A/N: So after the overwhelmingly positive response to my FFXIII Crossover idea, I decided to give it the go ahead. Now this word of warning, this first chapter is RUSHED as hell. The Prologue of XIII is very lackluster and underwhelming...like the story itself. Getting into the main action was my main goal here so I decided to just get this done. A second chapter will be up in the next two weeks, and won't feel nearly as bad as this one does, I will admit not happy with this overall. But taking my time with it felt wrong too.

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, Final Fantasy belongs to Square Enix, I own nothing in this story.

Anyway on with the story!

Prologue- Thirteen

He had done it. The finishing blow. Chrom had just been about to deal it himself, but Robin had pushed him out of the way. The look of betrayal on his face as he did it would be with him as he went. His future self, the one who had given in to the Fell Dragon's call's, looked aghast at the audacity he had had. But he could do nothing in his weakened state.

Robin glanced back at his friends…his family, the Shepherds. They had been through so much together, two wars, and now this. While he now knew where he came from, Robin knew that the men and women of the Shepherds were his family. But there was one in them that he could call his true family. He watched as his daughter, Morgan, fell to her knees, they still didn't know who her mother was. Chrom's daughter, Lucina, hadn't known where she came from, and was just as surprised at the white haired girl's introduction. It was clear that she was from another time period entirely, but since Morgan had amnesia, the same as he had had, she could only remember him.

"Robin?! Why?!" Chrom shouted at his brother in all but blood.

"I'm sorry Chrom, but this was the only way." The white haired man replied, he could feel himself fading away.

"We could have found a way!" The prince cried, tears falling down, his wife and daughters barely able to hold him back.

"It was too risky, we can't control what may happen in a thousand years. This is only way to know…that the future would be spared." Robin smiled back. He was translucent at this point, he didn't have much time left. The tactician looked at his feet, he noticed that they were turning a faint white, and it was rising quickly. "May we meet again…in a better life." The tactician closed his eyes. The white glow overtook his body, and he faded from existence.

The man opened his eyes, he felt strange. As if by instinct, he raised his arm, as if expecting a hand to be there to pick him up…there wasn't one. He looked at his hand, the accursed mark was still there. But rather than being purple, it was a crystal white. He recalled what had happened before now. Chrom, crying, Grima, fading…and crystal.

"Whe-where am I?" Robin asked himself, the first thing he noticed was that he was not outside as he had been found before. There was no clear sky, but rather a yellowish green ceiling far above him. The walls were also the same colour. Raising himself from the ground to a sitting position, there were four podiums surrounding him. Two where bare, but the other two, had crystal statues of females on them. The architecture was something he had never seen before, it was as if the whole place was made of metal, far different from the stone and wooden buildings he was used too.

The light that filled the place was not from fire, but from some crystal like stones that shone brightly. Robin turned back to the statues, their design looked as though it would have taken years to have been crafted. The elegant craft was amazing and he couldn't look away. He had lost track of time, when the one of the taller woman began to glow.

To Robin's surprise, the crystal started fading away, as if it never existed at all. He looked away once he realised that she wasn't wearing any clothes, but when he looked back, they had appeared on her out of thin air. Then, as if being controlled by some unknown force, she floated to the ground right next to him.

The woman wore a blue, one sleeved toga over the top of a black vest. Her hair was a striking dark brown that covered her face, her left arm bore a tattoo of a that seemed to resemble that of a wolf's face, fangs bared. A brown belt with two buckles helped keep the toga in place, as well as carrying what appeared to two fox tails. She wore brown toeless and heelless boots that had straps up to just below her knee. She wore a multitude of different accessories, there was a flat ended polearm that was on her back. But the main thing that drew Robin's attention, was the mark on her right arm, it was made up on a multitude of arrows, pointing outwards, and had an opened eye in the centre of it, but what was striking about it, was that it was the same colour as his mark. He was just about to wake her up and ask where he was when the other statue started to glow as the first one did.

