Part 41: Sibling Blades - Battle

Chapter 18 Battle

Seal Time



Robin changes to a Dark Flier, gaining great mobility at the cost of being weak to Wind Tomes and Bows. She also starts off at E rank lances, but she ain't touching those ever.



Lucina follows her mother's steps and becomes a Grandmaster, gaining extra magic for Ignis. Otherwise, she loses her excellent Lance rank for...E rank magic. Ugh.



Cynthia promotes to a Falcon Knight, gaining even more absurd speed and skill. She also learns to wield Staves, which gives her easy EXP with a Rescue Staff.



I guess this group's been together long enough to be called the usual team. 13 spots is way too cramp at this point, though, especially since Chrom is forced into every mission.

Let's defeat Yen'fay now.



*Excellus teleports in*



...Oh, is today the day you face off against your beloved sister? Dear me, of course it is! Well then, of course you'd be in a foul mood...

She is a rebel and traitor to the empire. I have no sister.

Oh very good, very good—right out of the book, General Yen'fay! (And I commend your acting ability...very convincing! I think your men all heard you.) In any case, I'm SO glad I can trust you not to take it easy on her ragtag little troupe.

......

Yes, we BOTH know why you'd never let any of her comrades escape, don't we? Oh, I know it must be so difficult, General. But think of it this way:

You still have a family. A big one! The whole imperial army is your family now! ...Well, I should run. Do tell your little sister I say hello? Ta ta!

*Excellus teleports away*



So at the start of both our turn and the enemies, a section of the map collapses and deals 10 damage to anyone that was in the area. This also destroys any treasure chests in the area so there's some motivation to race.



Robin flies over and uses Rally Spectrum for the middle team, giving Morgan enough juice to one-round the nearby Paladin.



It is red and bright and kinda hurts my eyes.



Ignis in a lava stage? Not a great visual combination.



Nowi runs ahead and borrows Chrom for a speed boost to double the Warrior into pieces. The enemy drops a Concoction.



Tharja, with Donny's help, chips the enemy down to meager health. Gregor finishes him off and gains a level.



So unbalanced.



Anna gains a decent level after Rescuing Gregor from being fried by a Sage.



Owen starts his march down the southwestern part of the map with Henry getting his daily blood dose going.



Cynthia and Brady fire off their Rescue Staves for some EXP. Brady also tells everyone he has very low expectations.



The bottom-right floor collapses, damaging 4 enemy units.



A few enemies throw themselves at Nowi, only to end up with bruises and no scratches on her.



Tharja counterkills a Griffin Rider to gain every single stat, inching closer to her dreams of double-digit luck. The rider drops a Silver Axe.



A second Griffin Rider crashes into Tharja and gets taken out by Donny. He gains B rank swords afterwards.



A couple more enemies get zapped to end their turn.



The upper-middle area collapses, damaging Anna and Robin. Henry switches to the lead and awaits in middle-left landmass.



Morgan gets a boost from his mother and zaps another Griffin Rider into the lava, gaining a level that ever so bashes my head that he wants to be a melee dude.



Anna transports Gregor to the middle so he can smash the nearest enemy's head in.



Chrom stabs the Sage into oblivion, followed by Nowi taking a chunk out of the Paladin behind him.



Donny throws his axe to behead and gain a Silver Lance, then Cynthia flies over to snipe a Sage with a Short Spear.



The area around Yen'fay collapses, though he just happens to stand on the one solid ground that isn't affected.



Cynthia counterkills a Sage for something she already has instead of what she needs.



Henry kills off a couple Paladins to get to level 5, learning Wrath. At half health with an S support, Henry basically has a +40 crit with any weapon. Since his wife is Lissa, his tiny resistance is helped a little to battle tome users.

Speaking of crits, the second Paladin drops a Killer Lance.



Cynthia starts off the turn with a Paladin Shish Kabob, while Tharja



Somehow that works out. I don't know why I did that in the first place.



Anna Rescues Morgan over to her side, then Chrom transfers Robin and switches her to the lead. A Rally Spectrum boosts the rest of the middle team's stats.



The team stacks up with Nowi guarding the gap.



The best perk of Astra is using a powerful weapon like a Silver Sword and only wasting one use of it to deal more damage than normal. A shame about its low activation percentage.



The lower-left area gets melted by lava.



Grandmaster bestmaster (Seriously, lava is terrible). The Sage drops an Archfire.



Even though Nowi has +4 speed from a Rally Spectrum, being doubled by her is still a horrendous crime and deserves death.



More strength, more power to kill more people. Owain masters swords afterwords.



Tharja counterkills a Sage and Griffin Rider to gain an amazing level, because she actually gained skill twice. In a row!



Bad news about Griffin Riders is that they count as Beasts too, so Beast Killers are still effective against them. Oh well, Cynthia gains a great level out of that poor, suicidal Valmese.

Cynthia gains B rank lances, so her low strength is offset by the Silver Lances she can now wield.



Better hurry. Those collapses are nearing the treasure chests.



The Grandmaster siblings unite to cook up some barbeque legs.



A little house cleaning by the lady killers.



Everything sans magic and resistance.



Henry clears the last nearby enemy for the moment. Brady and Anna heal the party (the latter gaining B rank staves), and Robin ends the turn with a Rally Spectrum.



Nasty accident, especially when two of them already got hit by a previous collapse.



A couple enemies get themselves killed during their turn.



The lava gimmick is sort of annoying but as long as you keep moving forward, it doesn't hurt that much. Plus there's no enemy reinforcements, which would've made this map really annoying if they popped up like in chapter 16.



