"I don't feel any different here than I did back home, so what makes me a Hero in this world?"

Robin stared intently at Kiran, waiting for her to reply, but the question seemed to have caught the summoner off-guard. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she found an answer. "I'm…not entirely sure myself."

"You're not?" Robin remarked.

"Well, I'm kinda new to this," Kiran reminded her. "We don't even have magic where I'm from, so I don't know much about the details of summoning besides what the others have told me."

"What have they told you?" asked Robin. "I'm genuinely curious. If I'm going to be of any use in this situation, I need to know everything I can about the circumstances behind it."

Kiran paused, twirling a strand of her hair as she thought about how to explain. "Heroes are…well, they're people who've accomplished great things in their worlds," she began. "Either that, or you've played an important part in other people's accomplishments. That ties you to the fabric of your world's history, and links you to this one. By finding those ties and following where they lead, I can bring you here. Does that make any sense?"

Robin gave that some thought before answering. "I can't say I entirely understand, but I'm glad you do. Still, what about…"

She looked around, nervously, and spoke again in a quieter voice. "What about people like Michalis?" she asked. "Or Zephiel? I've heard people speak – the ones from their worlds. I've heard the kind of things they've done. What right do they have to be called Heroes?"

"I'd wondered about that, too," Kiran agreed. "Anna said it's because the magic doesn't always take sides. Great accomplishments don't have to be good accomplishments. To the people on their side, they could've been heroes too, in their own way."

She laughed, though it was a nervous sort of laughter. "But thankfully, Heroes like them don't come along too often. Most of you seem decent enough."

"Glad you think so," said Robin, smiling slightly.

Kiran took a few steps away. "Well, I've still got the rest of my patrol to do," she said. "I'd be glad to talk later, but if I don't finish this soon, I won't have enough time to sleep. We're going out tomorrow, and all our intel says to expect a fight, so I can't afford to be at anything but my best."

"Understood," said Robin. "By the way…"

Her expression shifted, and suddenly she looked a lot more serious. "I'd like to go with you, if I can. You're going back to my world, aren't you? I checked to see who was going with you, and none of them are from the World of Awakening. Wouldn't it be best to bring someone who knows the area?"

Kiran looked surprised. "Robin, I just used my power to strengthen your abilities the other day. You know how it works – the process makes you weaker before it makes you stronger. You need to train for a while before you'll be able to go back into the kind of battles you were used to, and this one's going to be especially dangerous."

"I know, but it's better than going in blind."

"We're not, though! Sharena is coming, and she's been there plenty of times."

"But she's not from there! Look, I know you're a good tactician, but you don't have the kind of experience that I do. Can you trust me on this?"

Kiran opened her mouth to protest, but stopped before saying anything. "If you don't bring me along, at least bring someone else from my world," Robin added. "I'm sure at least one of them is available."

Kiran sighed. "I guess you have a point. I'll give it some thought, and let you know tomorrow what I've decided. Will that be enough?"

Robin nodded. "It's up to you."

The next day, when Robin found Kiran, the summoner was talking to Cecilia by the castle gates. Robin began to walk further away, trying to avoid eavesdropping, but Kiran saw her first. "Hey! Robin!" she shouted. "Over here!"

Robin changed directions and ran over to the others. "Did you decide to bring me with you?" she asked.

"Yup! I asked Sharena about it, and she thought you were probably right. Turns out she doesn't know the area quite as well as I thought – guess I shouldn't make assumptions like that," said Kiran.

Robin gave her a worried look. "Good thing you figured it out before you got there," she remarked.

"Yeah…I guess I still have a lot to learn," Kiran admitted.

She turned towards Cecilia. "Thanks for understanding. I hope the rest of your day goes well. Tell Lilina I said hi, by the way. She had something she wanted to show me, but I don't have time to go find her."

"Not a problem," said Cecilia. "I'll make sure she gets the chance to speak to you when you return."

She gave Robin a quick nod to acknowledge her presence, and continued. "If I recall, the way to the place you're headed is forested, so perhaps having Robin take my place was a good idea in more ways than one," she said. "It's much easier to get through the woods on foot than on horseback."

"Exactly," agreed Kiran. "Also, you two use similar kinds of magic, so for the sake of variety, it'd be best not to have both of you along. If I had to switch someone out for her, you seemed like the best choice. I'm glad you understand."

"Of course," said Cecilia. "Good luck to you both. Please be careful out there."

She headed off back towards the castle, leaving the two younger women alone. "Have you made any other changes to the team?" asked Robin.

"No," said Kiran. "Sharena's still coming with us, and as far as Heroes go, I'm sticking with Azama and Caeda. That sound good?"

