two raced towards the entrance to the hallway, but before they even got close, the ball of energy vanished yet again. The two stopped and stared, slightly bemused. They hadn't sent anybody over there. From the entrance came Link, who nonchalantly waved at Robin and Chrom. "I guess that works."
"Now I'm really glad we recruited that boy."
"No kidding." Robin watched Link run off to go help Cordelia, who was having a bit of trouble with some archers. "That kid is a powerhouse." Just as Chrom was about to make a comment, the blue figure appeared not far from them. Without a word to each other, the two charged towards it intent on stopping the next ball of dark energy. They managed to reach it, but not before it launched the ball into the air. Robin stunned the thing with his thunder, and Chrom sliced at the paralyzed entity. The blue shape convulsed, then hung its head.
"This won't be the last time…" it whispered in an echoey voice before slowly fading away. Robin quickly looked at where the barrier was to see it dissolve into black rectangles. He looked back at Chrom, who had also noticed the barrier's disappearance. They nodded to each other, and ran towards Walhart once more. To their chagrin, another wall blocked their way; only this time it was made of fire. Several Valmese mages had managed to escape the Shepherds, and were focussing all their energy on the two royals. With a sigh and eye-roll each, they assaulted the minor forces. The only problem was that they were tired from running around the castle and battling so many others while the mages had only just joined the fray. The magic-wielders easily dodged and countered just about every blow Chrom and Robin managed to get off. Cuts, bruises, and wounds that would eventually scar began to cover them both, exhausting them further. Just when it seemed like they would never get past these mages, a healing light fell over the two. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw Lissa holding her staff above her head as it emitted a green glow. As soon as the glow stopped, she dashed off… in the direction of Walhart. Robin's fear and recent healing allowed him to push back the mages and find an opening. When he did, one look at the rejuvenated Chrom told him that he could leave the Exalt be; the guy was probably enjoying himself at the moment. With only a point towards the Conqueror, Chrom understood and helped Robin get through. They led a fearsome attack against the line of mages, splitting the group down the middle. A final mage stood in the way, something Robin had accounted for, and tried to stop the two in their tracks. He half-succeeded. Chrom charged ahead of Robin, distracting the mage just long enough for Robin to get past. As he darted down the room towards the gap that would lead him to the Conqueror, his mind became a complete mess. Lissa's gotten better, but she can't compete with Walhart! Even if she took someone like Lon'qu along with her, there's no way the two could get out unscathed! Chrom and I wouldn't even dare taking the risk; the plan was to lure him out into the open! Gods, what am I going to find when I get there? That question was answered all too soon.
Robin arrived just in time to see Lissa get thrown against a wall and fall down, unconscious. Not too far off was the prone form of Morgan, who was groaning in pain. At Walhart's feet was Owain, barely managing to stay on his knees. Walhart raised his menacing red axe to cleave Robin's son in half when Robin finally spoke up, allowing Owain to crawl off to the side.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Ha-ha. Me? I'm killing the pathetic soldiers you sent to face me. It seems you've run out of ideas, tactician."
"Not yet." Robin fired a small Thunder at Walhart, who practically batted the spell aside. The Conqueror stepped forward and slashed at where Robin was standing. The tactician was nearly crushed by the immense axe as he dodged to the side, looking back at the cracked stone beneath the red giant's weapon. He started rapidly throwing Thunder spells at the monster of a man, getting reactions that varied from 'was that a fly' to 'that almost hurt'. Somewhere between the axe swings and bolts of electricity going back and forth, another sword flashed.
"You shall not lay a hand on my father, foul demon!" Owain's sword found a weak point on Walhart's shoulder, and dove. The man in red let out a fearsome cry of pain as he threw off the myrmidon, who landed against the opposite wall and didn't stir. Walhart pulled the sword out of his shoulder and turned back to Robin, who was now emanating fury. Walhart hesitated.
"Do you like literature, Conqueror?" Robin's tone was eerily calm and quiet. "Because I have a poem for you." Electricity began to spark between the tactician's fingers.
"This is the law of the jungle,
As old and as true as the sky;
The one who shall keep it may prosper,
But the one who hurts my family… must DIE!" With the last word, Robin let a ferocious shot of electricity envelop Walhart, who gave a scream of agony. When the dust settled and his vision became normal once more, he saw Walhart lying before him, sparking slightly. Robin looked down at his hand, which was back to its regular self. A Thoron with a Thunder tome? How did I… a movement caught his eye. Walhart had weakly raised his head, and was staring intently at Robin.
"You… have bested… me. It seems… my rule… was not to be…" Walhart let out his final breath, and lay motionless on the floor. The Conqueror was defeated. The battle wasn't over, however. Across the room, Say'ri was still fighting Excellus, and he was winning. Say'ri had her back to the wall; literally, as Excellus cackled wildly at her struggling form.
"Did you and Yen'fay have a pleasant reunion; or rather, did you two have a pleasant parting? Ha ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"You monster! What did our people ever do to you?!"
