I've decided upon my own ideas for pairings and detail-options regarding the Fire Emblem: Awakening characters – this means "Chrobin" (for the female version of Robin) exists here. It works best for the story I want to tell. The same with "Lunk." You've been signaled and/or warned.

I recently had some trouble on a general-Nintendo fanart club on the Great Intertubes that I was on in which a picture I'd done of a re-classed Lucina was rejected on the grounds of "canon violation" because the administrator of the club thought that the necessary female Robin / mother Robin for the re-class (off-screen) was a "genderbend" and "not canon." (You know, despite it being a front-and-center option IN THE DAMN GAME). I may have overlooked or forgotten something in the gallery rules that had spelled the stance on Robin and other avatar-characters out, but it still didn't smell right to me. I quit the club to pursue less strident clubs and am more determined to ever, as a female, to exist, playable as myself. I consider what is in the actual source material and optional therein to constitute legitimacy in regards to character-existence and shipping options. Of the Robins, both the male and the female of the species exist here, so I'm not in a frame of mind to hear about how either of them "shouldn't" from anyone. I might devour you with my sharp pointy teeth, and I normally do not eat my reviewers. (They give me gas). Thoughtful reviews and crit on anything else are, however, welcome.


TALES OF THE WAY-STATION


2: A Despair-Filled Farewell

The sword crashed down like lightning upon Link's hastily-grabbed shield. He'd left his sword strapped to his back and wondered, in a split-second, if that was wise. He braced himself under the shield, fending off the woman's sudden onslaught. Sure, he couldn't die here, but wounds weren't pleasant and he wanted to incur as few of them as possible – preferably none.

"Hah! Huh!" The madwoman was screaming out with the effort of her swings. She was actually quite good. Link had trouble keeping his body steady and countering her.

"Hey!" he yelped, "Calm down! I don't want to hurt you! Look, I'm not even holding my sword!"

The woman stepped back and cautiously lowered her weapon. Link slipped his shield to its rightful place upon his back. He held out his hands in a passive gesture. "See? I'm friendly," he offered.

She kept her eyes on him and looked both bewildered and angry. "Where am I?" she asked. "Why was I on the ground?"

"Floor," Link corrected. "I'm sorry you had to wake up in a storage room. You must like weapons, huh? Or barracks. New arrivals tend to wake up in places that are familiar to them in one way or another."

"New arrivals?"

"Yeah… it's going to be hard to explain, but please just try not to attack me."

Link noticed something very strange about the young woman's eyes. One of them just was not natural. He squint his hawklike-eyes and recognized that symbol. It was something sacred to some of his friends, like the mark of the Triforce was to him and the people of his world. He also noticed that he was looking intently into the eyes of a stranger – but, honestly, it was that brand that had caught his attention.

"I don't know why," the woman said slowly, "but felt unsafe, like I was under attack. There's no one here but you. I cannot say that I entirely trust you, but I'm sure I can take you if you try anything."

"Good to know," Link said with a sarcastic breath. He was used to people waking up insane by now, being one of the oldest of "old timers" in this place. They got better – Well, most of them got better. He noticed the woman subconsciously running her free hand along her side, as if she'd been injured. She looked to be in perfect health. Feeling a stirring from residual wounds was not uncommon. He'd coughed for a full week after his latest arrival and had kept subconsciously rubbing at wounds that no longer existed during previous arrivals.

Of course, the worst of it was breaking it to the newbies that they were, in fact, dead.

Link took a deep breath. "As for where you are," he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "The first thing you need to know is that you're among friends. We're a nice bunch, here, for the most part. Your life is most definitely not in danger. Second, I find that it's easier to explain our Mansion if you happen to know someone who's arrived earlier. You fit a description that's been conveyed to me by a couple of my friends."

The woman just gave him a skeptical look. She tightened her grip on her sword's hilt, but did not lift it.

"We can start with names, okay?" Link suggested. "Mine's Link. Don't let the pointy ears scare you – they're just a trait of my race. I know that they aren't terribly common. I'm a swordsman, though I was also a shepherd for a while and I know how to make a mean pumpkin soup."

"A shepherd?" The woman said, mulling over the familiarity of that title.

"Yeah. Sheep and goats. I'm as gentle as a lamb most of the time, but as fierce as a wolf if anyone I care about is threatened." He offered her a broad smile.

"That sounds about right," she said, sheathing her sword. "My name is Lucina. I was a Shepherd for a while, too, but I tended people, not sheep."

Link smiled again. "This is wonderful," he answered. "I think I know who you belong to, now, though I'll still need to narrow it down. I suspect you have at least one relation in this place."

"Is this a barracks of some sort?" Lucina asked. "A palace? This doesn't look like Ylisstol or any place in Regna Ferox or Plegia I've been to. Why would any of my family be he here? Was I injured? Did my father bring me here?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself," Link cautioned. "Okay. I need to ask you this question: Do you know someone who's a little on the short side, has white hair – but isn't old, is a huge strategy-nerd, knows magic and goes by the name of Robin?"

