Chapter One
Unwelcome Change
"It's getting dark already," Lissa notes, resting her cheek against the side window as Chrom's now-dented car bumbles down the avenue at a responsible pace.
Frederick is driving, and Chrom is next to him. The latter's eyes travel to the backseat every minute or so, if only to check up on the young woman staring pensively out her window.
Lissa waves her hand in front of her face.
"Whose window's open? Ptooey! Flies are getting in! Ew! Frederick, close the window!" she cries.
"Oh, look, a bear meat kiosk. How festive," Frederick says with a smile as they pass through a market.
The two continue speaking at their own speed, neither of them listening to the other.
Robin smiles at them, laughing softly.
The sun dips below the last buildings on the horizon, and the city is blanketed by nightfall. The road they travel on is winding but bustling. It spirals through the CBD and tourism sections and filters down into the upper-class residential suburbs.
Frederick is an expert driver. Each turn he takes it carefully deliberated. He hums to himself as the street turns from bustling haven to a quiet- and slightly eerie- cavernous thoroughfare. Streetlights flick on one by one, marking the shoulders of the road.
Lissa turns in place to look at Robin. She tucks her legs under her, and her seatbelt is fastened under her throat. Frederick tut-tuts her, and with a lengthy sigh she reverts to the normal position.
"You'll love our house, Robin. We've got a pool and a stable and-"
"Lissa, that isn't our house. Those are the complex grounds. Our house is actually quite small," Chrom says.
"But it's comfortable. And the whole of the complex might as well be our house. Plus, there are a lot of people who live there, too. And they're all super nice. Like…Sumia runs the stables, Miriel runs the library and Vaike's the moron who…wait, what does Vaike do?"
"I'm sure we can introduce her to everyone when we get there, Lissa," Chrom sighs. "Robin, why don't you get some rest? It'll be a while until we get there."
Robin offers a grateful smile.
"Thank you," she says softly. She snuggles up to the door and rests her head against the window pane. Her eyelashes cast deep shadows over her eyes as they flicker closed.
"Aw," Lissa giggles.
The car trip draws on into the night.
The street darkens.
Frederick narrows his eyes as the streetlights around them flick off. The headlights are the only source of light in the immediate area. The crowds have dispersed, and there is only silence.
Silence and darkness flood in.
"What's going on?" Lissa asks.
"Power failure?" Frederick suggests, though the look of concentration on his face says otherwise.
"Something feels wrong," Chrom mutters under his breath.
Muffled voices echo through the area. Rolling down his window and inspecting the area outside, Chrom realises they are not only voice, but shouts and yelps coming from a nearby plaza.
"Frederick, stop the car," Chrom orders.
"Sir?"
"I think someone's getting mugged. Either that or something's definitely going on over there."
Frederick pulls the car over to the curb.
"Should we go investigate?" he asks.
Chrom nods.
"You've got your gun on you?"
Frederick shakes his head.
"Then I'll guess if we have to fight, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way."
Chrom opens his door, unbuckles his seatbelt, and swings his legs over the side of the car.
"Lissa, stay here and mind Robin. Frederick and I will be back soon," he urges, gesturing to her with a firm hand.
Lissa shakes her head. "What's going on? I wanna come too."
"Lissa," Chrom says sternly.
"I'm a Shepherd, too. I know how to take care of myself. I want to investigate." She pulls the handle and the door swings open. Holding eye contact with her brother, she stays diligent.
Chrom heaves a sigh, but musters a small smile.
"All right. Frederick, lock the doors. I don't want our friend to get hurt while we're away," he instructs, flicking a brief look Robin's way.
Frederick nods, and when all three are out of the car, he locks the doors.
The three huddle together, looking into the blackness surrounding the entrance to the plaza. Through the darkness, a series of voices ring out violently.
Without wasting another moment, they run off into the night, consumed by the lightless avenue. Frederick keeps close to his charges, feeling for the baton dangling from his side. Violence is not necessarily a thing he keeps in high regard, but in his line of work it is something of a commonplace, and sometimes necessary, concept.
He makes sure he is always in the lead. Even when Chrom speeds up a little to meet his pace, Frederick bars him from advancing any further.
