Yes, you will notice some familiar game quotes here...

Chapter two: Hostile Friendlies

Is this what death felt like?

Being surrounded by an aura of light so that she couldn't see anything. But soon enough, the light faded, and her vision became clearer. And when it did, she found herself inside what appeared to be a sanctuary of some kind, or a cathedral. The room was dimly lit by lights on the walls and there was a stone altar at the back in the shape of a dragon.

"Robyn…"

The girl heard her name called out from above.

"Why are you crying, Robyn?"

There were clearly dry tears on the girl's eyes and cheeks. Even then, memories of her life flashed before her eyes.

"I… I lost everything…" She choked. "I want to die. My world is gone. Now even death won't let me go. I can't even die!"

"But you have died, Robyn. At least, you have died in the world that you know. But you are here because I rescued you, or rather, whatever was left of you in that world." Now the source of the voice descended to the floor in front of Robyn. Robyn mustered the will to look up from the floor and to the altar in front of her. Her eyes widened.

It was the Divine Dragon.

"Naga…" Robyn muttered, falling to her knees again like she did in the apocalypse. "Please… Naga. Why did it happen? Why?!" In her bones Robyn felt a mix of sorrow and anger. So the Divine Dragon was real, but if she was real… "Why wouldn't you stop it?!" she shouted at the Divine Dragon, as if pleading for a miracle to happen.

"It's not because I wouldn't, Robyn. It's because I couldn't," Naga replied. "You did not have the means yet to oppose the fate that had been brought on your world."

Robyn stayed silent. Her world? Did Naga mean that there was more than one?

"No means yet…?" Robyn whispered. "You mean I could have saved them?" She slammed her fist to the floor. "What was that, Naga?!"

"It was what you may call the Chaos Dragon, but that is another tale for another time."

Naga continued. "The signs were there, but let me be clear, Robyn. There is no way for me to intervene, and therefore helping you, unless you have achieved the means," Naga said. Then the Divine Dragon created from the particles of the air an object of some kind. It looked like a shield. Once the shield was finished, it slowly descended onto Robyn, where Robyn held onto the shield as if her life depended on it. "I'm no god, however. But when the time comes, you may call on me, and I will do what I can to help."

Robyn looked at the shield in her hands.

"So you understand," Naga said. "Hear me now, Robyn. When you enter this world, keep a close eye on the hours of daylight you have. Guard this shield, the Fire Emblem, with your life. In time, you will know when to use it."

"I will." Robyn said quickly.

"But know this. You are not going back in time. In fact, you are not going back to your world, ever." Naga appeared to emphasise this and Robyn felt like weeping again. "It will be strangely similar to yours in every way. That I promise. But there is but one difference."

Robyn raised her eyes, hoping for a further explanation. But Naga did not say anything at all as Robyn's consciousness began to fade…

4/07, Saturday: After School; Yllistol High School

Now waking up, Robyn looked to see two surprised looks in two familiar friends of hers.

Chrom…

"I see you're awake now," Chrom said.

"Hey there!" Lissa, Chrom's younger sister, said in that kind voice of hers.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know," Chrom said, extending his hand to Robyn. "Give me your hand." Blushing a little, Robyn took Chrom's hand and helped herself back to her feet. "You alright?" Chrom asked.

"Y-yes… Thank you, Chrom," Robyn said, smiling.

"Ah, then you know who I am?"

Robyn's smile faded. Did Chrom not recognise her?

"No, actually, I... It's strange... Your name, it just... came to me..." Robyn lied. In her honest opinion, she was hurt that Chrom, whom she grew up with in the same school and attended the same classes together, did not know her. Why, she even kept a personal diary recounting many of her conversations with her friends. It became something of an obsession. Come to that, was it possible she had the diary with her still? If she had time, she would have checked her bag. But that wasn't happening for now.

"How curious, then." Chrom looked into her eyes directly. "You look like someone I know, but anyway, tell me. What's your name?"

