Chapter 43: Clarity


Robin blinked, even as sleep fogged her eyes and made her movements sluggish. But as exhausted and muddle-headed as she was, Robin was certain she hadn't gone to sleep in a place quite like this. The canyon walls had dropped away in favor of an expanse of black water.

Glimmers of light flickered around her like star points. They made the entire area feel surreal… And with a jolt, Robin realized she was dreaming.

And she wasn't alone in her dream.

"Wh-what is this?" Even though Chrom whispered, having his voice suddenly fill her ears was like a shout.

"I-I think the better question is, what are you doing in my dream?" Robin turned as she spoke, and her eyes fell on Chrom. His scales were almost navy in the gloom.

"Dream…?" He murmured, taking in where they were. The waters stretched out all around them, the blue of an evening sky up top, shading to a fathomless darkness beneath them. And to add to the surreal sensation, dozens of glowing motes hung suspended in the water. They were in an ocean of stars.

"Wait." Chrom muttered, staring at the motes. "Right before this, that gem we took… A-Argent. It was glowing."

She was certain she'd never told him the name of the gem… And yet he'd plucked that name up.

"Yes, but… How do you know it was called that?"

"It just… Came to me." Chrom said, giving Robin a bewildered look. "Like I knew what it was already, and it was just waiting to be remembered."

"Between that and Emmeryn, do you think your memories are coming back?" She tried not to hope, but still found herself holding her breath once Chrom considered her words. And she kept praying that his breathing would stay steady; that the price of his memories had diminished, and wouldn't cost him his gills.

"M-maybe…? It feels like I'm right on the verge of something at least." Chrom rolled his shoulders, and it seemed that his memories and thoughts had stalled out again. Thankfully, his sides moved evenly, his breath never faltering. "And there's something about this place that feels special… Even if it's also a bit weird."

Looking around, Robin could see what he meant.

It was like swimming in a night sky; vast and beautiful, but impossibly empty. And floating in the middle of it, Robin couldn't help but feel exposed. From how closely Chrom stuck to her, he must have felt the same.

He kept turning, focusing on the different motes of light… Almost like he could see something in them.

"It feels like I-?" He cut off, right when he glanced down. A second later the water rushed past Robin's ears, as Chrom tried to shove her upwards and away from the depths. In answer she twisted around, and found her staring down and over his shoulder.

A red maw lurked beneath them, shrouded by shifting, dense and black water. The rent in the ocean glowed against the fathoms, like an underwater volcano lined with stone-like teeth.

"Grima-" Robin whispered the name out, and somehow it seemed to fit. The red light grew at the name, like the jaws that framed it were always stretching wider… And the thing they belonged to wanted to engulf the entire ocean in its teeth.

"S-still sleeping, I hope." Robin kept her voice low, lest she woke the dragon. Or shattered their own shared dream… Or even pushed the wrong memories into Chrom's head. Everything here was fragile. But through it, Chrom kept a steady and strong grip on her, and tried to keep his body between the maw and Robin.

In doing so, she took in his form again. He'd lost the bits of ragged sail cloth, leaving him with just skin and scales… Though he'd also gained something new, in this dreamscape.

"Y-You're glowing, Chrom." She whispered.

"Or at least your scales are." Robin pointed out, staring at the gleaming edge to Chrom's scales. The light seemed to flicker between gold and silver, shedding glints as his tail moved and adding to the star-like globes that surrounded them. Chrom stared for a moment, before blinking up at her.

"The same thing is happening to you." With a jolt, Robin realized he was right; by the time he'd finished speaking, motes of violet light rose off the edges of her tail.

"Gods, this entire place feels charged with magic." Chrom growled, eyes darting around. This time he didn't seem to find the light globes interesting; more like he expected them to lash out at any moment.

The motes flickered on and off, almost like they resonated with a soft ringing noise filling the area. It drew Robin like a whistle… Down towards the red mouth, to the source of the call.

It was an almost magnetic pull, and pushed a sleepy fog back into her head; only the red stayed clear, along with the strange siren call emitting from the jaws.

