Chapter 30: Water Calls
She could pick out chaos onboard the ship; with Chrom handling the climbing, Robin had the job of keeping her eyes and ears open.
Gangrel cursed his crew, driving them to get as much sail as they could. But the left over rain from his conjured storm slowed the crew, making their fingers clumsy. Robin saw all of that as they jumped from boat to ship, Chrom clawing his way up the slats put into the side.
"Don't bother, Gangrel." Chrom said when they leapt onto the deck. Robin tumbled from his back, bracing herself against the ship lines. "I'm already here, so you can spare the crew."
A jolt moved through the crew at his voice. But Gangrel was made of sterner stuff, immediately turning on him. The captain looked like he'd been surprised with a gift, given his grin.
"...Well, Prince." Gangrel sneered the title out. "Or should I be calling you Exalt now? You DID get bumped up the ranks quickly, courtesy of my efforts."
Robin didn't miss the flinch that squirmed across Chrom's shoulders. Much as he tried to control himself, that wound was still raw.
"Did you decide to repay me for that favor, by delivering yourself to my ship? Quite considerate of you… Though I was planning on cutting you down in my own time." Chrom said nothing, standing his ground and locking eyes with Gangrel. Robin kept her own gaze moving, roving over the fleet to see that all activity had halted.
'Diversion is going as planned.' Now came the task of keeping the fleet's eyes on them, and hope Tiki was fast with her spell casting. Already, there was a faint hum building in her ears… And she didn't want Gangrel or Aversa to pick up on it.
"Y-you can TRY." Robin spoke up, to add to the distraction. "You think we wouldn't rush you if we weren't prepared?"
She opened her spell book, letting some of the lightning crackle for show. The winds blew around them, still laden with moisture and pushing a chill into her skin.
"Prepared or not, I don't see how you'll survive this." Aversa's black clothes bled into the predawn sky and storm clouds. She was a shadow, emerging from the crew and leveling her gaze on the intruders. Robin fought to meet Aversa's eyes, and not flinch from it… Even if Aversa's look made Robin feel like she'd thrown herself into the jaws of a shark. "You're outnumbered… And you haven't a hope to match our magic, with such a pitiful spell tome."
'Keep talking,' Robin forced a glare onto her face. At the edges of her vision, she could see changes gripping the fleet. They seemed to be moving through mud instead of ocean, fighting to find a breeze.
"We might surprise you." Chrom shot back.
And the weather certainly was catching the pirates flat footed. The fog was thickening, the ocean almost lost in a veil of clouds. Mists rolled in, like a third force that threaded through the fleet. She could barely make out the ships to either side of them, the night lanterns reduced to orange wisps. Only the lack of splashes told her the prows were still fixed in place, instead of cutting through the waters.
At the edges of the fog was the white palace of Ylisse. Robin swore that the castle was blinking in and out, in answer to the notes building in her ears.
-o-o-o-
"Chrom, where are you!?" Lissa hissed under her breath. She prowled the hallways, hoping that each turn would reveal her brother. So far she'd found Maribelle and Vaike, even the Feroxi swordsman Lon'qu. All of them had haunted looks on their faces, and varying degrees of grief… And all of them followed her, when they realized what was wrong.
"That storm is over, Gangrel's going to pounce on us at any second… And I can't find him!" Lissa grumbled to herself. Annoyance helped keep the grief and terror both clamped down.
Just then she didn't want to think about the Shepherd, laying crippled in the harbor. Or how most of their ships had been reduced to tinder and splinters… And she really didn't want to dwell on the gouge in her heart, torn in by the loss of Emmeryn.
There was also something else; something that seemed to seep into the stones of the castle itself, and lingered right at the edges of her senses. It was like with the breaking of the storm, there was a change in the air. Something that was settling bone and brick deep.
Against all of that, being irritated at Chrom felt like the best option.
"Where is he-" She tried again, only for Vaike to give a half choked curse.
"Naga's tits!" Vaike swore; at this point, Lissa wondered if he was going to fill up the blasphemy jar with that curse alone.