Knowing what was about to happen, Robin looked away as the crystal shell melted, and as with the first woman, this girl was also floated to the ground. First off, she was smaller than the first girl, he hair was an orange pink, she had a multitude of decorations adorning her and wore a pink 'top' that only covered he chest. She wore a sunset orange skirt that faded to yellow at its edges and had a fur…outer skirt? That was what Robin guessed anyway. Her heeled boots were a light brown and had a woollen collar at the shin.

Unlike the first woman, who was still sleeping, the girl woke up almost instantly. She kept her eyes closed as she rose from the floor, stretching and yawning. Being a crystal for who knows how long is killer on the muscles. She opened her eyes looking around, before her eyes focused on the woman lying on the ground.

"Fang!" She cried, she had an accent that Robin had never heard before, rushing over to the sleeping woman. "C'mon, wake up." She called, shaking her.

"Ummm, Vanille, what time is it?" The woman now known as Fang replied, sleepily.

"I don't know." Vanille answered.

"Then why are you waking me up?" Fang asked, scowling.

"Because we're inside the Fal'cie!" The girl cried. Robin had no idea what a Fal'cie was, but he was guessing it was something important.

"What?!" The older girl shouted springing awake, she looked all around her, trying to remember how she got there. But her memories, there was like a cloud blocking her most recent ones. It was not long after that, did her eyes fall upon the man that was with them.

"Urrrrh…hi?" Robin tried to smile, waving pathetically. He soon found the now pointed polearm aimed at his face.

"Vanille, get behind me!" Fang spoke menacingly, glowering at the man.

"Fang, what are you doing?" the younger girl asked.

"This guy, I've never seen him before, and his clothes look nothing like what we've seen on Pulse." The older woman replied.

"Pulse? What's that?" Robin tried to ask, only to find the lance being close to his face.

"How could you not know of Gran Pulse? What are ya, daft?" Fang glared.

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard that name before. I don't even know where here is?" The tactician reasoned.

"Fang, I think he's telling the truth." Vanille added.

"Fine, but I don't trust you." The woman relented, much to Robin's relief. "So, you got a name or what?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Robin muttered. "My name is Robin, a tactician for the country of Ylisse." He greeted raising to his feet.

"Ylisse? I've never heard of that village before." Vanille spoke up. "And there aren't many places on Pulse we don't know of. Oh, and my name's Vanille." The pinkette introduced.

"You sure we should trust him Vanille, for all we know, he could be from Cocoon." Fang whispered to the girl.

"He's just as confused as we are. Robin might be able to help us." The bubbly girl smiled.

"Alright." The older woman sighed. "Hey Rob, when did you get here?"

"I don't remember, I woke up not long before you two stopped…being crystals?" He finished unsurely.

"Crystals? You mean we've been in Crystal Stasis for who knows how long?" Fang asked desperately. "And I can't remember how we even got here."

"If that's what you call it. I remember, having to defeat a dragon. I was saying goodbye to my friends, then I woke up here." Robin relayed, making sure to leave out anything too suspicious.

"Then you simply completed your focus…damn!" The older woman surrendered.

"Focus?" The tactician questioned, so many things he didn't know.

"And you call yourself a tactician! You completed it and didn't even know what it was!" Fang shouted, her anger showing through.

"Fang!" Vanille reprimanded. "A focus is a task you are given from a Fal'cie when you are first branded as a L'cie. All you are given is a hazy vision, it's up to you what you do with it." The girl explained.

"If I was branded, I can't remember by what and who." Robin explained, deciding to play along.

"Do you know where your brand is?" The older woman asked.

Robin hesitated, he had seen the mark on the girl's arm, and the Mark of Grima looked nothing like it. Reluctantly he held out his hand.

Fang took a hold of his hand and glared at it with a critical eye. It didn't look like a Pulsian brand she had seen, and it definitely didn't look like a Cocoon one. It was a weird mark, it looked like two lines crossing over, and they had three eyes each, for some reason, it looked like the six eyes were staring at her.

"Can't say I recognise it, but it's easily a l'cie brand, but it's just as messed up as mine." Fang commented, looking at her arm. "Hey, Vanille, you remember how we got into crystal stasis? I can't remember what our focus was." The older woman asked.

"I…I don't remember." The girl hesitated. Fang didn't seem to notice, but Robin did.

