Robin woke up with a groan. He could hear voices coming from his left, but he didn't recognize them.
"Well, what do you propose we do?" A man's voice asked.
"Well… I dunno!" A high-pitched woman's voice replied.
He felt a shift of movement to his left, and he heard the two voices gasp a little.
"I see you're awake now." The man said.
"Hey there!"
"There are better places to take a nap then on the ground you know. Give me your hand"
Another shift of movement, and Robin opened his eyes to see a small group of people. A woman in a yellow dress with blonde pigtails, a strong-looking man with blue hair, and a familiar-looking woman with white hair.
"Milord, this one is waking up as well." Another voice said, drawing Robin's attention to the last person, a brown-haired man with heavy blue armor.
Robin groaned and stood up, clutching his head.
"Are you both okay?" The man asked.
"Y-yes…" The white-haired woman said. "Thank you Chrom."
Chrom? Is that his name? Robin thought to himself.
"Oh? You know who I am?" Chrom asked.
"Er… No. Your name, it just… Came to me." The woman said.
"Curious…" Chrom said, surprisingly sounding like he believed the woman's outlandish claim. "Tell me, what's your name? What are you doing out here?"
The woman scratched her head, and adopted a look of confusion. "I...I don't know!" She exclaimed. "I can't… I can't remember anything!" She was clearly panicking, and while Chrom looked surprised, he quickly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder to comfort her.
"Just calm down ma'am. We'll help you figure this out." Chrom said.
"Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!" The blonde woman said.
"Hm. It's called a load of pegasus dung. How are we to believe that you remember my lord's name, but not your own?" The armored man said.
"B-but-"
"Peace Frederick. For now, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. What about you?" Chrom said, facing Robin at last. "What's your name?"
Robin scratched his head. "I think it's… Robin. I think I've got what she has." He said, pointing his thumb at the other woman. "But… I think I remember a few things…" He mused.
"Oh?" Chrom asked. "Like what?"
"Well… I'm pretty sure she's my twin. That's about it." Robin explained.
Chrom nodded. "You do look very similar. Alright, until we figure out what you both were doing here, you both will come with us."
"Is that wise, milord? They are both very suspicious individuals… And their clothes are plegian in make." Frederick said.
"Plagia?" Robin asked. "Is that a place near here?"
Chrom nodded. "Yes, it is. Now please, follow us."
Robin looked at his sister, who looked back at him and nodded. They followed the small group in silence, but his sister eventually broke it.
"What are you going to do with us? Are we going to be your prisoners?" She asked.
Chrom shook his head. "No. Once we establish that neither of you are enemies of Ylisse, you'll be free to go."
Robin perked up. "Is that where we are? Ylisse?" He asked.
Frederick gave a bark of laughter. "You've never heard of the Halidom? Someone pay this actor, he plays quite the fool!"
Chrom rolled his eyes. "Frederick." He said, causing the man to shut up. "Yes, we're in the Halidom of Ylisse. We're ruled by a woman called Exalt Emmeryn. The country that we talked about earlier, Plegia, is our neighbor. My name is Chrom… Though your sister somehow seemed to know that already… And the delicate one here is my sister, Lissa."
The woman gave a giant frown at Chrom's words. "I am NOT delicate!" She shouted, eliciting laughter from Chrom. "Excuse my brother, he can be a bit dense sometimes. You both are lucky that the shepards found you. Bandits would have been a much ruder awakening!"
Robin's sister cocked her head in confusion. "What kind of sheep do you tend that warrant full armor?"
Lissa eyed her brother meaningfully, who looked away and coughed. "I TOLD you it was an awful name!" She shouted.
Chrom rubbed his head and chuckled nervously. "We're not actual shepherds really, we're more of a… Militia group."
Robin nodded his head, but his sister perked up. "I remember!" She exclaimed. "My name! I remembered it!"
An awkward silence filled the air before Robin broke it. "So… What is it?" He asked, slightly put off that he didn't know his own sister's name.
"Huh? Oh, right! It's Raven!" She said.
Another few moments of silence passed. "So… I guess your parents were fans of birds?" Lissa joked weakly.
Robin rubbed his face. "I guess so…" He mumbled.
"Milord! The town!" Frederick interrupted.
The group turned their attention towards where Frederick indicated, only to see plumes of smoke and burning buildings on the horizon.
"Damn it! It's those bandits we were told about! Frederick, Lissa, on me!" He said, taking off at a run.
"Milord, what about-"
"They're not on fire! They're not a priority!"
Frederick nodded, and pulled Lissa onto his horse, galloping after Chrom and leaving the twins behind.
"Did… Did we just get left behind?" Robin asked.
Raven slowly nodded. "Yeah… I think so…" She looked down at her waist. "Hey… This tome…" She said, indicating towards a yellow book on her waist. "I think it's a magic tome."
Robin looked at it and nodded agreement. He then looked down at his own waist and saw a purple tome along with a bronze sword.
"Hey! Why do you get a sword and I don't?!" Raven pouted.
Robin only grinned in response. He nodded his head towards the town. "Well… We could spend hours trying to figure that out OR we could go help our maybe-captors."
Raven wrinkled her nose in thought, but eventually nodded and ran towards the town, Robin trailing closely behind her. When they reached the edge of the town, Raven noticed a brigand approaching Lissa from behind, but it didn't seem like anyone else noticed. Using instincts that she didn't know she had, Raven quickly channeled her magic through her tome, producing a small ball of electricity, which struck the bandit in the back and knocked him unconscious.
Lissa turned around and saw a bandit flat on his face as well as the twins that they had just picked up. She smiled at Raven in thanks, who nodded.
"Hey, mind if we help?" Robin asked, catching Chrom and Frederick's attention.
"Robin? Raven? What are you two doing here?" Chrom asked.
"Well, we're armed, and if my sister's magic is anything to go by, we're capable. We'd like to help." Robin explained.
Chrom nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
"What's our plan?" Both Robin and Raven said simultaneously.
"Um… I was just thinking that we rush them?" Chrom said nervously.
