In which the victory is bittersweet and the lost one is found
Chapter 25 – Divergent Paths
The Fell Dragon let out a piercing howl, and its metallic faceplate of a now-dead man screamed in agony. The creature thrashed its massive neck through the air a few times, each time slower than the last, until finally its head slumped forward and its crimson eyes grew dim. All at once, Grima's movement ceased entirely and its six feathery wings went limp, unable to hold the dragon's colossal body in the sky any longer.
And then they were falling. Plummeting down to the world below and shocking Lucina back to some general awareness of her surroundings. She heard numerous yelps of surprise as the army began to lose their footing and become blinded by the heavy smoke that the dragon's entire body was emitting. She thought she felt her father grab hold of her shoulders to brace her, but she couldn't see him through the smog. She could only clutch her daughter and the stained coat, the two most precious things she had. Maybe she wouldn't have to be separated from him for as long as she thought. Maybe they would meet in the next life any minute and he could patch up her heart before it shattered.
But she felt a presence around her like a wave coursing through her body, and there was a voice that was carried on the rushing winds in hardly audible fragments.
"Chil...en of m...! Brac... ...rselves! I wi... bring y... to ...afety!"
A familiar white light that she could faintly sense even from behind her closed eyelids cloaked the area, and then there was a loud pop and a beautiful, brief second of nothingness as her body was transported somewhere else.
When she rematerialized, she was on solid ground once again. Her eyes cracked open to look down upon Morgan gradually prying her face from her tunic. Naga had brought them to a cliff at the edge of the mainland, overlooking the vast sea and island that Origin Peak rested on. Another pop sounded out, and with it came the rest of the army that they had left fighting on the mountainside. Chrom's hands loosened on her shoulders as he looked upward into the dissipating storm over Origin Peak's summit. Lucina followed his gaze to watch the dragon fall from the sky. Grima's body was rapidly disintegrating, leaving a single, shadowy miasma in its wake until he was nothing but bones, identical to those that littered the Plegian desert. In a matter of seconds, the skeleton struck the glassy sea, sending up a massive, foamy spray of water that lingered at an impressive height for just a moment before collapsing back into itself and dispersing into ripples on the surface. And just like that, the monster who had tormented Lucina all her life disappeared forever under the waves, never to plague humankind again thanks to the sacrifice of the man she held most dearly to her heart.
Lissa was the first to speak. "Is... it over?" she asked tentatively.
"It's over..." Chrom murmured his response. "We won..."
"It doesn't feel like we've really won though..." she noted, voice quiet. "I mean, yeah, we won the war... but not all the Shepherds made it out okay..."
"Indeed," Frederick nodded sadly. "Our ranks are one person short, and what a gaping hole he's left in his wake..."
Chrom looked pained to even have to think about what had happened, and the expression on his face changed with conflicting emotions before finally settling on a grimace. "...Stupid dastard..." he muttered, voice cracking once but turning to anger before he let any tears manifest in his eyes. "A stupid dastard, that's what he is... He knew that there was another way and he still picked the one that got himself killed..." The man gripped Falchion's hilt tightly and shoved its blade partially into the soft earth, crossing his arms in frustration. "It's my sister all over again... He didn't need to die!" He was quiet for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did it work?" he asked aloud, voice significantly quieter than it had been before. "Somebody tell me that his sacrifice wasn't for nothing."
Tiki stepped forward, image of Naga looming over her. Now that the Fell Dragon was no longer repressing her presence, the goddess's ghostly body was stable and shone with a soft blue light. "Robin's actions..." she began. "Had the desired outcome."
"So... Grima is dead?"
"Not exactly..." Naga corrected, noticing the prince's shocked face and holding her hand up to indicate that she had not yet finished. "Grima is not dead... yet, but he is dying. Even now I can feel his existence in the world diminishing, and his once mighty power is slowly being drained. I cannot say when, but soon he will be no more."
"The timeline... This world is saved..." Chrom murmured.
"The Dragonslayer's sacrifice has done more than just secure the future for this world," the Divine Dragon added. "Do you remember Grima informing you that his consciousness persists across time? By destroying the Fell Dragon's soul in this timeline, Robin has destroyed it in all other timelines. Even in worlds where he once reigned supreme, his power is failing him, and soon he will die there like he will here. The survivors of Lucina's future will be able to reclaim their world in the name of mankind once more and rebuild from the apocalypse. Never again will Grima plunge another world into darkness and despair."
"You mean that Robin saved an infinite number of future timelines just by killing Grima in this one? Even the ones that seemed to be lost forever?" Chrom asked in astonishment, receiving a nod from the Divine Dragon in response. He shook his head, smile on his lips. "Showing me up, huh? Saving this world wasn't enough, so you took it upon yourself to save them all... I was under the impression I would be the one to end this war today, but you proved me wrong there too. Stupid dastard," he joked lightheartedly, knowing that would have gotten a crack out of Robin in any context. "Robin... Emm... I swear to you both that I'll do everything in my power to use the opportunities you've given to us to create a world of peace like you wanted... But Robin... Don't you think this is over! None of us are ready to say goodbye just yet. This isn't over until you haul your sorry arse back to Ylisse, got it?"
