A/N: Okay, I got quite a few mixed signals about bringing Mataras in, but I have set my course, and I shall stick to it. On the other hand, some people brought up a very good point that the battle from the Shepherds' standpoints, so I decided to cover that topic a little bit- and I owe you all an apology for not writing it last chapter. I hope that this chapter is better received than the last one!

Blades of the Gods

"On your left!" Robin shouted. Chrom ducked just in time for Robin to cast his Elthunder spell at Priam, who batted the magical attack away. "Blast!"

"I must admit, it's been some time since I felt this thrilled in a fight," Priam grinned as he moved Ragnell into a striking position. "Color me impressed."

The fight between the Shepherds and Priam's men had been going on for nearly twenty minutes now, and it was indeed one of the fiercest battles Chrom had ever seen. The only ones that could top it in terms of ferocity and skill were the battles fought against Gangrel and Walhart.

"Glad you're pleased," Robin huffed, clutching his side. He had gotten tangled up fighting some of Priam's underlings and had been slashed along his ribcage. The wound was not deep, but it was long and painful.

"You said it's been some time since you felt a thrill," Chrom said as he too, assumed a ready stance. "But you implied that you fought the young Spriggan, and that he was a warrior unmatched."

"Yeah, and I meant it," Priam said, his face clouding a bit. "It wasn't fun to fight him, because it wasn't even a real fight. He was… toying with me while we fought. He called things a draw after about ten minutes, and my men bought it, but not me. I know when someone's holding back… Prince." He gave Chrom a pointed look.

The exalted Prince shrugged and said, "I suppose there's no point in hiding it then, eh?"

"Wait, you've been holding back?!" Robin almost shouted.

"What, you hadn't noticed that I haven't used Aether this whole time?" Chrom asked with a raised brow. "I think you're slipping, my friend."

"I think I'm going to cut you across the ribs and see how well you do after fifteen minutes," Robin shot back. "Can we finish this?"

"I suppose," Chrom said as he faced Priam and felt the power of Aether begin to course through his veins. His Brand began to glow with a pale light, and he re-gripped his sword. "Ready, Priam?"

"I was born ready," the other warrior replied. The following blows they exchanged showed just how much they had been holding back before. Robin actually decided to retreat a few yards, because he was having a hard time keeping track of how fast their blades were moving.

His head swam, and he felt himself sit down heavily and lean against the remains of a pillar, almost like a puppet whose strings had been cut. They're so fast… he thought as his vision began to dim. Then again… They wield blades blessed by gods…

He became aware of someone calling his name, but it sounded faraway to him. Looking down groggily, he realized that his wound had released more blood that he had thought, and his jacket was stained even darker than its normal shade of color.

"Father!"

Marth's azure eyes blazed as he saw his father collapse on the stones. Gritting his teeth, he let out a roar that belied his youth and shot forward to waste three fighters in as many seconds, desperate to get to his wounded father.

"Marth!" his sister shouted after him, but the flow of the battle was so fierce and fast, a handful of seconds was all it took to separate the twins. "Wait, brother!" she called after him.

"Rush her, boys!" another man shouted, urging his comrades to surround her with their blades.

Morgan's eyes widened as she was surrounded by five men at once, all armed with axes or swords. Moving quickly, she tossed her lightning spell book on the ground and drew her Levin Sword. "This is your only warning," she said warily. "Back off, or I'll hurt you."

"Hah!" One of them scoffed. "That's rich, coming from a kid like you."

"I warned you," Morgan muttered. Lightning danced to life on her sword as she whirled it around her body before stabbing the book with it. "Sayonara, suckers!" The book's magical energies overloaded and caused the power contained within it to explode, electrocuting all five men simultaneously and taking the fight out of them. Almost like puppets whose strings have cut, they flopped down on the ground, smoking and twitching.

Unfortunately, Morgan didn't fare much better. "Ow…" she groaned as she felt her burning skin. She too, was smoking and burnt from the unleashed magic energy. She fell to her knees, cradling her body and rocking back in forth mindlessly to try and assuage the agony. At least it worked, she thought painfully. Sort of.

"Morgan?!" a familiar voice called from nearby. She looked over to see her mother fighting beside her cousin, Owain. The pair quickly moved to get to her, cutting down anyone that came in their way without checking to see if they would live or not. Falchion and Missiletain worked together in perfect sync, spraying blood all around them as they seemed to dance across the battlegrounds.

When they reached the girl, her eyes were wide with admiration, despite her obvious pain. "That was so cool," she said as her mother knelt beside her. "Can I do that someday?"

"Ha!" Owain grinned. "Only those with the purest of warrior's blood can lay waste to all who oppose them with such style! As the scion of legend, and the daughter to the Exalt, it is only natural that your mother and I-"

"I'm the child of an Exalt, too," Morgan interrupted, catching Owain off-guard. "And my Dad is Robin, the greatest of all tacticians- does that mean I qualify?"

