So, I decided to let the critical comments stay. I personally don't give a Fck to whatever that says.
I'll just break through my WB wall and finish up this story with a strong conclusion.
Enjoy.
Ever since the horrifying nightmare and the highly disturbing sacrifice of a small girl murdered in the woods of Gossau brought the tactician to softly hum in an absentminded state before stirring in un comfort towards a stray hand placed on his forehead.
"Hey, it's ok Rob. Rise and Shine, bud. You're at home." the soft voice brought his vision awake, multiple groans of confusion brought him to realize two familiar people after his "successful" escape from AJRA.
"Am I in Virginia Beach now? With the AweSomE cast?" Drawling out the words from his faded brain, Robin panned his surroundings.
It felt like he awoke in a nursing home but in reality he was stationed on the second floor of Shulk's fancy house, light hue of wood floored the surface while blue faux fur carpet took the middle, feeling himself lay down on a leather sofa, his back adorning it's very flat cushion, refusing to shape in with the tactician's posture.
A 72 inch Samsung SUHD flat screen was held by the front wall, the screen currently blank of any new 90's cartoons the MMMB leader had been discovering lately while a glass coffee table wedged between the two, held all of his personal belongings, the items brought in from his Touran parked outside.
Trying his best not to stare into the Livarno Lux lights stuck to the ceiling, Robin shook his head out of daze and stared at Shulk and Lucina as if they came from another planet.
"Slow down bud, we just wanted to save you from what got you held back in AJRA." Shulk started, placing his hands on his friend's back to prevent him from sobbing again.
Lucina circled around the items she brought in, clearly miffed and confused over his janitorial tools, "Robin, why on Mira would you bring a vacuum along on your trip?"
Robin glanced down at his Electrolux vacuum, the tube shapened into some weird elephant trunk, "Just don't worry about that for now. I'm just glad to see you guys again after 6 months of staying in this rat hole as Lucina said. Btw, how did you guys bring my Touran all the way here from AJRA to Bionis?"
"Colony 9 bud. My Ibiza had some Monadofications to the rear so all 3 of my cars have the ability to haul in any car from behind. Why ask? You got so worried about your Touran more than us, huh?" Shulk chuckled, his smile gave away the friendly atmosphere to prevent the tactician's depression to kick in.
"I don't know why that car seemed so important to me. You're right Shulk. Friends over anything else. I should be caring for you guys more than my stupid amnesiac brain that tried to wrangle me into that awful mess over there." The Master Strategist pointed towards the red duffel bag, both eyebrows from Shulk and Lucina raised in confusion as they brought the heavy bag over to the table.
"Robin, you never care to play sports, what got you to get this nice duffel bag anyway?" Lucina questioned, puzzled over the black cat leaping over the words "PUMA"
A hand prevented them from zipping it open with a heavy dreaded worry of silence.
"Please keep it a secret between the AweSomE cast and not the others. I beg you." Robin whispered with soft tears lacing his scared voice.
Shulk bit his lip with a nod as Lucina slowly zipped the bag open.
Both of their hearts skipped a beat as they gasped in shock.
"Oh my god." Lucina shakily whispered in grief as she covered her face in worry, not bearing to look at the stacks of colored currency oddly shuffled in the bag.
"Are you serious!?" Shulk started with a dismaying tone, attempting to mind slap his friend's brain into common sense. "Why in planet Mira would you haggle a load of cash!? For what purpose was your time wasted in Archenea instead of coming with us?"
Robin blinked back tears as he clutched his hair into a tight squeeze, muffling back a sob, "I-I-I don't know what I was doing! It was just all so sudden! Now I came all the way over here from AJRA to stay with you, escaping from the police in process!" Gripping the Hom's shirt, he almost burst into a intense wail as if depression kicked into the poor tactician again.
"Hey, we understand your difficult journey, just keep in mind not to do it again." Shulk comforted with a soothing voice, staring at the duffel bag with a brow raised in a puzzled thought.
"Forget about the duffel bag, I just only wanted to know how and why he got left behind." Lucina came over and joined them on the couch, patiently waiting for the tactician to blurt out his difficult journey from the start.
Before he could get rid of his sobs, they heard the door click open followed by yells of laughter. It must have been a young family by the sound of it, Robin wasn't really sure how they had the ability to easily access Shulk's house. Strangers from the Netto grocery store the hom met a few months right after Revolution Green, the fourth phase to Smash Wars ended instantly became long time friends.
"Hey Shulk, came back to see us after your stay in Aquila?" the young man started with a laugh as they both shook hands.
"Nah, I just came to visit a friend of mine in AJRA. It's really nothing special, Sven." the hom shrugged while eyeing the young lady who straightened her purse on her shoulder and gave out a tiny smile.
"Let us know if you do. We just came here to pick some stuff up then we're off to Valak Mountain in Colony 4."
"Marth, Thuringia. District of Eichsfeld?" Shulk held back his words as a surprise, "You know, one of my friends in my group is named Marth. He's the prince of Altea in AJRA, but according to some news sites, I heard his sister Elice took over."
"That's great to know." the guy chuckled under his breath and signaled a farewell, "I gotta go. The tickets we reserved for the ride around the mountain is waiting for us. Bye, Shulk. You too Lucina. And friend?"
Sven held out a hand to the ever quiet tactician who slowly accepted to shake it in nervousness, "Robin."
"Named after the Aquilian Red Breasted bird, huh?" Sven smiled as he signaled his wife to gather the rest of their vacation items and exit the house.
Robin nodded in glee before watching Shulk's friend wave in farewell before closing the front door shut.
That's when curiosity hit him in his mind, "Who were those people just now?"
