Chapter 49: Coastal Raid
Chrom cut through the waters, determined to see Say'ri's mission through.
'We have a plan on where to go. And hopefully what to do.' Even with leagues of sea between him and Wreckage, Chrom hadn't forgotten Gangrel's mocking laughter. Nor how the Pirate King had tried to drown Lissa, as well as Aversa's black magic. He needed allies against that.
Those memories and resolve kept him swimming strong, skimming over underwater dunes as they left Say'ri's forces behind. Chrom fixed his eyes to the change of the ocean sands, and the way they shifted as he swam. The dunes rose and dipped, as the sunlight shifted overhead, forming into a coastal shelf and then a beach… And there was something familiar to the pale sand. Something that pushed a longing deep into his bones. Something that said this place could have been his home, once. Though now there seemed to be naught but sand and sea. Still, he was almost ready for the tide to wash him ashore, no matter how unsuited he was to land.
"Easy, Chrom." Robin had to tell him, laying a hand across his shoulder to still him. "I don't think we can cast that shape changing magic again, just yet. There's a… A recharge on this; my throat feels like it's going to gum up, whenever I DO try to weave the spell."
And her scales had a dull sheen to them. Chrom noticed that as he looked her over, and frowned. It was like there wasn't any magic in her left to cast.
"I… I'll be alright. I just need time to gather myself. Then I promise I can…"
"You can save your spells for when we most need them." Chrom found himself murmuring and turning his head from the beach.
He reminded himself that they had a mission, and that they needed to keep heading north and west, according to the sun overhead. No matter how welcoming that coast looked, it wasn't their goal.
Not compared to a man named Walhart… And the dread that name stirred in his stomach. For a moment the pale sand washed out, replaced with a memory of dark stone, and cold cells… And a man in crimson armor, measuring Chrom and finding him wanting.
'It won't be like that again.' He told himself, banishing those fevered memories. He was stronger now… Or at least had a new coat of scales, and didn't fear the tides, or the press of pain and near drowning they'd once brought with them. He could face Walhart this time… With true mastery of the waters, more than what the warlord possessed.
He tried to keep that thought in mind as they traveled. The currents carried them on for days, and courtesy of Tharja's magic they made good time.
"So, you're putting all your focus on searching?" Tharja asked, one evening. "I figured you'd be screaming for blood on the tide."
"Not right now…" Chrom answered. "I haven't forgotten or forgiven what Gangrel's done, but right now Walhart is the bigger threat, and takes more priority. He's the one behind the pirate raids. And hopefully if we eliminate him, that solves the attacks on Ylisse."
"Plus, we might be able to sink a few pirate ships." Robin didn't seem all that pleased at the prospect, with how she lowered her eyes as she spoke. Henry however brightened up at the notion. "At least it'll give Ylisse a few less things to worry about."
"…Though, it makes me wonder how Lissa and the others stayed so protected, considering all the ships that had been prowling the seas. Tiki must have done something for them." He glared towards the surface, almost daring ships to appear on the waves-
That was when he saw new shapes on the surface. Ones with blade like prows, that didn't look anything like the Ylisstol ships he'd glimpsed before… Or even the Plegian vessels.
'Valm!' He remembered those ships in the lighthouse battle… And how Robin and he had smashed the ships with waves once before. Magic dulled scales or not, Chrom thought he could do it again with Robin's help. That thought alone pushed him towards the ships, his muscles already coiling up and ready to strike. Robin clung onto his shoulder, getting pulled along for a change.
"…Something's wrong with the water." Tharja murmured as they swam closer.
"Oh! I know this taste!" Henry chimed in. The long swimming distance had done nothing to dull his spirit. Or made it any less unsettling. "That's blood in the water!"
Chrom froze at that.
"Getting stronger too, the closer we get to the shore." Tharja told Chrom, and that spurred him into a faster swim. Now he could taste it, his mouth flooding with a coppery tinge to the water, and his stomach churning in response.
"Quite a lot of it too. I wonder if there's a feeding frenzy of something going on nearby." Henry blithely continued.
