Through The Fire

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Summary: Robin can remember nothing, not even the fire that nearly claimed her life. She has no friends, no family that is missing her. What she does have, however, is the brave firefighter that saved her life, and his large circle of friends that have welcomed her with open arms as they try to piece together her mysterious life. When she runs into a face that recognizes her, however, she quickly learns that maybe her memories would be better left in the ashes. [Chrom x F!Robin, multiple other pairings.]

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Prologue: Pulled From the Flames

The fire alarm didn't work. She hadn't thought to check the batteries in it when she moved in a couple days ago, partially because the landlord promised that he had tested it just a few weeks prior and she had believed him. So as the smoke spread up to the third floor, she was still sleeping peaceful in the bed she was quickly growing to despise. It was too lumpy, too old.

It wasn't until thick black smog was clouding her lungs that she finally coughed her way to consciousness. For a few seconds, she could only lay there and cough, wondering if she was coming down with something. When she opened her eyes and it was almost as dark did she realize something had gone terribly wrong. Her skin felt too hot to hers, and she kicked the covers off only to find that the air was not much better. Fire? Realizing that whatever was happening could not be good, she swung her legs over the bed, feet hitting what should have been cold floor. It was hot to the touch, almost burning, and she reached for a nearby pair of slippers. Coughing, she ducked down and made her way to the door, thankful she had forgotten to close it before she went to bed.

The living room was not much better, though it wasn't quite as dense. One hand covering her mouth, she made her way over to the door only to grab the handle and burn her hand. Yelping, she pulled it back, feeling the skin bubble from just the few second contact. Shit. Desperately, she looked around for something she could break the door down with, but her apartment was bare. She had been moving in slowly, and most of her belongs was still in storage. Cursing, she ran to the kitchen and carefully turned the cold water on, dunking her head beneath it.

It did little to help clear her eyes or throat, but it was a start. Taking a wet rag, she returned to the door and used the rag as a buffer between her hand and the hot metal, yanking. The wood was swollen from the heat, however, and it quickly became apparent that it would not be opening easily. Cursing again, she backed away as the whole door began to smoke. The fire must have spread, was working on taking her only way out.

Fear sunk in then and she turned on her heel and rushed back to her bedroom, grabbing a lamp on her way. Coughing, she threw the lamp at the window with as much strength as she could muster, satisfied with the shattering glass. "Help!" she screamed, sticking her head out. That proved to be less than ideal, as all the smoke was trying to escape out the opening, and she found herself choking on the smog. "H-help!" she tried again, voice weak and cracking. She could almost see the lights of a fire truck flashing within the smog, and she tried to wave, to get their attention. "Help…"

Feeling hopeless, she sunk to the ground, knees hitting the few shards of broken glass. Would no one know she was here? All I wanted was to know my parents, she thought, body too hot to produce tears. I came all this way so I could meet them.

Somewhere, she was aware that there was a crash coming from the living room. Feeling weak, she lifted her head and saw that the door had fallen, orange flames licking at the wood. She kept her eyes up, however, noticing a yellow mass standing in the middle of the doorway. "Ma'am!"

Her eyes widened, and she desperately reached for him. "H-help," she begged weakly, coughing. The firefighter was by her side in an instant, kneeling next to her.

"Can you walk?" he asked gently, voice muffled by the large helmet he was wearing. She tried to pull herself up, but the heat was too great and she was having trouble focusing on anything. He seemed to know what she was trying to say and, with one glance over his shoulder, began to shrug out of his heavy coat. "I'm going to carry you, alright? You're going to be just fine."

She didn't resist as he pulled the coat over her shoulders, making sure it was secure around her before scooping her into his arms. She thought she saw him take a deep breath and then he took off, running full speed towards the fire. "Keep your head against my chest to protect yourself from the flames," he instructed. She did as she was told, tucking her head against his chest, eyes burning even as she clenched them shut. She could feel her mind beginning to slip, demanding to give into the blanket of nothingness.

"Hold in there, we're almost out!" he called to her as they swiveled around the staircase. She didn't respond, feeling one of her hands slip off her stomach and hanging down next to her. "Don't you die on me!"

Before she could register what had happened, the heat suddenly stopped, replaced by a gentle breeze. Her skin still burned, still scorched and she didn't know if it would ever really cool down. "Chrom!" someone yelled, their voice sounding far away. "Is she—"

"She needs attention!" the man carrying her yelled, and she thought she heard people speaking as they passed. Why were they talking? Her body suddenly hit something soft and her head lolled to the side. "Hey, stay with me," someone kept saying. "Get a ventilator, she's breathed in too much smoke!"

Mother…father…

She thought that someone was touching her, pressing something cool and hard against her cheek, but the nothingness was too great, too much, and she felt herself slowly begin to slip down, down, down, the voice of the firefighter still ringing in her ear, begging her not to go.

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Author's Note: Tada! I hope you guys like it so far, even though I know it was relatively short. This is my second Fire Emblem story, my first multi-chapter story, so I hope you guys like it!
I'll try to have the first actual chapter up relatively soon, but please tell me what you think of this one!