Chapter 2: Plegia Part 1

"Don't you ever get tired?" Robin asked to Lucina. They had completed their march all the way to the Plegian border in just three days, a feat that Robin was less than happy about. He had grown used to sleeping all day, but during their march Lucina hardly let him get any rest. In total, he could count the hours of sleep he had gotten these few days on one hand.

"If I grew tired, I would be failing father" She said, her usual expressionless face present.

Robin let out a long groan as he adjusted the straps on his pack, which seemed to grow heavier by the minute.

"When we finally cross that border, we are taking a day long break so I can catch up on my naps. Seriously, even Chrom wasn't this much of a slave driver to the Shepherds. And what do you mean you would be failing him?" He asked, although the second he saw Lucina look down and away with a blush, he knew what was coming.

"If I were to rest, you would pounce like the wild beast you are, and father would know I had failed to take his advice" She said in an overly-dramatic tone. Robin's head dropped so that his long hair now covered his eyes.

"I still don't know if this is a joke or not. Knowing you, I'm leaning towards the "not-a-joke" side. Also, if I'm so dangerous, why are you walking so close to me?" He asked, noticing that they were only about a foot apart, much less than they had been the whole journey.

"Why, if I let you get too far away, you may prey on all the other women. I must stay close enough to punish you if you ever show any signs of losing to your carnal nature" Lucina replied, once again in dramatic fashion.

"And how, pray tell, will you-" Robin begun, before he was struck to the back of the head with Falchion's sheath with such speed that he didn't even see Lucina move.

He was sent flying forward a few feet, then went face first into the dirt road. His cloak flew up and covered his head, leaving him as a heap on the ground. Deciding this was as a good a place as any, Robin immediately took the opportunity to begin his nap.

Lucina stood still for a moments, waiting for the man to got to his feet. When he didn't move, Lucina cautiously approached him, unsheathing Falchion in the process. Right in front of her, Robin's backside was raised up in the air and made for perfect pickings.

As quiet as a mouse, she raised Falchion and inched it closer to her target.

Right before she made contact, Robin rolled out of the way and kicked the blade up, sending Lucina off balance and getting to his feet at the opportunity. Lucina did a backflip to keep with the sword's momentum, landing on her feet before lunging with blinding speed at Robin, who quickly found a blade at his throat.

"Was that one of your tactics to take advantage of me?" Lucina asked, a slight fury in her voice.

Robin slowly put his hands in the air in concession to his defeat.

"No, I'm not trying to do anything. I just already get enough pains to the arse without you poking me with that damn sword"

Lucina put a hand to her face as if she was covering tears and turned away.

"Oh, those poor maidens of Ylisse! What exactly are you making them do to you, you filthy deviant!?" She asked aloud.

It was Robin's turn to blush now, as he became increasingly aware of their close proximity to a village and noticed they were well in earshot of other people.

"Shush! I don't do that!" He cried out in anguish, but Lucina wouldn't let it go.

"Run villagers! Run far away from this man, he will steal away your daughters and do horrid things!" She started yelling.

Robin pulled his cloak up tight, covering his face.

"What exactly does Chrom tell you about me, anyways?" He grumbled.

"Father only tells me the truth, of course. He has warned me of your charms"

"So you admit I have a certain charm about me?" He retorted with a sly smile. He was answered with a smack to the face.

"You could never charm one as pure as I. Now come, you have wasted enough times with your games" Lucina said as she marched towards the village, leaving Robin dumbfounded.

"How is any of this my fault!?" He exclaimed. Lucina ignored him and continued onto the main road of the small town. A few shops had been set up along the road, however their goods seemed to be sparse. A fruit and vegetable stand had been set up on the left side, however it mostly had just cabbage and oranges, a slim selection even for such a small town. There was only one restaurant on the right side of the road, which served up rice mixed with different spices, however a sign was placed on the door stating that it had run out of meat.