Shulk blew a sigh and crossed his arms behind his head while leaning back, "Oh, I didn't want to leave this place empty so i had to use it for one of my friends to gladly rent it- seeing that paying extra tax fees in both places didn't suit my life."
"I could have done the same with mine, but who wants to live that rat hole? Ew." Lucina added after a short silence ensued the living room.
Shulk laughed before getting things down to business, "Interruptions aside."
He closely eyed the duffel bag on the coffee table, the sight of his friend taking a pause from his line before letting Robin heave a sigh. "Let's carefully hear your reason on what got you left behind. Go for it, Rob. Don't be scared. We're not gonna kill ya on the spot."
"And if he does, I'm gonna hold him down with my Falchion." Lucina smirked with a small giggle.
Robin chuckled as he straightened himself for a comfortable position before getting ready, "I mysteriously awoke in a white Touran that stood on some vast farm fields near Eggraben, Bionis."
"Wait. You woke up in Bionis instead of AJRA? Why in planet Mira would that happen?" Shulk felt his cheeks redden in heat after the arm slap given from a straightforward Lucina, patient enough not to break into the tactician's story.
"Look, I don't know how or why but, I tried calling you guys with my phone but the battery died out and I was out of luck. Luckily, I did have my weapons with me for self defense and I was glad to praise Naga that my Levin sword and spell tomes never went astray from my hands, ever. Over that, the keys to the car were the most important thing that allowed me to drive south through Bionis. Strange as it seemed, a trailer hooked to the rear wasn't supposed be on my list of escape. So I had to unhook it and leave it on the shoulder of a stranded road, ultimately thanking my toolbox that appeared in the rear storage in my Touran."
"It seems like you were off to a good start, had we known where you were exactly." Shulk broke in with a shrug.
Robin chuckled softly and shook his head, "If that happened, then my crime would be a success."
"Go on." Lucina signaled, wanting to more.
"Right, after that I crossed over to the Zoll (Border) Stop between Bionis and AJRA, crossing my fingers that the security guard wouldn't end my escape too early. Thankfully, he let me go without a single check and I was free as a robin to cruise south of AJRA, pit stopping in Ylisstol to say one last goodbye to the Kirschgarten School we all attended at the time."
"I heard next year they're going to tear down the-" Shulk started only for a hand to clasp around his mouth for silence.
"Questions can be asked later, Shulk." Lucina hissed, beckoning Robin to continue.
"Anyway, my backtracked memories of us attending Matura school together brought me that horrible nightmare where I got bullied by a bunch of nasty juniors wanting my money. It was hard to fight back with my weapons, for they only laughed at my spell moves. Arcfire should have made them flee away but they pushed me back in defeat, a kick to my stomach got them demanding to hand over their money. Don't picture me as some scrawny little boy. DDS just didn't come to me yet otherwise I would be Valflaming them down to hell by now."
Lucina laughed, "It's a good thing you showed them who you really are."
"That's true, Luce. Before you question about my part time job at the school, they placed double hate on me by getting rid of my janitorial supplies. I have no earthly idea on why they did that but it seemed I couldn't let go of my things and I had to bring it along with me. I realized there wasn't a clear chance of me all stuffed and watered right before I woke up in Bionis, I was empty like a withered down flower."
"The fountain was your first choice." Lucina helpfully guessed.
"Right, all of the refreshing water slushed in me with relief, I didn't know what I'd do next had a bunch of kids passed by, nodding in disgust towards my homeless appearance. The girl even threw me a raisin muffin because she found it ugly that her mom lovingly packed it for lunch. I ate the thing as if I have never seen food in my life clearly telling my stomach to stop the growls or I'll fast for year without anything."
"That explains how you must have gained a tiny bit of weight during your escape." Shulk snickered while Lucina didn't look amused at the sight of a small pudgy belly that belonged to a white haired boy, hands covering it in embarrassment.
"Sorry. Call me a pig. I couldn't really help it whenever it comes to food." Robin nervously smiled as he resumed,"Leaving the school, I headed down St. Alban-Ring when I felt like throwing the wrapper away in a nearby trash can only for a police car to cruise behind me from a distance. Hesitant, I ducked down and hid underneath the Touran, feeling the roar of the wheels and hot air pass by and hit my reddened cheeks."
"You're lucky you weren't caught yet. What got your Touran to be white instead of black I wonder?" Shulk questioned in curiosity after flicking a stick of spearmint Jetgum in his mouth.
"That comes a little later. Standing in traffic that snaked throughout St. Jakob, I felt a deep thud on the side of the minivan as I flicked the window switch down to see that tiny brat using my car as a wall for his stupid soccer practice. Before I could bark an irritated command, I felt the ball smack against my painful cheek. Thankfully the mother yelled at him to stop and told me that he was like this everytime with other people. I let them go with a relaxing smile and continued ahead- this is where your question get's answered Shulk."
"Alright. I'm all ears, Rob." the hom grinned jokingly.
"It's two different cars."
"Wait, you didn't change it's color at all!?" Shulk held his mouth agape, his sapphire eyes glinting in shock towards a calm master strategist who gave out a stifled soft chuckle, "To tell you the truth, it's amnesia that caused two crimes of mine. Before you guys left, I wasn't aware that Cia left the black Touran parked on a Fire lane, that's how it ended up being sold to an AJRAnian asshole and a dick headed sales guy who refused to give my car back."
"I saw that all through Ether. It was soo sad." Shulk reasoned. "Good thing you found your Aquilian ticket."
"I couldn't thank Naga for the frequent miracles she was giving me so I was tempted to follow the guy home and only take the wings from the trunk."
"I hope you didn't lose it through out your escape." Lucina said.
