Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
This is one of Scorin's suggestions. A pretty good one too, despite the simplicity.
"Lissandra, get up already!" Robin commands, poking his sister in the side. The blonde-haired girl groans, swatting his hands away. "Don't make me drag you out of bed."
"Stop calling me Lissandra…" The girl grumble, sitting up. She rubs her blue eyes as her long blonde locks fall in her face. "That sounds so formal."
Robin huffs, looking to the ceiling. How could she complain? He and Chrom were stuck with boring short names while Lissan- sorry, Lissa and Emmeryn had cool longer names. Robin wanted a name like that. "Come on, you're the one who said you wanted to learn to use the axe. Now get up or Frederick is going to get impatient."
His little sister grumbles, dragging herself out of bed. Robin helps Lissa tie her corset and does her hair as she tiredly munches on the food Robin had brought along with him.
The white-haired boy sighs in amusement as Lissa stomps tiredly down the hallway. Chrom and Frederick meet them in the training yard, and look significantly more awake than the blonde-haired princess.
If one were to look at the three siblings, or the four if Emmeryn were there, one would notice a distinct difference between Lissandra, Emmeryn, Chrom, and Robin. While the other three all had something in common (all three had blue eyes and a high hairline) Robin was a odd one out. His skin had a slight tan compared to his siblings, and his white hair didn't match either of their parents. Robin's brown eyes and low hairline also didn't match his siblings.
Robin looked plegian, there was no way around it. He had nothing in common with his siblings in terms of appearance. It wasn't something they discussed, but it quietly sat in the back of Robin's mind. The upper circles of Ylisse had noticed as well, and it was a subject of unsubtle speculation and suspicion.
"Ready Robin?" Chrom asks, pulling out his practice blade.
Robin shakes himself from his thoughts and grabs his own weighted wooden blade. "Always. I was just deciding how I'm going to beat you today."
"You and your strategy." Chrom chuckles. "You can't win battles with your nose always in the books."
"And you can't win by just swinging around a sword." Robin retorts. "Sometimes I swear you're more like Vaike than you are me!"
The blue-haired prince barks a laugh and takes his stance. "I'll take that as a compliment. I leave the planning to you."
"Well at least you know your strengths." Robin snorts. "Now come at me!"
###
Risen was what they decided the threat should be called. Corpses animated by dark magic, risen from the grave to fight again. Their deadly skill was cemented when Emmet, one of the strongest members of the Shepherds, lost his leg saving Lissa and was rendered unable to fight for months. He survived and became their quartermaster, but the near brush with death was a sign of a serious threat for the Shepherds.
Robin plans, and plans, and plans. Brigands, Risen, and even pirates from the seas accost Ylisse from all sides. It was Robin who suggested they being the pegasus knights back to their historic glory, it was Robin who instituted a military training branch is the mage schools, and it was Robin who helped organize village defences and teach basic combat skills to the willing militia members.
It was also Robin that changed the laws and finally allowed women to join the army on equal terms, not needing to pay the hefty monetary price that Sully suffered just to pursue her dream of strength.
Within months Robin, with some help from his siblings, put Ylisse back on track to self-sufficient defence. Still, he was glad to have help from the feroxi warriors in protecting Ylisse's upper reaches from the Risen and plegian brigand threat. In exchange Ylisse gave Ferox their well-crafted goods and all sorts of art items that Ferox usually lacks.
That said, Robin was tired. The whole exalted family was running thin; while Robin commanded the nation alongside Emmeryn, Chorm and Lissa made the presence of the crown felt by patrolling with the Shepherds and bringing relief to ravaged villages.
The arrival of Virion and Emmet's partial recovery signaled some help for the frazzled exalted family. The rossanite was a great help in organization, and the brown-haired quartermaster started to take on the more mundane paperwork to allow Robin to focus on the important tasks.
The capture of Maribelle drew the Shepherds, and indeed the entire Exalted family, to the border to confront Gangrel.
"Surely this is a misunderstanding King Gangrel." Emmeryn says calmly, making a soothing gesture with her hands. "Please, return Maribelle and we can talk."
"What?" The man scoffs. "Return her first and then talk? How foolish do you think I am? What stops you from just walking off?!"
"Integrity." Robin responds, stepping in. "We have a reputation to uphold King Gangrel. If we were to take Maribelle and leave, we would be seen as untrustworthy by the world. Our word would mean nothing, and we don't want that."
