Finally, an update! I'm finally able to write properly on my laptop, so my updates should become a bit more frequent now, but I do have another story on here to work on at the same time as this now!
It's a bit of a shorter chapter than usual, but I could either stop here, or go on and make a massive chapter which, frankly, would be a bit too much for a single update.
So... I hope that it's okay~
"M- Mother?! No, that cannot be possible!"
Robin was now in a panic. She had just been called mother by this boy who seemed to only be about six or seven years younger than her at present. Scarily enough, him also being the same boy which she had been envisioning as of late.
Frederick was also in a state of shock at hearing this also. Were he truly Morgan? His son Morgan? After all, Chrom had his child from the future appear, who was to say that the same could not happen for them?
"But it is! Maybe you have just hit your head or something… We should get you home-" There was a sudden silence for a moment, before the child yelled out in pain, "Argh, now my head hurts!" He then grasped hold of his head as he tried to think about his home. A home which he had quite evidently forgotten about.
In this moment, Frederick had placed his hand upon his shoulder. "I am afraid to tell you that things are not as you think that they are, Morgan..."
The boy's face suddenly grew wide in shock, his eyes trying to process the fact that Frederick was holding onto his shoulder in such a way. "Who are you?! H- How do you know my name?!" Panic completely overtook him as he continued. "Wh- Why are you with Mother?!"
Robin was only just about starting to get her head around the situation as she heard that, and it shocked her beyond belief. This boy, claiming to be her son, was unable to remember Frederick, yet was mysteriously capable of remembering her? How could that even be possible? Unless…
She had a strange thought then. What if amnesia ran through her family?…If it were even to be considered amnesia?… After all, he did remember her somehow… She had woke up without a single memory in the slightest though, unlike him.
"I suppose it could be amnesia… A minor form of it though..."
Before anyone had any chance to say anything after that, the deep groaning of Risen had surrounded the trio, much to all of their annoyance.
"Kill… Future… Child..."
The risen which had groaned that made Robin and Frederick's eyes grow wide. They instantly knew that it couldn't possibly be Lucina that they were after, seeming as they could see her in the distance with Chrom and Sumia, with barely any risen in sight in their direction. They were going after this boy who was claiming to be Morgan. Despite being unsure of as to whether the claims which he was making were true, an overwhelming need to protect him flooded through their minds.
"… Frederick, I have a crazy idea, and it may just get us away from these risen, and towards the others…" Robin muttered, a quick little strategy forming in her head. "There is ice attaching the platforms around here, right? And all three of us here have some sort of long-ranged weapon, two tomes and a javelin. Plus, I have a sword-!"
Suddenly, this Morgan cut in and finished Robin's sentence for her, but in the form of a question. "We quickly make our way across the ice, as these monsters are slow, break the ice, and attack the ones that don't fall into that deep pit from a distance?" He grinned with satisfaction when Robin's face reverted back to its shocked state, but quickly wiped it away as he realised that when being surrounded by a group of enemies, smiling in such a way is probably not appreciated.
"Y- Yeah…"
"Huh?… I can't remember him too well, but I do remember him from seeing him every so often when I was very young..." Lucina stated, trying to find a way to answer the questions which Robin was asking her about the new recruit for the Shepherds. "He did vanish after a while, at about the same time which Grima was revived in the future… I only came across him one time after that, and he was working for the Grimleal against his will by that point… This is Morgan, but… Not that Morgan..."
The tactician stayed silent, before tapping her foot. "Maybe… He come from another timeline then?… Either way, all of this time travel nonsense is even starting to confuse me now..."
And it doesn't help with all of the other… family related revelations which I have gone through over the past few days…
Lucina could see the worry beginning to build up on the tactician's face, alongside her slightly trembling hands. "Would you like me to get father to keep you company for a moment, maybe? Or Frederick?… Morgan?..."
"… No. I'll be fine. I would much rather spend time alone now, to try and think things over..."
The future princess frowned, before allowing Robin to have time alone with her thoughts.
