A Family's Justice.
To say the people of Ylisse were in a dark place would be putting it very mildly. Emmeryn sacrificed herself to keep Chrom from surrendering the Fire Emblem to the enemies, and passed down her leadership to Chrom, making him the new Exalt... A responsibility he didn't feel ready for... Not to mention Cassandra was injured when she saved Chrom from his reckless quest for revenge, and she collapsed from blood loss the moment they rejoined their forces.
They had arrived back in Ferox thanks to the help of a young lady named Olivia, all with gloomy faces.
"All that... For nothing..." Robin said in clear disappointment mainly in himself.
"Emm... Oh, Emm..." Lissa sobbed.
Frederick was looking at the ground "I should have died before allowing the exalt to be captured. I have failed as a knight...".
"So what now, oaf?" Flavia asked.
Basilio only shrugged "Don't look to me—I'm not in charge!".
Flavia sighed in annoyance "Ugh... I picked a fine time to regain the full throne...".
"Chrom, I'm... I'm so sorry. My plan just wasn't enough" Robin said.
"You did your best, Robin. ...You have my thanks. It's my own failures that haunt me now. Gods, I was just so powerless!" Chrom said, he was angry, but much of his anger was directed at himself.
"It's not your fault either, Chrom" Robin said.
Chrom looked down "...She did it for me, Robin. So that I wouldn't have to live with the guilt of either choice, she chose for me. She sacrificed herself rather than give up what could one day save her people... And not long after, Cassandra got hurt saving me from my own stupidity... and now we'll be lucky if she even survives her injuries".
"Chrom... Listen to me. Look at me" Robin said in a serious tone, making Chrom look at him "I was powerless once, too, remember? And yes, alone, I don't think either one of us is half the person your sister was. But together...maybe we can be something more. If you fall, I'll be there to pull you back up. When you fight for your sister's ideals, I'll be by your side. You don't have to become your sister, you know. You can still be true to yourself. You just have to give people hope in whatever way you can. And if Cassandra was here now, I am certain she would say the same".
"And what if I can't? What if I'm not worthy of her ideals? Robin, what if I drag you down with me?" Chrom asked.
"If you aren't worthy, you'll keep at it until you are. And if we both fall down, well, that's what friends are for, isn't it?" Robin asked with a smile.
"That's right. I wouldn't be even here if not for you" Nowi said.
"You gave me your trust and now you have mine. ...For the time being" Tharja said, being as sincere as she could be.
Lon'qu spoke up "Were you unworthy, I would have left long ago".
"It took great courage and charisma to unite all of us. ...I knew I possessed such talents, but clearly you do as well!" Virion said.
"Yeah. We all look up to you! You're like a hero to us" Ricken said.
"And should you do something stupid again, I will just punch some sense in to you" Siegfried said
Chrom smiled "Thank you, everyone. Your words mean more than you could know. My Shepherds... My warriors... There is work to be done. Gangrel must be stopped so that peace can once again reign in Ylisse. Will you help me?".
"You can count me in! I'm tired of crying all the time! It's time to start punchin' stuff!" Lissa said in strong determination.
Maribelle smiled at her friend "Hear, hear, darling! Our people have suffered enough".
"Gladly would I fight and die for House Ylisse!" Stahl said.
Sully smirked in determination "Gladly would I fight and KILL those dastards for House Ylisse!".
"Our hearts echo yours, sire" Libra said.
"I will be the the unbreakable shield by your side!" Sumia said.
Kellam spoke up, once again no one had noticed him despite his size "I'm with you, too! You know. Just in case anyone...Hello?".
"Teach is here and class is in session!" Vaike said in pride.
Gregor smirked "How much you pay Gregor? Hee hee haw! Gregor make joke! ...Why you look at Gregor like that?".
"Your sister earned my respect. The last taguel shall champion her" Panne said.
Frederick stepped up with new found valor "You have grown strong, milord. I may have set a poor example as a knight... but I swear to you, I shall die before any more exalted blood is spilled!".
Chrom felt imense pride "...Thank you all. Truly. You honor me with your fealty. I will not falter again. We shall answer this outrage! The Mad King must be stopped!".
Flavia smiled proudly "Right! It's time for ol' Gangrel to get a dose of his own vulnerary! The whole of the Feroxi army is yours to send crashing against him!".
Basilio let out a proud laugh "Har! You young folk—your passions run so hot! If I had any gray hairs, you would've singed 'em right off. In other words, count me in!".
"I'd like to go too, if I may. The exalt did me a kindness once" Olivia said.
Chrom looked at her "She did?".
Olivia looked shy "Y-yes, sire. It would honor me to have a part in giving her justice! Although all I can do is dance... And I'm not so skilled at that, if we're being honest...".
Basilio laughs again "Har har! She's too modest! Olivia is a Feroxi treasure. You won't meet a finer dancer in all the realms! Her moves inspire soldiers to work twice as hard! You'll do well to bring her along, Commander".
"Commander? What happened to boy?" Chrom asked.
