Chapter IV – Hidden Power

"...H-huh?" I stuttered. What did she just say? I have power like her? What does that even mean?

"Oh, n-nothing," she turned away. She seemed very nervous. She stayed looking at the floor for a moment and then looked up, but didn't make eye contact this time. "I'm sorry, that was unbecoming of me. It seems my words outpace my thoughts. I must still be groggy, I apologize."

"No, it's alright. What did you mean, though?"

"Oh it's… nothing, really. Please don't trouble yourself with it." She tried to hide the concerned look on her face.

"O-okay. Well, should we get going then? The rest of the group is getting ready to move," I suggested. She nodded pensively, her eyes still scanning the ground, and we walked on to join the rest of the Shepherds. What did she mean by that? I don't have any kind of special power… do I?

I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Her expression didn't change. She was clearly thinking about that comment still. What could she have noticed about me that she didn't see when we first met a few minutes before?

It certainly changed her tone. That much was clear to me, but it was all the more unnerving because of it. We joined the rest of the Shepherds in marching, but clearly both of us were still very much alone in this realm of thought. I may not have known what she was thinking, but it was clear to me that she probably didn't understand it very much either. Wait, what am I saying? She's the Voice of Naga. Of course she understands it. I just don't get why she's suddenly so distant. I've never done a bad thing in my life. That I know of, anyway.

That was my biggest problem. I didn't know what the majority of my life had been like so far. I could only remember a few years back, when I first met Chrom. As far as I knew, I just woke up in a field one day and met them. I had no memory of my life before then. Where I came from was a total mystery to me. I didn't know who my own family was. That was the most troubling thing to me.

The Shepherds were like family. They treated me like one of their own from the very beginning, even if Frederick was liable to accuse me of being a spy once or twice. Maybe I was a spy, but I just didn't remember it. None of that mattered to me now, though. All that mattered was that I had to repay the Shepherds for their kindness. Without them, I was certain I'd have died within an hour of waking up in that field. Murdered by the same ruthless brigands that we fought so many battles against. Sure, I woke up with some memory of the elements of strategy, but no strategy helps you beat an entire group of savages like them on your own.

Chrom insisted I didn't owe them anything. He told me that it was what he would have done for anyone, and he'd gladly do the same again. Some may have considered his kindness naive considering that he was the monarch of Ylisse and any old assassin could infiltrate his ranks that way, but not me. I knew that Chrom's way was well founded. After all, what was the point in being a leader if your people were miserable? If the people felt like their leader didn't treat them as an equal, then they wouldn't have faith in them. They might begin to distrust their leader or the cause. I didn't consider myself a leader in the Shepherds, but I knew that they looked up to me. That was why I didn't accept any failures in my strategies. If even one Shepherd was seriously injured during a battle, then I had failed as a tactician.

I defended the Shepherds with my life in every battle. They were like family to me. But they weren't the same. It wasn't anything wrong with them. Sometimes I just felt like something was missing because I never knew how I grew up. On the bright side, it made me value my friendships with the Shepherds that much more.

I was getting too lost in my thoughts. How can I distract myself? Who to talk to, who to talk to? Oh!

Lucina approached me looking as grim as ever. If anyone else besides Lucina or Frederick had that look, I'd assume something terrible happened. But Lucina especially seemed to always be down about something. Not that I didn't understand why she always seemed down. Knowing that there was world calamity in your future was enough to make anyone depressed.

"Hello, Robin. Are you faring alright?" she asked.

"Oh, hi, Lucina. Yes, I'm doing fine. Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed upset about something," she said, looking up to meet my eyes as we walked alongside the rest of the group. Was it that obvious?

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine," I lied. I trusted Lucina in battle and she was certainly a friend of mine, but she wasn't the kind of friend I'd share a personal matter like this with.

"Well, if you're sure," she said doubtfully.

"What about you? You look like something's on your mind."

"Oh, it's n-nothing. I'm fine," she said. Well, we certainly had one thing in common. We didn't like to talk about our problems. Oh, and we were terrible liars. Neither of her parents were good liars, so I couldn't expect much from her.