Chrom slowed, worried about where all that blood was coming from… And at a strange red painting the tops of the ocean.
They'd drifted into a battle between the surface dwellers.
'And some of them used to be your people! Still are!' A part of him remembered Say'ri's orders to search out artifacts… But those orders were vanishing and trivial, compared to the blood in the water.
"Robin… Do you have a plan on what we should do?" He asked, only to feel her shudder at his side.
-o-o-o-
"I-" Robin stopped short with a gasp, feeling the sight above yank out her words and her breath. The waves glowed orange, reflecting myriad fires blazing off the surface. Black twisted in as well, the smoke so thick that it had to be coming off buildings. Robin forced her head to turn, looking for the source; in another breath, she'd found it, as the waves shifted and lifted them all up.
From the top of the swell, she picked out screams, smoke, and cinders all drifting up from a shore town. The territory, though she'd never seen it before, carried a faint feeling of being Ylissean, with the pale beaches, and the white stone buildings. Now the once proud buildings were engulfed in flame and smoke, either going up in ashes or crashing into the crimson-stained harbor.
Those screams from the burning harbor town yanked at her heart and churned her stomach, along with that metallic taste to the water.
'This isn't a battlefield, as much as a slaughter. A fishing village can't defend itself against the Valmese.'
She veered, almost bumping into Chrom as he did the same. His eyes were wide, trained on the surface.
Even with water in the way, she thought she could taste smoke along with the faint metallic traces of blood.
"What the hell is that?" Tharja snapped. She'd never encountered fire, Robin realized; and how could she, with a life spent underwater?
Tharja froze, staring at the orange and red, sharply contrast against the typical blue of the water. The Valmese ships were shelling the city with spell fire, and Robin swore that the tides ran red, where the Valmese raiders were cutting down the threadbare town militia.
"…If this is what surface life is like, I've got to tell you Robin, it looks overrated." Tharja looked ready to dive back into the deepest parts of the ocean. Robin could only shake her head in response.
Over the crash of the waves, she heard screams, the clash of the steel, and even the crackle of a town being put to the torch. The Valmese ships rode the same swell of the waves, the source of all the trouble.
"Robin, quick! We can't ignore this!" Chrom urged her on. She grabbed onto his arm again, letting him pull her towards the battle. With Chrom focusing on swimming, Robin shut her eyes, trying to focus.
Even if they couldn't take on legs, there had to be some bit of magic left in her.
"…It's been a while since I've squared off against a ship." Was all Tharja said, while Henry gave an agreeing hum. Their heads now reached the surface, and they cut in and out of the waves like dolphins chasing the ships.
"But hey, you should be a natural at this, Robin!" Henry told her. Probably trying to be encouraging.
Probably.
And at his words, Robin remembered. A reminder that Validar had sunk ships before… And forced her along on those missions.
'This is the way of things, Robin.' He'd hissed in her ear. And with his power over her, his will burning through her blood, she'd been at his disposal, powerless to do anything but his commands.
It seemed even now, she had no choice but to oppose ships.
With all the fighting focused on the surface, it was an easy thing to draw close to the ships. Looking up, Robin picked out troops massing at the railings. Most of them were mages, with trails of fire and smoke arcing off their fingertips.
The mages withdrew from the edges of the ship, having softened up the town. Robin tilted her head, trying to call up her own magic. Her scales burned in response, reluctant to draw any power. And still the memories of Validar calling up storms loomed in her mind, pushing a tight knot into her throat and stilling her voice. Robin grit her teeth against all of it, trying to force her will into the waves-
"Head down!" Chrom yelled, and grabbed Robin by the shoulder. He yanked her further below … Right as the ragged ends of a wrecked ship tried to take their heads off. Robin stared up at the blackened skeleton of a fishing ship, and the ragged remains of a Ylissean flag. Now she knew where the blood had come from… And why such a sick feeling had settled in her stomach.
"Th-they've decimated whoever tried to guard this town." Robin said, staring at the underside of the warships. Chrom frowned at the Valmese ships, the glare on his face showing how much he wanted to see those things ablaze.
