"What is one life, when weighed against millions?"
Robin remembers the words that have he told Chrom as he stood over the weakened Fell Dragon before him. It was like looking at a mirror that made Robin somewhat pity his lookalike. However, he knew that he couldn't hesitate in his choice as the consequences would mean the end of the world.
"Robin?! Wait, what-" Chrom barely had energy left in his body after the battle to pull himself up. And yet, he tried with all of his might to pull his body up to no avail as he watches his friend sacrifice himself. Robin gathers energy in his hand, forming a ball of purple lightning above him.
"...WHAT… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The Fell Dragon yells out towards Robin.
"For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for…" Robin grunts as the ball of energy slowly continues to grow above him.
Grima realized that his death was slowly approaching him. He tries to move his body once more, with the wounds on his body leaving him open for Robin's attack. "...YOU WOULD… NOT DARE!"
"I would and I will." Robin couldn't help but shake his head before giving his counterpart one more solemn look. "The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable… In some way, I… We share the blame. It's only right we meet our end together!"
"NOOOOOOOO!" Robin shoots the orb of energy at his possessed self, knocking Grima back. The Fell Dragon lets out a deafening roar as Grima makes one last push to stand up. He stumbles back and forth, purple miasma covering his figure. Parts of his body start to fade in the miasma as a burst of light fully consumes Robin's lookalike.
"Robin, no!" Robin couldn't help but wince a little from the origin of the voice. He slowly looks over at his best friend, is finally able to stand up while leaning on the Exalted Falchion. He had to put up a brave face for him, even with the miasma slowly starting to consume him.
"Thank you, Chrom. For everything." Robin gives his best friend one last smile, remembering the very day that his life changed when he met Chrom. Tears slowly start to fall from his face, his smile never slipping. "Tell the others… my last thought were of them. May we meet again, in a better life…"
"Robin! No! Ah gods, NO!" Chrom found one last bit of strength to leave Falchion at his side and run over to Robin. The miasma was slowly starting to completely surround Robin, covering his eyes in darkness. The last thing that Robin remembered was a touch at his side and a small beacon of blue light in the darkness.
"Letting your mind wander is a sure way for you to get killed." A voice brings Robin back to reality. He looks forward, seeing a rough-looking man, staring down at him with a stern look in his eye. Robin takes a look around to see a couple of people huddled around a campfire.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something." Robin shakes his head, picking up a book from his side. He grabs a small pouch that was next to him, placing the book inside.
"People like you are always thinking. Come and have some dinner. You'll need the strength if you're going to join us." The man tilts his head towards the campfire as the two make their way over. "If you're going to travel with us, then you're going to have to carry your weight."
"That's fine. Thanks for allowing me to travel with your company, Jeralt." Robin nodded, understanding the circumstances that he was in. The two made their way to the circle around the fire where a familiar scent catches Robin's attention.
"You grabbed the firewood for everyone so you've earned it. Here." Jeralt hands Robin a piece of meat on a skewer. "It may be gamier for your liking but you'll get used to it."
"Thank you." Robin takes it before taking a bite into the meat. It was the taste of a familiar animal that he was all too familiar with. A common staple food that he remembered as the first meal he remembers. "Ah. It's been so long since I've had bear meat. It's as good as I remember."
Jeralt was amazed by what he heard from the young tactician. "Well, that's a surprise. I never expected you would like bear meat."
"Back when I was traveling… One of my first meals was meat from a bear that someone had hunted. I hadn't eaten for a while and I'll never forget the taste of it." Robin explained before continuing to enjoy the food he was given.
"If that's the case, then you can't really be picky with your food. You're definitely an interesting guy. By the way, are you doing alright? You didn't seem wounded when we first found you on the road." Jeralt asks, leaving Robin to think for a bit.
"I feel fine. However, I'm still unfamiliar with the place that I'm in." Robin said with Jeralt slowly nodding to the fact.
"To be stranded on land you aren't familiar with is indeed a rough situation. However, you'll get used to it soon enough." Jeralt nodded as he takes a bite of his skewer. "At the very least, the things that you need to know about Fodlan are the three nations that govern the land."
"The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, The Adrestian Empire, and the Leicester Alliance." Robin relayed from the information that one of the mercenaries had told him.
"Exactly. One of the most important parts of being a mercenary is that you know where to go." Jeralt explains, noticing the book that Robin was reading was peaking out of the pouch. "By the way. Where did you get the book? I don't believe you had any personal belongings when we found you."
