Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
This chapter was hard, and it didn't turn out quite as requested (by Zero kami no mu). I ended up going more with the 'spontaneously blunt' part of the request than the 'questionable sanity' and 'is usually timid' parts. The idea of Grima rattling around in Robin's head also proved a hinderance more than a help to the story. I still like that idea and it might come back later, but I couldn't make it work here. Sorry.
There were two fundamental truths Chrom knew about Robin. She was calm, collected, always had a plan… and was prone to speaking her mind when you least expected it.
"So you see, that's why we can't retaliate." Emmeryn says with conviction. "We are in no condition to fight, and the people don't need another war."
Chrom keeps his mouth shut. He doesn't agree with his sister, but she is the leader of Ylisse, not him.
"I see…" Robin nods. Emmeryn smiles, but then the blonde-haired tactician says: "you're a total moron aren't you?"
"Pardon?"
"You're basically doing nothing while Plegia walks all over you." The tactician sneers. "You know Gangrel doesn't want to talk, you know that he's going to get his war no matter what, but you refuse to fight back, or even prepare countermeasures. You don't even have plans for the inevitable war!"
Chrom tries not to smirk at Emm's shocked expression. Minus the insult Robin just said exactly what he was thinking.
"W-Well-"
"Are you even trying?" Robin accuses. "I know you'd like to resolve this diplomatically, I do too, but that's no excuse to let your entire Halidom get consistently raided just because you think, with literally everyone telling you otherwise, that there's some tiny chance for peace."
"But-"
"And don't give me that 'but I got help from Ferox!' bullshit! Ylisse still isn't doing anything! You're trying to get someone else to fight your war for you!" Robin snaps. "You hypocrite!"
Frederick promptly escorts Robin out, glaring at her the entire time, but the girl's words have an impact. Chrom doesn't rub it in, but when Emm talks to him he makes it clear he thinks more like Robin than he does her.
A week later Emmeryn announces her decision to revive Ylisse's army, starting with the expansion of their historic pegasus knight core.
###
"Don't you see?" Gangrel cackles. "I'm doing this for the good of Plegia, nothing more! Now, the Fire Emblem, please."
"Wrong!" Robin snaps, pointing a finger at Gangrel. The usually level-headed girl stomps forwards, ignoring everyone's attempts to hold her back, "You're just a sad, broken freak trying to justify a slaughter for your own delusions! You can go suck Grima's dragon di-!"
"That's enough Robin." Frederick hisses, slapping a hand over the girl's mouth and pulling her away. "You are not helping."
"I agree with her." Chrom snarls, one hand on Falchion. "That man deserves his title."
"Please Your Exaltedness." Gangrel sneers sardonically at Emmeryn. "Keep a handle on your war dogs. We're having a civil conversation here."
"My apologies." Emmeryn says with a small bow. "However, I cannot surrender the Fire Emblem. Surely there is another solution-"
"Emblem now, or the girl gets it!" The man snaps, motioning to a captive Maribelle. Aversa smiles mockingly, waggling her sharp fingernails near the troubadour's neck. "I'll give you to the count of ten Your Royalness."
The man slowly starts counting down, he practically sings the numbers as he twirls his levin sword. Frederick releases Robin, who immediately does something odd. She holds out her thunder tome and fires a shot straight upwards.
A blast of elwind suddenly knocks Aversa off her feet, and Ricken rushes out from the bushes on a horse. He uses a small dagger hidden in his cloak to sever Maribelle's bindings and they both quickly scramble up on the horse.
"Lissa, rescue staff!" Robin barks, jabbing a finger at the startled girl. The blonde-haired princess fumbles the staff off her shoulder and aims it at her friend. A burst of green light from the crystal at the top wraps Maribelle and Ricken in energy, and the two are teleported safely next to Lissa.
"Well that's a declaration of war if I ever saw one!" Gangrel laughs. "Orton, handle these fools. Aversa, come with me. We have an army to lead!" The man twirls around, cloak billowing in the wind, and stalks off behind the mountain. Aversa brushes herself off, huffs at the assorted Ylissians below as a dark pegasus descends from above her, and flies after her king.
"Sorry Emm, but I can't say I didn't expect this." Chrom apologizes. "You fall back with Philia, the Shepherds will guard our retreat." The Exalt sighs, allowing Philia to lead her away from the soon-to-be battlefield. Chrom only spares her a moment's glance before turning to Robin. "What's our plan?"
The girl looks much calmer than she did a minute ago, just like her usual self. "I need Kellam and Frederick up front…"
Robin acts on a plan she had ready in case this happened. With her expert guidance Orton and the plegian vanguard are staved off, and the ylissians retreat to Ylisstol.