"Indeed, my friend," Frederick concurred, serious and collected as ever. "Your work here is not over. There is still much more to be done for Ylisse and the world to recover after this dreadful war, and it would be my honor if I may work beside you and milord once again."
"Oh, lighten up, Mr. Wary!" Lissa grinned, tilting her head backwards so that she was looking at him upside-down. "Why can't you just say what everyone's thinking with some more emotion?"
"Pardon, milady?"
"Just say it like me..." the girl sighed before calling very loudly out over the ocean. "We miss you, Robin! The Shepherds aren't the same without you! Come back soon, 'kay?" She turned towards Frederick expectantly. "Well? Go on."
"Milady, I don't think..." he began, taken slightly off guard.
"Say it!"
"With all due respect, milady, I believe my earlier statement will suffice." The knight smiled, quickly regaining his composure.
"Ugh, you're so boring..." Lissa groaned, crossing her arms in defeat. "At least you'll say it, right, Lon'qu?"
Lon'qu cleared his throat awkwardly. "...I was going to say that he is a great warrior, and that his tale has been too short to end like this," he spoke firmly but quietly, ignoring the "Everyone is boring" complaint from Lissa as he passed the metaphorical baton on to the next person who wanted to speak.
"We couldn't have won this war without you, Robin. I hope you know that," Cordelia declared. "As a pegasus knight of Ylisse I'll keep working hard to continue to protect the lives you've saved, and I hope you'll be back soon so you can see what I've learned in the meantime."
"You've done taught me a whole lot, Robin, and I'm mighty thankful," Donnel chipped in. "I'll be happier than a pig in slop when ya come back! Maybe you can visit me and my ma back on the ol' farm sometime too!"
"He made the ultimate sacrifice for his warren. He put each and every one of their lives before his own, values that the taguel respect above all others," Panne noted. "If there were more like him, this world would be a much better place for both manspawn and taguel alike, but unfortunately this is not the case. That is why we need you to return, Robin! Show us the path we must follow!"
"The path we were following you down was fine enough, I guess, until you went and died, you fool!" Severa grimaced, crossing her arms in anger. "What the heck were you thinking? I thought you were supposed to be smart! Well, I've got news for you, Robin: you're not on your way out just yet! Not on my watch!"
"And here I was thinkin' everybody would turn out okay..." Brady sniffled, wiping at his eyes. "You'd better hightail it back right away, and in the meantime I'll... I'll compose a song for ya on my violin, and it'll be the greatest song I've ever played!"
"I...I think what we're trying to say is, i...if my friends don't m...mind me speaking for them, is t...thank you, Robin..." Noire stammered. "T...Thank you for making our dream of a brighter future become m...more than just a dream... Just s...stay strong, okay? I w...want you to come back safe and sound..."
"I know you're out there, Robin," Stahl spoke undoubtedly. "And when you come back, we'll be waiting with open arms and lots of good food. I mean, you don't get to eat anything when you're gone, right? I'm sure you'll be starving..."
"I'll whip something up for ya when you get back, Bubbles," Gaius smirked. "I'm sure I'll have something in my stash you'll like."
"Will there be something for me at this feast as well?" Stahl asked eagerly, grinning blissfully just thinking about it.
"Depends on how much I feel like making and how much you'll eat, which knowing you is a lot..." The thief narrowed his eyes, slipping a fresh lollipop into his cheek and almost dropping it in surprise when a powerful arm wrapped around his shoulder.
"Gregor love a good feast!" the man laughed heartily, taking Stahl's shoulder in his other arm. "But Gregor thinks we are all forgetting the drinking, yes? Heh heh! Good food, good drink, and good friends. That is what make good feast! And no good feast would be complete without Gregor's good friend Robin! Robin wouldn't want to miss out on the drinking, yes?"
"Robin's no drinker, Gregor..." Stahl reminded him, attempting to squirm out of his grip. "I thought you knew that..."
"Oh, Gregor knows! Robin needs to keep big brain of his. Gregor meant that Robin would not want to miss Gregor's big drinking competition with Basilio!"
"We're still going through with that?" the Feroxi man lumbered forward. "He's right then. Robin would not want to miss it. Gregor's the only person I know who may just be able to rival me in a drinking contest, har har!"
"Did I hear something about a drinking contest?" Flavia asked. "If that's the case then sign me up."
"Ha! No ladies allowed, Flavia!" Basilio chuckled. "Your dainty little stomach will give out hours before the likes of mine!"
The Khan shrugged. "I'll have you know that it's all the more satisfying to beat an overconfident opponent!"
"I'll bet my good eye that I can outdrink you!"
"Then we'll see how you like it being blind!"
