Morgan squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself back toward sleep for a few moments longer. She knew she wasn't in her bed, the familiar cloak she still wore on her shoulders and the hard coldness that seeped through the fabric to her back informing her of that fact well enough, though even then she didn't care in the slightest for the shallow water lapping around her body.
Wait, water…? she silently questioned, her brow creasing on her falsely rested face before relaxing again. Eh, whatever. It's actually kind of calming…
After a few more minutes of lazing about in her unusual environment, someone found her. Morgan knew the dangers of doing nothing when an unknown entity approached her, having had ample experience already in dealing with risen, but nevertheless her exhaustion overwhelmed her better judgement. She simply felt so tired, and her head so sore, that she didn't care for anything more than an extension to her rest, hoping that doing so would ease her discomfort.
The person knelt at her side. Without opening her eyes, she could tell that they were examining her closely, though even then she didn't care for anything more than her continued sleep.
"Are you alive?" the person asked in a familiar, incredibly comforting voice.
"No…" Morgan groaned. She shifted over on her side away from them, startling them enough that they caused an uncomfortable ripple in the water.
The person shifted further toward her, placing an arm on her shoulder to shake her awake. "Look, just because Grima is dead doesn't mean you can rest wherever you like," he said. "The risen still need to be cleaned up, and even then you probably shouldn't be falling asleep in shrines - especially not in your poor excuse for cosplay."
"My cosplay is amazing…" Morgan muttered sleepily, completely glossing over his first statement. She rolled over further and flopped onto her stomach, submerging her face in the water lining the floor. It took her far longer than she would have thought to jerk up and cough for air, unintentionally forcing herself into wakefulness.
Blue lined every edge of Morgan's vision, composing the tiles of the floor, ceiling, and walls of the open room she found herself situated within, reflecting an unmistakable anomalous azure into the white of her own hair. Even the tiny pool of water she had fallen asleep in was radiating a soft blue hue. Swivelling her head around on her shoulders, she couldn't find signs of anyone other than the person who had been rude enough to make her shift around, and so she focused on them alone.
She blinked several times as she finally looked at them, failing to believe her own eyes. Everything about him, from the unmistakable white of his hair reflecting the same blue as her own from their surroundings, to the softness of his eyes, to the familiar cloak on his shoulders, revealed his identity before he had spoken.
"My name is Robin. I'm one of the Shepherds of Ylisse - their grandmaster, actually. Though, based on your getup, I'm assuming you already know that much…"
"Father!" Morgan leapt into him, wrapping her arms around his neck before he had time to react and consequently knocking him down into the water. "I-I can't believe… y-you're actually…"
"I'm sorry, what!?" Robin shouted, attempting and failing to pry her off of his person. "I-I'm your… you're my… what!?"
"I was so scared we wouldn't see each other again, father," Morgan said into his shoulder. "You told me to get here, and you said you would be right behind me, but I didn't believe you… b-but now, you're actually-" she cut herself off as her eyes widened in realisation, and she pushed away from him somewhat in order to get a better look at his face.
"Ah… of course," Morgan said, her voice now far more subdued. "You aren't my father, or at least not that one. You… you're the you of this time, aren't you? The one who doesn't know me?"
"Yeah, I'd say that part's pretty accurate," Robin grunted, attempting to force her off again and failing as much as the first time. "I don't have a daughter, though. That's not how this is supposed to have happened. I'm not-"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Morgan said, tightening her hold on him again. "I'm glad to see you again, father, even if you don't know who I am. It's only been… I don't know, about a day or two, as far as I can remember, but those were a scary two days. Are… are my friends here? What about mo- agh!"
She loosened her hold on him fully in order to cradle her own head, her mind screaming against the very notion of using the word 'mother'. Robin eased her off of him and sat properly next to her, holding her shoulder in one hand to support her in her evident moment of pain despite how weird he found the entire situation. He didn't dare speak until she had done so herself.
"I… I-I can't remember my… my mo- gah!" she began to say before her head screamed in opposition again.