"What are you doing!? The idea is to swim away from that thing!" Chrom's shout rattled her ears, yanking her out of the spell wrapped around her head. Robin yanked herself away from the maw and the red, and kept her eyes focused on Chrom.

"I-I just… I thought I heard a voice from there. And it was calling to me-" And telling her to bring him as well. She could still that half song, like a weight in her ears. Robin shook her head, and surged upwards into the brighter water with Chrom…

Or at she least tried to. The brighter glow seemed impossibly far, and it was almost like the depths and the maw they held chased them up. Now matter how fast they swam, they couldn't put on enough distance.

Something bright flashed by her eyes, almost blinding Robin. It pulled not just her attention, but also her body. Suddenly the pull downwards didn't feel completely crushing. Chrom stretched forward, fixing his eyes to the brightness. Robin followed him, staring at the flare that gleamed along his scales. The bright light seemed to give him strength, and he pulled her along with him.

Ahead, the bright lights sharpened, forming a V shape, followed by a flutter of wings.

'A white bird-?' Robin wondered, staring at it. Chrom did more than stare however, wincing against the bright glare.

"Naga…" Robin started at the name he gave, realizing how right that felt as well. And the fragment of bright seemed to flare in reaction, almost blinding Robin. It stilled their progress, leaving them suspended… And half terrified that the depths would catch up with them.

"Children of water and air… Do you know what you are, now?" The voice yanked Robin's head back up, before she could get lost in the depths and red glow again.

"I…" Chrom shook his head back and forth at the voice. "You're… You're Naga?"

Robin didn't hear only the voice of a god, however. She swore there were echoes of Tiki reverberating in the voice.

"You know me. But do you know who you are?" Chrom shook his head at that, grimacing. And that pained frown cut at Robin in turn, knowing that he was still lost; even after confessing to her, Chrom hadn't regained his memory.

'I'd sacrifice my own past if I must, for his sake.' Robin gave a silent prayer to the glowing figure. 'But let him remember. He has something WORTH going back to… Unlike me.'

Her touch was soft against Chrom's arm. She ran her fingers along his skin, like that could coax him to think more clearly. Or at least breathe without tensing up from pain.

"Chrom… Please, remember. I don't want you to feel lost or confused anymore." The star scape darkened, like it was clouded with a storm. Flashes of light illuminated the sea, blinding Robin for a moment… And in the white glare, she swore that she saw an image. A familiar ship that skated across the waves, followed by a castle lurking beyond.

"The… the Shepherd. And Y-Ylisse. But what do those words mean-?" Chrom winced next to her, clutching at his head… Almost like the images were getting forcefully drilled into his mind to dredge up what he'd forgotten.

"Do you know who you are?" The voice pressed.

Chrom gave a long, shuddering breath in response, until he finally spoke.

"I…"

Beneath them, Grima gave a furious howl, hungry for their flesh… But then everything went to white, and the vision ended, save for one last echo of words.

"Until the forces of Grima and Naga are joined, until the vessels remember, we still must sleep."

-o-o-o-

Chrom opened his eyes with a rush, bolting upright. He almost smacked his head into the rocks, and stopped short only when Robin gave a startled noise and tightened her arm. It was slung across his chest, thumped him back into Robin, and pulled him back down.

As he sank, strange images flashed across his head; both beautiful and oddly painful. In his mind's eye, he saw ships dance along the waves instead of being sunk in the ocean depths. Those images sent an odd pang of longing through him.

"Ch… Chrom? Are you?" Robin slowly managed, only to pause when he rested a hand on her arm. He was a little disgusted with how his hands shook… But Robin herself didn't remark on it, instead placing her other hand over his, clasping it tight.

"I'm… I'll be okay." He managed.

"Do you remember now? Do you know who you are?"

"S-some of it." It was like there was a jumble of images thrown into his head, with no pattern or care. It left Chrom scrambling, both for meaning and for words. "I… I know-"

He stared down at the fins and scales adorning his form, and a frown twisted across his face. Now he knew why he struggled so much in the water, or felt like a stranger in his own skin.

"I know I'm not supposed to look like this." He finally managed.