"Um, pardon me..." a calm yet firm voice spoke, and in an instant the Khans were separated by the head of a wyvern that had dipped between them. "As much fun as a feast sounds, I believe we were talking about Robin," Cherche reminded them. "He wouldn't want us bickering after everything he's done for us, would he?" Minerva growled in agreement, eyeing both Basilio and Flavia as if she was the one who had to keep the two in line.
"Cherche is right," Sumia added. "This is about Robin, and I'm sure that some of us don't have a feast in mind right now..." She glanced over at Lucina and Morgan to remind everyone of the people whom his sacrifice most deeply affected, and almost immediately the argument quieted. "Robin is our dear friend, and I'm sure that his sacrifice means more to us than a party. Robin, wherever you are, I hope you know that all of us miss you and we hope you'll return to us soon. There are some people who need you..."
"Daddy..." Morgan whimpered, Sumia's words triggering the overwhelming sadness. She looked from side to side frantically a few times, as if she expected him to be there despite what she knew was truth. "M...Mom? D...Do you remember the l...link I had with Dad?"
Lucina nodded slowly. As if her own sorrow hadn't reached its peak yet, the look of the girl's broken expression was enough to push that feeling a little higher.
"I c...could... I could feel his... last moments..." the girl stammered. "H...He was in pain... He was hurting so much, b...but not just physically... He was hurting on the inside too, Mom... And then... And then I couldn't feel anything anymore... He broke our link, Mom... I...I can't even feel him there anymore... He's... He's..." She began to shake as she made a feeble attempt to try and repress her feelings, and Lucina pulled her in close to give her any sort of comfort that she could.
It hardly took a few seconds before another outburst of tears began. "Daddy's gone!" she wailed. "My daddy's gone! I don't have a daddy anymore!" She struggled to speak, only managing to get a few words out in between sobs. "I didn't even say goodbye! There's so much more... so much more I needed to say! I didn't get to tell him I loved him... or how special he was to me... or let him know that I forgive him for everything that happened in my future!" She looked up at her mother, brown eyes that she inherited from her father large and watery. The Brand in her right was almost impossible to see. "D...Does he still think I hate him for it? T...That I hold a grudge against him?"
"I don't think he does, Morgan..." Lucina spoke in almost a whisper, unable to manage anything louder.
"It's not true, D...Daddy! I don't!" Morgan wailed as if her father could hear her. "You were always there for me! You always cared even when it seemed like you weren't you... and in the end... you saved me like my true father would... I lost you for so long... and just when my memories woke up and I found you again, y...you left me..." She sniffed, wiping her teary eyes on her sleeve. "W...Why did you leave me, Dad? You didn't have to... You were with him, Mother... W...Why did he leave?"
"He left for us, Morgan," Lucina told her somberly.
"But what about our future?" the girl protested. "Mine... yours... his... We could have been like a normal family!"
"He did it to secure our futures, love... To secure everyone's futures... He knew that Grima would come back again someday if he didn't, and then a future like yours or mine would be upon us again..."
"But not us!" the girl insisted. "Someone else! Grima wouldn't have come back for hundreds of years at least! He would never bother this family again!"
"Our descendants, Morgan..." Lucina tried to explain as calmly as possible. "He wanted to protect their futures too..."
"B...But we can't be a family without him... It's not fair... I don't understand..."
Lucina was trying to explain from Robin's point of view, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to argue against Morgan's statements when she believed everything the girl was saying as well.
"D...Did he say anything else, Mom? A...Anything!"
"H...He wanted me... to tell you that he loves you dearly, and that he won't be gone forever... That he's going to come back soon..."
"But when? When is he coming back? How long will he be gone? Where will he go? What's going to happen to him before then?" Morgan questioned, desperately looking for any answers at all when she asked something that Lucina had been fearing above all the others. "What if it takes him t...too long? What if we're gone by the time he comes back?"
Lucina didn't have any of those answers. They were the same questions she had asked him. Staying composed was growing far too difficult, but she couldn't cry in front of her daughter at a time like this... Morgan was looking to her for a strength she didn't have nor could give. She just wanted to scream that she didn't know. That she didn't know what she knew anymore. That Robin had never said when he would come back and potentially wouldn't at all. That she had tried to get him to stay and he wouldn't listen to her. That all her hopes and dreams for their future together had been torn down and stomped out in an instant. That as they were plummeting from the sky just moments ago, she would have rather died and sacrificed the gift that Robin had secured for her just so they would never have to part. She probably would have done so if she didn't feel a hand lightly brush her arm before she could open her mouth. She looked over her shoulder to find Sumia standing behind her.
"Grandmother..." Morgan murmured, peering out from behind Lucina's chest once she became aware of the woman's presence.
"Morgan..." Sumia beckoned in a quiet voice, holding out her arms. "Come here." The girl gave her a questioning look. "Come, love."
Morgan seemed hesitant to leave her mother's arms, but Sumia was insistent, and gradually the girl transferred into her grandmother's embrace. "Grandmother..." she repeated, another torrent of tears imminent. "D...D...Daddy is..."