Robin thought about it. "It does. A group like that gives us a good range of abilities. We're going to the spot near the river, right? In that case, it's good that you're bringing Caeda – she'll be able to fly across without using the bridge. Given that you're expecting a difficult battle, bringing a healer is also a sensible choice."

Kiran grinned. "Glad you approve. It's always good to get a second opinion, especially from someone who knows her stuff as well as you do."

"And I'm flattered to hear that you think so highly of me. Honestly, though, give yourself some credit! As far as I know, we haven't lost a single one of the other Heroes – that's an incredible accomplishment!"

Kiran's expression clouded. "Robin, that's –"

Suddenly, Sharena ran up to them. "This is where you were?" she remarked. "It's almost time to leave! We need to get to that spot before the Emblians do, or else things will get a lot more difficult for us."

Kiran shifted her attention towards the princess. "Ohhhh crap, is it already time?"

"You two are the only ones missing," Sharena confirmed.

"Sorry!" exclaimed Kiran.

She turned back towards Robin. "You're ready to go, right? I'll meet you at the portal."

The group of five trudged through the forest. There was still a ways to go before they reached their destination, and all of them were on high alert. If the enemy wanted to ambush them, the forest would be a good place to do it.

Caeda steered her pegasus closer to Kiran. Her mount was on foot at the moment, since the trees were too densely packed for flying to be a viable option. "Kiran, are you sure you don't want me to scout ahead?" she asked.

"I'm sure," said Kiran. "It's better to stick together, since there are so few of us. Besides, if there really were enemies ahead, you'd be vulnerable on your own."

"Understood," replied Caeda.

She ran her fingers through her pegasus' mane in a soothing gesture. "It's alright, girl," she said, softly. "We'll be out of here soon."

Meanwhile, Robin stayed towards the back of the group, careful to keep an eye out for danger. She didn't think to keep an eye out for Azama. The monk appeared next to her, seemingly out of nowhere, and spoke. "Kiran seems uneasy today, don't you think?"

Robin turned towards him, surprised. "Are you sure? I was talking to her before we left, and she seemed fine."

"As fine as she can be, I suppose. How long have you been here, anyway? I'm afraid I can't keep track of everyone, not with so many of us around."

"About two weeks, I think."

"You're new, then? Pity. You missed Kiran's early days. The poor girl was so confused! When I arrived, she was still trying to convince herself that she was dreaming. Once she figured out she wasn't, we'd barely see her outside her room. Eventually she decided to be social, but every other sentence was a complaint – she thought the castle was too cold, she kept reaching into her pocket for something that wasn't there, and she wouldn't shut up about not having "indoor plumbing," whatever that is."

"She hasn't told me much about her world, but I've heard it's very different from any of ours. She's even more out of place than we are," Robin reminded him.

"Still, I thought she'd never calm down. It's a miracle that she's become as competent as she has," Azama continued.

Robin glanced over at Kiran. She seemed lost in thought, and there was no indication that she had heard any of their conversation. "You might be right about her mood. She's been awfully quiet since we left," she said.

"Was it something you said, perhaps? I would hope you'd have more sense than to upset our tactician before a battle, but accidents do happen," Azama teased.

Robin thought for a moment. "I praised her for being so successful in preventing casualties among the Heroes," she said.

"And?"

"She seemed nervous all of a sudden, now that I think about it. Do you know if any of us have been killed? I never heard about anyone we'd lost, but I haven't been here very long, so it's possible that…"

She stopped. "Azama, what's so funny?"

Azama had put one hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laughter. "This world is a strange place," he said. "The matter of mortality is far more complex than it has any right to be, especially for the likes of you and I."

A sudden sense of unease began to creep up on Robin. "What do you mean by that?"

"I hardly think I'm the right one to ask. Our Summoner is right there – why don't you ask her?"

Robin looked back at Kiran. She seemed to have started a conversation with Sharena, but it seemed like the princess was doing most of the talking. "I'd like to, but if it's something that's upsetting to her, it would probably be best to wait until we've returned to the castle," Robin explained. "If she's not at her best, that puts us all in danger."

Azama responded with a strange sort of smile. "What a sensible answer," was all he said.

Robin looked around the area. The forest was starting to clear, and she could hear the faint sound of running water from somewhere ahead. "We're getting close," she added. "It should only be a few minutes before we –"

Suddenly, an arrow flew past in front of her, narrowly missing Caeda. "They're here!" shouted Sharena.

"Not good!" cried Kiran. "We don't have time to make it to the river. We'll have to fight here!"

Robin took a quick look around the area. A small group of Emblian soldiers had assembled on their right, but with all the trees and underbrush around, it was hard to tell how many there were. She counted at least six, but she was sure there were more of them hiding. One of them, a man carrying a sword, sliced through a large bush and lunged at Kiran, but Sharena moved in front of her to intercept the attack. She followed the block with a quick stab, leaving the soldier reeling and heavily wounded. Caeda reached a hand out towards Kiran. "Get on!" she shouted.