"They've got a lot of nerve…" Chrom growled.
"Doesn't look like they expect an attack or a counterstroke from the water though." Tharja said, measuring the ships up.
They breached their heads above the water again, scanning the closest ship and picking out a man near the wheel. The top knot on his head, and the quality of his armor set him apart from the rest… As did the severe look on his face.
"Burn it all, and loot whatever you can salvage. They forfeited their lives once they decided to oppose Walhart." He told his crew. Though some of the soldiers hesitated at the harsh commands.
"Commander Dalton, are you-?"
"I didn't bring you on this raid to ask questions. You only need to swing a sword and take care of the messy work once we land."
"…Not that we're going to allow that." Robin muttered in response. She turned her back to the blazing village, and the townspeople's efforts to try and contain the fire. "Chrom, how do you feel about scuttling some ships?"
"Ready and willing." He answered her. "Give me a note, and I'll match my voice to it."
'So find your voice.' Robin urged herself, trying to remember the same spell she'd used at the lighthouse. Instead the image of Validar plagued her.
Her mind refused to focus on magic, those memories trying to crowd her head instead.
'Come on! You have to do something, and it doesn't have to be in service of Grima!' She whispered to herself. All while the boats closed in on the village.
-o-o-o-
Something haunted Robin. That much was clear with how she hesitated right at the prow of the ship. The hull's surface loomed over them, an easy target… Almost mocking and daring them to cut into it. Something Chrom wanted to do, if they could only find their spells. But without the harmony, and the odd trance it evoked in him, his arms felt like dead weight.
Tharja and Henry hung back, unwilling to get close, and still waiting for Robin to give the go ahead. Something that she'd been robbed of, along with the rest of her speech.
"Robin-?" She flinched at her name, and that in turn wrenched at him.
"Chrom, I… I don't know if I can do this-"
"Commander Dalton!" Something about the voice, the urgency in it, stopped Chrom short. A swell of waves built under himself and Robin, lifting them up high enough to gain another peek at the ship's deck.
"We've got a survivor we plucked from the garrison wreckage. Still bleeding and breathing, both." As the soldier spoke, he threw a figure to the deck floor. Despite the blazing fires, Chrom's blood went cold when he saw who the captive was.
Libra's long hair was stained red with blood, as were his pale robes. Even his back looked bloody and half-broken, and he struggled to raise his head. A cut welled up more blood and spilled it across his forehead, running over one eye and forcing it closed. But even with all that, he stared up at the Valmese commander, unflinching.
Seeing Libra in that state was like a gouge to Chrom's chest. If he possessed legs, he would have clawed and climbed his way up the hull… And as he watched Libra struggle to breathe, he was still tempted to try.
"Oh gods…" Robin whispered, her voice going thin.
"So. You're the one leading the shore resistance? You don't look like much." Dalton remarked.
"I never claimed to be anything great." Libra answered. "Just a man of the cloth, to help guide Ylisseans during a trying time."
"So much for that. Your prayers aren't going to save this village, or yourself… Though your head will make for a decent offering to Walhart. And it should break the spirit of the people well enough." Dalton motioned, and one of the Valmese raiders brought a sword to his hands. He raised the weapon up, angling the point at the base of Libra's skull.
"So make your peace with Naga-"
Robin gave a pitched noise in the back of her throat, trying to call up a spell. Her throat flashed as she tried to cry out… But there was a strange, strangled quality to her voice. Something was holding her back, and there was still the dull gleam to her scales. Tharja and Henry splashed to the surface, staring at Robin and the odd quality to her voice.
Chrom desperately tried to match that note, but it quickly turned into an odd, near scream for Robin… But something in the sky still answered. His only warning was a thin strand of silver light dancing across the sky. Then the heavens seemed to open up, as a jagged blaze of light slammed down from the sky…
… And struck the mast of the flagship. If the impact didn't knock the Valmese troops to the floor, then the slam of thunder did.