"I know where that idiot is off to." Lissa didn't get a chance to chew Vaike out for that, either for the curse or calling her brother an idiot. Though Maribelle certainly tried with a few sputters and outraged noises. Even those sounds trailed off when Maribelle saw where he was pointing. Lissa followed Vaike and Maribelle's eyes… Out to the bay.
The rain was tapering off, with a thick mist taking its place. Skirting the edge of the fog banks were the fleet, their decks slowly coming alive with raiders. The pirates had drawn in for the kill, but something had stopped them short.
Someone had stopped them short. Chrom's cape was a banner, bright against the waves and pirates. He stood on the lead ship, facing off against Gangrel with his sword drawn… And hopelessly outnumbered, even with Robin at his side.
"Oh gods!" She yelped. "Quick, get whatever ships we have ready!"
-o-o-o-
Tharja's warding spell was growing ragged at the edges. Lucina didn't know how much time had stretched out since she'd last seen the two guards; days perhaps, or weeks. But she swore that each hour, it became harder to breathe.
Her tail had already given up listening to her, in favor of a deep pain that settled into her muscles and bones.
When she opened her eyes, it was to see that Morgan fared even worse. He curled in the very corner of the cell and twisted into a tight ball. The sight sent her heart plummeting into her stomach. Morgan drew in a ragged breath. It turned into a wheezing cough until his lungs remembered how to work, his gills giving a weak flutter.
"Morgan?" She whispered. He didn't raise his head to her voice. Nor when she shook him by the shoulders. "Morgan, come on! Don't fade out now!"
He went slack, murmuring something unintelligible. His skin seemed to burn where he rested, leaving him in a feverish state.
The sight sent her into motion, even as her body ached. Lucina snapped her hands out and clawed her way up the rock walls of the pit. Her tail hung about her like a weight, useless and limp, trying to drag her back down. Her fingers slipped on the rock, and her eyes dropped back to the floor; back to Morgan. The sight gave her strength, enough for Lucina to throw herself upwards. Her hands closed the last of the distance and clutched at the bars. She strained to lift her face up and press it against the metal.
"Tharja? Henry! Where are you!?" She screamed out.
"Drownings, girl. Keep your voice down." Tharja growled. She swam into sight, narrowing her eyes on Lucina. "It took us some time to search in turns, and find a good escape route. I don't want to waste my efforts. So try to keep your shouts down and from alerting the entire guard with your shouts."
Lucina went slack at Tharja's glare, shuddering as she tried to keep her grip on the bars. She wanted to tell her that Morgan was dying, but her own lungs were burning.
"To be fair Tharja, it looks like you're getting sloppy with your spell work. Those changes are still seeping through your wards, see?" That was Henry, carrying a jangle of keys with him. He hovered behind Tharja, his fingers running through the jailors keys to find the right one.
"There's nothing wrong with my wards." Tharja snapped. "Even Validar would have a hard time shielding them against such strong magic… But we probably should hurry and get them out."
Lucina let go of the bars, already sinking when the gate shrieked open. Henry caught her by the wrist, and Tharja took her other hand. Together they pulled her up and left her in the hallway, before swimming down to retrieve Morgan.
It was the first time she saw the cellblock, outside of a few glances through bars. She was surprised at the state of the hallway, considering their own pit of a cell. The passage itself was opulent, filled with arched ceilings and glints of mosaics set high in the walls. She tried to tilt her head to better focus on them-
"Time to go." Henry told her, and lifted her up.
Her sight went blurry, her eyes suddenly didn't know how to look through water. The hallways blurred by, and she only caught glimpses of the carvings.
'A golden shield.' She thought. 'Set between sea and sky like a lock-'
She must have blacked out, because the next thing she knew was Henry shaking her awake.
"We're clear of the palace. But we can't pull you all the way to the surface. Nothing personal, but being on reduced rations did nothing for your weight."
"What… Do I need to do?" Lucina rasped, fighting for breath.
"Mostly? Swim for your life." She wanted to tell him that she couldn't. That her tail didn't work, but she didn't even have breath for that.
'You'll drown down here. Without ever finding the rest of your family-' Her sight went dim, the waters going black as night. In their place she saw a blurry vision.