Robin just gave the man a look of disbelief while his sister was scanning the town, looking for anything they could use to their advantage.
"If I could make a suggestion, that sounds like an awful plan." Robin deadpanned.
"I think I've got a better one." Raven said, catching everyone's attention. "Frederick should be fast enough to flank around the village and attack the enemy from the side. Chrom and I attack head-on with Lissa to heal us while Robin protects her from the back." Raven said.
Chrom raised an eyebrow. "And why is your brother the one guarding my sister?" He asked, genuinely curious as to the woman's reasoning.
"Well, you need the ranged support, so it's either me or my brother with you. My brother has both a tome and a sword, so that implies that he was a more capable fighter than I was before we lost our memories." Raven explained.
Robin continued. "Since you're likely the better swordsman, we need you to be our front line while Frederick prepares the flank." Robin explained. "I can help you pick off a few mages from across the river with my magic."
Chrom nodded his head. The twin's reasoning was good. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Frederick, flank the enemy as quickly as you can." Chrom ordered. The knight complied, though not before he sent a withering glare at the twins.
Everyone quickly fell into position, and Robin soon noticed that the bandit that his sister zapped was getting up. He quickly approached the man and unsheathed his sword. The bandit raised his axe, but for Robin, the man's moves seemed extremely predictable. He sidestepped the overhead swing and lunged forwards, piercing the man's chest but not killing him. The bandit then roared in anger and swung sideways at Robin, who tried to block in response, but found that the man's strength simply overpowered his own, and Robin was scratched by the axe. It wasn't a terribly deep wound, but it still hurt. Robin managed to dodge under the man's next desperate horizontal swing, and slashed a deep wound across his chest, killing him.
That was when Robin noticed something strange. He didn't feel anything. He felt no regret for ending a man's life, no remorse at all. What did it say about who he was that he could just accept the fact that he killed a man?
A shout of pain threw him out of his thoughts, and Robin spun around to see that his sister had been attacked by one of the enemy mages. Growling in anger, Robin pulled out his tome and channeled magic through it.
It would be years before anyone could explain what happened next, but Robin would suffer the nightmares of it for years longer. As a purplish-black aura surrounded the mage, the bandit started screaming in pain. He clutched his head and continued to scream, and Robin could feel the man's life force leaving the mage's body. After a few more seconds of intense screaming, the mage's eyes emptied of life, his skin was a ghostly pale color, and he collapsed, hands still clutching his head. Some of the bandits as well as Lissa looked between the husk that was once a man and Robin, clearly afraid of whatever spell Robin had just used.
However, Robin was not aware of this. All he could do was look at the tome in his hands. It wasn't how the man died that disturbed him the most, though that was a large part of what troubled him. No, that wasn't the truly disturbing thing.
The worst part, the part that made Robin feel so incredibly WRONG inside, was that the whole time, all he felt was a euphoria. He could feel the man dying, see him screaming in pain, and all he could think about was how AMAZING it felt.
And that was why he threw the book into the river, and shivered immediately afterwards. He noticed that his wounds healed, but he didn't really care. Nothing was worth doing that again. All it did was raise more questions about who he once was.
Eirika had silently listened to Mark-no, not Mark. Robin. Talk for a while now, but he grew silent at the memory. She decided now would be a good moment to speak up.
"You truly felt nothing when killing?" Eirika asked.
Robin nodded. "I eventually did start feeling remorse for those that I killed, but at first, I didn't. I eventually found out why… And I wish I hadn't." He said.
"What you did to that man… It still haunts you, doesn't it?" Eirika asked softly.
"... Yes. It's one of the many reoccurring nightmares that I have. I eventually learn that the euphoria is just a side-effect, but I can't use Nosferatu properly without my target suffering extreme pain first." Robin explained.
"Why?"
"... We'll get to that. Later." He said.
From there, things actually started to improve, though Lissa and Frederick gave Robin a wide berth for about a week. Robin and Raven were asked to join the shepherds. However, their first night, a strange portal opened in the sky, dropping a man that went by 'Marth' and a horde of strange undead creatures.
Apparently this new threat, deemed 'Risen', had never been spotted in Ylisse, and threw everyone into a panic. During the fighting however, the twins noted something strange. Raven had the strange ability to be able to predict the enemy's movement extremely accurately, and was able to predict how the enemy forces reacted on a large scale. However, Robin was different. He seemed to be able to size up his enemy at a glance and determine some of their basic strengths and weaknesses.
Upon learning this, Chrom hired the two as tacticians for the shepherds, saying that the two of them, if they worked together, should be unstoppable. And it was true. Over the next few weeks, they engaged in battle with Risen and bandits alike, and the two's strategies resulted in only very light injuries for their group. The two soon realized that their abilities only got better the more they fought against their opponents. Raven could determine weak points in the enemy's formation, and how to lower the morale of her opponents, whereas Robin could find weaknesses in the fighting styles of his opponents, allowing him to more easily dodge and deflect attacks, as well as go for the killing blow more easily.
However, after encountering 'Marth' again in the arena, Robin noted something strange. It seemed like his input was starting to matter less and less to Chrom, with his sister tending to be the sole voice of advice in their war room meetings, which were hardly fair. While he wasn't quite as good a tactician as his sister, he still won about one in every three chess matches, so he certainly could offer valuable advice.
And so the situation deteriorated. It got so bad that Robin stopped showing up for the meetings and instead trained his swordsmanship. He had sworn off magic ever since Southtown. He had been assured by the mages of the shepherds that all he needed was practice, Robin still wasn't ready to use magic just yet.
He had shown quick improvement in his swordplay, and he eventually managed to surpass even Frederick in terms of skill, which shocked many. However, he found that no matter how hard he tried, Chrom and Lon'Qu were always a challenge for him to beat. They were better than him for sure, though whenever he fought them, it always felt like he could do better, which confused him.
Then… That day happened. The day Emmeryn was captured…
"What?!" Chrom shouted, upon hearing the spy reports that Basilio gave them.
"Oooh…" Lissa trailed off, fainting into Robin's arms.
