Past and Present - The Cost of Failure
Day 222, dawn
"Following an eventful patrol, the members must make sure to report to higher-ups so that command can keep track of changes in weather, terrain, and enemy movements," Robin recited blankly, much to the confusion of his party following.
"Robin?" Cherche asked, tapping the zombie-like tactician on the shoulder with the butt of her ax. When the white-haired strategist did not react, Cherche paused before asking Lissa over.
"What's up with him?" The wyvern rider asked the cleric. "He's incredibly out of it."
"Oh, what? Oh. It's... just exhaustion," the tactician self-diagnosed. "Yes, that must be it. Not the greatest night of sleep I've had."
"I'm surprised you even hit the hay at all. You're even more pale and baggy than usual," Lissa added in. Robin hummed his slight approval of the joke.
"Chrom blames parenthood for all his tired days, so I should follow suit. Children are exhausting. Especially that they've skipped the diaper phase and jumped right into a coordinated stunt like this."
"You'll be just fine, Commander. Why don't you take a quick nap on my girl?" Sumia asked, giving Snowflake a pat, letting the pegasus stretch her legs on grass. Robin shook his head though, preferring to stay awake.
"It's for the best I stay on my toes. Corrin wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I snoozed on a march."
The most recent father fell into the formation near the rear and struck up a conversation with his adjacent partner; the green-haired ninja, Kaze.
"Commander Robin, with respect, you are quite unsightly at the moment. Do you need anything handled in your stead?" the ninja asked, adjusting the straps on his gauntlet before resuming eye-contact with the lethargic Plegian. "Trust us to take this mission upon ourselves. We can handle this."
"I..." Staring ahead to the lead of the formation where Lissa and Corrin were talking, Robin made up his mind. "It's about Corrin. Princess, I mean."
"I think you of all people can forgo the formalities of title, sir."
Robin chuckled and disregarded his own lapse.
"Tell me about her," Robin asked quietly, Kaze already knowing what he meant by that ambiguous question.
"What is there to know? You and Commander Corrin have been close for a while now. Whatever you know is more than I did under her tenure. I'm confident you two are well aware with your tendencies and habits."
"Then offer me something you know that I don't: her history."
Kaze flinched. "Oh? She's but a young woman. I wouldn't know much-"
"My attempts at bringing it up with her tend to lead to her becoming nervous. I feel as if she wants to change the subject every time."
"...Perhaps there is a reason she does so," Kaze whispered solemnly. Robin understood the implications and nodded. She was a princess after all. And not just any princess. A kidnapped one. A hostage.
A weapon.
"So I have been led to believe," the tactician admitted. "Perhaps it is not my place."
"Yet," Kaze whispered. "She takes to you like you're her brother-"
"That's not my goal at all," Robin cringed, prompting a laugh from the ninja.
"In a purely professional way, mind me. I have the liberty to tell you that her childhood was not... friendly. In any term of the word." Robin nodded in step and looked at his princess, now joking with Lissa.
"She was kidnapped, that much I know. Separated from her Hoshidan family, she was raised in Nohr until just recently." Kaze nodded in agreement and gave a slow sigh. Taking a breath, Kaze decided a few curtains must fall.
"I... I had a part to play in that kidnapping. It was by my error that history has unfolded as it has. But perhaps it is for good reason. But regardless, I am weighed upon by guilt, which is... I suppose it my duty to tell you these things, if you will."
Robin opened his mouth to say something but thought against it. Kaze's honor was already apparent in his ethic and loyalty to Corrin.
"Kaze, perhaps another time. I am prying, clearly."
"I see none of the sort, Commander. I shall tell you so that you may better understand my aims. I was a scout for Sumeragi's convoy, though by my laziness and apathy I let slip the assassins that would later take my lord's life and snatch young Kamui from his arms."
"Sumeragi... I've heard that name many times. The head of the Hoshidan family."
"My Liege, yes. The Saizo clan had served his house for many generations. I am the first to fail that noble task."
"I see..." Robin mused. "I don't doubt your loyalty now, though. If that means anything to you. You've proven yourself well, Kaze."
