Xenologue: The Fell Tactician

Robin stepped through the portal, back into the abyss where Grima was waiting. "...Well done, Robin. You did quite the good job ripping the exalt to shreds in that world!" Grima unleashed a bellowing laugh while Robin watched him blankly. The bits of light left from the portal faded as the otherworldly gate closed. "Maybe if you keep it up in this next world, I'll let you have a peek at your family!" Grima's human manifestation smirked at Robin, who brushed his hair off of his mask. He hated when it got into his eye socket.

"Is there any particular fashion you want them slain, Lord of Despair?" Robin replied blankly. Grima grinned devilishly.

"Cut Chrom straight in half, at the waist. Then crush his head." Grima laughed once again. "And for Robin..."

"...Stab his eyes out in front of his family?" Robin suggested, maintaining his blank stare. Grima chuckled slightly at his servant's suggestion. "Wonderful idea! We haven't done that one in a while!" Grima waved his left hand toward the floor of the endless abyss around them, and a Risen army rose out of the depth. "Here's your army. Just the routine. And remember, the more Shepards you kill, the longer you get to see your family!" Robin nodded, and turned to see a new portal open. "As you wish, milord."

Robin's eyes were glazed by sunlight streaming in through his castle window. He groggily turned his head, groaned, and sat up in his bed. As he shifted, his wife, Nowi, mumbled for her husband to lay back down with her. "Just five more minutes hun..." Robin smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You can stay in bed, honey. Want me to bring up some breakfast for you this morning?" With her eyes still closed, she made a little half smile and nodded lightly. "Alright then, I'll be back here shortly with your food." As he was putting on some clothes, he smiled at his small wife all nestled in their large bed. "Anything in particular you want?" He turned and asked her, standing in the doorway. "Lots of food…" Nowi sluggishly answered. Robin chuckled at his wife's exhausted response and closed the door behind him as he exited. As he walked through the hallways of the castle, he peeked into his girl's bedroom to check on them. To his relief, all 4 of his girls, both Nahs and Morgans, were all still deep in sleep. "They all certainly take after their mother…" He chuckled as he quietly closed the door behind him and continued to the dining hall.

As he entered, he saw the royal family already eating away at large plates of food, aside from Chrom, who was speaking to what appeared to be a messenger. He couldn't hear what was being said, but Chrom had a concerned look on his face as he was listening, so Robin walked over to see what was going on.

"...They all appeared from the Outrealm Gate, and drove off all of the soldiers guarding the area, milord." The soldier said with a hushed tone. Chrom nodded, and noticed Robin walk over. Chrom flashed what almost looked like a forced smile and greeted Robin. "Greetings, old friend. Is something the matter?" He asked politely while lightly picking at his food. The soldier had paused for a second and waited for Chrom. "The same could be said for you Chrom." They both chuckled. "Is everything alright? Bandit problems?" Robin inquired. "I wish it were just that." Robin laughed nervously now. That wasn't a good sign. "What do you mean Chrom?" Chrom sighed, and leaned over to Robin. "A large army of Risen have appeared around the Outrealm Gate, the soldiers who escaped estimated around 100 to 150 of them. There are reports of a masked man leading them, and they are supposedly acting in an organized manner, something we haven't seen in a long while now." Chrom quietly told Robin. He leaned back, and Robin frowned, concerned. Was this some powerful Grimleal mage, still angered at his god's death? It had been almost 4 years since Grima's death at Robin's hands, and at this point Risen attacks had become a rare phenomena. "Have you told the others yet? Surely we must do something about this." Robin answered. It had

