Morgan and Severa were walking down an open road and the former was clenching her stomach as it growled.
"I'm sooooo huuuungryyyy…" Morgan groaned. "We could have had enough money for food if you didn't splurge on those shoes."
"I couldn't help it." Severa said. "They were just too cute to pass up."
"But isn't food more important than fancy shoes? You know, because food actually helps you to survive?"
"Those people in the harbor said that the Shepherds were heading to the Mila Tree. We're almost there so could you hold on for just a little longer?" Severa turned her head to see that Morgan was crouching in front of a nearby bush.
"I know these might be poisonous, but I'm so hungry I don't think I have any choice." Morgan was about to pick some of the berries from the bush.
"Morgan, no!" Severa pulled her back. "What if those berries WERE poisonous?! You could have died! I… I…" Severa eyes became glazed. "I've already lost our parents, I don't want to lose you, too. I'm sorry I was selfish at the harbor."
"I forgive you." Morgan smiled. "And I have an idea."
A bird flew in the tree above them and Morgan pulled out her lightning tome. She fried the bird with electricity until it was burnt to a crisp and fell to the ground. Morgan picked up the fried bird and motioned her hand toward Morgan.
"You want some?" Morgan asked. "I'm sure you're just as hungry as I am."
Severa looked at the dead bird with disgust and slightly gagged. "Urp… I think-urp… I think I just lost my appetite…"
Morgan just looked at Severa with a blank stare for a couple of seconds. "… Oh well, more for me!"
Morgan chow down on the bird, Severa looked away from the girl that was eating like a wild animal.
The Shepherds had been marching for most of the morning until a giant tree came into their sights.
"There it is!" Say'ri pointed toward the tree. "The divine Mila Tree!"
Simply being miles away from it, Robin could only guess its incredible size. It was so tall that it seemed to touch the clouds in the sky.
"Whoaaaa…" Lissa gasped in awe. "I don't think I've ever felt so small…"
"I can't even see the top of it!" Basilio said.
"Most impressive indeed..." Frederick spoke. "So the shrine hides all the way up in its branches?"
"Aye, sir." Say'ri nodded. "A great staircase inside the trunk leads up to it. However, the empire has closed off the only route to the steps. Or perhaps 'roots' to the steps, I should say."
Say'ri bad joke left nothing but silence.
Cough…
"… Heh…" Robin lightly and forcefully chuckled.
"Anyway, we'll just have to break through!" Chrom said.
About a half an hour after arriving near the tree, the Shepherds had stopped so Robin could formulate a battle strategy. As Robin contemplated over the map and the information Sumia and Cordelia brought him from scouting the enemy, Cordelia came by.
"Cordelia, did you forget something?" Robin asked.
"Uh, sort of." Cordelia answered "There's something I wanted to ask you. Did you… enjoy the cookies last night?"
Robin had no idea what she was talking about. "… What cookies?"
"… Well…" Cordelia simply said.
The atmosphere became incredibly awkward.
"… Never mind then…" Cordelia turned around and left, not showing Robin her blushed and embarrassed expression.
Just as Cordelia left, Say'ri came dropped by.
"Robin, are things coming along nicely?" Say'ri asked.
"Almost." Robin replied. "I just need another minute or so. I heard from the pegasus knights that these soldiers are being led by a knight with a large beard."
"Cervantes."
"You know him?"
"Aye. He's the general of Valm's forces."
"He's that high up the chain, huh? I may need more time to think this over."
"Perhaps not. I have received intelligence from the Resistance that the reason Cervantes never shaves is because he believes that his beard makes him invincible."
"That's… incredibly stupid… Walhart actually let that guy be a General? … Well, that simplifies things. Tell Chrom to be ready in 10 to 20 minutes."
By the trunk of the Mila Tree, General Cervantes was stroking the moustache of his beard as if he was grooming it with his bare hands. Just then, a soldier came up to him.
"General!" The soldier was completely out of breath, so he handed Cervantes a spyglass and pointed toward the plains.
Cervantes looked through the glass to see the Shepherds mobilizing. "So! They arrive at last, eh wot! 'Yes, come closer', said the hairy spider to the flies…"
The soldier was finally able to catch his breath. "General Cervantes, Excellus was right- the Ylissean League approaches!"
"Are you daft, boy?" Cervantes questioned. "Did you not hear what I was JUST saying?!"
"A thousand pardons, sir!"
"Hmm… They must have some skill to make it this far… but no matter. We will show them the meaning of the word 'fear'…"
"The meaning of 'beard', sir? Er, yes, I'm sure they would be most impressed… but perhaps-"
"Fear, you deaf ignoramous! FEAR!"
"Y-yes! Of course, sir! … Sorry, sir!"
"… They are impressive, though, aren't they? My whiskers? Ha ha! I've not shaved since my very first battle. And have I ever lost? No! Not even once! Ergo, my moustache makes me invincible. It's science, my boy-science! Rally the forces and tell them to wait for my command!"
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and left.
