Chapter 15: Blue Sight

A crash of waves filled his ears, warping the noise into a muffled roar before he splashed through the water. The sun's glare was instantly extinguished, replaced with a quiet, cold world. Chrom twisted around in surprise. He'd expected pain once they hit the water, but instead he floated in a much gentler grip. The cool touch of the ocean chased pain and fatigue from his limbs, leaving him to drift in a half numb state.

Chrom forced his eyes open. A shadowed realm greeted him. The dark shapes of the docks formed vertical shadows, overlapping with long anchor ropes tethering parts of Wreckage together. The tangle was all in place so the city wouldn't break apart as it drifted through the ocean. The lines crisscrossed, filling the space around him and Robin like a net, the looser ropes catching and tangling his feet.

Yet he didn't panic, instead kicking with both legs together. He boosted off one of the wooden spars, trailing underwater like a broken limb. The motion threw him forward, well clean of the remaining ropes. Even with Robin clinging onto him, he didn't slow down. The first arrows hissed by, trailing bubbles… and yet slipping past them was easier than anything. Easier than holding his breath, and easier than swimming.

His body slid through the water, as though he was built for moving through the waves. His cape twisted around him, but felt like it was little more than gossamer; hardly any weight at all, and nothing that would slow him. Robin's lessons came to him as naturally as opening and closing his hands. She kicked next to him, lending an extra boost.

He reveled in the motions, only pausing when a new shadow fell over him. Not docks, ropes, or arrows… but a broader, angular shape that drew his eyes. Above, a ship cut across the ring of light. The flare reminded Chrom that he needed to breathe air.

His lungs chose to burn a second before his head breached the surface. A gasp rushed down his throat, Robin echoing as she popped up beside him. Her robe billowed out around her, like ink mixed with ocean. The weight wasn't dragging her down just yet, the kicks from her legs strong enough to keep her afloat. She brushed sodden bangs from her face, staring about.

"Where are-?" Robin paused on the question. He followed her sight, hoping they were well clear of their pursuit.

Chrom saw they were doing better than that. He could cover all of Wreckage with one hand, and did so in disbelief.

"Chrom? H-how... how did that happen?" Robin wiped seawater from her eyes. "How did we get so far?"

"I'm not sure myself," Chrom gasped, his lungs finally realizing how starved they'd been for oxygen. "But at least we got clear."

-o-o-o-

Robin treaded water, still not trusting their luck at escaping Wreckage. She glanced about, certain there was still some threat. The arrows may have been outpaced, but something new cut through the waves. The Shepherd had managed to cast off from Wreckage, and she wasn't the only ship riding the currents.

Gangrel's fleet came into view, swooping out from behind Wreckage. They were like storm clouds, their black sails billowing out in the wind. They angled towards the Shepherd, trying to fan out and cut off the retreat. Robin's heart sank, swallowed by the waves. They were about to watch their troubles repeat. At any moment now, Gangrel's fleet would dart forward and close off the escape of the Shepherd.

She saw figures racing along the Shepherd, trying to get it ready. Trying to find some shred of stray wind that they could use. Sumia froze in the rigging, counting the number of ships chasing after them; six vessels at least, moving like a pack. On the deck, Phila motioned for her spear, readying herself for a fight, and guarding the two sisters.

"Emm. Lissa-" Chrom whispered. The mages were trying to call up a wind to fill their sails, and even Emmeryn appeared to be concentrating, trying to find some strain of magic. Yet it was the Plegian ships that found the best route, while the Shepherd struggled to move. It was like the pirates were siphoning off any magic, blocking the Shepherd from it.

'And I have a guess on why.' Gangrel still had that sea witch with him, and her command was equal to any of the mages; even the likes of Emmeryn or Miriel couldn't seem to override her control.

