I'm going to directly apologize to Dane Namor on this one. We messaged about this being a future problem with the story. The goofy personality of my Robin clashed with a lot of the main canon events of the game. There's a lot of mood whiplash in this chapter, given the fact that it's one of the most emotionally scenes if you marry Lucina.
Robin had packed for a picnic.
He found a quiet spot in the middle of a field, put the basket he was carrying down, and unfolded the blanket. He laid out the sandwiches on the blanket, along with the jam, rum, and pastries.
He eyeballed the strange looking box in the basket.
That was dessert. He'd open it later.
Robin liked being alone. Sure, he deeply cared about people like Lucina, Morgan, and, although he would be less open about it, Chrom, but sometimes he needed some alone time.
That being said, he wasn't surprised or displeased when he heard the footsteps approaching him.
"Lucina." He smiled at his wife. "You made the picnic."
Lucina said nothing.
"We are in a moving army, so this isn't anything glamorous. I've got some bear meat jerky if the sandwiches aren't your thing. I would have packed something I knew you liked, but this is sort of last minute." Robin said, unfolding a piece of jerky and eating it.
Lucina still said nothing, ominously standing at the end of the blanket.
"I just figured I could use some space." Robin said. "Not from you, but from, well, people. The whole 'finding out you're a world-destroying dragon' thing tends to make you...think."
Lucina remain silent.
"Obviously, I can't stay here. If Validar can control me, he'll use it. How can a father do that, anyway? I mean, it's morally horrible, but it's also technically strange. Did he train me to do it, or can he control my blood somehow? It might be a Grima thing. Totally a Grima thing. Almost everything in my life is a fucking Grima thing." Robin said, taking a violent bite out of the jerky.
Getting no reply from his wife, Robin took a sip of rum.
"Right now, my main idea is locking myself up in a tower somewhere. I doubt Chrom would lock me up, so I'll have to do it under my own funds. I don't see that many other options-" Robin looked over at his wife, only to realize she had moved.
Lucina, with tears in her eyes, was pointing the Falchion at Robin.
Robin took another sip of rum, chuckling to himself.
"I don't know why I'm lying to you." Robin admitted to himself. "We both know the truth: Chrom is in danger as long as I'm alive. I killed him in your timeline, and I doomed the world." The tactician spread out his arms. "And so the biggest mystery of the Shepherds has been revealed."
"Robin." Lucina said, her voice strained. "Please stop." She painfully brought her sword into a more combat-ready position.
"Remember, a couple of years ago, when I told you Frederick and I had devised a system in case I turned out to be a sleeper agent? Well, I signaled him during the last meeting so he would enact the contingency plan. After the meeting, he confronted me and told me he would do no such thing because I was 'a trusted ally of the Exalt.' He paused for a few seconds, put a hand on my shoulder, and added that I was also 'a cherished friend' and asked me to be the future baby Owain's godfather. For fucks sake, we literally just found out I was Grima! I would expect someone called 'Frederick the Wary,' he's not that, well, wary." Robin exclaimed, pausing to take a longer sip of the rum.
Robin smiled hollowly at Lucina. "This is exactly why I love you. You know what needs to be done, and you do it. If there was anyone I knew would understand why I need to die, it would be you." He paused. "That sounded more romantic in my head."
"You're not making this any easier." Lucina said quietly.
"And you're making much harder for yourself." Robin said, gesturing the glass toward the sword. "What are you planning on doing here?"
"You know what I have to do Robin!" Lucina snapped. "Please stop joking around!"
"Lucina." Robin said sternly. "What are you going to do after you kill me? How do you think Chrom will react? Morgan? The others? They're too gentle hearted to understand why this is necessary. They'll resent you. They'll blame you."
Lucina paused, considering this. She regained her composure. "I'm willing to make that sacrifice."
"That's another things I suppose we have in common. We're both willing to throw our lives away for the greater good." Robin said. "The thing is, you don't have to."
Robin reached into the basket, pulling out a strange looking box.
"Lucina, do you know what this is?" He asked.