"I know, love... I know..." Sumia soothed, stroking the child's back as her little body started quivering again. Keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her, she reached up with her other hand to cradle Lucina's cheek. They exchanged brief glances, each already knowing what the other was thinking. There was nothing more to say. No number of condolences would bring him back despite the fleeting comfort they may provide right now, and Sumia understood that. She had come only to comfort Morgan for her and to give her some time alone. Nevertheless, the look in her mother's eyes told her that she always had someone to go to when things became overwhelming.
Her mother's hand slid down her face, slipping off her chin to continue rubbing Morgan's back. Sumia broke eye contact with her, leaning her face in close and whispering little things that Lucina couldn't hear in the girl's ear. She was just thankful that her mother was there to calm Morgan down; Sumia was probably far better at it than she could ever be.
Now that her daughter was secure, Lucina found herself wandering off a few yards until she reached the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. Not truly comprehending why she wanted to, she gradually sat down on the edge, legs dangling over the side, and she held Robin's coat up in front of her to examine it for a while. It was still slightly warm from his lingering body heat and it had the very faint yet noticeable smell of old books, a particular vanilla-like scent that Robin always seemed to carry around with him and that she had come to love. It was just too familiar. Any second now he would walk up behind her and slip the coat back on and she could find solace in his arms. ...But that didn't happen, and instead she realized someone else was approaching her.
"Hey, Lucy," an uncharacteristically somber voice called out. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Lucina said nothing, so Cynthia sat down beside her anyway when she realized she wouldn't be getting answer. She was quiet for a couple seconds, kicking the air as she thought what she was going to say. Her mouth opened, and she paused to reconsider before continuing. "So... he gave you his coat?" she asked in an attempt to break the barrier of silence between them.
Lucina nodded briefly. "As a promise..." she explained softly. "That he would... come back..."
Cynthia smiled a little. "Then what's there to worry about? Robin will come back. He came back the last time. He'll come back again. ...You... believe that, right?"
"Of course... I want to believe it..."
Cynthia frowned. "Wanting to believe it and believing it are two different things, Lucy," she reminded quietly. "...Do you not believe that he'll come back?"
"No, I... I... I don't know..." Lucina stammered, clenching the coat in her fingers. "Of course I want him to come back... I need him to come back... B...But... he... he died, Cynthia..." Her voice weakened to a pained whisper. "This... isn't like last time... At least I knew... I knew he was out there... That he was alive... But Robin is gone... He's gone..."
"Lucy..."
"I watched him die with my very own eyes... You saw him die... Everyone did... Robin and I... We already said our goodbyes..." She shook her head, calling upon experience to repress her tears. "He told me... to keep smiling... b...but how can I smile whenever I think of what we could have been? I...I just don't know what to do, Cynthia... I don't..."
"I...I'll tell you what you have to do!" Cynthia clambered to her feet, looking determined. "You've gotta believe that Robin will come back! Naga said so!"
"Naga said that she couldn't guarantee anything..."
"B...But she said that she couldn't guarantee it because she didn't know if Robin's bonds with everyone were strong enough! You more than anyone has to believe that he'll come back because your bond with him is the strongest out of all of us!" the younger girl insisted. "And besides... What Robin did for you, for us, and for everyone... was the most heroic thing I've ever seen... Even with all my hero training, I'll never be able to do something like that. And...and heroes always return! There's just no way he won't!"
"My fellow Justice Cabal member speaks the truth, Lucina!" her cousin declared, walking up next to Cynthia as he clenched his right hand tightly. "The hero will return! I even have proof, for you see, the other day I realized that he too possesses a quivering sword hand. My very own still hungers for battle with his, which assures me that he is still out there, already escaping the cavernous maw of death to continue our eternal duel!" He stood dramatically with hand held high into the air, but Lucina's expression was still unchanged.
"...You don't have a sword hand, Owain..." she murmured, looking down at Robin's coat again. "I'm not in the mood for your act right now..."
Owain looked about to blurt out "It's not an act!", but he stopped himself midway through his first word. He must have been hesitant to state what he had to next, for it took him a while to begin speaking once again. "...Fine, okay? I don't have a sword hand. I don't have any special powers either. I'm the same as the next guy."
Lucina was surprised. She never thought Owain would actually admit that.
"But I know that Robin will return," he asserted. "It may not be my sword hand or my sixth sense, but I just know. There's no way he's leaving like this."
Cynthia sat back down beside her, speaking quietly like before. "Lucina... I know you don't believe in heroes as much as you used to when we were little, but I want to tell you something important about them. Heroes are people to fight against injustice and evil, people to give us strength when we want to give up, people to aspire to be... But no matter how strong our heroes are, they need someone to give them strength too. Robin can't just be strong on his own... I'm sure he would be very lonely if he had to do it all by himself, so that's why it's good that he has you, Lucy. I'm sure he's trying his very best right now to come back as soon as he can for you because he knows that you're putting your trust in him. I mean, heroes don't just leave their princesses alone forever, right? You have to believe, Lucy! Don't be sad..." the girl urged, looking rather upset. "B...Because my big sister has always been the strongest person I've known... You always believed we could change our futures, even when everyone else had given up... So if you give up, then it just feels like it's all over... Don't give up, Lucy! You've gotta stay strong!"