A few more buildings that appeared to be remnants of other stores lay strewn next to the road as well, but they all seemed to have closed down their business long ago. A few tan children ran up and down the street, chastising the old lady that currently ran the fruit stand. Every now and then Robin could make out a person in a window of a house behind the other buildings, but there didn't seem to be any life in the town. They had put Ylisse behind them, and had definitely reached the first village in Plegia.

Robin turned around to further inspect his surroundings, noting that they were on the border of the Plegian desert. Half the main village had patches of grass and a few trees, but as one traveled west along the road, the village promptly turned to sitting on only sand. A well stood far off to the left of the main road, towards the south. Robin also noted from the few people he saw that there was a sense of fear in their eyes.

When he made eye contact with one of the adult villagers, they quickly turned away and acted as if they had never seen him. Robin cautiously turned himself back facing forward, and quickened his pace so he was just a stride behind Lucina.

"There's something up with this place" He whispered. Lucina nodded her head, trying to keep attention away from the pair.

"I can see an inn up at the end of the road, let's stop there. They probably have some food, and we can get information on what is going on here. As well as getting our bearings for where to head next." Robin spoke slowly and softly, using his hood to conceal his mouth in case anybody was watching them. While they were clear of Ylisse, he doubted they could make their escape without any pursuers following from Ylisstol.

Lucina again responded with a nod, and the two continued to casually approach the inn, as such not to draw attention to themselves.

The inn was an unpainted wooden building with two stories. The first floor contained a desk at the entryway for guests to check in, with an unmanned bar off to the side. The second floor contained five rooms that could be rented, each only containing a bed and a small table. The inn was barren of people except for the innkeeper, who was a skinny old man with short white hair and tan skin, that neither showed excitement nor annoyance when Robin and Lucina entered.

"We need two rooms, how much for the night?" Robin promptly asked. The innkeeper looked back and forth between the two of them, deciphering where the pair of travelers had come from.

"15 gold" the innkeeper replied with no emotion in his voice, as if he was not really there. Robin felt a chill down his spine, and his instincts pointed to something dangerous in this town, but decided they needed a room and this place was as good as they could get. He threw down a few coins that Lucina had given him and took the keys from the innkeeper without exchanging any other words. He followed Lucina up the stairs, and came close when she abruptly stopped at the top.

"Keep your ears open. There is something wrong in this town, but nobody seems like they would speak openly about it" She said in a hushed voice. Robin nodded and headed down the hall to his left towards his room, but stopped when Lucina gave a quiet whistle.

"Robin, if you dare come to my room while I sleep, I will make sure you can never see anything again." She said, her voice strangely upbeat for the message. Robin let out a sigh and gave a halfhearted wave to acknowledge her before turning and unlocking his room. Lucina was down the hall, the furthest room from his.

His room was bland, the bed only having some white sheets and a single pillow. The desk was a simple wooden one, unpainted and unused for some time. There was no chair in the room, so Robin figured the desk must just be used to place one's belongings on. He went to the sole window and stared outside. Dusk was slowly approaching, a mixture of orange and yellow coloring the sky. The children had disappeared from the main road, likely called in for supper.

Speaking of supper, Robin quickly noticed the emptiness of his stomach. He and Lucina had been surviving on scraps alone, pieces of bread and a few chunks of cheese that Robin was able to steal from inattentive merchants. They couldn't afford to actually purchase food while in Ylisse, in the case that somebody recognized them.

However, Robin also remembered his lack of sleep, and decided that the need for sleep won out. He threw his pack onto the desk and collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to remove his boots. He brought the sheet up over his eyes to block out the sunlight and promptly fell asleep.


"We are hot on the trail, Justice Cabal! With the latest intel, the fugitive should be in the first town past the border!" Cynthia yelled from the back of her Pegasus. She was met with a collective groan from the remaining members of her group. She had pushed them hard during their travels so that they could catch up to Robin and his assistant, with Nah constantly staying in dragon form (despite the horror the villagers of Ylisse faced at the sight) and Owain and Inigo following on horseback.

"Cynthia, you've said that ten times now. We have been moving at such speed that I haven't had any time to chat with the local maidens" Inigo said with great exhaustion.

