Chapter 5: The Knight of Tomorrow

The mess hall was filled with the cacophony of multiple conversations and the clanging of both plates and mugs. Samus chose to sit next to Falco, of whom most of the shepherds had gathered around, just to see what "future warriors" had in their arsenal. Falco was more than willing to show everyone what he could do.

"The blaster takes a focused beam of plasma, shooting it at a very fast speed, almost like light. That's why some people call it a laser blaster." Falco waited until the oohs and ahhs subsided. "It's much more accurate than most other weapons out there." He boasted. "And it packs a wallop!" A woman with short red hair, Samus recalled her name was Sully, snorted.

"Accuracy is in the shot, not the weapon." Sully laughed. Falco smiled.

"I'll take that bet! Your best archer against my blaster?" Falco asked, staring down the cavalier sharply. Sully smiled, though everyone else seemed nervous. Appropriate response. Samus thought. Falco rarely misses a shot. Sully slammed down her mug after taking a deep swig.

"You got it!" She looked at her comrades. "So who's up to the challenge?" Most of the shepherds pointed to two different people. One was the black haired Noire, whom seemed to shrink slightly. The other was a noble looking man with long greyish blue hair and a long proud face. He had introduced himself to Samus and Zelda earlier as Virion. Zelda found him charming. Samus could tell that, despite being married to the mage Miriel, he was flirtatious. That was annoying.

Virion smiled, and spoke up. "My friends, while it would be an honor for the 'archest of archers' to engage in this contest, the truth is that Noire is much more accurate than me." He motioned to the girl, who seemed to shrink even more. "It would be remiss of me to accept unless Noire refuses."

Zelda had chosen to sit with Cordelia and Sumia, who had kept themselves close enough to hear the conversation next to them, but far enough to be able to speak privately.

"Do you think Robin's truly alive?" Sumia asked in a hushed tone. Zelda nodded.

"It's a certainty now," Zelda paused. "But the reality is we don't know what shape he's in." Cordelia paled when another voice interjected into the conversation.

"Shape he's in? What kind of rescuers are you?" The girl they had met in the city had appeared behind Cordelia, along with Lucina, Cynthia, and a girl with bright red hair and a long black cloak. Zelda recognized her as one of the people that Cordelia was talking to earlier in the day. Zelda bowed respectfully.

"Technology is not infallible." Zelda maintained. "It would take a lot of scouting to be able to figure that out." The girl huffed in frustration.

Cordelia spoke up. "Severa, this is Princess Zelda of Hyrule." Severa curtseyed out of habit. "Zelda, these are my daughters Severa and Morgan." She pointed to the redheaded girl in the cloak. She seemed to be struggling to keep quiet. Sumia smiled and motioned to Lucina and Cynthia.

"And you've already met Lucina and Cynthia, I assume." Zelda nodded her head, smiling. She curtseyed as well.

"A pleasure to meet all of you." She looked into Severa's eyes. There was anger, indignation, but most of all, fear, hidden in those eyes. "Severa, I can promise you, we will do everything in our power to find and bring back Robin." Severa's eyes wavered for a second, her chin scrunching up for a moment. The cacophony to their left suddenly grew and morphed into a chant of "Noire! Noire! Noire!" Zelda could see Tharja looming in the corner begin to move towards the noise, eyes growing darker. Lon'qu turned from his conversation with Chrom, an orange haired rogueish man, and the empty suit of armor and began to move towards it. Severa must have seen it too. Because, while Zelda had sworn she hadn't seen her move, she was already at arms length to the cowering Noire.

Samus shielded Noire from the other Shepherds, who seemed to be smitten with the idea of Noire taking on the "future soldier." And Falco seemed to like the idea too, because he started chanting her name. Samus looked at the cowering figure. Noire seemed frozen, but she managed to look Samus in the eye. Samus gave her a wink.

"It's not so bad when you can't see them, huh?" She quietly said. That was when she felt someone push around her. The girl with white pigtails was kneeling next to Noire.

"Noire, what happened?" Her voice was harsh, but laced with genuine concern. Noire sniffed a little.

"I'm just being a baby, Sev. You don't need to worry about me." She smiled at Severa.

"Don't lie to me!" Severa raised her voice slightly. "I heard everything!" Samus detected a dark presence approaching from behind. Someone else had noticed as well.

"Uh oh, Tharja!" The white haired mage, Henry, was still smiling, but his voice betrayed his concern. Tharja's eyes were flashing dangerously.

"Who dares pester my daughter?!" Her voice was still soft, but it seemed to cut through all other noise. A deeper voice was heard underneath her own. The crowd backed away slowly.

"Noire, the Shepherds are your friends." Severa continued. "They believe in you." She reached out her hand to Noire, who took it willingly. Severa pulled up the archer. "I believe that you can beat this bird-brain." She winked at Noire. Samus heard Falco protest. Noire smiled slightly.

