"Chrom... we have to do something."

Pain. Pain and darkness and emptiness. A voice.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" I knew that voice... I slowly began opening my eyes, wincing at the light. There were two blurry shapes in the glare. I needed to open my heavy eyes and see who I was dealing with.

"I... I don't know!" The girl was saying as they became humans instead of blurs. I squinted up at them, and they both looked down and gasped. My body tensed, but no...

They were smiling and crouching down next to me. "I see you're awake now," Chrom remarked.

"Hey there," the girl tilted her head, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity and kindness. She smiled more widely as she giggled.

"There are better places to take a nap then on the ground, you know," Chrom teased lightly, drawing my attention back to him. "Give me your hand." He reached down, and I placed my bare hand in his gloved one, noting the strange red tattoo of six eyes on the back of it with interest before his grip tightened, and he pulled me upward. With some effort and his help, I stumbled to my feet, blinking in the bright sunlight and noting that another man in blue-hued armor was standing behind the pair. "You all right?" Chrom asked, letting go of my hand.

"Y-yes," I replied with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Chrom."

"Ah, then you know who I am?"

He was Chrom. What that meant was... a blank space. I blinked. "No, actually, I... It's strange," I admitted, looking up at him, and he frowned slightly. "Your name, it just... came to me..."

"Hmm." His brow furrowed, and I found that it wasn't as familiar as I thought it might be. "Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?"

His tone was still gentle, but there was a firmer edge to it now. I nodded. "My name is..." I began, and blinked, finding another blank space. "It's... hmm?"

"You don't know your own name?" Chrom asked, disbelief clear in his tone and on his face. The armored man behind him and the girl shifted, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not sure if..." I looked down, finding nothing in my mind but this conversation and blank space. I remembered the girl saying Chrom's name through the filter of pain that had come with waking up. That was probably where I had gotten his name from, that's how I knew it. "I'm sorry, but where am I exactly?"

"Hey, I've heard of this!" the girl exclaimed, the lace dangling from her head covering and blond pigtails bouncing as she jumped slightly. She was quivering with excitement. "It's called amnesia!"

"It's called a load of pegasus dung," the man behind them growled, an expression of deepest distrust and suspicion on his face as he looked at me. "We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?"

"B-but it's the truth!" I protested- because it was, and something stirred indignantly inside of me at the thought of being called a liar when I was not. Also, Chrom and the other man were both armed with a spear and sword that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt were not just for show. I wasn't a threat to them, and I did not want them to think that I was. I wasn't sure what they would do with those weapons.

"What if it is true, Frederick?" Chrom asked, turning to face the other man. "We can't just leave her here, alone and confused. What kind of Shepherds would we be then?"

Shepherds? "All the same, milord, I must emphasize caution," the man with dark brown hair, Frederick, replied curtly. "'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

The girl with us had been watching the conversation intently, hands clasped in front of her green dress as her eyes flicked back and forth between the two men. Chrom seemed to consider Frederick's words before inclining his head slightly to him. "Right then. We'll take her back to town and sort this out there."

"Wait just one moment," I protested, an alarm going off in my head at the thought of being taken anywhere. "Do I have a say in this?"

"Peace, friend." Chrom raised a hand at my protest. "I promise that we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."

He gestured for me to follow as he turned and began walking. The girl's skirt swished under its yellow ribbons as she hurried to his side, wide green eyes still filled with curiosity when she glanced back at me. Bewildered, I followed, noting with some apprehension that Frederick only started moving after I did, walking toward a horse near the edge of the field. I turned my gaze back to Chrom and the girl ahead of me, and soon heard the clopping of hooves just behind me. My jaw clenched. Yes, this situation actually felt familiar to me, but it was one that I did not particularly care for. I didn't see what I could do about it, though.

I began searching through my mind again, looking for something, any memory that may have surfaced. I found the conversation and nothing else but the fact that I did not like the situation I was in.

I glanced back at Frederick, taking stock of his bluish-gray armor and his brown horse that wore similar colors before my gaze drifted to the silver lance in his hand. He glared down at me, and I looked away before something suddenly clicked.

