Shortly after Lissa had left, some of the other Shepherds began entering the room to check in on how Robin was doing. Not everyone had seen what happened, but that didn't stop the story from spreading like a wildfire. As such, it was natural for them to be worried about their tactician's condition, but Robin tried his best to seem healthy, which he did feel he was, though maybe a bit exhausted. But even after the last of his visitors exited his room, the haziness he felt in regard to his memories didn't disappear, leaving him to wonder what exactly did happen.
It didn't take long for Lissa to return, and when she did, she had brought a plate with food for the hungry man, which he devoured wolfishly.
"Are you feeling any better yet?" the young princess asked, concern written in her eyes.
"Much better," Robin answered with a smile. "So, uh what have I missed?"
"Well, there've been several strategic meetings these past few days to come up with some sort of plan for the war. In the meantime, Chrom has been trying to convince Sis to accompany him to Ferox, where he wants to discuss the situation with Khan Flavia."
"I take it he's been unsuccessful in that matter so far?"
"Yeah, Emm doesn't want to hear any of it.. She says that she can't possibly leave the people right know."
"Well, if it were to be discovered that the Exalt fled from the capital, it would do far more than just damage the morale of the citizens. Anyways, where is Chrom? I figured he'd show up with the others sooner or later, but that hasn't been the case yet."
"There's should still be a meeting going on right now, but they should be finished any moment now."
"Well then," Robin replied and started to rise from his bed.
"Robin?! What are you doing! Your body still needs rest!"
"Lissa, I'm fine. What I need most right now is some walking to get the stiffness out of my legs," the tactician countered and left the room.
"Ughh, fine!" Lissa shouted before following him through the castle to the throne room.
Their walk was largely uneventful, but shortly before they reached the throne room, Robin had his second unusual experience in a matter of a few days.
They were heading down a corridor when he thought he saw a woman pass by them. She wore a short, red and white garb, reminiscent of a dress with a belt strapped over it for support. Her legs were covered by crimson boots, reaching over her knees, while her arms and upper torso were protected by intricately crafted light and thin, yet still sturdy looking plate armor. Her face, that, under normal circumstances, could only be described as breathtakingly beautiful was highlighted by warm, crimson eyes. Yet despite all this, her most memorable feature was her incredibly unique hair. Cascades of blazing red flowed down her back all the way down to her knees.
For some reason, the woman seemed eerily familiar to him, though Robin was sure he had never seen her before. At least, as far as he could remember, which wasn't that much.
"Hey, Lissa?" he asked, inevitably giving in to his curiosity.
"Hmm?"
"Do you know who that woman that just passed by us was?"
"Passed us? What do you mean?" the princess retorted, genuinely confused. "I haven't seen anyone in the last few minutes."
And sure enough, when Robin turned around to see for himself, there was nobody to be seen. "What? I swear I just saw someone walk by us!"
Suddenly, his head started pounding, deafening everything around him.
"You will remember everything in time," he recalled the voice from his dream.
The headache got worse and worse by the second, eventually forcing him to lean against the wall for support, clutching his head with the free hand. And just as suddenly as the pain came, it vanished, as if it had never happened.
"Robin?!" Lissa yelped, leaning down to get a proper look at his face. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"I.. yes, I'm okay," he answered, unsure of what even happened. "I just.. have a slight headache is all."
"That didn't look like just a headache, Robin," she pointed out. "I was right in saying that you shouldn't be out of bed yet! You CLEARLY aren't 'okay'!"
"Lissa, you're worrying too much. I may not be back to full strength, but it's not that bad either. We should just get going, there are more important things I need to take care of right now. Just, don't tell Chrom about any of this, he'll just overreact."
"But-" she began, before, again, admitting to herself that arguing with him would not resolve the situation. "Fine. But! When you're done, it's off to bed to get rest, got it?!"
"Alright, alright," Robin surrendered with a chuckle. "If you say so, milady," he teased, adding an over exaggerated bow to the statement.
"Oh, stop it," Lissa pleaded. "But, Robin... please tell us when you're not feeling well, okay? We care for you just as much as you do for us.."
"I will, Lissa. I will," the tactician pledged with a truly honest smile on his face.
A short while after getting going again, the two arrived at their destination and the guards opened the doors for them,recognizing their new superior after having seen him alongside the prince multiple times. As was usual for when Robin joined in, the meeting was well underway.
Apart from the obvious attendees, consisting of Emmeryn, Chrom, Frederick and Phila, there were was a massive oak table in the middle of the room with multiple maps, reports and the like, that everyone was standing around. One of them he recognized as the thief named Gaius, who had apparently decided to switch sides shortly before Robin's memories cut off. The other was entirely unfamiliar to him. He was an elderly looking man, clad in green robes, resembling those of a priest. His face was wrinkled, though judging by the look on his face, just as many of them stemmed from laughing and smiling as from his age. Atop the bridge of his nose rested a small pair of round glasses.
As Robin neared the table with Lissa, he loudly cleared his throat to make the others aware of his presence. The six men and women looked up to see the newcomers.
"Robin!" Chrom called out, surprised by the fact the tactician was up again. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Chrom," Robin assured. "Just feeling a bit out of it, but that will be gone soon I hope."
"Well, it's just good seeing you out of bed for now. You had us worried for a while there."