"So I'm just supposed to blindly trust you?" Gangrel scoffs again.
"No. I just told you why giving us Maribelle isn't blind trust. We stand to lose if we don't stay and talk." Robin repeats firmly. "So please, release Maribelle and let us talk."
The man's eyes narrow, and the dark-skinned beauty by his side leans over and whispers in his ear. Surprisingly, from what Robin can tell, it seems like Gangrel is the once defending the idea to talk while the lady, Aversa, is the one trying to encourage a fight.
Robin can tell this by the aggravated jabbing of Aversa's fingers contrasted with Gangrel's twitchy but less aggressive gestures.
How curious.
"Girl!" Gangrel suddenly calls, turning to Emmeryn. "I'll agree to talk on one condition!" He points at her small group. "We talk alone, one advisor each! I don't want your war dogs breathing down my neck!"
"That's seems fine." Chrom mumbles, looking over at his siblings.
"I don't like it, but…" Lissa whispers. "If it gets Maribelle we need to do it, right?"
"I think I should go with you Emm." Robin says, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "No offence Phila, but I think I can offer more advice here and I'm more than capable of fighting."
The older, teal-haired woman nods, agreeing silently.
"Then that is what we shall do." Emmeryn murmurs quietly. She steps forward, raising her voice. "Gangrel, we accept your terms! I shall bring my brother Robin with me." She gestures to the tactician beside her.
"And I bring my advisor." Gangrel sneers, jabbing a finger at Aversa. "Orton!" He calls. "Release the girl!"
With surprising gentleness, the otherwise sleazy looking plegian wyvern riders cuts Maribelle's bonds and gestures to one of his soldiers to bring her horse. He hands the girl back her mend staff, pats her on the shoulder, and sends her on her way.
Lissa is quick to rush up to her friend, hugging her the instant she dismounts. Emm and Robin quickly confer with Chrom and Virion, and the two blue-haired men promise to be on guard in case a fight still breaks out.
Robin and Emmeryn walk slowy forwards, waiting at the base of the hill for Gangrel and Aversa to step down. Robin forces himself to grip his steel sword and instead links his hands together nervously. Emmeryn is, as always, the picture of calm, but her the hiding of her hands in her sleeves is a nervous tic that only her siblings know about.
Both plegians descend on a black pegasus, landing beside the two ylissians. Both sides are acutely aware of the archers and mages aiming at them in this open area.
"So…" Gangrel says, grinning down at Emmeryn thanks to his minor height advantage. "This is the so-called voice of peace. I must say, you're not nearly as imposing up close!"
"I would hope I'm not imposing at all." Emmeryn murmurs softly, putting on a polite smile. "It would not do for me to intimidate when I only wish to calm others." She moves one arm to gesture to Robin. "I don't not believe you two have spoken before. King Gangrel, this is my brother Prince Robin."
"Robin hmm…?" Gangrel mutters, squinting at the boy. "Aversa, that name…?"
"Plegian my king." The lady sneers. "He looks it too."
"Nonetheless I was raised in Ylisse for as long as I remember." Robins says firmly, not comfortable with this conversation. "I am Ylissian, if not by blood than by bond."
"Well said!" Gangrel barks, sounding surprisingly amicable. "Now, on to business…"
In the end, a deal is struck that seems to leave everyone but Aversa happy. Both parties seem to be aware that the idea of holding Maribelle hostage is a lie, and only Aversa seems to want to push this idea. Instead Emmeryn and Gangrel make an agreement for further talks, and spend most of the time quietly discussing trade.
As the four of them part ways, Robin mulls over in his head how the so-called 'Mad King of Plegia' is a lot smarter, and a lot less crazy, than his public persona might suggest.
He wishes the man didn't need to take a hostage just to talk though.
###
There's a revolution in Plegia. The new leader, Validar, calls it 'The People's Revolution', but anyone who knows the political climate can realize that this is a total farce. The grimleal were tired of Gangrel not listening to them, the man was only posturing to attack Ylisse and never pushed his advantage. Gangrel disappeared overnight, and Validar assumed the throne the next week.
Validar also proves to be a lot less diplomatic than Gangrel, and his first action as leader is to declare war on Ylisse.
"It was going so well…" Emmeryn murmurs after she hears the news and the messenger leaves. She suddenly looks tired to her siblings, who have gathered around her. "We had a trade deal, we were going to provide food and help the people of Plegia."
