18. Bodyguard

((Author's Note: Also known as the Final Fantasy X AU! Which I desperately wish I had more word space to dedicate towards, but liked the initial ideas enough to post as-is.))

"She's not meant for this." Even with the sigh of waves, and the slow thrum of the boat pushing its way across the seas between Besaid and Kilika, Robin can hear voices carry. She was about to push herself up from the supply crates and go downstairs to rest. Now, she freezes in place and curls a little further against the boxes.

"I understand your altruism, your grace… But she's a poor choice to guard and shield you. Worse, she still has holes in her memories, and a head fogged by poison from that… Abomination." She recognizes Frederick's voice, but that growl at the end of it is a new facet to him.

"Frederick." Comes a new voice; the same one that woke her from a foggy sleep, and plucked her off the beach and out of the tides. She relaxes a fraction; Chrom has shown a knack for being the calmest of the odd group she's found herself in. "You hate anything that's been in contact with-"

"I don't HATE her, sir. I just… Don't trust her, with such an important mission. Though now that you mention it… We still don't know much about her. For all we know, she could be from the cults-"

"Sheesh, Frederick. Why not accuse her of being a fiend while you're at it." Comes a new voice, and Robin can almost hear Lissa rolling her eyes. "Those weird cults might as well be boogeymen, with how little we see them."

She also can't help but smile at the other girl's cheek… And notice that, for all the gaps in her memories, she's done a decent job of remembering everyone's names.

"She also saved Chrom's neck during that attack." Robin traces her fingers over healing wounds, as she listens. Those monsters had sprung at them, the moment they began the path out of the village. A massive, leathery winged bird had led the charge, almost blocking out the sun… But Robin had found she was a match for it, both with sword and with spell. "She can handle herself in a fight, better than I can… And yet you still trust ME to guard Chrom on the pilgrimage."

"…Only because you kept pestering me until I relented. And we'll have a few more guardians to help him on the journey, starting in Besaid-"

"So doesn't that mean that one more person won't hurt?" Lissa pesters and presses.

Her ears are starting to burn as she listens to them, at odds with the cool sea air washing over the ship. Robin pauses for only a moment, then forces herself up, drawing a breath to speak her part-

The deck shudders underneath her, and that breath leaves in a gasp. Waves break apart into spray that rains down on the ship, instantly soaking Robin straight through. Chrom and his companions don't fare any better; Frederick is the only one to stay standing, while the others collapse onto the sea-slicked floor.

Screams filter down to the deck, from the watch tower. Through them, Robin can pick out one word.

"SIN!"

It's a word that makes Frederick bristle, drawing the lance from his back in a fluid motion. Robin forces her eyes from him and instead to the origin of the water spouts; towards the island-sized monster breaching out of the sea. Sin is like a mountain moving and arching through the waves.

"F-Fight back!" Chrom shouts, trying to scramble his way up and sweep sodden bangs out of his eyes. Robin slides her way towards him, even as he slips across the deck and fetches against the ropes and gunwales.

"Summoner!?" One of the crew cries, staring at him in disbelief.

"The summoner is right!" Yells the captain of the ship. "We're too close to the ports! If we don't drive it off, it'll destroy everything! So fight for your lives, your families-!"

"…Or because you can." There's a strange buzz traveling through Robin as she says that, and finally reaches Chrom. She reaches out for him… But off the side of the ship, she can also see the behemoth. She can see wings doubling as fins, helping the monster fly or swim as it sees fit… And she can even pick out a strange, six eyed head glaring up at them from the depths.

The buzz only increases in her head as she stars at those red eyes… And it demands an outlet. Robin feels the beginnings of magic pulse along her limbs, burn at her skin, and demand to be let loose. And so she does, lobbing a powerful thunder spell at the monster, right as harpoons and arrows are loosed. All the attacks hit home, singing flesh and puncturing through the wings… And knocking something loose from the monster's skin. Strange scales bury themselves on the deck, pulsing with their own life and unfolding into strange, insectoid creatures.

It gives Chrom and Frederick something to fight, as they unsheathe their weapons and strike into the monsters. And they paint the deck with a glowing blue blood and ichor from the creatures.

"Sinspawn!" Frederick snaps out, naming the creatures. Robin has seen him irritated before, frustrated… But never worked into a rage like this. He throws himself at the monsters, jabbing and stabbing, heedless of how his attacks take him away from Chrom.

