In case anyone is wondering about the honorifics, I took inspiration from the Fire Emblem drama CD... A nod to a certain reviewer for giving the slice of life ideas! The real trick is to fit them into the plot, of course. If there's a certain support conversation you'd like to see (preferably an existing one in-game), let me know.

Now to some real substance in the story!

Chapter seven: Tactician Awakened

4/10, Tuesday: Morning; ?

The world was a dark place, as if midnight had fallen on them. The sun had become a mere bright star in the sky and was the only source of light here. As for the other stars, there weren't any. The sky was just a dark black mass like a low ceiling. Just the mere sight of the empty sky was intimidating on its own, like it would crush them at some point.

Robin appeared stepping forward on a patch of wood and stone. It was staggering to walk forward through a wall of flames and suddenly end up feeling just fine. Maybe the fear factor was a little much for him. Nevertheless, once he had regained his balance Robin took a moment to examine his surroundings. He was standing in a stone courtyard, with two other stone clearings nearby separated by rivers and connected by stone bridges. It looked like the other two clearings led to this one from two directions, but it was hard to see with this much darkness.

It was like an endless evening. Thankfully, there were street lamps but ones that were lit by fire, not lightbulbs, and it was visible enough to see Robyn's figure nearby. The only natural thing to do was for Robin, Chrom, and Lissa to check on their friend.

"Robyn-chan, are you okay?" Robin said.

"Y-yes…" Robyn replied. "But where are we?"

"You really had us worried, you know!" Lissa said with arms on her hips. "You can't just go through an unknown wall of fire and expect not us being worried." She looked around her then, and then the uneasy feeling sank in. "But yeah, where are we? I thought you would know this, Robyn-san! Your… thingy brought us here, right?"

Lissa had a point, Robin thought. It was true that the shield had been with Robyn since the day they met her. It was suspicious too, because her behaviour showed that even though she was even willing to die to keep it safe, she didn't know how it worked either. Robyn was too much of a mystery.

"I don't know how it works. Honest!" Robyn protested. Fears were building inside her again like she was about to lose the very little trust she had gained with Chrom and Lissa. This wasn't even her fault to begin with, with the Fire Emblem and all. Did this life have to be a curse for her after all?

A gentle whisper came.

"Robyn-chan." It was Robin's voice. "Don't think too hard, okay? We're in the same boat as you."

Breathing deeply, Robyn relaxed. She then took a good look around her. "This place doesn't look familiar at all. It's so dark." Ignis Avenue was not evident at all here. In fact, none of her surroundings looked like Iris-shi. Looking above, the brightest star in the sky gave off a dim light but was enough to illuminate the courtyard around them. What was this place, though? It felt supernatural and out of place. No, now was not the time to worry about that. She needed to find the shield.

The Fire Emblem.

It was fortunate that the shield itself was flat on the ground in front of Robyn, as if it had landed properly from where Robyn had thrown it earlier. Actually that was exactly the case. Robyn knelt forward and clutched the shield, which had cooled down, for dear life. Then she put it back in her bag. There was also something about that shield that aroused Chrom's curiosity. It looked like something he had seen before. After Robyn had put away the shield, Chrom and Robin continued looking at the world around them. It was simply too dark to make sense of anything else beyond the lamps.

"Um… I don't mean to interrupt your observing, but I really think we should find a way out of here," Lissa said.

Then came the sound of a faint rumbling that signalled to the group of four that they were not alone. From one direction of the bridges came the slow but sure stampede of creatures, like zombies. They were a living nightmare on one hand, for they were living corpses. Each one wore something like a mask as if to symbolise dread, like something out of a freak horror movie. Only that these corpses were also armed too with weapons.

And they were making their way towards them. The sight of them filled Robyn's mind with the horrors of her world.

Running for life on the streets just to stay alive.

But there was no hope. The monsters were rampant on the streets of Iris-shi and humanity, it seemed, was on its last legs. The monsters ran about practically massacring anything that lived and breathed. The sky, like a black ceiling with shades of blood-red, had descended on her world and was on the verge of crushing it flat. How did her world come to this?

Just watching that made Robyn's heart wrench, and there was nothing she could do. She didn't want to see the killing around her, and there was no one she could turn to either. Screams of pain filled the air as she ran through Ignis Avenue toward the Iris-shi centre. Couldn't there be anyone who could help? Police? Military? But it didn't seem like help would come at all.

Her friends filled her thoughts, but Robyn could imagine them getting hunted down by these mindless monsters. But for the enormous dragon in the sky, a zombie apocalypse would have been appropriate to describe this situation. Robyn even thought of giving phone calls to her friends to check on them, but there was no time. If Robyn even thought of stopping once to call, but decided against it because she knew that would mean certain death.