Still shocked such that Robyn couldn't think straight, she replied, "My name is… It's… Hmm…?"

"…You don't know your own name?"

Panic filling her brain and shock on the other, Robyn couldn't say much. "I'm not sure if... I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?" she said. Looking around, Robyn could see some familiar surroundings around her. She was in a field of some sort.

"Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!" Lissa suggested.

"It's called a load of pegasus dung. We're to believe you remember milord's name, but now your own?" Clearly, there was a level of distrust in Frederick's words. Robyn wasn't surprised. He was as uptight as she could remember him, but it hurt her a little that Frederick didn't remember her.

"...What if it IS true, Frederick? We can't just leave her here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?" Chrom said.

"What I don't understand, milord, is why this girl is in our presence wearing a uniform that is not our own," said the stout voice that could only belong to Frederick. "I would take care as to watch her carefully."

"She does look like someone we know, don't we?" Lissa added.

The Shepherds? Robyn's heart sank. She remembered it was supposed to be a kind of team or club spearheaded by Chrom. Robyn knew, because she once was part of that team. Did Chrom not know that? Worse still was that this had taken place over the past year, and it seemed like Robyn was all but forgotten. Robyn, so distracted, didn't know that Chrom had nodded back to Frederick.

Once her mind had started to settle, Robyn was aware of where she was. She was at a school, but not just any school. She was at the school that she currently attended – Yllistol High School, to be exact. She had studied here for a year already and had neared completion of second year of high school. Things were going fine. She had been a diligent student, always trying to shoot for the top ten but always seemed a few steps behind Cordelia, Miriel, and Chrom who were established as best in class.

Chrom, as pleasant as his demeanor was, appeared to be in a hurry and in no mood to talk. "Well, I hope you have a great day, friend," he said. At that, he, Lissa, and Frederick then went on their way, leaving Robyn behind in the field.

Still dazed and not understanding what was going on, Robyn took a deep breath. She needed information, and if this world was really the same as hers besides no one recognising her, she might know a few places where to get it. With her bag slung on her shoulder, she began her walk into the school. The Shepherds kept some records in a safe in the student council room, so Robyn thought she could start there. If there was anything in their activities that could tell her something, she had to know. At first, Robyn thought of asking Chrom, but Chrom plainly did not know her.

She wondered how he would react if she told him she knew of the safe.

Judging from the time of day and the number of students with their bags and backpacks, Robyn guessed it must be after hours. That was good. That meant Robyn could spend a little more time figuring out what to do with her life. Yesterday seemed like a dream, but where could she go right now? Where could she stay for the night? Unless… if she could live at the home she knew, but she couldn't worry about that for now.

Robyn walked into the school and made way for the student council room. To her surprise, no one seemed to think her as being out of place. Did she blend into the environment that well? But then again, there wasn't a lot of people in the school either. Most of them had gone home. By the time she had gotten to the room, Robyn found it was locked. However, as Robyn checked her bag to see if she had the keys. Another surprise: she had the keys in her bag. So, that was another item that had survived. Not really wanting to think how it still was in her bag, Robyn inserted the key to the lock.

But it didn't work.

What? Robyn thought.

This was the room, right…? The student council room had to be here…

"Got a problem there, friend?" A familiar cheery voice caught Robyn off-guard. Turning around, Robyn saw a girl with red hair tied into a distinctive ponytail.

"Oh, hi there, Anna," Robyn greeted. She knew that half the school knew who Anna was. After all, Anna was a part-time supervisor at the department store in town (yet still managed to balance her work and school). Robyn wouldn't be surprised if Anna wasn't surprised she knew her, so she added, "I'm just looking for the student council room. Would you know where it is?"

She should have expected no less than Anna breaking into a sly grin. "Maybe," she replied. "For the right price. What have you got on you? Have you got cash? Money?"

Frankly, Robyn wasn't in the mood of thinking what she had on her, but she reluctantly took a random book out of her bag (a novel she was reading, as it happened) and handed it over to Anna. Anna, pleased with the exchange, then led Robyn to a certain out-of-the-way room in the school. Instead of letting Robyn open the door, Anna simply broke into the room herself, shocking Robyn.