"You can tell me, Lucina, it's alright," I assured. "You don't have to hold back just because something's on my mind."

"So you admit it, then?" Damn, she was good.

"Alright, yes, fine," I put my hands up in surrender. "It's just not something I've talked about to anyone and I prefer to keep it private."

"If you say so, Robin," she acquiesced. "I admit, I did come here to talk to you."

"Well then, go on. Not much else to do while we march, anyway." She nodded and looked down as she started to talk.

"Listening to Lady Tiki made me think about my future," she began. I had a feeling that's what this was about.

"Oh? What did she say that made you think about it?" I asked. I was still confused about what Tiki had said myself.

"About the gemstones. I know something terrible happens to them in my future," her voice lowered.

"Like what?"

"I… don't know. All I know is that in my future, those gemstones don't exist. In fact…" she trailed off.

"In fact, what?" I was getting worried. She practically whispered the next words out of her mouth.

"The Fire Emblem has been lost in my future."

"W-what? How is that even possible?" I had always assumed such a powerful object to be too great to be destroyed.

"I don't know for sure. I didn't see it happen, but the stories go that Grima shattered the Emblem when his true power was awakened," she finally found the courage in her voice again.

"That's awful," I struggled to find the words to express my sorrow.

"Even worse than that, the world order started coming apart when the Emblem was destroyed. The number of Risen roaming the world tripled. Even Falchion's power diminished significantly."

"Is there anything we can do to prevent this?" I asked.

"I can't be certain. I can only say that the Emblem wasn't destroyed until after Grima was resurrected. If we can prevent his resurrection, then we'd be fine," she said.

"Well, we already have two of the gemstones, and Tiki says they're very useful. I'm sure we'll win!" I had to try to reassure her. It was the least I could do.

"Well, yes, thank you, Robin," she sighed. "I just… wish we had something more to go on. We have no idea where two of the stones are and even if we did, we still don't know what to do with the fully assembled Fire Emblem once we retrieve the other stones."

"What? I thought you used the Fire Emblem to obtain Naga's blessing in your future," I said. After all, she had the activated Falchion, even if its power was much less than what it should be.

"No. The Emblem had already been destroyed by the time I was old enough to fight. Fortunately, Naga had already been awakened by someone else, but her power was much weaker as a consequence of the loss of the Emblem."

"But I thought Naga herself created the Fire Emblem? Isn't that how the tales go?" I didn't know much about legends, but I knew that much.

"Yes, that's why it's so confusing to me. Naga wasn't like the stories when I met her. She appeared much weaker. She said that the very act of sending us back in the past may kill her. To this day I don't know if she survived," Lucina said.

"Kill Naga? I didn't know that was possible."

"Neither did I. Many of these things don't make sense, Robin, that's why we need more information," she looked up with pleading eyes. "You seem closer to Lady Tiki than the rest of us. Might you consider asking her for any knowledge she has about it?" I gulped. Did I seem closer to her than everyone else? We had barely spoken.

"We're not t-that close," I stuttered. Even just thinking about her challenged my composure.

"Robin, she looks at you differently. I don't know why, but she seems to trust you. I never met the Voice in my future, but it's been said that she doesn't do well around people. If she is more comfortable around you for any reason, then you might be able to befriend her more easily," Lucina said.

"Maybe you're right." I was going to have to talk to Tiki eventually. Maybe having a reason to break the ice again would make it less awkward.

"I know it's not my place to ask, but please, Robin. Lady Tiki has lived for thousands of years. Even if she doesn't know what happens in the future, she might have seen something like it in the past!" Lucina begged. She tensed up. "B-but, if you don't want to, I u-understand."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," I said as I swore I saw tears well up in her eyes. I scratched her head and looked down at her. Her head was bowed down. I figured she must be trying to hide that she was crying. "Listen. You're very important to me, Lucina. If it means that much to you, I'll ask Tiki what she knows, okay?"

"O-okay. Thank you, R-Robin," she blinked away tears. It was the first time I'd ever seen her get so emotional. I stroked her hair.