"You've earned your way up from that name, I think. Now, where were we? Oh yes! I was just about to start cracking skulls! Flavia will lead me and the other Feroxi in a head-on assault. That should buy you enough time to take down Gangrel. Hear that, boy! You get the fun part!" Basilio answered.
Chrom looked annoyed "I thought you weren't going to call me-".
Basilio cuts him of "You and Robin have my every confidence. You're a born leader, and he has a knack of guiding troops to victory. You both have some growing to do yet, but I can already see you'll grow tall".
Chrom smiled "Thanks, Basilio".
"All right, enough talk. It's time to raise some hell!" Basilio declared.
Chrom nods "Right".
"Let's get to it, then! Gangrel may try to hit us while we're still licking our wounds" Basilio said.
"Let him try. This time, I'm ready to dethrone the Mad King, once and for all" Chrom promised.
Suddenly a new voice was heard "Excuse me?".
Everyone looked and saw a young woman with pale skin, blue-green eyes, and long, golden blond hair that is tied in a braid. She wears a loose blue top openly laced at the breast, as well as blue shoulder guards surrounded by white cloth and brown arm guards. She is once again wearing a white skirt, with a blue crisscross pattern at the bottom. She has a brown belt around her waist and long brown boots that go up to her thighs that are laced at the side.
She looked a lot like Cassandra, only older and more mature.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in, but I didn't want to interrupt your heartwarming moment. But do any of you know Cassandra, and where she is?" She asked.
Chrom got wide eyes, now he understood why she looked so much like Cassandra "Wait, you are...".
Cassandra slowly woke up in a bed, her upper body was mostly bare, with band aids covering her wound and breasts. Her wound has been healed, but still needed some time to fully recover. She groans as she sits up, rubbing her face. She soon heard the door open and looked up to see who it was.
"Sophitia...?" She spoke quietly. Standing before her was non other than her older sister. Sophitia said nothing as she walked towards Cassandra, who got a little nervous "Sis, I know you are upset, but please understand I-".
Before she could finish Sophitia gave her big yet gentle hug "You're alive... thank the gods you are alive...".
Cassandra was quiet for a moment before she began sobbing and hugged her sister back "Sister!".
"I was so worried about you... When you left home to join the army I feared the worst... I've been looking for you for so long. I checked every Ylissian force I could find, but non of them knew who you were, nor had they seen you... It wasn't until I encountered Taki by pure chance that I finally learned that you had joined the Shepherds, serving under Prince Chrom himself... I never expected you would go that high" Sophitia said.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for just leaving home like that... I just... I felt like that if I didn't do something, you would put yourself in danger again, and you had children... I just didn't know what to... I'm sorry" Cassandra sobbed.
"Cassandra, hush. Yes I was upset you just left home without saying anything. Not to mention you stole my sword and shield before you took of. But I understand why you did it. Just like me, you wanted to protect your family, and I am very proud of you for that" Sophitia said before slowly pulling back from the hug "That being said, I am here to bring you home".
Cassandra got wide eyes "What?".
"I was scared halfway to death. Every time I asked anyone where you were, I hoped they would tell me where you are... and I was scared they would tell me you had been killed. I now finally fully understand how you felt when I left to kill Cervantes. You don't want to lose me, and I don't want to lose you. Let's stop all this fighting and go home, everyone is worried about you" Sophitia said.
Cassandra was silent for a moment before she looked Sophitia in the eyes "I can't go home, Sophitia... Not yet".
"What? Why?" Sophitia asked.
"Things has changed, Sophitia. I am not just the little sister trying to keep my older sister out of trouble anymore. I am a member of the Shepherds, I've fought alongside them and formed bonds that can never be broken... And we just lost our Exalt... It wouldn't be right to leave them now. This is bigger than us now, Sophitia. So I will stay until the fight is over. Only then, maybe I will return home" Cassandra explained, there was no way she could just walk away now, not after everything that's happened.
Sophitia was silent for a moment... before she smiled with pride "You've grown so much since I last saw you. I am so proud of you".
"Sophitia..." Cassandra said silently.
"Very well, since I can't drag you back home, I will just have to stay and help you" Sophitia said.
"But, what about Rothion, Pyrrha, and Patroklos?" Cassandra reminded.
"Rothion is more than capable of looking after things while I'm gone. Besides, after hearing your resolve, I couldn't possibly leave you now. You are my younger sister, and it's my duty as your older sister to be here when you need me" Sophitia said.
Cassandra was speechless for a moment before she smiled "Thank you... Sophitia".
Sophitia smiled back "Now I think we should let your friends know that you're awake. They've been worried about you, especially prince Chrom. I wonder what's going on between you two".
Cassandra blushed "I, we... I... We... I... We...".
Sophitia laughed softly at her sister's failed attempt to say something "You really have grown".
She walked out of the room, leaving a blushing Cassandra to cool of. Cassandra looked at her hands, she knew she was going to continue risking her life in this war... But she refused to walk away now, she will stay and she will fight for her friends...
And for the people she loves.
.
Tell me what you think.