Chapter 1: Re-Awakening

Robin winced at the light.

"Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING."

"What do you propose we do?"

"I—I dunno…"

He carefully blinked his eyes open. The sunlight was blinding.

Two figures stood over him. One of them chuckled. "I see you're awake now."

The other leaned in close, eclipsing the sun, and smiled down at Robin. "Hey there," she said cheerfully.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand."

Robin hesitantly reached for him, his arm stiff from disuse.

He blinked. His hand. Something was different about it.

Something that should have been there, but wasn't…

The figure lifted Robin to his feet; Robin stumbled, but held his ground.

He smiled at Robin. "Welcome back. It's over now."

Robin blinked rapidly, grasping his head; he felt a headache coming on. "Agh…"

She sighed. "Don't tell me he has amnesia again."

"C-Chrom…" Robin muttered, leaning on him for support. She gasped.

Chrom frowned grumpily. "Don't get your hopes up, Lissa, that doesn't mean anything." He nodded at her. "Hey Lissa, could you help me out with him?"

"Sure thing," the girl said, and they each took an arm to lift Robin; Chrom then waved Lissa off, and carried Robin himself. "Back to the capital, then?"

Chrom nodded, and they started walking, with Robin lying in Chrom's arms.

Robin awoke, rubbing his eyes. He clutched at the sleeves of his robes, as if to reassure himself that he was still clothed. "Chrom…?" he muttered, looking around. He lay in an ordinary bedroom. Afternoon sunlight filtered in from the window.

"I'm here."

Robin turned to face him, blinking his eyes repeatedly, getting used to his senses.

"Robin," Chrom said, "do you remember me? Anything besides my name?"

"I…" Robin grasped his head. "My head hurts… I can't… think."

Chrom's face settled into a frown. "I see." He stood. "Call for me if you need anything, okay?"

"Where… am I?" Robin asked.

"Your room in Ylisstol," Chrom said. At Robin's confused expression, he clarified: "The capital."

"Ah," Robin said, feigning understanding. "Thanks, Chrom… I'll call for you."

Chrom smiled wanly before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

Chrom faced the crowd of Shepherds huddled outside, shaking his head sadly. "It's too soon to tell," he said, "but it seems like he's lost his memory once again."

Disgruntled murmurs echoed from the crowd.

"This is just freakin' typical," Sully muttered.

"First Robin, then Morgan, then Emm, then Robin again?" Lissa sighed. "Do we just attract amnesiacs or something?"

"Guess so," Chrom said somberly.

Sumia stepped forward, her hand clutched nervously over her heart. "I-I want to go in! I want to see him!"

Chrom grimaced. "Listen, Sumia. I won't stop you, but keep in mind that this isn't the same Robin we know. I think you'll only upset yourself by going in now. At least wait until he recovers a little bit."

Sumia frowned, averting her eyes. "Y-Yes, you're right, Chrom. I'll wait."

Chrom grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Keep your spirits up, though! He's alive, and that's what really matters. The rest will fall into place."

Sumia smiled, blinking away tears. "Okay, captain."

Robin clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to regain feeling in his fingers. He frowned, frustrated. "Hey, Chrom?" he called.

An unfamiliar blonde girl's head poked in. "Um, Chrom isn't here right now," she said. "Can I take a message?"

Robin smiled wanly at her. "It's fine. I just wanted to talk with someone." He tilted his head curiously. "You'll do, I suppose. What's your name?"

She frowned. "I'm… I'm Nah. We're friends, actually." She stepped in, smiling. "You cooked for me a few times. You were really nice."

"I'm… sorry, Nah. I don't remember any of that." Robin took a deep breath. "But your voice… it's soothing, really. A familiar sound…"

She blushed. "I-I've been told I sound a lot like Sumia."

Robin frowned, uncomprehending.

"Your wife?" Nah continued.

Robin's face went blank. "W-Wife?!" He looked at his hands. "I'm—married?!"

Nah nodded rapidly. "Uh-huh. And you… um…"

"What?"

She turned red, looking away. "Sorry, I should, uh… bring her here."

"No, no," Robin said hurriedly, leaning forward. "It's fine! Please stay." He gestured toward a chair. "I'd rather not be alone."

"Um, okay." She sat.

Robin smiled sadly. "I'm… Honestly, I'm glad to hear I was nice to you. It would suck to wake up and find out that I was a bad person."

Nah leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees, and stared Robin intensely in the eyes.

Robin frowned. "Uh… Nah? What's up?"