'Two figures, adrift. Slipping between broken ships on a boat… And… Human?' She stared at them, the lack of tails and fins as unsettling as a missing face. But she found herself focusing on them, trying to figure out their features. One of them had the silver hair from the spell. The other had hair that matched her own.
And they matched the figures she'd seen on the ship.
"M-Mother, father?" That was Morgan, she realized with a jolt. It snapped her out of the vision for an instant, and instead she glimpsed Morgan struggling for the surface. His webbed fingers reached upwards, catching the rays of light. All through it, his tail struggled, ragged and barely capable of swimming through the waters. He was slipping back towards the depths, one torn tail stroke at a time.
'Swim.' She told her own tail, and it listened. She swam through a dozen needles, but her tail still answered. It shot her towards Morgan, and she grabbed him by the arms to haul him upwards. They were going to make it, she told herself-
Her tail had enough and split in two. When she tried to swim a pair of weaker limbs uselessly kicked at the water. She tilted her head upwards to see a glare of light on the surface, but she couldn't quite reach it-
Morgan thrashed with his own arms, elbows digging into her sides. But through the pain, he managed to shove her all the way upwards, and her head broke the surface. She gasped out thanks, or at least tried to. But her vision was still dim. She could only cling to him, and hope that she could stay afloat with her brother.
-o-o-o-
Robin tensed, fingers twitching over her spell book. The pirates formed a ring around her and Chrom, waiting for Gangrel's command-
"CHROM!" Lissa's cry echoed across the harbor, loud enough for all the crew to flinch. "What are you doing!?"
There was a splash of oars following her voice. Through the growing mist was a hint of brilliant ruby paint, and Robin knew that those merchant gallies at the docks had been commandeered. One of those Anna merchants was likely to be cross about the whole thing.
"Oh gods, not now!" Chrom hissed out, dodging a cut from Gangrel. The pirate king had pressed the attack, even while his men hesitated in confusion.
"Quaint. So you WERE going to be a sacrifice for your sister. I swear, martyrdom seems to run in your family." Gangrel sneered. "The rest of you, cut them all down-!"
'Not happening.' If her limbs still felt like jelly, the same didn't apply for her magic. It crackled through her, eager to be used. Her spell book was ready to fly apart at the seams with how much power lurked in the pages. And there, right next to her, was a spell circle; it seemed to carry more sinister thorns in its carvings than the Ylisse designs… But it did the job just the same. Robin slammed her palm into the wood of the ship, sending up a dome of lightning that pushed the troops back. Even Aversa flinched from the sudden explosion of spell work, skidding back before her flesh could be scorched again.
The breathing room gave Robin time to call out as well.
"Tiki, NOW! No more build up, we need you to activate the spell now!"
It wasn't exactly words that came back to her. Instead there came a strange ringing where the waves brushed the ships. With it, a pressure settled around her head and the mists dropped in a solid curtain. The gray silenced the oars from the Ylissean ships. Even Lissa's cries were swallowed completely. No matter how Robin strained her eyes, she couldn't find a hint of the castle through the mists.
'Gods, let it be what I think it is-' She prayed. Through the crowd, Gangrel slashed at Chrom, spitting curses as well as sparks. The two swords impacted, blinding Robin. She heard Chrom give a quick hiss and gasp as well; that was the only opening Gangrel needed. When Robin's vision cleared, it was to see Gangrel slamming a boot into Chrom's gut, shoving the prince aside and leaving him gasping for air.
"Aversa! Banish this fog! I want those fools to watch when their prince gets gutted like a fish!" The witch complied, raising a hand to summon the breezes again. They tore through the fog like cheap parchment-
Showing only a starry sky, and a great gap cut into the cliffs. Of Ylisstol, of the entire fleet, there was no trace. Only the rush of waves remained, filling a sudden silence.
It was enough to take Robin's breath away. She'd been praying for a barrier, or a gauntlet of rocks… But Tiki had exceeded her expectations, stealing away the entire capital and city.
"You wretch…" Gangrel hissed out. "What did you do!?"
"Got them out of your grasp. Them and the Emblem." Chrom answered. Gangrel leveled a look of pure murder at him, for Ylisstol's disappearance.
"I just lost any chance at the Emblem… and I'm-" Doomed by Walhart's hand, and he had the look of a dead man. "You'll suffer for this."