"Alas, a hero has no time for rest, especially not the mighty Owain Dark! Although, perhaps it is best to always be prepared by getting some sleep…." Owain added, his voice trailing off.

"We do not falter at mere fatigue! Especially not when the target is so close! Now get those lazy butts in gear!" Cynthia added with a sense of finality as she spurred her Pegasus onwards. They were about to cross the border into Plegia as night fell upon them. The village their intel was pointing them towards was about another hour ride, so they should easily make it by midnight. Cynthia could only hope she could catch her beloved Robin before he left the village.

"Are you sure it is alright to head into Plegia in our state?" Nah asked with a fair amount of concern. Cynthia remained undeterred, however.

"We have trained and survived in worse conditions, we will definitely be fine, Nah. I believe in our collective strength. There is no way we heroes can fail!" She cried out into the night.

Nah wanted to believe in her leader's confidence, but in truth Plegia was still a very dangerous place. There were constantly reports of raids and kidnappings, especially this close to the border.

Nevertheless, the Justice Cabal marched forward, their goal set on the village not too far from them.


Robin was floating through dreamland when he found his mouth suddenly covered. His eyes burst open and he tried to sit up, but met resistance in the form of somebody's knee on his chest and a hand pressed firmly over his mouth. He started to struggle, but quickly recognized the dark figure sitting on him as the princess he was traveling with.

Lucina put a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet, then pointed towards the window. Robin suddenly became aware of a woman's screaming coming from the main road, along with the sounds of a struggle. He peaked out the window, cautious in case somebody was looking towards the inn. If there was something bad happening, he needed to keep his presence hidden as much as possible, if for no other reason than to maintain an element of surprise.

In the middle of the road, a few horses were standing unattended. They had large bags tied to their saddles, likely containing gold and goods. By the emblems etched into the saddles and the gold trim on the cloth covering the horses' heads, Robin surmised these horses belonged to nobleman. Robin then traced his eyes to the other side of the road, towards the north. He saw four muscular men carrying a frantic woman. Each had one limb in grasp, carrying her towards the pack of horses. The woman's face was beaten, and she was wearing nothing but a torn white nightgown that now exposed her breasts. Her light brown hair was matted with blood from her injuries. Behind her, a man dressed in regal attire followed the men towards the horses, a horrid grin upon his face.

Robin pulled out the thunder tome that was tucked into his cloak folds and held it in his left hand while grabbing his sword from his desk with his right. He ran out his bedroom, Lucina following at his heels. They flew down the stairs and ran towards the front door, but Robin was stopped abruptly by somebody grabbing his arm. He turned, ready to attack, but saw the innkeeper shakily holding onto his arm. The man's eyes were red, and Robin could smell alcohol on the man's breath.

"Don't go out there unless you want to die" The man said, his voice still devoid of emotion.

"That woman needs our help!" Robin roared, his voice louder than he should be using it. He was simply frustrated that this man was stopping him.

"What is happening out there?" Lucina asked, though it was more demand than question. The man looked down at the floor sullenly, as if recalling a horrible memory.

"This is what happens to the villages in these parts….the noblemen come barging in, looking for women that have entered into their prime years… That's why we always stay inside. We never know when they will march through again. They…they take the women….they take away her innocence, and when they are done….they…they…" The man's voice cracked, obviously having experience with somebody being taken from him. When the man caught his words, he looked at Robin with eyes that seemed to have lost all hope.

"They put them in their own brothels….and if you go to rescue them, they kill you. If you try to intervene at any point in their raiding, they kill you. This is what we have to deal with….they just take and take and take…..if only I was stronger…then they wouldn't have been taken…." The man collapsed to the ground on his knees, his body slumped forward. His voice had cracked and broken, reflecting the spirit of the man himself. Robin's eyes were drawn to a picture behind the desk, which showed a man and his wife holding up their young daughter. The picture seemed to have faded from many years of display.

"Damn them…..Damn!" Robin yelled as he kicked open the front door, his voice full of rage. Lucina followed quickly behind him into the street, remaining in a quiet fury as they approached the men tying up the woman to one of the horses.