You are so lucky you're staying as a healer, Brady when you promote because these last few levels have been awful.



Left chest loot.



Nowi chips a Swordmaster while Lucy gets working on getting that A rank in sword.



The rest of the team group up and await the last batch of enemy mooks.



Just gotta get that one Tharja miss quota...



I'm starting to think pairing two characters that can heal themselves is a bit redundant.



And Nowi ends her level cap with a great boon of a level. She can go a number of ways for her Second Seal designation.



Yay?



Gregor and Chrom clear out the last mooks on the map.



A broken clock is right twice every day.



Event Tile.



Man these treasures suck.

A couple turns later...



Okay, better not still not that great.



Last treasure. I should probably give my stat boosters to someone after this.



Yen'fay attacks Morgan.



"I am Morgan of the Flamingo clan! Fear my pink ignis!"



It's been a long while since we used this bad boy.



Aye, that is my name. What would you have of me, Ylissean?

I would ask why a famed swordmaster would sell his honor to Walhart.

...That is not your concern.

...Are you truly your sister's brother? She is a principled woman. Even knowing Walhart's strength, she has fought on valiantly. Are you so deluded as to genuinely consider her your enemy? Or are you simply afraid of your master?

Afraid...? Yes, fear plays it's part, that I cannot deny.

...You admit it, then? You are craven!

I did not say it was fear for my life.

That my reasons exist is not cause to explain them all to strangers.

If there's honor left in you, say it now. You could still join us...

The bones have been thrown, lad. All that remains is to see where they fall.

So be it.



Whatever your reasons joining them, there must have been another answer...

Some quandaries in this world...have...no...proper answer...

If Say'ri battles Yen'fay

Brother. I won't ask you why... We are well beyond that point now. I will speak it plain: I cannot forgive you, and neither can I let you live.

I've asked you for nothing, Sister, least of all your forgiveness.

But you will have my justice, like it or no! You, who stood by in silence while everyone around you suffered! While villages were razed and fields burned, you watched but said nothing... When Father and Mother were murdered—you said nothing! Nothing, before you ran to the arms of the one man responsible for all of it! Your silence was deafening. Maddening. Even now...have you nothing to say?!

......

Damn you, Yen'fay! Then I will make your sword answer for you! Draw your blade, and let it sing your final words!

If Say'ri defeats Yen'fay

Say'ri... You have grown...so strong...

...Do...do you mock me? I have seen your best swordplay...that was not it. You went easy on me...but why?

What I could not tell you in life... I say with my death...

But, Yen'fay...

You have found...strong comrades... I no longer need fear for you... ...I die...in peace...

Yen'fay, wait! What do you mean? Why?! Don't leave me with more silence—not this time! Yen'fay!

If anyone else defeats Yen'fay

Well fought... She will...be...safe... I can die...in peace...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHS53yU2JZg



Yen'fay drops Amatsu and a Noble Rapier.



I will never understand why he joined Walhart... His reasons die with him.



But oh, what a death it was! Did you see the grief etched on his face? The mix of longing and pain in the eyes? He had become such an accomplished actor, but that was all too real, hee hee!

Excellus... What would you know of my brother, you loathsome toad!

More than you, princess of Chon'sin. And I would watch that mouth of yours... I am honoring Yen'fay's sacrifice by not killing you now...but even I have my limits.

...What? What do you mean "sacrifice"?

Oopsie! Did I just spill the beans? Hya ha ha ha ha! I'm so sorry, but I promised your dear brother I'd never tell...

Explain yourself, snake—or die!

Bah! As if YOU could harm ME! YOU only live by MY grace, you ungrateful WRETCH! I could have had you killed countless times! And I would have, if not for him...

Enough talking around it—say what you mean!

Oh, did Yen'fay not groan out the truth as you cut him to bloody pieces? No, I suppose not. He always was so quiet. And proud...honorable, I think they call it? Yet he swallowed his pride and cast aside his honor...all to protect his beloved kin. That's right, Little Sis. He did it...to save you.



No, I'm telling the truth, which I admit is a rare treat, so you best shut up and enjoy it. Before you met these Ylisseans, I could have had your head with a word. In Chon'sin, at Valm Harbor... Did you really think yourself so elusive? You were my leverage for Yen'fay. Unwitting and unbound, but a hostage all the same. I let you live; he fought for us. That was our deal. And he kept his end, right TO his end!

No...NO!

Phew... Well, I don't know about you, but I feel MUCH better having that off my chest. Maybe I will give this truth telling a try more often! Yes, I shall resolve to do so! In any case, good-bye friends! I wish you safe travels, and so sorry about Yen'fay... Oops! I broke my resolution twice already! Tee hee hee!



N-no, this isn't... This can't be... Y-Yen'fay, no...



Gods... The things I said to him... The things I did... I have wronged him beyond imagining.

......

If he had only spoken! Told me! I could have joined the ruse, I...

Milady, I know well the grief of losing family with so much yet unsaid.

I am wretched! I've repaid my brother's kindness with death! Oh, Yen'fay, forgive me... Please, oh please... Please...

Say'ri, I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!

Say'ri, you did all you could. Your brother knew that... You are blameless in this. Excellus and the empire are at fault here.

And they will be made to answer for it, I promise you.

......Sir Chrom, I...Pray, forgive me. You have done so much for this land while I can give nothing in return. Or worse...What help I offered turned against us...



And he'd also want us to fight on...to make sure his sacrifice has meaning. And fight we will, Say'ri. Until this land is free.

Aye, my lady...And thank you.

I owe my life to you all, and to my brother... I swear to you, and to him... I will make the most of it.