"No need for that, after all, I had just about the best healer I could ask for by my side," the amnesiac responded with a smile while ruffling said young woman's hair.
"Hey! Not funny!" Lissa, complained, struggling to remove his hand from her head. After having succeeded, she chose to abide by her promise from earlier with a pouting face.
After having followed the brief exchange with a smile of her own, Emmeryn spoke "I must apologize, Sir Robin. It was only because of myself that you could be injured so severely. I am deeply sorry for having put you, Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds in such a precarious situation."
"Please, your majesty, you needn't worry. After all, it is our duty as Shepherds to ensure your safety."
"I must concur with our tactician in this matter, milady," Frederick agreed. "I am sure each and every one of us would have acted the same in his stead."
"Thank you, Frederick. I do hope you all know how much I truly appreciate your services," the Exalt.
"Then, if we are done exchanging pleasantries, let us continue where we left off," Phila interrupted, earning nods from everyone. "The question of how an assassination attempt of this scale could go unnoticed remains unsolved, and we are also unaware of the mastermind behind it is. Furthermore, we must decide on our next course of action."
"It was Plegia, that much I'm sure of!" Chrom growled. "That lunatic would do anything to drive Ylisse into ruin!"
"That I am certain about as well," Robin concurred. "The leader's clothes resembled those of a Plegian dark mage. Though that still does not explain how they went entirely unnoticed."
"Well, it's actually quite obvious," Gaius stated, much to the surprise of most.
"What are you looking at me like that for?"
"Would you care to elaborate, crook?" Frederick demanded with a distasteful tone.
The orange-haired thief either didn't notice the distrust of the others or simply chose to ignore it, answering the question. "It's simple. They have help inside the capital."
"That's-" Phila began, before immediately being interrupted.
"Impossible? Believe me, it isn't. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get someone to assist you in something like this. It's not unreasonable to think that's how they went about it."
"Are you saying we have a traitor amidst us?" the man unfamiliar to Robin now asked. No one else seemed to notice, but he seemed to be nervous for some reason.
"No, not necessarily. It's not impossible, but for an attack of this scale it, would take more than a single traitorous or corrupt official. My guess is that they bribed or forced multiple people to help get the assassins in the city. Considering how well equipped they were, it's also possible they got help for that as well," Gaius elaborated.
"If that truly is the case, the situation is far more dire than anticipated," Phila concluded.
"Emm, you can't stay here," Chrom now said. "We have to leave for Ferox to request their help, but it's too dangerous to leave you here. Come with us."
"You know I cannot do that, Chrom," the Exalt declined. "It is in times such as these that the people of Ylisse need me most. If what happened is discovered while I am not present, it could cause our people more suffering. I cannot simply abandon my people."
"And we cannot simply abandon you, Emm!" the prince countered. "Should Plegia attack while we aren't here, your life would be in danger! The people do need you and that is exactly why your safety has to be our biggest priority!"
"It is exactly because of that possibility that I stand by my word. With war looming on the horizon, I cannot leave the people of Ylisse without a leader."
Before the clearly irritated Chrom could respond, the man clad in green spoke. "If I may, wouldn't the East Palace be a suitable solution?"
Again, something about this person irritated Robin, though he could not quite piece together what it was.
"I agree, your Grace. No one would know of your relocation and it is near enough to the capital to be able to react in time, should anything come to happen. You would undoubtedly be safer there."
"Please Emm.. At least do that. Without knowing you in safety, we cannot leave for Ferox," Chrom concurred.
The Exalt closed her eyes and sighed softly. "Very well. If that is enough to set you at ease, so be it."
"Thank you Emm."
The meeting then went on for a while longer and the exact modalities of the shepherds journey to Ferox were decided upon. They would, alongside a selection of Phila's knights, escort the Exalt to the East Palace before making haste to the country north of them on horseback. They would then return with the support of the Feroxi army to take up battle with any Plegian forces that managed to enter Ylisse, forcing them to retreat so that they could take the battle back to their western neighbors.
When it finally concluded in the evening, Robin stepped out of the throne room, now genuinely exhausted. 'Maybe Lissa was right after all,' he thought to himself, exhaling hard.
"Robin!" he then heard from behind him. Turning around, the tactician was met with the smiling face of Chrom.
"How are you? You seem out of sorts."
"I've been better, but like I said, it's nothing that a little bit of time won't be able to fix."
"That's good to hear. Have you talked to the others yet? Everybody's been pretty quiet out of worry for you. Even Maribelle seemed pretty concerned."
"I've heard, though I don't really believe that," Robin chuckled. "Stahl, Sumia and some of the others came to look how I was doing, I'm sure the others know by now. I'll talk to them later anyways. There is something I wanted to ask you though."
"And that would be?"
"That man who was part of the meeting.. Who was he?"
"Oh, him? That was the hierarch, a close friend of House Ylisse. Back when our father died, he guided Emm through her first few years as Exalt. You could say he helped her become what she is today. During that time, he was also like a father to Lissa and I. He was always there for us when we needed it and so he became a close adviser to the royal family," Chrom recalled, a nostalgic grin spreading on his face.
"Is that so? How come I haven't seen him before today then?"
"He was part of a commission tasked with checking the status of some of the villages near the border. They only recently returned, but you wouldn't have noticed that since you were still, well, unavailable."