This is Morgan, but not the Morgan from Lucina's timeline… Then does that mean that there are other timelines? One in which Grima is revived – Lucina's future of ruin – and possibly… One in which Grima is not revived?… That allows for other possibilities though… What about a future where Grima is revived, but Morgan isn't forced into the Grimleal, unlike what had happened to this Lucina's Morgan?…
Robin then slammed her hand down onto a stack of books, before wincing at how roughly she had done that. "Tch… Maybe I should see whether Frederick can make heads or tails out of this…" With a nod, she began to venture around where the Shepherds had set up camp, in the hunt for her husband.
It was strange for her though, for normally, it would be Frederick seeking her… Not this way around.
After a while, it had got to a point where Robin was asking everyone which she came across as to whether they had seen the knight.
"Sorry Bubbles, haven't seen him since the fight."
"Um… Maybe he is checking on the weapons?…"
"I don't know, but… Maybe Lissa does?"
No matter who she went to, they hadn't seen Frederick since the fight had ended. He seemed to have almost vanished!
After a while, she basically gave up. Robin fell down onto a crate to rest her legs from the extensive battling as of late, before folding her eyes and looking up at the sky. "Hmm… There is almost always cloud-cover in Ferox, except here, the one place with fields and lots of nature… Strange..." She then closed her eyes with a faint smile. "At least we can't have a repeat of the snowstorm here, unless it were winter… I only have one good memory from that day..." Well, how could she ever forget all of that time she had spent huddled up to Frederick to lessen the risk of them ending up with hypothermia, leading into Frederick's rather… Awkward proposal to her.
The thought of that made her laugh quietly.
"Erm… That reminds me… I was just wondering as to how I could have forgotten you, father. I can remember mother as clear as day, but there is absolutely nothing in my head about you… Do you think that maybe you could help me get those memories back?"
That voice nearby made the tactician's eyes snap open. That was Morgan. And if Morgan were there… Talking to his father… That meant that Frederick had to be there! The thought was enough to make her jump back up to her feet and quickly walk to near where she could hear Morgan's voice.
She could hear a very faint chuckle from Frederick as she peered around from behind the tent near the pair, and she smiled. Her husband was definitely starting to embrace the fact that this boy was his son from a different time, and was quite evidently enjoying it too.
"I's be happy to try, Morgan. After all-"
"Yeah! Thanks so much, father! I can start preparing for when you do then! I can't wait to get started!" Morgan was grinning as he ran off then, before hearing Frederick's next remark.
"Well, he certainly is enthusiastic… Just like a particular woman that I know..."
With a small pout, Robin stepped out with her arms folded. "And he seems to be just as eager to prepare for little things just like a certain man that I know!" After that, she rose an eyebrow and looked straight at Frederick as he quickly took a moment to process the fact that she was present, and had witnessed the previous conversation. "He is so your son, Freddy. Honestly, you both look and act alike!"
"R- Robin! I did not know that you were-!" Frederick quickly shook his head, before he put on his signature frown to indicate that he was quickly going to try and overcome his shock by acting serious. "So? Did Lucina answer your questions?"
The woman gave a small nod. "It is Morgan… But not the Morgan that she knows. She only remembers him from when he was young – so she has memories of the next few months, maybe years with him – and also of when he is about this age too… But in her timeline, he is apparently a member of the Grimleal against his own will… He never came to this time with her, nor with any of her companions that she has mentioned." She sighed out, and grabbed hold of his hand. "Now I'm confused. This Morgan brings up possibilities of an infinite number of alternate timelines, and he could have come from any of them! And because of him only having memories of me, not even of locations, events, or even you, we can't even get the foggiest clue of where he came from, and what he is like, other than the fact that I'm alive, and then must have gone missing for him to be wanting to find me and 'take me home'..."
Her other fist was then clenched, and she had shut her eyes. It was a pathetic attempt to stop her from tearing up over her severe confusion, and from her overwhelming emotions. Frederick was easily able to see that this was doing something to her, so he carefully took hold of her balled up hand and pulled her closer to him. "Robin… You do not have to keep yourself bottled up like this, you know..." After that, he pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. "It does not matter about things such as where Morgan came from, so please… do not get yourself stressed with things such as that."