"Robin…" Lucina gasped, "Mother!"

"Well, that narrows it down!" Link said. "Whoa! Wait! I told you to hold off on trying to kill me!"

Lucina's sword had come out again and so had Link's shield. His arm trembled as the impact of the blade hit the Hylian steel, right in the Triforce-symbol.

"How do you know my mother?" Lucina demanded. "She's dead!"

"Yeah," Link said, "That is kind of the operative term here. We can explain! Robin is my friend, trust me! I can take you to her! Just trust me, will ya?"

There was something in this "Link's" manner that reminded Lucina of her friend, Brady, for a moment – or maybe it was that his pointed ears reminded him of her other friend, Nah. He was not counter-attacking nor was he making any kind of hostile move. He looked perfectly capable of combat, but was playing the diplomat. As she put away her sword, her imagination swam. Had Mother reappeared in the land of the living somewhere in some foreign place and had made new allies here in that time while waiting for someone to bring her back home? The thought filled her with a trill of hope. The last she had seen of her mother, she was dissipating into smoke – like a fallen Risen – having destroyed the source of her nightmares. She'd vanished into nothingness with a sad smile, registering her love for their odd little army and her far-flung hopes.

Lucina had been just close enough to see her face. It had been so serene – the face worn by someone who felt like their life was completed. Lucina herself had felt a complicated mixture of relief and heartbreak. It had been like a hot knife in her chest and something freezing her blood at once. She'd never forget the cry of her little brother, who'd been beside her. Morgan had been a ball of anguish for a long time after that day. It had not just been his mother that had chosen to die, but his entire past – as Mother had represented his only source of childhood memories. He'd begun getting better, living life again, studying insects that definitely were not roaches, playing pranks again on her and father and taking up reading Mother's book collection. Lucina made sure she saw the boy smile before she'd left Ylisstol on her journey.

Of course, when Lucina thought about it for too long, she realized that she was thinking about the Mother who was not truly Mother in-body, though she'd remained so in spirit. She was thinking of the one who'd successfully fought off the Fell Dragon's takeover of her form and mind, the person who had remained "Mother." It could not be Grima that Link was thinking about, could it? This world would be in ruins if so… No, it simply had to be Mother, alive and well again, just a little displaced! Oh, how happy everyone would be when she brought Ylisse's noble tactician home! Father! Father would be ecstatic!

"Take me to my mother at once!" Lucina demanded. She did so not in a rude manner. The edge of anger was gone. Her voice had a softness in it that Link picked up on. The lilt of it held the excitement of someone anticipating a long-awaited reunion after a despair-filled farewell.

"Just come with me" Link said. "She'll very happy to see you."

This was only partially true. People who were family or friends of new arrivals tended to express emotions that were bittersweet. They were, on one hand, overjoyed to see a loved-one again, but on the other hand, grieved over the reason for their being here. With each reunion came a parting in one world or another. Chances of reuniting with everyone that one had loved in life were slim, being that this was a place for special spirits. Link had never seen any of his friends who were immortal here, for instance – He'd never found Saria or the Skull Kid in this strange land. Likewise, random mortals he could recall tended to go on their merry way rather than take a stop at the way-station. He'd never found Malon, Pippit, Darunia or any of the Impas. He'd expected to run into one of Impa's incarnations taking a rest here sooner or later, since she was quite a fine warrior and because Zelda missed her.

To his bitterness, he'd not found Midna, here, either. He'd discovered a kind of trophy that mimicked her, but the form of it had been taken from his memories and was not a true incarnation. It was like having a toy in the shape of Midna that bore her laugh and some of her powers when he'd open a lucky random-package on a fight-stage. He found it mocking, but sometimes, even the soulless shade of a beloved friend was welcome company, like looking at a sepia-toned pictograph.

Link led Lucina through one of the main halls. Several other people were there. Mrs. Whiffit – a fitness instructor with porcelain-white skin - was busily trying to teach Yoga moves to Kirby. Efforts were predictably ineffectual. A dog and a duck were chasing each other while a little boy in a red cap was brandishing a tennis ball and trying to get the dog to pay attention to him. Samus Aran was out of her power armor and was having some kind of discussion with Zelda. Charizard was napping on the floor while Pokemon Trainer Red was seated on the couch using part of the beast's scaly back as a footstool. Was he eating cheez doodles? Link shook his head. This was no time to be distracted by snacks.

Lucina just stared as Link tried to usher her past. "Explaining all the strange people" was another hard part of the job for anyone who had found a new arrival and wanted to help them. Of course, "strange" was in the eye of the beholder. For instance, he'd found the Villagers' look to be highly irregular while his timeline-displaced counterpart found it quite normal and thought that his look was strange.

"Link?" Zelda called. "Who is this? Oh, we haven't had a new person in a long time! Have you sat down with her or taken her to Master Hand yet?"

Link shook his head in the negative. "She needs to see Robin right way – Lady Robin."