Her eyes narrowed. "…Anything?"

"Anything…? Oh!" Robin shook his head. "No, nothing. I really don't remember you at all."

She pouted. "So I guess it's obvious you liked Chrom more than anyone else."

"What?"

"Well… you only remembered his name," she said. "You don't remember your wife's, or… or even mine."

Robin grimaced. "Listen, I'm really, really sorry. I can't account for past-me, but I would never forget your name, Nah."

"Well, I'd hope not," Nah chuckled. "It's such a weird one!"

Robin laughed as well. "Ha! Yes, I suppose so!" He tilted his head inquisitively. "So, you work for Chrom, I take it?"

"Yep," she said. "We were in an army."

"An army? Really?" Robin frowned. "And you're supposed to be a soldier?"

"Hey, I'm older than I look," she said grumpily. "I'll have you know, I'm a Manakete."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "A Manakete, huh?" He bobbed his head in approval.

There was a pause.

"…Do you know what a Manakete is?"

He sighed. "No."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," said Robin.

The door slid open. Another girl stepped inside and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Nah."

A jolt ran down Nah's spine. "Oh! Heheh! Hi, Sumia! I'm just—talking to Robin! Yep!" Her face was red as a strawberry. She jumped to her feet. "I'll just leave you guys alone, ha ha!"

"Hee hee! Thanks, Nah. See you." Sumia stepped aside to let Nah pass, and took her place in the chair. "Hey, Robin."

Robin frowned sadly. "Sumia?"

She lit up with excitement. "Y-Yes! Yes, I'm Sumia. So you remember me?"

Robin shook his head. "No, but Nah mentioned you."

Sumia's heart fell. "Oh…"

"Honestly, Sumia, I'm looking at your face right now, and I don't recognize a single thing about it," Robin said. "It's like… you're a stranger to me."

"Oh." She stared at her hands in her lap, trembling. "Did… did Nah tell you…?"

"…That we're married?" Robin finished. Sumia's breath caught. "Yes, she told me that much."

"Did she say… did she say anything about Morgan and Cynthia?" she asked.

Robin frowned.

"Our children," Sumia choked. "Our two babies?"

The air left Robin's lungs. He gasped for breath. "O-Our… our babies…"

Sumia nodded, tears trickling down her cheeks. "And the other Morgan and Cynthia… they're both waiting outside."

Robin's head spun. "W-What does that even…? Other?"

Sumia started crying. "Gods, you really don't remember anything, do you?" She sniffed, trying to compose herself.

"I'm so confused," Robin murmured. "I don't get any of this…"

"I'm sorry," Sumia said, standing. She wiped her eyes. "This is too much to put on you right now… I'm going to go."

"Okay…" Robin said absently. He heard the door shut, and buried his face in his hands.

Cordelia put her arm around Sumia comfortingly. "Sh, easy there." She helped Sumia walk away. "It's going to be all right, Sumia." Sumia sobbed uncontrollably. "Shh…"

Cynthia watched them leave, concern in her eyes. "So I guess we shouldn't go in there yet, huh?"

"I dunno," Morgan said, scratching her head. "How did you guys treat me when you found me?"

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "It's not the same, Morgan. This is Dad we're talking about."

"Tomato, potato." Morgan faced the door. "I really wanna see him, though. It's been forever."

"Well, then you can wait a little bit longer!" Cynthia strong-armed Morgan away with impatience. "Let's go, kiddo."

"Hey, I'm older than you…!"

There was a knock at the door, and Chrom walked in. "How are you feeling, Robin?"

"Pretty bad," he grunted, trying to stand. "I feel so weak… Was I always like this?"

"No," Chrom said. "It must be some side-effect of… returning from the dead, or something."

Robin shook his head. "The dead? Man, you really need to just explain everything to me. I'm so lost."

Chrom frowned. "Alright, then. Have a seat." Robin sat. "What do you want to know?"

"Well... you could start with Sumia," Robin said. "How long were we married?"

"You and Sumia?" Chrom chuckled. "You two hit it off as soon as you met. You two have been together longer than even I have been with my own wife."

Robin frowned. "It doesn't make sense. I don't feel anything when I see her. Nothing at all. No—no love, or bond, or even attraction."

Chrom paled. "You're… serious?"

Robin nodded.

Chrom was silent, hands clenched into fists.

Robin desperately broke the ice. "P-Please keep talking! I want to hear the rest. From the beginning."

Chrom took a breath. "All right then. It all started… about two or three years ago."

Next time:

Chapter 2 - Robin's Return