"Robin, I'm going to give the signal."
She quickly scanned the battlefield. All the Plegian troops were down; the Exalt, teetering on the edge, was unguarded...
She nodded.
"Do it, Chrom." The man next to her lifted his sword arm, the radiant sunlight shimmering off the edge of his magnificent sword. Robin heard wingbeats behind them as a platoon of pegasus riders swooped towards the battlefield, soaring gracefully through the sky. She allowed herself a quick smile.
This is going to work, she thought. We're going to-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a distinctive, guttural moan.
Risen? She watched in horror as the corpses around them reanimated as soulless undead creatures, wielding bows.
Above on the ramparts, the witch Aversa cackled as her hands glowed purple with power.
"WAIT! PHILA, RETREAT," Robin yelled, realizing she'd been suckered. But it was too late. She watched as the riders were picked off, one by one, pegasi arching through the brilliant blue sky and crashing onto the orange, sandy terrain with dull thuds that she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"N-no…" She dashed to check for any survivors, but it was futile; from that height, there would be none. "Phila…" She saw the captain of the pegasus knights, mangled in a heap on the floor, having been thrown off her pegasus. Her armor, always pristine, was cracked, and blood made its way through the openings. "I'm sorry," Robin sobbed towards the motionless riders and their pegasi. "Forgive me, I didn't-"
"We've lost…" The man who had given the signal stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide with shock.
Robin couldn't bear to face him.
"C-Chrom...I'm sorry-"
From above the ramparts, another voice sneered. It was clad in Plegian garb, with a flowing golden cape and a crown adorning his maroon hair, and a sinister smile plastered on his face.
"Grovel before me, and beg for your worthless lives," he yelled, his voice reverberating through the now-silent battlefield.
"I'd give up my life before I begged for it from you, Gangrel" Chrom shot back, sword still drawn.
"Oh? Is that the right thing to say? I have archers trained on your pitiful army, and your weak sister. If he so much as twitches," Gangrel shouted out to his archers, "let fly!"
Chrom spat on the floor.
"I...I'll kill you, Gangrel! I swear it!"
"Oh, but if you did, you'd be responsible for killing your poor dear sister! Wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would we? Or would one of your friends like to shoulder the burden for you?" Gangrel's sneer widened with the knowledge that victory was certain. "But I will let you, the Exalt, and your merry band go on one condition." His eyes narrowed at Chrom. "Hand over the Fire Emblem."
Chrom's hand instinctively went to the small shield that was always on his person.
"I…"
"Chrom," Robin choked through her tears. "Chrom, you can't trust him. Once you give it up we're all dead."
"I know that. But...what else can I do…" Chrom buried his head in his hands as Gangrel continued cackling merrily from above.
"Enough," another voice said. It was soft, yet commanded attention. Robin turned her eyes and saw that it was Emmeryn, the Exalt, who had spoken. She stepped forward, her toes now over the edge of the cliff. "King Gangrel, is there no hope for you to listen to reason?"
Gangrel's response was to double over in laughter, hacking and wheezing as he bounced around the ramparts in glee. Emmeryn turned her head towards the Plegians that had come to witness her execution.
"Plegians! I ask you to hear my words. What has this war brought you? How many of you have lost a friend, a mother, a father, a child, a sibling? War brings with it nothing but sadness and pain! The loser is left to rue their loss, and the winner has no mind to celebrate, for they are mourning those they love. Deep in your hearts, you know this is true. Free yourselves from this vicious cycle! Use your actions for peace." She paused and closed her eyes. "As I do now." She lurched forward, and Robin knew what was happening before it did.
Robin covered her mouth as Emmeryn's next step brought her over the edge, and she fell. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion; she fell for an eternity, her body rotating slowly as she accelerated towards the desert floor.
"NO!" Chrom and Lissa's screams were terrifying, primal roars of pain, searing themselves deep into her memory, sounds she would never forget. Chrom dashed towards the falling Exalt, but she knew he would not reach her.
And then Emmeryn fell no more. The once-radiant Exalt of Ylisse lay in a crumpled heap, the desert sand wrapping gently around her corpse. A blue-haired young man kneeled and lifted her into his arms, his body heaving with sobs.
"I've failed…" Robin's vision swam. "I-"
A hand roughly grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Get Chrom; We've secured an escape route, but we need to go now." Robin recognized the Feroxi Khan, Basilio, tanned, muscular, and sporting his ever-present eyepatch. Robin nodded and sprinted to Chrom, wiping away the tears.
"Chrom! We need to go, now!"
"B-but Emm...her body…" Robin's mind furiously ran through ways to get out while holding on to Emmeryn's body.
"Kellam!" A knight with orange-highlighted armor stopped from the retreating force.
"Yes? You knew I was here?" He smiled broadly at being noticed.