"Thank you, Commander. I hope Commander Corrin feels the same. It would mend a large gash in my spirit."
With that, Kaze sighed again, shaking his head. "But the past is past. I can only push forward now, and that is what I will do. Was there anything else?"
"Oh, before I forget. Why does she insist on being called Corrin? Her birth name is Kamui, is it not? She makes a funny face when I call her Kamui."
"Preference, mostly," Kaze guessed. "It does have a more familiar connotation to it than her Hoshidan name, if I were to come to assumptions."
The portal was in the distance now, maybe a few hundred meters away. The Shepherds spread out slowly, but relaxed when it was revealed there were no hostiles in the vicinity.
"I understand things more now, Kaze. So, if I may ask, when did you and Kamui reconcile? Or does she not know-"
"She knows, and her kindness still astounds me to this day. She reinstated me and allowed me the honor of being her retainer as recompense for my sins."
"So you've never truly broken the Saizo oath then. Not saying you should forget the past, but... this is quite amazing for you."
"She truly has brought honor back to my name," Kaze agreed. "I am quite happy to have her as a master. You would be most wise to take excellent care of her."
"Oh I intend to," Robin chuckled. "But I'm afraid my duties as commander... our duties, will have to take precedent."
"War is tumultuous, tactician, a fact you know well. W-were I in your shoes," Kaze began with slight embarrassment, "I would reach for something more... official. Something to dwell upon in the years to come."
"I... It's not quite there yet. Not yet," Robin reasoned. Kaze nodded, not off-put in the slightest.
"It must be strange, seeing your children before even realizing who your wife was."
"I've encountered worse," Robin joked, thinking about Lucina. "Imagine a child from your future would be a close friend and confidante in the present."
Oh, how that might have turned out.
The party circled the ruins once Corrin gave the order, setting up a perimeter and establishing a patrol pattern as the Commanders figured out a retrieval strategy.
"It's been a while since we've seen an active portal about. What do you make of it? Does the blue-ish color make it any different?" Kaze wondered. "They're usually purplish."
"I'm not sure on the specifics, but from what I can glean, it is much older than even Steiger. I cannot quite understand its purpose yet. But we can know that the children have taken quite an interest in it. They needed a dragonstone, for one. That's probably how they activated it," Corrin began, scratching her head. "And assuming they're not hiding in the trees..."
"So they're inside is what you're saying. That makes sense, I don't smell a thing," Kaden thought aloud. "Let's fetch 'em."
"Our main concern will be the Risen that could swarm in the area if we piss off whatever is in there," Robin announced, loud enough for the perimeter to hear. "Wouldn't want our children returning to a rout now, would we?"
At least, Risen were expected to come flying out as soon as the portal was bothered. If the children were still in there, then maybe something else was afoot.
And then the portal turned off.
"Well, that's not good. Robin, what do we do now?" Lissa asked, poking the rocks with her staff.
"Corrin, if you don't mind?" Robin quickly thought, gesturing the princess over. "Kana's stone activated it so with our luck..."
The princess rubbed her stone against the face, instantly reactivating the blue energy. Humming and swirling, the light grew back to its full size within seconds, pulsing with powerful and foreign energies.
"But how are we going inside?" Kaden asked, waving his tail and ears in an odd rhythm. "It looks spooky. My fur is getting chills-"
"Well, with your feet of course," the princess laughed, walking right up to the void before her.
"Besides, you are not, Corrin and I are."
"But-"
"No buts, not this time. Sorry," Robin apologized turning back to the princess. "Keep us safe, everyone. We'll do the same for your children."
"Was that really the smartest thing you could say?" Corrin asked under her breath, Yato at the ready.
"Most certainly not. But we need to be quick if we want to do this right," Robin warned, picking up a sizable stick and wrapping it with spare cloth.
"Torch?"
"Mm."
Before he could do anything, Corrin pushed him forward through the portal, following right behind him. A wave of energy washed over them as both commanders felt the pull of being warped across worlds.
Maybe even across time.
And it was dark. Very dark.
"See, we could've waited a few more seconds-"
"You're thinking too much," Corrin smiled, pulling out her dragonstone. As soon as she triggered it, the area radiated a calm cool light which gleamed with luminous blue. It also had the intended side-effect of triggering the portal, causing it to glow a ghastly purple.
