Fire Emblem Fates
Chapter 7: Reunion
Odin was walking back with his fellow retainer back to Nohr, where they are to report to Xander about the gang fights as well as Leo's whereabouts.
"So what the hell happened to me again?" Niles asked, referencing him waking up on the ground an alley.
"Aye, my fellow warrior. Strong enough to take down any wyvern riders but a few too many beers could prove to be his downfall." Odin replied, causing Niles to roll his eyes.
"But I don't remember us going to a tavern." Niles questioned.
"Once again, too much alcohol proves to be your downfall." Odin responded. A mischievous smile crept upon Niles' face.
"How many bitches did I get?" Niles asked. Odin was flustered by this sudden question.
"Umm, one rather ravishing young female whom deserted you by morrow." Odin replied, causing Niles' smile to disappear.
"Aw, whatever. I still got all the girls back home to keep me company. Camilla, Selena and Peri among the rest of them." Niles said confidently. This time Odin rolled his eyes.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch my dear Niles. All three of those ladies are way out of your league." Odin said.
"Ugh, you're right. You know what the damn problem is. You. All the girls fawn over you and you're dark mage outfit that they hardly recognize my charm and wit." Niles complained.
"But need you worry not my friend. For Odin Dark's power is far too much for him to risk the life of a loved one." Odin said.
"My god, Leo could not have picked a weirder retainer along with me." Niles complained again. They continued this bickering until they reached the castle. Little to Niles' knowledge, he was being followed by a man who wore a purple cloak and white hair, with a thunder tome in one hand and a levin sword in the other. They arrived and Odin requested to be alone in his dark chambers to slumber the aching beast inside of him. When he got to his room, the window cracked open and in came the cloaked figure.
"Robin, my fellow Chosen One. Now that we can finally greet and mingle with each other, how goes it! How goes my father and mother? Are they well? And my darling Cynthia, oh I sure hope I did not fret her so." Odin announced. Robin landed a clean left hook on Odin's face, catching him by surprise.
"What do you mean, 'how goes it!?' You disappeared! You, Severa and Inigo all disappeared without so much as a note to where you left and why!. You worried everyone! Your family! How could you three do that!" Robin screamed, causing more ruckus than originally intended.
"I apologize for me and my other two colleagues. But the fate of this world was at stake my friend. We could not abandon a world in need of existence from legendary heroes." Odin said.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to! Lissa, Ricken and Cynthia have all been so worried about you Odin. Save your apologies for them." Robin huffed.
"...How are they doing?" Odin asked, nervous to hear the answer.
"Ricken has not left his studies hoping to find some answer or closure regarding your disappear. Poor Lissa has been stuck in her room, bawling her poor eyes out, praying to Naga that you were safe somewhere but never knowing for sure. And Cynthia, don't even get me started on her. She has lost all sense of her sparkly personality and heroic nature for a more realist outlook, searching the lands in hopes that she might one day find her love." Robin explained. Odin gulped.
"Gods, I'm sorry. Mother, Father, Cynthia. I hope you can forgive me once this is all over." Odin apologized.
"So where are the other two. Inigo and Severa." Robin asked, growing more furious. Odin gulped once again. He felt pity for the poor Inigo who was about to face his old tactician's wrath. Inigo had married Morgan, Robin's daughter, back home and Robin was sure eager to lecture the poor kid regarding his commitment. Not only did Inigo cause his wife a lot of worry, but also his father, mother and his sister, Lucina, also known as Robin's wife.
"I pray to the almighty Naga to spare Inigo." Odin thought and then he said, "Uh, Inigo went with his other retainer Peri with Xander to intercept a traitorous band's movement. Severa is out training some troops." Odin said.
"Alright well let's go find her." Robin concluded. Odin was worried that Robin was going to lecture Severa like he did to him and got in the way and said,
"Before you go any further, I need you to know it was all my fault we went. I convinced the other two to go. Severa in particular was against the idea, but I convinced her to come regardless. Keep their punishments to a minimum, they don't deserve it." Odin said, surprising Robin.