Each strike aimed at Chrom would have to pass through Frederick first.
They enter the unlit plaza. Even the windows of the surrounding apartments and terraces are ominously dark. Curtains have been drawn tightly.
Frederick knows these types of crimes well; whenever there is some sort of violent outbreak, people looking on them tend to separate themselves to keep out of harm's way. It is the human thing to do.
However, Chrom is not any human- he is an extraordinary one, with a strong need for justice. Frederick has learnt this the hard way, while trying to protect him from the very harm he sought to stifle.
At the far side of the plaza, though, all three can clearly make out the huddled forms of a group of people, all with their backs turned.
They are shouting, almost in sync, some sort of fast-paced gibberish.
"Hey!" Chrom hollers. "What're you doing over there?"
The group of men turn.
All are dressed in dark purples and maroons; low cut T-Shirts with chains hanging off their trousers. Some wear long, loose coats with rolled up sleeves, revealing purplish tattoos of dragons not even horror movies could conjure.
"Wuzzat? We're in the middle of something!" their leader steps forward, balancing a baseball bat on his shoulder. "You need somethin'?"
Frederick leads Chrom and Lissa into the plaza's centre. The group of men are in full view. They seem to be hiding something. Or someone.
"Mr. Chrom!? That you!? Hey, it's me! Sully!"
"Officer?" Frederick frowns. "Officer Sully? Where are you?"
One of the thugs takes a boot to the back, crashing down face-first onto the cobblestone. With him down, a young woman with short, choppy red hair can be seen. Beside her, slumped on the ground, is a man. His face is covered with blood from a broken nose. Sully is standing before him, as if protecting him from the thuggish men.
The men swing baseball bats and throw punches her way, but she blocks and dodges do skilfully that Frederick can feel himself swelling with pride.
Chrom and Frederick launch into the action, leaving Lissa on the sidelines.
Each punch traded between the men is as brutal as the next.
Chrom takes blows to the gut but tries not to recoil. He ducks until fists and delivers right hooks to the chin.
Frederick is less swift, but his punches and baton strikes hold more weight, and soon he, Chrom and Sully have subdued the party.
Frederick and Sully take out handcuffs and read out memorised arrest rights methodically.
Chrom kneels down to talk to the leader, whose baseball bat has been split in half and whose bloodied face grinds into the stones.
"Who are you?" Chrom asks. He wipes his nose gingerly, checking for nonexistent blood.
The leader lets out a laugh.
"Ylissean scum!" he roars, and lifts his head only briefly to spit.
"They're Plegian, sir," says Sully. "They attacked Ruffles over there without warnin'. I was headin' home when I saw the action. Thought I should get involved."
"I knew I heard a familiar voice," Chrom stands and shakes Sully's hand. "Glad you're safe, Officer."
"No prob. They were nothin'. Specially not for you, Chief," Sully turns to Frederick. "You were a bona fide ass-kickin' machine, sir!"
Frederick nods. He resumes his usual stance, standing tall. "You did well yourself, Sully. Could you call for a bus? We'll take these men in to the station."
"Yes, sir. Gladly." When one of the Plegian bandits lying on the floor groans, Sully kicks him. "And they say we're scum. Imagine just pullin' some guy off the street and kickin' his ass for no reason. Now that's what I call scum." She goes off to call in to the station, though her loud, gruff voice shows no sign of slowing down.
Chrom notices Lissa tending the wounded "Ruffles", who is sitting back against a restaurant blackboard.
He leaves Frederick to mind the Plegians and wanders over to them.
"Hey," he says.
"Why hello there, dear sir," says the wounded man. His light hair cascades around his shoulders in sharp strands, and as Sully had describes, he is dressed smartly in a blue-and-white ensemble with a ruffled cravat fastened tightly around his neck. "Now, I know I might seem inappropriate, but might I inquire as to the name of this lovely creature here? Or perhaps you could jot down the name of that stunning red bird whom played the part of my hero?" His voice carries a distinct foreign accent, but Chrom cannot place it.