"What would a dragon be without her trusty rock," Robin joked, tossing the torch aside.
"It's a stone, actually. Dragonrock doesn't sound nice at all."
"After you then, Manakete," Robin whispered, following Corrin into the-
Cold.
Not the cold one felt when touching snow or dipping your toes in a stream. More like the cold one felt when a stranger comes knocking at the door in the middle of the night. Pressing your ear to the wall and hearing voices. All strangers, all dangerous.
Shivers of fear.
Robin gulped, all sensations lost as soon as he blinked. All senses decided to turn off at once, and he could barely tell if his eyes were open or not due to the lack of a view.
The air was acrid, burning the lungs, scorching the nose. Dust.
And that wasn't dirt he was standing on. Something softer. Something wetter. Something that mulched with every step.
"You know, when Morgan entered my domain, I thought you would be right beside her. I guess it's a good thing I waited a little longer."
Robin felt an ethereal sensation, as if he had walked into something that would conquer his very essence.
And that voice. It... was oddly familiar. Oddly, yet vaguely.
The shadow laughed, manifesting into form before Robin's eyes. Corrin was no where to be seen. She was just next to him! It was so dark...
Without words, Robin's hands were alight with sparks from both a tome and a sword, both ready to be brought to... arms? There was no one there.
"Corrin! Corrin! Where did you- Hngh!"
Was it a foot? A claw? A boot? Robin couldn't tell what it was, but whatever it was, it was hard enough to send his face on a collision course with the ground.
He heard footsteps around him. Just one set. A person walking circles far enough away to stay out of striking distance. Whatever they were walking on sounded wet too.
"None of that," the voice warned. "Just me and me."
Robin didn't really get what that meant but still kept trying to regain his footing.
"What do you want!" Robin yelled, still on his knees. The figure simply chuckled again and Robin could hear the slow footsteps as the threat stalked around him.
"Oh, just talking to myself," the stranger replied casually, as if telling a dry joke. It was then that Robin noticed the dark purple energy circling around what appeared to be hands.
"Why don't you just- aagh!" A quick jolt to the neck silenced him.
"Shhh... No more talking. My head is starting to hurt and well, I'm going through quite a big change at the moment. Let me show you what I've been working on."
The figure turned and with an explosion of purple fire, Robin found himself in a ruined wasteland. Ylisstol was burning in the distance, and Robin still heard the screams of the dying. Covering his ears at the noise, the tactician realized where he was.
"I... I'm in Lucina's timeline. Old Ylisse. After Grima destroyed it. After... you destroyed it. You're him, aren't you. You're Grima."
"Right on the nose! And guess who's in there too. Guess who you followed into this hell! Into my hell?"
Morgan. Kana.
"No... Not them."
"The prodigal daughter returns. Not too sure about that dragon boy, but sure, I'll take it."
"What have you done to them?!"
"Some of them have seen my home before, did you know that? Cynthia, Gerome, Owain. Oh, and that snarky redheaded insect they found... though not her Hoshidan friend. I let them go, seeing as they aren't worth anything to me. But your children? Oh, I had to take a look. Granted, I couldn't quite size up your specific set of spawn yet, seeing as your blood mixed with that... thing... when your children were born. Usually, as far as I remember, you pick someone a lot less... vile."
"Don't you dare call Corrin-"
"Oh her? The dragon half-breed? Please. She is hardly the natural beauty we are! You are god incarnate! She is merely lucky genetics. A human who won the lottery of faux godhood."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Skeptical? Or simply daft? Come tactician, I have seen oafs with quicker wit than this. The fact that you haven't caught onto my drift yet is not only humiliating, this is embarrassing. To think that we..."
"What do you want from me? What good is showing me the future I have already seen and am trying to prevent?"
"Oh, Lucina showed you this, didn't she? Ah, no bother. See, this is the picture of paradise for me. I could sit here and take in the sights and sounds for the rest of time. But even this can be improved with time. What if I make the Risen in this world completely sane and unwitting as you humans, with nothing separating them from them aside from my dominance over them? Imagine. Widespread murder and chaos, without a reason or want. But alas, I have dominion over their minds, not their genetics."