"Hohoho, what do we have here? A couple of dumb commoners, tryin' to rescue one of their whores?" One of the men that was carrying the woman said. All four of the muscular men were brutes, with crude leather armor and mismatching pieces of chainmail covering their arms and necks. Robin's eyes turned towards the man that was dressed in a noble's garb. His hair had been dyed orange, a practice common among the noble Plegians as of late.

"Sellswords" Robin muttered to Lucina. The nobleman was likely the one that filled the men's packs with gold, promising them riches if they helped to raid the villages.

"Tonight is your last night of pillaging amongst the civilians! Your actions are despicable. Turn yourselves in, or face death" Robin said as he took stance, his tome facing forward and his sword held ready behind him.

"Death? Who would kill us? You puny wimps?" One of the sellswords said. Judging by his ornate gold helmet, he was the leader of the group.

"You dare interfere with a noble!? This is my given right as the upper class of Plegia! Who are you to say such things to me!?" The nobleman yelled out. By his voice alone, Robin could sense the corruption present in the noble class.

"Who am I to say such things? I am the rightful-" Robin got out, letting his temper get the best of him before Lucina smacked him in the back.

"We can't let anybody know who we are" She whispered at him. Robin nodded, his anger not subsiding.

"It doesn't matter who we are, what you have done is unforgivable. If you will not surrender, then we will bring you swift justice" Lucina said, making it clear that they were serious.

"Hey boss, this one here is quite pretty too. I say after we kill the guy, we take her back as well" The head sellsword yelled back at the nobleman. The man squinted in the dark, making out Lucina's figure.

"Well, she doesn't have much assets to work with, but I suppose her face could catch a pretty coin" The man replied. Robin grew furious, stretching his left arm out and summoning crackling lighting to his fingertips, ready to strike. He never got the chance, however.

Lucina dashed forward, evading all the hands of the sellswords, and brought her blade up to the throat of the nobleman. The man let out a slight yelp as his mercenaries clumsily unsheathed their blades, unsure of how to proceed.

"I'm afraid I have no taste for men like you" Lucina said with full venom in her voice. She swung the sword around in a spinning motion, smacking the man with the flat of her blade at the back of his skull, knocking the noble unconscious. The man collapsed into a heap against the dirt road, while the sellswords started to close the distance on Lucina.

"Get that bitch!" The leader cried out. Lucina readied her blade and took a step back, analyzing the men's formation.

"Don't forget me!" Robin yelled as he sprinted in from the back of the formation. He used some wind magic to push himself off the ground and high into the air, spinning as he did so. He used his wind magic again to slow himself as he was right above the mercenaries, who formed a diamond below him. Robin finally called upon the lighting that had been building within his fingers since they had come outside, extending his hand and releasing a ball of light as he finished his spell.

"Arcthunder!" He roared. The ball of light shot down to the center of the men's formation then erupted into lightning bolts, which stunned all of the sellswords and glued them to their place. Robin used wind magic to accelerate his fall and dashed forward, his sword striking the front and right men. Lucina charged forward, cutting down the leftmost man, leaving only the leader of the gang.

"Damn you both!" He roared, swinging a large golden sword down at Lucina. She moved to dodge, but found herself caught as the man she had cut down grasped her ankles with his dying breath. She stumbled and lost grip of Falchion, and could only bring up both arms to shield her head from the blow, but it never came. When she looked up, Robin was standing in front of her, his sword locked against the larger man's. However, Robin was only using one hand to hold the sword, and didn't seem to be struggling at all to hold off the mercenary. A faint black glow was starting to surround both his hands, and his eyes started glowing red.

"Nosferatu!" He roared. The leader was caught in a black cloud and screamed as he felt his life draining away. Lucina watched in horror as Robin just stared at the cloud, showing no emotion.

"Robin, stop!" Lucina cried out.

Suddenly, Robin shook his head and seemed to wake from whatever daze he was in. He balked at the sight and recalled the dark magic immediately, however the man was already dead.

