The final fight against Walhart is upon us! I hope you all enjoy it!
Within the throne room of Valm Castle, Walhart, Excellus and Cervantes had gathered with Excellus still desperately trying to process the dynasts' change of heart.
"Th-they… There must be several hundred thousand soldiers out there!" Excellus said. "Would they dare…?! Is it… Is it possible… Is it possible it was Yen'fay they feared all along, and not me?!"
"Without him to back it up, your threat was only the grand shadow of a tiny spider." Walhart stated.
"Tiny spider, is it?" Excellus questioned. "Well this spider has woven other webs in secret you could not even-"
"You mean how you blackmailed Yen'fay to keep his loyalty?" Walhart asked. "Or perhaps your correspondence with the Plegian woman… Aversa, was it? Yes, I know you have designs on the Fire Emblem… You have no secrets from me, worm."
"B-b-b-but…" Excellus stammered. "I… I don't… If you… knew all of that… w-why…"
"Why haven't I killed you?" Walhart finished for Excellus. "… I've asked myself the same thing, several times… But you're no threat to me. And I admit, you have your uses. Besides, I'm not one for court jesters, but you do… amuse me."
"Amuse you? I AMUSE you, like I'm a jester?!" Excellus ranted. "Are you AMUSED now?! With a million swords at your door, come for your head?! You've lost! Lost, and you are going to DIE! All of you! ALL OF YOU! But not me! I want no part in this suicide!"
Excellus turned around to leave, but Walhart's booming voice caused him to stop.
"Why, Excellus, did you just volunteer to lead my personal guard against the rebels?" Walhart asked.
"… What?!" Excellus turned around and quivered in fear. "No, that's-"
"Unless you'd rather fight me!" Walhart threatened. "Right here, RIGHT NOW!"
"Mercy! Mercy!" Excellus bowed desperately. "F-forgive me, my master! A moment's madness, only! It will not return!"
Walhart smirked. "Then it's settled. We have our new captain of the guard. Congratulations, Captain. You'll be right at my side until the fray is upon us."
Walhart left the room so he could procure his horse for his final stand, leaving Cervantes alone with an Excellus that was panting in frustration.
"Do give out guests a warm welcome, snake." Cervantes said as he turned around and left to prepare for the final battle. "Perhaps offer them some of your tea? Hahah… My equal… Pah!"
"… They forget who I am." Excellus growled to himself. "I could have fried them both where they stood with my magic! We will crush these rebels… We MUST crush these rebels… Or maybe… if Walhart is sufficiently injured… I might 'amuse' him with a spell… Nyaha, either way, this spider crawls out alive! Eeeheeheehee!"
After twenty minutes of making their way through the capital, the Shepherds finally broke through and entered Valm Castle. All the giant doors leading to the throne room were open, revealing hundreds of Valmese soldiers and Walhart sitting on his throne, resting his chin against his large red blade with his horse standing right next to him.
"I see Walhart, still seated in his throne." Chrom said. "It doesn't seem like he's thinking about escape."
"And his soldiers…" Robin said as he analyzed the Valmese. "They look ready to die before they'd surrender. One must admire their loyalty, at least."
"He does inspire that in people." Chrom said. "It's part of what makes him so dangerous."
"He inspires that in SOME people." Robin said.
"Yes, in some. But not me." Chrom responded. "Shepherds, CHARGE!"
Before anyone could move, the giant doors began closing and hordes of soldiers began to pour in in an attempt to keep the Shepherds trapped in such a small space.
"Damn, they're closing the doors!" Robin said. "Chrom, you and Lucina have to get through!"
"Robin, I think we could use a little more backup." Chrom said.
Chrom pointed toward the series of doors and they could barely make out Cervantes and Excellus standing between the army of soldiers and Walhart.
"Robin, it's your call." Chrom said. "We'll need another few Shepherds to take on Walhart's generals. So, who will they be?"
While Robin pondered his options, it felt like time came to a halt he was thinking so fast. He needed people that could get in fast and were close enough to the gates to get a solid start. With him at Chrom's side, he could go along with him and command the other Shepherds to hold out until Walhart's defeat. Or…
"Morgan!" Robin called out.
Morgan eagerly ran up to Robin.
"Yes, Father?" Morgan asked.
"You always say how you wanted to be a great tactician like me, right?" Robin asked.
"Yeah." Morgan answered.
Robin only needed to smile to tell Morgan what he was thinking and when she figured it out her grin practically spread across her entire face.
"Robin, are you sure?" Chrom asked. "This is an important battle that we can't afford to lose."
"I know Morgan can do it." Robin said. "In our chess games you've almost had me beat. All you have to do is make sure everyone survives in case the situation changes."
