The Shepherds arrived at the border fort and were greeted with a warm welcome by the Khans, Basilio and Flavia, with cheers and warm embraces. Chrom was the first to be greeted with a slap and one armed hug by the male Khan and a punch to the arm by the female. He then introduced Emmeryn to the two of them, both switching from a boisterous duo to serious diplomats in mere seconds. They had exchanged a few words before the Khans had announced to the fort that the army would stay till battle plans were ready, electing cheers from most rallies.
The soldiers at the fort helped unload baggage and showed them where they would be staying. Robin was about to follow one of the groups when she heard Chrom call her name. Looking over, she could see her name elicited stares and some movement froze in the room. She, too, had stopped herself in the middle of walking. But Chrom paid no heed and continued to wave his open arm for her to join him.
Pensive, she nervously made her way over, knowing she was being heavily watched by both Khans and others in the room. Approaching them, Chrom began formalities.
"Basilio, Flavia, this is Robin. One of our newest members. I have her alongside Morgan as our army's tactician."
The silence in the room is deafening as Robin is being stared at. She brought her hands together in front of her and rubbed the back of her hand nervously. She could feel their eyes bore into her. Flavia observes her with hardened and calculated eyes, hands on her hips. Basilio's was more loose and did a quick rundown. He was the first to react, clapping a firm hand down on her shoulder.
"Well now, it's been a while since we've got fresh meat in this ol' war." His voice boomed throughout the building and echoed in the shadows. She was sure she had never met someone so boisterous before. He practically swept Robin around to have her follow him, his arm pressed firmly around her shoulders. "Welcome to Regna Foxx! Come, let me show ya 'round!"
Taking a peek behind her shoulders, Chrom gave her a reassuring smile and waved her a farewell. A nervous smile was on his face, but she knew she could trust him.
As the male Khan left Robin, Flavia sidled up to Chrom's side.
"What were you thinking?"
Chrom lowered his waving hand and continued to watch the pair leave. His words were stuck in his throat as the question came back up once again.
"I understand that you are still in mourning, but replacing him isn't the answer." Her voice was soft, yet firm and it spoke many lengths. "What did your sister have to say?"
"She seemed upset," He cleared his throat. "But she's having a great time with-"
"That's not who I meant," Flavia interrupted. "The Exalt."
Chrom went silent. When he had spoken to Emmeryn about Robin, she seemed visibly upset at first. Chrom was conflicted at first too. There were too many similarities and too many factors that seemed too great for people to grasp at first.
Chrom used to have nightmares of the Robin he knew dying, leaving, or lost somewhere. And he would always stay awake after experiencing it from too many sleepless nights. He couldn't bear the weight of losing someone who he was so close to. He was his wind at his back and they were almost like brothers, save for their lineage. So it shook him to the core when Lissa came running to him, fighting back tears to tell him that they had found Robin. He had rushed to the medical tent, but found no Robin that he knew. Only a female that looked exactly alike. They could be twins, but Robin didn't remember his past. Lissa was sobbing quietly as she explained that she ran into this Robin in the market, doing what she always did with lost children or travelers; helping and lending a hand to those in need. Frederick stood by quietly, his mouth in a firm line, but both siblings knew that he was trying to keep his composure. She had a fit when she heard Lissa mention Chrom's name and collapsed. She looked like she was in pain and was sweating in her sleep. Chrom couldn't stay in the tent any longer and fled to the outer perimeter of the camp, standing in the tree line of the forest. He couldn't believe it. It felt too surreal. It was Robin, but it wasn't his Robin. He felt this stomach churn and he began to dry-heave towards the ground. Sinking to his knees, he began to let out a sob that was pushed down for so long. He didn't know what to feel, but after his cries settled he knew that wouldn't let another die on his watch. He had called each and every member personally to carefully tell them what lay behind the tent. Each person was distraught in their own way, some angry rather than sad. Later that night as Chrom was introducing Morgan, Robin had cried out from inside the tent. Lissa was at her side, her healing staff hovering above Robin. Robin's body was flailing about and she looked paler than any sheet he'd ever seen. The other healers, who had already been in the tent, hurried to calm this spasm. It had turned out that Robin had caught a fever and was suffering from it. Chrom led Morgan out in a hurry, already scarring the poor girl to watch another person who resembled her father go through another horrendous act. The fever went on for three days, finally breaking the evening of the third day. She woke up the day after.