Lucina inspected the box, not moving from her combat stance. "No."
"They've been randomly appearing around the country." Robin said. "I went on some wonky adventures with Henry, did some things that were probably against the laws of nature, and discovered that these boxes summon Risen once opened."
Lucina pointed her blade at the box, surprised and horrified. "What are you doing with such a wretched thing?! Did you keep it in our tent?!"
"Lucina. I'm Grima. This box wasn't the worst thing in our tent." Robin reminded her, before examining the box. "The master tactician, Robin, was a genius, known throughout the world for his knowledge, wit, and good looks. However, he had a lapse of judgement one day and decided to have a picnic by himself. The unarmed genius was ambushed by a pack of Risen. He didn't stand a chance." Robin finished his hypothetical tale, looking up at his wife. "Do you understand?"
"...That's...suicide…" Lucina said, lowering her blade in horror.
"It's more humane than being run through by the woman you love, or forcing the woman you love to run you through." Robin said. "We both know that as long as our army has a drop of the blood of Validar-the blood of Grima- Chrom will never be safe. I made a promise a long time ago that I would do whatever I could do protect Chrom and his family. I would say I amended that to cover my own family, but I sort of made the royal family my family by marrying you, so that's redundant."
"..." Lucina was silent, conflicted about the situation. Robin noticed his wife's discomfort.
"Would you rather kill me?" Robin asked, causing Lucina to violently shake her head. "Good. I know it's hard, but this is the only way for you and Morgan to have…" Robin trailed off, his eyes slowly widening in a look of horror. "...Oh, Naga...Morgan."
"Robin?" Lucina asked, not used to seeing Robin like this. Even when he was talking about sacrificing himself, he still kept up his air of lightness, holding the harshness of his plan at his fingertips. This was different. "What about Morgan?"
"The blood of Grima." He said, expressionless. "Morgan has my blood. Validar could control her just like he could control me. The risk is still there, even if I'm dead."
"So as long as Morgan lives…" Lucina said, unconsciously looking down at her blade.
"No." Robin said plainly. "You can't kill her."
"I wouldn't let her die. " Lucina said, still looking at the Falchion, tears forming in her eyes. "She's my little girl. At the end of the day, she would be hurt the most. She would lose her father and be forced to lose her own life. I could never do that to her. I've failed Father, and I've failed you."
"You didn't fail me by not killing your daughter." A new voice said. "At worst, you've slightly disappointed me by being so willing to kill Robin."
"She has more balls and foresight then you, Chrom." Robin said, finishing up the glass of rum, more relaxed then he was before.
"F-Father!" Lucina exclaimed, as Chrom revealed himself. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough." Chrom replied. "I for one am never leaving you two alone to make any decisions. You'd probably wind up leaving baby Lucy in a pile of her own poop because it was better than 'making the sacrifice' of changing her." He joked, but it didn't get a laugh from either of the other two. "Robin, you always brag about being a master tactician. Well, just think your way out of this. Killing yourself is the easy way out."
"I've been thinking of another way the moment I realized that Morgan would have to die in order for my way to work." Robin assured Chrom.
"I just...sort of gave up." Lucina admitted.
"I would have too, dear." Chrom said. "We both try to solve our problems at sword point. At least you have the excuse of growing up in a hellish future. I'm just somewhat pigheaded." Chrom nodded his head toward the camp. "Want to head back? It's almost dinner."
"Sure." Robin replied, picking up the picnic. "To be honest, most of this was for show." He carefully put the reeking box on the ground. "I don't need this."
"So that's it?" Lucina asked, confused as her father and husband began to walk away. "Robin, I almost killed you!"
"And I love you for it." Robin assured Lucina. "I have no hard feeling if you have none."
Lucina sighed. "I...I supose. You'll keep Father safe, right?"
"I'm pretty sure that's my job description." Robin assured his wife.
I always have so much trouble writing Lucina! If you read Smash Cut, I'm planning on doing some interesting things with Lucina, so look forward to that.
Only three chapters left! Well, two chapters. The last one is me dicking around and following through with a joke a made to myself.