"Anna! How did you…?"

"You will know the tricks of lockpicking when you learn follow the profits." Anna grinned. "But don't tell anyone about that, okay? I'm only doing it because you gave me this first edition of a book! Credit where it's due, alright?"

Robyn nodded and walked into the student council room.

"Oh, and one more thing!" Anna said. "Do you need me to break into safes?"

That question made Robyn self-conscious, but she shook her head and waved off Anna. Entering the darkened student council room, Robyn went in search of the safe. It was located inside a cupboard on the ground level, and well in the back so that no one could find it except for those who knew. With the cupboard having little light and hidden at the back, and black, the safe had been invisible. If the circumstances permitted, Robyn would have no trouble opening the safe.

Giving away her book wasn't an easy decision, in her opinion. But there were more important things to do than to read a book! Even though it was a book that Robyn treasured, she was not prepared to sacrifice the fate of her world for a book!

Robyn opened the safe at last. Oh, so the combination hadn't changed. In it, Robyn picked out a file showing the current roster of the Shepherds, which was a list of names, addresses, and assigned roles. She scanned the file for her own name and hoped it was there.

Chrom. Lissa. Stahl. Sumia. Cordelia. Miriel. Gaius. The regulars were all there. But where was her name…?

Robin.

Robyn raised an eyebrow. So her name was there after all. But something was not right at all. Was that a typo or something?

She scanned the roster thoroughly. Was it possible she had…? No way. Did she have a double in this world? Neither Chrom nor Lissa had recognised her when they found her in the field outside. Could it be that she might meet herself, except this Robin was spelt with an 'i' and the other with a 'y'?

The lights flickered on.

"Turn around!" a voice ordered.

Robyn did turn around, and she froze on the spot. The voice was Frederick's, but standing at the door was Chrom, who looked suspiciously at her, as well as Lissa.

"Only authorised people are allowed in here. Who are you?" Chrom demanded.

Robyn stayed where she was. "Do you not know me, Chrom…?" she whispered. It hurt to see Chrom, one of her closest friends, not recognise her like this. But this was pushing it to a different level. No, Chrom was seeing her as hostile. And to put more salt in the wound, he caught her breaking into a safe that belonged to the Shepherds.

"Now the envelope," Chrom said, but when Robyn did not do anything, he shook his head. "No, forget it. We'll ask you later. Frederick! Now!"

"As you wish, milord." Frederick said calmly.

But the next thing Robyn knew, Frederick came charging on her like a horse. Frederick was like the equivalent of the tank mowing down on foot soldiers too, given his size. Still frozen on the spot, Robyn did not know how to react for a second, but she narrowly jumped aside as Frederick's arms slammed the air beside her.

"Frederick! What are you doing!" Robyn screamed. Okay, so Frederick wasn't even moving like a horse. More like a bull. She reacted by clutching the roster in her hands, and dodging Frederick's attempts at knocking her to the floor. Frederick's next charge nearly sent Robyn flying to the wall, but Robyn managed to dodge that blow too.

Knowing her best hope was to charge out the door, despite Chrom and Lissa being in the way, Robyn tried to do exactly that.

She failed miserably. Chrom and Lissa blocked Robyn from leaving the door, using their arms as a barrier.

"Frederick!" Chrom shouted again. This time it was a command.

"Yes!"

A sudden blow struck Robyn's neck from behind. She collapsed the floor and lay still.

4/07 Saturday: Evening, Yllistol High School

A paper bag forced over her head so that she couldn't see where she was being taken, and hard to breathe too, Robyn felt a huge sense of fear welling up in her. Then again, no one really knew who she was, was she? Perhaps it was for better that no one saw her looks. What now? Was she to be some kind of prisoner? She hoped not, but even so, the situation was making her worried.