Kiran let Caeda pull her up onto her mount. The pegasus spread its wings and took off, crashing through branches on the way up. It was typical for one of the group to take it upon themselves to keep Kiran safe, but right now, in these circumstances, Robin couldn't help but think it was a risky move. Now there were only three of them left here – one of them a healer – and until Kiran found a place to command from afar, they would have to let instinct take over from strategy.

Robin turned around suddenly, and found another soldier behind her, this one wearing heavy armor and carrying a lance. She tried her best to focus, and took hold of her magic, sending a sharp gust of wind towards the enemy. It was enough to knock his helmet off, revealing a scowling face underneath, and leave him off-balance. Robin took her chance to weave together another spell, this one taking the form of a massive green wolf. At her command, it lunged at the man, tearing at his throat and killing him almost instantly.

Before Robin could react, though, another soldier appeared nearby, and thrust the point of his lance towards her. It wasn't a direct hit, but it sliced through her robes and cut deep into her left side. She gasped in pain, and kicked the soldier to the ground, sending blades of wind in her direction. One of them missed, but the other connected, sending the enemy flying and slamming her into a nearby tree. She was still alive, Robin noted, but she was badly injured, and she'd dropped her lance. Robin ran over to the weapon, trying to ignore the pain from her own wound, but a second soldier noticed her and started running in her direction. Before he could reach her, though, a fiery flash of light appeared in front of him. Azama ran towards Robin, taking advantage of the opening his attack had created. The second soldier stumbled towards them, disoriented, while Azama used his magic to heal Robin's wound. "Do be careful," he reminded her. "Kiran's waiting in a tree somewhere up ahead, so keep an ear out for her orders."

"Will do," Robin replied. "You be careful too."

She sent her wolf apparition towards the second soldier, who looked like he was near recovering. It knocked him to the ground, where Sharena pierced his chest with her lance. She looked straight at the others, and motioned for them to follow.

She began to run back along the path, with Robin and Azama close behind. Robin could see the bridge up ahead – they'd almost reached the river. With fewer branches to block the sky, Caeda and her pegasus became visible not far above them. The Emblian soldiers were in close pursuit, and once the area became clear enough, she'd occasionally swing down and pick one off. Still, even from the ground, Robin could tell that her comrade was beginning to tire. She could see fresh wounds on Caeda's mount, and she was sure that the rider had a few of her own.

When they finally reached the river, Robin noticed Kiran perched in the branches of a tree on the other side. "Over here!" she shouted.

The rest of the group crossed the bridge as quickly as they could. Sharena took a position at the front, and Caeda hovered above the river at her side. "Robin, you back them up," ordered Kiran. "We'll hold the rest of them off here.

There were only a few enemy soldiers remaining, at this point – Robin could only see four of them, and with the forest behind them, it was unlikely that there were more in hiding. Using the bridge as a chokepoint seemed like a viable plan. The enemies stopped just short of the bridge, just for a few seconds, and then shifted position. They all seemed to have close-range weapons, Robin noticed. If the enemy couldn't get through Caeda and Sharena to reach her, then she would have no trouble supporting them from the back.

One of the Emblians – a fierce-looking man with an axe – took the lead, running onto the bridge. A swordsman followed close behind, his gaze fixed on Caeda. Robin took hold of her magic once again, and sent a fierce gale down from above the two soldiers. The one with the axe managed to hold his ground, but the swordsman lost his balance and fell into the river. A trail of blood followed him through the water as he was swept away. The remaining soldier lunged towards Sharena, who managed to hold off his initial attack, but missed his next. His weapon tore into her leg, knocking her onto the ground. She tried to get up, but it was all she could manage to avoid the soldier's axe as he slammed it into the bridge next to her. Azama tried to approach her, but another swordsman ran past Caeda before she could react, blocking his way. Caeda flew at him, but he jumped out of the way and landed right next to Robin.

Robin immediately started preparing a spell, but Kiran's sudden shouts interrupted her. "They've got a mage!" the summoner cried.

Another soldier had appeared on the other side of the bridge, brandishing a red tome. The air grew hot, and the soldier with the axe began to pull back, a smug look on his face. "Robin, get out of there!" Kiran ordered.

Caeda jumped off her pegasus and pulled Sharena away as quickly as she could. An enormous fiery blade appeared in front of the mage a second later, tearing through the wooden bridge as it flew towards Robin.

She tried to get out of the way. She didn't have time. Sharp, searing heat surrounded her, engulfing her entire body, and when she opened her mouth to scream, it tore into her insides and stole her breath. For a moment, she was vaguely aware of Kiran's panicked shouts mixed in with the roar of the flames.