"Lissa? Lissa!" Robin said, trying and failing to get the princess to respond.
Chrom was furious. He wanted to leave immediately, but the Khans managed to get him to calm down and think.
The prince sighed. "Well Raven? What do you think?" Chrom asked, that strange expression once again on his face. Robin had started noticing it, but had no idea what it was about. It happened whenever Chrom asked his sister for advice, and it made Robin both happy and angry at the same time.
"I-I… I don't…" Raven trailed off nervously.
Everyone's morale was already low, but Raven's response just made it worse. Robin knew he had to act fast.
"I can do it." He said, catching everyone's attention.
"You sure boy?" Basilio asked skeptically. "This isn't going to be easy…"
Robin only nodded. "It will be difficult, for sure." Robin said, then he smirked. "But I didn't just inherit the looks of the family." He teased, trying to ease the tension.
It worked. Chrom, Basilio and Flavia all started laughing, though Chrom's was more of a nervous chuckle. His sister glared at him, but her expression quickly softened, silently thanking her brother.
However, Robin knew subconsciously that he might just be getting their hopes up… His sister was far too distressed to help him, so he would have to do it on his own. The trip was surprisingly uneventful, but it was when they reached the capital that Robin realized he was in over his head. The Exalt was completely surrounded. She was about to be cut down by an executioner, but Virion managed to land a shot just in time, which sent everything into chaos.
To this day, Robin still remembers what happened next. As he signaled the pegasus knights to save the Exalt, a group of Risen appeared out of nowhere, slaying them all. Robin could only stand in shock, seeing no further solution. He was aware of Chrom shouting at him, telling him to do something, anything, but Robin could only stare blankly as Emmeryn stepped off her perch… And fell to her death.
It had been several hours since then, and everyone had avoided Robin like the plague. His sister and Lissa were both practically catatonic, and Robin didn't even want to face Chrom. Robin saw Sumia approach him and land next to him.
"Robin." She said, all cheer and enthusiasm gone from her normal voice. "There are enemies in our path."
Robin sighed and nodded. He would have to relay this information to Chrom. He walked over to where the prince was marching, and everyone quickly got out of his way as he approached. It seemed that they all blamed him for Emmeryn's death in some way. He thought the same… He should have tried harder, had more backup plans, come up with something at the last second, anything! Raven would have, he was sure of it…
Regardless, he found himself next to Chrom at the front of the line.
"Chrom." Robin said, making his presence known, but Chrom didn't even look back.
"Chrom, there's enemies approaching, we need-" He started.
"No. I'm not listening to you anymore." Chrom replied, and Robin flinched at the fury leaking out of his words. "Because of what YOU did… My older sister is dead."
Robin could only stay silent. He had no words to defend himself.
"Shepherds!" Chrom shouted. "There are enemies ahead! Arm yourself quickly!" He shouted.
The ensuing battle was bloody, but Robin was just thankful for the distraction from his thoughts. They had no battle plan, and suffered heavy injuries because of it. Robin found himself more injured than the rest, since he had no one to watch his back. However, he knew that going to a healer was fruitless. Maribelle disliked him on a good day, Libra was heavily devoted to the loyal family, so he probably hated Robin, and Lissa…
He sighed. He'd just have to take some vulneraries. Looking ahead, he saw a woman with pink hair and… A strange outfit trying to fight off two soldiers and failing. From the looks on their faces, they didn't seem to want to kill the woman, but Robin doubted that they had much of a choice. Leaping to the woman's defense, Robin stabbed one of the soldiers through the back and then quickly followed up by slashing across the chest of the other surprised soldier.
Panting, Robin addressed the strange woman. "Are you okay?" He asked.
The woman nodded her head. "Y-yes… Thank you…" She said.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. "You're obviously not a soldier, so why were you fighting?"
Her hands were shaking, but she gripped the sword even more tightly. "I-I… I heard… About what happened t-to Emmeryn… And I want to help! She was s-s-so kind to me and I d-don't…" She managed to get out before she started sobbing.
Robin sighed, and gave the strange woman's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Look, I get it. But you need training if you want to fight properly, which you're not getting now." He stuck out his hand. "I'm sure you'll get the chance to train later. For now, my name is Robin. Pleased to meet you."
The woman took his hand tentatively. "M-my name is Olivia… I'm a dancer and I've been guarding the escape wagons…" She said.
Robin nodded. "Perfect. Go tell Prince Chrom. He's over there." Robin said, pointing towards Chrom.
Olivia seemed nervous. "Wh-what?! W-why can't you go tell him?!" She exclaimed, mortified by the idea of talking to Prince Chrom.
Robin sighed. "Because… We're not getting along right now. He wouldn't want to see me. Please? Could you do this for me?" Robin asked desperately.
Olivia sighed and nodded before heading off to tell the prince of what was happening.
"That hardly seems like it was your fault…" Eirika pointed out. "After all, who could possibly predict that the enemy would summon an army of undead out of thin air?"
Robin nodded in agreement. "I know that now, and I imagine Chrom does too, but at that point logic had very little to do with how we thought of that day. It was a huge blow to us all, especially Chrom. But because I didn't even try to defend myself he just kept blaming me. I didn't participate in the rest of the very short war because of that. However, soon after he got engaged to my sister I think he realized that he had been overly harsh, but I just… Retreated. I became devoted to training in any way that I could. I took up the lance, axe, bow, and yes, eventually I learned magic, though I kept away from dark magic for quite some time." He said.
Eirika's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. How long did you train for?"
Robin sighed. "Only two years." He said. Seeing Eirika's expression of shock, he continued. "Everytime I picked up a weapon, I got an eerie sense of familiarity. When I trained, it felt more like I was relearning things than learning new concepts. But the strangest part of those years wasn't that, it was a chest that I received, from someone claiming to be my father…"
Robin was training in the shepherd's barracks, as he always had been. The only time when people didn't see him training was when he was playing a strategy game with his sister. He ate his meals out in the training grounds, as the only people who were comfortable talking to him were Olivia and Raven. His sister told him that there were a fair few rumors going around that he and Olivia were together romantically, but neither of them were interested in the other that way. That didn't stop Raven from teasing Olivia about it, since Robin was too oblivious for teasing to work on him.