He knew that Robin was beloved by many when he was still around and replacing him was not the best idea to keep his memory alive. But he knew that both himself and Robin would not want to turn their backs away at a person's time in need. He felt that it was just right. He didn't know how to explain it, and yet the other members of the Shepherds and Emmeryn trusted him to let a new Robin take a place in their army. Only a handful of people in the army disagreed with him, but he knew that they meant well.
"She...was not happy," Chrom finally responded. Flavia's features grew hard at this, opening her mouth to retort. "But, she was not upset either. She saw what I saw in Robin and many others can see it too."
Flavia was silent for a while, the two of them reminiscing in old memories, before letting out a sigh and slapping Chrom on the back.
"Well, you may be right." She chuckled, a smile finally gracing her features. "Let us see how she fares in a little competition tonight, yes?"
"...huh?" Chrom stumbled a bit from the force.
"In preparation knowing that the Exalt may have graced us with her presence, we've prepared a little tournament to show Her Grace our strength. Just to keep morale up."
Chrom let out a groan, remembering the last time he was in a tournament for the Khan.
"Worry not, my friend!" Flavia let out a laugh. "This won't be for the throne! It will be a one on one battle style! Your men and women can enter to participate if they so wish, but Basilio and I have entered Robin and Lon'qu to test their skills."
She threw an arm around Chrom's neck and whispered low in his ear. "Just between you and me, I reckon Basilio's missed Lon'qu quite a sum."
The two shared a laugh, knowing full well how true that was.
Basilio had taken Robin around one of the nearby towns, choosing to take her to bars and some shops that were open. He bellowed words of flattery and bought her gifts, which she refused unless it was a book she was eyeing. She knew something was up, but she couldn't really place it. After taking her to one last shop, he took her on a stroll by the nearly frozen river nearby Arena Ferox.
"Alright, Basilio," Robin gave him a side-ways glance. "What's this about? I can tell that you have been hiding something from me or you're bribing me. So, which of the two is it?"
The large man let out a hearty laugh, bringing Robin in with his arm to give her a little jostle.
"You don't beat 'round the bush, do ya? Tell me, what made you say so now?"
"I might have wanted a little bit of fun before getting to the serious bits."
"I like your style!" He barked out a laugh. "To put it bluntly, I want you on my team."
Robin paused, her lip twitched. "Pardon? Do you mean to say you want to pluck me from Chrom's campaign?"
"Not exactly. See, we're holding a tournament to showcase our finest warriors in front of your Exalt and Flavia already has a good team already. She even recruited Chrom! Once again, that woman has beat me to it again!"
Robin let out a small chuckle, her thoughts starting to sir. Chrom will be serving the East Khan and if she would join, that would mean they would be enemies. Something seemed almost primal to challenge someone that holds the blood of Naga in their veins-
Hold on. What? The blood of Naga? Robin recalled that Naga was one, if not the only, strongest dragons to defeat the Kingshield Duma, Kingsgrail Mila, and the fell dragon, Grima. There were many disputes as to whether Naga existed as a man, woman, or dragon, but to Ylisse history, Naga came in the form of a beautiful woman. She went about the world, seeking peace between dragons and mortals, granting power to humans in the form of weapons and power within the royal bloodline. She was known to some as a loving and caring mother to all that lives or was cold and extreme to exterminating threats to peace.
How did she know that Chom held the blood of Naga? He never told her that. But she knew. There weren't any doubts that told her that he didn't hold the holy blood. These intrusive thoughts scared her. How did she come into possession of these thoughts? Who was she before she woke up?
"So what do you say, Robin?"
Basilio's deep voice shook her out of her stupor, her nerves frazzling her body. She shook off an icy chill going up her back and recomposed herself.
"I...think that would be a fantastic idea." She put on a smile, a glint of competitiveness shown in her eyes.
Basilio grinned back at her and clapped her shoulder. "Wonderful! Let me show you how this will play out."
Time passed to the evening, many of the competitors readying themselves for the battles and scrimmages against their future opponents. Eventually, the competitors were all called to the Arena to rally and wait for the tournament to begin. Robin stood farther away from the group, surveying each person with her Insight, calculating her strengths and weaknesses for each one. She decided to bring out a Levin sword from the convoy and replace her own book with a copy of Arcfire. She didn't want to pull out a strong spell at the wrong time as she did with the first stone golem.
"Robin!"