###
Robin doesn't know why it happens, but she knows how. It's all about conviction. If she really believes something and someone else disagrees, then she may as well not have control over her body. Friend or foe, she speaks her mind about them in the most truthful way possible.
It wasn't an impulse, she didn't have a choice. The moment struck, and she didn't have control. It was as if, for those brief moments, someone else was speaking. They did what she wanted to do but never had the confidence for. It was like a different side of her was speaking.
Even Chrom had been on the receiving end of one of her cutting remarks, and Robin almost never disagrees with the blue-haired prince. Why is it she is only ever compelled to speak when she has something negative to say?
Well that was probably for the best. Randomly blurting out her attraction to Chrom would be horribly embarrassing, even more so than suddenly criticizing him.
###
"You know nothing!" Gangrel barks, looking very small with his tiny retinue of personal soldiers. His army had all but abandoned him, Emmeryn's words having moved them to abandon their leader. "A man is always alone! Me, you, everyone! Men only follow each other so long as there is something in it for them! They care nothing for justice, and it's up to people like me to try and do right!"
"By trying to kill everyone is Ylisse!?" Chrom snaps. "How is that justice?!"
"You killed us! Men, women, children! All on the crime of being different! Plegia cried for blood, so I tried to give it to them!" The Mad King snarls. "But a few pretty words and they abandoned the man that devoted his life to them!"
As much as Chrom wants to argue, he knows that Gangrel has a point. It's something he and Robin have discussed before. The Mad King wasn't always called that. He earned his title only after years of trying to rule a broken, ungrateful country.
For once, Robin doesn't have criticism. She doesn't have a cutting remark to tell Gangrel how wrong he is. Truly loyal to-the-death followers and friends were a rarity… a rarity Gangrel had to an extent, that small retinue had turned down offers of surrender in order to fight for their king, but both Chrom and Robin had suspicions that Gangrel had no close friends.
Gangrel didn't have his own Shepherds.
"I can't speak for my father." Chrom says reluctantly. "I can only speak for what I know. Ylisse now is still a vengeful, racist place… but Emmeryn is the leader, and you should know how unflinching she is. She refused to fight back against you, she continuously offered peace, but you turned it down. My father doesn't speak for Ylisse anymore Gangrel, Emmeryn does."
"And that's supposed to excuse your slaughter?!" The King sneers.
"No." Chrom says remorsefully. "But I'll fight for my country nonetheless. A slaughter doesn't justify a slaughter."
They have no words for each other after that. Each side settles their battle lines, and slowly but surely the Shepherds dismantle Gangrel's final lines of defence, ending in his capture at Chrom's hands.
###
"You really think he can be changed?" Chrom asks cautiously.
"I do." Emmeryn says affirmatively, and to Chrom's surprise Robin nods alongside her. "We've spent time speaking with him and we believe he can be shows a better path."
"That's not saying we're letting him out anytime soon." Robin says quickly.
"Thank Naga, I'd hope not." The prince grimaces. "I don't think I'll ever trust him."
Emmeryn purses her lips. "I'm not asking you to trust him immediately…."
"But should he prove genuine, we think he deserves a second chance." The blonde-haired tactician says slowly.
"He murdered hundreds of people by ordering those raids!" Chrom snaps.
"And saved hundreds more with the food he obtained." Robin admits. "I'm not saying what he did was right, but he was genuinely trying to help his people. Plegia isn't known for it's crops after all, the only place he could realistically get food was from Ylisse."
"You're sugges-!"
"Chrom." Robin barks, suddenly sneering at him. "Shit happens. People make mistakes and take wrong paths. When you're a ruler, that means people's lives are spent on those mistakes. You might not like it, but he was doing his best in a truly horrendous situation."
"But-"
"Do you rule Plegia."
"No."
"Do you know the political climate? Do you have people starving on your doorstep, begging for food you can't give them?" Robin snarls. "Do you have the grimleal breathing down your neck, pushing you and the people to war? Are your own councillors all under the grimleal's thumb?"
"No…"
"Then check your damn privilege Chrom!" The girl snaps. "Gangrel could have been greedy, hoarding everything to himself and never helping the people at all! He's allowed to do that as king, and from what we heard the grimleal actually try to encourage it! He didn't, and while it didn't turn out nicely at least he tried Chrom. That's more than you could say for a lot of others!"
The blue-haired boy never thought he'd be getting yelled at for speaking against Gangrel. Silence falls over the group as Robin gradually calms down, returning to her normal calculated self.
"I can understand your trepidation." She says eventually. "You don't have to trust him, you just have to trust us, and give him a second chance when we decide it's time."