However, on this day, while Robin was practicing his archery, a messenger arrived for him. Half expecting it to be from Chrom, Robin donned his coat.
"Are you Sir Robin?" The messenger asked. When Robin nodded, the man continued. "There's a chest I've got out back that's addressed to you. It's pretty heavy, so I'd like your help moving it." He said.
Curious now, Robin followed the messenger out to the front of the barracks where a wagon was waiting. The messenger started pulling at a large purple weapon locker, and Robin helped him.
The thing was really heavy. Robin knew he wasn't the strongest man in the world, but he had at least above-average strength, and this thing was definitely too heavy for him.
Upon entering his room, the messenger dropped the chest immediately and bid Robin farewell. It was then that Robin noticed a letter attached to the top, as well as a few large bags attached to the sides. His face went red when he realized, much to his shame, that he probably could have made it a lot lighter by removing the sacks first.
Shaking his head of these thoughts, he read the letter.
Heard you lost your memories. I know you're probably fighting again, so I figured I could send you some of your old fighting equipment. If you don't remember how, there's some warp powder for you to practice with. Hopefully you're as good with dark magic now as you used to be.
Love,
Dad
P.S: If you come across your sister, protect her for me, will you? I don't want to lose her again.
Robin's eyes widened in shock, and his jaw had hit the floor upon seeing the word 'Dad'.
"Brother?" He heard, and jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around and saw his sister, who seemed to be trying to contain her laughter.
"Sorry, I knocked, but you weren't paying attention… What's all this?" Raven asked.
Robin sighed and passed Raven the letter. She took it, and scrunched her eyes in confusion, before her entire face settled into a pout.
"Okay, really? Why do you get all the cool stuff?" She whined.
Robin rolled his eyes. "Right, because you're NOT a queen, you CAN'T get whatever you want, and that's NOT a forty thousand gold armor piece you're wearing." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Raven rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, okay, you're right… But still, you have to admit that it seems like our dad likes you more than me." She said.
Robin shook his head. "No, it sounds like he doesn't know where you are, which I find unlikely."
Raven cocked her head. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, he somehow knew where I was and that I had amnesia, yet he didn't figure out that you're my twin sister? You're more well-known than I am, so that just doesn't make sense…" He mused. "No, I don't know what our 'dad' is up to, but I don't think this is completely for my benefit."
Raven nodded agreement. "You're right, but that doesn't mean we can't use whatever it is that he's giving you."
Robin reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, but looking more closely, this isn't a chest, it's a heavily-reinforced crate. There's no keyhole, no hinges to open it… How am I supposed to get into whatever is inside?"
"Well… The letter did say that you had to practice with something called 'warp powder', and that dark magic is somehow involved." Raven suggested.
Robin shuddered at the memories he had of when he last used dark magic. Seeing Tharja using dark magic had made him feel better about the idea of using it again, but he still had not even cast a simple flux spell. He sighed, and opened one of the sacks, and saw that it was filled with a strange purple powder.
"I guess this is 'warp powder'..." Robin said. "I'll have to ask Miriel about it…" He looked to his sister. "I'm probably going to be figuring this out for a while. Want to come with me?"
"Sure, sounds like fun." His sister said with a smile. She was just happy to do something with her brother that didn't have anything to do with training.
"Wait, is that the weapon locker that my father gave you?" Eirika asked.
"Yep. I don't know how your father managed to get his hands on it, but it's the genuine article." Robin confirmed.
"Well, what was in it?" Eirika asked.
"Well… My personal weapons, it seems." He explained. "When I finally managed to get a weapon out of that chest, which took me months by the way, it pretty much confirmed a theory I'd had for a while…" He drifted off into a memory, so Eirika decided to prompt him to continue.
"What was the theory, if I may ask?"
Shaking his head of his current thoughts, Robin continued. "Right. Well, since I seemed to be well-trained in pretty much every weapon I had available, I figured that I must have been trained in their use since a pretty young age. When I found out that the box had a sword, axe, lance, and bow, I felt confident that I had guessed correctly."
"How did you end up getting the weapons out?" Eirika asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, after burning through one of the two bags of warp powder, I started to get the feeling for when it was around. It has a lot of magical energy surrounding it at all times, so any well-trained dark magic user can sense it if they know what they're searching for. I noticed, when I got near my chest, that I could sense an absolute ton of warp powder within. I concentrated, and imagined a sword in my hand, and much to my shock, the moment I channeled some magic into the box, a levin sword popped into my hands… But it was a strange purple color, not unlike the color of warp powder. I brought it to Miriel, and she said that it was some kind of strange alloy with warp powder, allowing me to send it to and from the chest as I pleased…"
"That must have been useful in combat…" Eirika mused.
Robin nodded. "It was…" He drifted.
"M-Robin?" Eirika said, making sure that the man was fine.
Robin chuckled. "Sorry. Anyways, as you said, once I started using my newly-found weapons, I was nigh unstoppable. When I dueled, it didn't matter who it was with, because I could change my weapons to best fit the situation. Chrom's switched out Falchion for a lance? Fine, I'll change out my lance for an axe. Miriel wanted to get up close with her magic? Okay, I'll use my levin sword to capitalize. I was the most flexible unit in our army, able to be used in any situation. I was never the best at any one of my weapons, but I was close enough that I could beat the best consistently. there was no one that could beat me in a duel anymore, because I simply didn't play fair…" However, as he said that, Robin's face scrunched in confusion. "No… That's not right… Someone beat me…" He muttered.
"Who?" Eirika asked.
"Well… I can't remember."
"What? You mean it's someone from before you joined the shepherds?"
Robin shook his head. "No… There was a shepherd that beat me… I'm sure of it, but I can't remember who they were… That's strange." He clutched his head in pain. "Dammit! I thought I was through with memory loss!" He shouted in frustration.