Or how Chrom suddenly has his back unguarded. Robin watches as the sinspawn encircle Chrom, wings thrumming and ready to tear into him. So she opts to slice into them first, weaving lightning magic out of the air, putting all the strength she has into the spells and heedless of the way it drains her own energy.

Chrom jolts when the first spells strike home, before looking over to her

"Knew I was right, that you'd make a good guardian." He manages to tell her, before the fighting picks up again. Sin is trying to break free, lashing and twisting on the ropes, and entering into a strange test of strength against the ship, as the two entities pull on the lines.

Chrom whirls around, ready to fight more… But he can't quite anticipate Sin slamming against the ship. The entire craft groans and lists from the impact. It sends Chrom skidding, tilting as he hits the railings again. He hangs there for a split second… And then goes tilting over, into the ocean, which now boils with sinspawn. Robin doesn't have time to think, throwing herself over the ship and after Chrom. Frederick's startled cries follow her, as do Lissa's panicked shrieks. All Robin can do is silently promise to them that she'll keep him safe. Whether she's suited to the job or not.

-o-o-o-

Gradually, Chrom becomes aware that he's laying on a beach. And even more gradually, the lead up of what happened flows back to him, and he jolts up.

"H-hey! Easy." He recognizes the voice, and feels a sudden calm wash over him. The voice belongs to Robin. So wherever he is, it at least means he isn't alone. He raises his head, blinking grit and salt water from his eyes, and taking a look around.

After fighting with the behemoth that is Sin, seeing it stain the waters red, it feels strange to find themselves on an island where everything is so tranquil. The harbor is a beautiful sight, calm waters mirroring the sunset overhead.

"There isn't any trace of Sin around here." Robin tells him. "I looked around to be sure… Though I'm not sure where we are."

He raises his head, looking at the strange, temple like ruins sprouting from the waves. He's had them described to him often enough. Emmeryn told him about the spires, and this was one of the last stories he overheard her telling Lissa. Before she left on her own pilgrimage.

"Besaid…" He whispers out. "We got lucky; we found our way right to where we needed to go."

"Then in that case… Come on," Robin pulls on his arm, trying to get him up… Only to go slack and collapse against his shoulder. She gives a startled noise, that trails off into a rough shuddering breath. "I-I might have overdone it…"

"Definitely." Chrom tells her. "Didn't you know that fast casting spells can drain you out-?"

Right away, he realizes it's a stupid question.

"R-right. Sin's toxin. You'd think I'd be the one remembering that." He pushes himself up, throwing her arm around his shoulder in the same motion.

"Here," Chrom tells her, boosting her onto his back, and hooking his arms around her legs. "I haven't given any piggyback rides in a while. Not since Lissa got too big for 'em. But I don't think I'm too out of practice."

Robin responds with a confused mumble, but still had enough presence of mind to throw her arms around him.

"See?" He tells her, taking his first step. "You're getting the hang of this… And don't worry; we're on an island with a village. Once you rest up in a proper bed, you'll be fine." Though with how much she sags against him, he's half convinced he'll nod off on his back.

He tries to keep her awake as they walk along old trails winding through the island. He tries to point out sights to her; the waterfalls that stream down the cliffs, the old ruins from the days before the wars, even the vibrant flowers. The red, violet, and orange blooms all echo the sunset overhead.

It's a relaxing sight; one that makes the attack on their ship feel like it happened months ago, instead of hours.

'Things will be alright.' He tells himself, as a way of picking his feet up. 'The ship can't be too far off, and we can always get a message off to them, once we reach the town-'

"…'m sorry." Robin mumbles in his ear, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm… Not much of guardian. Supposed to be protecting and helping you, not the other way around."

"Well, you DID keep me from getting skewered by sinspawn." Chrom points out. "Maybe we can call it even, with how we've helped each other out."

"But… You gave me a…" Robin trails off, and he can feel her bury her face into his shoulder. He tries not to shiver from the contact. "I… Owe you a lot. I'm not just wandering around, thanks to you. I need to prove that I'm… That I deserve to help you-"

"H-hey." He gathers just enough breath to say. "Is this about what Frederick said?" The way she tenses against him shows that he's on the mark. "Look… Frederick is a little more paranoid than most people. He survived a Crusader's fight against Sin, and that left some marks on him."

Robin goes silent at that.

"And the fact is… We sort of need a few more guardians, if I'm going to complete this… This quest of mine." And right now, he's trying not to think about what lays at the end of it. Or the reason why his sister went out on that same quest, and never returned. "The fact is… I'm not exactly the perfect image of a summoner. I'd rather fight something hand to hand, instead of standing back and letting my guardians handle it. And it's not like I have a lot of magic aptitude either; something just about every summoner has…."