The cut in her back stung against the seawater and air, working through the buzz of adrenaline. Her robes had turned sodden, and felt ready to act as weights and pull her under, once her strength waned completely. It was like the current drew bolts of pain from her, while the compass thrummed against her chest, responding to the water and blood.

'Can't we do anything?' The pain didn't stop her from reaching out, for all the good it would do. The Shepherd was well out of reach, and the cuts sapped at her concentration. The waves splashed against her arm. A blue light flared from the compass-

The color became her entire world, her vision shifting around, like she was underwater once again.

"Incredible…" Hissed a voice, a memory in her ear. When her sight cleared, it wasn't a harbor she found herself in. An elegant chamber greeted her… or at least the remains of one. Cracks riddled the columns, spreading up into the ceiling and turning the blue and gold murals into broken puzzle pieces.

"We all have some magic in us. It comes from being the children of Grima," the voice continued. Robin picked out a gold and winged serpentine figure, broken into pieces in the ceiling. She couldn't tell how many wings the thing was supposed to have, or how many eyes; too much of it was eclipsed by the damage. "Some measure of the waves and storms in our blood."

She looked from the carving to a strange, shadow shrouded figure. He matched the one from her other vision, the one who spoke to her when they watched the ship sink. Those bloody eyes were the same as back then… as was the arrogance in the voice. Even now, it made her skin crawl.

"But you… you truly are blessed. That mark on your tail is proof enough-"

'Tail?' A purple glimmer of scales greeted Robin when she glanced down. Their vibrant colors tangled and blurred her eyes when she tried to focus on them.

"Then there is the matter of your voice, and how you can command the verses. Now we only need to wait for you to mature, to use this to its full potential." The figure raised a shadowed hand. Clutched between the fingers was a familiar golden, disk shaped object suspended from a gleaming chain. It was the same as-

The same as the compass she was supposed to carry around her neck. She wanted to protest, but something in the voice made her shudder.

"Don't flinch from your destiny. Robin,"

"ROBIN!" A pair of hands yanked her up, pulling her back above the waves before she could sink completely. Robin coughed on saltwater, shaking her head to banish the images. Her throat felt raw, like she'd been humming when she wasn't choking on sea salt.

'What's wrong with me?' Was she going mad? A touch of warm water ran down her cheek, at odds with the chill of the waves. Tears.

A shriek of wind traveled across the waves. Robin shivered from the breeze. Her legs kicked out from under her, struggling to keep her warm and afloat

'Legs. Not a tail. Whatever that vision was…' It couldn't be real. It was at odds with what was before her… even if the compass in that vision had been eerily similar to what was around her neck.

The wind whipped past them, and she glimpsed the ships. Gangrel had tried to close with Emmeryn… and yet somehow, hadn't fully managed it. The crew on the Shepherd swarmed along the deck, and ran up and down the rigging. They kept the Shepherd dancing just ahead of the dark ships, the winds now favoring them.

The black Plegian sails snapped out, trying to catch a breeze-

Only for the masts to splinter, and the ropes snap. The black fleet floundered, the wind turning traitor on their sails. There wasn't the same cunning to them as before… and nothing that could match the Shepherd, which was now darting away.

Robin sagged with relief when she saw that, going limp against Chrom. Chrom whispered something that could've been a prayer, giving thanks to Naga for the turn of their luck.

The same squall was pushing Gangrel's ships towards her and Chrom, even as it carried the Shepherd out of reach. Chrom's prayer faded, and Robin knew it would only take a stray glance off the side to spot them. They'd be easy pickings for the pirates, with how they floated on the waves.

'And I don't want to meet up with Gangrel, or that woman.' The thought sent Robin casting about, looking for something to help with their escape. She'd take driftwood, or even a rock to slip behind.

As she searched, her eyes found something pale. Something that stood well beyond Wreckage, like a lonely sentinel reaching up to the skies.

'A lighthouse? Here?' Her thoughts floundered, confusion trying to take the place of panic. Chrom stilled next to her, and almost dragged them both down when his legs froze. The slap of waves on their faces broke the confusion.