"Robin… It's okay if you can't remember right now, I'm sure it'll come to you eventually." Eirika said, trying to calm Robin down.
Robin sighed. "Alright. I'll just continue with the story then…"
Eventually, the peace that they had worked so hard for. Robin was called to meet with the king and queen of Ylisse, which was not an entirely uncommon occurrence, but what made Robin actually go this time was that the notice claimed it was important. While he would not put it past his sister to claim that the meeting was important simply to get Robin to spend dinner with the royal family, Robin figured he would give his sister the benefit of the doubt.
He managed to get there just in time to see his sister give Chrom a death glare when he suggested that she stay behind with his new niece Lucina. Robin had to stifle a laugh, but it was enough to grab both the king and queen's attention. They informed him that a country by the name of Valm was coming to attack Regna Ferox, and they were being asked to help defend.
The battle in Port Ferox was brutal, and if it had been indicative of what was to come, Robin would have been worried, but Raven pointed out that they were likely facing some of the most elite soldiers that the Valmese had to offer, since Valm would likely want to ensure that their first landing would be a success so they could land more troops more easily.
However, she also suggested that they would need more boats, which neither Ferox nor Ylisse had much of. So to that end, the group marched towards Plegia to request aid, much to the disappointment of everyone. Upon arriving, they were greeted by the advisor King Gangrel as well as the new king, who went by Validar. Chrom and Raven kept whispering to each other throughout the meeting, which didn't exactly make Validar like them any more.
However, before they left the castle, the group was shocked to be introduced to the hierophant, who turned out to be an exact copy of Robin, and even shared his name. However, they were soon ushered out of the castle, and Validar would not answer any of their questions regarding the strange man.
What further complicated things was that, later the same night, Raven told Robin and Chrom that Validar had somehow talked to her in her mind, and claimed to be her father. Before they could discuss it further, they were attacked by a large group of Risen, and a strange man named Henry joined their ranks, much to the dismay of some. The new shepherd was fascinated with blood, and apparently knew Robin from before he had lost his memories.
However that was STILL not the strangest thing that happened that night. Indeed, what took the cake was when 'Marth' saved Chrom from an assassin, but called him 'father'. Apparently, she was Robin's niece, Lucina, who had come from a future where Grima had resurrected and destroyed the world.
"Wait wait wait." Eirika interrupted. "She came from the future? How is that possible?"
Robin shrugged. "From what I understand, it was a last-ditch attempt from Naga to try to change things. Even Naga wasn't sure that it would work, but seeing as the alternative was kick back and let Grima destroy everything, they tried it anyways."
Eirika nodded hesitantly. "I… Guess that makes sense… Still, Naga must be very powerful to be able to send others through time."
Robin hummed his agreement. "Yeah, but the Naga of that future probably sacrificed herself for it. She's powerful, but the only way I could see her doing something like that is by using up a LOT of life force. The only way she could get that much would be by using her own, which almost certainly killed her."
"I see… Please, continue." Eirika said.
The group took Lucina's story fairly well, all things considered. Most were confident that Raven would be able to come up with a solution, and Robin was inclined to agree with them. His sister spent a lot of time with her new-found family, but outside of that, she buried herself in her studies. Anything about the Grimleal she could find that referenced Grima directly she poured over, trying to find out how Grima was resurrected.
Robin formed (or re-formed, if you asked Henry) his friendship with Henry. The man was obsessed with blood and combat, but could be surprisingly deep when he wanted to be. The two formed a little group with Olivia, and even though they seemed to get along with each other better than they got along with Robin, Robin still considered them his best friends. However, their other new member, Lucina, would always stare at her uncle with sad eyes whenever she thought he wasn't looking, and quickly found someone else to talk to whenever Robin tried to talk to his niece. Getting the message, Robin eventually stopped trying just before they embarked towards Valm.
When they encountered the Valmese on the ocean, they were informed that they were horribly outnumbered. Robin put forward the idea to set half their ships on fire to kill off the Valmese quickly, which everyone eventually agreed to.
The following scene had caused many to lose their lunches. The luckier of their foes burned to death, but the others that tried to abandon ship quickly sunk to the bottom of the ocean because of their armor. Robin was not proud of what he had suggested, but knew that it was the best way forwards. Raven had even come by to console him, saying that she would have suggested it herself if he hadn't done so first.
Their campaign in Valm started off well. They managed to land with no casualties, and there was apparently some form of organized resistance movement, as a woman named Say'ri informed them. they marched on towards the Mila tree, and managed to rescue the voice of Naga, a manakete from the age of Marth. However, once they finished their assault on Fort Steiger, the resistance turned on the shepherds. Raven had been knocked unconscious during the battle, so Chrom reluctantly turned to Robin for advice, and regretted it almost immediately. The only solution that Robin could come up with was to break free and sacrifice a third of their army to buy some time while they dealt with Yen'fay. Basilio offered to lead the group, but Lucina told him that he would die if he did. However, Basilio knew that they didn't have any other options,, so he went anyways. Flavia followed him, but it turned out not to matter, for while the shepherds were busy fighting Yen'fay, Walhart killed Basilio.
Morale was low. Robin once again found himself being blamed for much of the problems that the group was facing, although it didn't help that he never denied anything. He had recently been given the title of 'Warmaster' by Chrom, which wasn't really an official position of Ylisse, but Robin had requested it when he realized his sister was intentionally keeping him off the front lines so that he wouldn't get hurt. When he came to Chrom with his concern, Chrom realized that, since she was both queen and grandmaster of Ylisse, and Robin was just a shepherd, Robin would always have to follow his sister's orders. To that end, Chrom came up with the idea to create a new position that Robin could occupy. He described it simply as a position for 'someone that would put what's best for Ylisse at expense of all else'. Robin thought it was a stupid idea, since that was most knights do, but Chrom was insistent, to the point where Robin accepted the idea on the condition that he didn't have to do any paperwork. Chrom then dubbed the position the 'Warmaster' to juxtapose Raven's 'Grandmaster' title.
