Characters: Avatar(female; Robin), Krom, Morgan(male)
Pairings: Avatar/Krom
Summary: Here, on Grima, the choices are made, and there is no going back. Warning: First Person!
This battle, no matter how unexpected, was one that I expected. After all, since Lucina's arrival, something had always been on my mind… Something gnawing and wanting control, and meeting Validar had simply made it worse and worse… Now, I knew the truth. I was Grima - part of the fell dragon herself. And… somehow, that didn't bother me as much as it should have.
Even being thrown into the darkness wasn't as surprising as it should have been. The strike thrown at me hurt more than anything I could have imagined, and yet, Krom's voice… my dear Krom had kept me from falling. It was his voice with which I stood, because his voice brought me memories of my children, of those that rely on me and love me for who I am.
It was that strength, that brought me this far. That these people would believe in me so - it was the greatest honor of all.
It was Grima's last life. It was so close to the end, and I had the nerve to look at those surrounding me. Everyone looked so worse for the wear - my child, Morgan, he looked so… strong, despite his endeavors. All I really wanted to do was to hold him, assure him that everything would be alright… but somewhere in my mind, I knew that it wouldn't be alright. I knew what I had to do, and it hurt me more than anything, but… I had to. I couldn't let Grima awaken ever again.
Krom slowly stood up to land the final blow, and I knew I couldn't let it end like this. I raised my hand, and the dark magic of both Grima and I began to form around it. I could hear startled gasps from behind me.
"...Robin?! Wait, what-" I heard Krom exclaim. There were murmurs in the crowd, of fear, of sadness. But, this wasn't something I had to do. It was something that I needed to do.
I faced my eyes towards Grima, whose face was enraged.
"...WHAT...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he shouted, almost angrily. I faced him with hard eyes, letting the magic envelop me and held my stand against him.
"For once," I started calmly. "I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for…" I watched as the look of horror came upon Grima's face. He tried to stand up, almost futilely, but the strain was too much and he was forced to stay hunched over. Like myself, he refused to be brought to his knees in the face of his only true adversary.
"...You... would...not dare!" Grima shouted back, dark energy curling around him as if he was ready to strike, but I knew he had no energy. I was pushing my own limits, and I knew that one man versus over twenty skilled and master fighters would not end well for him.
I took a deep breath. I would need the assurance for this. I must do this. "I would and I will. The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable... In some way, I—we share the blame." I took a deep breath once again. "It's only right we meet our end together!"
Grima screamed in anger, as I raised my hand to strike. I heard Morgan's crying and screaming from behind me, and he was most likely held back by Lucina. It hurt me to have to do this to him, but Morgan would overcome it. He was always a strong child. He'd make it through.
I hurled the blast of fire at Grima, and he screamed in anguish. His body collapsed on the ground, being enveloped by the flames before his body began disappearing. I took a deep breath, and looked down at my hands to see them fading away.
Krom exclaimed something, but I couldn't hear over the rushing noises. My ears had suddenly cleared up and it was silent. Dead silent.
There was a shaky breath penetrating the silent air, and I realized it was… mine. And all of a sudden, the world came crashing back down. Morgan's sobs, Lucina's sniffles, Krom's breathing. Nothing else existed, but the reactions of my family. Krom approached me, and held my quickly fading hand. Together, we slowly fell to the floor. I put my head on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear.
"Thank you, Chrom," I said softly. "For...everything... Tell the others...my last thoughts were of them... May we meet again, in a better life…" Everything really stopped at that point. As I completely faded away, I heard the cries of my friends - and my family… My important ones…
Everything became silent.
Within that space, everything was dark, silent, cold. I could see nothing, and yet, I heard voices from the darkness. Those of… my friends, my allies.
"P-poor Robin... *sniff* After everything she did for us…"
"Let us honor Robin's regard for her warren. She was a true taguel. And a true taguel would not leave family behind... I feel she's out there!"
"If Robin's anythin' like me, she won't check out just 'cause a job is done. Gotta collect on all the sweet rewards, right?"
"Too many times now have I watched loved ones give their lives for me... I must hold on to faith that this time will be different."
"Now I know what it really means to be a hero... But heroes always come back to fight again...don't they?"
"We have won our future, but we are in debt to so many sad memories... I pray at least one of those sadnesses will yet be undone."
"Mother... You can't leave me now. Not like this... I believe in you. Come back!"
"Robin has secured for us all the most precious gift: a future. Now it falls upon our shoulders to protect what was given. I vow to give my all to healing the damage this war has wrought upon the realm. When Robin returns, I want her to see what her sacrifice bought. Robin...if you can hear me... You will always have a place here with us. Remember that. Always."
My… my friends… They had faith in me. My return. I must… I must return. The story can't simply end here. Not with this. I cannot just end here, with this tragic end in my friends' hearts. They were waiting for me, back home… Yes, home. I… I wanted to go home, be with Morgan and Lucina and Krom. All of them…
Suddenly, there was a rumbling. A voice… cloudy, dark, but… familiar? Who could be so familiar, that my heartstrings tugged with every jumbled word they said…?
"Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING." A feminine voice said. It was oddly familiar, with its high pitch and cheeriness.
"What do you propose we do?" The voice that tugged at my heart, that left me breathless.
"I... I dunno…" The girlish voice again.
I found the strength to blink rapidly - there was light on my eyes. I covered my eyes with a hand to block the light, and slowly opened. I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my sight after what seemed like months, and there were two familiar faces. I took a deep breath, a smile slowly growing on my lips.
"I see you're awake now," Krom's voice said, a smile on his face as well.
Lissa piped in. "Hey there!" she chirped with a bright smile. I felt my own growl arger at her excitement.
Krom laughed a bit. "There're better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand." He reached out his hand, and I took it easily, being pulled up onto my feet. We faced each other once again, but not for the last time. I embraced him, happy to have been able to be brought back. Oh, it was… it was true, what Lucina had said when she arrived.
Krom's arms wrapped around me, and his head rested on my shoulder. "Welcome back. It's over now," came his soft greeting. There, standing in the sunlight on that hill, with Krom in my arms and Lissa coming to join the hug, I knew.
Hope will never die, and as long as I, or anyone else, had people who cared behind them… As long as I was surrounded by people who loved me, who honestly cared for me… Our fates would never be defined. Any fate that came, would easily be challenged.
My fate, is my own. Nothing else would every decide my fate, and my fate right now… is to live, happily, with my husband Krom, and my children, Lucina and Morgan.
- Fin -