"I got it from the person from one of the mercenaries. I think his name was Byleth?" Robin said, taking out the book from his bag. It was a novel, titled "The Legends of Ausar". The book had been properly taken cared of as there were hardly any damages on the cover of the book. "I asked for a book, given that I tend to read a bit during the night. Hoping that it would help clear my head."
"Byleth? He was the one who gave it to you?" One of the other mercenaries had overheard the conversation. They walk over with interest to the conversation.
"Is something wrong with that?" Robin asked the mercenary who shakes his head with a cup of beer in his hand.
"It's just that he's such a quiet and stoic guy. We've known him for such a time and he barely opens up to a lot of people that he doesn't know." The mercenary grunts with Jeralt letting out a tired sigh, drinking beer himself.
"My son is quite reserved. Give him some time and he'll talk to you like with the others. For now, we should go to sleep." Jeralt finishes the rest of his beer before rising. He claps his hands, catching everyone's attention around the campfire. "As you know, our next job is in the Kingdom. It's far from here, so we'll be leaving Remire Village at dawn. So let's turn it in for the night."
Some of the mercenaries start making their way into the nearby cabins of the village while others take part in overseeing the supplies in preparation for the next mission. After a moment of overseeing the preparations, Jeralt turns back to Robin.
"For now, you can stay in the house on the right. If I recall, nobody is staying in that one. You should be good for the night, right?" Jeralt asks with Robin giving a nod.
"I'll be fine, thanks." Jeralt leaves Robin to his own devices, entering one of the cabins.
Robin takes the time to walk a little around the village that the mercenaries were occupying. It was a familiar sight, seeing an army base all set up with a bunch of people going through preparations for the next day. It hit him with a wave of nostalgia as Robin imagined all of the mercenaries being replaced by all of the members of the Shepherds. Being the tactician of the army, he would occasionally oversee how everyone was doing, constantly being greeted by familiar faces around him. Occasionally he would help out with people if they needed it, to simply having a little bit of fun to distract themselves from the stakes that were placed on all of them.
However, reality sank in with Robin see the members of the group start to turn in. Realizing that he had been staring at everyone, he immediately retreats into the house that Jeralt told him to stay in. He struggles to let out a few heavy breaths, leaning back against the door behind him. He wipes away some cold sweat from his head, taking a moment for the panic attack to pass. He takes a look at the back of his right hand, the mark of Grima is no longer seen nor throbbing in pain, back when the Fell Dragon was alive.
It was enough for Robin to know for certain that Grima had died and his connection with the Fell Dragon had been cut off that day. However, no matter how much Robin thought of it, he couldn't seem to understand how he was still alive, or transported to a place that he was completely unfamiliar with. Throughout the day that he was awake, Robin tried to remember what happened after his vision went dark. But no matter how much he tried, a sharp pain at the back of his head would stop him.
"Eugh… Why is it that I can't remember how and why I got here?" Robin slowly pulls himself up with the door's handle before slowly making his way to the bed. He places the pouch to the side of the bed, plopping down on the bed immediately afterward. He was too exhausted to be frustrated at the circumstances as he falls asleep almost immediately.
"Will you attend my ascension ceremony? H-r, L-s, and everyone else is coming…" A shadowy figure appears in front of Robin. He couldn't distinguish the figure's face but he saw the person dressed in a formal blue outfit, the upper part covered with a white cape around his shoulders. The voice also rang familiar to Robin, but no matter how much he tried to listen, he couldn't figure who it had belonged to.
"I'm honored that I'm invited to the ceremony. Of course, I will stay! Though those clothes…" A voice echoed through Robin's head as he overlooked the scene in front of him.
"What? These clothes? I look silly, don't I? Formal dresses like these are always so stiff, I can't stand it…" The shadow figure examines the clothes over his body, moving a bit through the uncomfortable parts of the clothing. He takes a look at Robin before letting out a sigh of relief. "Ah… Everything's finally resolved. I'll succeed my father as Marquess P-e. I'm not sure if I'm up to the task, but I'm going to do my best for all the people who live here."
"That's a noble cause… I'm glad that I traveled with you and everyone one year ago… However, this isn't really a pleasure visit." The voice echoed to the man who gave a confused look. "I'm here to say, goodbye. I'm leaving this land… For good."
"R-n, you… Must you leave?" The man asked with a hint of sadness by the echoed words.
"Yes. These travels were made for me to become stronger. A better tactician. I didn't really know until recently, but I have a duty that I need to do." The voice echoed with a hint of interest in the man.
"A duty that you have to do?" The man asked.
"Three years ago, my mother sent me to this land to get stronger in my abilities as a tactician… and ability to fight in combat. Once I'm done with my training, I am to be sent back to my land to help those that need it." The voice echoed, giving the figure a sad face.