"...You're right, Cynthia..." Lucina admitted, attempting a small smile. "He said he'll be back, and I trust him with all my heart. If I lose faith that he'll keep his word, then I'll have lost faith in the strength of our relationship together, won't I?" She turned the coat over in her hands a few times, both eased and saddened by it. "It will just be hard though..." she murmured. "I feel so... incomplete... Like I've given a piece of myself away for him to safeguard and he's taken it with him wherever he is now..."
"It'll be okay, Lucy," her sister reassured. "Just don't forget that you have us to help you through it until Robin gets back, okay? Not just me but Mother and Father too. We'll do the best we can to make you feel better."
"Thank you, Cynthia..."
The girl held out her arms wide. "Sister hug?" she offered.
"Sister hug," Lucina repeated in agreement, giving her a short embrace. It wasn't much, but she had to admit it was a little comforting.
Cynthia gave her a few gentle pats on the beck before withdrawing to sit with her arms folded in her lap. "It will all be how it should be soon," she reassured, voice more confident. "True heroes always have a happy ending, Lucy, even when it doesn't seem like it at the time. I promise you and Robin will have yours." She waited quietly for a few moments in her seated position even though she wasn't expecting Lucina to answer back. Recognizing her sister needed time, she gradually rose to her feet, lingering in the same spot for a second before disappearing back inside the crowd with Owain close in tow.
Lucina made a mental note to thank Cynthia for her help the next time she got the chance, but for now her mind again drifted to the man she lost. Hugging his coat safely against her body, she spoke aloud in no more than a whisper, addressing him directly as if he could hear her. "How long are you going to make me wait, Robin?" she asked. "I miss you already... I want to hear your voice and feel the warmth of your arms again... You said a week, right? Please don't take much longer than that..."
Her gaze wandered over the horizon, and she noticed the storm clouds over Origin Peak beginning to break up and give way to the morning sunbeams. It was quite a beautiful sight actually. A thin smile crept across her face as she marveled at that little wonder that he had made possible. "You gave me and Morgan and all of us a beautiful gift, Robin. The gift of a better world. There won't be a second that goes by that I'll forget that, but it's not right not to share it with you. I promise I'll try to smile like you wanted, and that I'll never stop believing in you. I'm going to spend every waking moment trying to figure out a way to bring you home." It was growing harder and harder to speak the more she thought about it, but she was determined to finish her thought. "I'll wait f...forever if that's what it takes. ...Until we meet again, my love."
Robin opened his eyes, and at first he saw nothing. Nothing but a dark void that consumed his entire field of vision. He glanced down to find that his own body had completely rematerialized and was perfectly visible even in the darkness. Was this what being dead was like? He distinctly remembered fading from existence when he released all of the energy from Thoron out of his body. It was just like the mental prison that Grima had trapped him and Lucina in minutes ago. Except... he wasn't standing on any solid ground and was suspended in the void as if he was floating underwater, and when he looked up, he saw what had to have been a light. It was rather dim but distinctly different than the rest of his surroundings. He may have just been imagining things, but he thought he smelled the crisp scent of fresh air and heard a soft breeze coming from it.
He didn't understand at first. It was as if his mind had glazed over and he couldn't think straight for a while, but then something clicked. The light was life. It was home. He needed to get back as soon as he could. He promised Lucina he would be back before she knew it, and that was a promise he wanted, needed, to keep. ...But how would he reach it? It seemed so far, but he was determined. Nothing would stop him from seeing her and his daughter again, so he did the only thing he could possibly think of: he reached. He kicked his legs in slow motion as if he was swimming to propel himself upwards and outstretched his fingers as far as he could reach, trying to grasp that precious light in his hands.
It actually seemed that he was making progress as the light was growing closer with every ounce of energy he spent, but then he became aware of a massive, almost formless presence that plunged into the void. Unlike him, it was being sucked downwards, and despite its thrashing and resistance it had no chance of reaching the very same light. Robin watched it disappear into the darkness below, but all his senses were warning him that the danger had not yet passed. Sure enough, like a sea monster arising out of the abyss, the creature forced itself back upwards just long enough to seize Robin's leg and pull him down with it.
Robin let out a desperate shout, reaching for the light and life he so dearly needed to return to as it grew farther and farther away. He pounded on whatever was gripping his leg, attempting to pry it off or do anything to halt their descent, but it was like a massive weight had been shackled to his ankle and he had just been thrown overboard off the side of a ship. He was powerless to prevent the creature from dragging him down. After a couple of minutes, their descent slowed dramatically and the creature released him, swimming off into the darkness around them. Robin could feel its presence lurking around him, one he was aware of with far too much familiarity.