"Alright Sev, I'll try it." She said quietly. Henry put his hands in the air in triumph.

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" He shouted before he was hit by several chairs. Tharja smiled grimly, putting her hand down. Note to self, don't anger Noire's parents. Samus thought to herself. Lon'qu had been dangerously close to starting a fight of his own. Henry was heard laughing and coughing at the same time. "I think you broke something. Ha ha ha... awesome."

"Pika pika pi pika pika pikachu!" Pikachu had found a weird headband with feathers and beads adorned upon it. The Pokemon was now attempting to judge the contest between Falco and Noire. However, most of the Shepherds just stared in confusion.

"What on earth is he saying?" Lon'qu was the first to ask. Zelda giggled.

"The rules are simple: Each person gets 6 shots, and the best overall score wins." Henry was the first to answer. Samus sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness somebody outside of Zelda and I understand him!" Falco swiveled around.

"I'm here too, Aran!" He muttered. "And I'm working on the translation..."

Henry walked forward, and knelt next to Pikachu, whispering something into his ear. Pikachu looked thoughtful, then nodded in agreement. "I will keep score, for translation purposes." He ran over to the end of the hall, where two targets sat. Olivia called out from the crowd.

"Be careful, honey!" This was met with a casual 'I won't be!' from Henry. Pikachu walked between Falco and Noire and presented a coin. He pointed to Noire, who looked at him in confusion for a moment. Realization dawned on her.

"You want me to pick a side?" Pikachu nodded. "Okay, um... tails?" Pikachu made an exaggerated frown, but flipped the coin anyways. It landed heads, and Pikachu pointed at Falco. Falco steadied his stance, and aimed carefully. The resulting shot echoed throughout the hall. Henry looked from around his cover.

"Bullseye!" He called out. Falco grinned, and holstered the weapon. He looked at Noire.

"Your move." He said cockily. Noire looked nervous. Still, she steadied her grip, nocked an arrow, and aimed. Zelda noticed the change in demeanor immediately, and many of the shepherds grew quiet. This must have been a common occurance.

The arrow made a sharp 'thunk' sound as it struck the center of the target. Falco cocked his head in confusion as the Shepherds went wild. Samus couldn't stop herself from cheering for the introverted archer. Henry confirmed the bullseye.

"Alright, good shot, kid." Falco smiled. "Looks like you'll be a good match after all."

All 6 shots had been fired from both parties, and even though Henry was counting numbers, there was no question that Noire and Falco were evenly matched.

"Well, 10 bullseyes, 5 from each of you, and each of you had an 8 point shot." Henry had that permanent grin on his face, but was attempting to sound professional, perhaps at the request of Pikachu. "Well, it was clear before, but this proves it. We have a tie, ladies and gentlemen!" The Shepherds were cheering, and Noire smiled widely as Cynthia, Severa, and a smaller girl, Nah, attempted to lift her up. Tharja was smiling from ear to ear, and even Lon'qu mustered a grin. Samus looked at Falco, maybe he'd be pouting. But even he looked happy. He raised his feathered wing. The Shepherds quieted down.

"That was pretty incredible shooting, kid." Falco began. He walked over to Noire, and held out his wing. "If you ever want to teach me some archery, I'd be honored." Noire took his hand and shook it firmly.

"I-I-I'd like to try your weapon, actually." She admitted. Falco laughed.

"Absolutely, Kid! We'll work on it on the road."

Samus looked at Zelda. "This went much better than I was expecting." She admitted. Zelda nodded in agreement. "Chrom's much smarter than I initially thought. This kind of thing was what everyone needed before a long march."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Samus and Zelda turned around. Chrom was standing behind them, grinning mischievously. "I did learn a few things from Robin." He said, feigning offense. He paused for a moment, then continued. "I'm glad you brought backup, even if it is … unconventional. We've received reports that a large group of people are amassed in Carrion Isle." Zelda frowned.

"Why would someone like Robin be of any use now?" Samus asked. "He's a war hero, yes, but to have an army protecting him..." Zelda interrupted.

"It's the Grimleal, isn't it?" She looked at Chrom. His wince betrayed him before he even spoke. "Cordelia told me about the Grimleal. They plan on resurrecting the Dragon of Death."

"It would make the most sense, but Robin gave up his life to kill Grima, so it's a waste of time." Chrom was confident.

"If I know anything about evil, it always comes back in some form." Zelda was grim, a surprise to Samus. "It may be that Grima cannot be resurrected, but we should make haste." Chrom nodded, and clapped his hands together. The Shepherds faced their leader in silence.