"I- I can't help but be confused though! A- And… It makes me wonder as to how our son is… Y- You know… Our a- actual son from this t- time..." Following that was Robin in floods of tears. She just could not comprehend what was going on.
As that happened, however, Morgan re-emerged to try and talk to Frederick. He heard what the two had said about him, and how he brought about mysteries due to his unknown origins. It upset him greatly. "M- Mother… She's upset because… of me..." He whispered, unaware that Robin had heard his quiet mumblings.
The tactician sighed, before telling Frederick quietly that she would just take a second. She carefully walked over to where she could see the teenager, before sighing. "It's not because of you… It's because I'm a parent, you know… Seeing you made me think about how your younger self is… I could never be upset because of you.! You are my son after all, and I don't care about timelines, because you are still my son..."
"H- Huh?!" Morgan suddenly looked up, his puffy red eyes growing wide at seeing Robin stood in front of him. "M- Mother, you heard me?!"
"Just as I presume that you heard your father and myself. Now, come here, I don't want to see my child crying… It'll make my own floodgates open again..." She laughed quietly, before embracing the young tactician as she began to cry some more.
It barely took a moment for the boy's arms to fly to around the woman's as he continued to let out his tears, but he had also began to laugh at the same time. "I- I bet that we both look pathetic! H- Hah!"
Robin nodded in agreement. "Yes… The most pathetic… Two teary tacticians..."
"And the knight who doesn't want to see the tacticians in tears." There was suddenly another pair of arms added into the hug, and they were strong enough to pull Robin and Morgan even closer together. "And you were saying about how Morgan ended up a lot like me, Robin?"
"Woah… They've managed to clear up the port already… There isn't any sign that we were in a big bloody-!"
"Shut up, Lissa!" Robin screeched, throwing her tome straight at the princess. Just the thought of the blood and fighting which had happened there a few days ago were enough to send shivers up her spine. Reminders were not appreciated in the slightest.
Chrom sighed at the childish way in which Robin and Lissa had now started bickering, before looking over to the ocean. There were no sign of the promised Plegian vessels yet, so they were all still restricted to the continent. Not good – especially knowing that the Valmese had a whole fleet of soldiers heading towards Ferox as they were waiting. He knew that Validar was trying to test his limits with the Ylisseans. Well… More like testing his limits with Robin. There was only so much that the tactician could take, and the bombshell that he was her father almost pushed her right over that boundary.
"Tell her that she shouldn't throw her tome at me!"
"Well don't mention blood near me again! You know that I go into panic at the thought and sight of it, I feel sick enough thinking about it as it is!"
Another sigh was given before the exalt pushed the two apart. "Lissa, can you see if the ships are in the distance?" He then asked, in an attempt to get Robin on her own. The princess huffed as she did as she was asked, and the tactician was now fuming. "You should probably return to Ylisse, Robin."
There was a moment of silence, before Robin laughed. "Good joke, Chrom-!" And she was briskly cut off.
"I'm not joking. We're going to be at war again, and you panic at the sight of blood. Chances are, a lot of blood is going to be shed… Not to mention that you have been getting highly emotional about things recently. Maybe it would be best if you returned, and stayed with Morgan there for a bit. He is only young after all." The serious face that Chrom was pulling made Robin start to dig her nails into her palms then.
She turned her back, and huffed. "No. I couldn't possibly consider it. Yes, I would love to look after Morgan… But I would rather assure his safety by fighting for it. Better yet alongside my husband. On top of that... I'm responsible for everyone here. I was when stopping Gangrel, and I will continue to be when fighting Walhart. Plus… Morgan has showed that whilst he has a lot of experience with tactics, there are flaws in many aspects of his plans. I'm not saying that I'm perfect… But I have years of experience of applying tactics to battle unlike him." Chrom was silent as Robin had to take a moment to vent out her reasons as to why she could not even consider returning to Ylisse, but he still wished that she had possibly considered returning back home. "… I can imagine that you probably feel the same, to some extent. About the responsibility, and assuring the safety of your child… You're a leader and a parent too after all, Chrom..."