"No you didn't." Robin bluntly said, catching Odin by surprise. "Nobody would ever leave the comfort of their family, home and peace to charge straight into battle unless they themselves wanted to. Severa and Inigo may have been skeptical but they were not simply convinced by you." Robin saw the look of failure in Odin's eyes and realized how much independence he was grown. The Owain he knew would not have defended Inigo or Severa, and it was clear to Robin that their bond has grown and most likely they have all matured past when Robin last saw them. "But…, due to your growing level of maturity, I guess I'll let Severa's lecture be a little less strict. But no promises for Inigo." Robin complied.
"Thank you, Robin. The Chosen one thanks you. But before we go further, you need to know that should you be caught here, you will most likely be executed. And my name here is Odin, Severa's is Selena and Inigo's is Laslow." Odin warned.
"I'm going to call Inigo whatever the hell I please." Robin said, but Odin probably couldn't blame him. Odin forgot how long they've been gone, and those have all been years of worry they have all caused their family. He often wished he could go back, and cuddle with his mom and tell her tales mof heroes like he used to do. And his father teaching him all of his new magical studies. It brought a tear to Odin's eye, and caught Robin's attention.
"I'm sorry for bringing back all the memories of Ylisstol you were probably trying to suppress, but I'm here on a mission as well. And it's to bring you home." Robin said. Odin snapped out of it and said,
"Of course, heroes are nothing without their missions. You have yours and I have mine, and sometimes heroes' missions become intertwined within each other." Odin said.
"There's the Owain.. Urh sorry Odin I remember." Robin said.
Once they arrived at the training grounds Selena was training the troops, they came inside and hid behind a crate of boxes.
"Alright you losers. Remember that pegasi are vulnerable to arrows. Sometimes they can be hard to hit due to their speed and elevation, so today we're going to be practicing hitting a flying target. Grab a bow and quiver and get in your stations." Robin heard a familiar speak. He peeked his head and saw Severa with a short girl with blue hair and black clothing
"Wow, I can't believe Severa is teaching those guys how to kill pegasus knights, when her mother was a captain of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights." Robin thought. Odin whispered a plan into Robin's ear and then cleared his throat and walked onto the field,
"Forgive my intrusion, fellow heroes in training. Odin Dark requests the presence of your red haired teacher to discuss the situation in the prison." Odin said, and Selena walked over to him quickly.
"Take over for now." Selena said to her blue haired friend. "I wonder what Odin needs me for." The three Ylisseans had come up with a code whenever they wanted to discuss something regarding their old world. 'Situation in the prison' worked often because most of the people in the castle believed there was a prison, when in fact there was none in the castle. The real prison was a couple miles north where few knew the location of.
"So, Odin. What's the situation? Did you finally figure out how to send messages back home. Because if so, I already called dibs on first one." Selena said, and Robin smiled within the shadows he was hiding in.
"Well no I haven't figured out how to, but nonetheless I have received a message from Ylisse regardless." Odin said and on cue, Robin rushed out of the shadows and grabbed Selena by the waist and spun her around, causing her great shock.
"Who the hell is this and put me down!" Selena screamed, catching the attention her training partner. Robin put the red head down and she turned around to see who her assailant was, and much to her shock, it was her Ylissean tactician whom she embarrassingly crushed on in her early Shepard days. "Robin! Oh my god, I missed you. What are you doing here! How's my mom? How's Gerome?" She hugged her tactician and put a smile on his face.
"I'm good, Severa, I'm good. As for your mom and Gerome, they're worried sick about you! You just left without any warning as to where. You owe them an apology when you get home." Robin said, happy to see Severa again. Robin and Severa were good friends thanks in part due to Robin being the one in charge of Severa whenever she got in trouble.
"I missed you so much!" Severa said, with tears in her eyes.
"I missed you too, Severa." The tactician said as he patted the crying girl in his arms. Odin was slightly jealous that he got a punch to the face and a lecture whereas Severa got the comfort of Robin in her arms, but he shoved it aside when he told himself that 'heroes don't get jealous of the lady'. Robin left Severa for as long as she needed, and when she had had enough, she got up and said,
"What are you doing here and how did you get here?" Selena said.