"But I can also remember…" His hand tightened around hers, as he slumped against Robin. "I can just remember that I wouldn't be alive, if it wasn't for you."

His other hand drifted to his side, where he'd taken a half-remembered wound, and moved over the faint scar tissue.

"I was bleeding out and drowning… And then you saved me."

-o-o-o-

'Saved him.' Robin thought, watching Chrom.

He stilled, turning in her embrace to face Robin. His eyes lingered over her, and the attention made her skin twitch… Particularly when they rested on her marks. His hand cradled hers, and his thumb traced over the six eyes.

At least he didn't flinch from the symbol, only considering it.

"Even if my head is a mess, at least I remember what just happened. Validar… I heard what he said to you. That you're his daughter-?"

"W-we don't need to focus on that right now."

She tried to put conviction into her words; maybe then she'd believe herself, and stop shivering. She could still see Validar's red eyes, boring into her… And the smile he'd worn. It only made the shudders worse, no matter how Robin tried to calm herself. Her gills fluttered, where she tried to gather deep breaths.

"Robin?" Chrom didn't seem all that convinced, with how he squeezed at her hands.

"I-it's fine. I… I don't remember much, either. But maybe I don't need to. I already know that I don't want anything to do with Validar's plans." She hung her head. "That must have been what drove me to sacrifice my memories in the first place, like what Tiki said."

"Still…" Chrom tried to argue, giving her a worried look.

"Chrom I… Don't really need or want all my memories back, compared to you."

She reversed their grip, so that she was the one holding his hands. "You have a family that loves you Chrom. They don't see you as a tool in their plans… And helping you remember and find them is what matters to me. Far more than remembering anything about Validar's plans."

"…Okay, if nothing else I can agree with avoiding Validar. And maybe follow up on what all was in that dream; that bright light… Naga, seemed to think it was important that I know who I am." And he wasn't about to second guess what had felt like a god.

"Though I'm trying to figure out where we go from here." He raised his eyes to the rock walls, and the shard of blue water framed by the canyon. "My memory is still patchwork… Though I've figured out that not being able to stay still is a common theme with me."

'Tide Touched…' His brain provided the name, and something about it felt like it fitted over him, just like his sail cape.

He gave a forced laugh at all of that, still considering the bright waters overhead. But for all his words, he still rested against her, savoring her touch.

"I… I wouldn't mind some advice at this point."

"I'll see if I can give some. There's got to be somewhere we can go." Robin blinked, looking at their surroundings. "Calm as it is here, we need to find a place where we can get food, maybe better shelter… And find out where Tharja and Henry went."

"What do you propose?"

"I think… I remember something about a... A place near here." She frowned, staring at the mark on her hand. "My father used to get reports about outlaws and rebels hiding there. So maybe that's where Tharja and Henry took Emmeryn. If you're up for a swim, we might find it."

"If we can find Emm as well, absolutely."

-o-o-o-

Along with the fragments of memory, Chrom also felt an extra burst of strength flickering through him. Maybe it was just the restless feeling, the need to be out and searching, now that he had a better idea of what he was missing. With a light push from Robin, he found himself swimming at the lead. Chrom stretched his hand out, mirroring what had happened in the dream, and he found himself swimming upwards, to the top of the canyon. And with every second he felt a little more stable. He wasn't tumbling over the waters every time he twitched his fins, which Chrom hoped was a count towards progress.

To his surprise, the same didn't apply to Robin. She lagged behind, and her eyes weren't scanning her surroundings like he was used to. Instead they lingered on him… And on the mark on his shoulder.

'There's something important about that.' And the mark she carried on her hand and fins. He found himself watching Robin's fins as well, and the rippling six eyes undulating in the currents. But WHAT was important about the marks… The details still eluded him, just like the swirl of canyon shadows and silt clouded the violet eyes.

Chrom looked away from the marks, forcing himself to ignore that vague significance. Instead he looked at Robin's face… And he didn't miss the guilty look crossing her face. Each time she frowned, she slowed a little more.