"The wings never broke apart from the rear of the minivan. Stayed with me until you guys found me. Story doesn't end here. Stopping at a city park for some sleep, I fished out a few coins for spare change in the park's fountain and found a phone booth to contact you. Bizarrely the number didn't work and that left me stabbed with guilt deep into my heart. Until a neck pillow I found near the Kliedersammlung box got me happy to sleep throughout my first night and wake up in the morning with a knock on the window. The kind old man told me that I should have fished a parking placard near the Police station or a Kiosk. I refused until I committed my first driving mistake. The lady with the carriage was so startled, she almost burst her tube with rage and started to throw angry raves towards my face. I almost didn't seem selfishly sorry for her, I didn't want to waste any daylight with my ears listening into her loquacious barks. Backing up without warning, I skidaddled away from her calling the police. To make things worse, I had to stay in front of the tram tracks, urging the line to move faster when I realized the station the lady was heading to was placed right next to where I stood."
"Ylisse was pretty much on your list of 'must get away from'" Shulk laughed, urging him to continue.
"You read my mind with the help of Ether." Robin smiled, relieved to see his friends not being too pushy. "Anyway, my heart skipped a beat when I had to halt in front of that roadery that Reflet always complained about. One look behind me and my enemy greeted back with his wicked smirk. Calming myself down, I just had to enter in the mad chase around the second roadery until the exit to the E25 Highway got me thinking into buying another phone charger."
"Did you go for Euro Airport Ylisse again?" Shulk asked while Lucina sighed at that special occasion that happened at the airport last December.
"Shulk, do you think EAY was south to where I was driving?" Robin gave out a dumbfounded look towards the MMMB leader. The hom in return, gave out a look of apology and urged him to continue.
"Silly Donkey Boy, go on Rob." Lucina shook her head in laughter.
"No, that's alright. Snapping back to my thought of buying another phone charger, I luckily stopped by Fust to buy a brand new one with my spare change found in the park back in Pratteln. That tedious kind man at the register asked for the price and I obliged when my eyes dipped down in shock towards a basket full of 3DS games priced for 9 franks each."
"Was my game for the 3DS there!?" Shulk asked excitedly. "Ow!"
Lucina slapped the back of his head and gave out an annoyed look, "Don't be dumb Donkey Boy. Just let him continue."
"I almost wanted to topple over in shock towards the brand new copy of Fire Emblem Awakening placed first in line, the guy almost persisted me to add it with my charger but I kindly declined. That's when the flat screens on display revealed my true identity and I had to find the quickest escape route from those nasty Fust workers."
"What did you? Nosferatu them into a dizzy spell daze?" Shulk helpfully guessed, Lucina rolled her eyes in with a silent huff and bothered not to discipline the hom's mouth to stay shut.
Robin chuckled, the thought of casting them dizzy would have been a really good idea during his escape, "Actually, I was too stunned to react because of the laughs and smoke they threw at my face. It was difficult to even break free from their taunts when I felt the bag thump against my leg, feeling it 0.2 times heavier than it should be with the charger cable alone."
"I knew it. He threw in that game for free, just to make you think you committed another crime." Lucina reasoned with distaste, her brown eyes lashing with hate.
"That's right Luce. It was a close call when that gumball cashier started to lock his chubby arms around my waist, refusing to let go. I did the next best thing. I tased his arms with Thoron, his wails of agony blaring behind me as he ordered his fellow workmates into a mad chase. Seeing that the overhead platform ended with a plain of concrete 3 ft. down, I yelled at them in farewell as I jumped on the roof of a Caravelle van screeching to halt in surprise as the driver remarked an angry complaint."
"I hope you didn't fall after the sudden halt of your helpful platform. Then you'd be a stunt master like Cornelius Lowell." Shulk interjected with a grin, his sapphire eyes glinting with a gasp, "Perfect! I bet the acting indus- Ow, Luce!"
"Shulk! He's here to tell us about his absence, not blabber about some thrillingly imagined movie scene!" Lucina sighed with annoyance as she gestured the tactician to continue with an excused, "Sorry."
"No that's fine. It was pretty much a short distance, away. As I entered in, I felt the angry raves of bangs on the rear windows as the workers begged me to get out but I shamelessly backed up and escaped, halting myself at the intersection. Shulk? Are you feeling okay?"
Robin paused to glance curiously at the ASC leader, who started to scramble over the floor, moaning in agony while placing a hand on his flat stomach, "How about some lunch before we depart for freedom?"
Lucina shrugged her shoulders as she stood up and headed over to the kitchen that could've made Ike jealous at the thought of using it as a recording set for his cooking show, taking out several ceramic plates and silverware, "Donkey Boy's so impatient. It's a good thing we're messing with Sven's fridge."
After the hom got done with his moaning, Shulk stood up with an energetic flash and stretched, "He doesn't really care about it as long as we don't start the food fight."
Robin laughed, only for his amnesiac mind to forget the important damage to his ever frail body.
Shit. He called it in too early! I was about to get to that part soon hadn't Shulk destroyed the moment!
"Um, Shulk? Lucina?" Robin called over in urgency, trying his best to hold in the pain that struck his snapped spine in half, "A little help here?"
"I heard that tacticians are lazy. What's more? Robin." Shulk laughed softly as a sudden sparks of Thunder jolted his body into a childish shriek, struggling to get up with a pant after the shocking surprise.
"Thanks to Naga's miracles, I get rescued by you guys and now he mocks me for being lazy!?" Almond eyes were close to turning DDS as Robin growled, Levin sword gripped by his left hand while his right hand was placed on the pages of his Thoron tome, the spell book opened flat against the black sofa. "What kind of a leader are you!? I've worked so hard to survive alone throughout AJRA, you come and save me from my nightmares and now he mocks me for being lazy!? True, that stolen amount was none of my earnings but I needed it for something darn important!"