"Until the grimleal decided they wanted more power and kicked Gangrel out." Chrom growls.
"I'm surprised Gangrel lasted that long considering the grimleal were clearly pushing for war." Robin notes. "He kept up the facade for quite a while but only ever sent raids for food."
"The grimleal are probably responsible for the Risen." Chrom adds. "They're the real enemy, not Plegia as a whole."
"It seems so obvious now." Lissa sighs. "Of course the creepy blood cultists would be the bad guys. Aren't they always talking about how they want Grima to come back and kill everyone?"
"Now Lissa, we should be respectful of others' culture." Emmeryn murmurs. "We don't know how they think-"
"Yes we do." Chrom interrupts, scowling. "One of their leaders is on the throne Emm! We know exactly how they think, he's not exactly subtle."
"Well…"
"Emm, maybe not everyone in the grimleal is bad, but some people are just corrupt." Robin says quietly. "Not everyone is like you, or even like Gangrel. Some people just think about themselves and not the people. Look at what Validar has done in a mere two weeks: conscription Emm, and wasting what livestock they have to 'appease Grima' in stupid rituals. He's executing whoever disagrees with him."
Emmeryn falls silent, defeated. It breaks Robin's heart to ruin her idealism, but logic has to win over faith in order to avoid calamity. Chrom silently nods his approval of Robin's words, though he too wears a grimace. Lissa just looks sad, and fiddles with her staff while sporting a large frown.
"We have to fight Emm. We're prepared for this." Robin says quietly. "Flavia has said she's prepared to help, and the pegasus and knight corps are flooded with recruits. Even the regular army has gotten an influx of new blood. I know it pains you to send our people into combat, but for the sake of those not fighting this war has to be won."
###
"Robin!"
Kellam, Miriel, Virion, Donnel, and Emmet suddenly burst into the boy's room, weapons at the ready. Robin startles awake, blinking in confusion. "What-?
"Assassins." Emmet snaps, his wooden leg clicking against the floorboards. Robin scrambles to get dressed, and is surprised when the quartermaster offers him his levin sword. "Take it. I've got other weapons." The older man growls when Robin tries to refuse. The brown-haired man pulls his bolt axe off his shoulder. "Now start planning. That Marth boy said the assassins were going for you and the Exalt."
"Alright…" Robin breathes. He knows where the Shepherds shine best, and it's most certainly not scattered and alone. "We need to consolidate our forces. We move to Emmeryn's room!"
The small group runs through the castle's halls, eventually meeting up with Lissa's group consisting of Frederick, Lon'qu, Maribelle, Sumia, Cordelia, and Lissa herself. Chrom joins them last accompanied by Stahl, Sully, Ricken, and Vaike.
The three burst into Emmeryn's quarters. Marth is cornered against a far wall, fighting a cavalier and a thief. Three more individuals are barricading the door to the bedchambers (where Robin can see Emmeryn standing with a staff in hand, healing the three as they fight). Two are unfamiliar: an orange-haired thief and one of the famously rare taguel, but the last person is a familiar face.
"Beg for your life!" Gangrel cackles, cutting through another thief with a strong steel sword. "You're all eyesores! Crawl back to your new, slimy leader and tell him the Mad Dog is coming for his head!"
Despite his rantings, Gangrel firmly holds the door and even pulls out a heal staff of his own to patch up the taguel when she takes a lance to the side.
At some point in the fight Marth's mask is clipped by a thief's sword and falls off. His, or should Robin say her surprisingly delicate features betray her true gender.
The fight finishes quickly with the entirety of the Shepherds coming to fight. The assassins are totally outmatched against the ylissian's group tactics. Robin commands the battle from the middle ranks, not quite on the front line but not back with the mages and Virion.
The assassin's leader is unfamiliar to them: a small, white-haired girl who rambles about her grandfather sending her on a mission and seems to recognize Robin. She calls herself Morgan… and refers to Robin as 'Father'.
Everyone knows Robin is far too young to have a fifteen year old daughter, so she's treated with suspicion until Marth steps in and reveals herself as Chrom's daughter. She even has the exalted brand on her eye to prove it.
Morgan is imprisoned for trying to kill the Exalt, but Emmeryn visits her frequently, often spending hours at a time talking with the girl. It's quickly established with some help from Miriel that Morgan is just as much an amnesiac as she claims to be.
