Review Responses:
NotSoGreatGamerGirl: Haha, lol! And ah, school, how fun and simple it was in preschool, yet a horrible nightmare during midterms over a decade later. And yes, although they are "siblings" in terms of the law, they're not biologically related so that's why Jin did what he did, lol. And thank you, as always, for your review!
Lopmion-12: Yes, it was a flashback about Robin's life before she met Chrom. And I'm so glad you're enjoying my story! Thank you for reviewing!
GuestWithIdeas: Duly noted, haha! And don't worry, I have more coming with Jin and Chrom's in-laws! Thank you for your great review and I'll make sure to update soon!
Chrom felt guilty for not playing Yume Online for a whole day, and leaving Yui and Hiro alone. He had been busy with his job and helping Lucina with getting into college. Everything would be so much easier if Robin were here, he thought.
He checked his emails to see one from Internal Affairs of Dream Co., and he opened it hastily. After scanning through it, he smashed his fist on the marble tabletop angrily. Luckily for the stone, he wasn't as strong as he was within FE:A.
"Father? Is everything alright?" Morgan ran from upstairs.
"... No," Chrom replied.
Morgan approached him cautiously, aware that his father could be brash when he was angered.
"Is it about Mother?" He thought aloud. "... They couldn't find her, could they?"
Chrom shook his head in defeat.
"I should have known better than to believe they could find her," he scolded himself. "They said they can't track her account."
He buried his head in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Morgan," he apologized.
"No, it's alright, Father... I understand how you must be feeling."
Morgan embraced his father, who returned it.
"Thank you, son..." He looked up, hearing the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it!" Lucina called out from the other side of the house, by the study.
Lucina opened the door to see a woman, in her mid to late forties or so, with silky white hair twisted in a bun standing there.
"How may I help you?" Lucina asked, somewhat skeptically.
The woman smiled, and suddenly Lucina feared she knew who the lady was.
"Hello, granddaughter. May I speak to your father?"
At first Lucina stood there, her mouth gaping open.
"You're my grandmother?"
"That's correct," she opened her arms warmly. Lucina hesitantly stepped into them, but her eyes became teary as she smelled the fabric of her dress, the same smell her mother's clothes had.
The princess ushered her into the house, bringing her to the kitchen, where Chrom and Morgan were. The two blue-haired men sat there for a few seconds wordlessly before the white-haired woman offered another hug to Chrom, who awkwardly accepted it.
"Hmm, you look like a fine son-in-law," she grinned at him.
"Son-in-law?! But then..."
"Haha, yes. I'm Robin's mother," Asuka explained. "It seems she's quite lucky to have married such a handsome and kind man."
She momentarily turned to Morgan, who she observed carefully.
"Oh my, you have my eyes," she commented, looking at his face before embracing him as well.
"You're my grandma?" Morgan asked.
She nodded with a bright smile.
"That's right. You must be Morgan, right? My other daughter told me all about you and your family."
Asuka turned to Chrom.
"I have something rather urgent I need to tell you," her expression turned serious. "I fear the children need to know as well."
"Yes, what is it?"
"It's about Robin... Or more precisely, her stepbrother," her voice turned dangerously cold at that last word. "I fear he's behind all of this."
"Stepbrother?" Chrom asked in confusion.
"Yes. After I fled from my husband when Robin was a baby, I became rather lonely. I had my daughter, of course, but it hard finding good work. After a year or two, I met Robin's stepfather. He was a very kind man, and had a good job. He had a son named Jin, whose mother had passed away at the time. Oh, dear... Jin. He was such a shy boy, bashful at first. But as he and Robin grew older, he became more bold, and cheerful. He and Robin acted as if they were real siblings. And then..."
Chrom could see the fear in her eyes as she paused.
"... One night, when Robin and Jin were eighteen, my husband and I went out for dinner with friends. I decided to stay at a friend's house overnight. But my husband... He was driving home and saw Jin's car. He tried to follow him, but suddenly... Jin's car spun off the road and hit his car."
She shook her head sadly, her breaths becoming short.