The two were silent for a moment, before the tactician noticed Lissa running over to the two of them. She seemed to have all but forgotten about the tome throwing incident, and seemed desperate to tell the two something. "We have to wait until next week! A Plegian messenger just approached me, and explained that conditions at sea when bringing the boats here are not the best, with many storms, so it is impossible until things have calmed down… But hey, at least that holds back the Valmese army too!"
Robin was angry at that, and her fingers dug into her hands even more. "N- Next week?! You've got to be kidding me!" She started pacing back and forth then, and was trying to process what was going on. They were stuck waiting here for a week, and they were expected to stay there for a week also. Nobody even had plans for things such as where they would stay overnight, and chances are, there wouldn't be enough places to have every single person in the whole damn army to stay here!
The thought of that was incomprehensible to her. And by the looks of Chrom's face, he wasn't sure about this either. "Great… It's getting dark now. What do you think that we should do, Robin?"
"Well, we're just going to have to leave town, aren't we? Go up to the north or to the east and set up camp, it's not as though we have much other choice, Chrom!"
"Why not south? There's a lot of-!"
"Plegia, that's why! Gods… And if these storms at sea really are happening, you wouldn't want to move closer to the eye of it, would you?"
Seeing Robin in yet another frustrated mood was beginning to become normal to Frederick – he knew that due to the stress of what had happened in the past, and also of what was going on at present, things were getting to her more than easily. She was sat on the floor of the tent that they were staying in just east of the Feroxi port, and was angrily tapping her finger on the ground.
It was gone midnight, and she had been sat there for about two hours by that point. Normally though… She would be mumbling to herself. This time… She was silent. That was possibly the only concerning thing about her mood at present to Frederick.
"Robin?..." Frederick knew that she needed to get some sleep in order to calm down and to relax, so he had to get her to try and talk in order for him to help her also. "Robin, you can't stay there all night. You have barely slept as it is over the past few nights, so you should rest..."
Robin stayed silent for another few moments, before looking up and closing her eyes. "But I'll suffer more if I go to sleep. I've had a horrible nightmare over the past few days… I would rather stay here, Freddy." She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her coat after that, before pulling it around her body tightly.
"Nightmare?... How come you have not told me of this, Robin?..."
Tears began to pour down Robin's face as she was just about able to choke out her response. "B- Because… You... D- Die in it..." Moments later, she felt Frederick's arms around her as she wept. "I don't like th- thinking about even the possibility of a- anyone dying… Especially you..."
The comfort of having Frederick holding onto her whilst she was in such a state felt magical, though her emotions were preventing her from being able to relax in his embrace. In all honesty though, he felt like a teddy bear.
She had no qualms about mentioning that though. "Freddy bear… I need you to s- stay with me… P- Please don't leave me..."
Her husband stayed silent for a moment, before laughing quietly – partially at the nickname which he despised being used. "… I won't. If you and our young son still live and breathe, I will too, and I will most certainly stay by your side. I promise you that, Robin." After that, he pulled her up to her feet, before smiling. "Now, I'll let you off for tonight only with a lack of sleep, but only if you promise me one thing."
"Wh- What?..."
"You aren't to leave my side at all until the fighting begins, okay? Especially not tonight. I… Don't like seeing you as stressed as you have been as of late. Understand?"
Robin wiped some of her tears away, before rolling her eyes with a faint smile and a laugh. "Thank the gods that there was context there, Frederick… If you had said the whole 'especially not tonight' thing without what had followed… You could be implying something a lot more than just wanting to keep an eye on me! You know... Something which, when it happened the first time, didn't exactly go down too well for us once it was found out..."
"But why would that matter?… All that matters is that you're smiling again." The knight then gently kissed the tactician, before pushing some of her hair out of her face in a caring manner.
"You're back at going on about smiling? Typical…"
I hope that it was okay, and that I didn't make it seem a bit overly-emotional on Robin's part...
So, please, if you wish, review, favourite, follow, whatever~