After a few hours had passed, Robin and Say'ri were hiding behind one of the roots of the massive tree, keeping their eyes on the enemies' formation.
*Are they in position yet?* Robin thought to himself, waiting for something.
A bird call came from elsewhere, and then another bird call chirped.
*That's the signal.* Robin said before doing a completely different bird call.
From behind another one of the roots, Virion and several Ylissean archers popped out of hiding with their bows ready and fired at the Valmese soldiers. At the same time, the mages came out of hiding and fired fire, lightning and wind magic at several more soldiers. Once the archers were taken care of, Robin vaulted over the root as Chrom and the other Shepherds that weren't magic users charged toward the enemy.
"Come on, Say'ri! Let's go!" Robin said.
Say'ri nodded, vaulted over the root and she and Robin charged alongside the other Shepherds. Dozens of Valmese soldiers began to charge at the Shepherds, a few Pegasus and wyvern riders among them. Robin quickly pulled out his wind tome and knocked at least two of them right out of the sky. However, right in Robin's blind spot, a Valmese soldier was about to strike him down with an axe.
Cordelia quickly noticed this and tried to warn him. "Robin, loo-"
In the blink of an eye, the Valmese barbarian had been struck down by Say'ri wielding a steel sword. Robin noticed this and looked at Say'ri.
"Thank you." Robin said before he pulled out his own sword and stabbed a Valmese that was about to strike Say'ri while her guard was down.
Say'ri looked at Robin for a moment that seemed like it went on longer than it actually did. "… Looks like we're even."
Robin and Say'ri proceeded to fight off the other Valmese forces. Cordelia just looked on, cheeks puffed out and looking somewhat jealous.
"You're welcome." Cordelia sarcastically said to herself before stabbing an attacking Valmese soldier in the head with her spear without even having to look at him.
Severa and Morgan had walked a great distance and the former was started to get exhausted and dropped to the ground.
"Morgan, can we just take a break for a minute?" Sevvera asked. "I feel like if I walk another step, I'm going to faint."
"My legs are bothering me, too." Morgan noticed and sat down on the ground. "Okay, let's take a break."
As they took a quick breather, they could hear loud yells and clangs of steel coming from a short ways away. Morgan got up and ran towards where the sounds were coming from until she saw the skirmish in front of a large tree in the distance.
"Actually, you can take a break." Morgan said. "I'm going to watch that battle."
"What?"
"I can actually learn battle tactics and use the experience to better myself." Morgan started to run toward the fight and the large tree.
"Wait!" Severa got a second wind and started running after Morgan. "Morgan! You can't just join any fight you see!"
As the battle raged on, Cervantes finally showed up on the steps of the divine tree.
"Time for the spider to devour the flies!" Cervantes said as he marched his way through the battlefield.
After taking down another soldier, Say'ri noticed Cervantes and readied the armorslayer sword she held around her waist on standby.
"… Eh wot?!" Cervantes noticed Say'ri as well. "It cannot be! Say'ri-my mortal enemy…"
"General Cervantes… Your reputation-and your gut-precedes you."
Robin was able to overhear that as he fought and stifled a laugh before cutting another Valmese soldier down with his sword.
"But we have met in battle before, girl!" Cervantes continued. "Have you forgotten?! Not long ago, you and I, locked in deadly combat. I was sure we had won the day until you appeared..."
Say'ri had a slightly confused expression on her face. "… Your beard again? Can you talk of nothing else, you imperial pig?!"
"Ap-PEARED!" Cervantes reiterated in anger. "I said 'appeared'! Just… never mind!"
Cervantes swung his tomahawk at Say'ri but she easily dodged it with grace. She attempted to counterattack with her armorslayer, but Cervantes quickly pulled his shield and blocked the strike. Cervantes then pushed Say'ri with his shield and tried to cleave her with his tomahawk again. This time the swipe managed to hit Say'ri, leaving a cut across her abdomen and knocking her to the ground. While she was down Cervantes was about to deliver the final blow.
"It appears I win." Cervantes chuckled as he held the tomahawk to her neck.
"Again with the beard?" Say'ri asked.
Cervantes became annoyed and was ready to swing down his tomahawk.
Zap!
A bolt of lightning had struck Cervantes, sending him flying into the nearby water. Say'ri looked to see Morgan had fired the bolt using her lightning tome.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked Say'ri.
"Y-yes, child." Say'ri responded. "Though you should not be here. 'Tis no place for a child."
"But I got that beard guy, didn't I?"
Cervantes was clawing his way out of the water and Excellus appeared.
"Having trouble, Cervantes?" Exxcellus asked with his smug grin.
"This battle isn't over yet." Cervantes grunted.
"You've already lost." Excellus stated. "Your forces are completely outmatched and if you stay, you'll be killed along with your soldiers."
Cervantes didn't like his options, but before he could make a decision, Excellus had teleported them elsewhere.
The battle was over and the Valmese forces had surrendered once their leader became incapacitated. The Ylissean were tending to their wounded while Chrom, Robin, Lissa and Frederick were waiting for Say'ri's wound to be healed by Lissa.