"What do you propose we do then?" Robin asked.

Fang sighed, loathed she was to trust him, they needed as much help as they can get. "We need to figure out our new focus, we all woke up at the same time. First order of business is to get out of here and figure out where the hell we are." The Pulsian decided, moving forward.

"No arguments there." Robin agreed, following behind.

The place was a maze, rising platforms and other things that left Robin more confused than he would've liked. The advanced technology was so far above what he had known. Even Fang's weapon which seemed primitive to some of the things he had seen, was still more advanced than he knew about. Back in Ylisse, magic and tomes where the furthest they had made it in technological advancements. The Snapshot Tome that one of the Anna's owned was the most surprising thing he had ever seen before now.

Luckily, Fang and Vanille seemed to know their way around, and they had soon found the exit. Stepping out, the trio had to cover their eyes at the sheer brightness of the 'sun'. Regaining vision, Fang stared at the sun, and growled.

"Damn! We're on Cocoon." She announced, how she was able to know that Robin had no clue.

"How can you tell?" Robin asked her.

"This weather and sunlight, it's artificial. It's made by a fal'cie." Fang answered. "We need to lay low, we'll find a way out of this place tomorrow."

"But where are we gonna go Fang?" Vanille asked her sister figure.

"Somewhere, we'll just jump on the first train outta here tomorrow." The older girl announced.

The rest of the day passed quickly for them. It was soon night time, Robin loved watching the sunset, but here, it didn't feel the same. The sun never once dipped. "Fang was right, it is artificial." He said to himself.

Sleeping was no easy feat, without any tents or camping supplies, they were forced into the forest and had to sleep on the floor. Fang had decided that they needed a constant watch and had volunteered for the first one, saying she would wake up Robin later in the night. Robin struggled to sleep a wink that night, left to his thoughts he remembered all of his times spent with the Shepherds. Hoping they would bring him some form of comfort in this new place.

"I'm sorry Chrom, Morgan, everyone...I had to do it. It was the only way." Robin said to himself.

"Who were they?" A bubbly voice asked him. Robin reacted the only way he could think of…he yelped, luckily not loudly enough to alert Fang.

"Vanille, I thought you were asleep?" The tactician asked the Pulsian.

"It's hard too, we've been asleep so long anyway." The girl replied. "But who are those people? You seemed close."

"It's a long story. But I'll tell you if you want to know." Robin conceded.

"We have the time, I think Fang just said she would alert you, I don't think she will though." Vanille countered.

"Alright. Well, I guess it started with me waking up in a field, to the people who I would go on to call my greatest friends. Similar to you and Fang, I couldn't remember what I was doing. But unlike you I had full amnesia, I didn't even know my name." The white haired man started.

And so, he told Vanille his story, how the two friends were royalty. He told her about the men and women of the Shepherds, the people he would call his family. The mysterious time traveller who knew of the future and helped prevent her death at the hands of some assassin's. How he was able to get them through every battle without losing anyone. Of his greatest failure when he couldn't save Chrom's older sister. He noticed how Vanille teared up at that part.

"We were able to escape with our lives, but the loss hit us hard. Morale was at an all time low, and then there was the battle at the Midmire…a battle neither side won. The enemy general, Mustafa. He heard Emmeryn's plea, as did most of his men. But his family had been threatened by Gangrel. Chrom was overcome with grief and anger, he wouldn't listen to reason. We were able to defeat them, but I would never call it a victory." Robin continued.

"That…that sounds so awful." Vanille commented between sobs.

He continued about how everyone was able to rally behind Chrom, that they were able to defeat the Mad King of Plegia. The two years of peace that followed, watching as all of his friends started marrying each other. Chrom marrying his friend Sumia, and then the baby they had had together. Then he told her about the Valmese invasion. Having to ally themselves with the new King of Plegia.

"We had arrived at the meeting point, it was a deserted island with a castle but was completely barren other than that. Camp was set up as me, Chrom and Frederick when to negotiate with them. The new king though, he was someone who we didn't expect. He was the leader of the assassin's that had tried to murder Emmeryn, we were certain we had killed him. But here he was standing before us." The tactician revealed.