The blood-red in the sky started becoming more vibrant, as blinding as sunlight. Perhaps a dying sun might have been another way to describe the colour. However, what looked like falling stars in the sky were actually giant flaming meteors descending on the earth. When the first one landed, it caused tremoring of great magnitude while demolishing everything that it had landed on. Robyn's heart wrenched again. If the monsters hadn't killed her friends, these meteors would certainly have.

She had nowhere to go.

Robyn stayed frozen where she was, unable to move. It was only when Chrom had pulled Robyn away that Robyn regained her senses. With no need to ask what to do, Robyn followed Chrom and the others to get away.

Then she felt an intense pain run through her head, like something was overwhelming it. Clutching her head in agony, Robyn fell to her knees.

"Robyn-chan?!" Chrom shouted.

?/?

Robyn found herself no longer in the darkened world but was back in familiar surroundings. It was a dimly lit sanctuary with a stone altar at the back. So this place was no hallucination and the last time Robyn had been here affirmed it was not only in a dream. This was where she had encountered Naga, and also when she received the Fire Emblem. It was in this sanctuary where her journey began.

"Welcome back," Naga greeted. "How are you coping with yourself now?"

Robyn sighed. There was so much to take in right now that she personally felt overwhelmed. First meeting Robin, then adjusting to life again, and entering another world. All that on top of meeting the Divine Dragon herself.

"I just don't get why it had to be me…" Robyn complained. "But I have questions, especially about the Fire Emblem…"

"That answer will come soon enough. Just ask one of your friends, and as I told you before, keep a close eye on the hours of daylight you have," Naga replied. "We have very little time, Robyn, so know this. It is time to grant you a little more power that will prove useful in your position right now. It will be familiar to you. You play with this all the time."

Before Robyn could say another word, her world faded to black.

4/10, Tuesday: Morning; ?

In the blink of an eye, Robyn was back to where she was, with Chrom looking at her with concern. But things looked a little different after that blink of an eye. She could see the world around her outlined like grids on a game board, plus even 'seeing' information over not just everyone's heads but also on the monsters incoming. It was also overwhelming to her senses at first but she managed to stay standing.

"We need to move to the higher ground behind us," Robyn said suddenly, turning around.

"Wait, why?" Chrom said.

"Just trust me! We have no choice!" Robyn said.

She directed the group to follow her lead. It wasn't just out of intuition that she wanted to go to higher ground, but also because she could see the way out. There was some kind of a beacon – like a highlighted square – that informed her that was the way to go.

"It's strange," she said. "Here on the battlefield, I can… Well, I can 'see' things."

Robin, Chrom, and Lissa looked at Robyn carefully as if worried for her. Was Robyn hallucinating? But just to be sure, Chrom asked what sort of things Robyn could see.

"The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle… It's really hard to explain, but I can actually see what direction they're coming from at this moment," Robyn said.

"So you're saying you size up the enemy at a glance? And get information on equipment too?" Chrom asked. "That seems useful."

"It's also for the same reason I can 'see' the exit in front of us," Robyn said. "Don't ask me how I know this, please! But I know now that this… thing–" She paused to lift up the Fire Emblem. "–can open the way back home. Now if I can apply what I know of it now…"

She took the Fire Emblem closer to the highlighted square where it started to glow as bright as it did earlier. But before she took another step, she saw something else. Looking at Robin, she said, "There's an item behind you. Go pick it up and bring it back here."

Throwing the shield onto the spot, the same wall of flames opened up a rift in the space in front. There, they could see the familiar road of Ignis Avenue on the other side.

"Just go!" Robyn commanded. "Those things can't pass through the flames, so we'll be fine."

Chrom walked through first, followed by Lissa. When that was done, Robin had returned with the item that Robyn somehow 'knew' was there. It was a gold coin of some sort. But as they had no time to examine it, Robyn directed Robin to go through the flames as well.

4/10, Tuesday: Afternoon; Ignis Avenue

Now that everyone was away from that shadowy world and no trace of those monsters could be found in their world right now, the group of four found themselves back in the comforting sunlight of Iris-shi, and below the foot of the hill leading up to Robin's home. But there was one difference in that the day felt later than it was when they entered the flames.

"It's… still Tuesday, right?" Lissa said. "We didn't time travel or anything?"

They also had their bags with them, and despite passing through flames no one was hurt or burned, neither were there marks on their bags. Chrom checked his watch for the time and date.

"It's… past lunch. And no, Lissa, it's still Tuesday," he said, to worried looks from Lissa, Robin, and Robyn. "Don't fret! I can pull a few strings with the staff, and make up some kind of excuse." On saying that, Chrom laughed nervously. "Let's not make it a habit though. We have afternoon classes, so let's make the most of them."