"Uh…well…Mr…"
"Virion, at your service. I apologise, for a dashing man such as myself usually needs no introduction." He brushes Lissa off after blowing a kiss and heaves himself up. "Where was I, where was I…?" he mutters to himself. "Ah, yes! I was just about to head home to my darling hotel, when those brigands attacked me! How daring, I thought, that they might beat me in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowd! But I looked around, and night had sunk its teeth into the street, which was empty! Lord save me, I thought, but then that cunning, starkly beautiful, graceful woman came to my rescue, stealing my heart in the process! I must speak to her!"
Lissa yanks him down, rolling her eyes.
"You're hurt, stupid, let me tend your wounds."
"Ah, but they are mere flesh wounds, my dear. A dashing man such as myself needs not let them faze him," Virion speaks as if reciting poetry, so passionate and articulate are each of his words.
"Mmhm… Right…Well, as long as you're okay," Chrom clears his throat. "How did Plegian bandits even cross the bridge? I thought we had provisions in place at the border…"
"This seems bad, Chrom," Lissa sighs, dabbing Virion's forehead with a tissue.
"I agree. I'm not familiar with the customs of Plegia, but if their children play beat-up-the-foreigner instead of hide-and-seek, I would be concerned," Virion chimes.
Both Chrom and Lissa ignore him.
"Chrom!" Frederick yells.
Chrom turns immediately to see one of the arrested Plegians dashing for the exit. Frederick is on the ground, attempting to get up, but it appears as if he has sustained some sort of leg injury from the fight.
Sully notices only belatedly and shoots off after the escapee, the radio still in her hand.
"Come back here, asshole!" she bellows. Even at her astounding running speed, the criminal makes it to the exit.
Chrom makes to run after him, too, before he notices a figure at the exit alley, whose knee thrusts into the crotch of the escapee as he falls back to the ground.
Sully arrives to drag him back to the others.
"Thought you could get away, huh? God damn, what is it with crims these days and thinkin' they're Houdini?"
"Sully! You've got him?" Chrom asks, jogging up to meet her at the alley.
"Yep. All thanks to her."
The figure who had subdued the Plegian emerges from the shadows.
It is Robin, sleepy-eyed and looking confused. Her plastered arm is suspended in a shoulder sling.
"Is he okay?" she asks, bewildered. "I-I didn't mean to kick him, I just…saw him coming at me, and…"
Chrom releases a lengthy bout of laughter.
"Robin! It's you! That's quite a kick you gave him. Don't worry, he's the bad guy. You did well," he reaches over to tentatively pat the young woman on the shoulder, unwilling to hurt her.
Robin smiles. "I woke up and you were all gone. I thought perhaps everything had been a dream after all."
"This is no dream," Chrom says. His voice shifts from jolly to grave. "I'm afraid we've a problem with the neighbouring country, Plegia. They're connected to Ylisse via a long sea bridge, and lately they've been causing a great deal of grief over this side… Oh, but you shouldn't worry about that."
Robin tilts her head, furrowing her brow. "Sorry if I'm a little slow to pick up on things," she chuckles nervously.
"That's quite all right. Now, can I walk you back to the car? We have a nice, warm bed waiting for you."
Both smile. Robin peers around him at the group of men on the ground receiving long, cuss-filled lectures from Officer Sully, while Virion admires her openly, and Frederick and Lissa stand to the side.
"I sure missed a lot, didn't I?"
"Don't mind it. It's just that I have a problem with trying to set things right. Come on, let's get you back."
Hey! I'd like to thank everyone who's read this fic so far, I'm grateful for the support.
I've been getting a few messages complaining about bold text, and I'm not sure what's happening but I'll certainly try to fix it (it shows up as normal text on my screen, and the "all-bold" text was not intentional, so I'm not exactly sure. Sorry!)
Anyway, this fic will primarily be Chrom x F!MU, with other inevitable pairings because of eventual kids.
If you have a pairing you really like, tell me in a review and I'll try to include it!
These are the ones I absolutely cannot part with, though:
Chrom x F!MU
Lissa x Vaike
Gaius x Sumia
Ricken x Maribelle
Other than that, I'm open to suggestions!
Thanks so much guys!