Title: Child of Time - Part 1
Description: Robin hadn't been sure what to really expect to find at the ruins of time. But even so, he definitely never expected this.
Notes: Part 1 of a two part retelling of Paralogue 12: Disowned By Time
Robin gazed out over the twisting expanse of stone columns, his footsteps echoing against the white stone. Where had she gotten off to? He frowned, scanning the ruins for the young girl he'd glimpsed further into the ruins. Hopefully she'd managed to avoid running afoul of the risen that had nearly overrun the place.
His plan had gone off without a hitch, the Shepherds managing to draw the attention of the majority of the Risen in the ruins, engaging them near the entrance. With this distraction in place Robin was able to then slip away from the others: aiming to find the girl and get her to safety while the undead monsters were otherwise occupied. While he and everyone else would have preferred if someone else had accompanied him, the number of Risen the remaining Shepherds were engaged with were simply too numerous to spare anyone else.
Besides, he could handle any stragglers he ran into.
Then we can get the treasure those villagers told us about and get out of here. That particular moment couldn't come sooner, something about the ruins felt… well, wrong. He couldn't quite place it to be honest, other than a presence in the air that set his teeth on edge. Like a low hum, just out of the range of his hearing. Its not natural. There's a power here, I can feel it… and I'm not sure I like it…. Perhaps the villagers who live in the area could tell me mor-
The rest of his thought was lost as a yelp echoed through the ruins.
That was close close by! Breaking into a sprint, Robin went straight for where the voice had come from. He didn't have to go far, as just around a half-collapsed wall he came across the source of the cry.
Ahead a young girl could be seen, clad in a hooded coat that hid her features from view. From her size and her voice Robin guessed she couldn't be older than her early teens. She hadn't seemed to notice him, her attention fixed on the single Risen lumbering towards her, a naked blade glinting in its hands.
The girl managed to duck without a second to spare, the sword missing her head by an inch. However in her haste her foot caught on the edge of her too-large coat and she toppled over, landing hard on her side. In an instant the risen was on her, sword held high for the killing blow.
"Elthunder!" Robin bellowed, thrusting a hand towards the Risen swordsman. A sphere of lightning lanced from his fingertips, catching the Risen the instant its blade began to fall. The impact threw it clear of the girl, the undead landing in a crumpled heap away from her.
The weaker attack however did not put the undead monster down for long. It began to stir, dragging itself up off the ground even as Robin watched. Now, though, it was far enough away that he could risk a stronger spell without fearing for harming the girl.
"Thoron!"
The massive bolt smashed into the Risen just as it lumbered to its feet, obliterating it in a blinding burst of light and heat. Dust and chips of stone rained down around the scorched and cracked stone where the monster had stood but moments before.
Pausing only to make sure there weren't any more enemies nearby , Robin trotted to the girl. "Are you alright?," he asked, extending a hand to her. "You… don't look like a treasure hunter. What brings you here?
The hooded girl looked up at him, her hood casting dark shadows over her features. At once her expression, or what he could see of it, brightened, a smile tugging at her lips. "There you are, Father! I was beginning to think we got separated."
"Oh I…" Robin's mouth snapped shut, his entire caravan of thought coming to a screeching, crashing halt as it caught up with the girl had said. His hand fell limply to his side, rational thought suddenly impossible as he stared dumbly down at her. "...I'm sorry, what?"
In a flurry of flailing limbs the girl scrambled to her feet, laughing as she staggered a step before steadying herself. "Well, no harm done. At least we can head home now," the girl continued, seeming to take no heed of his words.
What? Wait….What!? As confusion went, Robin felt he could probably have won an award for being the most confused person on the planet.
She began to skip in a circle around him. "Wait until mother hears about this, I bet-"
He grabbed the girl by the shoulder, holding her in place for a moment while he figured this out. "Woah, woah, woah. Hold on. Let's go back to the "Father" thing. And the coat, it looks just like..." He trailed off, his words dying in his throat. It was his coat, or at the very least an perfect replica of it. Her other clothing too was a near perfect match to his own, only fitted for her smaller frame. Could she be… no, she can't be. Lucina said he never got married in her future, never had a kid. "...Did you travel back from the future with Lucina?"