"My husband didn't survive," she said, her features solemn. "Jin did, though. But there was a cost... During the accident, somehow Jin sustained irreparable brain damage. When Robin visited him, he tried to choke her. Ever since, we haven't heard from him."
Silence followed for a while, before Chrom spoke.
"Why did his car crash into your husband's?" He asked.
"... Robin found out that Jin had been influenced by some of his classmates," she explained bitterly. "He started to smoke, and drank frequently whenever he went to parties. He was driving home from a party the night we went out... I should have watched over him better."
She sighed before returning to the original subject.
"But that's all in the past. Jay told me about everything happening in Yume Online," she informed him. "If Jin launches that program, Robin will be gone forever. As will the rest of the world."
She held Chrom's hand with both of hers.
"Please, Chrom..." She begged him. "Save my daughter. I know it's a lot to ask, but... There's nothing I can do about it anymore. It's in your hands now."
He placed his hand over hers.
"I promise," he met her eyes. "I'll bring her back, if it's the last thing I do."
Asuka's eyes filled with tears as she embraced Chrom, this time Chrom returning it.
"Thank you..."
After she left, Morgan was in his room studying when Chrom walked in.
"Are you done with your homework yet?"
"Almost. I just need to finish a bit of reading."
"Okay. When you're done, tell me so we can play Yume Online."
"Really?"
"Yes. We're going to get your mother back."
About a half hour later, Lucina, Morgan, Chrom, Owain, and Lissa spawned in Aldraun. Chrom hastily messaged Hiro and waited for him to come with the rest of the Shepherds.
"Daddy!" Hiro ran towards him after he and the others touched down. "Mirage challenged the Shepherds to a team battle!"
"What?"
"He says he knows what you want," Yui panted. "He says to come and fight for it."
Chrom's brow furrowed.
"He means Mommy, doesn't he?" Yui asked, hugging him.
"He does," Chrom wrapped his arm around her small frame. "Looks like we have no choice."
"You're going to fight him, Daddy?" Hiro ran into his arms.
"Yeah," his father responded. "This has all gone on too long. It's time to end this."
Mirage instructed them to meet at the open field within Grimleal territory. The Shepherds all flew there, landing to see Mirage standing in the middle of the field alone. Chrom faced him, his comrades behind him.
"Hello, Chrom," Mirage's dark voice greeted him. "It seems you heeded my invitation."
Chrom equipped Falchion, holding it in his hand.
"Where's Robin?" He demanded.
"Patience, dear prince," Mirage kept his voice level. "She's to become GRIMA's host soon enough."
Chrom grit his teeth, his knuckles turning white.
"Damn you!" He yelled.
"Heh heh... Unless you can defeat me, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do."
"Fine, then!" Chrom leveled his sword. "If a battle is what you want, then so be it!"
"Hm, very well," Mirage drew his levin sword, and suddenly a wave of dark fog rose from behind him. When it subsided, at least five hundred players stood behind the masked man, Ryū at his side. They were severely outmatched.
"Where's your other lieutenant?" Chrom questioned Mirage.
"I'm afraid she won't be joining us today," he sighed. "But that's a trivial detail. Let us see who is superior!"
The Grimleal charged forward, overwhelming the Shepherds. However, some of them ran in fear after seeing Nah, who transformed into a dragon the size of a barn and began hurling fireballs at them. Gerome flew overhead and combated their pegasi with his axe. Yarne bunny-kicked his opponents furiously, while Laurent targeted their healers with his tomes. Kjelle and Morgan fought side by side, the former skewering enemies on her lance while the other blasted them with lightning magic. Yui and Hiro cut down their foes skillfully, too nimble to be caught, using their Twin Blades in rapid succession. Lucina and Chrom fought together as well, their swords cutting through even the toughest armor.
"Lucina!" Chrom called out. "If you get the chance, break their masks!"
"What?" She yelled over the sounds of metal clashing. "Why?"
"Their masks hold their powers!" Chrom stabbed through one of the Grimleal's cloaks. "If you break it, they'll be defenseless!"
Lucina nodded and they continued to fight off the players, who one by one fell. Soon, it started to seem they might win this.
"Fools!" Mirage yelled, and suddenly another troop of Grimleal flooded in from the forest.