Chrom came striding forward, his attire different from his usual one sleeve and white cape. Instead, he only sported a different dark blue tunic that had both sleeves, hiding the brand on his right side. It went to his knees, a slit cutting down from his right side and fell just short of his knees. His lower face was hidden with a dark wrap-around cape, but she could tell he was smiling underneath the layer.
"How dashing you look, milord." Robin giggled, her voice playful yet snarky. "What's with the new look?"
Chrom frowned and grabbed a handful of the dark cape that flowed behind him. "Flavia tells me that I should hide my identity till I get to the semifinals. I do not see the point, but if it's supposed to be a surprise then I shall abide by her rules. You're also one to talk." He gestured towards her. "Basilio wrapped you up in the rules too?"
Robin looked down to her own outfit. She had borrowed a simple tunic from one of the female villagers and some leggings to pair with her combat boots. She also took out her signature twin ponytails and replaced it with a high singular one. Lissa insisted on twisting in a braid on one side. The only thing she had kept the same was her coat, which rested over her shoulders; her arms out of the sleeves. No matter how many times Basilio tried to make her keep it with him, she promptly refused. He had also admitted that it would ruin the "surprise", but allowed her to keep it. To make it more inconspicuous, she turned it inside out.
"I guess so." Robin sighed. "I wonder if the people competing know that some of the shepherds are in this tournament?"
"Who else decided to participate?"
"Lon'qu and Olivia were thrown in to participate per Basilio's orders. Four others also wanted to join and test their strengths: Cordelia, Gregor, Stahl, and Vaike."
"Of course Vaike would want to." Chrom chuckled. "I bet he's dying to go against me."
The two laughed, imagining Vaike being absolutely pompous the entire time. The two carried on a conversation for a while longer before being interrupted by Basilio's voice booming throughout the Arena.
"Welcome all to the arena! We have been through a great deal of struggle and mishap, but look no further as we've held a tournament with one of the greatest leaders on the continent, The Exalt from Ylisse!"
Emmeryn stepped out from behind the curtain and stood in between both Khans, a radiant smile displayed upon her face. Robin couldn't see so far, but she could tell she was humble about the title Basilio gave her as she looked timid and nervous when he announced it.
"We hold this tournament to showcase our best fighters and duelers! Make Ferox proud with your might! Let us begin!"
Flavia stepped up now and held a roll of paper in her hand. "I shall now pair you with your opponent. There is no time limit and any weapon is fair game. Only four pairs are allowed in the arena and we will announce each winner after each round."
Falvia began to rattle off names and slowly each member within the group made their way to face off their opponents. Chrom and Robin noticed that neither one was called at first, but that didn't matter as watching the competition was more effective to know their future opponents. The first round quickly went by as the weaker ones were weeded out from each group. The second group was called and both Vaike and Gregor were called. Neither was against each other, but both beat their opponents with ease.
The third group was next: Olivia and Robin were called this time both against burley men twice their size. Robin had made her move to sit in the upper right corner of the arena, her opponent following her. She waited till the man was situated with hefting his large axe off of his shoulders before greeting him with a smile and a ready battle stance. It only took a couple swings of her Levin sword to render her opponent useless, using a fraction of the electricity to shock his muscles.
She could hear cheering from one side of the arena when she had won. Looking up, she noticed Lissa and Morgan, faces bright and hollering cheers to her. She waved at them and retreated to the winners bench near the exit. Olivia was still battling her opponent, but it was short-lived as she danced around him and finally pulled out her duel swords and knocked him unconscious. A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd, startling Olivia. Her face turned beet red and she scurried over to Robin, her hands over her face.
"Well done, Olivia." Robin shouted over the cheers. "You were lovely out there."
"Oh, please." Olivia laughed, her face still pink. "I appreciate it. I'm really only good at dancing, but it's nice to hear that you liked it."
With the last pair finishing, Flavia announced the winners of the third round. Robin and Olivia waving to the crowd. Many of the Shepherds waved and cheered for them in the stands. Stahl and Lon'qu were in the fourth group, the both of them proceeding to the next round easily. Chrom and Cordelia didn't show up until later rounds. Robin had lost track after the 12th round, but recognized Cordelia when she entered the field. She didn't wear her armor and only wore her tunic dress and skirt, her usual red hair was tied up this time in a ponytail with a candy orange ribbon. Robin hadn't recognized it before and thought that she had perhaps bought it at the market. She had defeated her opponent with graceful feats and spun her lance to showcase her strength and skill against her opponent that held a sword. Chrom was in the last group to go. Many were confused who the cloaked man was. Flavia really did a good job hiding his identity, as she used a fake name to hide who he was. He defeated his opponent easily, sounding the horn that the first round of the tournament was over.