The girl tilted her head, staring at him with the quizzical look one would give a person who'd said something foolish after one too many drinks. "What are you talking about, father? Did you seriously just ask me if I came from the future? Who's Lucina? Wait… no...I think… it sounds…" She trailed off, pressing a hand to the side of her forehead.
For a brief moment she made no other move. Then stirred, shaking her head before returning her attention to him. "Don't you recognise me? Hello? It's me! Morgan! ...Your daughter? Daddy's little girl and all that?" Reaching up she tugged the hood of her coat down over her shoulders.
The world grinded to a halt as Robin stared at the girl, Morgan, standing before him, his jaw falling half open. Now that he could see her face, the resemblance to himself was all too apparent: her features nearly identical to his own, if only more feminine and childlike. However, it was not this that gave him pause, what threw his entire world for a loop.
Her hair… it's the same as… Her unkempt mop of hair, otherwise so much like his own, was deep azure blue. Here eyes too were the same, only the absence of the mark of the exalt in her pupil breaking the otherwise perfect resemblance
...How… How can this be possible. And what does this mean… could it… His mind raced in a vortex of confused emotions. How could Lucina even be the mother? The girl was too old, too old to have been born in Lucina's future. She can't more than four or five years younger than her! But if she'd not come from that future, then where did she…
Robin stopped, the realization hitting him like a brick wall. … She couldn't be from that future. But who's to say she hadn't come from a different one?
"Why are you looking at me like that? You're really acting strange today." Morgan continued, her expression managing to appear even more perplexed than before. "Grabbing onto his arm, she tugged on it to. "Let's go home and get you to bed. Hmm, but which way is home? Is it—" Morgan double over suddenly, clutching at her head. "Ngh! M-my head!"
Rushing to her side, Robin caught her before she could fall over supporting her weight against him. "Easy—don't try to force it! Just stay calm and listen to me. I know this sounds mad, but I believe that you came here from the future."
"But that's not…" Morgan trailed off, wincing as if hit by another wave of pain.
Actually, it is. You're not the first time traveler I've run into," Robin explained. He needed proof though, something to convince her of… ah, that was it! "Look, think about it. Look closely at me. Do I look like I'm of an age where I could have a child as old as you?"
"Y-you do look younger, but…" the girl stammered, shaking her head in disbelief. "If I'm from the future, then how did I get here? How did I… I can't remember… why can't I remember anything besides you?"
"It's alright. Whatever happened to send you back must have messed with your memories. I'm sure everything will come back to you soon enough, but right now you need to come with me. Traipsing around alone in your state is the worst thing you could do right now," Robin said. Kneeling down so they were at eye level, Robin put a hand on his apparent future daughter's shoulder, flashing her a reassuring smile. "I was in the same position once, you know. If Chrom hadn't found me lying in that field, who knows what would've happened to me…"
"Wait, you woke up in the middle of a field, too?" Morgan asked, her expression immediately brightening. "Hah! Like father, like daughter, huh? Oh, that's too funny!
Robin blinked once, his brain sluggish to adjust to the sudden change. "...Glad to see you inherited my blithe outlook. Just try to stay close will you? There are still more Risen around"
"Yessir!" Morgan snapped in reply, laughing as she raised a hand to her forehead.
Robin stared, the sleeve of Morgan's coat having slipped down from her hand during her salute. Set into the back of her hand was Mark of a Exalt.
"Father, what is it? Is something wrong?" Morgan asked, noticing him lingering gaze.
"It's nothing. Come on, let's go," Robin answered, a grin spreading across his face. If not for the still present danger he would surely have danced with joy. He had a daughter! He and Lucina had a daughter!
. . . . .
"Looks like there's sixof them, not sure if we can get around them without backtracking," Robin whispered, ducking back behind the crumbling wall he and Morgan were hiding behind.
At some point a group of Risen must wandered into the route Robin had taken earlier, blocking the way back to the other Shepherds. They'd almost walked right into them too, the tactician noticing them just in time to pull himself and Morgan down before they could be spotted.