"I see."
"On another topic, care to join me for a short walk?" Chrom asked. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about, now that you've regained consciousness."
"Of course," Robin answered, the two men setting in motion with no destination in mind. "What is it?"
"I take it you are aware of our certain fortune telling friend's little secret?"
"You mean him being a woman? I found that out, yes. Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Well, I had a brief conversation with him- I mean her." The lord shook his head. "Sorry, still a little confused by all of this. Anyway, I caught her sneaking off without a word after making sure you weren't in mortal danger. To sum it up, I wanted to make sure she was rewarded appropriately for her help, but she declined. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't willing to reveal her reason for being here or how she knew of any of it. But.." He paused.
"But what?" Robin pressed him on.
"Something about her.. feels familiar. I sense a connection, but I can't figure out what kind.."
"I know that feeling.." the blonde responded, somewhat losing himself in his thoughts He remembered what had happened earlier, trying once more to make sense of it.
"You do? Did she seem familiar to you as well?" Chrom checked, pulling his conversation partner back to reality.
"What? Oh, no, it's just.." he began, searching for a logical excuse that didn't make it look as if he was losing his mind, which the truth would surely lead Chrom to think. "It's just, with my amnesia and all, everything and everyone is at least somewhat new to me. So it's more like I know the feeling itself, just not in this specific case."
While this was at least partially true, Robin found, that the more he thought about it, Marth did seem somewhat familiar, now that she had shown her true colors. Why, he did not know, just as was with the large amount of other questions that had started popping up in his mind since his awakening.
"Figures. I really can't imagine what it must be like for you, not knowing anything about your past."
"Come on, you're making it sound far worse than it is. It's not like I've forgotten everything after all," the tactician answered. "Do continue with what you were saying."
"Right. Like I said, I wasn't able to get too much out of her, only that we aren't safe just yet. She believes Emm's life is still in danger, which is why she had to leave again, to assist in her own way. And it's also why I was so desperate to make sure Emm listened to us earlier."
"Well, it does make sense. Considering the scale of the attack and how they managed to go entirely unnoticed, Gaius' concerns certainly are worth a thought or two."
"About him.. We're going to have to do something about him."
"What do you mean by that?"
"He's... been having trouble integrating himself."
"Integrating himself? Wait, you offered him a spot in the Shepherds?" Robin demanded, more annoyed than surprised by the prince's lack of healthy, human distrust a la Frederick.
"Of course. He was quite the help during the battle. According to himself and some of the others, he saved several lives alongside Panne."
"The giant rabbit?"
"She prefers to be known as Taguel, but yes, the giant rabbit."
"You gave her a spot as well then, didn't you?"
"Yup."
"Why am I not surprised," he groaned, facepalming.
"Because you know me pretty well by now. After all, I have Frederick and you for worrying about things like that. But to be honest, it wasn't me who gave her the spot."
"Oh?" Robin looked up, intrigued by this unexpected turn of events. "How did that happen then?"
"She and Emm talked for a while, and after that she practically forced us to allow her to stay."
"Judging from what I know about her, which is fairly little, that doesn't surprise me either."
"It does when you find out she hasn't really come into contact with the others though. Ever since joining us, she's been off somewhere around the castle, avoiding any- and everyone. But, let's get back to Gaius for a minute."
"What about him?"
"Well, in his case, it's been the others avoiding him. And quite frankly, I can see why that is. Only a few actually act normally around him, whereas most are.. cautious , to say the least. But it's a whole other story with Maribelle. She's already not too friendly, especially with newcomers."
"I've noticed that, yes."
"That doesn't do justice to how she sees Gaius though. If you're asking me, she absolutely HATES him. It's honestly impressive how much he seems to annoy her."
"Sorry, to interrupt, but what exactly do you want me to do about it?"
"I was thinking you could, you know, get to know him better. Maybe you can find a way to fix things up between those two that way."
"I can try, but as you might know, Maribelle isn't exactly very fond of me either."
"I believe in you Robin. She'll get over that soon enough. Especially considering she was the most worried one out of us when nothing she or Lissa did seemed to help."
"She was what?" Robin asked, not believing what he had just heard.
"You should go get some sleep for now," Chrom said, ignoring his partners words. They had, unbeknownst to Robin, just arrived at the prince's abode. "It'll be a long day tomorrow, good night!"
He disappeared in the door, leaving his tactician by himself. "You dastard. I will get back at you for that one.." Robin mumbled to himself, making his way back to his own room to go to sleep.
-The next day-
After having taken care of the final preparations, including packing up their equipment, rations and other necessities, the Shepherds began their escort of the Exalt to the East Palace, alongside a select number of pegasus knights, led of course by their commander. The rest of her knights, that were not already stationed near the border, stayed behind in the capital, to oversee the mobilization of what few troops Ylisse had to offer and to form a final line of defense for the worst case scenario.
The operation began very early in the morning, before sunrise even, to ensure its secrecy, which took its toll on some of the Shepherds and especially on Robin. His sleep, while having helped with his headache, had been fairly bad. Even before he went to sleep, the multitude of questions that had arisen in the short time after his awakening, and even before that, really, wouldn't let him rest. And after finally drifting away, the scenes that had plagued him while he was under the dark mage's spell and afterwards continued to haunt him in his sleep.