"What? Your silver p-"
"Shut up, you dastard! No way in the hell are you better than Chrom or Grima! I can get annoyed by Lucy's father with his Nordsee and Kalastta or the felldragon's collection of newspapers, but you and your stupid EDM events are just too hideously annoying! It was a good thing I didn't attend your Interlaken Showdown." The tactician's bitter voice slowly calmed down as he eyed Lucina who was almost on the verge of stopping the argument.
The ex-princess of Ylisse stood up with an annoyed sigh, "Look, Rob. Just ignore Shulk, alright? He always is a blabbermouth thus he's still part of the family. I also hate my father a lot- yes he's always annoying us with his stupid fishsticks, Nordsee and Kalastta, but he's still part of the Shepherd family and we still love him. So just let go of this argument and let's eat." After setting some steaming pans on the conductor mats, she came over to the sofa where Robin was laying down, his face quiet from the pissed off mood he had a few seconds ago with Shulk, "Hey Rob, just forget about it, okay? What do you need?"
After a few seconds of silence, Robin switched postions and muttered, "Would you be kind enough to get me my wheelchair?"
Lucy's eyebrows knotted into confusion as the repeated word escaped from her puzzled mouth, "Wheelchair?"
The blue haired princess headed over to the front door as Shulk then came over to comfort him, "Dude, I'm sorry for verbally assaulting your legs. I hope you feel fine after that wanky argument. I'm sorry I started all of this."
Robin smiled as he eyed the door open again, Lucina came wheeling in a standard sized one. "Rob, your journey has gone so wacky I didn't realize there was a wheelchair in the rear of your Touran! What on planet Mira happened to you?"
"I was about to reach that point hadn't Donkey boy-" Robin's growl faded into a calm stare as Shulk got up and offered him a hand, "Hey, I just only made a joke. Cool off and let me help you, alright?"
The master strategist only nodded in acceptance but didn't bother to counter back with a remark as he freely allowed the hom to pick him up and neatly settle him on the chair while blinking in concern, "How did you get yourself injured by the way?"
Robin's eye warily twitched at the mention of the question again, "I was about to get to that part hadn't you interrupted for lunch time."
"Guys, just forget about it and let's just get over with lunch." Lucina bickered softly as she sighed in annoyance and scooted her chair back to sit down at the table, eyeing Shulk with a smile as he helpfully wheeled their friend towards the table.
"Thank you, Shulk." Robin whispered in apology, his cheeks slightly shading red after the sudden mood change.
"No problem buddy." Shulk replied with a smile as he whipped all of the lids open to reveal thier mid-day lunch. "Baked potatoes, Sausages, and your faviourite Rob, baked beans. All of them bought from Lidl because that grocery store is amazing!"
"Y'know, this was the same meal I had at Donnel's house during my journey." Robin added after serving himself heaps of beans into his plate, the thick muddy colored sauce almost trickling off of the rim of his plate.
"Thanks to Shulk's interruptions, you never finished it. Make it short because we need to hurry. We don't want to lose daylight time after 14:00 (7) for our departure." Lucina signaled for Robin to continue while forking in several sausages and scooping them off in Shulk's plate.
"Thanks." the hom meekly smiled as they both began a prayer to God, thanking him for the food and the protecting the AweSomE cast from danger.
Robin was really unsure what they babbled about but it was slightly fuzzy to even hear a prayer in English since everyone in the Old Generation was required to pray to Naga only in the Ancient Tongue. Of course, he was very skilled at understanding both languages and reading/writing both languages with no problems at all since all of his spelltomes were written in the Ancient Tongue, it was an easy practice for him to translate and speak the two languages.
Absentmindedly ignoring their words with a confused eyebrow, he silently whispered a prayer to Naga in the Ancient Toungue, Naga, Gratias tibi hoc pro omni cibo et signa quae data est mihi in salutem per iter AJRA. Amen. (Thank you Naga for this food and all of the miracles you have given me on my journey to survive throughout AJRA. Amen.)
Once Shulk and Lucina finished thier audible prayer, the princess and the hom proceeded to grab their silverware when looks of confusion was thrown back and forth between the two, questioning about the tactician's prayer pose.
It was highly unique and odd looking with his fingers hooked in a claw like posture, left hand placed in front of the right hand while his neck craned diagonally towards his plate, as if a curious puppy could dine on the meal with it's eyes closed.
The way Robin was posing while praying, it dumbstruck Lucina in her mind but slightly brought up the reference to the traditional posture.
He was trying to be Naga in divine dragon form.
Sure, the tactician was not born of the Manakete blood of the Royal Nagas, but it was a traditional custom for Nagians to pose as the divine reptile before eating.
"Lucy, what's wrong with him?" Shulk's body shivered while continuing to stare weirdly at his friend with his nose screwed up into confusion.
Flicking her long blue hair back from her shoulders, Lucina sighed, "It's a traditional custom for Nagians to pray in this posture before they eat. Once he arrives home with us, I believe we can change his pose with the true reality. Change that Ancient Tongue to a language we can all understand and rejoice with."
Shulk chuckled back under his breath as Robin finished, the tactician resuming his normal pose of grabbing his spoon and started digging in like a farmyard hog.
Munch. Munch. Slurp. Slurp.
It was to these days that they wished their friend could eat properly like normal people but it turned out that everybody in the AweSomE cast had a unique style of dining in.
"Rob, we didn't find you at the intersection. Care to finish?" Shulk reminded the him after the tactician gave out an uncomfortable burp from a bowl full of beans.