Chrom reluctantly agrees, but not before vehemently protesting his distrust once more.
###
Chrom was not expecting his meal at the bar with Robin to end up like this.
"Why are you handsome?" Robin growls, slightly drunk. She pokes him on the nose, glaring. "It's distracting Chorm! Stop being hot!"
"Well, erm…" The prince coughs, pushing her hand aside. He isn't sure if this is one of her outbursts or just the beer talking. "I can't really control that unless you want me to smear dirt on my face."
"No…" Robin mumbles. "Then you won't be hot."
Chrom blinks owlishly, somewhat confused. "I thought you said you wanted me to stop-"
"No!" Robin interrupts, glaring. "Take a hint Chrom!"
The prince is very lost. "Erm…"
"Like-" Robin rambles on, not fully paying attention to him. "You've got muscles and stuff… and you're nice, and you get embarrassed really easy."
Chrom knows what she's talking about. It was during the war that he ran into her in the bath. Robin was mildly surprised, but Chrom panicked and fled. It was only later (nearly two days later in fact) that she eventually cornered him and said, in no uncertain terms, that she really didn't care and he was being childish.
Lissa learned about it a few days later and spent a solid two weeks teasing him.
"That was soo cute." Robin hums. "You were all red… kinda like that!" She pokes his cheek, indicating his blush.
"Is there a point to all this?" Chrom coughs, thoroughly flustered.
"Chrom!" Robin barks suddenly, her brows furrowing into a scowl. She opens her arms. "Hug. Now."
"Erm-"
"Stop being a moron! I'm not that subtle Chrom!" She groans. "You're just scared aren't you?"
"Slightly." The prince admits sheepishly. "I never really learned how to address women outside of formal situations, so…"
"Dammit Chorm, what were you expecting?" Robin sighs. "Me to bite you? Punch you in the face?"
"Maybe?" Chrom squeaks.
"Hug. Now. I'm waiting."
The blue-haired boy nervously shifts forwards, very aware that some of the other patrons are watching him, and tentatively wraps his arms around the girl. She reciprocates immediately, and isn't nearly as shy. Unlike Chrom, Robin's hug is tight, and she isn't shy about bringing her face right up to his.
"Oh no, watch out." She says with a teasing grin. "A plegian girl is accosting the prince."
"You are drunk."
"Yes, and apparently it's great for finally getting you to admit you like me." Robin huffs. "Seriously Chrom, I've been waiting for you to do something for at least a year and a half."
Chrom silently promises to be more assertive in the future, and happily spends the rest of the evening cuddling with Robin.
###
"This is a terrible idea." Chrom says bluntly.
"Oh definitely." Robin agrees. "But we need his help. He's a lot smarter than you give him credit for Chrom."
"Trusting the Mad King…"
"Trust is wrong word." The tactician snorts. "Letting him wander around the yard on a leash is more accurate. Plus he's a demon with a levin sword, and we can always use more swords in a war like this."
Valm had come knocking on Ferox's borders. Virion's warning was just in time for the feroxi vanguard and the Shepherds to meet them. That being said the valmese army far, far outnumbers them. Any help they can get is needed.
"Gods I hate this."
"Remember what I said before…"
"I know, I know. Second chance and all that." Chrom sighs.
"Don't worry." Robin says, face falling to a sneer. "If he does one thing wrong, I'm personally dragging him back to his cell, and you're more than welcome to help."
With their former enemy by their side and a quick stop to Plegia to borrow some ships, the ylissian and feroxi armies sail off to Valm to battle them on their own land. Emmeryn had actually approved of raising the army this time without being yelled at by Robin.
With the (questionably) redeemed Gangrel by their side, the odds of beating Valm look promising. Chrom steps onto the deck of their new command ship, Robin and Flavia flanking him, and formally commands the launch of new Yliise-Ferox fleet.
Again, this chapter was so-so. The request behind it is solid, but I don't think I did it justice. Maybe a rewrite is in order, but in the interest of getting this chapter out and moving on to the next I'm settling on this version.
Scorin: I literally made this stuff up on the spot. There had to be some restrictions for me to work with or this story would seem really arbitrary. That's how you create an interesting story even if your characters are OP. Having a set of rules allows for tension and interesting choices, otherwise it's just random and feels like you're constantly pulling things out of nowhere.
That's a good point about the stopwatch. I went back and changed it to 'pocket watch'. I basically imagined it as a clock that only worked when timesnap was active, not an actual stopwatch.
Out of those three ideas I only think I'll be able to use the necromancer idea (Risen summoner if you will). Thanks for the ideas though, I appreciate your enthusiasm.