This story was largely inspired by History Mode in Fire Emblem Warriors, where (spoilers?) Grima took on the form of the female avatar while the the avatar challenging their fate is male. I thought it was a cool way of separating the two Robin's from one another, and have them within the same timeline.
For that reason, I made Grima F!Robin for this story.
We start off right at the climax of Awakening, during the final battle with the fell dragon.
"RETURN TO ME… COME… WE ARE ONE… AND THE SAME." Grima taunted her opponent, a young tactician standing side by side with the princess of a bleak future. The tactician simply grimaced, ignoring Grima's plight.
He brought his thoron tome out from his side, casting a beam of electricity at his doppelganger. She tried blocking it as best she could, but the light magic stuck her clean in the chest, causing her to recoil back in pain. If not for the power of the fell dragon, it certainly would have killed her. However, she would not be able to survive another direct blow.
She raised her hand high above her head, a pool of dark energy forming at the tip. The tactician seemed intimated by her power, which brought her a hint of pleasure. She cast the ball of energy forward, flying at an unbelievable speed. The princess at the tactician's side rolled in front of him, bringing her Falchion in front of herself. The ball of energy clashed with the blade, a large aura of blue shot out with purplish smoke encircling the princess and tactician.
They had been unscathed by Grima's assault.
"Are you alright, Robin?" The princess peered back to the tactician.
"Yes, if not for you, Lucina." He replied, again turning his attention back to Grima. She grasped at the area thoron had struck, clearly weakened. Chrom and Sumia rushed to Robin's and Lucina's side, Sumia tossing a javelin into a nearby enemy.
"Hear my words awakener!" Robin and Chrom looked around for the source of the voice. They had heard it briefly at the start of the battle, a voice they knew all too well. It was the ruler of the divine dragons, Naga.
"Grima's servants will beset you to no end. Dispatch her as soon as you are able! Once the fell one is weakened, a choice will await you… If Chrom lets fall the final blow, Grima shall survive but return to his slumber…"
Chrom glanced over to his tactician, nodding his head. "So be it."
"If Robin strikes in Chrom's stead, both his life and Grima's are forever over. Only this way may the fell dragon be destroyed for good and all."
Those words tugged at Robin with the force of the whole world. "The final decision… is yours."
With that, Naga's light seemed to fade from their minds, as she would not interfere anymore. Robin thought over her warning, his heart raced with fear at the thought of Grima living.
Lucina placed her hand on his shoulder, "Robin…"
He turned to face her. "I'm alright, Lucina. Let's finish this." He ran forward, ahead of both Lucina and Chrom, confronting Grima head on.
Grima gritted their teeth; a dark aura engulfing their figure, as she once again formed a slew of dark magic. Lucina and Chrom tried to rush to Robin side as quickly as they could, but Grima cast her magic forward. As it struck Robin, a purplish hue radiating on the ground, blackened smoke surround the area the tactician once stood, Robin stepped forward, his hand extended out in front of himself.
"Time to tip the scales!" he had been charging his thoron tome, letting loose an even more powerful beam of energy than before. The electricity stuck the metallic breast plate of Grima, sending a surge of unwieldy light magic through her body.
"…NNGH… AAAAUGHHH…" Grima was sent flying, landing further up the fell dragon's neck. They tried to stand, but some remnants of the light magic still coursed through their body, causing them to rive in unbelievable pain.
Chrom raced forward. "Now, Robin! This is our chance! I'm going to finish this! Robin?! Wait, what-"
Robin had manifested a ball of dark magic similar to Grima's, tapping into the fell dragon's blood that flowed within him.
"WHAT… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Grima was struggling to stand.
"For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to save those I care for…" Robin smirked.
"YOU WOULD… NOT DARE!" Grima raised their hands up to their chest, fearful of the tactician.
"I would and I will. The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable… In some ways, I- We share the blame. It's only right that we meet our end together!"
"NOOOOOO!" With that, Robin cast the magic forward, delivering one final blow to the fell dragon. Grima's scream echoed far and wide, a high pitch squeal only drowned out by the fell dragon the group had been fighting on, who looked back in horror as his vessel began to fade into nothing but ash in the wind.