"YOU!" a voice full of rage and hatred bellowed, and three pairs of eyes flashed red as the creature torpedoed out of the void at full speed and struck Robin directly, leaving him reeling as it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"I HATE YOU!" it screamed, circling around him like a predator stalking its prey before forcefully ramming him again.
"I'LL DRAG YOU TO THE PITS OF HELL!"
The amorphous monster, the manifestation of whatever was left of Grima's soul, was significantly smaller than the dragon's true form but still towered over Robin, at least three times his height. Its six glowing eyes danced in the darkness as it came in for another pass, striking Robin with full force.
It was becoming harder to maintain consciousness from the repeated, incredibly powerful blows. Even in this strange state of limbo between life and death, Robin could still feel physical pain, and once again there was absolutely nothing he could do to shield himself from Grima's attacks.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY PERFECT VESSEL! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN A GOD!" Grima hissed. "BUT YOU SQUANDERED IT... AND NOW LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU ARE DYING! YOU HAVE NOT WON! YOU ARE NOTHING!"
"...That's... where you're wrong..." Robin responded, wincing from the blows. "I have won... Won for my family... Won for my friends... Won for humankind... If I am nothing, then you are nothing as well. If we are one and the same, we die together..."
"GYAH!" the creature screamed in frustration when he realized that his words would no longer have a negative effect on Robin's self-esteem like they used to. Instead of coming up with a response, Grima simply rammed him a few times in anger.
Robin sustained blow after blow until the next never came, and it would have appeared that Grima was truly gone if Robin couldn't still sense his existence. The creature was still circling him, but at a far greater distance and completely out of sight, almost like he was stalking him and considering his next plan of attack. When Grima did approach him again, he decided to employ a completely different tactic, assuming his human form and nearing him calmly and slowly.
"Robin..." he spoke, menacing grin on his face. "Pardon that temporary moment of rage, but you... you are still under the assumption that you can return, aren't you? That you can come back to life? I'd like to tell you a little something about us... It is indeed true that we are one and the same, and if you die then so will I... but have you ever considered the inverse? If you live, then so will I... My soul will maintain a grip on your world as long as you are in it..."
"If my return to my world brings about your reawakening, I would rather stay dead."
"Hahahaha..." Grima chuckled. "I figured you would say that... but what about the poor woman you left behind?" He conjured up an image of a depressed and lonely Lucina behind him, smiling wider when he noticed a crack in Robin's stoic facial expression. "You promised her you would return... You wouldn't want to break that promise, would you?"
"I...I'll never allow you... to come back to life... If staying in this place will keep you from destroying another human life, then stay I will... Lucina... Lucina can be strong without me..."
"How heartless... How cruel..." the Fell Dragon sighed. "Lucina used to be strong, I will admit... She was the only real potential threat to me in the lovely world she grew up in, so I had to ensure that she could never perform the Awakening. But now... you've made her weak... Soft... Too dependent on you to accomplish anything on her own anymore..." He allowed his statements to sink in before continuing. "Would you like for me to tell you a little story? While you were gone from your little ragtag camp, she was devastated, too focused on you to accomplish anything. And that was only for a short while... Imagine how much she'll be held back by her longing for you for the rest of her sorry life! Oh, every day she'll wait for your return, and you'll never show up. Ever. What a perfectly cruel torture! Maybe we're more alike than you think..."
"I am nothing like you," Robin snarled. "And... if I never return... She'll know to move on... I've told her before..."
Grima examined his expression for no more than a second before baring his teeth in a wide grin. "...Liar. You only say that to appear so selfless. I doubt you believe that at all... You want her all to yourself, don't you? The naive princess trapped in an adult's body and the empty husk of the man who gave up his birthright. That's the only happy ending in your book, isn't it? Think about it..." He drifted closer, like he was trying to console a dear friend. "What would you really do if you saw her with another, hmmm? Wouldn't you be angry? Vengeful? Jealous? I know you, Robin... And who could forget sweet little Morgan? She remembers what a caring father I was to her now, doesn't she? It's a shame I couldn't use her to her fullest potential... For someone even more naive than her mother, she was quite the useful little killing machine... Hahaha... But that aside, how would she feel if her mother forgot about you and moved on? Angry? Vengeful? Daddy's girl, isn't she? And you didn't even say goodbye to the poor thing... I'm sure I know what she's feeling right now..." He waved his hand, and next to the image of Lucina an image of Morgan appeared, shaking with tears pouring down her cheeks. "Betrayed..." Grima hissed.
Robin averted his eyes. He didn't want to see those images. They hurt more than any physical blow ever could. "Y...You're wrong..." he objected. "No matter what it takes, I'll find a way to make them happy! I would rather Lucina find someone else to love her as much as I do than wait a lifetime for me to return! I don't care who! Maybe I would be a little jealous at first, but as long as I know she's getting the happy life she deserves, I would wish them the best of luck in everything life has to offer them! And Morgan... Morgan takes after her mother. She'll be strong, and she'll know when it's time to stop living in the past. With or without me, she'll do great things one day. I'm sure of it!"