All this resulted in an extremely exhausted and tired Robin, who, despite his current state, had to deal with ever more people questioning him as to how he felt. Which, as was apparent, was not exactly good. After a while, he settled in somewhere near the middle of the fairly short band, just a few paces behind the royal family and Phila.
Just when he had begun relaxing somewhat, a voice coming from his right caused his head to start pounding again.
"Morning!" a cheery Stahl greeted while munching on some bread, his horse trotting along beside him. "Feeling any better yet?"
Because Stahl was one of the first to visit him just a day ago, as well as one of Robin's better friends, the latter decided to suppress his irritation. Nevertheless, he wasn't in a mood to keep discussing his health, so he chose to steer the conversation in an entirely different direction.
"Morning, Stahl," he replied. "Having some breakfast, are you?"
"What, this? I had breakfast earlier, so I'm just having a little snack right now," the cavalier explained, gulping down another bite. "Want some? I took enough with me to spare a bit."
"No thanks. Not having much of an appetite right now," Robin declined. "If you don't mind me asking.. Shouldn't you be saving some of that up? We'll be traveling for quite a while after all."
"It's fine. I brought a lot myself so I don't eat all our supplies."
"That's... very considerate of you?"
"Not really, it's just me living out my passion."
"Which is eating?"
"Yup."
"..."
"What can I say, I just really love eating."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, per se. it's just... where does all that food actually go? You obviously aren't fat or anything, but you're not exactly muscular either," Robin analyzed. "Sorry if that sounded rude.
"Don't worry, it didn't," Stahl ensured. He then closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head, thinking. "To be honest, I don't really know. I asked Miriel about her opinion at one point."
"And? What did she say?"
"If I remember correctly, she found it.. fascinating. She ran some tests on me to find out the reason, but she couldn't make sense of it. The only thing she noticed, was that I'm apparently really average."
"How so?"
"In every sense of the word," the knight answered with a chuckle. "She had done the same tests with a bunch of other people at some point and protocolled it. And my results were identical to the averages. Ever since that, she's been making me take part in any tests she comes up with."
"Really? That sounds, well, slightly depressing. Are you actually alright with that?"
"Sure. If I can help her out with her research, why not?"
"That's- one way to look at it, I guess."
With that, their conversation died down for the time being, with Robin trying to calm his mind once again, while Stahl finished up what remained of his food. Fortunately for the tactician, the cavalier seemed to have noticed something was up and decided not to bother for the moment, which Robin was extremely thankful for.
After a while, with the sun beginning to near its apex, he began feeling significantly better, allowing him to resume their conversation.
"So, Stahl. How have things with Donnel been going?" he asked.
"Pretty swell, I'd say. The kid really does learn quickly, I must say. He's picked up the sword now and his lancing has greatly improved."
"Oh, really? I thought he had some potential, but is he really that good?"
"Yeah, his improvement has been crazy. I must admit, I was skeptical in the beginning. He used to struggle a lot with his footwork and everything to do with finesse, so to speak. Physically, he was perfectly fine from the get-go, but only when he did start picking up on the rest his real potential started showing. Right now, I think what he lacks most is experience. He'll likely struggle for the moment, but when he's put a few battles behind him, Donnel will be extremely valuable to us."
"That certainly sounds promising," Robin commented. "I have to commend you for that, you've done much better with him than I could have ever hoped."
"Oh, come on. I didn't do that much. All I did was show him the right stances, the rest came from him. Frederick would have done much better than I did."
"But Frederick has been doing this for years, hasn't he?" the tactician argued, not willing to let Stahl undermine his own work. "And besides, he would have run Donnel in the ground and you know it."
"That.. Is actually true, now that you say it."
"See? You really shouldn't be selling yourself short all the time, Stahl."
They continued their march, engaging in more relaxed chatter. Not long after, just when the group got close enough to their destination to believe that no problems could arise from this point on, a long, blood-curdling screech filled their ears.
"What the-" Robin began, when he saw one of the pegasus knights that had been designated to scouting ahead fly towards the group at high speed. To the horror of the two men, the flier didn't make it. An arrow shot through the air and embedded itself in the side of the winged beast, causing it to lose balance. It plummeted to the floor with a terrifying crunch, rolling for several feet before coming to halt, crushing its rider beneath it.
Just as suddenly as this scene had unfolded, enemy troops came into sight, axemen and archers heading straight their way. At the same time, several wyvern appeared from the top of the mountain to their right and from the canyon to their left, essentially cornering them.
"Stahl!" Robin yelled, shifting into battle mode. "Find Virion and deal with some of those wyverns! If you come across the Exalt, make absolutely no one gets even remotely near her!"
"Got it!" the knight replied, swinging himself unto his mount in a swift, effortless movement before taking off in the direction of aforementioned archer.
The tactician in the meanwhile ran forward, coming to a stop where the scout still lay buried beneath her own pegasus. He dropped to his knees to check the woman's pulse, confirming his hope. She was unconscious, but not dead. Not yet. Though Robin knew he would lose precious time doing this, he still decided to try and free the knight as he wished to keep everyone alive.
Around him the fighting ensued, blades clashing and arrows swishing through the air, some even coming dangerously close to him. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, Robin could not manage to lift the heavy animal far enough to get the woman underneath out. During this, her breathing became increasingly shallow, indicating he was running out of time and fast.