However, Robin's new title caused most nobles to fear for their safety. Chrom had basically just given a license to kill to a man that many nobles used to bad mouth on a regular basis. Legally, they could do nothing about it, as Robin now answered to no one in the military or nobility except Chrom himself. Instead, they used the reports that they got of the war, and falsified them to make Robin look bad, spreading rumors about how he would 'accidentally' kill any allies that he either didn't like or spoke out against him. It would not be until he got back that Robin realized that, without anyone who truly knew about what happened in Valm around, these rumors had spread like wildfire throughout the populace.
However, on the Valmese continent, many were weary of Robin after he burned half their ships and killed off one of the Khans of Ferox. Some claimed that he was secretly a Plegian spy, weakening Ylisse and Ferox just before Plegia had the chance to stab both of them in the back. This rumor was so popular that some of the shepherds even started to believe it, though no one said anything.
Even amongst the Valmese, Robin was gaining a negative reputation. They feared him for what he did on the long sea, and knew of his prowess on the field of battle. It was hard to miss the man who teleported out of traps, appeared unarmed at all times, and could use any weapon he picked up with ease.
The combination of these rumors, when they returned, put almost all of the shepherds on high alert around Robin. Some now openly accused him of being a Plegian spy, though Olivia, Chrom, Raven, and surprisingly, Henry defended him. However, when they were requested by the king of Plegia to come to the castle to get the last gemstone, even they were suspicious at how convenient it was that the king knew they were looking for the gemstones.
Upon arrival at the Plegian castle, they were almost immediately ambushed. Raven managed to guide everyone to the exit, but Validar managed to teleport in front of Chrom and incapacitate him. Just as Chrom was about to prepare himself for a fight, Validar controlled Raven's mind and forced her to take the fire emblem, shocking everyone.
That night, Lucina apparently confronted her mother, but Robin hardly noticed. He was too busy preparing himself for the fight against his father. He knew that there was a good chance he could be controlled just like his sister, so he created backup plan on backup plan for if he tried to do anything.
The battle against Validar was where Robin really shined. She manage to convince Validar that she was under his control, pretend to kill Chrom, and then hit Validar with a thorn bolt in the process. She also managed to switch out the gemstones before Validar ever even got them, and gave them to Basilio, whom everyone thought was dead! As his sister kissed her husband above Validar's corpse, Robin gave a chuckle. It was just typical of his sister, coming up with the big plan to save the day. Again.
Then Robin felt it. The intense pain in his head that he got periodically, but this one was worse. Much worse. No one noticed anything different about Robin as he walked towards Chrom and Raven, but he was no longer in control. Lucina's eyes widened, realizing what was happening, but far too late to do anything about it. In front of everyone, Robin grabbed Chrom and teleported him to the far end of the room, erecting a barrier to prevent anyone from interfering. Chrom stumbled away from a swing of Robin's levin sword, but landed on his back afterwards. As everyone stared in shock at what was happening, Robin hesitated right before plunging his sword into Chrom's chest. With his hands shaking, Robin's arm descended, but before he could kill Chrom, he teleported. He teleported far away from the dragon's table, before he teleported again and again and again.
Robin vomited. He had probably teleported two dozen times in five minutes. He had gone from the dragon's table to Mount Prism, where it was said Naga herself was supposed to reside.
Robin sighed. It had barely taken any warp powder for him to travel as far as he had, and looking down at his hand, he realized why. His brand, which had always been a dull purple, looked like it was on fire. The voice in his head had explained everything. He was Grima. He was the Fell Dragon.
"Do not think like that, Fell Blood." A soft voice told him. Looking up, Robin saw the reason why he was there: an apparition of Naga herself was before him, courtesy of the fire emblem that he had swiped off of Validar.
"Oh yeah? Well, it's kind of hard not to. I'm his vessel, right? Or at least one of them. My sister and I… We were made to be the same as him. So tell me Naga, how am I supposed to think?" Robin growled.
Naga shook her head. "You care far more about this world than Grima ever did… It matters not what you were meant to be. What was it your sister said? 'We are not pawns of some scripted fate'?"
Robin looked downcast at the floor. "It doesn't matter anymore. Even if I'm not Grima, they all saw me kill Chrom, and I doubt that Grima would admit that I managed to resist him."
Naga nodded. "It is as you say. Grima's pride is simply too great to admit defeat, especially to a 'mere mortal'."
Robin looked down at the fire emblem in his hands, and asked the question that he had come for. "Lady Naga, I have a question. Something that's been bothering me since I got the fire emblem…"
"Yes?"
"We can't kill Grima, can we? I can feel the power of the fire emblem but… I also felt Grima's power. Can this truly kill him?" Robin asked.
Naga regarded him for a few moments. "...No. Grima and I cannot kill each other. We do not possess the powers to do so. The only power that could kill Grima…" She looked meaningfully at Robin. "... Would be his own."
Robin nodded. "So I was right… And I assume, by the way you looked at me, that I would die?"
"Not just you." Naga said. "You sister also Grima's vessel, and would also perish. However, if either of you have bonds with those around you that exceed the strength of the one you have with Grima, you should be fine…" She didn't have to say that Robin almost certainly had no such bonds with anyone.
"Good. Then Raven should be fine." Robin sighed with relief.
"But you will almost certainly perish." Naga warned.
"That… Is fine. If I can give my life to end Grima for good… I think I'll have done some good with my life. Just, if I could ask a small favor?" Robin asked.
"If you are truly going to sacrifice yourself to kill Grima… I only fear that whatever I could do for you would not be enough Fell Blood."
"I… Don't want anyone to be sad when I'm gone." He said. "When I die, I just want everyone to be able to enjoy the peace that I'm buying for them, without feeling guilty about it. In order for what I'm going to do to work, I'm going to need your help."
Naga's eyes saddened. She didn't expect this to be Robin's favor, but with all that he'd been through, it hardly surprised her. She agreed.
When the rest of the shepherds arrived, Robin acted like his mind had broken. Naga 'explained' to them that Grima's last attempt to take control of his body had done too much damage, and he was unlikely to ever recover. Raven cried a bit, though almost no one else did.