A flurry of strikes drove Chrom to the prow, pushing him further away from Robin. Several fresh cuts showed bright red on Chrom's arms, and he barely held onto his sword.
The raiders formed a wall, their swords like hooks. All of them ready to snag her if she dared to try and press through them. Robin tried to call up something, some sort of spell to puncture their ranks.
'I have to reach him!' Past the soldiers she could see Chrom, bleeding from a score of wounds. But worse than that was the look in his eyes… The same look Emmeryn had before she sacrificed herself.
'Get him out of here, before he gives up his life.' The most likely place was a spot near the rigging, where the troops were thin; it was a straight dive off the edge, and into the waiting ocean. Robin was certain she'd be able to swim to the left over land… And that she'd risk losing her human form, if it meant keeping him safe.
Lightning sprang to her fingertips, and raked crackling talons through the Plegians. Several fell to the deck, electricity sparking through them and forming a gap in their ranks.
In answer to the magic, the ship heaved underneath her. A rogue wave struck the side and splashed everyone with saltwater. The taste was harsh on her lips, but not as hard as the planks slamming into her side where she rolled…
And where she fetched up against someone's feet. Robin blinked up in confusion, to see a familiar face smirking down at her.
"And here you are again." Aversa chuckled. "Still trying to hide, and still doing as poor a job of it as ever. We still have so much to discuss. Robin."
Her name was a taunt on Aversa's lips, and threw Robin back to her feet. Aversa was ready to meet here, spells primed to jump from her fingertips and scour Robin's skin. Thoughts on rescuing Chrom dimmed, in favor of staying out of Aversa's reach.
The two danced among the ship planks. Robin tried to lash out with her magic, but Aversa was equal to her. She met Robin spell for spell, a dark miasma eating each brilliant stroke of lightning.
"You know, I was expecting more from you. Did your dip in the ocean slow you down?" Robin's hands turned traitor at that question. The spells didn't fly off her fingers, fizzling out before they could leave.
But worse was what happened to her legs. All at once they turned boneless, quivering under Aversa's knowing eyes.
"Does your body remember who you are? WHAT you are?" Aversa only goaded that change on. Robin's spells dimmed, her focus centered only on keeping her balance. Her legs stung, and she knew there were scales itching their way through her skin.
The last spell dimmed on her hand, in favor of webbing growing between her fingers.
"It seems so." Aversa laughed, the sound stinging Robin's ears. "You're looking a bit more recognizable now."
"You… Truly know who I am?" She wavered, fought between stumbling away from Aversa or inching forwards.
"I know that someone is keen on finding you. And you're running out of places to hide." With that she slammed a viscous, violet-tinged spell into Robin, drawing bloody cuts along her ribs. Robin staggered, tangling in the rope ladder leading to the masts. The spell book fell from her hands, and she slumped against her bonds as Aversa advanced.
"Time for this charade to come to an end, Robin." She drew a knife from her belt, and it licked out along Robin's neck, tangling in the necklace. "You've no need of these attachments any longer."
In a harsh motion she snapped the chain, drawing a red line along Robin's neck. The ropes bit at her wrists as she tried to stop Aversa, to catch the necklace-
With a murmur from Aversa, the ropes tightened like eels and held her fast. Her necklace, marking her as a Shepherd, vanished over the side of the ship.
"Although perhaps… Maybe you need to mingle a bit more blood and seawater, if you're to change back. No one ever said you had to be found in good health."
-o-o-o-
Chrom fetched up against the rigging on the bowsprit, Gangrel still pushing his assault.
'So this is how it ends?' He wondered. And also wondered over the lack of terror at that thought.
"Time's run out for both of you." The pirate spared one disdainful glance at Robin. "Seems Aversa wants to have her fun with that wench of yours."
That sense of numbness snapped out like a soap bubble, and he lifted his eyes to Robin. She was moving with slow, pained motions, pinned by Aversa. He remembered the wounds from the sea prison, and knew Aversa wasn't about to be gentle with Robin.
"Well, she might want to play with her prize… But I can't say the same is true for me." Gangrel stabbed forward with the crackling sword.