"Wh-Where the hell did that lightning come from!?" Dalton managed. His eyes were fixed up… To where the sky was formerly clear. Dark clouds now boiled across the sky, blotting out the twilight colors in favor of pitch black and flashing lightning.
Robin slumped against Chrom, her hair spreading across the water where her head dipped. Her breath had a raspy quality to it, and he found himself wrapping an arm around her waist to help hold her up. All while the waves slowly whipped their way into whitecaps.
"You did it!" He whispered, only for Robin to shake her head.
"That… Wasn't any of us." Tharja told him. "Or we had very little to do with it, outside of Robin's weird call."
Chrom wondered at the extra surge in the spell, and the way the wind tore up the Valmese sails. The winds shrieked, and the sound alone felt like it would slice into his ears.
'This… Is beyond anything Robin and I have ever done.' They never did have much talent with commanding the air of a storm.
'So who-?' And why did there seem to be a familiar note in the air? Something that reminded him so much of home, and of family, and-
A flicker of movement drew his eye, along with a flash of gold in the harbor. Someone was breaching the waves, just like they had… And he recognized that figure.
"E-Emmeryn!?" Chrom stared at the golden hair. Emmeryn cast a brief glance to him, before pitching her voice up. The storm gave a ferocious roil, and the waves grew to choppy froth.
Emmeryn wasn't about to let the tempest stop her. She swam forward, battling the currents, her scales and hair both glimmering like a beacon in the dark hours. Only her eyes betrayed her, wide eyed and staring; like she didn't quite believe she had such power or ferocity in her.
For his part, Chrom was also having a hard time believing it. And even Robin was staring.
"Didn't know you could do THAT." Was all Henry could provide. "You helped with that current that pushed us along too, didn't you-?"
"Henry, pipe down." Tharja hissed. But even she was staring at Emm, and Chrom guessed was also changing her opinion of the Exalt.
"How did you follow us?" Chrom finally asked, when Emmeryn closed with them.
"I… I slipped out. When Say'ri wasn't looking. It felt like there was something… Something I needed from you. Or needed to give you." Emm's voice was still halting, at odds with the strength and surety of her spell song.
"And… I won't stand by, and watch such atrocities happen." Chrom started at the steel in Emmeryn's voice. He'd only heard it once or twice before. "Besides that I… I didn't want to leave you to face all of this alone. It didn't feel right."
She flinched again, having to force the words out, despite the obvious pain it was causing her.
"And…" Emmeryn glanced up at Libra. In the chaos of the storm he'd slid from the grip of the Valmese. Now he was caught in the rails of the ship as the fleet pitched in the storm. "I feel… Something… Something closer to right when I look at you, and the pale haired land-walker. I know I don't want to watch him die."
"You're right on that." Chrom said at last. "Just… We'd better use that opening you gave us! We won't get another chance like that."
Robin was still blinking, staring at Emm like she couldn't quite believe the Exalt had such a ferocious streak. But Chrom still tugged at Robin's arm, guiding her upwards.
"Y-yes, we've got to do this, to save Libra." Robin whispered, seemingly trying to reassure herself. "I've saved Ylisseans before with this… I have to be capable of doing it again-"
Tharja narrowed her eyes at that, and murmured something beneath her breath. The storms grew worse, and made the waves strike the ships like swords. Shards of timber were sheared off, throwing the Valmese into a panic. Desperate orders flew between the ships as the helmsmen fought against the waves.
Something about the note hurt his ears, but Tharja kept it up, even as her voice went scratchy from channeling so much power. The same pain at his ears burrowed into Emmeryn, and she raised her own voice; half to act, and half in protest… And the sea seemed like it was torn between the two forces; the voice of a Ylissean, and a Plegian.
Chrom stared at their handiwork, watching the waves surge up into a hungry current… And dashing the Valmese fleet against the rocks, drawing ragged injuries along the hulls. The storm wasn't done yet, still rippling with fresh magic. The clouds exploded into a torrent of rain, extinguishing the fires in the village.
"Somehow I'm not surprised that you manage to get some healing in, and fixed as much as the spell destroyed." Chrom said, even as he watched Libra wrench himself away from the Valmese.