"Of course. Are you sure you're alright?" I asked her.

"I'm f-fine now, thank you," she spoke softly before abruptly coming in for a hug. I returned it and held her tightly. A moment later she released me and stepped back quickly, "S-sorry. I hope I didn't—"

"Hey, no, it's okay. You were feeling emotional. Don't worry about it," I said in my most gentle voice, my lips forming a smile on their own.

She nodded vigorously and we both turned forward to focus on walking with the group. I could see her off to my side, a light pink blush staining her cheek. Was she really that embarrassed just from being emotional around others? I hoped not, at least not around me. I knew Lucina felt bound to her role as the savior of her future. Much like me, she felt like she owed it to her friends to succeed. Though she never did speak much of her friends in the future, I figured she must have some people that were counting on her to succeed. Even if she didn't, she certainly held herself to a high enough standard to feel burdened by it.

I felt sympathy for her. She never seemed to smile like the others did. She tried, but it looked more like a staged display of emotion than genuine happiness. Something she did just to make others think she was okay even though she wasn't. I tried every so often to talk to her more and relate to her, but she was pretty guarded most of the time. Whenever she did open up to me, even if only for a few minutes like today, I did my best to help her feel comfortable. From the way she behaved whenever that happened, I assumed she didn't open up to anyone else.

Even though we were both looking straight ahead, it still felt like we were close. Well, we were close, only a few feet away from each other. I glanced beside me to make sure she was okay.

"I'm going to ask her now, okay?" I said quietly so no one would hear besides the two of us.

She didn't answer. She just nodded and gave a little smile. I returned the smile before I walked off to find Tiki.

After a few minutes of walking through the ranks of Shepherds scattered across the field we were crossing, I finally found Tiki. She was near the back of the group, off on her own. Say'ri was nowhere to be seen, which I thought was odd.

I walked over to her and she glanced at me as I approached. Her expression looked… neutral. I wondered if she was still flustered from earlier. I certainly was.

"T-Tiki, hello," I said before immediately cursing myself silently for starting off the conversation awkwardly.

"Greetings, Robin. I wanted to apologize to you—"

"Oh no! Please don't apologize, Tiki, it's me who should be apologizing," I cut her off. The anxiety I felt was overwhelming me. I didn't want her to feel odd around me.

"You? Apologizing for what?" she tilted her head inquisitively.

"Oh, I… I figured I did something to make you feel uncomfortable before. You seemed upset."

"That is what I wished to talk to you about," she said with a serious tone.

"O-of course! Go ahead, please!"

She shook her head. "Please relax, Robin. It is I who has made the error."

"You what?" I felt so confused. What did she do wrong?

"As you may well know, I am a manakete. Though my body looks mostly like a human's, I am not entirely human," she said.

"Okay. I t-think I understand. You're a divine dragon, aren't you?" I hoped I was remembering the stories about her correctly. Gods, what if the stories weren't even right? I would embarrass myself again!

"That's correct." Phew. At least I wasn't totally clueless. "As a divine dragon, I have certain senses that humans do not. One of my senses made me assume something about you that was false. This was my folly and mine alone. Please do not blame yourself."

"Wait, what did it make you think about me?" I asked. It couldn't have been anything good given the way she reacted before.

"Oh, it was, um," she paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully. "I sensed something from within you. A power that I once sensed from others that I knew long ago."

"Ah, I understand. So you thought I was like a person you once knew?"

"Not q-quite," she stammered. "Please do not misunderstand me." Now I was really getting worried. Why wouldn't she tell me?

"I'm sorry, Tiki, but I don't understand," I said as calmly as I could. "What is this power you sensed in me?"

"It's the power of…" she clenched her fists and looked up at me. "It's the power of a dragon, Robin."

"Wait, WHAT?" I practically shouted.

"P-please, calm down," she said, her eyes finally connecting with my own. "As I s-said, I simply was not thinking. Clearly I have l-lost my touch over the centuries."

I couldn't believe what was happening. The Voice of Naga was standing in front of me, her hands trembling and her voice shaky, telling me that I had dragon powers. Whatever that meant, I wasn't sure. But I knew it couldn't be true.