Robin gently squeezed her shoulder to try to stop her from causing herself any more undue pain. "Look, lady, if you can't remember something and it hurts to try, you shouldn't bother trying to remember. I'm not exactly sure of what you're trying to go for right now, but I definitely didn't act like that when I first woke up, so you're kind of breaking character by doing it. If you're really trying to go for the angle of pretending to be the my fictional daughter from some weird future, then I'm pretty sure she would be smart enough to know when to stop."
"Nope, she'd definitely be stubborn enough to keep trying," Morgan said, clenching her hands harder around her head when she tried and failed again to remember. The pain disappeared when she stopped completely and turned her face toward Robin, concern and fear written clearly on her expression. "Wait, you don't believe me at all? I mean, I guess that makes sense, all things considered, but… come on! It's me, Morgan! Your lovable daughter and tactician extraordinaire! Do you really have no idea who I am?"
"I don't have a daughter. It's impossible," Robin said, shaking his head in disbelief but not outright denial as his words would suggest. "What is this? Is it a joke of some sort? Did Inigo or Vaike or someone put you up to this?"
Morgan's face lit up at the mention of her friend, as much for the fact that his presence meant she wasn't alone as for the fact that she could still remember him without issue. "You know Inigo!? Ask him about me, he'll tell you who I am! He knows all about me, we-" she stopped, wincing as her mind throbbed and gave her reason to rethink her assumption about remembering her friend.
"I do know Inigo. As does over half the world - everyone knows the Shepherds by now, and of the time travellers," Robin said. "That guy absolutely loves it, even though he still somehow got stage fright before every major battle… or at least pretended to. Wait… every single time he showed up late, it would be after going to taverns to 'relax' the night before… I swear to Naga if that dastard was late to battles because he was too busy sleeping around-!"
"Yep, that sounds like him," Morgan said after it became clear Robin was leaving his threat open ended. "Well, maybe not the succeeding part, but I assume he's gotten better at that over time… wait… how long has it been? You said that Grima is already dead?"
"Thanks to yours truly," Robin said, polishing his fingers on his chest. "Well, actually, Lucina did most of the work, but I was there to help her out and killsteal Grima. Chrom and some other people were there, too," he tried to laugh, but the sound was immediately strained. "Uh, that was a joke… don't tell anyone I said it. Especially not Sully or Kjelle. Please."
"Your secret's safe with me," Morgan laughed, her eyes then immediately misting over. She leaned in to hug Robin once again, ignoring how he continued to resist the action. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be here to help you, father. I… I'm glad you're okay, though. I was so scared when I left that we wouldn't see each other again, but now… I-I'm so happy…"
"Please let go of me," Robin asked weakly, entirely uncertain of how to pry her off of him. Thankfully, she listened to him, and allowed her arms to lower back to the low water surrounding where she was sitting.
"Um, father…" she began speaking again, failing to notice how Robin's face screwed up at her use of the title. "Where are we right now, and why am I so wet? Also, is m- er… is… your wife alright? C-Can you tell me something about her, so that I can try to remember her?"
"You realise that amnesia isn't hereditary, right? Simply because I have it doesn't mean that my daughter would, and neither would you?" Robin asked her, receiving only a blank stare in response. He sighed and rose from his watery seat. "You're in a place called the Ruins of Time in northeastern Ferox, and it seems like you've been rolling around in water for a while, for some reason. Apparently, there's some kind of artefact in here that would be of interest to the Shepherds, so here we are. Come on, we can get out of the ruins for now and I'll try to find you something to snack on before you go home."
"You have amnesia, too…?" Morgan asked, remaining on place on the ground. "Wait, I have amnesia? Amnesia that's… very specifically pointed against half of my parentage?"
"Apparently. You really should've gotten your story worked out before coming here," Robin said, extending a hand to help her out of the water in which she was seated.
Morgan took his hand in hers and used it to pull herself up. "Is anyone from my time here with you? I swear, they'll confirm who I am. I'm honestly surprised none of them told you already."
"I'm not about to reveal troop positions to some kind of… fanatic," Robin scoffed lightly. "Where do you live? Somewhere local, right? I'll have someone fly you home if you want, provided that you drop the act sometime soon."
