Title: Ruins Adrift in Time
Description: Travelers have reported seeing strange lights and ghostly apparitions from the Ruins of Time. Concerned about such anomalies being seen in a location where the fabric of time and space is at it's weakest, Robin and Lucina go to investigate.
Notes: Takes place two months Following the events of A Future Disowned and the events of chapters 18-22, A Future Undone.
Kneeling down Robin brushed aside the dust that caked the single rune set into the silvery blue stone. The unreadable symbol, an artifact from a long forgotten language, glinted in the dim, overcast light. Bringing a hand to his mouth, he worked his glove free with his teeth, ignoring the bitter taste of the old leather. Tugging his hand free at last, he pressed his naked palm against the smooth surface. Despite the frigid air the hung over the ruins, air cold enough for his breath to appear as white puffs of smoke, the stone felt slightly warm to the touch, as if radiating heat from some unknown source. So too did the shallow water that surrounded the winding stone paths seem to remain free of the cold north's icy grip, the still mirror pool free of ice.
"Find anything?"
Robin looked back over his shoulder to where Lucina stood a few feet away. She was wrapped in many layers topped by a thick fur lined cloak and a scarf wrapped tightly around her face. More layers, if fact, than he himself wore, though for good reason. Not only was her own warmth a concern, but so was it for the two children that had been growing inside her for four months now.
Even with the extra protection and the spells he'd cast on both of them to shield them from winter's bite, the cold's effects could not fully banished. Lucina wrapped her arms more tightly around herself, shivering as another gust of wind passed through the maze of stark ruins.
"Not yet." Robin sighed. Returning his glove to his hand, he stood, turning back to her. "Are you alright? You should have stayed back in Regna Ferox with Lissa and Lon'qu. The cold might be-"
"-is nothing I can't handle, Robin. Besides, I wasn't going to let you trek out here all on your own," Lucina finished for him, flashing him a gentle, reassuring smile.
Robin began to argue, then stopped himself. It was too late now to do anything but trust in his wife's judgement. Even still, he was worried about her. "Right… I'll try to make this quick regardless. Figure out what's been causing these 'ghost sightings'."
Even as he referred to the reports in such a frivolous manner, he couldn't help feel uneasy. Only a couple week ago had the accounts reached Ylisstol: tales of strange lights and sounds coming from the ruins. The few who had ventured in to investigate had returned with stories of strange visions, apparitions of people or objects appearing and disappearing at random. He would have simply written it off as superstition if not for the frequency of these incidents. And, well… the nature of this particular place meant that he could not dismiss such accounts lightly.
"Do we have any idea what's causing these sighting?" Lucina asked, as if she'd been reading his very thoughts.
Robin shook his head. "If we did I'd have a much better idea what we're looking for. Though whatever's causing it can't be good."
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since Morgan turned up here four… I guess almost five now, years ago I began researching the ruin's origins. From what I managed to find out, this was one the site of a city-state that existed over five-thousand years ago. The few scattered accounts claim it was founded as a sanctuary for mages to study away from persecution or interference from the outside world, only to be destroyed in a magical cataclysm of unknown origin. Just about every book I could find mentioning the subject seemed to have its own theory, ranging from an experiment gone wrong to divine punishment."
Robin paused, shrugging his shoulders. "In the end it's doesn't really matter what the cause was. What's important is that this event was so devastating it weakened the very fabric of reality. Time doesn't seem to operate on the same rules here: it's easier to peer through time or into other worlds even. But if people are seeing things here without the use of magic, then it could mean that something is disturbing the barrier between this world and others.
"Could this have something to do with myself and those from my world passing into this one?" Lucina asked, frowning.
"It's possible, but I can't say for certain." Seeing the concerned look on his wife's face deepening, he quickly forced a smile on his face, adding, "if anything, it would have been all of us traveling to Morgan's world to have caused any of this. These anomalies didn't start until after we came back."
Lucina nodded, but still did not appear wholly convinced.
"Look, even if that was what caused it, we'll figure out how to fix it. Don't you dare think for even a second that coming back was a mistake," he told her, reaching out to grip her shoulder. "None of this was a mistake."
"I could never think that, Robin. You know that. Not after how much you've made my life happier." She placed a hand over her swollen stomach, as if their unborn children were all the proof she needed of this. "It's just… I still can't help but feel I may be responsible. Its fear, not regret, that troubles me."
Robin nodded, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment longer before he turned away. "Come on, let's try another spot."
Slowly the two made their way deeper into the maze of stone paths. Every so often Robin would stop dead in his tracks, catching a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye only for whatever it had been to vanish the instant he looked again. Other times Lucina reacted in much the same way he can, her entire body tensing for a moment before continuing onward.