"Damn it! Come on!" he cursed, putting all his strength in his arms, when suddenly, the beast was literally thrown to the side. He turned to his head to see the blonde muscleman that was Vaike.
"How did you- Actually, we don't have the time," Robin began, but stopped himself before he completely lost focus. "Get her to a medic as soon as possible, but be careful! She's likely had multiple ribs smashed and took a hard hit to the head. You don't have much time, I'm counting on you!"
"Leave it to Teach!" Vaike boasted, picking up the rider as carefully as he could before making off to follow his orders.
Now alone, Robin took a moment to fully take in the state of the battle. In the short while since he had sent Stahl away, the cavalier managed to pick up Virion and the two were now in the middle of shooting down the scaled beasts. Yet, there were still far too many for just the two of them to deal with, and they were now getting dangerously close. That was only the least of their worries for now. While the Ylisseans had not seemed to have suffered many casualties up until now, the group was being forced back fairly quickly, as the enemy vastly outnumbered them.
The tactician couldn't see Emmeryn, which, for now, he decided was a good thing, as he concluded she would have likely been taken to safety by now. What did worry him, was that Chrom wasn't at the forefront of the battle, fighting tooth and nail and per usual.
Regardless, Robin knew he didn't have the time to worry about that now. In his head, he was already analyzing what approaches he could take to the situation while scanning his surroundings for anything helpful. The amnesiac decided on a plan to assist their frontlines and set in motion. He didn't, however, head to his allies in the front, but instead made his way to the cliff walls to their right, setting his sights on a stone ledge midway up the mountain.
Halfway there, the tactician heard an alarmingly loud scream from behind him. Turning around, he only barely managed to hit the ground before the winged monster attempted to crush him with its jaw. Robin got back to his feet and watched as the wyvern and its axe-wielding rider turned around, preparing for a second assault. This time, he was prepared and drew his sword, taking on a battle stance. He searched his mind, flipping the pages of countless books he had memorized, filled with knowledge on various fighting stances, to put together the optimal strategy.
Just before the wyvern's mouth snapped at him a second time, he dived forward, slashing upward in the same movement. A pained wail told him his strike was true, deeply cutting into one of its wings, making it plummet to the ground. Its rider, however, wasn't affected by this and decided to challenge Robin himself.
The Plegian axeman leaped off his incapacitated mount and broke out in a sprint, his weapon held to the side with both hands, allowing for a swift strike. Again, Robin attempted to use his opponent's momentum against him and tried rolling to the side opposite of where the axe was. What he wasn't expecting, was that the enemy he was facing had already taken note of this move and Robin now using it again so quickly after the first time proved to be a bad mistake.
Instead of evading the head as planned, the Plegian swiped to the left and hit the Ylissean tactician square in the head with the hilt of the axe, dazing him temporarily. Robin tried bringing his sword up, to defend himself from the slowly approaching man, but was stopped by a painful kick to his wrist. The bronze sword Robin carried was knocked a few feet away so it was no longer in his reach.
The Plegian began grinning as he was sure there was no feasible way for his foe to escape this situation and raised his axe slowly, relishing in the anticipation of ending an Ylissean's life. During this, Robin's mind was racing, searching for something he could do, anything. He began panicking, but remained fairly still as he was sure his life would end the moment he made any too sudden movements. Finally, the blonde saw a possibility, an opportunity to save himself from impending death.
'If I don't time this right,' Robin thought, but stopped himself. 'No, there's no if. I have to do this.'
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the axe was brought down and the tactician set his act of desperation in motion. Robin rolled to the side, narrowly evading the sharp head. In the same movement, his hand reached for an arrow embedded in the ground near him and got back to his feet, impromptu weapon in hand.
Again, his actions were predicted by his foe, but this time the Plegian made a fatal mistake. Underestimating Robin, the axeman charged forward with the same stance as before. This time, he did end up striking and cleaved the air in front of him in a wide arc, forcing the Ylissean tactician to jump back a foot to avoid being cut in half. Robin then found himself having to dodge a flurry of attacks, each and every one of them easily enough to kill by itself.
'I have one shot at this,' Robin thought to himself, trying to analyze his adversary, hoping to find an opening for himself. Seconds later, he found it. The continuing blows were taking their toll on the barbarians speed and Robin used this fact to its fullest. Right after another wide arcing slash, he surged forward, arrow held tight in his hand. The Plegian barbarian brought up one of his arms in an attempt to protect his vitals.
Robin reached back and rammed the sharp projectile between the man's ribs, causing blood to begin gushing from the wound. Immediately he let go of the shaft and jumped back a few feet, reaching into his coat. From it came his lightning tome, which was then used to electrocute the wounded man.
Panting from exhaustion, the tactician tried calming down and refocused on the larger picture. A look around told him, that the battle was going increasingly poorly, the Ylissean troops being pushed further and further by the enemy's supreme numbers. His window of opportunity was closing quickly, so he leaped into action once more.
Another scream rang out, but the wyvern letting it out was quickly silenced by the lance of a grey-haired pegasus rider.
"Sumia!" Robin called out.
Moments later the winged beast and her rider swooped to the ground a few feet before him and Sumia swiftly dismounted before hurrying over to the tactician.