"Is… Is that good?" Emmeryn asked, before wincing; Libra overbalanced on the rail, and tumbled from the ship, into the waves. Before Chrom could do more than start, Tharja dipped under the waves and pulled Libra back to the surface.
"What do we do now?" Emmeryn managed. Tharja swam towards them, hanging tight onto Libra; the priest's eyes were heavy from water and trauma both… But he was just clinging onto consciousness, with the same strength that his hands clung onto Tharja.
"We need to get him to safety, for starters-" Chrom said.
"Actually might need to put that on hold!" Henry told them. "Because it looks like we've got some more company." He pointed over Chrom's shoulder; and when Chrom followed the gesture, he saw fresh ships crossing the waves.
-o-o-o-
Far beneath the ships and merfolk, waited the rest of the ocean. Watching to see how the battle would unfold.
The sea water glowed from the constant lightning strikes, and the currents roiled in the place of savage storm winds. Everything that could had already bolted for shelter; fish hiding in coves and sea grass, sea snails curled into their shells, and crustaceans burrowed into the sands. The only witnesses to the violent storms were a pair of still metallic objects, half sunken into the dunes.
Some of the sand churned free, scoured thanks to the force of the magic driving the waves. And revealing more of the objects.
The curved metal surface caught the flashes of lightning, reflecting it back in white sparks. A pair of metal bands peeked out of the sand dunes, finally exposed. The chains they hung on seemed half rusted, but the rings themselves were unblemished. And they seemed determined to stay together, perhaps in memory of the two people they'd once been attached to.
The rings continued to rest in mute witness against the storms, and the brewing battle overhead.
-o-o-o-
"I-I doubt we can take on that many warships." Robin said, eyes narrowed at the ruby, rain-soaked vessels. Seeing the fleet was enough to yank any remaining strength from her fins. The Valmese rolled in from the fog, closing with the harbor and bristling with troops.
"Where did they come from?" Chrom growled. Robin desperately tried to find an answer to that, studying the way they cut through the waves; the ships had a swifter trim to their sails, and fresher crew. Not part of the raiding party.
"Another patrol that was alerted to the commotion-" But at the same time, Robin couldn't figure out a winning move against so many ships, no matter how she stared at them.
She couldn't theorize much longer. The lightning strikes sizzled the air, and pushed a ringing sound into her head. The magic seemed to fall with the rain, soaking into her skin and thrumming through her blood, and almost boiled the sea. Her skull felt heavy, like it was going to drag her down… And her limbs weren't helping very much, either, going slack.
"Robin-?" Chrom was wincing as well, looking like he was dealing with some pains of his own. But he still had a little more strength than her, still able to swish his fins back and forth, and keep his arms gripping at Robin and holding her up.
Emmeryn did the same for Libra, keeping his head above the water with careful hands.
"I-I can't get that sound out of my head." Robin sagged in the water, shaking her head back and forth. "Tharja, Henry… Can you fight? We need to slow those ships, somehow."
Tharja hummed, considering the question.
"…There's just enough magic saturating the air and water, thanks to whatever you all did." The lightning flashed around them again, looking almost like the fangs of a striking dragon. "We can tap into that, and try to hold them back."
Tharja tugged Henry by the shoulder as she spoke, pulling them under. Robin just glimpsed their scales rising and falling against the surface, almost invisible with how bleak and gray the waves were.
The waters churned in Tharja and Henry's wake, getting pulled along with them and forming into a new current. The new tides surged against the Valmese ships. Just managing to slow them-
Save for a set of ships near the flank, darting away from the fleet… Though their sails were a contrast, bright white compared to the scarlet sails. And unlike the Valmese, they still could muster some fire power… And turn it against the advancing fleet. Fire leapt from one ship to the others, giving the raiders a taste of their own bonfires, the sails lighting up and blazing.
"Y-Ylisse?" Chrom stared. Robin could only nod, staring at the vessels; they were small in number, and looked like the remnants of the Ylisstol fleet. The ships could have belonged to the initial defense force, scattered when she and Chrom activated the defensive spells.