"Shepherds, we have several long days ahead of us! Get some rest, for tomorrow, we venture forth to recover our dear friend and comrade, Robin!" The room boomed with cheers from the group, and they began to disperse. As Zelda and Samus began to head to their room, Samus felt hand grab her arm. She turned around to see Severa grabbing her.

"May I ask for a moment of your time?" She asked both Smashers, faking politeness. Samus was about to respond with equal attitude, but Zelda answered first.

"Of course, Severa. Would you like to take a walk in the garden? I've grown to love it." Before Severa could answer, Zelda already began walking towards the entrance. Samus glared at the young girl, and Severa glared back, before following her.

"Are you two sure it's daddy?"

Zelda looked up from the flowers she was admiring. "I'm sorry, why do you ask?"

"I need to know. I need to know you're not just making some guess." Severa stood several steps back, and Samus had taken a seat on a nearby bench.

"Severa, I know that future tech is new to you, but the thing is pretty damn accurate." Samus chose to field the question. "If Robin wasn't here, we wouldn't have caught his life force, and therefore, we wouldn't be here."

Severa seemed slightly satisfied. "I've already lost dad twice, and I'm not about to lose him a third time, just because some strangers said some babble about "life force" or whatever." She said it forcefully, trying not to cry. Zelda approached her, and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're scared, but you can trust us." Zelda was quiet, and her voice soothing. "We want to help your father as much as everyone else. We are here to save him."

"So you can take him to your gladiator fights?"

"I wouldn't call it that! More of a … exaggerated sparring match?" Zelda winced a little.

"Whatever." Severa brushed off Zelda's hand, and began to walk away. "Just … be right, okay?" With that, she ran inside the castle.

Samus spoke up. "You know, she's not completely wrong. We're essentially saving him to take him away again." Zelda glared at the bounty hunter.

"Let's just focus on saving him first." Zelda's demeanor had changed slightly. "You saw that group. They all loved him, and they believe in us." She was sounding harsher. Samus stood up and patted Zelda's back.

"Don't worry, I'm with you on that." She smiled at the princess. "No need to bring the ninja out on me, you know?"

Zelda shook herself back to reality. "I apologize. I was aggravated." Samus laughed brightly.

"It ain't a big deal, your highness." She teased.

"Samus, you know how much I hate it when you call me that." Zelda whined.

"Right, your Hylian-ness." Samus rolled her eyes.

"Now you're just doing it to irk me." But now Zelda was smiling again. The two headed into the castle, preparing for a long day ahead of them.

"Alright Shepherds! Let's form up!" Chrom's voice echoed throughout Ylisse's square. Many Ylisseans had come to bid the Shepherd's farewell. Chrom and Frederick led the group out of the city and after several hours, the area had gone from lush and green to colder and browner. After several days, they had marched from a cold tundra into the deserts of Plegia. Over the next two weeks, Samus became aware of everyone in the Shepherds. Even though she was generally a loner, she found herself enjoying the company of quite of few of them.

Behind the two leaders was the royal caravan that held Lissa, Maribelle, and Zelda, despite her protests. Sully, Lucina, Lissa's son Owain, and another cavalier by the name of Stahl protected the caravan. Behind them was another caravan, this one hiding several mages. Tharja, Miriel, and a small boy named Ricken were inside. Noire and Henry sat atop the caravan, with Pikachu in tow. Lon'qu, Virion, the orange haired thief that Samus had learned was named Gaius, and the walking armor were surrounding them. The other Shepherds spaced themselves amongst these two caravans, and Samus found herself walking next to the mage caravan. Above her, four pegasus and a dragon flew amongst the clouds. Falco had surprisingly chosen not to take the arwing, stating that he could 'summon' it to him if he needed. He chose to walk with the royal caravan, striking up a conversation with Stahl. Samus was torn from her thoughts by Henry.

"- think that Chrom is calling to you, Miss Bounty Hunter." He said cheerily. Samus grunted her acknowledgment. It had been awhile since she marched anywhere. These last few weeks reminded her of why. After a quick jog up to the front, she reached Chrom. He ordered the group to halt, beckoning Samus to him. In the direction they were facing was a large island in the ocean. The whole island was covered in a sickly fog, and gloom permeated the area. On the edge of the island sat a castle that hung over the cliff.

"We just received word from Panne and Yarne." He was looking at the island. "Apparently the normal routes to the island are being patrolled." Samus remembered Panne and Yarne, they were rabbit looking humans, nothing too unusual, but why were they the two scouts? She once again had to shake herself out of it. You keep losing focus , Aran. Get it together. Chrom was talking with Frederick about their next move.

"We could move south and try to cross that way, but then we'd have to brave through the midmire."

"We were lucky enough to make it out of there once, Milord."

"We could take on the Grimleal head on, but we have the disadvantage. They'll see us before we even get close to them." Chrom growled in frustration. Falco had walked up to the group in the front.