"Robin! Oh gods, thank goodness you're alright!" she said, giving him a tight hug. After letting go, she continued speaking. "We've been looking for you since we saw the first wyvern, but nobody knew where you were! Then I found Stahl and he told me and- Wait, you're bleeding Robin!"
Sumia raised her hand to touch the side of the tactician's head where the hilt of the axeman from earlier had hit him. And indeed, now that she had said it, Robin too noticed that there was blood trickling from his left temple.
"I'm fine Sumia, there are more important things that need attending to right now!"
"You always say that! You're just going to get hurt again! Knowing you, you've already come up with some crazy plan that will end up nearly killing you!"
"About that. I need you help with something real quick," Robin confessed.
"Oh gods... What is it this time?" Sumia asked, already knowing full well the tactician could not be swayed when he set his mind on something.
"You just have to get me up there," he explained, pointing to the ledge he had noticed at the beginning of the battle.
"That's... it? Sure, just get on," the pegasus rider said, getting back on her mount before helping Robin up.
The winged beast took off with a jolt, to which Robin still had not gotten used to, and the two Ylisseans flew to the spot the tactician had pointed out in a matter of only a few seconds.
"Get me close enough that I can drop down there! And afterward, head back to the frontlines and give them a message!"
"Which would be?" Sumia asked, steering her pegasus as instructed.
"To go into full retreat! If I can get this to work, then we can still win this battle."
The grey-haired woman turned around and saw the look absolute determination and confidence Robin always had on when he had something planned.
"Right," she confirmed bringing him into position.
"Jump now!" Sumia shouted and the tactician slid off the back of the winged horse, dropping a few feet before landing firmly on his feet.
"So.." Robin muttered, again taking a look around, this time focusing on the side of the mountain. His gaze fixated upon another ledge, this one a fair bit higher and far smaller than the one he was already on.
Immediately, the tactician knew what he needed to do, so he began climbing. The steep, stone walls provided very little hold and the cliff became increasingly smooth the higher Robin got. Shortly before reaching the top, the rock Robin was holding on to cracked and ripped from the wall, leaving him dangling with only his other hand finding a firm grip. He took a glance below him and instantly regretted it. What he saw was a steep drop of probably several hundred feet. If he fell, there was no possibility of him surviving.
"Come on, Robin. You can do this, no problem," he told himself, but at the same time he felt his headache coming back and his vision began shaking slightly.
The tactician resumed his climb and finally reached the ledge, pulling himself up. He slumped down to the ground for a moment, panting heavily. Begrudgingly, Robin picked himself up and got to work. Whether or not his plan would end up working or not, he did not know. Still, he used his sword to start poking away at the ledge, hoping it would begin to crumble and fall.
After a few minutes, the rocks began to crack at the connecting point with the mountain itself, but it wasn't going fast enough for Robin. He risked a glance downward and sure enough, he was running out of time.
"Damn it!" the tactician shouted. "Just fall already!"
He continued hacking away at the rock, chipping off piece after piece. Finally, the cracks ran far enough and with a last stab, the ledge crumbled off the mountain and began sliding down the cliff along with Robin.
For the first few seconds, he managed to keep his balance, but the further the stone slid down, the more loose rocks it picked up, forming a small landslide. Knowing that he would eventually be caught by it, the tactician jumped off of it, finding grip on a small indentation.
Robin looked below him, where the landslide continued growing in size before it eventually hit the larger ledge below. The sheer force caused even this sturdy piece of stone to break, dramatically increasing the amount of debris being hurled down the mountain. At this point, the combatants below had realized what was going on. The Ylisseans, who were already retreating as was, picked up their pace while the majority of the opposing Plegians began doubling back, desperately trying to save themselves from the impending doom.
'Naga, please. Make this work,' Robin prayed, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the rock he was gripping was beginning to cracks as well. Before being able to do anything against it, it gave way and the tactician plummeted to the ground, threatening to be crushed.
Robin looked around frantically, trying to find something to save himself with, but nothing came to mind. The further he fell, the louder the terrified screams of Ylisseans and Plegians alike became and the blonde slowly grew aware of what it was he had done. Sure, he was only doing this to protect those close to him, but it was just now that Robin realized his plan would literally crush friend and foe alike. He had set into motion forces that could not be stopped. Maybe him falling to his death now was the doing of the gods? Perhaps this is how he should repent for the killing of so many.
A tear rolled down his cheek and Robin closed his eyes once more.
'It seems that this is it... I've failed you, Chrom, Lissa, everyone. Please, continue onwards. Though it was far too short, I enjoyed my time with you all,' he thought, bracing himself for the moment his body would be crushed.
But, just as all the times he had nearly died since his awakening, it did not occur this time either. Just before he hit the floor, he heard a swooping sound and felt the sensation of a horse's soft hair.
"Sumia?" the tactician asked quietly, eyes still closed.
"Not quite," a voice replied. For the hundredth time in the last few days, Robin experienced a sense of familiarity. He knew this voice, that much he was sure of, yet still could not put his finger on where from. Finally he opened his eyes, and the feeling intensified. The blonde sat atop a pegasus, in front of him cascades of crimson hair flowing down its riders back.
"Who-" Robin began before his head began pounding again, once more forcing him to support it with his right hand.
The woman in front of him noticed this and turned around to see what was happening.