"There's too many!" Lissa exclaimed, swinging her axe. "We can't take them all!"
Suddenly, an arcthunder spell fired and struck Chrom in the back, paralyzing him.
He cussed in his head as Lucina called out for him. He fell to the ground as a Grimleal prepared to finish him off, but he heard a singing voice from and sky and saw that his paralysis was cured.
"Chrom!" Olivia called out, flying down with her sword drawn. Virion, Tharja, Henry, Libra, and Maribelle flew down with her. Behind them were Panne, Vaike, Ricken, Miriel, Donnel, Stahl, and Sully. Cherche and Gregor rode atop Minerva, while Lon'qu and Cordelia and Sumia and Gaius rode together on their pegasi. Below them were Inigo, Gerome and Severa, Cynthia, Brady, and Noire, Cynthia with Owain on her pegasus.
"Everyone..." He said in awe.
"There's no way in hell we'll let that bastard take Robin!" Sully exclaimed.
"We owe Robin too much," Panne said.
"Robin will NOT be stolen away again so long as I live," Tharja added menacingly.
"Captain!" Sumia called out, lancing the people around Chrom. "We'll take care of them! Go find that Mirage guy and beat him!"
"Y-Yeah," Chrom stood up and cut his way through the army, looking around for Mirage. He was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Jin. However, the tables had turned and they had a very good chance of winning. But that would all be for nothing if he couldn't destroy Mirage's mask. Scanning the sky and ground as pegasi and wyverns soared through the air, he saw near the corner of the battlefield his four children, in battle with the Grimleal's top two. If he couldn't make it in time, hopefully Lucina could break one of their masks with Falchion.
Chrom landed behind them, Falchion drawn.
Mirage did a backflip to distance himself from them, chuckling as his levin sword crackled.
"Hm," Ryū said from his side. "It looks like the whole family's here... Except for one, correct? That's too bad."
Chrom's brow furrowed in anger as he turned to face the man.
"Robin is more family to us than she ever was to you, Jin," he told him icily.
The prince couldn't see his reaction through his mask, but it must have been one of rage.
"... I see," he spat. "My stepmother must have informed you... But no matter!"
He drew his golden axe, pointing it at them.
"You're not her husband anymore," Jin's voice was venomous and full of spite.
"You're wrong!" Chrom lunged at him before he shadow-traveled just as Jay had, appearing behind Morgan, who managed to shield his attack.
Mirage then began to attack Chrom, stabbing at him with the speed of a car. He had trouble keeping up before Hiro dove from the back with Astra, landing the very last hit critically.
"Urgh," Mirage stumbled back.
"You and your sister are quite a nuisance," he grumbled. "I'd like to introduce you to a new game feature I like to call permadeath."
A tag appeared in front of the twins, reading "Permadeath On".
Chrom's eyes widened.
"No!" He called out before Mirage shadow traveled and struck Yui in the back, causing her to fall to the ground. The masked man was about to finish her off when Morgan shot an Arcwind at him, causing him to tumble across the ground before standing up.
Meanwhile, Lucina dueled with Ryū, and she managed to lower his HP into the yellow zone, pushing him to the ground. She held her sword over him to end the battle before he shadow-traveled away again, to an unknown location.
"Damn!" Lucina looked around, trying to find him. She took notice of the battle and joined her family, who all stood in front of Mirage.
"That imbecile!" Mirage exclaimed. "No matter! I will have to finish this myself!"
He summoned two killing edges and held them in both hands.
"Dual wielding?" Yui gasped before he charged at them, slashing Lucina's stomach and Morgan's chest. Chrom then ran Falchion into his abdomen, causing Mirage to fall back. He didn't have much time to think, however, as Yui and Hiro were already on him, whirling their swords at him with the skill of a general.
"Yui!" Chrom threw his Falchion up in the air to her.
"Hiro!" Lucina did the same to Hiro, the two dropping their weapons and racing towards him with the twin Falchions.
Twin Blades activated, and both of their Aether skills went off, aiming straight for his mask. Just as the mask began to crack and break apart, Mirage's hood fell off and long white locks of hair flew towards the twin's faces as they looked in shock to see Robin's unmistakable face before them, her brown eyes wide in stunned surprise as the mask shattered into green and blue virtual pieces.