Inwardly Robin cursed himself for coming on his own. It was stupid to assume the others would draw out every single Risen in the damn place.
"Do you know how to fight?" Robin asked, keeping his voice in a low whisper as he turned back to his time displaced daughter.
"I think so… yes, I remember now, you taught me how to use magic." Morgan dug through her coat, a moment passing before she produced an Arcfire tome with a triumphant ah-ha.
Robin nodded. "Right, stay behind me and I'll try to keep their attention."
"Got it," Morgan chimed, perhaps a bit too loudly for the circumstances.
Robin winced, expecting the Risen to charge them at any moment. Then he relaxed; clearly their foes having not heard his daughter's voice.
We'll work on her stealth skills later.
Gripping his tome, Robin straightened to his full height, stretching a hand out to the nearest Risen.
"Thoron!"
The bolt smashed into the lead risen, throwing it back into one of the columns with a sickening crunch of shattering bones. Wasting no time Robin leapt out into the fray, charging the two remaining Risen before they could so much as turn to face him.
"Arcwind!"
A vortex struck the nearest undead, throwing it to the ground before it could react. Forgetting it for now, Robin whirled the face the Risen nearest to him as it lunged, sword bared.
Dodging a overhand slash, Robin drew his own sword and parried the next strike in a single fluid motion. Stepping in, he slammed his shoulder into the undead swordsman, throwing the thing off balance. He hacked at its leg, topping it over has his blade fore through muscle, the finished it with a stab through the throat.
"Arcfire!"
A gout of flame washed over the furthest Risen, setting its clothes and armor alight. The thing whirled around, its eyes smoldering with rage as it caught sight of Morgan. It only managed a single step before another tongue of fire put it down for good, disintegrating into foul black smoke as it was consumed.
Leaving Morgan to deal with the Risen he'd sent sprawling, Robin turned his attention to the remaining two.
Unlike the others, the two undead closed in at the same time, launching a series of simultaneous attacks that quickly put Robin of the defensive. Paring a flurry of blows from both Risen, the tactician fell back step by step, desperately searching for an opening. One presented itself when one of the Risen lunged out of sync with the the, giving him just enough time to batter it's weapon aside and thrust his palm against the thing's chest.
"Elthunder!"
The bolt of lightning sent the Risen staggering, Robin whirling away to deflect a blow from it's partner's blade. At that instant a crackling roar of fire filled the air, heat licking at the back of his neck as fire engulfed the he'd knocked away.
Good, Morgan had taken advantage of the opening just like he'd hoped. Focusing his attention on the remaining Risen now, Robin caught its sword in the V of his blade and crossguard, directing it down and away. In a blur of motion he whirled his blade around, severing the Risen's and before opening it up from sternum to hip with a single slash. The Risen shuddered once then vanished into nothingness.
"Father, look out!"
Whirling around, black leathery wings and gleaming teeth filled his vision. Instinct kicking in he ducked to the side just in time, a wall of black scales rushing past him with a roar of air. Something hard clipped his shoulder with a screech of steel, the impact throwing him onto his knees. Scrambling upright, he saw that his pauldron had been dented by the impact, a hairline crack running through the misshapen metal.
A roar filled the air, Robin spinning around in time to glimpse what had attacked him. A massive black wyvern wheeled around to come in for another attack, half again larger than any wyvern he'd ever seen. Its dead eyes smoldered like red hot coals, a mirror of those glinting in the helm of the Risen perched on its back.
Robin raised his hand as the wyvern dove forward towards him once more, electricity crackling in the air. "Thoron!" He cried as lightning split the air, striking the undead dragon with the force of cannon. Smoke curled from the thing's chest, its scales cracked a burnt from the spell. A shriek of pain from the risen wyvern's gullet, yet it did not slow, barreling towards him like an avalanche.
With not an instant to spare, Robin threw himself to the ground, his heart hammering in his chest. The space he'd stood a moment before exploding in a hail of pulverized stone as the wyvern barreled through a stone column. Pebbles and dust fell around him as he struggled to right himself, stinging and blurring his vision..