He trails off, giving a harsh laugh. "I've got more in common with Crusader Mi'ihen than any of the great summoners. Sometimes, I wonder what I'm even doing."

Beyond following in the footsteps of his family. Chrom sighs, getting a lungful of misty air as they walk across a land bridge; bordered on one side by falls, on the other with a steep drop off into a lagoon.

"What I'm trying to say is… Don't beat yourself up for casting too many spells, and draining yourself. Right now, I'd give up a lot to be able to use magic like that. And be a proper summoner-"

That's when a stone chooses to turn under his feet. His stomach gives an odd lurch, as he realizes that there's nothing between him and the ledge, apart from air and his own balance… And as Robin wobbles against him, he loses even that.

He forgets to scream, as they fall off the edge of the bridge. Instead he sucks in his breath, and tries to turn around so he hits the water first. He smacks into the lagoon like a stone, sinking beneath the water for a split second.

The next moment, his body drifts back up, and he clings onto Robin as they burst back into the air.

"You're a proper cliff diver, though." Robin manages to tell him, brushing sodden bangs out of her face. He finds himself flicking a little water at her, for her cheek… And that even coaxes a small laugh out of her. It seems that the dip in the lagoon, however accidental, has given her a little energy.

"So… Do we swim the rest of the way?" Robin asks him, spinning around as she treads water. He follows her gaze, taking in their surroundings. The walls surrounding the pool are steep and sheer cliffs… But there's at least one chink in them.

"Over there." He says, swimming for the gap in the rocks. It's like a small thread of canyon has been woven into the stone, with faint rays of sunlight shining on a bare dirt floor that turns into a scrap of beach sand.

They manage to pull themselves back onto land. Robin stands a little taller than before, looking around.

"I guess this is our best path, going forward." She tells him, before taking the lead; still determined to play her role as guardian, even though she's still tired and sodden.

-o-o-o-

The path twists through the rocks, going from a strange passage to a tunnel. Glass spheres are set in scones in the walls, taking over illumination when the sun is snuffed out. Her eyes adjust to the gloom of the tunnel quick enough, though Robin keeps one hand on the wall to help guide her.

"What is this place…?" She finds herself asking.

"It… Looks almost like a Cloister." Chrom names the thing. He sticks close to her, almost tangling their feet together. "I-it's a place where summoners and guardians are meant to go, to prove themselves."

His feet scuff to a stop behind her, and Robin pauses, leaning against the walls. There's a slight change to the texture of the stone; something that suggests these passages were cut by hand, instead of shaped by nature. There's a faint impression of carvings under her fingers, and she picks out shapes that could be human… And others, that give the impression of giant winged creatures.

"Does this mean we're meant to be here?" She asks.

"Well… It was something we needed to do, eventually. Though I always thought I'd have Lissa backing me up." He wavers behind her, uneasily shifting his feet… Before at last stepping forward. "But we're here now, so we might as well accept the will of Yevon, and see it through."

She wants to ask about the name; she can almost feel the weight behind it, showing it's something important. But she also doesn't want to halt Chrom, now that he's acting more decisively. So instead, Robin falls into step beside him. The cloister path opens up enough to allow the two of them to walk side by side. The tunnel is eerily silent, swallowing up all sound from the outside world.

But eventually, she hears something else; something that sounds like a strange murmuring, like a dozen voices are seeping up through the floor. And the floor itself gives a strange pulse underfoot, as little motes of light trace through the tiles forming underfoot. Wherever they've found themselves, it's a place that has its own heartbeat.

Eventually the tunnels broaden, turning into a massive, domed chamber; one hewn from rock, and adorned with cloth and lanterns. It's like they've found a palace, somewhere deep underground. And as they step into it, the faint murmurs die away, replaced with a single voice.

Robin halts, taking in the sudden call; it seems to echo around them in woman's voice, crying out in a long, undulating song. It's something Robin can almost recognize the words to-

But she doesn't get to listen for long, as Chrom steps forward, almost hypnotized by the call. And Robin finds herself pulled along, up the stairs of the chamber, even while she tries to look around. As beautiful as the room is, there's something odd marring the walls; something that looks like black scouring marks, cruelly cut into the original script of the place.

"Chrom, is that normal-?" She tries to ask, right as they step through the doorway.