"How was that possible?" Vanille asked in disbelief.

"He had been revived, but I'll go more into it later. He gave us a generous offer of many ships, oil and promised to fund the war. We accepted, but then introduced a man he called the hierophant. You see Validar was part of a religious cult known as the Grimleal, in fact he was the leader of the whole thing, and told us we couldn't leave unless we received Grima's blessing." Robin continued.

"What happened then?" The girl urged.

"The hierophant, he said something quiet and weird, then Frederick asked him to take down his hood, saying it was rude to have it up front of royalty. It was the worst thing, the man. He looked exactly like me." The tactician explained.

"B-but…then he was your twin?" Vanille questioned.

"Worse…he WAS me." Robin answered. "And Vailar would later tell me…I was his son."

"No way." The girl nearly shrieked, making sure to keep her voice down.

"Remember that time traveller, Marth, I told you about?" Robin asked her.

"Y-yeah." The Pulsian replied.

"That, was actually Lucina, in her time, Grima had been resurrected, the world was in an apocalyptic state. Grima's undead army roamed the everywhere, no place was safe, and the last of humanity was in shambles. It was only the children of the Shepherds who were left, and they were given the chance to travel back in time, to save their future. Unfortunately, Grima, he followed them." The white haired man explained.

"Wow, it seems so unbelievable. Wait, you said Grima followed them back, and that there was two of you…then…tha-that means." Vanille, stuttered, having figured it out.

"Yes…my future self. He had given in to him, and had killed Chrom. We had been able to defeat the Valmese at the time. But, Validar, he was an expert in dark magic, he could control me with some blood magic." Robin continued.

"But what about you? Were you able to fight back?" The girl questioned.

"For that I would need to explain some more." Robin confessed. He started telling her about the Valmese war and how they were able to find the future children. He told her about the Voice of Naga, who was her daughter Tiki, and how she was over three thousand years old, how she mistook both Lucina and himself for Marth. Robin explained the how Basillio, the West Khan of Regna Ferox sacrificed himself to defend them from the Valmese leader, but had really gone into hiding to shield himself from Valiar's spies. About Say'ri and Yen'fay, the Chon'sin leaders, and how Say'ri had to kill her brother as he played a ruse of betrayal, about the obese worm Excellus and his ambition. He told her how Walhart fell.

"Then, we were able to make it home. Chrom explained of an ancient set of ruins next to Ferox's port. We thought we had found all of the children since all the married couples of the Shepherds had met their children. But, then we found Morgan." The tactician remarked.

"You said that name before, who were they?" Vanille asked.

"Morgan…Morgan was my daughter." Robin answered, hearing Vanille's gasp. "The problem, was that none of the other children had met her before, she too had amnesia and could only remember me. We were never able to find her mother."

"I-I'm so…I'm so sorry." The girl cried, openly weeping.

Robin started to enter the final stretch. He told her about the Fire Emblem, and how it, along with Chrom's sword, the Falchion was what defeated Grima a thousand years before. How they had acquired four of the five gemstones, and Vaildar informed then that he had the fifth and final one. He explained about how Validar had tricked them and used his blood control magic to make him take the Fire Emblem from Chrom and give it to him. About Lucina's plans to kill him, and that he would've accepted it, had Chrom not interfered. Next up where the Dreadlords and the assault on Grima's Table. How even then, Validar was able to control and how he had stabbed Chrom with an electric rod, but hadn't killed him by weakening its power. How Basilio appeared again and they were able to finally put Validar down.

"But then, Grima appeared and announced that he didn't need the Fire Emblem, or me, to awaken Grima, since he himself had already done it before. I was able to use the distraction to reclaim the Emblem and then we had to travel to Prism Mountain. So Chrom could perform the Awakening ritual. That would give us the power to defeat him. But Naga told us, that it would only put him to sleep again. Only Grima could kill Grima." Robin revealed.

"But he would never willingly kill himself would he." Vanille spoke.

"That's…that' where I come in. I was Grima, so I could deal the final blow. But doing so, would kill me too." The tactician explained.

"And then what?" The girl asked.