"It's not what you did, it's what you might do! Everything has to be in place in order for Lord Ganondorf to make this world his own! That's why I had to get rid of those pesky wyverns!"
"It wasn't Walhart's desire; you just wanted them dead!"
"Indeed! And that's exactly what you're about to become!" Excellus raised his hand above his head, creating a ball of fire. "Goodbye!" Excellus' arm came down, and Say'ri closed her eyes, prepared for the inevitable… which never came. She opened her eyes, and gasped to see the tip of a sword protruding from Excellus' chest. The sword was removed from the newly-made corpse, and Excellus' body fell to the ground. On the other side stood Link, the end of his sword coated in a thin layer of blood.
"Thank you, brave warrior." Link didn't move. He was stood, stock still, staring down at Excellus' deceased body. "Are you alright?" Nothing. Say'ri uneasily surveyed the rest of the room, not seeing any sign of remaining enemies. They had taken Walhart's castle. Just before she could ask Link what was wrong, he ran off, and she was left wondering what had just happened.
Robin saw it all. He saw what Link had just done, and was about to go help, when he heard Lissa waking up.
"Ugh… where's the horse that hit me?"
"Lissa!" Robin ran over to her and gave her a hug. "I was worried!"
"Hey, mister, that's my job! Also, this hurts. Would you mind…?"
"Oh! Sorry." Robin let go of her.
"What happened to Walhart?"
"Well, he hurt all of you, so I hurt him back. Mine worked better."
"All of us? Morgan! Owain!" She ran over to Morgan, who was also just waking up, and Robin went over to check on Owain. Robin managed to get Owain to hobble over while leaning on his father's shoulder so that Lissa could heal the two children. Meanwhile, Robin was going over what just happened to Link in his mind. A man who was silently sworn never to kill had just done so. It cannot be good for the psyche.
"Robin! I need your mind!" Chrom called to the tactician from across the room. Robin looked down to Lissa, who urged him to go and talk. Robin stood and walked, still in somewhat of a daze, over to where the Exalt stood. "Okay. Say'ri, tell us what you found."
"Aye. I located one of the Fire Emblem's gems. It seems Walhart was keeping one for himself."
"Excellent. This means that only one gem remains."
"If I may, there was something else. Before the monster, Excellus, died, he told me that he was serving under someone named Ganondorf. Does this mean anything to anyone?"
"No, but it would probably be best to keep that in the back of our minds. Now, in order to stop Grima, we have to…" Robin didn't really pay attention to the rest of the conversation. He was occupied with thoughts of how Link was, and why he was able to create a Thoron with only a Thunder tome. He attributed the latter to Grima's resurgence in power. Link was a separate matter.
Robin found Link sitting at the nearby river, staring intently down at the horseshoe necklace he wore. He was so focussed on a point not quite where the necklace was that he didn't seem to notice when Robin sat down beside him. They sat by each other in silence for a little while, Link staring at the necklace and Robin staring at the sky. Eventually, Robin thought of what to say.
"I can't claim to know what you're going through; killing has never been a problem for me. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not, but it makes it easier." He looked over at the green warrior, who was still clutching the necklace. "That's not to say it doesn't affect me. I can remember every life I've taken; every day, I wonder what happened to their families and how that person's death affects them. You're lucky; you only have the burden of killing a monster without family, while I have hundreds of deaths on my head." Link moved slightly, but nothing more. "Obviously, I'm not the best therapist, but I do understand. This is something that's weighing on your mind, and it may affect your choices in the future, but it might not be a bad thing. Excellus was horrible, and probably would have killed Say'ri and teleported off if you hadn't stopped him. If he was still alive, he would be terrorizing the people of this place further, and helping the guy he was serving under gain power." Link finally looked up from the horseshoe, eyes watering. "Look, sometimes we have to sacrifice our own beliefs in order to help other people. Fight for the needs of the many, not the needs of the few. If this 'Ilia' was here, I'm sure she'd say the same thing. From what I've discerned, she seems like a good person." Robin stood up. "Look, this will definitely take time to get over, but it will get better. Don't worry; you're still a good person, Link. You're still the hero that we need." Robin turned and walked back to camp, pausing to give one final remark to the saddened hero. "You're also the friend we all want to help."
A/N: I am SO sorry, guys! So many things got in the way of me being able to write this chapter, and it didn't help that I wasn't really feeling the beginning of it. Looking back, it's not so bad. Unfortunately, updates are going to be really infrequent because of a sudden lack of ideas on my end. I feel really bad about it, but there's not much I can do. Oh, and special thanks to Mew29240 for the idea of how to use Excellus in this chapter. So, if you have any ideas, questions, concerns or comments, please review or PM. Again, really sorry about the huge delay. Write to you next time!
P.S: I have also been writing another story that I'm unsure as to whether or not I want to release it, so you may see that crop up on my profile at some point. If you're really interested, PM me and ask about it. I'll gladly answer your questions on both this story and the hidden one!