"But with you is the more ideal scenario, isn't it?" Grima asked. "You know that both of them will be happier with you... and that's why you still believe that you can go back... I have something to tell you though... You can't come back from the dead on your own unless you want to end up like my Risen... It simply can't be done..." He paused. "Unless... you accept me into your heart right now... There's still time for us to become one, and together we can transcend death! I... We don't have to die, Robin!"
Robin eyed the Fell Dragon with a frown and scrunched nose, and then he smirked victoriously. "You're pathetic. Do you know that? You still think that you can convince me to join you? That's what that whole conversation was for? What sort of absolute fool do you take me for?! After sacrificing myself and putting all the dreams I had for the future at risk to save everyone else's future from you, you still think that I would accept... even consider letting you back in to my mind? The once mighty Fell Dragon is groveling at my feet, begging me to reconsider... I have my answer: NEVER."
Grima's eyes blazed red, so intense it was difficult to look into them, and his human form melted into the shadowy creature he had appeared as before. "ME? GROVEL... AT THE FEET... OF ANYONE?!"
"Like I said before: you're desperate. You of all creatures fear death, and I'm the only one now who can save you from it. But let me tell you this: I would die a thousand deaths more if it means that you'll never again harm another human soul."
Grima was seething, and Robin was certain he was going to resume striking him once more. However, he was taken off guard when it was Grima who started to laugh. "Hahahahaha... GYAHAHAHA!" he bellowed almost joyfully with insane acceptance. "But that is where you are wrong! I may never again reclaim my lost power, but despite that... before I die..." His six red eyes were shaking in their sockets. "There's still one more person whose life I can destroy even more so than I already have... One more soul that I can bring lower..." With his last word, the images of two Risen brandishing horrible weapons appeared in front of them and cut both Lucina and Morgan down simultaneously. "YOURS!"
Robin inhaled sharply, trying to refuse to give Grima the response he craved. The creature must have seen through his transparent attempt easily, for he cackled and the images of Lucina and Morgan appeared again, only to be slain in front of him. He ripped his head away, squeezing his eyes shut. Any form of torture would have been better than this. "It's not real," he hissed sharply to himself. "It's not real."
"YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO MISS THE SPECTACLE, ROBIN!" Grima cried, grabbing his head from behind and forcing him to look at the images. He couldn't even shut his eyes anymore. It was as if Grima was holding his eyelids open. "I'll make sure you suffer..."
Lucina was standing exhausted on a battlefield, unable to raise her weapon to prevent an enemy attacker from plunging his blade into her chest and twisting it, causing her to scream out in pain. "Robin!" she cried as she collapsed. "Robin! Why? Why did you leave me, Robin?!"
Morgan ran over, face horrified as she watched her mother fall, and she too was cut down by the same man. "Daddy!" she wept, falling to the earth in a pool of crimson. "Help me, Daddy! Daddy!"
"It's not real..." Robin assured himself.
"Robin!"
"Daddy!"
"Robin!"
"It's not real..."
"Robin!"
The screams of his name didn't stop, and every time Lucina and Morgan fell their words were more desperate, more painful.
"It's not real..."
"It's not real..."
"It. Is not. Real."
Grima forced him to watch them die for a very, very long time. He lost count after the hundreds.
The images were growing weaker. After watching for a seemingly endless amount of time, Robin picked up on the very first occurrence when the gruesome scenes became slightly blurrier and less violent. Grima's relentless hold on him was slipping, and for the first time since the images had started, Robin could move his seemingly petrified body. He was utterly exhausted, but he refused to give up like Grima was. The images became nothing more than a haze before disappearing entirely into nothingness, and slowly Grima's shadow succumbed to the force that had been pulling them downward in the abyss. Just like in the real world, the Fell Dragon showed little resistance in his final moments, releasing Robin from his grasp entirely and falling into the maw of death without another sound.
But he left someone behind. A man, looking physically drained and barely clinging on to existence. Robin glanced in his direction just as he opened his eyes for the first time in years. They were auburn brown, tired but still warm nonetheless. He blinked a few times, holding up his hands in front of him and gazing at them in awe, as if he had never seen them before.
"Grima... Grima is... gone..." he spoke quietly, surprised by the sound of his own voice. "Truly... once and for all... gone... I can see... with my own eyes again..." He became aware of Robin's presence. "Robin..."
"You're free now..."
"I...I'm... I'm free..." the man repeated.
"...You're Morgan's father, aren't you?" Robin asked slowly, already knowing the answer.
The question seemed to trigger the man's memories, and his eyes widened as his body tensed. "Morgan! My baby girl..." He looked at Robin pleadingly. "Is she alright?! Please tell me she arrived in your world safely!"
"She's safe," Robin nodded and smiled with reassurance.
"Oh, thank Naga..." the man sighed in relief, releasing the breath he had been holding. "Does... does she remember anything?"
Robin nodded solemnly, causing the other man to wince.