When Chrom performed the awakening ritual, Naga didn't tell them that killing Grima with Falchion would only put him to sleep. She didn't tell them that Raven could end Grima forever. When they left for Mount Origin, Robin stayed behind. He would wait until the shepherds were fighting Grima, and then, with Naga's help, he would teleport in while they were fighting the Fell Dragon and end it all.
Robin was waiting patiently in the temple. It was interesting, knowing that you were going to die, but yet you couldn't do anything about it. There was a certain amount of peace and tranquility that came with the thought, but what Robin enjoyed the most was the idea that he only had one more fight left. All he had to do was beat one more enemy, and it was all over. He would never have to fight again.
"Fell Blood." Naga said, interrupting his thoughts. "It is time."
Robin sighed. "Very well… Thank you Naga. For everything." And then Robin teleported. He combined all his remaining warp powder with Naga's magic and arrived directly in front of Grima.
"Robin?!" Chrom shouted, just before Robin erected a barrier spell to keep everyone else out. He would fight Grima by himself, so that he could be sure that the dragon was dead for good.
"What's this?" Grima's voice, a pale imitation of his own, practically shouted in his ear. "Does me vessel want to be one with me once again? By all means… I welcome you with open arms!"
In response, Robin summoned and threw his hand axe at Grima. However, Grima seemed to be able to control Robin's weapons, and the hand axe simply appeared in Grima's hand.
"Oh my… Seems SOMEONE still doesn't realize their place… Very well… I will take your power myself!" He roared, sending a blast of dark magic in Robin's direction.
Robin realized that he would have to use magic in order to take Grima down, but knew that Grima's magical prowess far surpassed his own. He dodged out of the way of Grima's magic, but Grima was already sending a wave of spikes in his direction.
Rolling across the ground, Robin grabbed a thoron tome from his belt and let it loose at Grima, who simply countered it with a dark magic blast of his own.
The magic duel continued on for several more minutes, neither side gaining an advantage, while the rest of the shepherds fought off the rest of the Risen horde. Suddenly, Robin heard someone cry out in pain, and that was enough to distract him for just a second, allowing Grima to knock him on his back.
Grima stalked over to his vessel. "Well well… You put up a MUCH better fight than I thought you would… Validar did well with you, but I think I'd much rather end this here." He said, standing directly over Robin, preparing a spell to end the man's life.
Robin simply grinned. He raised his hand until it was next to Grima, and teleported his sword so that it was inside of Grima's stomach. Grima's magic tried to resist Robin's teleport, but because Robin was essentially doing this to himself, Grima's magic didn't put up a fight.
Grima's eyes widened in disbelief, and as he gaped down at the sword in his chest, Robin poured all of the magic that he possibly could, including all of his dark magic, through the sword, overloading Grima's defenses.
Grima convulsed, lightning danced between vessel and dragon, and a dark haze enveloped the two as the head of the dragon roared.
"...Wow." Eirika said. "I… Still don't understand what you did, but…"
Robin shook his head. "Sorry. I only ever explained this to your father. It's not too complicated, really. Grima and I are one and the same, so our magic treats us as such. Dark magic is easier to use on yourself, which is why there are so many beneficial curses. Since warp powder is an extension of dark magic, I figured that it had to work in the same way. Because of that, Grima's defenses thought that he was just placing a curse on himself, so it didn't put up as much of a fight as it could have. Normally, it's really hard to teleport something INSIDE of something else, but… I was desperate, and knew I was going to die so I used everything that I had." Robin explained.
"I… Guess that makes sense. So that worked? Grima died?" Eirika asked.
Robin frowned. "... Well, it definitely worked… Grima died, his avatar and dragon form started dissipating into thin air. I followed soon after, not that anyone noticed… And my sister died soon after. I met her in a kind of… Void, where I explained that I knew she would die. I didn't tell her everything though… Like I had told Naga, I didn't want her to feel guilty when I died."
Eirika stayed silent, letting Robin get everything he needed to say out.
"She… Wasn't happy with me. In her eyes, I had just killed her for no reason other than to kill Grima myself. For all she knew, there were no downsides to letting Chrom kill Grima…"
"But… If you died… How are you still here?" Eirika asked. "Was Naga wrong? Were your bonds strong enough?"
Robin shook his head. "No. The next thing I know, I feel something grabbed me out of the void and I was in Renais. I eventually found my way to the palace, and the rest is history."
"That's… Strange. You really don't know why you're alive?" Eirika asked.
Robin sighed. "I have a theory, but I don't like the implications, and I would REALLY rather not panic people without more evidence." He explained.
"I guess that makes-" Eirika started.
"One more thing. The reason why I left you all… Grima isn't dead." Robin explained.
Eirika's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
Robin nodded. "Yeah… When I 'woke up', I wasn't in control… Grima was. But he was fighting for control with something else. I don't know what, so don't ask. While the two were fighting for control, I managed to get enough control to seal away a majority of my magic with a curse, breaking Grima's control over me and giving me control of my body. But Grima was too powerful, and I knew that he would break out eventually, so I sealed off more of my dark magic. Then some more, to the point where I could barely use warp powder anymore. Then I realized Grima could still use my anima magic to escape, so I sealed that away. Finally, I decided to play it safe and seal off the rest of my dark magic, preventing me from using warp powder."
"Why would you do that?" Eirika asked.
"Because Grima still slumbers in me, and I don't really know what to do about it. Only thing I do know is that he can only escape by using magic, and since we share our magic now… I did the only thing I could think of to trap him."
"But… You can use warp powder! Did one of the seals break?" Eirika asked nervously.
"No. When you were in trouble, I broke the seal myself. I felt like I had to save you, and I didn't think that Grima could actually break free using such a small amount of magic."
"Oh…" Eirika muttered. "So… You broke the seal… To save me."
"Yep. You're important Eirika. Not just to our cause, but to me. You've given me something that I haven't had in a while: trust. When Seth was suspicious of me, you stood up for me. When I didn't tell anyone anything about my past, you didn't pry. When I lied to you about my name, you didn't care… You'd done so much for me that I couldn't let you die."