Robin fell to a knee, suddenly gasping for air. He felt as if somebody was choking him, though there was no such obstruction causing the sensation. Lucina rushed over to him, though was cautious at the same time in her approach. He waved a hand up to signal he was fine, then collapsed into the sand on his back, breathing heavily now that the battle was done.

"Robin…what exactly was that?" Lucina asked as she picked up Falchion.

"I'm not sure….the last thing I remember was seeing the sword coming down on you, and it was like my body acted on its own. Don't worry though, it isn't like when I was being control. While my body moved itself, my head wasn't burning, and I was easily able to regain control. Though….this certainly is a new development…" Robin said, his last words being a note to himself. Lucina nodded hesitantly as she sheathed Falchion. She knew Robin could be controlled by the dark forces, and she had once confronted him over it. Though, it was as Robin had said. When Robin was previously controlled by Grima's magic, he let out a certain aura of hatred and anger that she could sense. This time, all Lucina could sense was fear coming off the man.

"Just don't let it happen again. I know you like to give into your carnal natures, but try to control yourself" Lucina said in her normal emotionless tone as she went to untie the woman from the horse. The woman was still hysterical, but Lucina worked her best to calm her down, while her family rushed out to thank the two travelers. Robin rolled from the dirt and slipped away from the celebration unnoticed, walking over to where the nobleman was laying. He stood there waiting, examining the different pieces of cloth the man had on him for insignia, until Lucina finally joined back up with him.

"Even if we bring peace to the world, there will still be scum like this" Robin said, hatred and venom evident in his voice. He had been imagining if Morgan were here to be taken by these vile men, and he could barely contain his anger.

"I guess it just adds to our job then. Once we attain the piece of the Fire Emblem, we should make sure to reform the nobles here before moving to the next location. After all, you have a certain influence" Lucina replied. Robin looked up in surprise that her words seemed sincere.

"As we can see, your deviant ways certainly already have quite the influence" Lucina added with a blank stare.

Robin slouched over in defeat, still unsure of if Lucina was joking or not.

"Do you….do you understand jokes now? Did something change while I was in jail?" He asked in desperation. Lucina flashed a quick smile, then turned and walked away, leaving Robin dumbfounded.

"That doesn't answer anything! Damnit!" He yelled. His attention turned back to the nobleman, who was still laying in a heap, and the approaching innkeeper.

"Don't worry, I don't think he will be any harm to you anymore. Now I just have to figure out what to do with him…" Robin thought aloud to the old man innkeeper.

"Oh yeah, do you happen to know of any ancient ruins to the south? Or any heroic legends that occurred near there?" Robin asked the man, remembering his true purpose.

The innkeeper stroked his chin, thinking on the question. His eyes suddenly lit up as the answer came.

"Ah, I think there's a folk legend about a dragon and a hero near the coast down there. Though that would be a week's travel from here, and the way is dangerous around the southern desert" The man replied, his last message with a fair amount of fear in his voice. He likely had first-hand experience, the way he seemed to recall the danger.

"Could you give me directions? I'm afraid we are quite the danger seekers ourselves" Robin said with a grin. The man detailed him a few directions, which Robin noted into the back of his thunder tome. When the innkeeper was finished, Robin waved Lucina over away from the crowd of villagers, who were pilfering through the saddlebags of the mercenaries.

"I have our directions, we are to head-" Robin started to speak.

"ROBIN! I FOUND YOU!" A girl's voice came from seemingly nowhere.

"Oh gods….that's…" Lucina said as she looked around, instantly recognizing the voice. Neither of them saw anybody, until Robin ended up in a heap as a girl fell from the sky on top of him.

"Owwww…" He moaned out. On top of him, Cynthia was clutching his abdomen tight in a bear hug, obviously happy to see him.

"Robin, I have looked all over for you! Why couldn't you wait for me? Also, who helped you-…wait, Lucina, why are you here?" Cynthia asked, perking into a sitting position on top of Robin. Lucina took a step back, unsure of how to tell her sister that she helped a man awaiting execution escape.

"Captain, why do you have to rush so far ahead? Can't you tell we are….Lucina?" Inigo asked in surprise. He and Owain had strode into town right behind Cynthia on horseback. Nah also came walking behind them, her body exhausted from remaining in her dragon state for so long. All four members of the Justice Cabal looked with great confusion at the blue haired princess.