"Er, well-"

"Owain, if you don't mind, perhaps we can discuss this matter after my daughter doesn't look like a dragon sneezed on her?" Lucina said sharply. "What happened to you, Morgan?"

"I blew up my lightning spell book," she grinned painfully as she indicated her sword, which lay on the ground next to her. "I just hope I didn't ruin my sword."

"I hope you learned something from this like your father would," Lucina sighed. "Where is your brother? Wasn't he supposed to be paired with you?"

"Yes, but I think something happened to Father," Morgan answered, her brow creasing with worry. "Marth went ballistic and ran off that way." She pointed over at a spot where the fighting was thick. "I haven't seen him since, which worries me."

"How long ago was this?" Lucina asked as she shot up to her feet.

"A couple of minutes," Morgan answered.

"Owain, protect my daughter on pain of your mother's wrath," Lucina ordered her cousin. "Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" Owain saluted, his face white with fear. But before Lucina could run off, he called out, "What about a healer?!"

"See if Morgan can fire a signal flare!" Lucina called over her shoulder.

Owain turned to Morgan and asked, "So kid, got any fire spells on you right now?"

"In my jacket, left pocket," Morgan grunted. Owain pulled out the book and started thumbing through it. "Hey, what're you doing?" Morgan asked. "I find the right spell on my own!"

"Stay down, Morgan," Owain said, his voice unusually serious and commanding. "I know what I'm doing."

"Huh?" the girl wondered aloud. "But you don't use magic, do you?"

"Just because I don't show it off, doesn't mean I can't," Owain grinned slightly. "Here we are…" Thrusting his unoccupied hand skyward, he shouted, "Flames of life eternal, grant thy great power to the Scion of Legend! Arcfire!" A roaring river of flame shot up, impossible to miss by any means if you were on the island.

"Whoa…" Morgan blinked.

"Hehe," Owain grinned as he put the book back in her pocket and put a finger to his lips. "Our secret for now, okay little cousin?"

"Okay," Morgan grinned. "On one condition."

"Oh?" Owain grinned daringly. "What may this request be?"

"You have to teach me how to come up with cool monologues like you do," Morgan replied. Then their laughter could be heard by all nearby, and they wondered at it.

"Father, wake up!" Marth begged as he shook his father's shoulders. Robin did not respond, but at least he was still breathing. Marth tore off his cape and quickly used it to fashion a makeshift bandage for the man's ribs. It wouldn't do much right now, but at least it would slow the bleeding a bit, he thought.

Dammit, why did Grandfather order every Fairy to fight in the sky? He seethed. I could use Sachi's help right now.

"Son, behind you!" Lucina's voice called out. Not bothering to check, the boy threw himself to the side just in time to dodge a spear thrust that struck near Robin's face.

Marth spun and brought his elbow up in a vicious strike that connected solidly with the jaw of his attacker, stunning him and sending him reeling. He was then taken out by his mother's Falchion, which sprouted from his chest before withdrawing almost immediately after. "Coward, attacking a man concerned for his comrade," he muttered darkly. Looking up, he went to thank his mother, but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. "Erm, Mother…?" he asked as backed a few paces away from her thunderous expression.

"What in Grima's Hell were you thinking, leaving your sister behind on the battlefield?!" she demanded. "First rule of the Shepherds- never leave your partner behind. Ever!"

"But, Father was wounded, and she can handle herself-" His excuse was cut off as his mother slapped him across the cheek, stunning him.

"Your sister looks like Lady Nowi just spit on her!" Lucina said furiously. "She's wounded because you were too busy trying to play the hero saving your father alone!"

"I-"

"You should have told her what you were doing so she could come along!" Lucina cut him off. "But instead, you leave her on her own, with no backup or support of any kind!"

A Valmese man tried to take advantage of the situation by stabbing at her from behind, but she just sidestepped the attack before whirling around and hitting him in the side of the head with the flat side of Falchion, knocking him out. Marth blinked once in surprise- he'd never seen anyone this angry, and it was definitely something else to behold.

"Young man, you never, ever leave your partner alone on a battlefield," Lucina said sternly. "Even if it means giving up your own life to save theirs." She paused to let her words sink in before her bearing relaxed a little bit and her gaze switched over to Robin. "How is he?" she asked as she knelt beside him.

"He's not in any condition to move," Marth said as he decided to stay standing and watch out for any approaching enemies. "He lost quite a bit of blood, so I bandaged him as best as I could."

"Hmm…" Lucina muttered to herself. Reaching for her belt, she grabbed a small vial and pulled out the stopper with her teeth. She had to force-feed Robin the liquid, but eventually, she managed to get him to drink the elixir. He coughed and spat a bit before clutching at his wounded side in pain.