Until at last she slowed to a halt, still trapped halfway in the canyon, hemmed in by rocks. Robin broke her eyes from Chrom, looking upwards. "To be honest… I'm still worried about what to do next. I want to help you, and get you back to your home. But I don't know how exactly to do that, or if it's possible."

"Well, it… Worked once for you, didn't it?" He was certain that much was true; that Robin had once been lost, even though she now looked like she was back in her element.

"Y-yes… Which means… I HAVE to remember everything, for your sake." Robin admitted, and the idea sent a shiver down her. "That…Scares me a little. But it's for your sake, as much as it is mine. I'll figure it out-"

"Hey. We'll figure it out, together. You don't have to do this alone." And she didn't have to tear open whatever old wounds her own father had left on her. He still remembered the vision in the ship graveyard, of her being forced to lash out at the land walkers.

'Land walkers…' Something about that term felt so odd in his head, and so familiar at the same time, and brought to mind other words; Ylisse, and the Shepherds. He thought of those names more and more often, and felt a strange half sweet and half painful twinge.

"Besides, you can't forget everything else you've done." Chrom tried to banish that unease, instead hoping to coax a smile from Robin. But she couldn't seem to bring herself to look at him, or break out of that worried look.

He reached out, and curled his fingers around her wrist. He found himself pulling Robin forward in a smooth motion, particularly since Robin didn't flinch from the motion or contact. That encouraged Chrom to keep talking, to try and convince her.

"I just know that thanks to you…" He whispered, squeezing at Robin's arm. "M-my sister Emmeryn is out there, and…"

His memory chose then, to remind Chrom of just how delirious Emmeryn had been. The glazed quality to her eyes, and the sleepiness of her movements.

"…And probably a bit confused. Who knows what Validar did to her, once she fell into his hands." Chrom continued, more subdued.

"That is true…" Robin murmured, frowning. "It was almost like he dug around in my head, and I don't think he had any reason to be gentle with her, if she was going to be a sacrifice."

His heart squeezed painfully at that. Chrom had to remind himself that Emmeryn was at least out of danger; she wasn't about to be anyone's sacrifice.

"We have to go find her…" He was already trying to swim upwards, out of their hiding place. It was only Robin's hands on his arm that stopped him… And kept him from swimming head first into an overhanging rock.

"Chrom, I promise we will-" He didn't like how she paused on that… Or gave a pointed look at Chrom.

She turned from him, but he caught a hint of words from her, murmured half to herself.

'And maybe… You'll be able to remember the rest, slowly and without any pain. There's still another sister out there, likely wondering where you are.'

-o-o-o-

"…Sooooo." Lissa rocked on her heels, pushing her chair onto its back legs as she looked across the table. Lucina supposed she should be thankful that they allowed herself and Morgan to dry off before bringing them in for interrogation. "I'm going to just guess that you're more than refugees, with how you handled yourselves in that skirmish."

Lucina glanced at her hands, wishing the shadows of the meeting hall were a little bit darker and easier to slide into. Only a handful of the Shepherd's crew were present… But all of them had a suspicious light to their eyes.

"Look, I'm grateful for your help! I am! The fact is I probably would be making friends with the fishes right about now, and so would Maribelle if it wasn't for you… But the thing is, I also think this isn't the first time you've helped us out, either." Lissa leaned forward as she spoke, bringing her chair back down with a clack. "And that means we're going to need an explanation."

Lucina froze at that, wondering if they'd believe anything she had to say. As her silence stretched out, Lissa continued.

"Lon'qu told me what he'd overheard from you… And that he remembers seeing Morgan's face." The swordsman gave a curt nod, leveling his eyes on Morgan. Her brother winced at that, shaking his head.

"I-I'm sorry, but the truth is I don't remember anything past the storms and meeting Lucina." Morgan looked Lissa straight in the eyes. "She's… Well, she's the one who kept me alive."

"…It's a wonder you ARE alive." Lon'qu spoke up, looking over Morgan. "You fought your way into an arena teeming with monsters, stood your ground against them, nearly got cut open… And yet here you are, drawing breath."

"Huh. So I guess I was actually pretty awesome!" Morgan grinned at that.