been almost five months since he had been involved in even a minor skirmish with Risen, and now a 100 strong force of organized Risen had now appeared? This was very concerning and perplexing. "I planned on waiting until after breakfast before I told anybody else." Chrom sighed. They never could catch a break for long. "Are we going to call the Shepards for assistance? We should be fine even with a force of fifteen to twenty." Robin suggested. Chrom nodded, but frowned as well. "Agreed. I will be doing a headcount later to see who we will have to fight. We will do some training as a group tomorrow to freshen up on our fighting skills, and will try and leave the morn after." Robin nodded in agreement. "Good plan as always, Chrom. You won't even need me there, with that tactical thinking of your own!" Robin laughed lightly, and Chrom joined in as well. It helped to lighten the mood of concern both men were feeling. "...Anyways, I'm just down here to grab my lazy wife some breakfast, and I better hurry up lest she think I forgot her!" Robin chuckled once more. "Just thought I'd check on you." Robin then turned to the soldier. "...And I am quite sorry for interrupting your report." Robin nodded to the soldier and walked off to grab some food for himself and his wife. As he was walking down the hallway back, with about 5 plates of fresh cooked meals, he sighed to himself. He decided it would be best to wait for Chrom to announce their plan before he told Nowi or the girls, as he didn't want to make any of them worry. Robin was quite anxious about all of this, but he wasn't sure why.