"It was the final battle. Naga teleported us onto the dragon's back. But he was so powerful, he nearly killed us as soon as we appeared. He gave me an ultimatum. Sacrifice myself, or all my friends would die. But I knew, he would've killed them anyway. Grima then put me in a black void, I…I felt like I was dying, it was so cold. I was able to escape and fight back, thanks to my family not giving up on me." Robin smiled, remembering the moment that happened not too long ago for him. "We fought throw the Grimleal, and we were able to weaken him. Chrom was about to deal the final blow…but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do it myself, I pushed him out of the way, and dealt the blow myself…I could feel myself growing weaker, fading from reality. The pain I put my family through, I will remember it till the day I die." Robin explained, sadly.

"But if you were dying, how did you end up here?" Vanille asked.

"As I was fading...I could see crystal starting to envelop me. Then, I woke up not long before you guys did." The tactician finished.

"Wow, that's so much to take in…I guess…I guess I owe you an explanation. Me and Fang…we were also part of war." The girl started. "We had been put on the front lines as a special unit…get close…and destroy Cocoon."

"What?" Robin was surprised. Despite the story, he had told, the knowledge that the girls he was now with had had a similar experience to him was…well it was uncanny.

"Our focus…was to become Ragnarock…and destroy this place. However, it was only Fang who became that monster. She was only able to destroy a part of the outer shell, she didn't have enough power. When she transformed back…we were forced into Crystal Stasis…she had become Ragnarock but I don't understand how it happened." Vanille explained. "I…I can't let Fang have to deal with that knowledge…I…I don't like knowing the part I played…it hurts…it hurts so much." The girl cried, burying her face into his chest. Robin did his best to calm her.

The Fal'cie that controlled the weather decided that now was the time for sunrise, it passed quickly. Robin noticed that Fang was walking towards them, probably to wake them up. But seeing the younger girl in the man's arms put her on high alert and she ran towards them.

"What happened?!" She demanded, double checking her to make sure she wasn't injured.

"She had a nightmare, I think she's cried herself to sleep though." Robin lied.

"She's too young for this. Anyway, I came to tell you that someone walked into the Fal'cie, a girl. If she's not careful she could get turned into a l'cie." Fang explained.

"You want me to follow her and make sure nothing happens to her?" The tactician asked.

"Yeah, it'll be trouble for everyone if she's branded." The elder woman said.

"Alright." Robin replied, trying to hand Vanille of too Fang. But the younger girl wouldn't let go.

"Don't…don't go." The girl muttered in her sleep.

"It can't be helped, look after her or else." Fang threatened, reluctantly leaving them.

The older Pulsian disappeared into the brush, walking back towards the vestige.

"Good thing I was pretty much the therapist for my army." Robin chuckled to himself, before feeling his eyelids start too droop. The tactician finally able to get some sleep.

He wasn't able to get much sleep. Fang returned not much time later. She shook both of them awake.

"We gotta get out of here, the Fal'cie branded that girl. She's gonna go through hell." Fang explained to them.

And that was that. They were on the run. They didn't know where they were going. A few days passed, Vanille had more nightmares, and either Robin or Fang had to calm her down. Robin explained some more of his time to the girl, and of more of the Shepherds. They had encountered some wild animals, and they were much different than what Robin was expecting. Plants that were alive and looked like jello, bird like creatures that could use magic and summon its allies. Robin was surprised at how well the two girls fought.

Fang was brutal in her onslaught, cutting and slicing them down as if they were mere inconveniences, Vanille used some kind of rod, that fired sharp hooks on strings that grabbed and cut enemies. Robin was thankful he still had his tome and sword with him, but Fang had advised against using magic, in case civilians were nearby. In this world, magic wasn't commonplace, but rather the innate ability was locked inside each person, the brand of a l'cie unlocked someone's magical potential, and so Robin was forced into using his sword, while he had trained with both Lon'qu and Chrom, his skills where still nowhere near their levels. Before they knew it, found themselves at a power plant. The group had snuck their way inside and were now standing in front of a window that gave them full view of a fal'cie.

"We can't keep running like this." Robin started, as they took a chance to catch their breath.