That was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.

"I…no idea…to her …"

"…down…stop…so hard…mistake…"

Were those voices? She couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

"but she…because of me…be resummoned, but…terrifying…"

"Of course, but…still have a chance to…right there, so…awake."

That was Anna, wasn't it? And Kiran, too. She could hear them somewhere very close, and as her senses began to return to her, the words became clearer.

"Wait, I think she's waking up."

"Looks like it. I'll leave you two alone, alright?"

"Wait, that's not fair! You can't just leave me to – ugh, dammit Anna!"

Robin opened her eyes, and squinted as they adjusted to the light. Her body felt stiff, and it took more effort than it should have to push herself up off the stone floor. She was somewhere outside and she could see the side of the castle at the bottom of the stairs. This place seemed familiar, but it took her a moment to figure out why.

Then it hit her. This was the same place where she'd first been summoned.

She looked behind her, and sure enough, the stone tablet was behind her. There was a green orb placed in its center, illuminated by sunlight. When she turned back around, Kiran was looking straight at her, Breidablik in hand and a pained expression on her face. "I'm sorry," she said. "Robin, I am so sorry. It's my fault – I should've seen that mage sooner."

It all came back to Robin in that moment. That battle by the bridge, Kiran's warning, the spell – oh gods, the fire – and then…what? The memories of the battle itself were fuzzy – more so than they should've been, she thought – but she remembered enough. "Kiran, I shouldn't have survived that," she said, her voice shaking. "What happened?"

Kiran bit her lip, avoiding Robin's gaze. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's my fault. Heroes are supposed to know this before they go into any battles, but I did so much summoning that day that I didn't have time to tell everyone. Anna was supposed to talk to you, I think, but she must've been busy too, and I guess she forgot to tell me. It was such a mess, but if I'd just done my job…"

She stopped. Her fists were clenched, and she looked like she was about to cry. "That's not what I asked for," said Robin, her voice low. "Kiran. Did I…did I die?"

Kiran motioned towards the stone tablet. "You saw that orb, right?" she said. "When I summon Heroes, I call them from their world and tie them to this one using those as a catalyst. As long as they're here, that orb is bound to them."

She forced herself to look Robin in the eye. "Robin, you're right. You died in that battle. But because your life force is tied to that orb, I was able to use it to repeat the summoning process. That's why you're alive right now."

Robin stared at Kiran. Both of them were quiet for a long time, and when Robin finally spoke, it was barely more than a whisper. "So that's it. That's what makes Heroes different."

Everything began to fall into place in her head. As unbelievable as this was, it explained so much. She understood now, why Caeda had been so quick to protect Kiran even when it meant putting everyone else in danger. The things Azama had said made a lot more sense now – he'd already known. And as for Kiran's zero-casualty record… "How many times have you had to do this?" asked Robin.

"Fewer than you'd expect," said Kiran. "But I still make mistakes. Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's not disappointing. It makes much more sense that way," replied Robin.

Some part of Robin was surprised that she was able to converse so easily. Shouldn't she be angry? Disturbed? Relieved, if nothing else? But somehow, none of those feelings were reaching her right now. Instead, her mind was trying to wrap itself around the implications of all this. If Kiran had the power to resurrect Heroes, then effectively, they were unstoppable. And yet…there was one thing that worried her. "What about the people of this world?" she asked.

Kiran shook her head. "It's the summoning magic that makes this possible. If I didn't summon, them, I can't bring them back."

"So Alfonse and Sharena? Anna?"

"If they were to die, there'd be nothing I could do. Same goes for everyone else born in this world. That's why the three of them are required to retreat if they're badly injured – we can't afford to lose them,"

"I see. Our first priority should be to protect them, then?"

"I wouldn't recommend trying to babysit them. They can take care of themselves just like anyone else, and I'm sure they'd be the first to remind you of that."

Kiran motioned towards the castle. "Robin, you should get some rest. I'm sure you'll need time to process all this. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask me."

Robin nodded, and started to walk back towards the castle. Before she'd gotten too far, though, she turned back towards Kiran. "How are the others?" she asked.

"They all made it through the battle. Sharena's wounds needed a bit of extra attention when we got back, but otherwise no one suffered any serious damage."

Robin smiled for the first time since waking up. "I'm glad to hear it.

Behind her smile, however, her thoughts were racing. Despite Kiran's advice, she doubted that she'd be able to rest anytime soon.

I'd originally thought this would be a one-shot, but it ended up getting too long for that. Right now, I'm planning to make it three chapters. The second one is almost done, so I'll post it once it's ready. I'm not sure when I'll finish the third, but it shouldn't take too long since I'm expecting it to be shorter than the others.