Robin's mind entered overtime, realizing Cynthia was here to capture them (and given her obsession, would likely never let Robin go). He glanced down at the nobleman, and suddenly remembered Owain and Cynthia's obsession with justice. He stood up quickly, sending Cynthia rolling off of him.

"Alas, Lucina has helped me to stop this great evil doer! He has kidnapped young maidens across the land and held them captive! Only the bravest of those who bring about justice can handle him from here!" Robin yelled out, doing his best Owain impersonation with his hand gestures. As he suspected, Cynthia and Owain grew bright eyed, and even Inigo was enthralled at the mention of maidens.

"Are you telling me only we can handle this evil of a man?" Cynthia asked, her voice bubbling in excitement. Robin drew close to her with a grin, apologizing internally for playing on her emotions.

"Why yes, dear Cynthia. I believe only you and your Justice Cabal can handle his punishment"

As expected, Cynthia seemed to swoon at Robin's words, and Inigo and Owain left their horses to surround the nobleman. Robin motioned his head at the now fuming Lucina, who just witnessed what her father jokingly-but-not-really-jokingly had warned her of, to go take the horses. As Lucina got on her horse, Robin bolted to their rooms at the inn and grabbed their packs, then sprinted and jumped onto his horse, tossing Lucina her pack in the process. Unfortunately, there was still the issue of Nah standing behind them. Robin opened his mouth to say something persuasive, but Nah shook her head and let out a sigh.

"Just go….I'm sure they will figure it out eventually. I need a rest anyways, I'm not the energetic ball my mother is" Nah said with a slight smile.

"Thanks, Nah. We certainly owe you one. I'll buy you anything you want the next time I see you!" Robin called to her as he spurred his horse on, Lucina catching up to his side. They pushed the horses hard, finally leaving the village behind them, hopefully giving them enough of a head start to evade Cynthia for some time.

"Well, where to next, deviant?" Lucina asked. Robin knew that he was going to wake up in pain for what he did with Cynthia, but he shrugged it off for now as tomorrow's burden. He pointed his sword towards the left side of a fork in the road.

"We go there. The path will take us all the way to the ruins where part of the Fire Emblem is. Let's just hope we don't run into anyone else along the way. I already have plenty to worry about" Robin said, sheathing his sword and glancing at the directions in his tome to make sure they were heading down the correct path/

At the sound of Cynthia calling his name from behind, he spurred his horse onwards, anxious to get to a possible piece of the Fire Emblem and as far away from the village as he could.


A/N: We are starting to get past setup and into the actual bulk of the journey now. I'm honestly not sure how long this story will be, but it will be broken up into pieces by location of Robin and Lucina, and will jump around between characters, some chapters will contain little to no instances of our two leads so far. As for who Robin will end up with, I don't know that either. Although, that is the best way to write this story, as eventually the number of romantic moments he has with each girl will even out, and I won't have any bias towards one or the other. I do currently have a poll up on my profile, but its only purpose currently is to steer the story for the moment towards who gets the initial moments with Robin. I will eventually put another poll to see which character suits Robin best in this story, and will take the audience contribution into mind. Also, please let me know what other pairings you'd like to see, outside of Robin's final relationship.

Review answering time!

Guest 1 (long review)-Thank you for all the ideas and feedback, there is certainly a lot of places this story can go, and right now I just have a skeleton for framework. I will definitely consider all of your ideas! I hope I answered some of your questions in the above A/N, there will be an even number of romantic moments between all the girls. Robin will, of course, be spending the most time with Lucina due to the nature of the story, but I'd hardly call their interactions romantic.

Draen- Thank you for your input! In all likelihood, this will not turn into a harem, though I can never speak for what my future self will do. As it stands now, Robin will have just one romantic partner in the end.

Guest 2 (short review)- Thanks for the feedback, and no matter what somebody says I'll always take into consideration when writing. Thank you for the concern though!

Until next time,

Austin