"You're right Rob." Fang agreed. "We need to start thinking what our focus is."

"But how are we supposed to figure it out?" Vanille asked.

"Well, we're Pulse l'cie on Cocoon. And we just so happen to have a Cocoon fal'cie in front of us." The older girl started.

"Fang…are you suggesting we attack that thing?" The tactician questioned.

"Look, it's our closest shot! And if we don't start doing somethin', then the fal'cie is just gonna start making more l'cie to do our job. Like that girl, the other day!" Fang shouted. "Look, this is our best chance right now."

Robin looked at Vanille, he remembered back to their talk on the first day. She really didn't want to do this. Bring more pain to people, but Fang's reasoning was sound. They couldn't really argue against it.

"Alright Fang." Vanille surrendered, unsheathing her rod. Robin followed suit, wielding his tome and sword. They stood facing the fal'cie ready to smash the glass in, but a high pitched voice behind them halted them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A young boy asked. He looked no older than six, and was wearing red and blue dungarees. His black hair was shaped in an afro, a style that Robin had never seen before.

Distracted, they looked towards him, but then the fal'cie roared. It was stunning that was for sure, and the poor kid behind them was caught in it.

"Daddy!" The kid cried. Out of the corner of Robin's eye, he saw a brief glow appear on the child's hand. The small boy fell unconscious from the event, and a new mark had appeared on the back of his hand.

"Oh no!" Vanille cried rushing over to him.

"Of all the things…a little kid would run here." Fang grunted. "A boy that young won't stand a chance."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"The fal'cie…it branded him." The younger Pulsian announced, revealing the brand. It was very different to the one that Fang had on her shoulder, it seemed more refined. It had a spade at the top with an intricate pattern in it, it had what appeared to be a spire that ran down from it, sticking out at different points.

"Gods." The tactician whispered.

"Put him on that bench, the guards are gonna arrive soon." Fang commanded.

Robin took the child from Vanille and carried him to the nearby bench, the younger girl knelt before him and gave him a silent pray, before they ran out of the room. They could hear the marching of guards behind them.

"Damnitt, we'll be surrounded in no time." The older Pulsian grunted, slamming her fist into the wall.

They had ran into a room with two entrances and a door with a button next to it. Fang had pressed the button and the door opened. She pushed Vanille in the room, she then turned towards Robin.

"You're going to need some help." He said.

"Which is why I have to do this." Fang replied, hitting him in the neck, knocking him out. She then chucked the tactician into the elevator as well.

"What are you doing?" Vanille asked her, worried for her safety.

"Making sure you're safe, and he's gonna be protecting you." Fang replied pressing random buttons, before stabbing the control panel with her lance.

"Wait! FANG!" The younger girl tried to cry, but the metal door had already closed. "FANG! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"I'm sorry." She whispered through the door, hearing the mechanisms whir into action. She ran away from the door, and stood her ground in the centre of the room. "You guys want some. Your fight's right here!" Fang cried, whirling her lance around herself.

Robin awoke not long after. He didn't know where he was after Fang had knocked him unconscious, but Vanille had been dragging him a decent distance. They had been caught by some security, but by some sheer luck, they had mistaken them as tourists that had gotten lost while evacuating and had guided them onto a 'train' that was taking them to a place called Bodhum.

It was a long ride, it had taking them a whole day to get there. But compared to the four that they had walked to get to the plant, it was nice to be able to rest. Vanille had cried herself to sleep again, blaming herself for Fang staying behind, wishing she was stronger, Robin couldn't blame her. He had had to deal with the same problem many times within the Shepherds, with people such as Severa, Lissa and Noire to name a few.

The girls wish not to harm anyone was incredibly lofty, but one he could admire. Having been fighting for as long as he could remember, not having to do it anymore, he would jump at the opportunity.

"Welcome to Bodhum." A voice over the speaker's announced. "We hope you have enjoyed your ride, we hope you ride with us again soon."

"Hey, Vanillle we have to get off." Robin shook the sleeping girl. Vanille struggled to wake, but she was able to get up.