"I-what? Kellam, I need you to cover me and Chrom from the arrows with your shield. Chrom, make sure you stay right behind Kellam, and follow me." Chrom nodded as he slung Emmeryn's broken body over his shoulder, while Kellam covered the rear, shield held up high to block any incoming arrows. Tears continued to spring unbidden, but she steadfastly guided them towards where Basilio was waiting with caravans. They finally reached them, hurrying into the transports and carefully covering Emmeryn's body.
Robin made her way to the back of the caravan, sitting alone in the corner. She watched the blue sky fade to an orange-red gradient as the sun prepared to hibernate for the night. Everyone who passed by had a comforting comment, or a light tap on the shoulder, but their words went unheard as Robin's ears rang with the thud of pegasi and riders shot from the sky, and the sickening crunch of Emmeryn's body, set against the backdrop of a brother and a sister's screams.
The caravans brought them back to the village where they had rescued Nowi and Gregor, the villagers they had rescued from the Grimleal more than willing to allow them to pitch camp. Robin sat alone outside one of the buildings, leaning against the wall with her legs folded up against her chest. Her platinum-blonde hair, usually tied neatly into two tails falling on either shoulder, was tangled and disheveled, and tear tracks were deeply engraved on her cheeks. She turned her raw, red eyes towards the sky.
In the small village, away from the city, the night sky was a pristine black canvas, illuminated with more stars than Robin could count. She sighed as she thought back to the last time they were here, making plans for the next battle.
"It's going to work," Chrom said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come this time tomorrow, we'll be trading stories with Emm on the way home."
"Oh, Chrom, how misguided you were to place your faith in me," she muttered, putting her head back down onto her knees.
And you were no better, a voice in her head sneered. You let your victories get to your head...and look where that brought you. The pegasus knights, eliminated. Emmeryn, dead. And the Shepherds a mess. You let yourself get high off your own victories, so you didn't plan for every possibility…
She shook her head. No matter how many people told her, it would not excuse her oversight. The fact that they didn't know where Risen came from should have meant that they needed to be prepared for them at any juncture. She had allowed herself to relax just a smidgeon, and it had cost everyone.
Not just the Shepherds...but all of Ylisse.
"Robin?" She squeaked as a voice snapped her back to reality.
"C-chrom…" She met his blue eyes briefly before snapping hers back towards the ground, which had suddenly become infinitely more interesting.
"Scouts have found a strike force led by Gangrel. They'll be here tomorrow. We're having a strategy meeting at the town hall to prepare battle plans, and to do that, we need our tactician."
"Chrom...I can't. You can't trust me; I can't even trust myself to put together a plan. Not...Not after today." She continued to stare at the ground.
"Robin. Look at me." She refused, and he put a hand under her chin, lifting it so she was staring at his blue eyes. She tried to push against him, but his hand was far too strong. "Emmeryn, Phila, and the pegasus knights gave their lives so that we could have this chance."
"But if I was better, they wouldn't have had to," she yelled out, feeling the sobs coming again. "If I could have accounted for the Risen-" The sounds of the pegasus knights crashing to the floor echoed in her ears again. The sound of Emmeryn-
"Enough." Chrom's voice was firm and strong. "Words were always Emm's strong suit…" He muttered, before continuing. "You had us on the verge of an unthinkable victory. It wasn't your fault no one knew Aversa could conjure Risen at will. And without you, we wouldn't even have been in such a position. Who knows where we would be if you hadn't shown up? We may not even have been able to secure the aid of Regna Ferox without you. Any of the skirmishes we could have lost; even if we won, what were the chances of making it through all of them without any casualties? We don't blame you for Emmeryn's death. I don't blame you. And I still believe in you. The Shepherds still believe in you." Chrom paused. "And, most importantly, we're all your friends. These bonds we've made mean that we'll stick with each other through times good and bad, through battles won and lost. That will never change." Without waiting for a reply, Chrom walked off, leaving her to collect her thoughts.
Chrom...thank you.
She turned her eyes back towards the sky, closing her eyes.
"Please, let my tactics be enough for one more battle."
As she said it, unbeknownst to her, a flash of light streaked across the black tapestry.
A/N: First story in a while (a LONG while), life's been crazy! Well, more accurately, med school is crazy; my classes are just about wrapping up, so now it's just the last two months to cram for Step 1, and then I'll be off to rotations.
I haven't really had much time to play games over the past two years, since school is crazy, but I've always wanted to do another FE:A fic with the female avatar; there are so many well-designed characters that are just dripping with potential to be fleshed out, which presents a perfect opportunity for a fanfic. Unlike my last fic, I've already decided on a pairing; Lon'qu was definitely far and away my favorite male character.
Also, I know that this starts with the FE:A storyline; for those of you who are tired of rehashes of the game's plot, I need to establish this experience for Robin in order to progress the storyline. However, after the next chapter, everything will be original content not based off the game :)
As always, please R&R, and enjoy!