"... M- Mommy?!"
Chrom raced forward to catch her before she hit the ground, thinking his eyes deceived him. But this was no trick. In his arms was Robin, who looked to be half unconscious as she looked back at him.
"C-Chrom...? Is that you...?" She asked. "Where am I...? I..."
Chrom's eyes filled with tears as he embraced her, not wanting to let go.
"It's me, Robin..." He sobbed.
She smiled at that.
"Mother!" Lucina and Morgan called out, running towards them as fast as they could. Robin kneeled on the grass, Chrom next to her as they jumped into her arms longingly, tears flowing from their eyes freely.
"Mother...! Oh, Mother!" Lucina cried, burying her face in Robin's cloak.
Morgan was too busy weeping to say much, but he missed her all the same.
"My darling babies..." Robin kissed them both. "I love you so much."
The tactician looked past their shoulders to see Yui and Hiro standing at the back awkwardly. She examined Yui first, only to see who looked a mirror image of herself. Then she looked to Hiro, who looked just like Chrom.
"Are you...?" She asked them.
Chrom smiled and ushered them to come over.
"You two, didn't you say you wanted to meet your mother?"
They both nodded, Yui beginning to cry as Lucina and Morgan moved out of the way so they could embrace their mother as well.
"Mommy!" They exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around them.
"You really are my children, aren't you?" She smiled at them while patting their backs. "It's alright, your mommy's here now."
Suddenly someone shadow traveled from behind Robin, who turned out to he Ryū. He held his axe up, ready to bring it down on her before she was pushed out of way.
"No!" Robin cried out in horror, seeing her son's chest being gashed open.
"HIRO!" Yui grabbed her sword and drove it into Jin's chest before skewering him into the ground, pushing the blade deeper into the ground.
"NO ONE HURTS MY BROTHER!" She screamed, punching him in the face brutally until his HP eventually ran out.
Jin chuckled, coughing up virtual blood.
"Heh... This is my... Revenge..."
He shattered, leaving Yui with her hands on a sword stabbed into the ground before she turned back to see her brother breathing heavily, his HP draining to zero.
"No..." Lucina gasped, Morgan rushing over in panic.
"Hiro! No, Hiro, please! No!" Chrom held his son's hand pleadingly.
Hiro rested in his mother's arms, who cried onto his face.
"Mommy, Daddy... Please, don't be sad..." He said weakly. "... You have to be... Happy..."
His feet began to dissolve slowly into the air, causing Robin to hold him tighter.
"Thank you..." Hiro smiled genuinely for the first time. "This is goodbye..."
"Hiro! No, I don't want that!" She begged him. "I want us to stay together! I just... I just met you! I don't want to say goodbye!"
"Hiro..." Yui's voice trailed off, sniffling.
"I'm so happy... I finally... I finally got to meet you, Mommy," he smiled, a single tear falling down his cheek before he looked around at the rest of his family, who gazed down at him with tears in their eyes. "I finally know what it's like to have a real family..."
Chrom squeezed his hand tighter as his knees faded away.
"No! That's... Agh, this is all wrong!" Chrom yelled. "This isn't how this was supposed to end!"
"... It's my fault," Robin sobbed. "Whoever Mirage was, he was using my body. If it weren't for me, none of this would have-"
"No," Hiro shook his head. "It's not your fault, Mommy. I..."
He wrapped his arms around his mother, clinging to her like a lifeline.
"I don't want you to live the rest of your life sad and guilty..." He told her. "I want you to be happy."
"H-Hiro, I...!" She hugged him tighter.
Yui joined the hug, then Morgan, them Lucina, and lastly, Chrom.
His tears fell onto the ground, wetting the soil.
"Lucina... Big sis... Thank you for showing me what it means to be strong," he looked into her eyes, seeing the Brand there. "You showed me that it's not always easy to make the right choice..."
"And big brother... Morgan... Thank you for being the best brother I could ever want... And teaching me about being family..." He turned to Yui. "Yui... Thank you for always being there for me... You never left my side and stood up for me no matter what..."