"I had no idea that a burden was placed on you. Would you like assistance in your quest? After everything that you've done for us, I'd gladly help you. As a friend." The man offered, extending his hand out to Robin. Hesitantly, Robin takes it with his right hand.
"I'm sorry, but this is something that only I can do. Though, I am glad that you see me as a friend, E-d." The voice echoed with a hint of joy behind it.
"Of course! After all, we've been through. You have made a friend for life… I understand that you have things only you can do. Though I have another announcement. Something that I plan to announce at the ceremony. However, I feel like I should tell you now." The man said with a hint of excitement as footsteps could be heard from behind them.
"...Lord E-D?" A familiar voice causes Robin to turn around, revealing another figure with a face that he couldn't see. However, he could tell that it was a woman. She had blue hair and that matched the color of her dress that reached the floor.
"Here I am, N-n!" The man calls out. The woman notices Robin on her way over and starts to say something. However, the words started to sound like gibberish as everything around him started to distort in front of him. Everywhere Robin looked, all he could see was incomprehensible gibberish until everything completely disappears leaving Robin to fall into the endless black void.
"Ah!" Once again, Robin wakes up distressed about the dreams he has. He wipes off the mountain of sweat around him, taking heavy breaths in panic. A few minutes pass while he got his act together with a groan. "Why does my head always seems to play tricks on me?"
Robin puts on his usual familiar black coat, hearing some movement being made outside the house. Wanting to know what was going on, he steps out of the house to see Jeralt talking with three figures, with a fourth person that Robin recognized. He rushes over to see what all the hassle is.
"We're being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support." A man with blond hair and refined clothing explained, to the two mercenaries as Robin arrives. He gave a cautionary air when talking to the duo.
"Bandits? Here?" Jeralt was in disbelief by the fact.
"It's true. They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp." A white-haired lady with red clothing commented, looking uneasy from the attack.
"We've been separated from our companions and we're outnumbered. They're after our lives… not to mention our gold." The young man, wearing yellow said with a hint of relief.
"I'm impressed you're staying so calm considering the situation. I… Wait. That uniform…" Jeralt's eyes open when notices the design on the trio's outfit. He cursed a little as the other man, Byleth takes notice to his father's surprise.
"Do you know something?" Byleth asks rather calmly. Before Jeralt could even respond, one of the mercenaries makes their way over to the group.
"Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn… There are a lot of them" The mercenary grunted in frustration to the situation, leading Jeralt to think.
"I guess they followed you all the way here. We can't abandon this village now." Jeralt turns over to Byleth. "Come on, let's move. Hope you're ready."
"What do I do?" Robin asks up with Jeralt raising a brow to the fact.
"I suggest you go hide. If you can, see if you can settle the villagers down. If chaos ensues, it'll make our job harder." Jeralt explains with Robin shaking his head.
"I'm a tactician and I know my way around a fight, though I don't have a sword. If you'll let me, I can help on the battlefield." Robin offers to the mercenary who turns his head over to the bandits dashing towards the group.
"A tactician? If that's the case, alright. Head to the armory and grab what you need. Take the kids with you. They should know how to fight." Jeralt nods before turning his back to everyone to head to the stables. "Once your done, meet me and Byleth here as soon as possible."
"Got it!" Robin turns his head to the three students. "Follow me."
The four swiftly made their way until they reached a small carriage with a small supply of weapons was laid out on the ground, near some supplies. Robin examines the stash, picking up an Iron Sword which weighed the same as it always has to him. He takes a look over at the students, taking a quick examination into the weaponry that they chose.
The man in blue picked up a decently sized lance, examining the weight of it with a satisfactory nod. The woman in red picked up an axe, giving a practice swing away from the group to get asserted with the weight. Finally, the man in yellow grabs a bow and a quiver of arrows wrapped around his back, twirling an arrow with his right hand.
"Is everyone ready for this?" Robin calls out to the three whose attention seemed to grab as they all looked at him.
"Do not have to worry about us. We've been training for moments such as this." The woman in red gave the tactician a nod of affirmation.
"Though we should thank you for helping us. We are in your debt. Please lend us your strength to drive out these bandits." The man in blue readies the spear at his side.
"It's just good that you guys are here. I wasn't really expecting any mercenaries here. So thanks." The man in yellow shrugs.
"I'm not the one you should be thanking. That goes to Jeralt. And we need to take care of these bandits first." Robin said which everyone agreed with. The four made their way back to the rendezvous point where Jeralt was waiting on an armored horse and Byleth at his side with a sword in ready.