"It's okay if you don't believe me quite yet," Morgan smiled easily, though the action was faintly strained. "I'll prove to you in time that I really am your daughter. Then, we can be a happy family again… all of us."
Robin stared at her for an incredibly long time before sighing. "Godsdamnit, you're an exceptional actress… fine. I'll take you to Ylisstol to see someone from the future, but if they don't know you, I'm sending you right back here - and I'll be confiscating your costume to make sure you aren't able to pull something like this again. Understood?"
Morgan beamed at him. "Got it! Trust me, as soon as they see me, they'll tell you all about who I am."
"I sincerely hope not," Robin said coldly. Morgan continued to smile brightly regardless, forcing herself to be completely unfazed by his words.
Sumia hummed to herself as she strapped all of the equipment she had been using for her mission back onto her pegasus, Cordelia doing the same with the addition of Naga's Tear a short distance from her. She only stopped when she caught sight of Robin, smiling to her friend before growing immensely confused.
"Um, hey, Robin… and female Robin?" she greeted him and Morgan, trying and mostly failing to keep her smile in place as she looked past them and further into the ruins. "Good gods, what kind of weird magical springs are in this place…?"
"Hey, Sumia. And hey, Cordelia," Robin greeted each of the riders in turn. He then held a hand out toward Morgan, who waved happily at both of them. "This is Morgan, who claims to be my daughter from the future."
"Oh?" Sumia asked simply, her eyebrows shooting up high on her forehead as she shared a quick, wide-eyed glance with Cordelia.
"Mhm," Robin followed up monotonously, somehow managing to make the sound as tense as though he had made an entire speech. "She also claims to have incredibly acute amnesia that's made her forget her mother, as convenient as that may be. I'd like to take her back to Ylisstol with us in order to verify her claims."
"Do you think that she may actually be…?" Cordelia started to ask before trailing off, not daring to finish her statement.
"I… I don't know," Robin answered genuinely. "I hope not, but… she seems oddly genuine. Either she's an amazing actress, or she's telling the truth."
"Ah, I… I see," Sumia said, glancing to Cordelia again with practically the same expression as before. "Well, uh… we have the Tear now, so… I suppose she can fly back with me?"
"Let's hope this ends well," Robin said tersely. He made his way toward Cordelia, where the two spoke in hushed whispers for a moment while occasionally gesturing back to Morgan, who herself paid their conversation little mind as she made her own way up to Sumia.
"I'm guessing you don't know who I am either, huh?" she asked the rider once she had made her approach.
"Sorry, but no," Sumia smiled innocently, then reached out hold Morgan's shoulder. "Robin's right about you being a cutie, though! I'm sure you'll get at least Inigo to believe your story."
Morgan found that proposal more unsettling than comforting. "Um… thanks? I won't need to trick anyone, though. I really am Robin's daughter from the future."
"...Right," Sumia agreed slowly. "Let's, uh… let's get you back to Ylisstol, then."
Morgan grinned at her, with far more certainty than Sumia's own uneasy smile. They both mounted Sumia's pegasus, and after a nod of confirmation from both Robin and Cordelia, all four departed for Ylisstol.
Severa leaned casually against one of the sturdy stone walls characteristic of buildings in Ylisse, examining the cobblestone streets and welcoming architecture of her surroundings with an absent mind as she waited for the return of the Shepherds' vanguard party. She was also waiting on the appearance of Lucina, although that was primarily due to the fact that Lucina insisted on showing up on time rather than half an hour early in anticipation of the few Shepherds' return.
Robin and Sumia had both been sent out to perform a preliminary examination of the Ruins of Time in order to formulate a plan to deal with any threats in the area, as well as possibly end their business there outright if possible - not to mention that her own mother was also part of the group, who Severa would insist she didn't care much for despite wanting to ensure that she had returned safely. She occasionally found herself chastising her own adherence to such actions, but accepted them in opposition to the more difficult responses she would have to otherwise give.
Every member of her time travelling group, Severa herself included, had long since come to terms with the fact that the people of this time they had come to know were not they families they had sought, but rather individuals who were to live out their own lives as they please. That being said, Severa still felt a responsibility to safeguard the doppelgangers of her parents, even if her friends had been much more capable of moving on.