"I last saw her in the Roost," Samus informed.

"The Roost?" Lucina asked, not able to take her eyes off Kirby. "What is that creature? Is it some kind of living marshmallow?"

"It's Kirby. He is… an otherworldly being. He is rather sweet, though, but I wouldn't recommend trying to eat him. He'll eat you right back, ha, ha!"

Lucina felt Link tug at her arm, breaking her out of her thoughts that her once-friend Gaius might have to apologize to an entire race of pink things for his marshmallow-munching genocide.

The man in green took Lucina down a hallway to a door over which an ornate sign read – in a language she thought she shouldn't be able to understand, but did, anyway – "Robin's Roost." Link knocked three times.

A voice inside called "Speak, friend, and enter!"

"Oh, Robin," Link groused, "That is an old, lame joke!" He spoke an Ancient Hylian word for "Friend" and pushed the door open. It had been ajar just a crack. Lucina's heart quivered. That was Mother's voice!

Link found Robin sitting in her chair at her desk full of maps, notes and diagrams reading a book with a mustard-yellow cover. She didn't even look up. "What do you need, Link?"

Link cleared his throat.

Robin looked up and immediately tossed her book over her shoulder. It bounced on the floor twice before its spine broke and lay with scattered pages. "Lucina?" she gasped.

Lucina stepped forward. Robin practically lunged toward her and brought a hand to her face, touching her cheek as if to see if she was real. Link stepped back and watched the tears glisten in two sets of eyes. The pair grabbed each other in a fierce hug.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other at once. "Does this mean it's time to go home?" the also asked at once.

"I found Lucina in the extra weapons storage room," Link said, trying to be unobtrusive. "I haven't gotten a chance to explain much to her. After I asked a few questions, I thought it best to bring her here."

"Where are we, Mother?" Lucina inquired. "And, when you came back, why didn't you come home?"

Link could see an immediate understanding flash in Robin's eyes. She knew just how little he'd gotten through to her daughter in that moment. She shot him a look that almost said "You weasel for not explaining this and leaving me with the hard part!" but it was also a grateful look, like she knew that she would be the best person to break the news.

"Lucy…. We are both in a country no one can come back from," the snowy-haired woman said softly.

"What do you mean, Mother? I just woke up here. Wherever we are seems to be full of people of kinds I've never seen before, but surely, there has to be swift horses or ships! Have you been held against your will?"

"No, honey," Robin said slowly and with a rueful smile, "How long have I been… gone?"

"Three years, Mother," Lucina informed. "Father still sends out search parties and goes himself when he can from time to time. Morgan has missed you terribly. Ylisse is stable. The country has been at peace for all this time, but we've never been fully able to celebrate it. We need you back, Mother!"

Robin chuckled softly. "It would sound like my job as a war-tactician is obsolete, then, just as I wished it to be."

"Morgan still studies!" Lucina added.

"I'm sure he does. Listen, Lucina? I have been gone for three long years… but the truth is… I am still gone."

"What do you mean? Mother, you are standing right here!"

"And you are standing here with me. I did hope that you wouldn't have come to a place like this so young. I take it you don't remember anything drastic leading up to Mr. Link finding you."

"No, I don't."

"A situation I am all too familiar with. Did he tell you that there are better places to nap than on the ground?" Robin gave her a wink.

"… No," Lucina answered. "I kind of… attacked him with Falchion."

Robin turned immediately to the Hylian. "Were you injured?"

"I remain unhurt," Link answered.

"Lucy, you are losing your touch."

"Hey!" Link protested.

"Oh, you can take it and you know it!" Robin ribbed. "Link here may not look it, but he's one of our seniors. He is the best person to listen to get to know the ropes around here, even better than me. Lucina, dear, listen to me." With this, Robin planted her hands firmly upon her daughter's shoulders, as if to anchor her. "I am not home because I was never drawn home. I am still waiting. I am still dead, Lucina. I am afraid that if you are here, it means that so are you."

"What?" Lucina yelped. "What… what do you mean?"

Link leaned against a wall by the door. "This is a way-station for the afterlife," he said as coolly as he could. "It serves special souls – you know, like your mother, who is hoping for a resurrection, and like me – I'm a cyclical-reincarnate fate-and-duty-bound to my world. Some of us move on to something hopefully more interesting waiting for us. Some of us go back into life. However, if you're here, it means that in whatever world you came from, you're a corpse."

"Link!" Robin scolded. "Tactless!"

"Truth."

"I… I just don't understand!" Lucina protested. "I don't remember dying! I don't remember being wounded! I don't remember anything but setting out to take a journey that would keep me from interfering with the life of my younger self!"

"Easy…" Robin said, embracing her time-displaced child.

"Mother…" Lucina whispered as she returned the embrace, seeking to bury herself in the magic-scented fabric of Robin's big coat.

Link quietly left the Roost to let the pair weep together.


To be continued…

I needed a chapter-title for this and was listening to the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack at the time and thought that one of the song-titles fit in a poetic way.