"I'll make you proud, Dad!" Morgan said.
"Would you stop with the schmaltzy fluff and hurry up!" Severa shouted as she ran up to Robin. "The doors are closing!"
"Right." Robin said.
He needed to think fast. He had four people at this moment (Chrom, himself, Lucina and Severa) so he needed at least two more so that when they would have to fight Cervantes or Excellus, Chrom and Lucina could get through to face Walhart.
"Robin, we'll fight with you!"
Robin turned around to see Say'ri and Rei'qu approach him.
"Are you sure this isn't just about revenge, Say'ri?" Robin asked.
"Aye, I won't deny that I want to avenge Yen'fay, but we haven't the time to argue." Say'ri said.
"Then let's hurry!" Chrom said as he and Lucina made a mad dash for the closing doors.
Chrom and Lucina were followed by Say'ri, Rei'qu, Severa and then Robin, the last of whom barely made it in time as the doors closed shut. Morgan looked back at the doors as they closed and smiled.
"I'll make you proud, Father!" Morgan said to herself. "I promise!"
Chrom, Lucina, Robin, Say'ri, Severa and Rei'qu continued running through the hallway toward the other closing doors with Cervantes standing in front of the next one.
"Okay, so who'll take on-" Chrom was about to ask until Rei'qu bolted past them in a flash.
Rei'qu pulled out her Killing Edge and swung the blade at Cervantes, who blocked the strike with his large shield.
"… I guess that answers that." Chrom said.
"But who'll stay behind to back her up?" Robin wondered.
"Hey, I was supposed to fight him!" Severa shouted as she charged at Cervantes with her Armorslayer.
"… Never mind." Robin said.
While Rei'qu and Severa distracted Cervantes, the remaining four in their small group slipped past them and managed to get through the next giant door before it closed. Cervantes looked back as the door closed and turned his attention back to the two girls.
"Let's have it then, rebellious scum!" Cervantes shouted. "Like a flimsy belt around the waist of defeat, you shall buckle here!"
"Really?" Severa asked. "That's your epic war line? … Llllaaaaame!"
The others continued to make their way toward the last door which was being guarded by Excellus. The mere sight of him caused Say'ri to snap and swiftly close the distance between her and Excellus, following up with a horizontal swing of Amatsu to her left at Excellus which he barely dodged by leaning backwards. As Excellus recovered, he looked at Say'ri with rage burning in his eyes.
"… You." Excellus growled and glared at Say'ri. "… YOU! You and Yen'fay cost me EVERYTHING!"
"I only pray my brother is watching…" Say'ri mumbled to herself. "Yen'fay, guide my hand!"
Since Chrom and Lucina needed to get through the doors to face Walhart, Robin had to stay and help Say'ri fight off Excellus. He charged in for a strike with his Levin Sword which Excellus barely dodged. For a brief moment, Robin looked back to make sure that Chrom and Lucina made it through the door as it closed. Chrom managed to slip through, but Lucina barely made it in time and the doors closed. With that done, Robin turned his attention back to Excellus and continued to fight him.
In the throne room Chrom and Lucina stood before Walhart, who looked ready for battle once more.
"Walhart!" Chrom shouted.
"Prince…" Walhart said.
"Will you surrender?" Chrom demanded.
"Don't waste my time with questions you know the answers to, boy." Walhart replied.
"Father, it's no use." Lucina said. "He won't listen to us."
"It did not have to be this way…" Chrom said. "You believe in mankind's strength… So did my sister. You believe that we are masters of our destinies… So do I. You could have joined with us."
"ME, JOIN YOU?!" Walhart shouted. "Does a Pegasus join with the flea on its back? A dragon, with a cow it eats?! You forget your place, BOY! I am the Conqueror! I will unite the world!"
"No!" Chrom said. "… I will! And not by forcing all the people to choose the sword or the knee. Peace will only come by stoking people's hearts… not their fear."
"You think that's what you've done?" Walhart asked. "What your sister did before you? No, she shouted some nonsense and leapt off a rock! Such weakness!"
"Wrong!" Chrom said. "Not weakness; strength! That one act lives on, and WILL live on, longer than all your conquests…"
"And longer than you will…" Walhart said, narrowing his eyes on Chrom and Lucina. "Come then, fleas, and die for your peace!"
"Emm, I tried…" Chrom muttered.
"You did what you could, Father." Lucina said.
Both of them charged at Walhart with their Falchion drawn and the Conqueror charged toward them.
Back where the girls were fighting Cervantes, Rei'qu slammed her Killing Edge against Cervantes's shield and kept pushing to pressure him into a blockstun. With Cervantes distracted and immobile, Severa slid behind him and was ready to slash his back with the Armorslayer.