"H...How much?"
"Everything. Naga showed her everything that happened..."
"I'm sorry..." the man whispered, eyes tearing at their corners. "I'm so sorry, Morgan... Please forgive me... for everything I ever put you through... You never deserved any of it..."
"Robin..." The other man seemed startled to be addressed by his real name. "She understands... why you did what you did... She doesn't hold it against you..."
"She... she doesn't?" the man asked, considering the words for a while before responding. "Robin..." he began, small smile etching its way across his face. "It... feels a little strange I suppose... to be talking with myself... my past self... with you... like this..." He laughed nervously. "But... thank you... For everything... I can't even begin... For you to be able to give me this chance to speak... to even exist as myself... just for this little while... It means so much... to be human again... Please... I know it's so much of me to ask of you... but please give Morgan a happy home... Be her father..." he begged. "Tell her that her old father is sorry... that he wasn't able to give her the life he wanted her to have... and that even in death, he'll watch over her for the rest of her life..."
"Of course... I swear to you that I won't forget to tell her," Robin spoke. "Morgan is my daughter too. Lucina and I will give her the best we can provide."
"Lucina..." the man whispered. "Is... Is Morgan with her mother now? Has she seen her? Does she remember her?"
"Morgan should be with her right now," Robin reassured. "And she remembers. They get along so wonderfully... Morgan shares the same swordplay as Lucina too. Your Lucina taught her well."
"M...My Lucina?" the man stammered. His hands were shaking as he recalled the last day he had seen her, and it wasn't long at all before he started to weep. "D...Do you t...think? D...Do you think I'll ever... see her again?" he sobbed. "I... I lost her so long ago... I w...want to s...see her again. I've missed her... more than anything... when I was t...trapped inside m...my own horrible body..." He froze, remembering something else that made him cry so hard that he could hardly speak. "I...I...I never d...did w...what I promised! I p...promised I...I would take her... to the most b...beautiful flower g...garden in the e...entire world... and I...I never even buried her!" he wailed. "W...What have I...I done? I b...broke every promise... Every vow we ever made... I said I...I would give her a h...happy ending... but I left her there... lying b...bloodied on a... godforsaken battlefield... I...I'm worse than Grima..."
"That wasn't your fault..." Robin offered sadly. "I know... it seems like it, but... the real Robin... the real you... would never let that happen..." He frowned, trying to think of anything he could say to console him. "And you didn't break every promise!" he insisted. "Naga... Naga showed us what happened... and before she died... you promised her that you would meet her again someday... in a beautiful field of flowers as far as the eye could see... You still have a chance to keep that promise..."
"I don't... I don't deserve the place she is right now..." the man stammered. "I...I don't want d...death to do us part... b...but how will she ever f...forgive me? A...All the sins I've committed... The mistakes I've made... The promises broken... The things I d...did to our beautiful daughter... No one could forgive a m...monster like me... I'm g...going to hell..."
Robin placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "You are not going to hell. And do you know why? Because you have a promise to keep, and I think you and I both know that it's one promise that you won't let break."
"B...But... How will Lucina... ever forgive me?" the man whimpered.
"I'm sure that she's forgiven you already..." Robin offered. "Lucina will understand."
"Where will she be? Where will I know... to find her?"
"I'm sure she's where you both promised... She's still in that field of flowers, waiting for you to come be with her... I think... that as long as you find her... and fulfill her final wish... that you can make up for everything... You can make her happy."
The man sniffed, wiping his eyes with the backs of his fingers. "Y...You're right... Our last promise... I'll make it come true... No matter how long it takes me... I'll find her, and I'll stay with her until the end of time..." He looked down into the darkness that surrounded them, and a smile managed to find its way to his lips one last time. "...My time has come then... After long last... I w...want to see my wife again..."
"I'm sure you'll make her very happy," Robin smiled back.
"But..." the man spoke. "You... can't come to the place I'm going... Your Lucina still needs you. You need to go back, okay? And Robin? If I could ask you one more thing, it... would be... to cherish every moment you have with her... because you never know... w...when it could be your last... C...Could you promise me you'll do that?"
"I promise."
"Good," the man nodded, assured that Robin meant it. "Our paths split here, I suppose... You'd best be going. She's waiting for you."
"And she for you as well."
"It was a privilege to have this ability to speak with you, Robin. Thank you again for everything you've done... Now enjoy the future. You've earned it," the man smiled wider, placing his right hand on Robin's chest. He gave him a light push, the simple action of which sent them in opposite directions through the abyss, so as the man slipped away and welcomed what came next for him at the bottom, Robin slowly began to float back up to the surface.
You didn't think that Cold Tea had ended, did you? As of now, this story has hit over 200,000 words, has gotten just over 300 followers, and is getting close to 300 favorites. Wow... That's just amazing to me that I've gotten this far and this much support... So for all of you guys, I don't believe we can end Robin and Lucina's tale just yet. So yes, there is a little bit more left to go... Next chapter is coming soon!