"Well, my job is to return you two and Inigo home. As for how I got here, I'm not too sure myself." Robin said. They were interrupted when the short blue haired girl came from behind the corner and was confused as to who Robin was. Selena quickly took two silver coins from her pocket.
"Here Beruka, this is to keep this reunion quiet." Selena said, and Beruka took it silently and left. "So, you were saying?"
"Who is that?" Robin asked.
"That's my fellow retainer Beruka. She usually will do anything for the right price. Kind of like Gregor, don't you think?" Selena said, being flooded by memories of the Shepard's.
"I believe the maiden had asked you a question, my fellow hero. She had asked on how you had arrived to this world." Odin stated, gloriously.
"Well, I already answered. I don't know. The only thing I know is I was hit by a blinding light when I chanted the words to some ancient spell, and then I was here." Robin said.
"Whatever! Who cares about that? Can you bring us home, Robin?" Selena asked, with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Ugh… actually. I don't think so. I don't have a way to bring us home." Robin sheepishly admitted.
"And there in fact lies the problem. But no fear! For Odin proposes a deal. Robin will fight with Odin and Selena for as long as he is unable to find a way to teleport us back to Ylisse. Once Robin has figured out how, we will leave Nohr and go back home." Odin proposed, earning nods from both Selena and Robin.
"We need to find you a room. That shouldn't be too hard to find though, most of the rooms in the castle are empty. Here let's go search for one right now." Selena said, in an uncharacteristically happy mood. She snuck Robin across the halls, and Odin went back to his chamber. She knew that them being caught would probably be a direct death sentence from King Garon. Once Selena arrived at the room, she opened the door and inside was a small but cozy bed.
"Voila, make yourself at home! My room is two doors to the left, so if you need anything, please come knock on my door. Odin's room is on the other side of the castle." Selena said, until Robin realized why.
"Am I in the girl's wing?" Robin asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Yep, don't worry. You'll be fine. You've always been a killer ladies man." Selena chuckled, remembering the days when all the girls would place bets on who would get the dreamy master tactician. Severa and the other girls from the future were not allowed to bet, due to their knowledge of the future. Cherche won in the end with her bold Lucina prediction, catching many by surprise. Severa remembered being amused by how many girls predicted Robin with her mother.
"Stop, Severa. You're making me blush." Robin sheepishly said.
"Well, it's true! Miriel was the only Shepard girl who didn't want to absolutely get in bed with you, and that's saying something." Selena said in a much more casual manner than the message suggested, causing Robin even more embarrassment.
"Please can we change the subject? And close the door." Robin asked. Selena did as asked, and then plopped down on his bed. She suddenly got very serious.
"Robin?" She asked in her soft voice. "How's my mother doing?" Robin realized the time for games were over and stopped unpacking to look at Severa. "Please, be honest." Robin sighed and replied,
"Not too well I'm afraid. She's often see around the castle with tears in her eyes, or searching the lands for you. She's stopped talking to most of the shepards, barring me, Chrom, Sumia and Gerome. She still hasn't accepted you disappearance. She couldn't lose you like she lost your father." Robin answered truthfully. Selena let out a sigh and remembered the death of her father, Lon'qu. He died saving Cordelia and Severa from an incoming Valmese cavalry. His sacrifice allowed the two to escape but they could not forget that battle. Severa remembered the last words her father said to her.
"The life of your mother is now in your hands. Please take of her, and make sure she finds a way to move on." Severa still hasn't been able to fulfill her promise to her father, and she had to make it out of here to make it up to him.
"Thank you Robin. So, how's your family? Lucina doing good? And how about Morgan? She still causing trouble?"
"Yeah they're still staying strong. Although I doubt my sudden disappearance will help their mood. That's why I need to go back as soon as possible. Lucina and Morgan don't deserve that from me." Robin said.
"Yeah, same with my mom. I should be there to take care of her. But until this war's over, I can't." Severa sighed. "Why did you come over here?"