As Grima disintegrated, the sound of the wind and the fell dragon's blood curdling roar softened into light muffles. Their vision became ever blurred, as light from the world around them faded into darkness. The pain from the magic was gone, and a weight that had been lying in their heart seemed to dissipate. Grima let out a long and drawn out exasperated breath, as if the very soul of Grima was being torn from their body. With their limp arms hanging behind them, they tried to recoil their head up as best they could… the woman's once glowing red eyes softened into two bright brown ones.
Finally, the fell dragon's vessel, was free from his control. As she felt the warmth of the earth touch her skin once more after gods know how long, a light breeze blew past, breaking the body of Grima apart completely; her ashes dwindling into the sunlight. Piece by piece, her body grumbled, until soon, the area she stood had become vacant. The fell dragon was no more.
All that the woman could feel now….
What could she feel now? There was nothing, no pain, no warmth, all she felt was just that… nothing. She pried open her eyes, but saw nothing but total blackness. Had she gone blind? She raised her left hand to her eye level. She could see it clear as day. It was just now she realized that she had been lying down, but what on?
She felt the floor around her. It was neither cold like stone, nor warm like sand; no texture, nothing that would indicate solid ground. She tried standing, the disorienting feeling of falling clouding her balance. She managed it though, catching herself several times from collapsing. She looked around at her surroundings, but there was only darkness.
Where was she? Why was she here? These thoughts riddled her mind, just as flashes of events long past blotted her head. The visions brought on a terrible headache, causing her to rub at her temples. There was a massive dragon, cities engulfed in a sea of fire…. The bodies of her friends, all lying lifeless on an ash covered stone floor. Lucina was brandishing Chrom's Falchion, pointing up at her, who seemed to be in an elevated position from the princess. One after another, the visions came. Chrom jolting in shock as Robin pierced his body with a bolt of electricity. All the wars she had previously fought.
What were these visions? She must have been asleep; she was having a nightmare. This must be what was happening. She wanted to wake up, as the flashes now took on a more horrifying form. Now she heard the voices; the vicious roar of the dragon, the cries of the thousands lying dead or dying in Ylisstol. She placed her head down into her palms.
'Wrenched, son of Naga, I am the end!' Did she say this? The voice was hers but why…
Why was this happening to her? This thought was greeted with a light rustling sound. She peered up from her hands, it was still dark, but she could recall the sound of rain, a slight vagrant tickled her nostrils. Spinning on her heel, she tried to zero in on the source… but still nothing met her gaze. The rustling of the rain was getting louder, yet she could not see the root of the noise. A low rumble met her ears, way off in the distance...
"THROOOOOUM!" her eyes shot open at the sound of thunder. She had been lying on the ground again. Her face was being pelted with raindrops, the coolness of the water sending a shiver down her spine. Her hand felt the mud next to her; it was thick, moist, staining her glove in a blackish color.
She sat up, her eyes finally welcoming the imagery of a vast open field. It was night; the moonlight weaved in and out of storm clouds. Occasionally a bolt of lightning would cast this field in a bright blue radiance, followed by the crashing of thunder. Making it to her feet, she quickly recognized where she was. It was where she had first met Chrom, Lissa and Frederick. Unlike then, she was completely alone.
"Why…." She blurted quietly to herself.
"Robin, tactician of Ylisse." The mentioned tactician jumped at her name being announced. She pivoted, looking for the origin, but she was still alone. "You have finally come back, after all this time."
"Come… back?" Robin parroted. A shadow of herself was cast on the ground in front of her, a continual blue light similar to the lightning surrounding it. When she turned, she came eye to eye with a floating woman. She glowed with an everlasting light; her warm smile only complimented the holy presence.
"Yes child, you have returned from a long, cruel slumber, one that has taken you through both your world's time and this one's."
"Wh- What do you mean? Who are you, why… w-why am I here…" Robin interjected, flabbergasted by the woman's statement.
"Forgive me child, I am one you may call, goddess. I am Naga, the ruler of the divine dragons." Robin took a step back. The once frantic tactician composed herself in the presence of the goddess.
"N-Naga… the Goddess N-Naga?" Robin looked on in wonder, as the figure nodded with a beaming smile.