Lucina arrived after many minutes too long for Severa's liking, though she had guaranteed arriving and had arrived precisely on time. She smiled to Severa briefly before joining her in the shade of the building she was leaning against.
"Took you long enough," Severa greeted her as warmly as she could.
"My apologies; I had many princessly matters to attend," Lucina said in turn, continuing to smile faintly at her friend's faux haughty demeanor.
"Even though you've officially renounced being a princess?" Severa asked with a smirk.
"Well, I needed some form of excuse to try to get you to stop caring, didn't I?" Lucina asked in turn. Severa's smirk faded as her gaze narrowed on Lucina, though she quickly allowed her skepticism to drop.
"Why didn't you go with Robin, anyway?" Severa asked after a few moments of easy silence. "Not to sound judgmental or anything, but you two have been pretty… inseparable as of late. Trouble in paradise?"
"No, I merely had matters I wished to attend here in Ylisstol, as I said," Lucina replied. "I trust that Robin won't die on a scouting mission - not from overconfidence, mind you, but from experience. Knowing him, he'll be more likely to formulate a plan that somehow saves the world again than even so much as be wounded."
Severa rolled her eyes as her friend spoke. "You two can be cute at times, but that's no excuse to constantly gush over each other. We're all supporting you as best we can, but any relationship can get sickeningly overbearing if you let it. Please don't be one of those people, Lucina."
"Duly noted," Lucina laughed rhythmically, a pleasant sound that Severa was happy had gone more common since their saving of the world. "I'm glad to have had your support for so long, and I hope that if I end up needing more, all of you will continue to provide aid for me."
"You know we will," Severa smiled to her, and she smiled in return, another action that had become prevalent as of late.
After a few more minutes of idle chatting with one another, a commotion sounded on the border of Ylisstol near Severa and Lucina. A few quick seconds later, two pegasi swept into view and landed in a small designated area the Shepherds consistently used as a returning point for their scouting operations.
Sumia and Morgan dismounted immediately, a complete silence hanging in the air between them, though not for lack of Morgan's eagerness to learn of the past - rather, the silence originated solely from Sumia's uncertainty and desire to avoid whatever questions were thrown in her direction. Robin dismounted as well, and once Cordelia swiftly noticed the presence of Severa and Lucina and kicked her pegasus in their direction, Robin followed behind her toward them. The same tense silence hung over the two of them as well.
"Hello Severa, Lucina," Cordelia greeted them both, nodding in their directions with a demonstrably false smile on her face.
"Hey, Cordelia," Severa greeted casually in turn. "I, uh… trust that everything went well today? No issues or injuries or anything?"
"It was… interesting," Robin answered her vaguely, stepping past her and Cordelia's mount in order to reach Lucina, who was in the process of doing the same.
"Everything we had predicted played out perfectly fine," Cordelia said. "However, there is a matter we would like for the two of you to verify the accuracy of. She's back there," Cordelia pointed over her shoulder, toward where Morgan had taken notice of her old friend.
Morgan's face lit up as much as when she had reunited with her father earlier in the day, and she quickly dashed over to her fellow time traveller. "Severa! It's been too long… er, probably for you, at least. You remember me, right?"
Severa's mouth fell open as her eyes widened considerably. "Holy shit!"
"I take it you recognise her, then?" Cordelia asked sternly from atop her mount, having yet to place herself on equal ground with the others present.
"I-In my defense, e-everyone really thought that she was dead," Severa offered weakly, struggling to not stammer through her entire answer.
"Hey!" Morgan piped up, pouting furiously at Severa.
Cordelia sighed and shook her head. "Look, Severa, I'm not your mother and I'm not about to chastise you for lying to us. As a friend, though… don't you really, really think that this is something you should have told all of us a long time ago? Some more so than others?" she gestured toward Robin with one hand.
"Listen… um…" Severa began as weakly as before, raising her hands to placate Cordelia's calm fury. "In hindsight, yeah, that'd've been an amazing idea. Foresight, though… that's in no way my strong suit."