Move, move, move! Claws dug deep gouges in the stone next to him, narrowly missing his head as he scrambled on his hands and knees. He tried to stand, only for the dragon to turn, its tail catching him in the chest, throwing him into the ground. His hand banged against the stone as he landed, tearing his sword from grasp, the blade clanging as it skidded out of reach.
Pain. Pain. Lots of pain. Definitely pain. He gasped for air, his breath forced from his lungs by the impact. Yep, breathing bad. More pain.
"Father!" Morgan shouted, her panicked voice sounding distant. Through blurred vision the wyvern loomed overhead, it's Risen rider hefting its ax for the finishing blow.
"Arcfire!"
For an instant the world erupted into a burst of burning light. The air around him heated up as a gout of flame hit the wyvern in its side, the creature roaring in pain. Ranger smoldering in its eyes, the wyvern whirled away from him, its attention focused on the person who'd come to his rescue.
Morgan stood a few feet away, her tome held out before her. Her eyes were wide, her shoulders heaving as if she'd just run several miles.
The risen stared at her, his glowing eyes flickering as it sat motionless on its mount. "...must… kill… future child," it rasped, inky smoke billowing from its mouth as it spoke.
Robin's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock. Since when did Risen talk? And how does it know about Morgan?!
Like a card being turned, Morgan's expression changed in an instant, eyes narrowing, her brow furrowing. "Well, I don't know anything about this whole future thing, but no way you're going to kill me or Father! Yeah, how does that sound you scaly, dragon riding bozo!"
"Morgan, what… are you… go… run," Robin rasped, each breath bringing fresh pain.
If she had heard him, Morgan showed no sign of doing as she'd been told. Instead staying rooted to the spot as she faced down risen and mount alike. The undead wyvern roared, the sound higher pitched than any living wyvern was capable, and leapt at the girl, wings flapping once to propel it forward. The Risen rider hefted its axe, adding a shrieking cry of its own to the fell notes of its steed. It closed in fast, taking but a second to reach the still motionless Morgan.
What is she doing? She needs to move!
Yet Morgan held her ground against the Wyvern lunging towards her with jaws open wide to swallow her whole.
Then he caught Morgan's smile.
"Arcfire!" Morgan bellowed, driving to one side as a torrent of fire erupted towards the risen's wyvern. The spell hit just before the beast could reach her, flame engulfing the thing's head. Blinded the wyvern staggered, its failed pounce throwing it off balance.
A perfectly judged roll brought Morgan right to Robin's fallen sword. At once the pieces fell into place: she hadn't been frozen with fear, nor had the timing of her attack been random. Every part of it was judged and calculated, both Morgan and her foe ending up in the exact spot she'd wanted.
Robin watched on in wonder as Morgan snatched up his blade, scrambling to her feet just in time to meet the wyvern as it whirled to face her. Throwing herself forward, Morgan passed under a swing of the rider's axe to slash at the wyvern's neck. Inky smoke spewing from the open wound. The undead dragon roared, swinging its hecd around, knocking Morgan to the ground. Then it was on her, teeth glinting as it went in for what would surely be a lethal blow on its stunned prey.
Only Morgan wasn't as dazed as it seemed, the girl rolling just in time, the wyvern's teeth clipping the stone floor. With a yelp, Morgan thrust her blade up into the underside of the wyvern's jaw and up into its skull.
Everything stopped, the world becoming so still that it seemed as though time itself had ground to a halt. Then the wyvern convulsed once, then collapsed. Even as the mount evaporated into a cloud of sickly purple mist, the rider scrambled out of its saddle, shambling to face the girl who'd slain its wyvern.
Morgan too had scrambled to her feet, managing to put some distance between herself and the Risen.
"Must… kill….future… child… kill… kill…," the Risen rasped, repeating its words from before. Hefting its axe, the undead monstrosity charged, its clumsy movements betraying its preternatural speed.
For an instant fear flickered in Morgan's eyes, only to vanish as her expression hardened. Her stance shifted as she held her ground, bringing both hands up to her right tip of her sword pointing at a forty-five degree angle towards the ground.