"Sure." Robin straightened in his seat while Shulk and Lucina kept on eating, taking their time to patiently listen in, "The workers thankfully gave up as I stood in front of the intersection, sliding the window down to get rid of my third evidence of my crimes."
Shulk almost spat out a jumble of mashed fluffiness straight back into his bowl with a disgusting plop, "You really threw that game to let cars destroy it?! Dude, if I saw Reyn doing the same thing with my Madonna CD, I'd really shove my Monado up his ass. Go on."
"It's funny on how AJRA doesn't realize where we really come from." Lucina giggled after scooping up green beans to her mouth.
"I really had no choice but to skidaddle from there. It was an evening success and I had to stop by at a small park in Thurnen for some sleep. Thanks to the phone charger for sparking my phone back to life, I read your last message that you left behind after you guys left."
"That look on your face was sooo amusing. I seriously found you so turmoiled over the message I sent you. But don't worry, Rob. We'll explain it once we arrive home. Go on." Lucina smiled as she served herself some salad, swinging the bowl over Shulk's plate to see if he wanted any.
The hom yawned while shaking his head, "This Donkey boy has a little more to go."
That made both of them laugh in embarrassment before Robin cleared his throat as a signal to move on, "Alright, guys. Confused about the message that Lucina last sent me, I decided to focus on my path towards Solothurn to stay for a night at Donnel's house. Just before I could get behind the wheel in my Touran, I bizarrely found my laptop hidden flat underneath my tactician robe. Heck, it came without a charger so I looked up that PDF on the Hydroplane instructions you sent me a few years ago."
"Hope that didn't die out just like your phone. I need that thing for tonight." Shulk informed while taking a sip of Calanda beer from a tall glass that stood like the Tower of Guidance back in Sienne, Crimea.
Robin peered over the rim of the pan, eager to finish the rest of the beans, "Don't worry, I spared half of it's life till today. Anyway, I forced myself towards Solothurn where Donnel gladly took me in with advice of taking a quick shower because I really stunk like a Mauthe Doog-"
Shulk and Lucina chuckled in laughter.
"-Don't get me wrong. He didn't mind it at all. I blurt out the truth by bringing in the duffel bag and incredibly he told me he'd keep it a secret from the king. I was relieved to hear that when he introduced his Pa to me and I almost was too intrigued to help them with their struggles of harvest by giving them a 1000 francs straight from my duffel bag. Really, he said it was the most kindest thing I had ever done. We sat down for dinner, I almost died due to the horrible bellyache I had. Thankfully Donnel came to my aid with Peppermint Tea and even lended me some sleepwear for me to keep and he kindly wished me goodnight for tomorrow's family farewell in the guest room."
"My father would never do anything like that for you if he was Donnel." Lucina shook her head in dismay. "Go on."
"The rooster was my alarm clock and I got my chance to say goodbye to Donnel, Pa, and his pet pig, Mordecai. The bumpkin re-fueled by Touran and even presented me with two glass bottles of milk and some blueberry pies. It was just a memorable thing for me to think about it during my journey. Driving north towards Ersigen, Bern, I caught your message Shulk and you told me to drive to a stage, right?"
The hom stretched and leaned back in comfort, "Yup, Just as I told you but bad luck rained down upon us. We saw no white Touran during the party."
"Just where were you Rob? The directions were extremely clear." Lucina questioned in confusion as she flicked a piece of sausage crumb from her plate in boredom.
Robin huffed in nervousness before he calmed down, "Just be patient and your question will be answered for Naga's sake. I have been stopped by many people in concern and regards of the stolen white polar bear as Donnel nicknamed my Touran lately. Surely Naga hooked me from trouble as I continued driving ahead, stopping beside the alleyway to a gift shop, delighted to find a mattress and some clothes from a donation box."
"Just how homeless were you, Rob?" Shulk asked in surprise, the odd thought of their tactician stranded alone throughout AJRA was really some huge news to them.
"For 6 months. From my awakening in Eggraben, Bionis to your house in Lorrach...Bionis." the Master strategist awkwardly hacked the Xenoblade location as if it was forbidden to say.
Lucina sighed while she stood up and collected the remaining empty plates, Robin quickly requesting her to fill the leftover beans in a tupperware so that he could eat it on their flight back home. He then realized it became noon and he had to hurry and finish his journey.
"I realize we don't have so much time but I'm gonna wrap this up. I drove south of Bern right into Spiez where I parked beside an abandoned bakery for some pie goodness though the bins. After devouring to my belly's content of starvation, I cautiously decided to return to my minivan when I froze in fear towards flashes of blue light on my beloved stolen car."
"The police caught you?" Shulk gasped as he came back with a plush Riki in his hands. Lucina placed a hand over her mouth and muttered in heavy mourns.
Robin sighed but continued, "Well, that's what happens when you leave things unattended. I had to stay at the police station for a week before paying a visit to the Black Bearz house which in reality was the Grand Federal Court of Bern, my police mates, Oliver and Leo led me to the court room before my fartbag of a grocery manager, Harri came in with that wicked smile of his, bringing up the evidence in front of Desmond and Zephiel by showing them a video clip of that night of the theft. They questioned me if this was true or not, amnesia kicked in and I had to purposely lie in front of them. Desmond seemed highly un-amused towards my innocent/aggressive behaviour and sentenced me to the Wiltwil prison in Bern for 3 years."
"That's why you didn't show up at the party." Shulk slowly reasoned in realization as he glanced towards Lucina who nodded in agreement.
"They were so cruel to me, one of the SWAT guards, Dario killed Niklas Fuchs-"
"Wait. Wasn't his name Levin Blum?" Shulk held his eyebrows knotted in perplexing way before Robin copied his expression.
"Levin Blum?" he repeated in a puzzled tone.