Alternate World, Fight with the Mad King

Chrom and Robin were standing side by side, swords drawn and pointed at Gangrel. "Come, Princeling! I've sharpened my sword just for you!" Gangrel taunted. Chrom gritted his teeth and gripped his sword tighter. "My sister wished for our people to know peace, Gangrel. But as long as you draw breath, it can never come. FOR YLISSE!" Chrom shouted as he charged towards Gangrel. Chrom lunged and swung his sword across, aiming for Gangrel's neck. Gangrel sidestepped and jumped back. As he was in the air, he raised his Levin Sword skyward, and a bolt of lightning barely missed Chrom. Robin then took his chance and fired his own Thunder towards Gangrel, with him rolling out of the way in the nick of time. Sumia attempted to fly close and assist the duo of Chrom and Robin, but Gangrel raised his sword once more and hit Sumia's pegasus on the left wing with a bolt of lightning. The pegasus shrieked, but landed on its feet since it was still close to the ground. "You'll pay for that one!" Chrom yelled as he attempted to knock the Levin Sword out of Gangrel's hands. Gangrel quickly tossed his sword up and rolled backwards, catching it in midair. He caught it, and while still low to the ground, attempted to slash at Chrom's ankles. This kept Chrom back far enough and Gangrel tried summoning another bolt of lightning. As no lightning struck, Gangrel's heart sunk as he realized the sword ran out of magic. Robin, still a good fifteen back from the fight, was turned around and firing Thunder at a barbarian who tried flanking them. Gangrel reached for the iron sword he had on his belt, and desparately threw the ran out Levin Sword straight towards Robin's head. "ROBIN! WATCH OUT!" Chrom yelped, a second too late. Time all of the sudden felt like it was going in slow motion, as he watched Robin turn around a second too late. The discarded Levin Sword went straight through Robin's left eye, his face a mixture of pure shock and sudden pain. The sword's jagged sides went deeper, lodging into Robin's skull and piercing his brain. Once the sword wouldn't go any farther, he was knocked over backwards by the force of impact and shock. Chrom stood in pure shock for a moment until he realized Gangrel was charging him, and in pure anger knocked the blade right out of Gangrel's hands and stabbed him through the heart. As Gangrel now lay dying and laughing that he took Robin with him, Chrom rushed over to the dying Robin. "Chrom...everyone... F-forgive me…" Robin choked out as he began coughing up blood. He felt his limbs going numb. As his vision was going blurry, Robin turned and his heart sank. His wife, Nowi, was running over, sobbing. To his dying mind's relief, she looked uninjured. Chrom now was desparately trying to pull the blade out of Robin's eye, causing him to yelp. The blade was stuck, and his life was done. He knew it. "C.. Chrom.. Stop…" Chrom fell to the ground, watching his friend slowly die before him. "No! Not you too, Avatar!" A single tear rolled down Chrom's cheek. "I can't lose you too! WE can't lose you!" Robin sighed and coughed up a bit more blood. Nowi was now at Robin's side as well, Her face red and wet with tears. "Y...You can't die yet! We had so many years ahead of us!" She broke down and sobbed even more into Robin's chest. Even though he was starting to lose control and feeling of his whole body, he managed to put his arm around Nowi to comfort her. As he did so, he felt his right eye grow heavy and start to close. He was so tired. Maybe he'd just take a nap. Chrom won't mind. "Open your eyes! OPEN YOUR EYES!" Chrom started shaking Robin as he was mentally fading away. He opened his right eye one more time to see various other Shepards around him, all looking down in shock or in tears. He closed his eye once more, and the Shepard's words were now nothing more than loud echoes in his mind. Everything was now black. A deep, mind numbing black. Robin knew he was dead, but why could he still think? That's when he saw it. A man, visible yet cloaked in the darkness around him. He looked just like himself, like the man in his nightmares. Then he spoke, in a loud, booming voice. "You fool! Lucky you your good friend Grima is here to save your life!" He chuckled, and was now standing right over Robin, appearing to access the damage. "...Of course, that's only if we make a deal." A deal? Robin thought. That's when he realized a god was standing before him, offering to save his life. "What do you want from me, Grima?" Grima laughed once more. "I want YOU, Robin. Before i rise from my grave once more and destroy our world, I need some tasks completed for me. AND, if you agree to help me out, I will even spare your wife!" Grima smirked at the dead man below him. Robin now realized that his wife was now in grave danger, as well as the rest of the Shepards. "What do you want me to do?" Robin asked cautiously. "Nothing too hard, especially with the blessings I would be giving you. While I will inevitiblely rise, there is a certain man who will damper and slow my plans." Grima scowled at these thoughts. "I need you to kill Chrom." Robin gasped and responded angrily. "I would never-" Grima kicked Robin in the jaw, sending him backwards. "And WHY NOT, you FOOL? You DO realize I am being merciful, RIGHT? I can EASILY kill Chrom once I am risen myself. You're not exactly in a position to bargain, dead man! And if you don't help me, your wife will be dying too!" Robin's heart sunk. As much as it would pain him to slay his friend, now that he was dead, all of their demises were inevitable. But here Grima was at least promising him the life of his wife being spared. "...ugh. Alright, Grima. I accept." "EXCELENT!" Grima laughed heartily, and with a wave of his hand, Robin was on his feet. He was standing in a fine, new set of black and yellow armor. He had spiked shoulderpads and a long, black cape tied around his neck. Attached to his side was a strange sword. It was tan, and had a glint that resembled the enamel of a tooth. The hilt was woven with cloth of a similar black and yellow color, and had a red gem on the butt of it. The blade was jagged and rough, resembling a Wyrmslayer. Turning back to Grima, Robin could see he was now holding a strange vial. The contents inside were a deep purple, almost black substance. It looked thick. Grima placed this in Robin's hand. "Drink this. It's my blood, blood of the Fell Dragon!" Grima laughed. As Robin popped off the cork, Grima explained. "Once you have drank it, you will be blessed with the powers of a Manakete! You will be able to wield Dragonstones, and your body will be much more resilent and tough. Hell, you may get a few thousand more years of life with that amount!" Grima exclaimed, and Robin drank the substance. It tasted sickly sweet, almost like really old, expired candy mixed with blood. As he finished the last drops, he felt rejuvenated and full of energy once again. He felt his muscles become more taugt, and a tingling sensation in his ears. Like his dragon wife, he felt his ears become long and sharp, except that his were slightly shorter and pointed upwards. Grima looked Robin up and down, before stopping to look at his face. "Ahh, almost forgot to do something about that missing eye!" Robin felt his face, and upon sticking his finger in the hole where it was, realized his left eye was still missing. Grima waved his hand towards Robin's face, and Robin suddenly felt a mixture of cold steel plastered over his eye, and the sting of what seemed to be nails now bolted into his face. "ACH!" Robin recoiled from the shock. "That will take a bit to get used to. Now, for the magic part!" Grima waved his hand once more, and Robin's perpheral visions grew wider once more. He held his hand up to his face, testing his repaired vision out, and realized that this replacement eye was glowing a shade of bright red. He felt the socket again and realized there was what felt like a glass eye in it's place. "If you're wondering, it is made from a rare luminescent gemstone imbued with ancient magic. Now that a week has passed and everyone has accepted your death, I'd say it's about time we send you back to begin your task." Grima smirked at Robin, feeling quite victorious at Robin's submission to him. "GHA- What? A week? It feels like we've been here but 20 minutes!" Robin stepped back at this. He'd already been dead a week? Grima laughed. "Human time does not apply to this realm. Now, enough talk. The portal is behind you. Last thing." Grima's eye glowed and Robin now felt a full pouch attached to his side. "Just other items and weapons that might be of necessity." We will talk again soon enough." And with that, Grima became clouded in a thick, black smoke and disapeared once more.