Her stance, it's just like Lucina's. There was no mistaking it, Robin had seen the princess use the same defensive stance countless times in battle.
Cleanly sidestepping the overhead axe swing, Morgan shifted her wing-block left, shunting the her opponent's weapon wide. Guiding the hilt with her right hand, she brought the blade down in a tight, circular arc. There was a clang and the Risen's axe fell away in two pieces, the haft cleanly severed by the blow.
Dropping low into a crouch, Morgan pivoted to face her foe, eyes burning with a determined fury. "Checkmate" Morgan shouted as she lashed out, adding her own momentum to the attack as she as she snapped to her full height once more. It was then, in the instant before her blow landed, that her sword seemed to erupt with golden light. With a hiss like fire being cast into a pool of water, she slashed through her foe's chestplate, smoke billowing from the rent metal. The risen staggered back, shrieking in agony as its flesh sizzled and popped where it had been touched by the cleansing, divine light. However, Morgan wasn't yet done. Bringing her blade around in a single, fluid motion, she stepped alongside then past the risen, her blade passing right through the spot her foe.
More a moment no one move, then with a hiss the Risen fell apart, falling into two clean pieces that evaporated into smoke before they could hit the ground.
Robin stared at the spot the Risen had stood moments before, too shocked to even this. The technique Morgan had just used was Aether! The only ones Robin had ever seen use it were members of the exalted bloodline: Lucina, her father, and her sister. If additional proof was needed there could be no denying it now: Morgan was Lucina's daughter.
"Father, are you alright?" Morgan gasped, rushing to his side. She let his sword drop as she knelt down besides him.
"Yeah, just hurts… a lot." He laughed painfully, wincing with the movements. With effort he propped himself up from the ground, clutching at his side as the pair burned with redoubled intensity. "Couple broken ribs, nothing a healer can't fix."
"Wait, hold on, I think…" Morgan began patting her coat pockets, searching for something. At last she stopped, her expression brightening as she fished out a half-empty vulnerary. "Here, father, drink up," she said, unstopping the cork and offering the vial to him.
"Thanks," murmured, downing what was left of the foul tasting potion. A cold chill suffused his side for a moment, then faded along with the majority of the pain, leaving nothing more than a dull ache. "I'm impressed, you handled yourself well out there kiddo. Who taught you to wield a sword like that?" Robin asked, heaving himself upright. While the similarities to Lucina's fighting style left him with no doubt as to the identity of Morgan's teacher, it was best to fish for more information while he could. Perhaps it would trigger more memories.
"Huh, well I…" Morgan froze, her brow furrowing. "I… don't remember. I can't even remember learning to do any of that, it just… sorta came to me."
Robin nodded. "I experienced much the same thing the first time I went into battle after losing my memories. Even if you can't remember it, what you were taught has been so deeply ingrained you still retrained your muscle memory."
"I guess that makes sense, I just wish I could remember... " Morgan frowned, her gaze pensive as she gazed down at her hands.
The sound of distant voice could now be heard, drawing closer. Turning, Robin could just make out the other Shepherds in the distance, making their way to where he and Morgan now stood.
"Well, kiddo, it looks like its time to introduce you to the others," Robin said, turning back to Morgan. He smiled, unable to contain himself at the thought of breaking the good news to Lucina. We have a daughter! He froze then, his smile fading as a sudden, horrible thought occurred to him.
Oh gods, how am I going to explain this to Chrom?
Author's Note: Alright guys, there's the first part of my little retelling of how Robin and Lucina first met Morgan. The next part will be in Lucina's point of view and will tackle her reaction to her future paradoxical offspring as well as the immediate aftermath of Morgan's introduction. For those of you who have read A Future Disowned, I am curious to see if you guys noticed the little hints I've sown into this chapter (with more to come in the second part) to retroactively foreshadow Morgan's backstory as revealed in that story.
Following the second part of Morgan's recruitment I intend to write another Robcina full one-shot before tackling a miniarc I have been planning for some time. This 3-5 chapter story will focus on (SPOILERS for A Future Disowned ) Marc and him dealing with the events of that fanfic and to purify his corrupted Parallel Falchion.