"Yeah, we called you during the party and one of the guys picked up- His name was Levin Blum."
Robin huffed while shaking his head, "Don't know anything about him but Dario savagely killed Fuchs into a game of Midnight. It was so traumatizing, I couldn't keep up with my steps. My awkward balance of fear got him barking a harsh order until I was led into the building, many prisoners feasting their curious eyes on me while getting sheep herded by the staff who roughly punched me into the examination room for a small interview from thier grotesque chief, Xherdan. Thier questions mentally assaulted my brain as the rope created burns against my tongue and lips, they finally let me go verbally free and I almost spilled out my strong answer as a lashback of screaming in pain. That's when I got the Spinal Cord Injury from the duffel bag and I cried to myself while being led to my cell. Thankfully Gaius was there to calm me down and we were both forced to clean stalls and clean chicken meat before finishing dinner in the cafeteria until everyone went to sleep. That's when the thief came up with a brilliant plan and together we escaped the building."
"That's some smart redhead. Did the guards notice your sly actions of escape?" Lucina asked.
Robin nodded slowly as if depressed from the scene that occurred a second ago, "I was the only one who could unlock freedom to the Touran. Gaius had his back laid motionless on the ground during my traumatized scream. I quickly headed for Interlaken, my stomach creating that heavy knot of sadness. I just couldn't bear that scene in my head, I absentmindedly crawled around my Touran while murmuring "Gaius is not dead" like the sick tactician I was. I later stopped by Hooters to enter in the address you told me to head to in the nav when the window slid down and I gaped at the sight of Anna clad in a Hooters outfit and skates, accompanied me into an amazing dining deal and informed me on the cultic events around the CERN tunnel in the Invisible Kingdom just before the opening of the Gotthard tunnel in Lagdou."
"I knew that tunnel was evil." Lucina snapped as she signaled for him to continue.
"Just wait till you guys hear the end. I completely didn't believe myself that I would meet Anna here in Interlaken, it was quite a surprise. Before you guys mention about the stage, I found it in a crumbling mess."
"Blame Riki and Pittoo for starting that battle." Shulk muttered, scrolling through his Galaxy Alpha phone in boredom.
"Had I known but really that wasn't an important detail to my escape. Racking my mind for some food shopping, I parked beside a nice neighbourhood, the small fenced yard brought my attention towards two young girls named Isabell and Kiana. Soccer, jump roping, and paddle ball was eventually turned into a drawing made out of crayons as I clutched Isabell's present close to my chest when they murmured goodbye to me."
"They way you described them sounded so sweet of them to cheer you up!" Lucina awwed.
"I can never forget that moment that reflected the Old Generation. A quick shopping moment at Lidl Interlaken-"
"High five buddy!" Shulk held out his palm and Robin obliged to slap it with his own palm, giving Lucina to roll her eyes awkwardly towards the strange interruption.
"I was really in need to buy the ingredients to my sandwich when this black Labrador dog named Bailey came out of nowhere. I felt so awkwardly dumbstruck towards the only lone pet in the store that miraculously helped me with my shopping list. He predicted the items I really needed for now and in the future, I really couldn't stop thanking Naga for all everything the divine dragon was providing me with. I later rewarded him by lobbing a snack piece far behind past one of the food trucks and he darted off towards it like as if he never saw it in his life."
"That's some smart dog." Shulk chuckled under his breath before adding, "Imagine if that was Morgan or Morrigan, he'd stick with you the whole time."
"I wish that happened, but I gave them away to Cordelia under her care. I was close to making another pit stop at a random park when I found my polar bear slowly losing fuel life and luckily I found a Coop pronto with no one there except for me, my hesitant self brought me to make a split decision on paying for the fuel or not."
"You didn't do it." Lucina helpfully guessed, twirling with her long strands of blue hair that trickled her foreshoulder.
"Thank Naga, there was no one in the store otherwise I would have landed in Bern the second time. Along with another finding of a discarded travel roof box, the next morning got me driving through Thracia, my legs almost slowly lost the feeling of pushing the gas pedal as I almost threw myself into a raging fit, completely helpless. I parked in front of a Socar gas station, continuing to sob when Naga appeared in front of me and comforted me with her divine words of advice. She told me she couldn't heal my legs back to normal but temporarily made them come back to life thanks to the divine green snow she blessed on my abstracted polar bear."
"Polar Bear?" Lucina squinted her eyes into confusion, finding the polar bear as a small reference to her father when he got rescued by Sumia from the snowy Ferox in the Old Generation.
"Donnel was kind enough to give my Touran a nickname." Robin reasoned, keeping himself from entering in a sudden mental breakdown. "Anyway, I settled near the edge of Thracia, seeing that night fell quickly and I really needed some sleep. But I really couldn't fall easily into a deep slumber for I decided to kill some time to play Timez Attack on my Thinkpad."
"That $100 math game? Dude, I wouldn't pay anything worth much more than 50." Shulk yawned with an incredulous look, laying against the couch while facing him with hands locked behind his head.
Robin chuckled while he shook his head, "Just ignore the price. After I beat the boss, I wasn't aware of two people and a van following me as they knocked me unconscious with a baseball bat. My awakened surroundings brought me to the REHAB in Ylisse near the border of Skyworld, the Aquilian caretaker of mine, Abby Hawkins, was so kind enough to lead me to the lounge room where I was met again with Gaius. He thankfully got tranquilized with a dart instead of a bullet so just to take our minds off of the escape incident in Wiltzwil, we settled into a nice arena battle in Knights vs Dragons."
"That Fire Emblem Awakening rip off game for the Lexibook? Yuck." Lucina pouted with her tongue stuck out, clearly aggravated towards the obvious bootleg storyline.