Morgan laughed softly. "Ha, yeah, everyone usually left that up to Lucina and I. Before you can say anything else, Severa, I want you to know that I'm not mad about you guys lying about my existence, since hearing they had a daughter as amazing as me only to lose her in the next sentence would definitely devastate my parents."
"Ah, right, your uh… your parents," Severa rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Um, listen, Morgan… about them…"
"I'll definitely have to meet my m- er, ah… father's wife soon and learn all about her, since I've apparently got some acute amnesia about her right now," Morgan said, wearing a carefree smile on her face in spite of her lacking memories. "For now though, I'm just happy that I get to see you again, Severa - and is that Lucin- huh?" she froze in place, her eyes and mouth not moving in the slightest from when she had stopped in the middle of speaking.
Severa glanced over her shoulder at what had transfixed Morgan, barely catching Cordelia's raised eyebrows as she went. Her own eyes widened immensely as her glance revealed an incredibly deep kiss between Robin and Lucina, in which the latter had wrapped her arms around the former's neck and had pulled him into a very much reciprocated embrace, Robin having wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Oh, shit!" Severa cursed loudly and spun back to Morgan, the terror written plainly on her own face completely dwarfing the blankness of Morgan's entire expression. "Okay, Morgan, there's ah… there's something I really should tell you about, like… right now."
"Huh?" Morgan reiterated, this time with a little more force behind her exhalation, her gaze remaining locked solely on her friend and her father.
"Aw, you really can't stop them from being adorable," Cordelia cooed, part of her uncertain if she should be witnessing the moment they were sharing. After a few more seconds of uninterrupted kissing and failed attempts from Severa to gather Morgan's attention, she blinked and shied her gaze away from the couple. "Wow, okay, they ah… they're really going at it."
"Huh!?" Morgan said again, this time practically shouting the word.
Lucina broke off her kiss with Robin, leaning away from him without ever severing the cradle of their embrace, a pleasant smile and faint blush on her face. "Ah, my apologies… there was something you wished to tell me?"
"R-Right, um… there's ah, a woman here, who… who's made some pretty interesting claims," Robin stammered, reciprocating Lucina's blush and failing for a long while to overcome her sudden kiss.
Lucina looked past him and immediately locked eyes with Morgan, all of her bliss draining from her face to be replaced with a surprise that was neither entirely cold nor entirely warm. "Morgan?" she attempted to approach her, but every step she made was met with one in reverse from the amnesiac.
"Wh-What were you…!?" Morgan forced out, her aghast stare never wavering from the space between Robin and Lucina.
"This probably looks horrible to you, Morgan, but please allow me to explain," Lucina said, casting a glance back to Robin as if to verify that he still existed. Morgan didn't move or react to her words in the slightest, and so she continued, "Robin and I are in a relationship. A highly committed one, as a matter of fact; one that-"
She silenced herself prematurely when Morgan recoiled and covered her mouth with her hands, as though she were on the brink of vomiting. For a moment Lucina truly believed that her friend was merely acting, but the genuine disgust welling up in Morgan's eyes gave her ample reason to reconsider.
"What? What!?" Morgan shouted once she had finally collected herself to a small degree. "You… you… what the hell are you saying!?"
"Robin and I are in a relationship. A highly committed one, as a-"
"Shut up!" Morgan screamed. Her hands found their way to the sides of her head as she vainly struggled to hold back her growing disdain, disgust, and indignation.
Lucina tilted her head, genuinely confused by how Morgan could have such a violent response to having her request fulfilled. "Are you alright, Morgan? I realise that this may come as a shock, but…"
"But what!?" Morgan continued to shout. "How the hell could you possibly think that that'd ever be okay!? What's wrong with you!?"
"Morgan, please!" Robin interjected, raising his hands in an effort to calm the other tactician down. "I… I'll admit, your existence and identity have kind of thrown me here, but-"
"No! No buts!" Morgan yelled, now backing away fearfully from her closest friend and her father. "Don't you dare try to explain this away for her! I don't know what she's done to take you away from… whoever you rightfully loved, but I swear that I'll set things right! I… I'll find out who she took you away from, and make sure everything turns out as it should!"