"They must have been on their own patrol, and also seen the commotion!" Robin searched the ships, but couldn't find the blue flag of the Shepherds flying. "They must be a different unit, finally put out to sail."
Emmeryn bobbed in and out of the waters, staring at the white sails. Her throat kept trying to work, her lips trying to form words… And with a troubled look flashing behind her eyes. She was trying to connect the images, Robin knew.
"I… I have… Seen this before. B-but how? Why does it look so familiar, if I-?" She looked at the webbing between her fingers, at odds with Libra's plain and unscaled hands. And she glanced at Libra as well, showing a hint of recognition.
"Wh-what are we supposed to do now?" Was the best Emmeryn could manage, looking to Chrom and Robin for answers.
Robin tried not to keep Emmeryn waiting.
"We have to get him on board a better ship." Robin said. Chrom nodded to one of the white sailed ships, looking like a bright ray against all the storm clouds.
Libra sputtered in response, his eyes fluttering open… And slowly focusing on Chrom's face, staring wide eyed.
"W-what?" He tried to breathe and speak at the same time, leading to mixed results. "Your Grace, you're… You're still alive?"
His eyes widened at the sight of Emmeryn.
"You ALL are!? I-I must be dreaming… Or my prayers have been answered." He lifted a hand towards Emmeryn, and by reflex Emmeryn took his hand up. Libra's fingers feebly curled around her own.
Robin couldn't dwell on the encounter; not with Libra getting threatened with drowning. She let the surge of the wave lift her upwards and towards the white sailed ships. Chrom drifted with her, tail working to keep them steady as they drew up next to the ships. She reached out and past Chrom's shoulders and her hands found the steps and handholds carved into a Ylissean ship.
'Hold steady,' she thought, scrambling upwards. Shouts echoed from the Ylisseans and were answered by the Valmese, as the winds tried to drive the vessels apart.
The white sailed ships drifted a little further from the Valmese, a few parting shots screaming over the railings. Fire burned the sky and blistered at Robin's skin, chasing away some of the storm chill… And pushing a jolt of energy into her.
Robin didn't dwell on the spell fire, focused only on hauling herself up, until her arms shook and trembled from the effort. But her grip somehow stayed sure, hooked into the steps even as the rain sluiced across the decks and sprayed over her. She came to a pause directly under the railing, turning back to the waters and Libra.
"Quick, bring him up!" Her tail slapped against the planks, and shimmered wetly in the lightning flashes. She knew she'd be drawing eyes, with how she glimmered-
The Valmese were screaming now, and it was something different than their usual warcries.
"Sea witch!" Came the call. Robin tried not to shrink from that, and the other curses the Valmese hurled at her.
Libra took note of that sight as well, staring at her scales in disbelief. When he looked back to Chrom and Emmeryn, he finally noticed the gills in their necks, and the fins plastered against their hair.
"Tide Touched…" Libra whispered the words almost like a prayer, blinking in shock. He didn't get long to gawk, however. Chrom timed the next swell, and hoisted Libra out of the water. With a wrenching effort, Robin grabbed and pushed him up onto the deck of the ship. He flopped onto the floor, still gaping at them all. And the look in his eyes, a look between shock, awe, and a hint of terror, made Robin want to drop back into the ocean and well away from all land dweller eyes.
'Are you that surprised at how they see you?'
"He's safe! We can-" Robin's words cut out, as something shrieked through the air with the force of a javelin strike. It sent Libra scrambling backwards, his throat trying to work.
"R-Robin, look out!" He called out. She lifted her head just in time to see the Valmese retaliate, in the form of strange harpoons shrieking through the air. The weapons thudded against the side of the ship, and in an instant Robin realized the Valmese weren't aiming at the Ylisseans; they were attacking her.
One of the harpoons struck home with a shriek of pain. The steel and barbs pierced her fins with a spit of violet tinged sparks. Robin froze from the strike, a numbness sweeping over her right before the burning flashed across her scales. Her grip went weak, her fingers slipping from the rain soaked planks one by one.