"Well, what about Nordsee Emblem Awakening? The one Chrom really adores because Falchion in that game is made out of fishsticks. And Grima was a huge panda that wanted to spread Panda Express into the continent of Nordsee, willing to kill off Rappy McRapperson, Wendy, and the other Kalasttan diners." Shulk brought up with a hoot of distaste, finding both games to have a really low rating according to E3. "I'd rather prefer Super Suicide Sisters. That outta make him glued to the screen."
Lucina giggled, "Man, the reminder of his nightmares of Emmeryn free falling from the cliff would make my father get pissed off on the first day we show him this game."
"Guys if these games aren't real, then I just proved to you that KvD is real." Robin grew impatient and softly barked in, shutting their mouths up. "It doesn't end here. After that, I couldn't sleep during my first night at the REHAB, apart from the flickering thunderstorms that kept my mind awake the whole time, my nightmare about shopping for the phone charger at Fust, the flat screens predicted my crimes into a failed future by watching myself get loaded into a police van, doors banged shut."
"Thank God it was just a nightmare. Otherwise-.."
"Nightmare, I know." Robin smiled warm heartedly, giving Shulk to nod in as a signal to move on, "Gaius later swung in, warning me that some REHAB staff worker stole my Touran and drove it up ahead past the gardens. I didn't waste my chance to lose my beloved minivan, so I ordered Gai to move me from bed to chair so that I made my escape from the main REHAB building, pleading Gaius to come along with me. He declined and confessed that Abby would be better with off with him. He disappeared before I could call his name in worry. Leaving no choice but to dash for the polar bear, I wheeled across towards the entrance of the gardens in pursuit of hurry. My arms could no longer push so I had to relax myself before moving on. The beam of the flashlight caught me to freeze as another worker gruffly grabbed the handles to my chair only for me to defend and let myself be free in running across the gardens with the help of the green snow Naga blessed me with."
"I knew it! That goddess lied to you!" Shulk growled in silent steam of rage.
Robin calmed him down with a soft warning, "Not really. She just made me think I was going to evade her advice but she really did help me throughout my escape. At last I later found the Touran parked beside the dull gray apartment buildings, my panicking heart brought back Gaius's reminder of not trespassing into the border of Skyworld. Aimlessly cruising down a random road before halting in front of the Uni for Psychos-..."
"Uni for Psychos?" Lucina repeated,finding it very unusual for a university to be named obviously that silly.
"That's what it was named. I'm not kidding here. Moving on, I really had to flee away from Ylisse. I thought I could take off in freedom from there but I completely forget that I had no tools to make my Touran a Hydroplane. Then that's when I faced the workers with DDS hate. I taught them a lesson to back away or feel the wrath of Forseti lapping at themselves. I really did crack Planet Mira's face with a violent rash. I had no second to waste, I turned back to normal as soon as I climbed back into my Touran, tires screeching away from Ylisse. It was really one hell of a nightmare but Tentratudo did the trick."
Shulk shook his head from side to side, "Dude, that's really amazing you were able to get out of that wanky place. I guess being aggressive and patient at the same time can lure yourself out of trouble such as this one."
Lucina nodded in agreement.
Robin smiled, glad to hear his friend's comment before clearing his throat to move on. "Yup, and thanks to the direction I was heading to- east- I drove through Kouga followed by Altea when I got halted by Marth's sister, Elice. At first she found me as a bandit from Khadien, attempting to spy on the Rathaus city hall, but then I later calmed down in surprise as she hugged me in farewell, promising that she won't tell anyone about me."
"That's so kind of her to do that." Lucina awwed, as she poured herself a glass of Freeway Mango Ice tea, leaving Shulk to choose the Lemon flavor instead.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you would do the same if your father wasn't around." Shulk laughed as he took a small sip.
Robin chuckled, running a hand through his dirty white hair grimed in ash, the silver streaks almost faded away, "Passing by Regna Ferox, I started exploring St. Ferox. The parade really reminded me of Olivia, but I didn't have time to meet her for I luckily found another wheelchair near the donation box along with some pans and a Wii U gamepad."
"Who in Bionis would do such a thing like that?" Shulk snorted incredulously.
"I don't know why but I grabbed those things along with me. Settling myself near the silvermoon lit clearing, I got prepared to make myself dinner thanks to Bailey who suggested me with the items to be used for later. After a minute of devouring the whole bowl, I killed some evening time and started to do some laundry on the go including a car wash and some vacuuming for my Touran. Heaving a sigh from all of the hard work, I almost fell asleep for I heard some strange voices floating from the mulberry bushes nearby. I hesitantly picked up my phone to record the whole thing. It was really disturbing and I suggest you guys to watch it."
Pulling out his phone in a hurry, Robin opened the camera app and brought up the recorded sacrifice, Shulk and Lucina wordless after the 1 minute video of pure horror.
"I told you they were back." the tactician muttered, pocketing his phone by wedging it between the side cushion and his leg.
"That's ridiculous!" Shulk started with distaste, urging to pull out his Monado for -whomever were dressed in cloaks- came his way. "They abandoned the Dragon's Table in Plegia and scattered around AJRA for some more food to feed the felldragon? Absurd!"
"Probably every ruler in AJRA except for Altea is not saying anything about it." Lucina added, her brown eyes burned with hate whenever her father was pictured in her mind. "This is why we left AJRA for a purpose."
"It's all Becauseof me." Robin cut in, sincerity lacing his voice as if he realized something, "I was left behind to make you guys realize that everything I did unveiled the hidden secrets of AJRA. The Templarial Dreams of the Invisible Dragon has awakened planet Mira into a state of distress. And because of me, my dream back at home turned upside down into another nightmare. Every member of the AweSomE cast spoke with venom towards my shivering body, telling me that everything was going to be back to the way it was thanks to the Divine dragon, Grima."