"Ow…" he grunted. "All right, next time Chrom wants a sword-partner, I'm sending Marth instead of going myself…" He looked up in surprise to see the caring face of Lucina, who smiled a bit worriedly at him.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey," he grinned painfully. Licking his lips a bit, he wondered, "What am I tasting?"

"An elixir that Sir Virion and Aunt Lissa invented," Lucina reminded him. "Have you never had one?"

"I never needed one before today," Robin shook his head. "I usually just waited for a healer after the battle."

"Well, it seems that this battle is almost over," Marth said as he noticed the number of fighters dwindling. He could see some of the Warriors of Alfheim engaged with ground troops, so it was probably safe to assume that the skies were cleared by now.

"Maybe out there," Robin nodded. "But as for your grandfather…" He pointed up the hill to indicate Priam and Chrom, who were still going strong.

"We should help them!" Marth said impulsively.

"No, leave them be," Robin said quickly. "I think they want to settle it one-on-one at this point."

"But what if Father loses?" Lucina asked.

Robin grinned at her and kissed her cheek as he said, "Then my son and his lovely mother can go and kick his rear end in the dirt." Lucina flushed scarlet while Marth turned away, embarrassed at the open display of affection. Robin had to chuckle at both of them, even though it still hurt. "For now," he said, "let's just wait and see what happens. I have faith in Chrom."

Overhand. Backhand. Undercut. Thrust. Cross guard.

Chrom's sword moved so fast that his conscious self was three steps behind his body's movements. His body was covered in sweat, his arms were numb from the vigorous pounding that Priam had given Falchion, and his head throbbed painfully. His only consolation was that Priam looked just as tired as he felt.

"Still… feeling… thrilled?" Chrom gasped as they locked their swords and tried to shove each other back.

"Heh," the other man grinned. "I admit… it's starting to… get a little… hot out here."

"Can't… take the heat… eh?" Chrom grinned back.

"Doesn't… sound like… you have… too much left… either," his opponent gasped. "So how's about… we settle this… now?"

"What did you… have in mind?" Chrom grunted.

"I thi- gah!" He stumbled forward as Chrom suddenly stopped resisting and sidestepped out of the way. He followed that up with a boot to his back that sent Priam tumbling down the hill until he hit a rock with his face and came to a sudden stop.

Then, to everyone's shock he got up to his feet, albeit unsteadily. Blood was coming out of a cut on his face, but he was grinning broadly. "Heh…" he chuckled. "That was… pretty low for a royal…"

"He's not your average royal," Robin said, causing Priam to look over at him blearily. "But everything he does, he does it to make sure that he can protect those closest to him." Then the blond man grinned slightly and said, "Well, almost everything."

"What do you mean, almost everything?!" Chrom shouted from where he stood, so he could be heard over the sounds of the dying battle.

"You did try to kill me after you found out about Lucina and me," Robin reminded him, causing his other half to blush red again.

"You went behind my back!" Chrom said as he strode downhill.

"I told you, we had only just realized our feelings for each other!" Robin tossed back.

"And I told you-"

"Grandfather, Father, please!" Marth shouted, surprising everyone. "Can we finish the fight so we can tend to our wounded?"

"Fight's done, kid," Priam said as he wiped blood out of his eyes. "I said I would only take orders from a man who knows- really knows- how to use a blade." He turned to Chrom and gave him an informal salute. "I think I'll sign on, Prince."

"Captain," Chrom said as he sheathed his sword and held out his hand. "But everyone calls me Chrom." The two men shook hands, and the deal was struck.

"Actually, Morgan and I call you-"

"Marth, if you ruin this moment, I will have your mother confiscate Falchion from you," Chrom said without looking over.

"And I'll do it," Lucina said warningly, all business again. "You're still in hot water, in case you think I had forgotten."

"What did he do?" Robin asked. "What did I miss?"

"He…" Lucina looked over at Marth, who was shamefaced, and suddenly, she felt that the aftermath of a battlefield was no place to discuss what he had done wrong. "He did the wrong thing for the right reasons," she finally said. "Come on. We'll discuss the rest of what happened over dinner."

Kirito: Okay, so what's next? And... why is - tied u- Did I just get bleeped?!

Mataras: Yup.

Asuna: Wow, you're really keeping - under wraps, aren't you?

Mataras: Heh. I suppose you could say that.

Asuna: I didn't mean it like that, and you know it!

Mataras: Hehe, I know. I just like to have a little fun every now and again.

?: Mphgrgh!

Kirito: Sorry, what?

Mataras: Oh, - says that I always have a lot of fun, and always at your guys' expense.

Asuna: There's a bit of truth there...

Kirito: Hey, but we have fun, too!

Robin: Aren't you the one that had to fight your crazed kid last chapter?

Kirito: Yeah, and I can't wait for a rematch!

Asuna: ...I married a crazy man.

Mataras: Yup.

Robin: Next time- A Lady's Guard.