And she found herself falling from the ship and sinking into the waters with a cloud of blood.
-o-o-o-
Chrom watched in horror as Robin sank, the waves hungrily washing over her. He broke from his spot near Emmeryn, desperately swimming after Robin.
Her fins uselessly fanned at the water, torn to shreds and unable to get a grip… but managing to spill plenty of blood. Chrom yanked towards Robin as the current surged, the waves going wild from the spilled blood-
Another harpoon pierced the ocean, and this time scrapped by Chrom, shredding his scales and drawing a shriek out of him. The barbed edges seemed to drink in his blood… And the pain left him stilled, sinking into the depths.
Emmeryn gasped, even though she wasn't the one the harpoons had found. She tried to swim after Chrom, but her tail strokes were weak; her fins didn't know how to push her perfectly through the currents. She hadn't been gifted with the time, or the teachers to learn how to swim in storm wracked waters.
"S-stay back! You can't get hurt too!" Pain transformed his words into a scream, as his blood mingled with the ocean. The red clouded in the water… And seemed to pump more energy into the currents and storm.
'Blood and sea water.' They were catalysts for something, like ingredients for a spell-
Robin gave a whimper that barely reached Chrom, but still yanked his head around.
Robin drifted, but slack; the pain and trauma left her limp, the shudder of her sides the only clue that she was still alive. Chrom swam towards Robin, before the Valmese harpoons could find another mark.
"Chrom… You- you need to leave. Before they hurt you again-" Emmeryn tried to reach out to him, but the storm pulled them further apart. Off in the distance he saw Tharja and Henry battling the waves as well.
"Get to safety!" He called to Emmeryn and the others, before turning to Robin. Even with fire in his fins, he somehow drove himself forward. His arms screamed as he stretched them out to Robin, all the cuts in them stretching wide.
But that pain faded when her finally caught Robin and desperately held onto her.
-o-o-o-
Robin screamed at her limbs to move. Each action only called up pain, and froze her stiff, lest anything worse race across her skin. It all left her to fall deeper into the ocean, and she swore the waves were trying to tear her scales and wounds further open-
Up until Chrom caught her, holding her steady against the currents. She slumped in Chrom's arms, feeling a shudder travel through him. It was taking every ounce of strength he had, to keep his hold on her.
And it was clear Chrom wasn't faring any better than her, bleeding badly.
'You can't do anything. And neither can he.'
Her gills sputtered and strained, like they'd forgotten how to work. And there was a fire in them as well, that seemed to spread from her wounds and across her flesh.
'What on earth… What was in that harpoon strike?' She couldn't focus, her head buzzing. But she could still manage a touch of panic, with how she seemed to drown on her own blood… And the same seemed to happen to Chrom, as they sank deeper.
"Robin, what…?" Chrom whispered, trying to voice the same question.
"I-I don't know." Was all she could manage as she sank. There was a dark magic in those strikes, almost like poison, and it was burning through her. Chrom's grip was going weak as well, and she was starting to slip through his fingers.
"Ch-"
Panic closed Robin's throat, and she couldn't even call out his name. Nor shout to Tharja or Henry. Their voices were growing more and more faint as a strange darkness coated the waters… And she couldn't do anything to reach them. Or do anything other than drown, as her body seemed to strain at the seams.
Worse was coming their way; she saw that as a new volley of harpoons pierced through the waters and angled at her and Chrom like sea serpents striking towards a kill… And there was no way to dodge them.
'You'll fade. Skewered on land walker weapons… Will you really stand by and accept that-?'
A red rage was trying to boil into her brain at that thought.
'They dare to use such crude weapons? Against us?'
Her thoughts were growing feverish, almost suffocated. The same way her body felt like it was getting smothered, half forgetting how to breathe through her gills. She was going to strangle under the water, and under the strange rage cutting into her thoughts.
'You hate them… Just like me.' Her thoughts took a violent turn, and her wounds ached in answer, bleeding out in clouds and gouts.
'Call out to me. And I will strike them down, every land walker who dares to fight against us.'