"Are you alright?" she asked, genuine concern clearly audible in her voice. "Just hold on a moment, I'll get you to a healer."
"No, I'm fine," he managed to get out. "I need to see Chrom."
"The prince? Why would you need to see him?"
In her eyes, equally as crimson as her hair, Robin saw a fiery passion but looking twice, there was also something else. A sorrow, as if just having lost a loved one. At the time, Robin did not piece the reason for her sadness together, but he would soon thereafter.
"Why does not matter, but I need to speak with him as soon as possible."
She met his gaze and after a moment seemed to have confirmed he did not wish to bring harm upon him, so she nodded and flew over to the remaining Ylissean troops.
Just a few seconds later they touched down next to Chrom and the others and Robin slipped off the pegasus to talk with him.
"Chrom, how-" he began, before once again being tackled by a ball of yellow. "Woah, calm down, Lissa. Where did that come from?"
"Where did that come from?!" the princess yelled, looking up at Robin's face. "You just fell down a mountain and nearly died! Again!"
"Really though, are you alright?" Chrom asked. "That was a pretty close call.
Robin looked ahead now to see Chrom as well as Emmeryn, Sumia, Frederick and the hierarch standing next to and behind the blue-haired prince. "I'm fine, as always. Although I will say, my stomach *is* quite upset. That aside, I'm doing pretty swell."
"That's relieving to hear. Regardless, you ended up saving the day once again didn't you? We were just about to be overrun when Sumia came and told us you ordered for retreat. And shortly after, that happened," the lord explained, pointing behind him with his thumb.
The tactician followed the direction he was gesturing toward and saw what he meant. Some distance behind the group, there were now mounds of rocks where the battle had taken place. Robin presumed that those who were fortunate enough to survive had fled from the scene, but a lone, bloody arm poking out from underneath the stone served as a reminder of what he done. By himself, he killed possibly hundreds of humans. Each of them, he realized, lived his or her own life, now leaving behind their loved ones.
Robin keeled over slightly, which did not go unnoticed by Lissa, who was still embracing him.
"Robin? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just my stomach acting up, like I just said," he lied. It seemed that only he was having these thoughts and remorse, so the tactician chose not to burden his allies with them.
The look on Chrom's face told Robin he was having doubts about his statement, but luckily for him, Captain Phila arrived to deliver a report.
"Your grace!" she said, bowing swiftly. "We've confirmed the retreat of the Plegian troops! The landslide caught most of them, so they did not have much of a choice but to flee."
"But what of our own casualties?" Emmeryn asked, concerned as ever about her people.
"Fortunately, we suffered minimal losses. Many have been injured, but none of them bear significant injuries. Furthermore, there seem to be no missing soldiers, meaning our troops were spared by the landslide."
The Exalt exhaled, relieved to hear the good news.
"Still," Frederick interjected, "the question of how the enemy could make it this far into Ylissean territory without being noticed certainly is unsettling."
"Regarding that," the crimson-haired woman spoke, now receiving the attention of the group for the first time since arriving. "My lady, you cannot remain here!"
"Cordelia? What are you doing here?" Phila demanded.
"You know her?" Robin asked, surprised by this turn of events.
"Of course, she is a pegasus knight, which means she must have gotten my personal approval," the knight captain explained, taking a few steps forward to grip the newcomer's shoulders. "You were stationed near the border, were you not? Don't tell me..."
Cordelia turned her head, avoiding her subordinate's gaze. "I- I cannot tell you what exactly has transpired. King Gangrel himself led his forces against us. There were just too many, it was clear we would stand no chance, so my knight sisters ordered me to flee and report this to you..." she stated.
"What? That can't be," Chrom said. "There should be no way for them to coordinate two attacks of this scale! "
'Unless...' Robin thought, looking at the hierarch, who again, seemed to be suspiciously nervous. Regardless, he kept silence, knowing that even if his suspicion proved to be true, he lacked the evidence to convince the others of it, seeing as everyone else seemed to completely trust him.
"That I cannot tell you, milord, but there are more Plegians no longer than a half day's march away! You must flee, or else-" Cordelia stopped talking, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "Or else my sister's sacrifice will have been for naught!"
She started crying, embracing her captain, who patted her head to try and calm her subordinate.
"I should have stayed, Captain! I left them to die in the most dire of times! I've- I've disgraced them with my weakness..."
"Hush, Cordelia. You've done your duty and I'm sure your sisters would think the same. You've many years left to do them proud."
"But- I fled like a coward! Why me? Why not them? How could they be proud of someone as weak as me?"
Phila took Cordelia by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Sometimes, the greatest strength is admitting your own weakness. The fact that you are aware of your shortcomings proves your sisters right. Their faith in your potential will become your strength, I'm sure of that."
"Oh Captain, they were my family! Gods, how can I- how can I go on?!" the crimson-haired woman cried, continuing to weep with Phila embracing her once more.
"Damn that monster!" Chrom cursed. Even the usually level-headed Robin noticed himself becoming angry as he realized he had been clenching his fist to the point that his knuckles turned white.
"I must return to the capital," Emmeryn finally said after minutes of silence, only broken by Cordelia's soft wailing.
"What?" her brother asked, surprised by the sudden statement. "You- You can't be serious, Emm! Now more than ever it isn't safe there!"