He met Chrom's blue eyes, identical to his own.
"Daddy... Thank you for teaching me that family... Our family... Is worth fighting and dying for..." He looked up to the sky.
Robin began to sob louder, and Hiro raised his hand to her cheek to wipe the tears away.
"Mommy... Thank you for showing me ... That no matter what, parents will always love their children... And are willing to die for them..."
He had dissolved all the way up to his torso, and melted into his family's embrace.
".. Promise me," Hiro requested. "This is my last wish... Please... Promise me you won't cry... That you'll be happy... And that you won't forget me... When you get back to the real world..."
"I promise," they all said in unison, causing Hiro to smile brighter.
"I understand now..." His voice trailed off as he began to fade away faster. "I know what it's like now... I know what real love is like... I..."
"I love you..."
Robin clutched his back desperately, crying out for him. But he was gone, the yellow sparkling specs of his avatar gone. Robin looked at them in horror before collapsing on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably with her hands clasped against her heart.
Tears streaked Chrom's face as he punched the ground angrily.
"This is all his fault..." He gritted his teeth.
Yui cried into Morgan's cloak as Lucina comforted them, the princess' eyes wet as well. Chrom placed his hand on Robin's shoulder, who looked up at him and rushed into his arms, sobbing like he had never seen before.
Finally, Chrom wiped his eyes and held Robin's face.
"Hey... We have to keep our promise to Hiro," he told her, and she dried her eyes on her sleeve.
"Yeah," she agreed, her eyes still red.
Yui did the same and ran to Robin.
"Mommy, you should go back to the real world now," she said.
"But what about you?" Robin asked in concern. "Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine," Yui hugged her mother. "... But could you turn permadeath off?"
Robin gasped.
"Yes, of course," she did just that.
"Thank you, Mommy," she let go and smiled, blinking one last tear away from her eye. "Hopefully I can see you in the real world soon."
"I'll make sure to visit before then," Robin assured her before giving her a kiss.
Robin turned to Lucina first, embracing her daughter and stroking her back.
"I love you, Lucina..." She said. "I'll see you soon, right?"
Lucina bit back tears.
"Right."
"And my strapping young lad," she turned to Morgan. "I'll see you as well, hm?"
"Y-Yes!" Morgan responded.
Robin gave them one final smile before turning to Chrom, resting her head on his chest.
"Chrom... Thank you..." She told him quietly. "I love you."
He resisted the sobs rising up in him.
"I love you, too," he pulled her closer.
She beamed before leaning in towards his ear.
"Hey... When I get back, let's get married... And live together... And start a family... For real this time."
"Of course," Chrom smiled.
She returned it once more and opened up her menu, her finger hovering over the "Log Out" button before she pressed it, her avatar disappearing.
Chrom looked over to see that the battle was over, all the Grimleal defeated as the Shepherds flew toward him.
"Chrom!" Lissa tackled him with a hug. "Where's Robin? ... And Hiro?"
Chrom's eyes saddened.
"... Hiro didn't make it," he said. "He sacrificed himself to save his mother."
Lissa's eyes filled with tears.
"But I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted it any other way," Chrom assured her. He took a look at all his friends.
"Everyone, thank you," he told them. "Even if this is the last time we all fight together, we'll always be Shepherds at heart."
A cheer rose from the Shepherds before Olivia spoke up.
"Chrom, she's probably waiting for you as we speak," she told him urgently.
"Yeah! Now get the hell back to the real world!" Sully called out, cries of agreement shouting out from the others.
"You're right," he smiled opening his menu.
He took one last look at them before saying a last thank you as Yui hugged him tightly. Chrom kissed her head before logging out, waking up and bolting out of the room to wake up Lucina, Morgan, and Lissa so they could head to the hospital to see Robin.
Author's Note: And scene! Honestly, that chapter was pretty depressing to write... But don't worry, I've already got the next chapter almost ready to post, and I'll do that as soon as possible. Btw please don't bash me for killing Hiro, I've still got a lot planned for this story. Anyways, thanks for reading and please leave feedback if you enjoyed!