"Listen well, Robin. You have just awakened from a slumber that should have lasted for eternity. I foresaw this very event, and have awaited your return to be here for you. "
"What do you mean?" Robin questioned, her eyebrows knit. She could hardly believe she was in the presence of a goddess. Clearly whatever reason she had for being here was very paramount.
Naga's smile sank down to a more serious frown. "You died my child, after a long grueling fight, you pasted on into the afterlife. But now, after almost a year of time, you have returned to the land of the living."
"I… died…." Robin harkened back to a flash from before, the image of a man, cloaked in a tacticians robe, a large ball of magic high above his head. This was the last flash she could recall. As if on cue, a jolt of pain, though mild, raged through her torso. She grunted from the discomfort. This was all but a vision, what could it mean? 'I died in battle, but how?' Naga said Robin died in battle, if that were so, was this vision more than a dream?
Her eyes raced around, moving from one side to another, the flashes she had whilst she was asleep, clouding her vision. Her mind strained searching for an answer; she remembered some of the feelings, or lack thereof from before.
"Those, things I saw… they…" she made eye contact with Naga, "They were memories…" Her eyes widened at a shocking revelation. "All those things, the fell dragon, Ylisse's destruction…" A stay tear formed in her eyes. "The death of my friends… I- I did all, those things?"
'It wasn't a dream… all these visions...'
Naga didn't respond, letting the revelation sink further into Robin's heart. "I… I did all those things!" when the tears came, they fell harder than the storming rain surrounding her. "I betrayed my home, my best friend, everything I ever loved! I- I let…" she fell to her knees. "Everything I've done, it's unthinkable… I-it's unforgivable!"
"My child, you were under Grima's influence, there was nothing you could have done." For once, Naga sank down to the Earth below her, placing a hand on Robin's back. "He took control of your heart and mind… all the destruction brought about, they were by his hand, not yours."
Robin thought back to a memory of her counterpart at the Dragon's Table and their final battle, how he managed to fight Grima's temptation, how through everything, Chrom and the others stood by his side. "If, if I had been stronger… if my b-bonds were…" Naga brushed the tactician's hair. "None of it, not a damn thing would have happened!"
"There was nothing more you could do young tactician. Your bonds were strong… stronger than most, but Grima was very powerful. In your world, before he lost his power, Grima was unfathomably strong." Naga tried reassuring Robin. "That world has been undone, all those terrible things, they no longer exist." Robin peered up to Naga. "The future you once knew, is now gone, and the fell dragon… is no more."
"But how… Why have I come back?" Robin saw Naga staring past her; Robin looked down to her right hand. On it, a purplish glow emanated… The Mark of Grima, was still with Robin. "N-n…No…" Robin mouthed.
Naga closed her eyes, taking on a more forbearing tone.
"Though the fell dragon is no more… his body destroyed and his soul banished to an eternal rest, his power still lingers. Much as the bonds you and your counterpart forged brought him back to life, the power of Grima, which still flows in you, has brought you back." Naga explained.
"No, oh Gods no!" Robin's face sank back into her hands. "Then everything Robin, Chrom… everything everyone has fought for… it was all in vain?"
"No my child, Grima's power may still flow within you, but your connection has been severed." Naga replied.
"That still means he lives on… if only in me." Robin sobbed at her current thought. "So long as I remain… everyone, Robin, Chrom, Lucina… everyone is still in danger." When Robin looked to Naga for support, it hurt her when the goddess didn't reply. "Naga, what do I do?"
"That is something I can't answer my young one… for it is something for you, and you alone to find." Naga's tone was unwavering. Naga began to float away from the tactician.
"Please, Naga… you must help me!" Robin pleaded, extending her hand out to the goddess.
"I'm sorry, Robin… for too long I have interfered with the world of man… this is a path you must carve on your own accord." As her sentence finished, Naga's light began to dim, the darkened night sky encasing her figure.
"No, wait… Naga please!" Robin reached out, but clasped nothing. When she looked to her hand, there was nothing, only a few droplets of water rolling off her skin onto the muddy floor. Robin looked around her. Once again, she was alone… alone in her memories. She pondered her next move. She knew she couldn't remain in Ylisse. At her side was her bronze sword.