Robin stood in front of the castle, inspecting it up and down. It was near pitch black outside, approaching what Robin assumed was midnight. He made sure that he wasn't seen on the way here, and was currently standing on top of the border wall to the rear. This was made particularly harder with a glowing eye, so he had a hood on his head to block it as much as possible. He wanted to make this quick and make sure nobody saw him, or lived to tell the tale of it, as news of his return from death would be very bad, especially with the fact that he was going to be Chrom's assassin. He'd been prepping this for about two days since he stepped through the portal outside of Ylisstol, and had taken that time to find enterance points, plan out his route, train with his sword, and learned the basics of fighting in his dragon form, need it come to that. He rubbed the orb that was attached to his side. He had what he wanted ever since him and nowi got married, thousands of years of life, yet he doubted he'd ever get to spend any of it with her now. The thought of this future scared him very much, but as long as his wife was alive and safe, he would do whatever was commanded of him. As he saw the patrol pass by him down below, now was his chance. He quickly leaped off of the wall he was standing on top of and rolled to keep his momentum. The guard was already too far out of earshot to hear or notice this. Robin reached the castle wall, and began climbing until he reached the windowsill. Once he was head level with the window, he peered inside and saw an empty hallway. He recognized this part of the castle, luckily. Robin slid open the window, and stepped into the hallway quietly. Luckily, there were few guards, as the Plegian war had just ended, so Robin didn't have a hard time sneaking through the silent, dark castle. He approached the hallway leading to Chrom's bedroom, and prepared to make the turn. He had to be quiet, as there surely was a guard outside of it, and Lissa's room was right next to it. Just then, he heard light footsteps and a feminine yawn. Someone was coming down the hallway. He was expecting that it was Lissa, probably out to get a drink. Robin looked for somewhere to duck and hide, but the best he could do was lean up against the wall. He saw bits of a pale yellow light from around the corner. Oh no. As much as he hated it, if they turned this way and saw him, he would have to kill whoever it was. Robin began to see a shadow. It was most likely Lissa, as the shadow was small and most certainly a woman. He quietly drew the steel dagger on his side, and held it at the ready. Then, he saw her begin turning the corner, and his heart sank. It wasn't Lissa, it was his wife, Nowi, in a nightgown and holding a candle. His best guess was that she was bunking with Lissa until she decided what she planned on do now that the war ended. His heart sank further as she looked exhausted, and had frown lines, most certainly due to him. He wished he could wake up from whatever nightmare he was in. As she approached where Robin was hiding, his mind began racing on what he should do. There was absolutely no way he was going to kill her, but he needed to do something so that she could be safe.