He's a great knight. Uses swords, lances, axes, sits on a horse. I blinked, looking toward the girl and Chrom again. I remembered the healing staff that the horse was carrying on its back. I noted that the girl's skirt had gaps, showing the hoops that gave the lacy green fabric its bell-like shape. Her head covering wasn't common at all, but now I knew: she was a cleric. Female healer. Cannot attack.

Chrom had his sword... I studied the man that seemed to be the leader here. He wore sparse armor, but it was still present, and he seemed too heavy on his feet to be... my eyes narrowed. There was a word for those whose skills with a sword were unparalleled by any other class, but the name was escaping me. My eyes moved over his white cape that fell to his knees. Smart. It was too short to be a hindrance on its own that way. My eyes moved to his shaggy dark blue hair and the bare shoulder that the cape didn't cover. Just below the shoulder was a red mark that reminded me rather of a torch. I wasn't sure what it meant, and it wasn't helping me classify what exactly Chrom was. I paused, and Frederick stopped behind me. Chrom and the cleric turned around at the sudden lack of hoofbeats. "What will you do with me?" I asked quietly. "Am I to be your prisoner?"

"Ha!" Chrom smiled reassuringly to me. "You'll be free to go once we establish you're no enemy of Ylisse."

"Is that where we are?" I pounced on the new name. "Ylisse?"

"You've never heard of the halidom?" The sarcasm in Frederick's voice was almost tangible, and I flinched. "Someone pay this actress. She plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing..."

"Frederick, please." Chrom shot the mounted knight an annoyed look before turning back to me with an apologetic smile. "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt." I nodded, grateful for the explanation, and his smile grew, losing its apologetic edge. "I suppose proper introductions are in order... My name is Chrom, but then, you already knew that." At least he seemed amused about it. He placed a hand on the cleric's shoulder. "The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

Lissa elbowed him hard in the ribs. "I am not delicate!" she snapped, and he retreated, chuckling. She huffed disapprovingly at him, but smiled when she turned to me. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes." Chrom raised both eyebrows behind her, and I couldn't help but grin. Lissa gave me a grin of her own, eyes sparkling in a way that let me know that she knew Chrom was making faces behind her. "But you're lucky the Shepherds found you," she continued, waving her hands before putting them behind her back. "Brigands would have been a rude awakening!"

"Shepherds?" I asked, the meaning of the word coming to me. My brow furrowed. "You tend sheep? In full armor?"

"Heh, it's a dangerous job." Chrom grinned. He was poking fun at me, I knew it, but I didn't mind. He wasn't treating me like an enemy at least. "Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

He jabbed a thumb toward the mounted knight, and he gave a slight bow atop the horse. "A title I shall wear with pride," he stated firmly. "Heaven forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution." His harsh expression finally seemed to soften by a margin. "I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

"I understand, sir," I told him, and I did. It was obvious that these three cared for each other, and I was intruding. His hostile behavior made sense. "I would do no less myself. My name is Robin." I blinked at the name, looking down, searching through my mind again. The gold trim of my black coat reflected the sunlight, seeming to wink at me. There was nothing but blank space, this conversation, and now my name in my memory. "...I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."

"Robin?" Chrom mused, and it sent a jolt through me.

You're one of us, Robin.

"Is that foreign?" Chrom was asking, and I looked up to see Lissa shrugging helplessly and Frederick frowning in thought. "Ah, well. We can discuss it later." He seemed to wave it off as he caught my eye. "We're almost to town. Once we-"

"Chrom, look!" Lissa cried as she looked and then pointed to the town. Smoke was rising from behind the buildings that were in our sights. "The town!"

"Argh, it's ablaze!" Chrom's hand flew to the hilt of his sword, sudden fury flaring on his features. "Those blasted brigands no doubt... Frederick, Lissa, quickly!"

"What about her?" Frederick asked as Lissa ran past me over to him and he began helping her up.

"Unless she's on fire as well, it can wait!" Chrom snapped.

"Aptly put, milord." Frederick nodded as Lissa finished getting up onto his horse.

"Let's go already!" The worry was evident in her voice, and Chrom began running, Frederick galloping after him once the horse had trotted past me.

"But what about..." my protest died on the wind as I watched their retreating backs. I lowered the hand that was reaching toward them with a small hum of thought. Priorities. Chrom had good ones. The poor townspeople being attacked were more important than interrogating the amnesiac that may or may not be a threat to the country. They were protecting me by leaving me.