"I know, Chrom. But in times like these, I must be there for our people. If it is discovered that I am not in the capital with these tragedies occurring, a mass panic could break out. If I do not return, Ylisse will lose this war before it even begins."
"My lady, I too cannot advise this-" Frederick began, but nothing Robin knew nothing could change the Exalt's mind.
She reached into her robes and pulled out a small, golden shield with five indentations. Judging by the fact that one was filled out with a small, white orb, Robin deduced that the other four, while empty at the time, were supposed to each hold another jewel.
"Take it to Regna Ferox, Chrom. Bring it to safety."
"The Fire Emblem? I can't take this, Emm. Not if it means leaving you behind."
"No member of House Ylisse is more important than the Emblem, Chrom. You must take it to safety. Make sure that no more blood is shed because of it. Our father already made that mistake. Hopefully you will prove to be a better guardian than I was..."
"Sis?" Lissa reluctantly asked, just now removing herself from the Ylissean tactician. "Why do you... sound as if you've given up? You're not going to- to die, are you?"
As tears began rolling down the young princess's cheeks, Emmeryn kneeled down to wipe them away and began whispering, "I am not giving up, Lissa. I am merely giving the two of you what I can."
"Emm, this is madness. Please, just stop this," Chrom begged, growing more emotional by the minute.
"I want you to stay with Chrom and the others, Lissa. You will be of more use to them than to me," the Exalt said with a smile, ignoring her younger brother at the same time.
"But- I don't want to leave you big sis! Let me go with you!"
"You must stay with them, I command it."
"That's not fair!" she cried. "What about us?! We need you just as much as everyone else!"
"Calm your tears, dear. This is not a goodbye, we will see each other soon," Emmeryn ensured her.
"Your Grace, the pegasus knights will escort you back."
"Thank you, Phila."
"I will ensure the prince and princess's safety, your Grace," Frederick added.
"I know you will, Frederick. Thank you as well."
"It is my duty and my honor, milady. You need not thank me."
From the corner of her eye, Phila saw that Cordelia was readying herself to leave as well. "You will be staying with the prince, Cordelia."
"But-"
"I know how hard this must be on you, but this is how it must be. Always remember, your fallen knight-sisters will always be with you in spirit."
"I- I understand. May they give me strength."
"Come Phila, we must go," Emmeryn said.
"No, you don't have to!" Chrom yelled. "Why don't you realize that we need you? For once in your life, be selfish! Nothing will come of you walking to your own death!"
"I love you, Chrom. You and Lissa," the Exalt responded after a brief moment of silence. "The two of you are my everything, but I have to go. You misunderstand for whom this peace truly is. I'm so very sorry. Truly. We will embrace again in Ylisstol, when you arrive with Feroxi reinforcements. I know you will make it."
"This is the worst plan I've ever heard of. And I'm saying that with what happened today."
"The blood of the first Exalt flows strongly within us, Chrom. We will keep our home safe. I know it," she responded. Turning to Robin, she added, "I trust that you will lead my siblings through their hardships, Sir Robin. Know that I am deeply grateful for everything you have and will do for us."
"Of course, your Grace. I will see to it that the two of them remain safe, I swear it on my life."
With that, Emmeryn gave them one last smile before turning and leaving with Phila and the rest of the pegasus knights.
"Emm, don't!" Chrom desperately begged one last time, though even he had long realized there was nothing that could sway his sister.
And that does it. It's been another 3 months, but at least I'm getting consistent again right? Right? Haha... For real though, I'm super sorry it's been taking me so long for every chapter, doing my best to get back into a schedule that allows for both better and more consistent updates as well as my own health. It may not seem like it, but I really feel as though I'm getting there again.
This chapter, our favorite redhead joins the story! Yaaaay! She does next to nothing! Uhhh... Technically, I didn't lie when I said she'd appear this chapter, right? Please don't kill me...
Before getting to reviews, thanks to BlooperFiction as always for the great help on how not to suck completely!
Spiner909: That is definitely true, so I'd be honored to be able to greet you when the time comes!
Fregler: Happy to hear you like these more than you hate the wait! Seriously, I apologize for always taking this long, I promise to hurry up with the next one!
XenoEmblem4TW: Yeah, I kinda always thought it was kinda weird how in the game Validar actually has a line about Robin, but there's not too much follow up on it even if you fight him with Robin. So, I tried to get a bit of that in. Thankfully for me, these kind of small changes seem to differentiate me from other stories, so that's pretty cool!
Thank you to 3000-Volt, 90000847, ARSLOTHES, bp5178, BronsonWolf64, CherryPuffball, Darkchaser, ElusiveEcho, Hexist, Jack Hunter, Max H. Pintner, Orion's Belt Buckle ShucklingPenguin, SkitterExalt, SkulK1 and ValzFest for following in my absence!
Also, thanks everyone who took the time to read this, it means the world to me! Again, I can make no guarantees as to when the next update will happen, hopefully sooner than later though.
I usually don't do this, but this time around I'd like to ask that you review if at all possible! Doesn't matter if it's just a short opinion on what happened in the chapter or if you noticed a mistake I tend to make often, it really helps me a lot to hear you guys' criticism, both for my motivation and overall quality of the story.
That's it for this time, I hope you have a great day and see you whenever next time will be!
-DaveHunter
And also, for those who it might interest, Chapter 8 has been updated to past tense.