Still dazed by what had happened, Robyn nodded and then put the Fire Emblem back in her bag. They began walking towards Ylisstol High School once more, but she could feel Chrom wasn't done, especially with her.

"And one more thing, Robyn-chan," Chrom added. "We need to talk later."

Robyn paused briefly, unsure of how to respond. "Yes, Chrom-kun."

4/10, Tuesday: After School; Ylisstol High School, Student Council Room

It was no surprise that Robyn and Robin were grilled by Ms. Flavia for missing class the moment they walked back to their homeroom. Questions were raised how they both were covered in dirt and sweat. Were it not for Chrom's intervention on behalf of his older sister, Robin and Robyn would have been sentenced to further grilling. But that wasn't happening. Instead, they found themselves catching up on the day's missing studies and then met Chrom and Lissa at the student council room.

Frederick and Gaius were also present, along with the rest of the Shepherds. Clearly, Frederick had been frantic that Chrom and Lissa had disappeared, and immediately set about putting Robyn in chains (literally). But Robin and Chrom assured nothing was out of the ordinary, to which Frederick demanded an explanation. And so, Robyn was sitting once again before the audience of the Shepherds like a witness called to speak in court. Unlike the other day, Robyn was no longer bound to the chair and could move her arms and legs freely. No doubt Chrom and Robin had questions in mind.

The session opened with Chrom explaining a very brief outline of the events that had occurred in the morning, and attested by Lissa and Robin to reduce doubts. When Chrom had finished speaking, he was met by either puzzled faces or confused ones.

"I know you all will either have not understood anything what I said, or are doubting it, but such circumstances have little from for doubt while Robyn-chan exists here," he said, then turned to Robyn. "If you will, Robyn-chan, explain yourself."

Robyn crossed her arms and pondered, deciding on her words carefully. "Let's assume you believe I come from an alternate world. But my world is no more – gone – destroyed by… a dragon." Gosh. The memories of her past life were starting to come back. "Long story short, I should have died, but then I met the divine dragon, who then bestowed me that shield you see in my bag. Supposedly it could permit her to intervene in this world, and until today I didn't know how it worked."

She went on, seeing that no one raised any questions nor objections. "It's… really hard to explain, but when we were in that world, I could somehow 'see' things in that world. I could see where those monsters moved in real-time, and somehow naturally know how things worked there. That shield is no exception." Worried if everyone was branding her insane, she added, "You have to believe me!"

"Calm down, Robyn-chan. I don't doubt you," Lissa said, briefly looking at her brother for affirmation. "Besides, if we hadn't been there ourselves, I would have believed you less." She egged her brother with her eyes to say something.

Chrom, trying to be rational, then spoke for the first time since entering the room. "Okay, Robyn-chan. Let's assume that what you're saying is true, and I don't doubt you, by the way. Then we should ask, what is the purpose of that shield? As far as we know, it allows us to go to that world."

That reminded Robyn about her purpose in this world.

She looked at her fellow Shepherds, took a deep breath, and said, "Believe what you all will, but there is an imminent disaster coming to this world. What I went through in my reality will likely repeat in your reality now. I…" She couldn't help it. Tears were starting to flow from her eyes once more. "Th-there was nothing I could have done to save my world – my friends! B-but the divine dragon gave you and I the means to prevent it – starting with this shield, the Fire Emblem. She said something about watching the hours of daylight. If – if only I knew this sooner, my friends w-wouldn't h-have…"

She looked like she was about to break down again, but this time Lissa offered her a tissue, which Robyn gratefully took to wipe her tears. At the same time, Chrom walked over to look at the Fire Emblem in Robyn's bag.

"I'll be honest, Robyn-chan. Seeing this Fire Emblem of yours is somewhat familiar to me," he said. "If you don't mind, can I borrow it for the night?"

Once she had wiped her tears, Robyn yawned. "I'm tired. Can we wait until tomorrow? I don't want to give this to you just yet. I have to supervise you."

"I'm also sure this is a lot to take in at all," Robin added. "We should rest and let these thoughts sink in our brains. Believe me, I can understand if you think we're speaking nonsense, but…"

Chrom looked at Frederick, then to everyone around. "Let's adjourn for now. It's still the middle of the week, so in the meantime let's focus on our studies. When we have more time, let's meet again. In any case, we should all get some sleep."

Robyn supposed there was some comfort in that no one blatantly rejected her, or Chrom and Lissa, come to that. However, Chrom mentioned he wanted to examine the Fire Emblem more. Was there something he had in mind? The Chrom in her world had never acted like this before.

Again, if there's a certain pairing you'd like to see, a slice of life episode, or a certain 'support' conversation, let me know.