"I see you!" Cervantes shouted as he swung his shield around and knocked it into Severa's ribs.
As Rei'qu's Killing Edge slid against Cervantes's armor without even so much as leaving a scratch, Severa let go of the Armorslayer and her body was sent flying into the wall.
"Severa!" Rei'qu shouted.
Severa's body hit the floor and she appeared to be unconscious.
"Once I've dealt with you, she'll meet the axe next." Cervantes said.
Excellus was having a tough time fighting both Robin and Say'ri as she kept dashing in too quickly while the Ylissean tactician tried blasting him with Thoron beams.
*Damn it all!* Excellus thought. *I need to get them both to stop attacking me otherwise I'm as good as dead! Think, Excellus! Think! What intel can I put to good use?* "… HOLD IT!"
Robin stopped hurling Thoron blasts, almost ready to fire another one at him.
"Why should I?" Robin questioned.
"Because if you don't… What will happen to your precious little daughter?" Excellus asked.
Robin froze in place and Excellus smirked to take this opportunity to counterattack.
"Robin, do not let him-" Say'ri was about to shout.
"Say'ri, look out!" Robin shouted.
Say'ri looked down and saw a red magic circle appear underneath her. Before anything else happened, she noticed that some force was pushing her out of the way. As her face turned to where she was, she saw Robin right above the circle as a geyser of flames engulfed him.
"ROBIN!"
"WEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!" Excellus laughed maniacally.
Back in the throne room, Chrom and Lucina continued to fight Walhart. Despite the strength of their fighting styles and Falchion, the Conqueror kept swiping them away. Though it appeared that he was struggling due to the injuries he sustained in his fight with Chrom, Robin and Say'ri a little while ago.
"Hyaaaa!" Chrom roared as he was about to make a leaping strike at Walhart.
Walhart blocked Falchion and angled it so he could knock Falchion out of Chrom's hands. As the sword slid across the floor, Chrom tried to retrieve it, but Walhart was ready to deal a crushing blow with his giant weapon.
"Father, no!"
Lucina quickly got between her father and Walhart and managed to block the Conqueror's large weapon. The force resulted in her lying on her back on the floor and trying to push back Walhart's weapon as he kept applying more strength to cleave the princess.
"LUCINA!" Chrom shouted.
"Father, don't worry about me!" Lucina said as she struggled to simply keep Walhart from impaling her.
"I refuse to leave my daughter to die for me!"
"Now isn't the time to argue! Just do it!"
Rei'qu kept slashing at Cervantes with her Killing Edge, but the blade couldn't break through Cervantes's armor or his shield whenever he had to protect his face.
*This is getting nowhere!* Rei'qu thought.
She motioned her eyes toward the ground and saw that the Armorslayer was still there. Cervantes tried to strike at her with his axe while she wasn't paying attention to him. Rei'qu moved quickly and avoided the attack by rolling toward the Armorslayer.
"Submit!" Rei'qu shouted as she started swinging her sword swiftly and furiously.
Cervantes tried to block it, but each slash kept chipping away at it until after the fifth strike when Rei'qu finally managed to cut through the shield.
"WHAT?!" Cervantes exclaimed.
Rei'qu took the Armorslayer and closed in for the finishing blow. Once she got close to Cervantes, she swung the sword, cut through the armor and everything above the neck came flying off. His head bounced and rolled on the ground for a couple of feet as his now headless body fell over with a loud thud.
"Nngh…"
Rei'qu turned around and saw Severa starting to regain consciousness.
"What happened?" Severa asked.
She saw the decapitated corpse of Cervantes lying on the floor.
"Ugh, gods!" Severa groaned. "That's disgusting! Did you really have to cut his head off?!"
"Tis good to see you right as well, Severa." Rei'qu retorted as she walked over to Severa. "This is yours. I couldn't have defeated him without it. Thank you."
Rei'qu handed the Armorslayer back to Severa, who snagged it out of her hands and looked away while blushing.
"W-whatever…" Severa said. "But… you're welcome."
Say'ri was distraught at the sight of Robin being set on fire and she quickly ran to his side to try and put the flames out. Excellus took this opportunity to finish them with another Bolganone eruption. Say'ri saw the magic circle appear under her again, so she picked up the still burning Robin and rolled them both out of the way. She then grabbed Robin's Levin Sword and threw it at Excellus, piercing him through the stomach and sending electric currents through his body that paralyzed him.
"HYAAAAAAAH!" Say'ri screamed as she charged at Excellus.