Picking it up off the muddy ground, she examined it. The blade as still very sharp, the idea of offing herself came to mind, causing the blade to shake in her hand, till she had dropped it.
'Coward…' she thought to herself. 'You haven't a nerve in your body to pull off such a thing, no matter how desperate you were.'
She shook the thought out of her mind, picking up the blade from the ground. Everything was happening so fast… she needed to think more clearly. In the way distance, she could see the Farfort, the place she had first done battle alongside Chrom and Frederick. If she were to make a decision, it would have to be there. With that, Robin treaded forward, a violent and loud crash of thunder engulfing her eardrums.
"THROOOOOUM!"
It didn't take long for her to make it to the Farfort. She was soaking head to toe in rain; her hood had been pulled over her head. The plaza was full of stalls, with villagers despite the rain going about their business. Robin could hear the laughter of several men and woman all emanating from a nearby pub. Robin shuffled her way through the crowds of people. Last time she was here, there weren't nearly as many people.
Clearly, after the war, with no immediate threat against them, the town had grown. Robin occasionally bumped into several strangers, apologizing quickly before disappearing back into the crowd. As she moved forward, a hand grasped her shoulder.
"Excuse me, Mister Robin…" Robin turned to face the store owner, the man quickly bowing when he realized Robin was a lady. "Forgive me miss; I thought you were someone else." He walked off before Robin could say anything.
'So my counterpart did come back, just as Naga said…' she thought. It admittedly made her smile. She was thankful, after all he had been through, that his bonds with Chrom and the others helped him comeback after such trial. 'But why didn't that happen for me?' her smile sank back to a frown. 'Was I not close enough to everyone… did I not love them as my counterpart loves them?'
Robin noticed a path leading away from the town. Torches lit its trail, which lead out west toward the distant coast. It wasn't here before, but Robin figured she would head down the path. The sooner she left Ylisse, the safer everyone would be.
The path was long, and hardly anyone wandered it as Robin was. Every now and then, a man on horseback, or a carriage full of goods would move past her in the direction of the Farfort. Robin grasped at her sides, shivering in the cold air. How long had it been since she felt the cold? Her memories as Grima were becoming clearer by the hour, the feelings she felt, all the terrible thoughts.
When she was Grima, she hardly felt anything. The warmth did not comfort her, no words amused her… all there was, anger… her only emotion she could recall. From the time the seal was broken at Thabes Labyrinth long before the founding of Ylisse, to his death at the hands of her male counterpart, Grima felt nothing but fiery rage.
He was born in darkness, a scourge crafted with man and divine dragon blood. All he knew was hate, as it was the only thing he wanted to know. Robin remembered scriptures of another fell dragon in Valm, Duma. The things he did at the end of his life, long into the degeneration all divine dragons face, overshadowed everything he had done from before, and because of it, he's only remembered as a dark god.
Perhaps this is where Grima founded his rage towards Naga. All divine dragons fall into depravity, it is their destiny, yet Naga continues on, untouched by time unlike all other dragons. Robin knew Grima was part divine dragon… if only she remembered where the bloodline came from. Maybe he wanted nothing but death, because of the inevitable degeneration of divine dragons. What was there for him to live for? No amount of worship by man, or countless years of immortality was going to prevent this outcome.
Now he will be remembered the same way as Duma… a dark, cruel god. She almost pitied Grima. Robin pondered on how she may be remembered, if at all. Does her male counterpart hate her? Does Chrom, or Lucina? Will she ever know what it means to be loved anymore?
Tears boiled up in Robin's eyes at the thought. Why must she be hated? She had no control… it's not like she wanted to become possessed by Grima. Now, because of it, her home… everything she ever knew is either gone… or will hate her for something she had no control over.
Several tears rolled down her cheek. The future she had come from is gone; she and the children are all that remain of that bleak timeline.
It was all thanks to Robin, the better version of herself… the one who when faced with Grima's wrath, still managed to pull through to the end. He gave his life for everyone he loved. If only she had that same strength.
Dawn, the first time Robin could recall seeing a sunrise since what felt like a whole other lifetime. Its beautiful orange radiance glistened off the pools of water the rain had left. There was still a light misty drizzle, reflecting the warm colors.