"The other mercenaries are defending the other parts of the village. It's up to us to deal with the ones here." Jeralt tells everyone as he readies his stead into battle. "Now. Let's take care of those thieves before they overrun the village."
"Take down the enemies in front first. That'll stop their progress." Byleth dashes into battle, sword in hand. A loose bandit approaches with his sword, clashing blades with Byleth's. However, with masterful skill, he swiftly disarms his opponent. The woman in red leads a follow-up strike to the thief, knocking the bandit to the ground.
"I won't sit back while you do all the work." The woman comments, readjusting her axe at her side.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" The man in blue comments rushing to catch up with the two. With a refine strike, he knocks back an incoming bandit towards a few others.
Robin takes care of a thief on his own with a simple strike before noticing a pair of trees in front of them. He turns back to the others, motioning for them to follow him. The rest of the group deals with a few outlier bandits before making their way to Robin.
"I'm going to give myself as bait. Once they make their way towards me, we'll ambush the thieves here in the forest. With them unable to properly see us, they'll have no idea what hit them." Robin turns his head around to see a nearby watchtower. "Hey. Do you think you can reach the tower? The upper density of the forest should allow you to see any incoming bandits."
"Yeah, I could do that. It's a simple but effective strategy. Not bad for a mercenary." The man in yellow smirks at the plan. He makes his way towards the tower.
"Any objections to the plan?" Robin asks the rest of the group.
"As he said, your plan is sound. I'll stay here in case some people decide to go around." Jeralt rides to the side.
"Let's pull your plan into action then." The man in blue as everyone gets into position. Robin swiftly makes through some of the trees to see a few thieves in front of him.
"Over here!" Robin calls out to the thieves. Noticing Robin, they start chasing him straight into the forest. After a few quicks dodge through the forest, he turns back to the bandits that pursued him. He smirks, readying his sword for combat. "Checkmate!"
Before the bandits could react, Byleth and the two students appear from behind the trees to strike the bandits sitting at the back. He turns back, shocked by the ambush as Robin strikes him down.
"Nicely done on the ambush." The woman in red gives Robin a nod of approval.
"I don't think that the battle is over. Otherwise, the one at the tower would have joined us by now." Byleth comments, moving through the trees without pause.
"That may well be the case. Let's go see how everything is going." The man in blue follows Byleth with Robin and the woman closely behind. Making their way out of the village, they see Jeralt fighting which seems to be the leader of the group of bandits.
"Damn our luck that we meet a mercenary such as Jeralt the Blade Breaker!" The leader of the bandits cursed to himself, barely dodging away from one of Jeralt's attacks.
"I'm the one who should be complaining. Your actions caught me up in all this mess!" Jeralt grunts, dodging away from a few nearby bandits. An arrow strikes a third bandit from the tower as the group makes their way over.
The leader noticed the man in yellow shooting arrows from the tower. He motions a few of the bandits behind him to follow as he charges through the battlefield to reach him. Byleth and the others swiftly intercept. While Robin and the man in blue dealt with the smaller bandits, Byleth went straight for the leader.
"Outta my way, you nobody!" The leader yells out. Byleth grunts as he struggles to overpower the opponent. The woman in red once again jumps in to assist Byleth with a strike that breaks the confrontation. "I'm going to kill you punks!"
"I don't think so!" The woman proclaims, charging straight for the bandit leader. She wielded the axe with force, unleashing a flurry of attacks that the leader dodges with ease. He sidesteps, tripping the woman to the ground. "What?!"
"You royals at the academy may be good at mock battles. But this is the battlefield. There isn't a thing like fighting fair here!" The leader mocks, raising his axe to deal the final blow. In return, the woman unsheathes a dagger and stabs the man's leg. He topples back in pain. "Gah! You little brat!"
"It's just like you said. If an opponent isn't going to fight fair, then I shall fight to survive. By any means necessary." The woman proclaims, pulling herself up with the axe at her side.
"Perhaps nobles do have what it takes to fight on the battlefield," Byleth comments to himself, readying his sword in front of him. He was fascinated by the way the three new people were performing. It was easy to distinguish that while they were nobles, they had an aura that differentiated what he had seen from the jobs that he was given to by nobles that he labeled, snobby.
The leader of the bandits grunts, standing up with their axe in hand. Grinding their teeth in anger, they start charging towards Byleth and Edelgard with a few reinforcements at his sides.
"It seems that Edelgard and the mercenary is doing quite well against the leader. And Dimitri being backed up by the tactician is dealing with them with ease. Even some of them are running away. Guess I should be making my way down." The man in yellow starts climbing down from the watchtower.