"We need to get out of here-"

"And get over there." Chrom finished the thought for her. "Somehow."

Robin put her full attention on the tower, and risked a stroke towards it. Her back twitched, but that was the limit of any pain. The dip in the ocean and that brief vision felt like they'd been a balm on the wounds, and shot strength back through her. Robin doubted they could outswim a ship however, even with her pain dissolving away.

'We need something faster...' The thought trailed off, when her eyes found a scrap of white sail, and tawny cedar wood. The shapes and colors had initially been dimmed by the tower, but now she recognized it as a sailboat. It was a small thing, with barely enough room for the tiny cabin stowed beneath the mast.

'Doesn't matter how small the ship is, it's still closer.'

Either way it was a godsend, and Robin splashed towards it. Chrom followed, showing just how much he'd been learning from her; he reached the ship first, hoisting himself out of the water and pulling her onboard. Her robes streamed water like a sponge, and for a brief moment Robin wondered how she'd ever managed to stay afloat. Then the rail of the ship dug into her side, and she thudded onto the deck. The impact promised that she'd get new bruises, but Robin didn't care. She was safe and desperately happy for getting out of Gangrel's reach.

"We've been lucky so far." Chrom breathed out. "Though I wonder whose boat this is-" A creaking on the steps cut him off.

"...Would anyone being so kind, as to be explaining to Gregor what is going on." A burly man squeezed past the door of his cabin, blinking owlishly at his new passengers. "A brief nap is being taken, only to find new passengers onboard ship?"

"Not just any passengers." Robin whirled towards the stern of the boast, to see a familiar orange haired man lounging next to the rudder. "You know how I bought passage for multiple people when we cast off? Looks like they've arrived."

He favored them both with a grin.

"You took your time with getting out here, though. We got tired of waiting at the docks, and took a spin around on the waves. I was starting to wonder if you'd turn up at all."

"We-" Robin trailed off, as a roar slammed into her sternum, and shivered through her ribs. Something that boomed through her head like thunder.

It was thunder. Courtesy of the smoke-black clouds boiling up from the waves, like the ocean itself was burning. The clouds churned and writhed, like serpents trying to find prey… And settling on them, as they coiled through the sky towards the boat.

-o-o-o-

"You're sure you're-?"

"Morgan. I'm. FINE." There was a limit, Lucina decided, on brotherly concern. That limit had been reached ten questions ago, and Morgan still hadn't moved on from making sure she was okay. He also didn't look convinced, with how closely he swam at her side.

"I just had a shock." She grumbled, and cursed her fins and how many bruises they carried. They weren't strong enough to push her ahead, and left Morgan free to stick close. She couldn't easily shrug off his doubting looks, when they were within arm's reach. "There's no permanent damage. Just-"

"Just something you saw, that's been bothering you." Morgan finished. "Don't get me wrong; seeing you almost strangle on those ropes was bad enough. And if it wasn't for those humans…"

He trailed off, not wanting to think of the possibility.

"W-well. Things could've been bad. But I get the feeling that's not what makes your face go all scrunchy."

"My face does NOT 'go scrunchy.' I furrow my brow, at best." Lucina tried to keep her expression still and composed. And certainly not narrow her eyes as she thought back.

Loathe as she was to admit it, Morgan was right. More than that strange voice in the waves, it was the sights that burrowed into her memory, and demanded all her focus. She could almost picture those familiar forms back underwater, and feel a dozen questions on her tongue, if only she could see them again.

"Either way, it had to do with those people in the water, didn't it? There was something familiar about them. I only saw them for a second, but I thought..." He bumped against her, rubbing at his head. "I-I thought that they almost looked like-"

"...Like family." It was Lucina's turn to finish the sentence.