"Foolish is a better word." Lon'qu drawled, snuffing out Morgan's grin.

"Well… Even with that, there's the fact that Maribelle and I ALSO recognize you, after that rescue you pulled. The FIRST rescue, I mean." Lissa took a strand of her blonde hair in her fingers, frowning as she watched Lucina. "Plus, people with Tide Touched hair aren't the most common thing in Ylisse. Or Ferox, or wherever it is you come from."

"Y-Ylisse. I promise we're of Ylisse." Lucina answered. That much she was certain of.

"Well. Either way, Maribelle and I compared notes, and we both recognize you from when you saved us, before. But that doesn't solve one thing…" Lissa's eyes darted to Lucina's feet, and with a sinking feeling, Lucina knew she was about to bring up scales and fins.

Her body shivered at that, and made her want to duck away and flee the castle entirely. To sink back into the waters, and escape those eyes. She was terrified they'd become fearful again… And she could distantly remember that first look Lissa had given her, in what felt like years ago in the storm wracked waters.

It had been the first time Lucina had ever breeched the waves and sailed over the Shepherd. And Lissa had caught a brief glimpse of Lucina.

She'd looked at Lucina like she'd seen a monster. Something that shouldn't have existed… And Lucina didn't want a repeat of that. Some part of her wanted to keep Lissa's friendship, even if she couldn't explain why.

'I just want her to be proud of me.' Her thoughts whispered.

"Lucina," whispered Morgan. "Remember what Morgana said. We're supposed to be here and help as much as we can." Morgan kept his words soft, and his eyes rested on hers, trying to say 'trust me.'

"L-Look. We'll share what we know." Morgan continued, turning to Lissa. "Some of it might be strange, but we'll tell you all we can."

"If it helps Robin and Chrom, as well as the Shepherd." Lucina added… And Lissa almost fell out of her chair at those words.

"…How do you know Chrom?" Frederick pressed, while Lissa gaped at them. Lucina bit back a curse, knowing she'd said too much already.

"W-well, I… I think I was at Ferox in the first place, to help him. And, well…" Morgan turned to Lucina, trying to coax her to speak again. And she wanted to tell Lissa about how she'd had dreams of her parents, visions of a strange time, how she desperately wanted to find them alive and well… And yet still, her tongue turned traitor on her, fumbling the words.

"Frederick… What are the odds that they know Chrom, and are also Tide Touched?" Lissa asked. "Is there a connection between you all?"

"Yes." Lucina breathed out, forcing the words out. "I'm like Morgan, and I don't remember a lot, but I know it's important that we help. It's… True that we started out-"

Looking different, and were more at home in the waves. But she didn't dare say that aloud.

"We… We started out as near strangers; something about our memories is still scrambled. But still… The Shepherd was one of the first things I ever saw, and I wanted to follow it, and help it. That's why Morgan and I were there to help you."

"So it WAS you two, helping me out! I… I must have been hallucinating, or imagining things." Lissa muttered to herself. "There's no way they could've been…?"

"Water-borne monsters?" Frederick suggested, his eyes narrowed. "Their limbs certainly suggest otherwise." He nodded his head towards Lucina's feet, and she fought to stay still. "And they lack the usual murderous rage we've always seen in those creatures."

"I guess so…" Lissa muttered.

"I-I hope you still feel you can trust us. We just… Didn't know how to broach the topic, of having met you before." Lucina offered. And strictly speaking, that was true… It was just also true, that she didn't want to go into the details on how she and Morgan had switched shapes.

"There IS a familiarity to her, however; almost like that creature that was washed onto the Shepherd." Frederick shook his head. A cold feeling gripped Lucina by the throat. "But it all happened in a blur, and the blinding lights those monsters had… It didn't make it easy to see the details, either."

"Well, dears… The fact is they could have left us to drown, and didn't." Maribelle insisted, putting them back on track. And Lissa nodded as well.

"Frederick, I believe them for now. It… Doesn't make a lot of sense I know, but we're in the middle of a ton of magic anyways. Maybe the storms make people lose their memories or something?"