Things were starting to come back in her head. Memories of her previous school year started to flood back in. She remembered the times she spent talking with her school friends and logging the conversation in her diary, as well as the conversations her friends had with other friends. Well, it appeared that she no longer could read that diary anymore. Yet, darker memories started to form in her mind.

The monsters appearing.

Her world consumed by fire.

Meteors falling from the sky.

A dragon descending on her world.

Yet even right now, things didn't appear to be that way.

Soon enough, the paper bag was removed, and Robyn found herself in a classroom. She saw not only Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick, but the other familiar faces too. For Robyn, she reserved her self-imposed right to remain silent. For the time being, she decided it was best not to say too much.

"Now that I see her…" Chrom said. "She looks exactly like Robin."

"But Robin never said he had a sister."

He?

Frederick meanwhile had been searching Robyn's bag. As well as being in familiar settings, Robyn also realised her bag still carried the things it had from the day before. Aside from holding her phone, pencil case, and purse, it also had her treasured books including her diary. However, just as she was relieved, she saw Frederick take out a large metal shield from the bag.

"This. What is this?" he said, then he turned to Chrom.

"You can't just raid my stuff, you know that?!" Robyn's voice burst and was rising to a shriek. "And keep your hands off that thing! It's mine! Mine!"

As childish as she sounded, Chrom and Frederick looked at Robyn as if she was out of her mind. However, to their credit, Robyn doubted they knew who she was anyway. No one knew. That didn't matter though as Robyn had more important personal business to take care of. Frederick of course found the shield suspicious and set it aside. In her desperation, she looked to the friends she knew.

"Miriel? Tharja? Please, say something!" Robyn pleaded.

But she was met with silence like the two girls did not recognise her, as expected. Robyn started to not only worry but also wondered if she was becoming insane. What kind of madness was this, to be thrown into a world she knew but no one knew her? It was like a reality where her existence was wiped out. Could that be a fate worse than death? She still had fresh memories of her reality that was clearly gone, and with the Fire Emblem in her presence, that was another confirmation of her encounter with the Divine Dragon.

Frederick spoke instead, having put the Fire Emblem on top of Robyn's bag.

"We have questions for you, and you will answer them honestly," he said. "If you choose not to answer, well, we'll leave it to milord to decide your fate."

"Frederick, you are not some kind of police officer, alright?" Robyn shot back.

"And even more curious is how you know our names." Frederick's demeanor was comparable to ice. "Now, as for my first question–"

"Um… What day is it today?" Robyn interrupted.

Chrom and Lissa exchanged confused looks and then looked at Robyn. "It's Saturday," Lissa said. "You didn't forget what the date either, did you?" Saturday? Robyn thought. So she hadn't travelled in time or something. Things were normal as far as Robyn was concerned. It was only April 6 yesterday, so did that mean today was April 7?

"She looks a lot like Robin, doesn't she?" Lissa said. She looked at Chrom. "Is he coming?"

"But that's… that's me," Robyn said. "My name is Robyn. I remember that now. I also remember a few things…" Then she realised what Lissa was saying. "'Robin'? Who is… No, I'm Robyn."

"Ahem." Frederick shot Lissa an annoyed look. "In case if you didn't notice, we're in the middle of an interrogation. Now, back to my first question–"

Robyn couldn't even process Frederick's words and was more focused on her own thoughts. "Who is Robin?" she said. "Tell me!"

Frederick glared at her. "You must answer my first question! Now, as I was saying…"

But Frederick's pitiful attempt to ask the first question was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door. Frederick, annoyed, looked at the door and didn't even bother asking his question. Lissa went to see to the door, checked who was behind it, and then let the visitor in.

It was someone Robyn would never forget the instant she laid her eyes on him. It was male with hair as white as hers but in a mop haircut. That reverse was the same in his eyes, where Robyn's hair was as white as his but tied up in twin tails. Apart from that, they looked eerily similar and could easily have been mistaken as twins.

"Are you…?" Robyn said, "…Robin?" The name came out as a whisper.

"You are…?" Robin replied.