'That woman looked like my mother.' And yet, she hadn't recognized Lucina, no matter how Lucina had stared at her. But when her lungs had burned on the dry air, Lucina knew that she needed to cast herself overboard. 'And without any answers to show for it.'

They'd been limping since the encounter, the ship outpacing them. It had been a miracle they hadn't been dashed against the rocks, during that desperate escape. It had mostly been thanks to Morgan, Lucina had to admit; he'd guided them through the passages, helping her swim when her strength flagged.

Not that it gave him free reign to constantly pester or worry over her, Lucina reminded herself.

"F-for now," she forced her head out of the past, and focus instead on what came next. "For now, I want to find them again. They've got to be close as well."

"...I guess." Morgan grumbled, oddly subdued. When Lucina blinked at him, he forced himself to continue. "It's just… What happened last time was bad. T-terrifying, actually. I don't want you to put yourself in danger again… Even though I want to know what's going on with those people, too! It's complicated, and I wish my brain would make up its mind on what's more important."

He bumped his knuckles against his forehead to back that up, until Lucina pulled his hand away.

"Morgan, try not to worry. We can't let fear dictate our actions, or…" Her speech was cut short, as something broke up the surface of the water.

'Ships!' Her tail strokes had a little more strength, at that sight. 'That must mean they're-!'

Lucina didn't get time to finish the thought, as a familiar, blood chilling hum rang through the water, originating from the fleet. She stilled, her limbs all feeling like they were tangled and leaden again, her head slumping forward. The note in her ears wouldn't let her go, wouldn't let her move.

It was the same as the voice that sent the mast crashing into her, but this time it wasn't directed at Lucina. Instead, the sky seemed to darken in response. The waves turned more chaotic and the currents twisted and lashed at her hair like storm wind.

"L-Luci…?" Morgan squirmed under the noise. "What's-?"

"S-she's here…" Lucina hissed out. Morgan's voice broke the hold of that note, and her own words spurred motion back into her fins. She tried to escape the voice, and the way it dug needles into her head and scales. "She's caught up with us!"

Which meant their ship and its people were in danger. She had to help, Lucina knew; but just then, all her focus was on trying to escape, and find someplace to shield her from the song.

That was when her eyes fell on a pillar of a tower ahead of them, submerged in the water and connecting sea and sky. The shadow of a smaller boat passed overhead, and the noise was a little lighter against her ears, almost muffled by the little ship. Her heart tugged again, like there was a line between her and whoever was on board.

"C-come on!" Morgan grabbed her by the arm, and Lucina didn't resist. "I don't know what's going on, but I think our best bet is that boat!"

-o-o-o-

"...And I promise I'll never prank anyone again AND make daily prayers to the temple." Emmeryn put a hand out as Lissa finished up her half prayer, half thanks to Naga. She caught her little sister easily, letting her slump against her.

In the back of her mind, Emmeryn was seriously considering the same.

'The daily prayers of thanks, at least. That luck was nothing short of a blessing.'

Her feet bumped against the metal engravings, and Emmeryn finally stopped calling her own magic. They had the wind in their sails, and it was staying there; no longer getting stolen away by the pirates, and whatever mages they had on board.

"Well… At least we live to see another day." Phila finally breathed out. She didn't let go of her spear however, and the tone of her voice suggested 'but I can't wait to see you back home and safe.'

Emmeryn nodded, eyes roving between sky and sea. There was a strange touch to the wind, almost like the echo of a flute teasing her ears. She stopped listening, staring instead at the tiny ship. It rode the same squall that filled their sails. The blue of Chrom's hair standing against the white streaked sail was unmistakable. As was Robin's long coat, a dark billow of cloth in the wind.

"What on earth are they doing?" Emmeryn whispered to herself. The little ship seemed caught in a different current. A crumbled ruin of a tower seemed to be their destination-

'Wait... I've seen a tower like that before.' Why there was a Ylissean tower in the middle of Plegia territory, she didn't know. Or why it looked so familiar.