"Here's how it's done!" Robin strikes another bandit before being back to back with Dimitri. He examines the area around them, noticing that the morale of the bandits surrounding him was swiftly waning as their leader was getting defeated by Edelgard and Byleth. Once they notice him falling down, they all start to run away.
"It would seem that they lost their will to fight. Though a few stragglers remain." Dimitri takes the moment to breathe before turning back to Robin. They noticed that the bandits around the leader start running away themselves. "But it would seem as if the battle is over. Thank you for your assistance."
"I'm glad that you guys listened to my advice as quickly as you did. If you guys weren't willing to listen, this battle may have gone differently." Robin places the sword in a holster in the side of his belt.
"Well, you are this group's tactician. You came up with a plan on the fly like it was second nature." Dimitri complimented with a smile. The two start making their way back to Edelgard and Byleth.
"Not exactly. I'm merely someone who this group found, yesterday. That was why Jeralt was hesitant to put me into battle." Robin explains, shaking his head to the point. "But you are right. I am a tactician by trade. I've given tactical advice to my country's kingdom in a few wars."
"That's quite the accomplishment of being a royal tactician. How abou-" Dimitri looks back as the two see the leader of the bandits rising back to their feet. "The bandit!"
"He got back up!" The two start running back to Byleth and Edelgard. Edelgard readies the dagger at her side, though she held some hesitation about the sudden second wind of the bandit.
"Don't just stand there!" Byleth yells out, pushing Edelgard to the side. Unfortunately, he didn't properly judge the distance between him and the bandit as he raises his axe to him. As the bandit is about to strike Byleth, it seems like the world is slowly coming to a halt.
'W-What is going on?'Robin has a sharp pain in his head as he noticed everything is slowing down. At first, it seemed like it was adrenaline from the situation that made everything seem slow, a common instance for Robin. But it felt like he was going slow, noticing that time has stopped still. And then without warning, time seemed to slowly move backward for him. Everyone's movements seem to be rewinding back around Robin. Suddenly, it came to a stop and he notices that he was just walking normally with Dimitri.
"That's quite the accomplishment of being a royal tactician. How abou-" Dimitri looks back as the two see the leader of the bandits rising back to their feet. "The bandit!"
"W-What?!" Robin was confused by the repeating events that took place before him. Dimitri rushes to the scene. Not seeing any answers, Robin quickly drops it and follows to try and stop the bandit leader.
"Stand back!" Byleth steps in front of Edelgard, smacking the bandit leader away with his sword. His axe falls onto the ground as he groans in pain. Realizing the dire situation he's in, he pulls himself up and retreats deeper into the forest.
"Is everything alright?" The man in yellow calls out, making his way from the forest that surrounded the watchtower. Dimitri and Robin appear at the same time, noticing that the bandit has already left.
"I'm fine," Edelgard responds with a small sigh of relief. Jeralt slowly makes his way over to the group, getting off his horse.
"Hey… Did you just…" Jeralt looked confused by the circumstance, much to the group's confusion. Before he could continue, a couple of heavy footsteps make their way to the village. Thinking that it may potentially be more bandits, he gets into a fighting stance.
"The Knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students!" A man who seems to be leading the group, wearing a knight's armor declared in a heroic stance. However, he sees that a few stragglers were left as he points to them. "Hey, the thieves are runny away! Go after them!"
The knight then makes his way to the group, taking notice of the clothing that they were wearing.
"Oh! It's Alois. About time you showed up." The man in yellow comments.
"The students seem to be unharmed. And… who's this?" The man looks over at Byleth, Jeralt, and Robin. Noticing who the man is after hearing his name, Jeralt curses to himself in tired frustration.
"Ugh… Why him?"
Hello everyone! My name is NexusMHX and welcome to my interpretation of what happens to Robin after he sacrifices himself when killing Grima. After finally completing FE3H, I've always wondered how Robin would be if he was in the world of Fodlan. While there have been a few fanfictions on this same idea, I wanted to put in my own interpretation into this. Robin has always been a personal favorite character of mine and the circumstances of this game made me wonder how his role in this world could take effect with the lore of this land being presented. Even the idea of how Robin being a member of the Officer Academies' staff may play a role in the influence of many of the characters at Gareg Mach. And since this fanfiction is mostly focused on Robin, it will tend to follow his perspective and thoughts. However, that's all I say on the matter. I don't want to give off too much information about the subject since it's just the pilot. But I will have another chapter shortly coming up. For now, this is NexusMHX signing off and I still don't know what I'm doing!