You're one of us, Robin.

My gut was telling me to follow them, my head was reminding me that they'd treated me warily. My head was also empty of everything but my name and information about great knights and clerics.

I knew I could fight. That was an instinct. I opened my coat, finding a sword at my side, and a tome in one of the coat's many inside pockets. I nodded and then began sprinting toward the burning town. Being with those three and relying on instinct had allowed me to get some of my memory back. I saw no reason to let that stop, and besides, the townspeople would probably need the extra help.

I was out of the field in seconds and onto a bridge. "-stop them!" I heard Lissa exclaim over a woman screaming for help.

The smell of smoke grew stronger as I ran toward where I'd heard Lissa's voice. "Don't worry," Chrom was saying. "After today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again..."

I burst into the square. "Wait!" I called, and all three of them turned from the bandits clothed in red to look at me.

"Robin!" Chrom sounded stunned when I stopped next to him and began attempting to catch my breath. "You followed us. Why?"

"I..." I panted. "I'm not sure myself." I straightened up, taking a deep breath. "But I'm armed, and I know my way around a fight, if you'll have me."

Chrom nodded. "Of course. Strength in numbers."

"And remember, we face practiced thieves and murderers," Frederick added as Lissa got up on his horse again. "They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed."

I nodded, opening my coat again. "I see you wear a sword," Chrom observed while the enemy began creeping forward. I eyeballed one of them, and he glared at me. "Is it-" he paused when I pulled out the tome. "Wait, is that a tome? You know magic?"

"I... believe so?" I frowned at the book in my hands as the swordsman continued to come closer. Pulling it out had been on instinct, which was really what I was running on right now. Magic would be more effective than having a sword clash. "I suppose I should check."

"You believe so?" Chrom's eyebrows almost disappeared into the blue hair covering his forehead. "Perhaps I'll just keep a few paces behind you for the time being..."

"No, I can control it, I'm sure." I eyed the swordsman, opening the tome and scanning the texts. "Now, how did this work again?" I muttered, and then ran a finger over the strange symbols. Familiar power glowed in them, and I felt it surge through me. I smiled, recognizing that I really did understand how to do this. "Ah, yes..."

I surged forward to an acceptable distance, putting the swordsman in range and spinning in the way that I knew would activate the magic. Lightning crackled around me, flashing off of the gold clasps on my dark purple coat, and I launched it at the swordsman.

"Arrgh!" he howled, staggering back.

"All right, I believe you." Chrom ran past me, slicing down at the swordsman.

Myrmidon. A swift specialist with the blade that makes for a tricky target. There was that pesky classification. He surged forward toward Chrom, and hit the flat of his blade away with my tome. "Back off!" I snapped.

"Graah!" Chrom slashed at the enemy again, slicing him down. The myrmidon managed to get a cut on Chrom before Chrom stabbed him in the chest. He coughed wetly, and then went still.

"Hrrragh!" An axeman came forward, and Chrom dodged nimbly, cutting him in two clean strokes. I threw thunder at another bandit with an axe while a mage threw fire at Chrom.

"Ack!" Chrom grimaced at the burn.

"Hey, be careful!" Lissa lifted her staff as Frederick galloped over with her. The knight's silver lance was stained with blood, but Lissa's skirts and staff were clean. The axeman I'd attacked lunged toward Chrom, and Chrom sliced him down. "Hold still while I'm healing you!" Lissa protested.

"I'm trying not to die, Lissa," Chrom sighed as blue magic began circling around him.

The mage lifted an arm to attack. "Checkmate," I called to him, tone mild, and his head twitched toward me just as I launched my thunder at his unprotected chest. He fell without a sound.

Mages. Users of tomes that have not yet chosen a magical field of specialization. Barbarians. They that use axes, and they can swing them with serious strength.

"Still with us, Robin?" Chrom asked. Blue light was sizzling over Falchion, cleaning it of the blood.

"Hmm..." I murmured, eyeing his sword. "It's strange," I admitted. It was in more ways than one. I was looking over these dead bodies and seeing numbers. For the first time today, my head was less empty than my heart. There was no guilt. Was this normal? "Here on the battlefield, I can... well, I can see things."