'Unless… that thing predates Plegia and Ylisse.' Her eyes widened at the thought. Before she could pursue the notion, a ripple on the water caught her eye. Barely noticeable beneath the slate-gray waves, a pair of shapes traveled, swift as any ship. Both carried a set of pale blue scales and long, finned tails that glittered in the light.

The breath halted in her throat, as she watched those glimmering shapes cut through the sea and shadowed the boat. Mer, she was sure of it.

"Frederick... I'll be needing a pegasus before that storm rolls in." She had enough presence of mind to say. There was enough authority in her voice that Frederick didn't even argue, and the protest stilled in Phila's throat.

-o-o-o-

Chrom stared up. Like blood from a wound, dark clouds were snaking their way across the sky and staining everything black.

'This is impossible! It was daylight a moment ago-' He trailed off, eyes falling on the horizon. He saw what had to be Gangrel's flagship, struggling to the fore of the fleet, still standing against the gales. He distantly remembered the strange woman, dressed all in black. And the surety in her voice, when she said they couldn't run forever.

'She's right about that, now. No matter what luck has carried us through, it won't matter. We can't sail in a storm like that. They'll have us right where they want, unless we can find some way-'

Some way to dissipate the storm. He turned to the pale tower. Without the roofs and hulls of Wreckage obscuring the skyline, the structure demanded his attention. The tower echoed Ferox's lighthouse, a sibling to it in carving and stone.

'We must've drifted closer to it, since docking at the city.' A part of him felt glad for the nature of the town just then, to float from place to place.

"You said your name was Gregor, right? Gaius may have paid you for passage, but I'll give you double that if you take us towards that tower." He pointed to it, praying the tower could also push away storms. They were just staggering ahead of Gangrel's ships, beyond the reach of arrows or spells.

Gregor hesitated at Chrom's request for a moment, but the promised gold won out.

"Gold is making for good motivation. Oi! Get rudder engaged, and swing us round!" Gregor barked the order, and Gaius leaned into the handle with a grin. The sailboat skimmed towards the lighthouse. Behind them, the prow of the ship was trying to bear down on them.

"Please, keep going." Robin whispered, and the wind seemed to listen to her for a moment, fleeing from Gangrel's ship for a breath. A breath was all they needed; the storm winds filled their sails and pushed them forward, leaving Gangrel behind for the moment.

-o-o-o-

Once again, the Ylisse ships eluded them. No matter how Gangrel yelled or cursed the weather and the crew. Her own magic had stilled for a moment, dimmed by another mage. Aversa had a notion on who that might have been, and it gave her no shortage of amusement.

"Oh dear me, has the king's trusted subject failed to catch our quarry? Twice? I wonder what this brethren is reduced to. You seem to be going soft." Aversa's laugh flowed out of her throat like a brook, not even stilling when Gangrel leveled his sword at her neck.

"Witch, I have even less patience than I did with the royal brat when it comes to keeping your neck intact." Gangrel's voice was a growl, matched by a low hum of power just beneath the surface of the blade.

'And yet he still can't harness it. Quite tragic.'

It seemed this ocean had no shortage of fools. So few people who understood the power of the artifacts, or the raw magic lurking in the ocean waves. But their ignorance wasn't her concern.

'I only need to focus on one fool... And she's painting a target on her head, whenever she calls on the currents. I know where she is.' She smirked at that, which only infuriated Gangrel.

"Well, sea witch?" Gangrel pressed, spitting the words into her face.

Her answer was to push the blade aside with two of her fingers. She didn't so much as blink when the edge caught at her skin, opening a thin line of red. If anything, the cut spared her from some busy work.

"Oh I'm certain you can find reason to keep me around. I've hardly exhausted all my tricks. And I'm so very eager to test some spells against the mettle of those two." She smiled, watching the ship cut towards the tower. "No sense in them savoring their temporary victory when much more interesting things are on the way."