"Are you sure we have to wait until your wounds are healed?" Lissa asked Say'ri. "Why can't we just go up on our own?"
"I surmise it's because we are strangers to the Voice and might assume we are Valmese keeping her captive." Frederick stated.
"Aye." Say'ri nodded. "But there's one thing on my mind besides that. The girl that saved my life, where is she?"
"There you are!"
They all looked over to see Morgan running toward their direction.
"There she is." Say'ri said. "Young lady-"
"Father!" Morgan glomped Robin.
"What?!" Robin exclaimed. "Beg pardon?"
"Dad, don't you recognize me?" Morgan asked. "It's me! Morgan! You know? Daddy's little girl? The love of your life?"
"Did you travel back from the future with Lucina?" Robin inquired.
"Huh?" Morgan tilted her head in confusion. "Who's Lucina? And did you seriously just ask me if I came from the future? You're really acting strange, although I will say the air here definitely agrees with you. You look 20 years younger."
"Maybe because I am 20 years younger." Robin said. "I know this sounds crazy, but I think you're my daughter from the future."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Morgan exclaimed. "That's not even possible!"
"Look at me closely." Robin requested. "Do I look old enough to have a child of your age? In fact, you're not even born yet."
"Now that you mention it…" Morgan started analyzing Robin. "You DO look younger."
"Believe me. I was in the same position as you two years ago." Robin told her. "If Chrom hadn't found me lying in that field, who knows what would have happened to me…"
"Wait, you woke up in the middle of a field, too?" Morgan laughed. "Hah! Like father like daughter, huh? Oh, that's too funny!"
"Glad to see you inherited my blithe outlook." Robin muttered.
"There's still one thing that I don't understand." Chrom realized. "Who is your mother?"
"That's right." Lissa said. "Robin isn't even dating anyone right now."
"Perhaps it's someone Robin WILL court." Frederick hypothesized.
"Morgan!"
They all looked over to see Severa come by with Cordelia.
"There you are!" Severa exclaimed. "What were you thinking?! Going off into a battle on your own like that?! You could've gotten killed!"
"Are you a friend of Morgan's?" Robin asked.
"Actually…" Cordelia spoke up. "She's my daughter from the future."
"Really?" Robin asked. "Who's the father then?"
Severa pointed directly at Robin.
"… What?" Robin asked.
"You are." Severa responded.
"I am what?"
"You're my father."
Everyone's mouths were left agape by the sudden revelation… Although Cordelia was feeling incredibly heightened enthusiasm on the inside at this moment.
*YES!* Cordelia thought. *THIS CONFIRMS IT! ROBIN AND I ARE GOING TO BE TOGETHER!*
Say'ri then noticed something under Morgan's coat. It appeared to be some sort of curved sword and Say'ri seemed to instantly recognize it.
*That blade…* Say'ri thought. *It belongs to my brother, but… how did this girl get her hands on it?* Say'ri stood up, which made Lissa stop her healing magic, and walked over to Robin. "Robin, can I ask you something in private?"
"Uh, sure." Robin answered and the two went a little ways away so they couldn't be heard.
"What is this talk of the future?" Say'ri questioned.
"Like I told Morgan, it sounds crazy at first, but it's the only logical explanation." Robin stated. "You know Lucina? She's Chrom's daughter from the future. The Brand in her eye is proof of that."
"And you believe that these girls are your children?"
"Well, with Morgan I didn't seem to have any problems believing she was my daughter. I mean, she even has my mannerisms. But once Severa entered the equation, I'm starting to get really confused."
"Why? Do you not have feelings for Cordelia?"
"I… I don't know. I mean, she's the only person in the Shepherds other than Chrom that I'm the closest to, but… something just doesn't feel right… I can't quite explain it."
"Anyway, the Voice should be up the staircase. We should get going."
Say'ri started walking up the steps as Robin went to the other Shepherds to let them know to go up the tree. Say'ri stopped when Morgan ran up the steps after her.
"Is there something you need, child?" Say'ri asked.
"I'm not sure." Morgan answered. "You feel familiar to me somehow…"
"… I just realized I have yet to thank you for saving my life."
"I only came to the battle to watch; learn strategies so I can be like my father. But when I saw you about to get killed, my body seemed to move on its own."
"… And might I ask about that blade under your coat?"
"Oh, this?" Morgan pulled out the curved sword out of its sheath. "I don't know everything… but… Oh! I just remembered something! My mother gave me this sword! … But I still can't remember her face…"
"I'm sure it'll come in due time, Morgan."
"Thanks." Morgan skipped off over to her father while Say'ri looked back.
*I wonder…* Say'ri thought.
A/N: DONE! Been suffering a bit of anxiety from college work lately... been messing with my appetite. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm guessing you guys have figured it out by now. I'm not going to say what, but I'm pretty sure you can see it coming. But trust me, I've got good ideas planned for later chapter. Not sure what to do in the next chapter, but I know I'm going to introduce Tiki: one of my favorite ladies in the game. Catch you all next time!