"See things?" Chrom blinked, curiosity entering his blue eyes. "Like what?"

"The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle..." I gestured vaguely at the square. "I must have studied this somewhere."

"So, you're saying you can size up the enemy at a glance?" Chrom asked, staring at me.

"Yes, it would seem so."

"Why in the name of the gods was a tactitian unconscious in the middle of an open field?" Frederick muttered.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Lissa exclaimed. "So you could plan out a strategy for us?"

"Probably." My eyes narrowed toward the men across the bridge. Four men, one with a painted face and a short axe on his belt. "But for now, there's only four of us, and you can't attack. Frederick is probably our best bet for taking out that lead brigand, but I'm not sure he can do that with you on his horse."

"Because of the range of the axe?" Frederick nodded thoughtfully. "That's understandable. He would probably aim for you, milady."

"Exactly," I replied, noting Lissa's grimace. "There are also some small fry running around just taking advantage of the chaos."

"I noticed that." Chrom nodded, frowning. "Frederick generally takes care of them after we take care of the leader, but we waste time trying to run said leader down."

"Hmm. If Frederick were to run down the small fry while I drew most of their attention, then he could circle back and attack the leader before he realized what was happening. The three others should be dead by then, and the leader won't see a reason to run because we're relatively near his skill level."

"If you think I'll allow-" Frederick began with heat in his voice that startled me.

"Frederick." There was a very real warning in Chrom's voice, and the two men glared at each other while Lissa hurriedly slid off of the horse. "We're wasting lives here," Chrom growled. "It's a good plan, and we are going to run with it."

"Then I will return as quickly as possible. Don't get yourself killed," Frederick replied coldly. He wheeled his horse around and galloped off.

Chrom shook his head, turning to me. "Let's go."

"Right," I replied. As he'd said, standing here any longer would potentially waste the lives of the townspeople, we didn't have time to waste on my questions about that conversation.

The three of us ran forward, and I launched thunder at the closest myrmidon. He spun out of the way as Chrom lunged forward, slashing down with Falchion.

They never told me the name of that blade, I realized suddenly. How do I know it?

"Robin!" Lissa screamed in warning, and I jumped away from the myrmidon that Chrom had wounded, launching a thunder as the blade of his sword sliced my thigh.

"Help!" he cried, staggering back, and the other myrmidon closed in on me with blinding speed. A low curse escaped as I hit him the same moment his blade sank into my shoulder.

The pain caused stars to explode in my vision, but then Chrom was in front of me. "Come on!" he roared, slicing the myrmidon full in the chest and making him stagger back with a howl.

I heard magic behind me, and turned to get wind magic in the same shoulder that had been injured before. Pain screamed through my body, but his chest... "Really?" I spun, the magic snapping off of the ends of my blond hair before leaving and screaming toward the unprotected area with blinding speed. "Here's how it's done!"

The mage crumpled. Practiced thief and murderer my eye. These mages had no sense of defense. Blue magic began weaving its way around me. "You'll be all right in a second," Lissa assured me.

"Thank you," I panted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chrom strike down one of the two myrmidons. I blinked. Where was the other?

"Lissa!" I warned as he came into my vision. She screamed, the magic broke around me, and she winced. "Coward!" I snarled, my sword out and through his back in a flash. He gave a strangled sound and then slumped, sliding off of the blade and landing with a thud at Lissa's feet. "Are you hurt?" I asked.

"A little, but don't worry." She raised her staff, and I saw the gash on her leg through the blue magic. The pain in my shoulder began fading, and I lifted my coat to see a gash there healing through the rip in my gray shirt. "You've got bigger problems on the way."

"Here, sheepy, sheepy," a voice sneered, and I turned to see the painted man approaching, hefting his hand axe. "Come to the slaughter!"

"Over my dead body!" Chrom snapped.

"Over your dead body," the man agreed, grinning as he prepared to throw the axe.

"Or yours," I called, my voice that mild tone again as I launched thunder at him. He ducked out of the way with a snarl, and then looked to his side in alarm at the sound of hooves.

Frederick bore down on him and ran him through with his silver lance before another move was made. He took his lance back, a terrible fire smoldering in his dark eyes before he turned to face us. "Rabble cleared, milord," he told Chrom, the fire fading when he looked first at Chrom and then Lissa.