"So this served no purpose except to flaunt your power. What, are we supposed to convert now?" Robin challenged boldly, before being kicked across the jaw.
"Shall I show you something else then? Hum-hum, let me think. Aha! Know this, mortals. This is the era of gods and of dragons. To think otherwise is to invite your death."
Another flash of scenery and Robin found himself on the battleground where he first met Corrin. The Hoshidan river, formerly blue, was now dark red with blood. Xander and Ryoma lay dead, divine swords sheathed in each other's hearts. Hinoka was motionless in a puddle of her own blood, pooling with that of her Tenma. Camilla lay right next to her, sharing the same fate with her wyvern.
Robin tried to close his eyes, but dreams never did allow for that freedom.
Takumi had multiple vines constricting his chest to the point where he died upright. His left arm was still tightly clutching his bow, begging for one more shot that would never come. Leo had a shocked gasp about his face, a clean entry wound visible in his neck, stopping for nothing. His horse lay still, reaching yet for its rider. Azura was impaled into the ground, Falchion straight through her gut and into the soil. Her arm stretched out to nothing as to grab the detached pendant a few feet away, kept away from her by Lucina.
That one hurt the most.
In all the nightmares she showed him, Lucina never once died in them. Seeing her corpse there made Robin gag.
"That's enough. You've made your point."
Robin closed his eyes before the other crown children were visible, feeling bile make its way up his throat. He was about to vomit but he coughed it out after feeling something crawl up his leg. He recoiled and screamed when Corrin's seemingly Risen corpse grabbed his foot, claws in dragon form. It bit his leg, and Robin felt a searingly hot pain as his right foot was surgically removed at the kneecap.
"You... You betrayed us!" She yelled, and Robin had no choice but to stab his girlfriend's dragon-face as he jumped backward.
Only to get caught in the arms of Morgan and Kana.
"Only one of us can serve you, Master! So I'm gonna prove I'm the better child!" Morgan exclaimed in enthusiasm, drawing her Levin sword and engaging the fearful boy.
"W-what?! Morgan, what are you- Agh!" Kana leaped backwards as his arm got nicked by the razor sharp blade Morgan wielded. He tried reaching for his dragonstone but Morgan shot it out of his hands onto the cold mud.
"M-morgan... Why?" Kana turned to see Robin in shock, and tried running towards him.
"Papa! Help me! I don't know why she's attacking me-" Robin closed his eyes and shut his ears, cursing to himself. The clanging of blades echoed throughout his head, and Morgan and Kana's grunts of exertion punctuated the metallic staccato as Kana held Yato. How did he get that?
"Get out...Out!" Robin cursed, punching himself hard enough to make him see stars. All at once, the mirage faded away, left only with darkness. He felt the pain in his leg fade, and he breathed in relief as he walked upon two feet again. Scanning the area, Grima was no where to be seen, nor the corpses from before. It was just an illusion, he reminded himself. Just a... bad... dream?
"Damn it all... Huh?"
To his confusion Robin still heard the clanging of blades, and turned to see an unconscious Corrin lying face first in the black surface of this death-scape. Morgan stood beyond her, wildly swinging her sword in a very real attempt to murder Kana.
"What the hell! Corrin! Morgan! Kana!" Robin stumbled over to his family, leaping in front of Morgan's lunge with an aptly timed boot to the wrist, sending her Levin sword - his Levin sword - into the cloudy abyss. Another kick to her chest this time knocked her over, and the trance fell away from her dark eyes as she seemed to awaken from whatever had her in her state of bloodlust.
"W... Father? Where am I? Mother! Brother! Phew! You're here! Whatever that was... it's messing with our... Kana?"
Morgan stared blankly at Kana, who wanted nothing to do with her at the moment. Instead, he ran quickly into Robin, hiding his face in Robin's cloak.
"Papa... She tried to kill me..." Kana whispered, quivering in his father's arms. Robin tried his best to comfort his weeping son, while Morgan looked at her own hands in shock. "I t-tried to stop her... She a-almost killed me..."