Say'ri stabbed Excellus through the chest with Amatsu and the two simply looked in each other's eyes. Say'ri's eyes were violent and shaking while Excellus's eyes were filled with fear.
"Yen'fay… rest in peace…" Say'ri whispered. "And you… burn in Hell!"
Say'ri kicked Excellus to the ground, pulling Amatsu out of his chest in the process and watching him fall to the ground.
"Eeeheehee…" Excellus laughed while he coughed blood. "Eeehee… Heeeeeeeauuugh…"
Excellus groaned with his last breath and his life finally left his body.
"Robin!" Say'ri turned back to Robin.
He was rolling on the floor and when the flames on his body died down, he stood up and patted himself off.
"Phew, thanks, Say'ri." Robin said. "Thanks to you I only suffered first-degree burns."
"I'm… I'm just glad you're safe!" Say'ri went over to Robin and hugged him.
"Ow!" Robin groaned as Say'ri touch agitated his burns.
"Sorry…"
Robin just looked at Say'ri as her eyes were starting to tear up.
"Yen'fay… can finally rest in peace." She said.
Robin simply stared at Say'ri's face. *Say'ri truly is an incredible woman…* He thought.
Lucina was still struggling to keep Walhart's weapon from reaching her skin and the Conqueror smirked as he could tell she couldn't hold out for much longer. However, just before her strength gave out, Chrom wrapped his arms around Walhart's and began pushing it away from her.
"Father!" Lucina exclaimed.
"Lucina, get the horse's leg!" Chrom shouted.
Walhart knew he meant by that and tried to issue his horse to move, but Lucina quickly recovered and slashed the horse's leg off with Falchion. The horse fell over and Walhart fell down onto the ground. While Walhart was busy trying to get up, Chrom quickly went over to grab his Falchion.
"Ready, Lucina?" Chrom asked as he was ready to strike.
"Hm!" Lucina simply smiled at her father's question.
Chrom and Lucina both jumped toward Walhart and slashed him across the chest with their Falchions, sending the Conqueror flew back off his horse, his armor creating a loud, almost ground-shaking thud and clank as he fell to the ground.
"Nngh…" Walhart groaned with his dying breath. "Do you see? Often the sword… is the only way… My conquest… ends here…"
As Walhart finally perished, Chrom and Lucina both gave a sigh of relief.
"Chrom! Lucina!"
The sound of the giant doors opening reached their ears, followed by a familiar voice.
"Milord!"
Chrom and Lucina turned around to see Frederick, Lissa, Robin and Say'ri approaching them.
"Walhart's soldiers have agreed to cease hostilities." Frederick stated.
"Finally…" Chrom sighed with relief. "Then pull our men back immediately."
"Yes, milord." Frederick bowed.
"… It's strange, Frederick…" Chrom said. "Walhart and my sister were complete opposites. One gave her life to stop a war. The other took lives to create one. And yet they both inspired those around them. Both walked a path to end all war. Both lived, and died, trying to unite the people."
"Yes, Father, but as they say, the method is the message." Lucina said. "Your father suffered from beliefs similar to Walhart, and his legacy is plain to see…"
"Mmm… these are matters too weighty for this moment." Chrom said. "There will be plenty of time for reflection now that the war is done."
After rummaging through the castle's treasury, Say'ri finally returned holding a glowing green gemstone.
"Sir Chrom, a thousand thanks from every Valmese couldn't repay what you did for us." Say'ri said. "But I recovered Vert, the Gemstone that was stolen from Chon'sin as a trophy."
"You're giving it to me?" Chrom asked.
"Of course, sir." Say'ri answered. "It seems the fell dragon will soon threaten us all. I would feel safer knowing the Gemstone was in your hands."
"Then so it will be." Chrom said as he was handed the Gemstone. "Thank you, Say'ri."
Chrom placed Vert in the Fire Emblem.
"So, what's your plan, Say'ri?" Robin asked. "Now that Valm and Chon'sin have been liberated, are you planning on rebuilding?"
"Aye, but as I said the threat of the fell dragon affects us all and I owe you all a debt of gratitude." Say'ri answered. "Once the war is over, I will return to Chon'sin and start rebuilding my country. But before that, the dynasts would like to celebrate Valm's liberation with a feast."
"I for one vote for the feast!" Lissa said, jumping up and raising her hand into the air.
"It will be the feast of legends!" Owain added as he appeared next to his mother.
A/N: By the time you guys are reading this, I'll be playing Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and using Robin as my main. Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with other projects and I got a PS4 with Destiny, Infamous and Transistor. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait! As for Morgan's ability to handle the situation, I'll go over that in the next chapter. Stay tuned for next time!