"Well, that's the end of that." I nodded.

"Lucky for the town we were close by." Lissa stepped to my side to grin up at me, awe in her clear green eyes. "But holy wow, Robin! You were amazing! Swords, sorcery, and tactics? Is there anything you can't do?"

"You're no helpless victim, that much is for certain." I turned to see the two men studying me at Chrom's remark.

"Indeed," Frederick agreed mildly. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation as to how you came here?"

I met his gaze evenly. No, I didn't seem to be. But I also had nothing to hide. "I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick," I replied with a simple shake of my head. "And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me, but please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."

They both studied me for a moment before Chrom's serious gaze gave way to a warm smile. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough."

"And your mind, milord?" Frederick turned to him, a note of strain entering his voice. "Will you not heed its counsel as well?"

"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents," Chrom replied calmly, but there was an edge of steel to his voice now. "We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactitian? Besides, I believe her story, odd as it may be."

Lose me? I stared at him, and then glanced over to Lissa, who grinned. I looked back to see Chrom smiling warmly at me once again. "Th-thank you, Chrom," I stammered.

"So how about it?" Chrom asked. "Will you join us, Robin?"

You're one of us now, Robin. No "destiny" can change that. "I would be honored," I told him with a huge smile, knowing it was the truth. I let my delighted smile fade into something more teasing. "Though I think you might just be roping me into cleaning up."

"What? No!" He looked at the blood seeping from the head bandit's body with a grimace. "Though help would be nice, since we do need to get rid of these."

"Ew." Lissa shuddered, slight regret entering her green eyes, and she didn't look at the bodies. "I hate touching dead people."

"I know, milady, but if we don't clean up this battle, they will continue to defile the town," Frederick told her, his voice the gentlest I'd heard it yet.

"We can do it, milord!" A voice called, and the men turned. "Least we could do after you took care of them," the freckled young woman continued. "We've put the fires out and we can bury the dead. We're not going to take no for an answer, so you Shepherds can go wait by the town entrance."

"Wow! Thank you so much," Lissa exclaimed, and both men shrugged.

"If you insist," Frederick told her, hesitation clear in his voice.

The young woman nodded firmly. "I insist. Someone will come to you later at the entrance, so don't you leave completely."

"Did you notice, milord?" Frederick asked Chrom as we began moving over the cobblestones. "The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."

"Plegian?" I pounced on the unfamiliar name. "What's that?"

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor," Chrom explained, his expression darkening as he spoke. "They send small bands like this one into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."

"And it's the poor townspeople who suffer!" Lissa scowled. "Totally innocent, and totally helpless..."

"They do have us, milady," Frederick told her in the same gentle tone he had used before. "Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger. It will only cloud your judgement."

"I know, I know..." We paused on the bridge that was the entrance to the town, and Lissa smiled at Frederick. "Don't worry, I'll get used to all this."

"Milord, please!" A man with dusty brown hair and a goatee ran up. "You must stay the night. We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast."

"A most generous offer, sir, and there's no doubt that your hospitality would be grand," Frederick replied while Lissa started muttering about food. "Btu I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

"Wait, what?" Lissa looked up at him in surprise, and the man nodded, and hurried off. "We're not staying? But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!"

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs, and the like." He arched an eyebrow at her. "I believe you mentioned that you would be getting used to this?"

"Frederick?" Lissa scowled at him. "Sometimes I hate you."

"You've quite the stern lieutenant there," I remarked to Chrom.

"Yeah, well, stern is one name for it," Lissa huffed, looking back at me. "I can think of a few others!"

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe," Chrom told me, tone completely serious.

"Duly noted," I replied with a slight wince.

Frederick coughed into his fist. "You do realize I am still present?"

"Oh, we realize," Chrom replied with an amused smile, and it startled a chuckle out of me.

Frederick sighed, looking up to the heavens. "Milord remains as amusing as ever. Now then, shall we be going?"

"All right, all right." Chrom grinned, looking toward me. "Ready to go, Robin? The capital isn't far."

"Oh, I'm ready," I replied with a smile. Lissa grumbled quietly, but Frederick dismounted and we left the town behind.