"I... T-that was real?" the tactician in training asked herself, hyperventilating. Utmost fear etched her face, and Morgan started to breathe uncontrollably.
"Morgan... Calm down," Robin said as calm as he could, still holding Kana who was trembling in his arms.
"Father... Brother... I'm so sorry! No... Tell me that isn't true!" Morgan screamed clutching her head. "I didn't do those things on purpose! P-please! Tell... tell me you're not hurt!"
Kana held onto Robin's robe tightly, so Robin picked him up and put the young boy behind him as he confronted Morgan. In a panic, she lined her hands with lightning as she prepared to blast Robin to oblivion. Robin didn't relent, and outstretched his hands, walking slowly towards his daughter.
"Morgan, it's me, Robin. Your father..."
Morgan gulped and looked around, hearing whispers.
"B-but... it felt so real. D-d-d-don't come any closer! I swe-"
In her own fear, she shot Robin point blank with Thoron, knocking him over and completely scorching his chest. However, Robin braced his body and no burns were at the moment fatal. He got up slowly with a painful groan, hobbling ever closer to his beloved daughter.
"Morgan... it's going to be okay," he reassured, limping now.
"No... No... Don't come near me! You are dead! I... I don't know who you are!" Morgan screamed, "But I know what I did! Make it stop! I don't want to know anymore! Damn you! You're never taking me from them again! I did what you asked! LET ME BE, GRIMA!"
At the name, Robin looked closely to see Morgan's gaze and arms not aimed towards him, but to the figure behind him. Turning around slowly to face the same laughing figure, Robin drew his sword and tome once more and his entire arm was engulfed in purple flames and lightning, Ignis primed to incinerate the bastard at the slightest provocation.
"So... That's how you intend on taking us apart. From within..." Robin growled. Morgan backed away and Kana tried to wake up his mother.
"Dad?" Morgan whimpered, finally relaxing. "That's you? Kill him! Kill that monster!"
Robin ignored her, facing the dragon barring the way home.
"I don't care what you do to me, and I don't care what you do to Corrin because she'll kick your ass. But you... you made the very real mistake of harming my son and my daughter. Let me make this very clear- When you die, it will be painful, and no one will remember you even existed!"
Robin screamed, firing his full strength into the smoke, piercing the veil of darkness for an instant and letting daylight in for a few real moments, before black set in again. When the clouds of dust and dark faded, Grima was no longer there. And neither was his influence over the children.
Sighing, Robin reached after his daughter and held her in a reassuring hug. Calming down considerably, Morgan's whimpers turned into sobs as she held onto her father tight.
"It... it felt so real, father. Tell me he's okay."
"It's alright... Shh, I'm here. It's okay."
Morgan closed her eyes, threatening to gouge her own eyes out if not for her mass hysterics.
Corrin stirred, only to see her family in emotional shambles before her.
"Morgan! Kana! ...Robin."
The tactician turned and nodded.
"What happened? I can't quite recall..."
"We need to get them out. Now."
The urgency in Robin's eyes made the situation clear enough.
Seeing nothing but abyss and smoke, Corrin shook her head.
"I can't remember a thing... Wait."
Taking out her dragonstone, a gentle blue light pulsed throughout the rift, illuminating a path across the crevasse where the other side of the portal was.
"C'mon you two... We're getting out of here."
Robin struggled as he led the path, behind him Kana hiding behind his mother from Morgan, who was instead clutching Robin. The princess maintained distance though, comforting the blubbering mess of her daughter with her steady and warm gaze.
"C'mon Morg... You would never hurt Kana. Not you."
"B-but... I-I..."
"Shh... It's alright, Morgan," Robin assured through his groans and shivers, leading her on. Urging Kana and Morgan ahead of them, Robin gulped as he watched them disappear first. A mutual sigh of relief was given as they both disappeared back to the land of the living. Gesturing for Corrin to go first, Robin kept watch behind them as she too, was consumed by the portal. Suddenly, Robin felt a chill rush past him as Grima appeared behind him.
"Consider this a warning-"
A barrage of spells went through Grima's head, turning it into nothing but dust clouds and smoke.