The further they went the more unease Robin felt. It wasn't just the ghostly glimmers of movement just outside their sight, but the whole layout of the place. It was... wrong, all wrong. The walkways and paths seemed to have shifted from where he remembered them being, sometimes by only a handful of feet, others completely changed.
Could I be remembering wrong? Robin wondered, frowning as he came to another stop. Other than his bout with amnesia, he considered his memory to be quite strong. In most cases he could remember places and experiences with great accuracy. So then, why had his memory failed him here? Or had the whole place really changed someone?
A soft, muffled voice, so faint it could barely be made out drifted in the air.
Robin's entire body tensed, his hand involuntarily grasping for one of his tomes. In that instant the air before him shimmered. For the a fraction of a moment he saw the ghostly images of two people standing before him It was him. It was him and Morgan, playing out a scene from three years past. Before his eyes the translucent Morgan pulled down her hood and threw her arms around his phandom self, the time displaced echo's expression one of utter confusion and shock. Then in a single blink of his eyes the scene dissolved away like a wisp of smoke in wind. Again everything was still as it had been, not another soul within miles other than the two of them.
For a moment Robin stared motionless in the spot. He swallowed, his throat dry and rough from breathing the frigid air. "Lucina, did you see that?" Robin managed at last, his voice hoarse.
"I saw it," Lucina said, her voice almost a whisper. Fresh concern plastered her face, her eyes wide with wonder. "Was this one of the anomalies? Was that when..." she trailed off, letting the question hang unfinished in the air.
Robin nodded. "When I first met Morgan, yes." He stepped forward kneeling in the spot he'd seen the ghostly image. He reaches out, extending his hand out to the spot. He paused an inch away, his hand wavering for an instant before slowly pushing forward. At once the hairs on the back of his hand stood on end, tingles shooting through his fingers. "Woah. This is new. And not good."
"What is it?"
"This anomaly it's…" he paused, unsure how best to describe it. Magic was often difficult to describe in the manner one would speak about phenomenon in the physical world. It was more often than not too abstract, too based on impressions than concrete observations. "It's like there is a crack here, a breach. But, less like on opening and more like time and space is… thinner here. It's hard to explain. It's disrupted the normal flow, to the point that fragments of other times and places are drifting through."
"What?" Lucina asked, shock and confusion plain on her face.
"It's… well…" Robin trailed off, fighting for a good simile. "So you know how most people see time as a linear series of events? Well most of this time this is correct. While different decisions can shape the outcome of a timeline, things still occur linearly." He motioned to her with a hand. "Present time traveling company excluded."
"Yes, you've explained it much like this before. Then what does that have to do with this anomaly?" Lucina asked.
"Well, let's say that time is more like a hourglass, with each moment in time a grain of sand. And this is just one timeline, there are countless others, other words even, all next to each crack is like a crack in the glass separating them. Grains, specific moments in time, might get stuck, like the vision we saw. Flow in and out between timelines entirely," Robin finished, frowning again. "That make sense?"
"Enough of it did," Lucina answered, a smile tugging at her lip for the briefest of moments. Then it faded into worry once more. "So can you fix it? This 'crack in the hourglass' as you put it?".
"Not with my ability. Maybe if I still had Grima's heart but… no, even then this may have been beyond me." Robin frowned, weighing his options carefully. "I might be able to reinforce it through, keep anything from drifting though. Let me give it a try."
Closing his eyes Robin reached deep into the inner well of soul, his very being, tapping into the reserves of power that every magician drew upon. His hand lit up with the sensation of thousands of needles pricking his skin, the breach in the walls of reality itself seeming to throb and pulse with waves of invisible light. Was it reacting to his magic somehow? Perhaps an effect of having succeeded in his gamble in the near future… or failed spectacularly.
Robin shoved the thought aside, turning back now was not an option. Steeling his nerves, the tactician began to chant under his breath. In his mind's eye thread of golden light away with electric sparks flowed from his outstretched hand, slowly and methodically weaving together over the rift. He worked at a snail's pace, careful not to disturb the rift. One mistake and the whole thing could be torn wide open.
Just a little bit more. Just a little more.
The golden net was almost whole now. Robin tugged the last couple of threads, pulling them together to complete the seal. One more moment and-
The instant before the gap could be closed there was a sound like the crackle of fading lighting. The center of the net was ripped asunder, energy bursting forth In a sudden explosion of sensation that washed over Robin before he had a chance to react. At once his mind was bombarded with with a frantic cacophony of alien sights and sounds.