Nowi yawned as she walked down the castle hallway from Lissa's room. It had been a little over two weeks since the end of the war, yet she couldn't get the image of her dying husband out of her head. While she was trying to remain positive, like Chrom and Lissa were at Robin's passing, but it was proving to be very taxing on her health. Both of them pitied her quite a lot, and they were still struggling with the loss of their close friend, so Lissa was letting Nowi bunk with her for the time being. She was having another sleepless night, and decided that stepping out on one of the balconies and getting some fresh air might help. As she turned the hallway, candle in hand, she what sounded like muffled footsteps coming from further down the hallway. She continued walking, and now could see the faint outline of someone leaning against the wall a few meters ahead. She paused for a second to try and make it out. As she was watching this person, not daring to make a move, the individual looked up. She shuddered. Whoever it was, their left eye was lightly glowing a deep, hateful red, the color of freshly spilled blood. She took a step back. This person was a threat, and she knew it. She couldn't fight them, as they were in a hallway and assuming dragon form was near impossible in such a space. She decided it best to try and make a break for it and to and awaken Chrom and Lissa. Just as she began turning. The person ran right at her, at a frighteningly fast speed. She panicked, and began running herself. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she tripped and twisted her ankle. She yelped in pain and collapsed. Tears began forming in her eyes as the individual was standing in front of where she laid. At first, she almost thought it was just light reflecting off their eye, but she could now clearly see that it was indeed glowing. In a frenzy of fear, she began yelling for help. "LISSA! CHROM! SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP ME!" She broke into a sob. Upon her yelling, the individual roughly picked her up quickly and covered her mouth. As he was now essentially on top of her, keeping her mouth shut, her eyes widened in a mix of shock and terror at the face she saw. This had to be a trick. A sick, cruel joke. It was Robin. But, something was very wrong with him. Aside from a new suit of armor and a strange sword at his waist, there was an odd mask on his face, and he left eye was glowing red with some sort of magic. She realized then that was the eye where the sword went through his head. The images flashed through her mind again, and another tear ran down her cheek. It was then he loosened his grip and lightly wiped the tear from her eye. She looked into his other eye and saw a mix of emotions. Pain, sorrow and pity, mainly. Then she noticed his ears. A muffled gasp escaped her mouth. By some sort of sorcery, Robin was a manakete. Not taking his hand off of her mouth, he leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. "I'm… so very sorry Nowi." His voice broke down a bit. "Not just for what has happened, but for what I have to do. Just… know that everything that I do now are to protect you and keep you safe. I-I love you Nowi, and I'm sorry that I can't spend my life with you." A tear ran down his own cheek, and he embraced her lightly. She was frightened and confused on what he was talking about, but this was her husband, and she missed him so much. Nowi wrapped her arms around her husband, pulling him in closer. Expecting the warmth from his body to comfort her, all of his body was cold to the touch, like a corpse. Something was very wrong with him. As fear spread through her once more, Robin sat up slightly. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, and then his hand came down on her neck and everything went black.

Robin wiped a tear from his cheek and sighed. He luckily was able to knock her out quietly by hitting one of her pressure points. He left his wife where she was, as it would be too risky to try and move her. As Robin stood up, however, he heard more foot steps, from the same hallway. He cursed that Nowi's yelling might have just woken somebody up. Just then, Chrom came running around the corner, with armor hastily thrown on over his sleepwear and his sword in his left hand. So much for a quick assassination. Chrom now stood across from Robin, who couldn't yet make out that it was him. All he could presumably see was his glowing red eye. "WHO- WHO'S THERE!" Yelled Chrom angrily. He pointed his sword accusingly at Robin. Robin drew his own frightening blade, and Chrom backed up a step. "Chrom, I will just apoligize now for what I must do. I love you like my brother, and you gave me a life that I was happy to live. But- I… I must protect my wife!" Robin shouted at the last part, and charged. Robin's words sunk in to Chrom who it was as they now locked blades. "R-Robin! How are you alive? I watched you die in my arms!" Chrom's voice broke slightly. At this moment of weakness, Robin tried striking at Chrom's abdomen. He backstepped and attempted to counterattack with an overhead blow, which Robin sidestepped. "Robin! Wh-what are you doing? Stop this fighting this moment! Your wife is perfectly safe here with us, what are you talking about?" Chrom looked up at Robin's glowing glass eye, and felt a cold shiver at it's empty glare. "And Robin, what is THAT? Robin, please. Lay down your blade. I don't know why you're doing this, but I don't care. We've all missed you, and we thought you dead. And now you're back, standing in the flesh and blood before me!" Chrom smiled, stepped back, and lowered his sword. Robin had an idea. He dropped his sword to the ground, forced a smile, and walked to embrace Chrom, who was now standing arms wide. Robin accepted the brotherly hug with one arm, and grabbed the hilt of the dagger with his other hand. He leaned forward and whispered to Chrom. "I'm sorry it has to come to this, friend. But I am bound by a contract with Grima, and I must protect my wife no matter the cost. Please, I hope you can forgive me one day." Chrom's eyes widened at his words. "What…" Was all that came out before he noticed behind Robin the unconscious body of Nowi. "Robin, what in blazes is going-" He tried to pull away, but now felt the blade of a dagger right in his abdomen. Robin then pulled Chrom into the hug once more, and laid him down on the ground. Robin looked back at Chrom one more time, and let out one more apology as he turned the corner and walked away. Chrom was lying there on the carpet, slowly bleeding out. He tried calling for help a few times, but his voice grew hoarse and weak, and no one came. He stopped, and for one more time in his life, Chrom shed a tear. "Apology… Accepted, Robin…"