"And consider that mine," the tactician hissed, stepping through the portal. "You have no hope of winning. Not today, not tomorrow, and never again!"
"Ah, there you are!" Owain announced in relief, a small number of the children appearing behind him as they surrounded the white-haired children. Morgan quickly ran away, holding her head and pressing her arms against a tree. Soon enough, the tree was uprooted, bisected, and set ablaze all at once. Running further into the woodline, Morgan screamed in anger and Gerome slowly followed her, but a quick blast of energy knocked him on his back. The wyvern rider sat there confused, not really feeling the immediate urge to get up as he fell, unconscious.
"Uh-oh," Ophelia gulped.
"They disappeared shortly after we entered the portal. We thought they went back outside, but..." Owain trailed off, shaking his head.
On the other side of events, the other parents gathered around the other children, who in turn had brought back two figures, both bearing a vibrant red head of hair.
"It's Severa, she's alive," Cynthia explained to Sumia happily. "She's Cordelia's daughter," the knight motioned towards the unconscious redhead with pigtails. And gesturing to the other figure, the knight that bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain perfectionist, Cynthia shrugged.
"And her? She looks like Cordelia but I'm not so sure who she is. She's dressed in Hoshidan Tenma armor though..."
Subaki came to mind.
Robin and Corrin appeared soon after, much to the relief of everyone else.
"Commander? You were-"
Without a word, Robin stormed over to Cynthia and took her by the collar, forcing her onto her feet. In a surprising show of both rage and strength, he lifted her into the air with just one arm, even as she choked for air.
"R-Robin!" Sumia gasped, but Cynthia stared blankly at the tactician.
"What. Did. You. Do?" Robin threatened, still holding Cynthia by the neck.
"...N-nothing, sir! Wherever Morgan and Kana went, that was without us..."
"Please stop," Kana whimpered, a nervous and still form.
"It wasn't her fault. It was mine. And Morgan's. Don't blame Cynthia for this. Blame me."
Robin dropped Cynthia unceremoniously and the Pegasus knight quickly turned back, holding her head in sorrow. Only now did she realized what Morgan and Kana had just witnessed.
"Grima..." she whispered, barely loud enough for just her and Gerome to hear.
"No..." the masked man responded, genuinely afraid and showing it.
"I'm so sorry," the Justice Cabal leader replied solemnly, looking back at and Kana. Morgan peeked from far away, just barely visible from a gap in the woods.
She knew what they had seen, and it wasn't the first time. Morgan would be incredibly devastated if she saw what she had done in her timeline. All the bodies that lay at her feet. Is that what she saw? Or was it something worse?
Severa and the stranger were in that wasteland too, and not too long ago, Cynthia and the rest of the Ylissean children stood alone and separated in Grima's hell. The only reason they made it through it was because they had done it before. Even the Hoshidan and Nohrians found their way through to the end.
"Everyone, let's get out of here," Robin sighed, holding onto his son as the party filed through the woods back to camp. Corrin tugged on his arm towards the portal, with wide eyes.
"L-look!"
Grima stood, hooded and arrogant like a thief who had just gotten away with their loot.
"Looks like we're on the same page now-"
Not even taking a second to register both shock and anger, Robin charged up a spell with a guttural howl. In an inhuman display of power, the tactician obliterated the portal with one final bolt of energy, strong enough that it blew his arm off its socket with an audible pop. As he screamed in pain, the bolt went wide right and blew off Grima's hood. Even amidst the chaos, he could hear Morgan's gasp at the result.
Pain drove Robin to scream before he punched the ground in attempts of relocating his arm. Turning into a raging inferno of curses and animal-like sounds, the Plegian could barely breathe as his arm hung limply at his side, spent. Even as the other party members tried to ignore Robin obliterating the near side of the woodline with a single spell, they stayed quiet as the tactician clutched his injured arm from exertion. Limping with Corrin's support, she whispered dreadful words to him that only he could hear.
"He... He looked exactly like you, Robin..."
Robin paled, nodding in agreement.
"Maybe it's just a trick. Maybe he was just trying to get to Morgan's head. Or..."
"Something happened to you in the future."