The claim that Validar is her grandfather, however, is worrying. Robin confronts Emmeryn about what she knows, and the girl reluctantly admits that she was aware Robin was adopted for a long time. His true father is unknown to her, Emm only knows that their Father had picked Robin in Plegia at some point during his campaign.
"What Morgan claims may be true." Emmeryn murmurs. "However, she does not know that for truth. The only thing she remembers is that you are her father. Validar himself told her that he was her grandfather."
"Hmm…"
"And." The older girl says pointedly. "I think Morgan would appreciate a visit from her father. She really is a sweet girl, she was only on this mission because Validar promised she could bring you home."
After that Robin reluctantly accompanies Emmeryn on her visits to the dungeons. Despite his reservations, much like with Gangrel, Morgan quickly proves to be more than meets the eye. Robin quickly finds her tactical knowledge to be almost even with his, and a surprisingly smart girl.
It turns out that Morgan only agreed to listen to Validar due to not being told about the Grimleal and thinking the tattoos on his back and her arm were some sort of family mark.
Robin isn't so sure that's a lie, he has a grimleal mark on the back of his right hand after all. It's still easy to convince Morgan that Validar is no longer to be trusted though. The girl isn't happy to learn her mission was actually to assassinate Emmeryn and that Robin was not, in fact, being abused by the Ylissian royalty.
Lucina (Marth's actual identity) admits no knowledge of Morgan, but doesn't dismiss the possibility of her existence. "There is more than one Outrealm." She murmurs. "Another child from a different Outrealm is wholly possible, if unlikely."
Eventually Morgan is released and joins the Shepherds. With the assassination thwarted Ylisse begins to wage war on Plegia, backed by feroxi might.
###
"No!" Validar gasps, Chrom's sword through his chest. "This is wrong! It was... all... written!" He reaches out to Robin. "Rob-in! You… vessel… destiny…" The man's words fade as he falls backwards, landing on the sand with a soft 'thud'. His eyes glass over and blood trickles from his mouth, and the exalted family looks down on him with disgust.
"Well that's done with." Chrom sighs, pulling Falchion free of the man's corpse. "I'm glad you're our brother Robin. I hate to think who you might have been growing up under him."
"I have faith that Robin would still have been a good person." Emmeryn murmurs, placing a hand on the tactician's shoulder. "No matter who raises you they don't choose your path, they don't choose who you are."
"Well I'm just glad we never have to figure that out." Robin sighs, but smiles when Lissa and Morgan give him a hug from either side. He happily returns the gesture, draping his arms around the two girls. "I happen to like my family, adoptive or not."
This seems like a simple gimmick at first, but I like it. It allowed me to do something much more political than I usually do.
V-oppa: Gonna have to veto that idea, if only because I don't know a lot about the Scarlet Witch. Also, to be blunt, there are simpler abilities I can give Robin to achieve the same story ends. Thanks for the idea though, I do appreciate it.
Rotciv557: I won't be doing crossovers, if only due to the fact that to make one work it would take a lot more than one chapter (and at least in this one-shot collection I won't be doing multi-part fics). Grima from the future is an interesting idea, I'll note that down. Super-magic Robin was already on my radar, but ruthlessness is a trait I hadn't really considered.
Also saying no to FE7 Robin. Like with the Scarlet Witch suggestion, I don't know enough about it (and it stretches into the realm of crossover). From what I can tell though from what you're suggesting though, it seems like you're just asking for an OP Robin with a personal tome so… maybe.
I like this idea of older Robin. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your suggestions, even if I say no to some I still appreciate your enthusiasm.
Zero kami no mu: Well I'm glad you liked it, even if it wasn't quite what you asked for.
Scorin: We'll see how that turns out. Might be waiting a bit on it though. I think we're looking at Autistic, Supermagic, Giant, and then Necromancer.
IsThisWorking: I'm well aware of scythe's history, I did some research for that chapter. In the end I decided a grim reaper style scythe was better though. After all, why wouldn't he just use a halberd or a spear if he wanted a weapon that looked like that? It made sense to me a scythe to be used in a way only it can. I actually considered Kais for a bit, being usable as a proper weapon all on their own, but I wanted a big, unique weapon with a cutting edge.
But you're right in saying they would only be makeshift halberds or spears. In all honesty scythes were hella impractical in combat.
Also yes, 'succ' in 'succubus' indeed. That chapter was the most enjoyable to write so far.