A desperate scream worked its way out of her throat at the thought… And grew in volume, sounding almost like a roar, beating against bubbles and tides, and echoing through seas. The ocean seemed to shiver, and the waters went even darker.
Something seemed to stir, further out to sea and in the depths, and sent a shock wave through the waters. The sound echoed in her skull.
She let all her pain and desperation out in that scream… And watched as the waters twisted in response. It was like she was summoning a storm underwater, winds whirling and churning the waves. The stretch of water in front of Robin turned to a funnel, a maelstrom and a tornado trapped beneath the waves. And it was hungry for anything on the surface, as it reached out and swallowed the Valmese ships and their arsenal.
"We… We've got to get out of here…" Robin tried to say… But her throat had gone raw and rasping. Chrom was trying to fight the currents, but he fared no better than the ships. They were still at the mercy of the currents… And the maelstrom Robin's scream had shaped.
She tried to push at Chrom, get him to break from her and swim away to safety. But he stubbornly clung onto her… And refusing to let her go someplace without him, even as the ocean twisted and changed around them. The mixture of magic turned the seas even stranger, as sparks of magic fired around them. The blazes of light turned the sea into a sharp contrast; half brilliance and half shadows.
It was like falling into an ocean of stars that churned and whirled in a vortex. Robin fell through the maelstrom, watching the waters twist around her. A hand snapped onto her arm, and Chrom fought to stay close to her.
'What did I call-?' Her thoughts feebly whispered, feeling rattled from her scream. Chrom tried to speak, but the roar of the storms stole his words… And slowly loosened his grip, one finger at a time-
'I-!' And as Chrom fell away, her thoughts flickered in and out… Until Robin blacked out.
She didn't know how long she tumbled through the void. Only that her eyes finally blinked open, and she found herself staring up at a different sky and sea. One clear of clouds.
The waters went silent, leaving Robin to gather her breath-
And realize that she COULD breathe again, and her gills were working.
The ocean flickered in and out around her, the last of the magic spell leaving her body, and leaving Robin numb. The sea water overhead had gone absolutely still, almost like glass, while she floated alone-
With a wrench, she realized Chrom's arms weren't around her any longer.
"Ch-Chrom!?" She blurted out, wrenching upright. Images of him skewered or dashed on the rocks flashed through her head, giving her a jolt of terror.
'Get up!' She screamed at herself. As she twisted about, searching for Chrom, Robin realized that she was still near the same beach. The ships however were long gone… Some having fled, and others laying broken in the harbor, half submerged in the sand banks. Some of them looked like they'd been thrown there, or torn apart by teeth of rocks and waves… And she remembered calling the maelstrom. And decimating the Valmese fleet-
Yet through all of the changes, there was no sign of Chrom. And somehow that hurt even worse than her half healed wounds.
"Chrom…?" She called out again, but with no answer. Tension curled through her, and coiled her tail into a shiver. Her arms echoed that same tension, her hands curling and turning into near claws.
Already the tides were pulling at her, tugging Robin along as she searched for Chrom… Even as she desperately tried to stay in place, hoping that somehow Chrom would be drawn to her.
Her fingers scrabbled uselessly at the ground, drawing up clouds of sand… Until they snagged into something metallic.
Robin felt cold metal press against her skin. She stared down, wondering what had been caught in her hands… And her panic faded for a moment, when her eyes found two rings, tangled together on a chain and trying to slip down around her wrist.
Robin stared at the metal bands, bright even in the half cloudy light. The gold was almost like pure sunlight, and was already warming to her skin.
She recognized these rings. She knew their shape, and their weight… Because they were the same rings Chrom had gifted her and worn around his own neck. Robin's breath came out in a shudder of bubbles as she watched.
'H-how did these find their way back to me-?'
The metal rings were almost like an anchor, keeping her thoughts from scattering completely to the waves. There was still a fresh haze trying to settle around her. Exhaustion pulled at her eyes and left her drifting; the only thought she could manage was the need to hold onto the rings.
And hope that would keep her half awake and swimming to wherever Chrom and the others were.