"Sam, what's the sitch?" He drawled.

"Grimleal are hunkered down on the island, gonna be hard to get to them without getting spotted." Samus muttered, looking at a map that Frederick had handed her. "Looks like we may need that Arwing after all." Falco nodded his head, as they heard wingflaps from above. Morgan and Cordelia leapt off their steeds, and approached. Morgan looked like a specter with her large black cloak. Chrom debriefed the two on the situation. Morgan closed her eyes in thought. She looked at Falco.

"Does your ship have similar weapons to the ones you displayed to us last night?" Morgan spoke just as fast as normal, but her enthusiasm was replaced by a serious tone.

"Yeah, sorta. They're stronger and can do more damage." Falco spun his blaster around like a gunslinger. "But I'm not sure how effective they'll be against magic users." Morgan lifted off her hood, revealing her optimistic smile.

"That's okay, I just need you to be a distraction!" She said brightly. "Listen, most of us will attack head on, but Falco will use the Arwing to attack their base of operations directly." She pointed to a section of the island in the north. "We need a small group to move around the north while the main group of Shepherds attacks head on." She looked at Samus. "Honestly, Gaius, Panne, Severa, Noire, and you, Samus, should be enough." Samus nodded her head in confirmation.

"Agreed. I'd like to take Pikachu as well." She stated. Morgan shrugged.

"Sure, go for it." She turned to Cordelia. "Mom, can you, Sumia, Cynthia, and Cherche keep watch from above? I'll let you know if we need assistance, but the Grimleal may try to sneak dad's ... dad out of there." She paused, but Cordelia gave her a quick hug.

"Of course, my dear." She smiled softly before heading back to her Pegasus. Chrom patted Morgan's shoulder.

"Good plan, Morgan. Alright, let's get everyone ready to go."

"I don't see why I'm here. I haven't gone sneaking around in forever!" Severa complained to whoever would listen.

"M-Morgan just thinks you're suited to this mission is all." Noire squeaked. Severa huffed and pouted. Samus groaned internally. Six people were stuck in a small rowboat together. Panne, one of the two rabbit like people, was trying to stretch her legs in the cramped space. Gaius was trying to munch on some fudge as quietly as possible, Pikachu was trying to steal some, and Severa and Noire kept talking.

"Keep quiet, or this will be all for nothing." Samus whispered harshly. She was pretty comfortable, a benefit of the power suit and Chozo training. But the talking was going to be trouble.

"I'm trying, Ponytail, but this fudge is fantastic in so many ways!" Gaius mumbled with fudge in his mouth.

"Ponytail."

"It's my nickname for you. Easier to remember."

"You have one for everyone?"

"Yeah, Ponytail!" He started to count down on his fingers. "Like, your Princess friend is 'Giggles', the mouse is "Cheeks", and your bird friend is "Falcon"".

"His name is Falco, how is that any different?!" Samus had to use every bit of restrait to not shout. Severa 'shh'ed her.

"We need to be quiet or else we're gonna fail!" Samus glared at the girl with pigtails. Panne chose now to intervene.

"Humans, you're all being foolish." She was blunt. "We need to work together to win this battle. Just be silent and wait for the signal." Panne went back to her stretching. Samus pulled out her communicator, and starting messaging Zelda.

Samus: What's the status of Falco?

Zelda: Arwing is here, he's doing a flight check. Why? Getting impatient in there? ;)

Samus: Maybe. :/ Severa is so desperate to get going that she's complaining about everything.

Zelda: She really does care about her family, even if she doesn't show it. Be patient.

Samus was about to text back, when she heard the low hum of an engine. The other people in the boat were already facing the direction of the sound, and she could hear Severa mutter "Looks like fun.".

As Falco's Arwing passed overhead, Samus began rowing. "Let's go!" She hissed out. The others nodded and began rowing as well. She could hear the first lazers strike the castle, explosions rocked the sides of the building. Severa gasped audibly.

"DAD'S STILL IN THERE!" She cried out, hoping that Falco could hear her from such a distance.

"Keep rowing!" Panne yelled. "We can't rescue him from out here!"

Samus gritted her teeth. Hopefully Falco wouldn't go too far.

They reach the coast in about half an hour of tough rowing. As they disembarked, they encountered no resistance.

"Your friend's distraction is working perfectly." Panne observed, grinning. From behind Samus and Panne, Severa started sprinting towards the Castle, which was trying, unsuccessfully, to fight off the single Arwing. Noire was close behind, and Pikachu followed the two younger Shepherds. Gaius frowned slightly.

"I don't enjoy going in half-assed, but it looked like that's what we're gonna do." Gaius sighed. Samus and Panne looked at the thief, and followed Severa, Noire, and Pikachu on the path towards the castle.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed and read this story! I really appreciate it. Chapter 6 will come out soon!