"Grima. Divine?" Lucina hooted in a puzzled way, her mind later knocking off these words as useless junk. "Oh wait, they're the same thing."
"That's when you guys found me and I really didn't know what to do if you guys weren't here." Robin's tears ran freely down his reddened cheek as he leaned to the side and hugged Lucina's waist, a calm hand running through his snowy hair for comfort.
"Hey." Shulk stood up and joined him by the side. "You're not alone now, buddy. We're here with you. It was pretty odd that you got into a raging mental breakdown while we tried to catch your attention through the windows of your Touran."
Pausing, the hom cautiously eyed the darkened window, where the outdoor light reflected the side doors of the white minivan, reminding them that there was one more task to do before the whole country of Bionis slept in peace. "Just wait here with Lucina. In fact, you guys can come and watch me magically turn his Touran into a Hydroplane."
"Sweet! That sounds amazing!" Robin's sudden mood kicked in from sadness all the way to being happy, Lucina calmly pushing him towards the front sparkling white driveway, a toolbox set on the ground echoed around the quiet streets of Adlerstrasse, as Shulk got out his proper tools.
Cracking his knuckles as if preparing to take down some Nanogons and Dekagons in the next phase of Smash Wars, Shulk took out a measuring tape and carefully placed it against the lower side doors, scribbling down it's precise measurements. "Sorry bud. I won't make the wings Slide in, so you have to deal with Attached/Disattached wings."
"Fine with me." Robin shrugged as Lucina picked up one of his red screw drivers, quirking an eyebrow raised in confusion, "Shulk, why does this screw driver have my father's name on it?"
"What? Chrom Vanadium?" Shulk replied while grabbing the Powerfix electric saw and began to lead the whirring blade ripping across the sides of the vehicle. "Dunno. Perhaps it's a reminder to us that the tips are made of steel hence the meaning of his name?"
"Whatever, I was just wondering." Lucina lobbed the screwdriver back to it's box as Robin wheeled towards the front of the Touran, a hand palming against the flat surface of the hood.
A small tear trickled down as his heart leapt in a scared beat.
With his arms crossed and head lowered against the hood while leaning against it, Robin choked back a swallow, I couldn't have done it without you.
Lucina, noticing the tactician on the another possible verge of breaking down uncomfortably in tears, decided to quickly regain his jovial mood from his depressed state.
Shulk continued to slide in the wing holders along with a WPR (Wing port reader) and connect them when he only faltered at the sight of one Galaxy Glider wing hidden in the rear. "Hey, Rob. Why is there only one wing left in here?"
With the bluehaired swordsgirl wiping the tactician's tears with her sleeve, Robin maintained his mood and came over to his side.
It seemed the wing that caught fire really caused him to utter out a shaky reply, "Er, blame the self combustion on A7. I accidentally connected it to the wrong port. I hope you don't mind, Shulk."
"That's okay buddy. We call in the spares." The hom re-assured, whipping out another WPR and slid it in.
"Once this is done, we're off to sleep." Lucina smiled as Robin shook his head with a nod.
After the wings were fully in, Shulk set to work for the dashboard by removing the whole interface and replacing it with the Hydroplane version, the electric drill finishing the touches to the futuristic layout. The hom toggled with the steering wheel and the elevation lever, checking if they were working okay. Next he decided to use the Wii U gamepad just for the sake of the tactician's disability on driving/flying the minivan.
Hot gluing the back of the controller to the front of the steering wheel, the accidental short tune of the horn got Colony 9 almost awakened into a groggy disturbance.
Both Robin and Lucina laughed at Shulk's mistake, the hom re-assuring no one was gonna come to question about the midnight activity.
Next, he used the Vertical stabilizer as Shulk manually screwed in the huge fin, the side emblazoned with the black Volkswagen logo freshly printed on white, only for the hom to realize the lower part of the sloping blade gave away the curiosity to question the tactician about the travel roof box.
"Hey Rob, where did you find these things?" he asked while his fingers laced over the Jetbag family 455 sticker.
"Thank Naga there is something called trash which people leave behind." the tactician belly laughed as he and Lucina continued to watch the hom.
Last but not least, he played around with the controller, satisfied to see the joystick responding to the scraping turns of the wheels, the Alerion flaps, and the vertical rudder. The blue LED strips running down a new pair of Hyperlite Stormhawk wings gave away an emergency night flash as the hom calculated 15 minutes of his amazing skills.
"Thanks for the PDF guide Rob. I told it comes in handy whenever you wanna fly." Shulk winked as he closed the Thinkpad laptop and handed it back to the master strategist who meekly thanked him in return.
With the toolbox clicked shut, Shulk whisteled while he stared at his Auriol watch, "It's getting pretty late. G'night Rob."
"I'll see you early morning." Lucina whispered with a giggle as she accompanied the tactician back to the house, leaving Bionis to drift off to sleep once again.
FINALLY DONE!
Quoting from the story:
"No problem buddy." Shulk replied with a smile as he whipped all of the lids open to reveal thier mid-day lunch. "Baked potatoes, Sausages, and your faviourite Rob, baked beans. All of them bought from Lidl because that grocery store is amazing!"
"Y'know, this was the same meal I had at Donnel's house during my journey." Robin added after serving himself heaps of beans into his plate.
LOL! And I was the one who stole this meal from Chris D'Lacey'sThe Fire Within! xD
Anyway, I hope you guys didn't get too bored with Robin's explanation of his journey. I tried to summarize it very short but I had to give out the details.
Seek out next chapter!
Falco276 out! :D