"Morgan… She missed Inigo. A lot. She often required me or Lucina to stay with her during bad nights. I just wanted to make her pain stop and see my baby girl smile again." Robin replied. Selena stared hard into Robin's eyes, and saw the look not of a tactician or warrior, but of a father, who cared about his child.
"Lucina and Morgan are very lucky to have you, Robin. Honestly, I'm jealous they're so close to you, and I don't get jealous often." Selena said, with a cheeky grin on her face. Robin smiled as well, knowing that Severa never did get jealous. They heard a voice coming from outside.
"Selena, dear. Why aren't you training the troops with Beruka? You know she scares them sometimes." It was Camilla.
"Uh-oh! That's who I protect. Lady Camilla. I need to get rid of her, quickly." Selena whispered in a hushed voice. Selena didn't have time to think, as Camilla opened the door to Robin's room and saw them in bed, looking at each other and assumed the worst.
"Oh! My bad, Selena. I didn't realize you had company. I'll just be on my way out, and we'll talk about it later, alright?" and she left. Selena blushed a color brighter than her red hair.
"No! Lady Camilla! That's not what… Urgh wait for me!" Selena rushed out of the room, leaving Robin alone in his room with his belongings. He grabbed his bag and took out a book. Robin opened it up and revealed many sketches of battle plans and strategies. He flipped open to the last page and stared at a drawing of him and the two girls he cared about most. Robin remembered when they took that, it was a day off of duty and his family decided to go take a walk in town. They met an artist and paid him to take a picture of them while they were modeling. Robin saw how happy they were and promised,
"I promise I will see you again, Lucina. And Morgan. We will meet again in the future. Please hold on for as long as you can until I get there." Robin then remembered a name Odin mentioned on his way here. Corrin. He had said that he was trying to bring peace back into this world, and unite Hoshido and Nohr. Robin made a mental reminder to remember that name, as he thought it would be useful
The sun was setting in Ylisse and a particular blue- haired women was looking out onto a field of green. That was the field during which she had rediscovered Robin after he seemingly disappeared following Grima's defeat. She clasped her hands together and prayed that she would find him again in those very fields. But much to her dismay, she didn't.
"Mom?" Lucina turned around to see her beautiful young girl, Morgan a bit drowsy from her naps. Ever since Inigo had departed, Morgan often stayed in bed and slept longer than most. "Where's father?" Lucina sighed, she promised Chrom and Olivia to keep Robin's disappearance hidden from Morgan for as long as she could, but she could not hold it back anymore.
"Sweetie, umm. Robin is… well he's… gone. At least for now, we don't know where he is." Lucina admitted. Morgan's tears started to reform.
"No, he's not. No. No!" Morgan rushed out of the balcony, ignoring her mother's cries. She got to her father's work room and looked inside to study where he was. To look for any clues he may have left regarding his absence. To her dismay, she found none. And she collapsed on the floor and started wailing for a long time. Lucina walked into the room to see her daughter on the ground, and walked beside her to comfort her. She stayed by her for as long as she need, which was until she was too tired to continue crying and fell asleep. Lucina picked up the mini tactician and prepared to take her to her room. As she got up she noticed a specific book on Robin's desk she had not seen before.
"History of Hoshido, Nohr and Valla"
Lucina took Morgan to her room and then once she got to her bed, the bed she once shared with her husband, and began to inspect the book.
"Maybe, just maybe. This will help me find a way to find Robin." she thought, hopeful.
Hey guys! So sorry about the delay in chapters. I was stumped with unit tests and essays all week. But I'm planning on making one more chapter this week, maybe that'll make it up.
So this chapter, we inspect a part of the plot that will pop back up every once in a while. This plot point being the Awakening characters and how they will intertwine with the main Fates story. I already sense some displeasure at Lon'qu's death already, but he'll probably show up in flashbacks like the last Felicia one. Robin in this story will create a new dynamic that I hope will add some more fire to the story. This chapter was more to help flesh him out so he can become more important as the story goes on, as well as his relationship with Odin and Selena.
As always, thanks for watching and hope you continue to read this story!