The path had led to a port town, being more so an extension of the Farfort. Many of the inns and houses were new. The cobblestone streets were freshly laid. Robin supposed she should look for an able sailor of sorts, or perhaps for a ship heading out to Valm.
'But would Valm be far enough?' She knew Grima's clutches reached well into the Valm continent, simply stopping there wouldn't be enough. Perhaps she should head to a more distant continent, like Jugdral. The landmass was older than Archanea, the former to Ylisse, but Robin didn't know anything more about it. It's history, the threats it faces… I would be a gamble; and even if, she's still be within the scope of Ylisse.
Robin wandered onto a pier; men were loading goods onto a medium sided frigate. An older man barked up orders to the sailors, clearly the captain of the vessel. She moved closer to him.
"Leroy, if I see one drop of that ale on my deck, you're going to have kitchen duty for the whole week!" he yelled up.
Robin tapped him on his shoulder. "Excuse me."
The man turned to face Robin, "Well in Shanty Pete's name, if it ain't the Grandmaster tac-." the captain stopped himself. "Oh darn, forgive me miss, I thought you were someone else."
Robin may have to start getting used to people mistaking her for her counterpart. "No, uh you're fine." Robin brushed it off.
"What can I do you for miss?" He crossed his arms, being rather tall man he stared down to the tactician.
"I just wanted to know, where is it this ship is heading?" The captain gained a somewhat leer look, for some odd reason.
"We're heading out west to deliver some good to Valm, why you thinking of heading out that way?" he asked.
Robin pondered for a moment. Was she really only willing to go out that far? What good would it do? No matter how far she went, Grima's influence on her counterpart was ever reaching. As her mind strained, she felt something in her right hand… a low hum ringing throughout her mind. She looked to the Mark of Grima, it was resonating with something. Robin looked back to the captain; he was still waiting for an answer.
It was then Robin noticed something past the captain's shoulder, way off in the distance. A small island, on it a towering structure.
'The Outrealm Gate? Of course, why didn't I think of that before!' She pointed out to the island. "I wish to visit that island over there." The captain turned to see the referenced island. He scratched his head, turning back to the tactician.
"Are uh, are you sure about that miss? No one ever heads to that island. There's nothing to see there, well at least nothing of importance." He mused. "If you're heading to see that big ol' gate there, I think you'll be a little disappointed. No one has ever seen that thing come alive since…" he paused. "Ya know what I don't think it's ever been used."
"Please, I need you to take me there, it's of utmost importance." Robin argued.
The captain dwelled on this for a moment, scrutinizing Robin with dubious eyes. "Well, alright miss… I don't know what could be so important on an island like that, but I'll help ya out." He smiled. "We'll be setting off by noon. It won't take long to get to that island of yours."
"Thank you, mister?" Robin questioned.
"Captain Orca… a pleasure to make your acquaintance miss, uh… what's your name again miss?"
"Robin…" she immediately regretted divulging that information.
"Robin?" Orca was now very confused, scrutinizing Robin will a sharp eye. "Well uh, okay then. Don't miss the boat, ma'am." He walked off, occasionally looking back to Robin with a mulled expression.
She sighed in exasperation, ogling out toward the distant island. The more she thought about it, the more she realized, she'd made a good decision.
The sun was almost near the western edge of the sky, as dusk was well about to greet the people of the realm. An old staircase made out of stone lead up to the towering gate, which rested on a massive platform large enough to be a plaza in a town, etchings of ancient languages covering it's face. Robin trekked up slowly, wondering if she was truly willing to leave behind everything she's ever known. She made it to the platform, the gothic structure taking up all of Robin's peripheral.
There was a surprising calmness to the island. Even though this batch of land sat barely out from Ylisse, Robin never felt further away from everything. The wind gave a soft hum to it all, reflecting off the stone pillars of the gate. The trees rustled in harmony with blades of wheat sitting far below her.
A more alien sound mixed with it all. Robin inspected the Mark of Grima. It flashed slowly, almost in rhythm with Robin's heartbeat. Its light purr intensified with every step Robin took towards the Outrealm Gate. She was now only a few feet from the opening, so she extended her right hand out to it. The hum seemed to become a low rumble, as purplish energy formed around her hand.