"Morgan…" Lucina called to her weakly, her cool expression cracking slightly under the weight of her friend's accusations.
"Shut up!" Morgan yelled again, her voice threatening to crack from the intensity to which it had been raised. Her composure fractured more and her panic intensified as she took another step away from those gathered before her. She stared at Robin and Lucina, the two remaining within arm's reach of one another and revolting her by mere sight now, and her mind began to race at a pace she knew wouldn't be beneficial to anyone. She spun to face the direction opposite them, and without knowing where she was headed in the least, began sprinting through the streets of Ylisstol.
Cordelia cursed softly and kicked her pegasus into movement, turning it in the direction Morgan had departed. "I'll follow her from the air and make sure she doesn't do anything rash. I have a feeling you'll need to have a long talk with her and Lucina soon, Robin," she said, and with another practiced kick to her pegasus' sides she was airborne.
"I'm… not entirely sure about what happened here, and I'm even less certain of what to do now," Robin said.
"I'll explain everything I can to you, I promise," Lucina said, turning back to him. "I suppose it's long overdue by this point, anyway… and it's not exactly a topic I would be comfortable avoiding completely."
"So, she's actually…?" Robin asked and trailed off at once, not needing to finish his question for Lucina to know the answer he sought.
"The daughter of a different version of you, one from the time my friends and I fled," she answered resolutely, with enough confidence that Robin was left with no room to doubt her regardless of what he wanted to believe.
Robin shook his head in a small arc, his face going blank to hide the odd array of emotions welling up within him. Lucina winced at the shift in his demeanor, already resenting the fact that she hadn't been entirely forthcoming with the history of her time, and hating even more the incertitude she held about whether or not she should be moving to comfort him.
Severa clapped her hand on Lucina's shoulder, gathering her attention. "I'll try to find Inigo and send him after Morgan. Maybe he'll be able to help her along through this… he's probably philandering about in his usual taverns and restaurants, right?"
"Are you going to have him… 'philander' with Morgan?" Robin asked, breaking his blankness to form his question.
Lucina and Severa both shuddered at the notion. Severa shared a brief look of disgust with Lucina, then turned to Robin and shook her head decisively. "Gods, no."
She turned and, without so much as a goodbye, disappeared into the winding open streets of Ylisstol, on a path divergent of that Morgan had taken. Sumia remained as the only Shepherd aside from Robin and Lucina present, her eyebrows raised high as she whistled merrily in an attempt to act casual and draw attention away from herself.
Lucina watched where Severa had disappeared for a short time longer before turning back to Robin with a sigh, finding now that he was locked deeply in thought. She hesitated for a second longer before wrapping him in as warm of an embrace as she possibly could form.
"I'm sorry that I never told you about her, Robin," she said into the side of his neck, pressing her lips close to his skin and taking in the security their embrace offered, especially when compared to the resurgent fear for her future Morgan's arrival had induced.
Robin reciprocated the hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and burying his face in her hair by the side of her head, near her ear. For a long moment, he allowed himself to become enamored anew by the security their embrace offered, as well as the familiar feel of her arms around him, some kind of sweet perfume he would never be able to properly name, and the irreplaceable warmth she offered. In doing so, he was able to put his mind wholly at ease.
"I love you, Lucina," he whispered into her ear. He planted a long, loving kiss on the side of her neck, somehow relishing their embrace further than before.
Lucina shivered delightfully further into him, pressing her lips closer against his neck only to raise her head to speak. "Robin… I love you too," she whispered, then lowered her head again, calming herself in the warmth they shared.
I don't have a concrete schedule for when this story will be updated, but it hopefully won't be more than a few weeks between uploads. My current plan is to have ten, possibly eleven chapters, each at about the same length as this one, but I'm always down for writing more fluff whenever possible.
Also, please feel free to tear this story apart. I think I've done a pretty good job with it, but I also know there'll always be errors or things that could've been done better, and I think I can improve best by having those things pointed out to me. I at least hope you've enjoyed the story anyway, though.
Thanks for reading!