The jagged blade almost buried in Chrom's throat, only a jerk from his head saving him. The blade whistled past his face, snagging at the chain around his neck. When Chrom stumbled backwards, the chain snapped clean, and the ring that had been tied to his neck bounced free.
The golden band chimed from where it skittered across the deck, before falling into the ocean with barely a ripple. He didn't have time to dwell on the loss, focusing on Robin instead. Her neck was similarly bare, with no trace of the necklace.
'More important things to worry about!' Aversa was advancing on Robin, curved knife raised.
Gangrel's sword flashed down… And Chrom dodged to the side, letting it snag in the bowsprit rigging. The rope frayed, almost parting while Gangrel yanked the blade free. Chrom slashed the rigging completely through, snatching it with his free hand. With Gangrel staggered Chrom lashed out with a foot. He caught Gangrel in the chest, kicking off from him and sending the pirate sprawling. The rope went taught, swinging Chrom across the ship.
'I don't care what happens to me. But-' He managed to think, heedless of how the pirates slashed at him. One or two of them drew blood, but the cuts felt like nothing against his panic. Aversa chanted something low, coating her blade with black mist and angling it at Robin.
"Let's cut you up a little further, shall we?"
"Stop!" He screamed out. The momentum on the rope ran out, and he dropped from it. He crashed through a raider, the man gasping as he fell on his own sword. The clatter of his feet spurred Aversa into a strike-
Chrom threw himself into the path of the dagger. The blade crashed into his ribs, and his breath turned to fire.
"Chrom!?" Robin screamed like she'd still been struck, staring at him in horror. The world lurched around him, as he wrenched the dagger from Aversa's hands. He didn't return the strike beyond checking her with his shoulder. It interrupted whatever spells she was working, but Chrom didn't press the attack. Instead he whirled to try and pull Robin free-
Another cut joined in, making the world blur out a little more. His breathing became next to impossible. This time the wound one ran over his other side, and electricity crackled across the torn flesh.
"As stupid as your sister." Gangrel spat. Dimly, he realized that Gangrel had charged across the decks, and scoured a deep cut along his ribs. Chrom slumped against Robin, his lips trying and failing to move.
'Escape from here. Please… Go.' He wondered if his eyes could speak for him, or if they were too fogged from pain.
-o-o-o-
"C-Chrom…" Robin sobbed out. Her hands were free from the rigging, and they drew around him. Beneath her palms his breathing was rapid and shallow, as he drowned on his own blood. He slumped, losing his strength with each failed breath. And at each rasped gulp for air, his blood spattered the deck.
'Blood and seawater.' She remembered Aversa's words. They mingled with the conversations with Tiki, the carvings… And through them, she found one desperate hope.
Robin tightened her grip on Chrom… And then overbalanced, pitching over the ship and into the waiting grasp of the water. Aversa's laugh followed them, even as the ocean filled her ears.
"Please Chrom, please stay with me…" She tried to say. Bubbles rushed out, and yet she didn't drown. The pain on her ribs and neck grew… Yet still she didn't choke on the sea water. The roar of the ocean pressed around her, but beyond that, a handful of notes played in her ears and wrapped around their bodies. Almost like they were an old friend, welcoming her back into t he grip of the ocean.
She matched her voice to them, feeling the shape of her legs unravel. Chrom stared at her through unfocused eyes, blind to the changes-
But he still went rigid when she pressed her lips over his, trying to share her breath. She tried push some of the song into him. Their world turned to bubbles and fading light, and all through it Robin prayed.
'Please stay with me.' She hoped it wasn't just her imagination, that she felt him breathe against her mouth. The blood from their wounds stained the sea black… But she thought there might be less of it.
'Please stay-' She didn't have legs to kick with any longer. They'd melted away, fused into a single shape. The pain dulled out along her neck and ribs, replaced by skin squirming into a new shape and pulling air from ocean.
"Please…" She had room for one last prayer.
Then she knew nothing but water.
To be continued.
((Author's Note: As it turns out, I was able to finish Part I this year! And around the same time as I started last year, in fact. I'll be taking a break from posting until April or (Mer)May to work on Part II. The story will resume at that point; until then, take care, and thank you for reading!))