"Mmmm, okay." She mumbled, standing and stumbling, but she was able to regain her balance by grabbing onto the tactician, the situation reminding Robin of two Pegasus Knights he knew.

The departed the train and some stewards asked them if they had any luggage. Robin replied saying that they hadn't, making the man look at them confused, before seemingly realising what happened.

"I see you were evacuees from the Euride Gorge incident, we hope to get you moving to your home soon." He bowed.

"T-thank you." Robin replied.

Leaving the station, the pair ended up just walking around, lost and curious, at least when they were travelling they had been able to survive off of the animals they had hunted. But in the city, they were in trouble. Looking at his coin purse, he wasn't sure how much the gold coins were worth.

Moving to what he thought was a store he asked Vanille if she could wait outside, if only to avoid suspicion. He walked up to the counter, not noticing the pink haired woman behind him looking at him with suspicion.

"Umm, excuse me." Robin spoke grabbing the clerk's attention. "Can you tell me how much this worth?" He asked withdrawing a gold coin.

"Sir…this is solid gold, how the hell did you get your hands on this?" The man asked, glancing at the woman, who nodded back.

"I've had this for as long as I can remember." Robin replied.

"I'm sorry kid, but this is just too suspicious, the fact that it looks like you have a whole bag of the stuff, I apologise for this." The clerk explained.

"You're under arrest." A female voice sounded behind him.

"What?" Robin asked, in shock.

The woman in front of him had bright pink hair and wore a white coat with a dark green jumper underneath and brown skirt. The coat had a multitude of buckles and belts. She wore blue gloves with steel knuckles on them. Her left shoulder had a silver pauldron with yellow marks on it.

She put some shackles on his hands that released a blue light that forced his arms together. The officer confiscated his coin purse and read him his rights…not that he knew that they were he was still dazed. She led him out of the store, and he noticed that Vanille was not in his direct line of sight, looking around he saw her hiding in an alley, with a worried expression on her face.

Rather than being guided to a dungeon as he was expecting, he was instead guided to a 'police station'. The woman made no further comments after her long speech about his rights. Walking inside, a man at the desk was sorting through some paperwork, but the sound of the sliding door distracted him.

"Welcome back, Sergeant Farron." He saluted.

"At ease. Must you do that every time." The pink haired woman sighed.

"You're my commanding officer, ma'am. I must address you as such." The man said, dropping his salute but keeping his attitude. "Another arrest?"

"Yeah, this man was in possession of some gold coins, he was trying to pawn them off for some col." Farron explained. "The clerk believed it was too suspicious for him to go free."

"Alright, how long is he being held here?" The desk man asked.

"Only till the festival, he looked confused when he was arrested. I don't think he stole them." The officer replied.

"What's this, Lightning Farron going soft?" The man teased.

"Don't push your luck, Jim." She glared, before leading the white haired man away

Robin was guided into the cell, which, rather than the steel grates he was used to seeing, from the other side, it was made of yellow beams that crossed over each other. The cell had a toilet, a bed and a bookcase. At least he had something to keep him busy.

He didn't know how long he was lost in the books before the officer from the desk got his attention.

"Hey kid, ya know you get a free phone call." Jim told him. Robin didn't know what a phone was, but he didn't have anyone to call anyway, including Jim and that officer, he only knew four people.

"I…I don't have anyone to phone." Robin replied looking away from the man.

Jim sighed. "Alright, you'll be here for five days before you'll be released. We're keeping you here for your own safety, we'll have a meal delivered to you at regular intervals. Dinner will arrive in thirty minutes. Just don't cause any trouble." The guard said before leaving Robin to his reading.

Five days flew by, Robin had engrossed himself in the books and studied the worlds history and mythos, and what he had learnt was incredible. He was released in the morning, and he knew that his main goal now was to find Vanille, he doubted she had left the town but finding her was still a task. Especially since he didn't know his way around.