The gate could only be opened by a divine being like Naga, but if the power resonating from her palm were any indication, then Grima held very similar power. A ball shot out from Robin's hand, clashing against the back wall of the gate. For a moment, it remained there, before growing in size with a rubbery like texture, till eventually the whole of the gate opening was covered. In a bright flash, the energy took on a plasma form. The gate was now open.
Robin, relieved by the result let out a drawn out sigh. The plasma weaved in and out, twisting the light around it; little velvet embers seeped out from time to time, dissipating quickly in air. Robin, took a deep breath… she looked back to the distant continent of Ylisse.
"I'm sorry everyone, for everything I've done… or may yet still do." Robin whispered. "I'm sorry Chrom… I'm sorry Lucina…" she paused, a stray tear forming in her eye. "I'm sorry Robin, for everything. I hope you all can one day forgive me." She turned back to the gate, but noticed a bluish hue on the ebony stone frame of the gate.
"They have long forgiven you, Robin. You are still very much the tactician they know and love." Naga materialized out of nowhere, levitating down to the Earth.
"Even if, this gives me all the more reason to keep them safe." Robin looked back to Naga.
"They are safe my child. The power you hold, it can be used for a better future, Robin." Naga approached Robin more closely till she was all but an arms reach away.
"No…" Robin smiled sheepishly. "The malice that sleeps within that power is still present; I can feel it, when I close my eyes." Naga frowned. "Grima and I, we are the same… throughout the night, I've thought about it, and I've come to realize… we were never separate. I am him, and he is I. I am his blood. I am the blood of Grima… that is why I must… go." Robin peered down to her feet.
Naga placed her hand on Robin. "You don't have to leave, child."
"Hmmm" Robin focused on Naga.
"Yes, you and Grima aren't separate. The things he made you do were terrible, awful things… but what about the people you're leaving behind? The bonds you've forged, they can help guide you through to the end, Robin." Naga explained.
Robin smiled warmly. "I know, but this is no longer my world… it's theirs, and like you, I think it's time for me to leave this world to its people. I want this world to be free from Grima… free from a gamble with gods." Naga was taken aback by this. "My hope is in my absence... our absence, they'll learn from our mistakes, to grow, that they find the courage to make a better future." Robin gripped the Mark of Grima. "If this is how I must grow as well... how I must atone for my sins, so be it. I will forge new bonds… but they can't be here."
Naga and Robin paused, letting the light wind fill the void of silence. "Where will you go, Robin?" Naga muttered.
"I don't know… but where ever it may be, I promise you, Naga, I will never forget you and the others." Robin beamed. Naga tittered, pulling Robin surprisingly into a hug.
"As will I Robin… though you may be lost to those you've left behind, I will never forget the noble sacrifices you have made, and will continue to make." She pulled away from Robin grinning to the tactician.
"Naga, thank you… for everything." Robin waved to the goddess, as she began to levitate away from the tactician, her teal light complimenting the orange backdrop of the sunset.
"Robin, till we meet again." Naga having almost completely faded smiled down to the tactician. "May you find peace." Naga's light faded, leaving Robin alone in the presence of the Outrealm Gate.
She took a deep breath, turning to face the portal once more. Stepping forward, she was all but an inch from entering. Taking one last look to Ylisse, Robin sighed, a faint but sad smile etching her lips.
"May we meet again… in a better life."
I hope any guy's or gals who read this enjoyed it... if not... I'm sorry :/
This is just one look at F!Robin as a separate character from M!Robin, but either way, I know Warriors isn't canon, but they made a fun little change to the Robin's that I thought would be cool to tackle.
I hope I didn't make Robin OOC, with her constantly crying and all, but given her revelation, I think everyone would be at least a little upset.
After you defeat her in Warriors, she's comments on how she is ashamed of what she did while under Grima's influence, so I thought that would be a good theme for her character in this story.
If you liked/disliked it, leave your thoughts or insults in a review... if you want. I don't have the best eye for spotting mistakes, so if you see anything, let me know. Thanks... :]