"S-something like that." Morgan provided. "There's magic soaking into the waters. And there's only so much a human can take, when exposed to that."

Or limits to what even what the merfolk could endure, at that.

"Hey! Sorry to interrupt!" Stahl cut in, standing in the doorway. "But I thought you should know; the repairs to the Shepherd are finished!"

All of the questions about Lucina and Morgan were snuffed out at that.

"Explain." Frederick pressed, turning his scrutiny from Lucina to Stahl. "How can you repair something that quickly?"

"Well… That's just the thing. It wasn't just us-"

"We finally keyed in on a melody suffusing the ship." Miriel picked up, stepping in from behind Stahl. "It acted as a catalyst, and provided a curative effect on the ship. As though we had clerics working on the ship, rather than carpenters."

"Well… At least we're afloat, and have a way forward? That's the best we have for now." Lissa sighed out. "And there isn't much for it… You two are dismissed. But-" She added as Morgan and Lucina stood up. "I hope you're not going to pull a vanishing act on us again?"

"No." The two answered in unison.

"Good, because it sounds like the Shepherd is finally ready to sail again… And it's my call that we're going to need some more capable people on board to act as crew."

-o-o-o-

She dreamed, this time twisting through an expanse of storm wracked water. Robin cast about, looking for Chrom… And finding nothing. There was only herself, thrashing and rushing through a blackened, ink like expanse. Lightning flashed, a brief pulse point in the shadows, as it tried to pierce down and into the depths.

'I've seen this storm before. Swam through it.' And she knew that if she breached the surface, she'd see the Shepherd fighting the waves. 'Why am I dreaming of this again-?'

"Keep going." Her own lips moved without Robin's input, whispering the instructions. "Remember your mother's instructions, and to find-"

A flash of blue interrupted her vision, followed by a familiar voice in her ears. Robin blinked, staring down at the compass in her hands… The thing she'd stolen from Validar. In the back of her head she remembered winding her way through the palace library tunnel, right after her fingers stumbled across an errant passage switch in the archives. And near that hidden passage and switch, she'd also found a tablet engraved with crude writing. Like the person who penned it had carved the letters from magic… And done so in a rush.

'Find the sea dragon. If there's a way out of your grim fate, she'll know how to achieve it. She travels among the waves, but has several known hideouts. I plan to make my way to one, and only wish that I could take you with me. But the guards are too numerous, and I can only pray you will find my message, and be able to escape as well. Follow the spiral of the storms… And you will find the resting place of dragons.'

"Resting place of dragons…" Robin repeated the last, as her eyes drifted open.

Robin blinked awake, to a gray and blue ocean. The faintest traces of dawn pierced the waters. Chrom stirred against her as they lay in a new stretch of sand, his cape wrapped around them both in a crude blanket. Gradually he opened his eyes to her… And paused when he saw her expression.

"Something wrong?"

"I… Think my mind decided it was feeling a little left out, with all the remembering you've been doing." Robin answered. "I finally recalled a little of my own memories… And I have another idea of where we might need to go, if we want answers. I-I can't guarantee we'll find Emm there, but we might find Tiki."

"Tiki… The sea dragon?" Chrom tried. "I… Something about that sounds familiar. And important." He frowned to himself, sifting through his memories. "She granted us a boon, in exchange for a song-"

He let his breath out in a shudder, raising his eyes back to Robin. Hope and confusion both played out across him, as his shoulders tensed and relaxed, and his tail gave an uneasy twinge.

"If she has that power, then maybe she can help us as well?"

"That's what I hope for. And I have a very faint impression of the path we need to take… If we follow the trail of the storms." She stretched a hand out into the water, getting a feel for the currents shifting through her fingers. She'd been taught about this once before; while her head refused to provide all the details, she could recall the vague lessons. That wind and waves sometimes echoed the other, forming paths that one could follow through open ocean, the same way land walkers followed roads.

"Do you think we should-?"

Chrom was already swimming up and shedding the sand. He twisted around once in the water, regaining that odd, half-grace.

"Hope is better than nothing at all." Chrom told her, and she had to nod, swimming up to join him