The streets were littered with stalls, each having trinkets and souvenirs, he watched one man with blonde hair and long coat pick up matching necklaces. The Seargant had said that he was being released at the start of a festival, and Robin could tell how much of a tourist attraction it was. Similar to a few he had had the pleasure of witnessing while in Ylisstol, the place was filled with crowds enjoying their time. Trying to the young Pulsian girl was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

While he was annoyed that they had taken his coin purse, they had at least compensated him with some of the local currency, so he was at least able to get some food and drink when the time came, though Robin was disappointed that they had no bear meat, but by no means was he disappointed in the meal he had eaten. He had eaten at a seaside restaurant rather than a stall, it had been reasonably packed, tourists interested in trying the cuisine.

Night came quickly, people started gathering in the centre of the town. Overhearing a group of tourists, apparently, there was going to be a display of some kind, Robin didn't know what fireworks were, but if it was anything like the presentations mages did in Ylisse, that he had sometimes participated in, then he was looking forward to it.

There was only one problem, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone was wearing clothes that seemed suited to the warmer weather of the beach area they were, similar to the outfits that the Anna at the resort wore, and forced Chrom and some others into. The heavy cloak and baggy trousers he wore earned him some odd looks, but he did his best to ignore them.

Then there was the first explosion. Robin jumped at first, but the myriad of colours and patterns in the sky told him that this is what the fireworks were. He watched as they exploded and drew a story, all around him, people were putting their hands together, wishing on the fireworks. He was about to put his hands together, when an impact nearly sent him to the floor.

"Robin! Thank goodness you're alright." Vanille cried, hugging him tightly.

"Vanille?! Where have you been?" Robin asked the girl, thankful that she had found him.

"Me? What about you? I feared the worst when they were taking you away. What happened?" The pinkette replied.

"They thought I had stolen some gold, having a pouch of coins was a bit too suspicious for them and they arrested me. I've been in jail for the last five days." The tactician explained.

"So, it wasn't about the plant? Thank goodness." Vanille whispered.

"But what about you? We had no money, what have you eaten?" Robin asked in concern.

"I was able to meet someone after I grazed my knee, she gave me a bandage and some food to last me, I've just been wrought with worry." The girl answered. "This festival though, they say if you wish on the fireworks, it'll come true." She continued, putting her hands together the same way she had at the plant.

"Hehe, if you say so." The tactician replied, following her motions. 'I wish, that I can see my family again.' He wished. It may have been childish and wishful thinking, but Robin didn't care, he just wanted to see his friends again.

"Hey Robin, do you think we'll ever make it to Pulse?" Vanille asked him.

"Who knows? But we can hope." Robin replied.

The fireworks ended, and the festival was declared over. Everyone around them started making their ways to their home or temporary residence. Robin noted that there was some movement of heavily armoured men and woman carrying weapons had started into action. He was a little worried, but decided to ignore it for now.

Unfortunately, all the hotels had no vacancy's remaining, which meant that they had to sleep under the non-existent stars once more. Sleep came easy, but waking up was another thing entirely.

It was now the thirteenth day after they had awoken. Robin was having a nice dream, being back with the Shepherds, spending time with his daughter, teaching her strategies and playing chess to help implement them. But something hitting his side interrupted it. Opening his eyes, one of the armoured men was standing over him and another was waking up Vanille.

"Get up, you are being relocated to Pulse for quarantine." The man commanded.

"What?" Robin asked sleepily.

"I said, GET UP!" He shouted, pulling Robin up from the floor harshly. "Now get moving." The man instructed, jabbing him in the back.

Robin complied, with Vanille and the other man falling in beside them. Hey at least they were going to Pulse…right?

They were guided to the station, where trains were waiting for the exiled to board them. They were among the first in line, probably because they had been found on the trees close to the place. They were forced into hooded robes, with the same shackles that Robin had been forced into a few days before.

Robin could see how scared people were, the books he had read showed how much propaganda was thrown around on Cocoon to force anti-Pulse attitudes, the idea of being sent there too these people was like being sent to hell.

"Hey Robin, do you think we're gonna be alright?" Vanille asked him as the train started to leave.

"I don't know Vanille. I honestly don't know." Was all Robin could say in response, feeling the younger girl lean into him. 'This is going to be a long day.'

A/N: And done...and that was probably as bad as Sonic 06's plot...leave criticism in the reviews and this will, hopefully, be better in the next chapter.