Into a room decorated with strange sigils, and a glass floor. She freezes when she looks down, to see a shape encased beneath the floor. It's an echo of the carving her fingers picked out; giant wings sprouting from a vaguely humanoid creature, all encased in stone and glass.

"…That's… A fayth. Something that becomes a summon." Chrom sighs out. "And it's what I need, to actually be a summoner-!"

He steps towards the center of the shrine, and the creature frozen underneath. For a moment, Robin wonders if the beast shivers in response… And she also wonders at the strange, dark flicker that dances across the form. It echoes those dark marks she'd seen on the shrine walls… And Chrom notices the shadow as well. He shoots a glance over his shoulder, and Robin sees more dark marks defacing the doors.

"Oh… Gods…" He whispers, and something in his expression makes Robin go cold. And right as he speaks, the song cuts out, replaced with chilling silence. "Frederick wasn't kidding about those cults after all… How did the Sinless get in here?"

"S-sinless…" Robin mutters, feeling something about the name tugging at her mind. There's something familiar to the name; something that brings to mind red eyes, like what crown the head of Sin. And of a terrible pain burning across her hand, under the gaze of those eyes.

"They're a cult that sees Sin as a god, and worship it; either to gift them with powers, or to turn its wrath on their enemies. And it looks like they tried to deface the shrine, and the aeon!" Chrom kneels down as he speaks, spreading his hands over the hairline cracks along the glass.

Robin wonders at the strange buzzing growing in her head; it's a match for the same hum that latched into her mind, the first time they faced Sin. Beneath them, the half human seems to shiver in response, the wings trying to break free of the glass.

"What did they do to you-?" Chrom whispers to the entity. The glass crackles a little more beneath them, like the chamber is getting ready to swallow Chrom up. It drives Robin to kneel beside him, throwing her arm over Chrom… And ready to protect him.

The sudden touch of her hand on Chrom makes him brace up. Right as a shadowy phantom rises up through the glass, spreading more of those breaks along the surface. Robin braces, glaring at the strange, shadowy beast. It looks almost like a bird, with long batlike wings, and a sickly green and red tinge coating the monster.

Robin feels a dread grip at her heart, telling her to shrink away, to run, or to bow down in submission. But the grip she has on Chrom is equal to that, and helps her brace up.

'I'm not abandoning my summoner, no matter what he's facing.' She thinks, glaring up at the dark creature. And Chrom does the same. Even as the monster's wings beat the air, and try to bring a whirlwind to life in the chamber, they stand their ground.

"Stand down." Chrom murmurs to the creature, and a strange shrill noise builds up in it. "Stand down, and return to your true self." No matter how the winds try to beat at him, he braces… And seems to draw strength from having Robin at his side.

"Valefor." The name whispers out between his lips.

'Valdefor.' Robin echoes it, staring at the dark monster. It locks eyes with her for a split second… And then something in the creature seems to shatter, as its body suddenly bleeds away into glowing motes of energy.

As the shadow fades out, it halts the crackle of glass underneath them. And just like that, the odd darkness surrounding the entity beneath them winks out. In its place, a glow seems to grow along the entity, and a ghostly form rises up; a mirror to the shadowy monster she and Chrom had been staring down. But this entity doesn't lash out at them.

Instead, the ghostly creature drifts through the air, hovering over them and spreading its wings out protectively. And at last, it fades away and leaves Robin with little more than a shiver. There's a slight crackle of power still tracing through her limbs, and she's certain that some of those left over motes of power from the shadowy creature have settled over her.

"What was that-?" Robin asks, as the voice slowly picks up and sings again.

"A… A dark Aeon. I've heard rumors of those; they're like dark echoes of the true aeons." Chrom traces his hand over his heart. "I… Think the cultists must have somehow entered the shrine. And tried to corrupt the aeon."

Robin shivers at that, and wonders at the energy still crackling through her. And why it was so similar to what she felt from Sin.

"But… At least now I have my own summon. My very first." Chrom clings to her hand, giving a slightly delirious grin. "We DID it, together!"

He slowly turns, back to the entrance.

"Chrom…?" Robin still hesitates.

"I know… I've got a lot of questions. What's going on with those cultists, or what they did to the aeon… But… I'm ready to try and find some answers. And I'll have my guardian to help me through it, right…?"

Robin can't help but nod at that, and clasp Chrom by the wrist.

"Right. I did promise to protect you… And I'm not about to go back on that oath." And no matter what else may happen, she'll keep him alive.

'It's what a guardian does, after all.'