Armies in ancient arm clashed on a bloody field… Snow falling over an ocean of white, fur clad travelers trudging onward... Morgan standing on a cliff, overlooking a burning town… The sea, waves rolling as a storm brewed in the distance... Lucina charging into a portal, her friends following after as fighting raged behind...
Robin's knees buckled, the sheer weight of the sensations threatening the overwhelm him. Distantly he heart Lucina scream his name, but he could not tell if it was real or from one of the visions.
Islands of land afloat on a sea of sky and mist…. A figure shrouded in darkness, his piercing red eyes staring out like flames… Grima black wings sweeping over a blighted land…. The ruins of time detonating in a blinding light.
Struggling with every ounce of strength he had left, Robin got one leg under himself and dragged himself upright. He redoubled his efforts, pooling everything he had into the spell, desperate to stem the tide that rushed from the rift. He worked as fast as he could, frantically pulling the threads together as
Two armies met in a flurry of clashing weapons as the sun sank over the horizon… Space and time ripping asunder, an all consuming void threatening to obliterate all of creation… A golden blade, shrouded in crimson shadow cutting through empty space. Falchion rushed up to meet it, the clash sending the blood blade spinning through the darkness before erupting into fire that washed over all else…. A pendent glowing with gentle, aqua light falling into a pool of water, sending gentle ripples outward as it sunk beneath the surface.
With a gasp Robin finished his spell, yanking the threads together in one final burst. There was a flash of light, a burst of pain splitting his skull as one final image burned itself into his mind.
A white, ghostly mask glinting in the darkness, crimson eyes staring from within black sockets. It was looking at him, somehow he knew it was looking at him. It could see him, it knew who he was and where he was. He heard laughter, the sound unlike the voice of any person and it-
Like a door being shut the visions ceased, reality snapping back into focus. The world fell still and silent once more. The tactician swayed where he stood, his legs feeling as though they'd fail him again at any moment.
The next thing he knew he was on his back, staring up at the sky. He blinked. His vision was too cloudy to make anything out. He blinked again. And again. His sight began to clear. a dark shape looming over him slowly resolving into the faced of an incredibly worried looking Lucina.
"Robin, are you okay?" She asked. Her voice was breathless, as though she'd been repeatedly calling his name. He hadn't even heard her.
"I… I think so," Robin croaked, his throat burning as if he'd swallowed fire. "We're… still alive, right?"
"Yes, not for a lack of trying on your part," Lucina answered. For just a moment a worried smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Groaning, Robin pulled himself upright, Lucina at once reaching out to help support his weight. "I'm find… j-just need a minute," he assured her, his head throbbing painfully.
Lucina nodded, though her expression remained no less concerned. "What happened, Robin? One moment you were there and the next there was this column of light. I called out to you and couldn't see you anywhere. I started to run towards it, but before I could reach you it vanished and you'd collapsed."
"I'm… not quite sure. There was some sort of backlash from the breach. Maybe..." Robin shook his head. Truth be told he really had no idea what had gone wrong. "Doesn't matter now, it's closed off for the time being. Still, I can't help but worry…" Robin trailed off, remembering the final vision. It had felt too real, like whatever it had been had seen him. And that voice… he shivered, shoving the memory away. Telling Lucina would only make her worry, and she didn't need that weight now. Not with her- their children on the way.
Robin forced a smile, reaching to offer his hand to her's. "I think I am well enough to make the trip back now. Come on. Whatever was the cause of the rift, it's been dealt with for the time. Let's go home."
They exchanged looks of equal parts uncertainty and hesitant smiles. Lifting her hand, Lucina closed her fingers around his own, squeezing him tight. With one last look back into the ruins, to the echos of their shared future and past, their shared fate, the two set off. Back out into the snow and the outside world. Into a future full of so much hope and uncertainty.
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay on this one, a combination of exams and playing way too much Fire Emblem Fates prevented me from finishing this one as soon as I would have liked. Hopefully the next couple will come out sooner.
I feel like this was a fitting chapter to come out though, as it, I feel, does a good job of giving a small taste of things to come. So far I have about 4-5 more oneshots planned before Love Across Time goes onto a semi-hiatus as said "things to come" start in earnest. By which I mean I won't be writing oneshots on a regular basis, but rather whenever I have a chance to slip them in. But worry not, the stuff to come will involve Robin and Lucina heavily, so it's not like you all will be deprived of that :D
In the meantime, please review with your feedback, thoughts, and comments, as I really enjoy hearing from you guys. Even if it's just to tell me how much I suck.