"Robin…" Eirika said.
"Anyways, I haven't gotten to the worst part." He said. "Because I broke my seal, Grima is starting to come free. I can hear his voice every once in a while, and I know that someday he'll break free. I need to find a way to keep him contained, and the only place you have on your continent that could help me is a place called Caer Pelyn. They know where to find the 'Great Dragon', who should be able to help me."
As Robin finished, Eirika stayed silent for a few moments, before finally deciding to speak up. "So that's why you left? Because you fear that Grima will come back?"
Robin nodded. "Among other reasons, yeah."
"Do you truly believe that this… Dragon will be able to help you?"
"Honestly? No. I'm pretty sure the only ways I can get rid of Grima are killing myself or getting killed by Chrom's Falchion. Unfortunately, when I took of control of my body, Grima managed to place a curse that prevented me from killing myself." Robin said. "Otherwise I would have already ended Grima for good."
Robin didn't realize, but talking about killing himself was devastating to Eirika. "Robin… Please don't talk like that." She pleaded.
"Why? If I killed myself, Grima's threat to the world would be gone for good." He stated bluntly. "There's not much of a downside here." He said with a shrug.
"The downside is that you DIE!" Eirika screamed at Robin, who recoiled at her raised voice. "Robin, you didn't get a fair chance to find happiness… And that's too bad, but that doesn't mean that you can't still find a place where you belong." She said, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't… I can't let you die… Please…" She pleaded.
Robin looked her in the eyes, watching the tears flow down her face. He sighed, and brushed away a few tears from her face. "I will do my best Eirika. I don't know if I can do it, but what I do know is that I have time."
Eirika blushed when his hand touched her face, but she quickly blinked away her tears. "What do you mean?"
Robin shrugged. "I may not know exactly how long I have before Grima breaks the other seals, but I do know I've got at least a year. I'm not saying it's going to be easy… I'm not saying I'm definitely going to do it… But you're the best friend I've ever had. If you want me to stick around… I'll do it. It's not a good idea, but I think I've earned the right to do some stupid things every now and then." He said with a grin, for the first time since Eirika's birthday party.
The princess of Renais smiled at Robin. "So does that mean you'll fight for us now?" Eirika asked.
Robin shook his head. "No. I can't. And before you ask… I can't tell you why. Please trust me on this. If we fight those monsters, I can do it, although it amplifies Grima's voice for a bit." He paused. "I also don't have enough of my dark magic to use my weapon locker, so I'm not going to be as good as I was." He said with a frown. "So if you still want me around-"
"Which I do." Eirika said.
Robin rolled his eyes. "Then I think it'd be more worthwhile to train you some more."
"Really? You'll keep training me?" Eirika asked.
Robin nodded. "Yes. Like I said, your fighting style feels familiar, but I still can't remember from where… Which makes me to believe that someone erased the memory of someone close to me…" He mused.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well… I can remember when I was dying… I saw Olivia and Henry's son. He was standing above me, but I'd never been that close to him. I can't for the life of me think of any reason why he'd stand by my side instead of my sister's while we were both dying. The only reason I can think of is that there was someone else there… Someone he was comforting while I died." Robin said, talking about his death like it was the most casual thing in the world.
"That's… Disturbing. Do you think it's important?" Eirika asked.
Robin shrugged. "It must be. I have no idea if it was Grima or someone else that blocked my memory, but I'm going to make sure I get it back." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now. I'll let you know if I figure anything out, but for now we should get back."
Eirika nodded, and realization dawned on her. She was getting Robin back! She smiled wide at the revelation. "Hey Robin?"
"Yes Eirika?"
"I'm glad you're back." She said, showing genuine relief, as if getting Robin back was as important as getting to Rausten.
This gave Robin pause. He knew that his departure had hurt Eirika, and he felt like he had to make it up to her.
"Eirika." He said, making her turn around and stop walking.
"Yes Robin?"
"I think it's about time that I swore my service to you officially." Robin said.
Eirika shook her hands. "Oh no Robin, you don't have-"
"I insist." Robin said, lowering himself to one knee. "I learned this little oath in a book. It's supposed to have some magical properties, so it feels appropriate for this." Robin said.
Just before Eirika started to protest, Robin spoke up. A faint aura of life surrounded Robin as he started to speak.
Should the earth split open,
Should the skies themselves catch fire,
Should the minions of hell pursue you,
I will be there.
Should you require my life,
Should you require my experience,
Should you require my pride,
I will give it.
Should you wish me dead,
Should you wish me alive,
Should you wish me gone,
I will obey.
For you I will be nameless.
For you I will fight.
For anyone I would gladly die,
But for you I will live.
Finishing, Robin opened his eyes and stood up to Eirika. "There. That should do it." Robin said.
Eirika simply stared wide-eyed at Robin. "You didn't have to do that Robin…" She said.
Robin shook his head with a grin. "No. I didn't." He said, walking ahead towards Carcino. Eirika sighed with exasperation and walked alongside him.
A/N:
Um… Wow, that was long. Longer than I thought. Then again, I basically summarized my entire AU of awakening so…
I've actually thought a few times about doing a few one-shots in that AU after I'm done with this story. Would anyone want to read that?
Outside of that… This is basically my entire reasoning as to why Robin's not a Gary Stu. He's only barely keeping Grima from taking over his body, and he doesn't want to push it. Yeah, he's strong. He also killed Grima, soooooooo… Yeah, that's kind of to be expected.
Also, I knew I'd take a reader hit, but holy crap. I went from an average of about 300 readers to about 100 readers after the last chapter. Don't know if it's bad timing on my part or if people really hate the plot twist that much…
Finally, some little things. I've been considering changing the title and summary now that Robin's identity has been revealed, and I'm also looking for an image if anyone has a suggestion. So if there's another fanfic with 13 chapters, includes both Eirika and Robin, but is named something else, it's probably this one.
EDIT: For some reason, the website got rid of all my formatting. Hopefully fixed now.