"That can't be right, Tiki! I'm a human, after all," the words fell out without any thought. Stop, slow down. You're going to make her feel self-conscious if you keep talking like this. Or not. She is a goddess, after all. Goddesses don't get self-conscious, do they?

"R-Robin, please," she took my hands into her own. "I didn't mean to frighten you. As I said, I haven't been around another dragon for many centuries. My abilities are unrefined right now."

"O-okay," I breathed the words and tried to calm myself. She seemed to be telling the truth. "Wait, but what about Nowi? Don't you sense this from her?"

"...No. It is true that I can sense Nowi's abilities, but those that I sense from you are unique. The more I think about it, I realize I have never seen any like yours before," she explained. "So perhaps I am mistaken and your aura is entirely unrelated to dragonkin."

"Might Nowi be able to sense my abilities too? Whatever abilities they might be."

"I doubt this. Nowi is still young and immature. I haven't conversed with her extensively in recent years, so I couldn't say for certain, but based on my own experience I would say she can just barely tell who is manakete and who is human based on her special senses," she said and released my hands. I forgot that 1000 years of age qualified as young in her world.

"You haven't spoken in recent years? Have you met before?" I inquired.

"Yes, a few centuries back now. However, even now I do not think she would possess the ability to sense your power. Besides for Naga herself, I am the most powerful living member of the divine dragon tribe. My ability to sense things like this so early in my life could be described as somewhat extraordinary and ahead of what most manaketes are able to do."

"Ah. How much younger is Nowi than you?" I asked. A moment later it occurred to me that I had just asked a woman her age. How daft can you be, man?

My foolishness aside, she seemed willing to answer. "Nowi is roughly two millennia younger than I."

As embarrassing as it was the first time, I figured it couldn't hurt to confirm. "So you're three thousand years old?"

She chuckled under her breath and smiled, finally bringing that familiar euphoria back to our conversation. I had only spoken with her once before this, and yet it felt as if I'd experienced her joyous smile a million times before.

"Yes, you're quite right. Nowi is the youngest member of my tribe. None have been born for quite some time," she said.

"Really? No new divine dragons have been born in a thousand years?" I was shocked.

"...Yes, that's right," her smile vanished. I couldn't understand why it upset her, but I felt bad that it did. "No new dragons are born in this day and age."

"Why is that?" I hoped that question wasn't too intrusive, especially since she was probably one of the only dragons left that was able to bear children. My cheeks flushed at the thought.

"I was told once when I was a young child, probably about Nowi's age," she began, but she seemed to be getting worked up by the question.

"T-Tiki, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if it's difficult," I assured her.

She nodded. She looked thankful, or maybe it was relief. "Yes, thank you."

"I was just curious is all. Please don't worry yourself for me," I said.

"Robin, I do wish to tell you. Just, maybe not today," she said.

"That's fine. Whenever you'd like, Tiki," I nodded a little too aggressively. She said she wanted to tell me. What could that mean? Why did she want to tell me about such a difficult part of her past?

"Well, with that topic past us, what is it you wished to speak about?" she dragged me back to reality.

I sighed. She probably wouldn't appreciate going into another serious subject like this, but I promised Lucina.

"I came to talk to you about the future."

Chapter IV Author's Note:

Hey again, folks! Thank you to all of you that reviewed the previous chapters. A special thanks to Antex-The Legendary Zoroark for reviewing every chapter! Reading constructive reviews inspires me to keep writing, and I'm glad to know you all are enjoying the story.

This chapter was fun for me to write because it's the first big foray into the overarching plot points that make up The Duality of the Emblem. Expect to see these small details developed over the course of the story. But that's all you're getting from me for now, no spoilers! XD

Oddly enough, I started planning out this story by deciding what the ending would be. So I had the beginning planned out and I have the end planned out, and now I'm just filling out the in between. This is my first attempt at writing published fan fiction, so I have no idea if how I'm doing it is conventional, but I'm having loads of fun writing for you guys! I hope it's as fun for you to read as it is for me to write it.

Until next time!