Flavia and Basilio then split the winners in two separate groups, which Robin had anticipated. On one side was the East team and the other the West; one each for the respective Khan leaders. She saw that Lon'qu stood on her side as well as Olivia and Vaike. She assumed the others, including Chrom, were on the other side.
She sidled up to Lon'qu, causing him to jump.
"Looks like we're on the same side, huh?"
"Get back, woman." He grunted, his face dusted a light pink. "I do not wish to converse with you."
Robin raised an eyebrow and smirked at his reaction. She had heard that he had a phobia of women and now that she was close to him, she could finally put her plan into action.
"No worries, I'll stay far from you." She said slowly. "But we should reconvene with the other to ensure victory."
She called over Olivia and Vaike, who came promptly over. She discussed strategy with them and went over some key points she noticed when observing other opponents. She didn't fail to point out her comrades on the other side's weaknesses either. If one of them were to fight against them, it would be a good fight. She made sure that when she talked to the group, she stayed close to Lon'qu on one side and had Olivia stand on the other side, boxing both Vaike and Lon'qu in between them. At some points, she noticed that Lon'qu would become flustered when she asked him a question and inched farther from her, but she made sure to nonchalantly move to step closer to him. It would slowly work, but she had to keep at it.
After the minutes go by to ready themselves for the next round, Flavia begins to call out the next pairs. The second round is a breeze for Robin. She ensures that her other teammates went through smoothly and finds out that they did. She finds out that Stahl had barely made it through and has a feeling that he'll be the first one dropped out in the next match. To which she was right as he lost not too soon after in the eighth round. Vaike was the next to go in the twelfth round, but he put up a spectacular display against his opponent. She watched as the rest went through without a hitch.
The numbers were dwindling slowly and she noticed that they must be close to the quarterfinals. In the next round, Gregor was one of the very few who lost. He wished the rest of them luck with a smile and made his way to the infirmary to ensure he didn't hurt himself too bad. Olivia was the first to go against one of their comrades. She fought against Chrom, but her efforts were not in vain as she also did a number on Chrom, ripping his cloak just a bit. This made her nervous and that left her open for Chrom to aim for her weakest spot and she had to concede.
Finally they had entered the Semi-finals. Robin and Lon'qu on the West and Chrom and Cordelia on the East. They were given an hour break to be up and ready for the last battle and a chance to change back into their normal outfits.
Robin sat in one of the rooms that was designated to her, pulling her hair back in the signature pigtails she wore. She loves trying new styles, but she'll always love her hair in this style. Maybe it said something about her.
A knock sounded at her door and she answered it to find Olivia standing there.
"Olivia!" Robin didn't mask her shock. She didn't think someone would want to seek her out so close to the beginning of the match. "What a surprise, shouldn't you be in the stands?"
"I wanted to wish you good luck on your next match." she said timidly, her hands clasped in front of her chest. She didn't make a move to come inside. "I also wanted to give you some tips on Chrom, if you are pitted against him."
"I appreciate your sentiment, but I already know so many of Chrom's moves." Robin chuckled. "So even if I do against him, I know how to defeat him."
"Oh…I see," Olivia looked deflated.
Robin knew that she wanted to help and felt grateful that she wanted to help out. She patted her on the shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile.
"We can most likely talk later, but I have to get back to the arena to watch the rest of the opponents. Need to scope the competition." She walked out and waved at her. "Wish me luck!"
With Robin out of sight, Olivia's soft features twisted in disgust and she clicked her tongue. She turned sharply on her heel and started off in the opposite direction that Robin went, her mind jumping from one thought to the other. How dare she not take the advice of someone close in her barracks? Didn't she trust all of them? And how does she know all of his moves? What, does she watch every single one of them? Disgusting.
Entering one of the rooms, she slammed it shut. She ran her hands through her hair and clutched at it, wanting to rip it out of her head. Her plans weren't working. Why aren't they working?! The bangles on her wrists began to feel suffocating and tight and the room was spinning. She yanked them off and threw them at the wall, screaming out her frustration.
"It didn't go well, again?"
Garrick once again was sitting across the room and giving her a shit-eating grin. "Olivia" scowled at him and ripped her disguise off, revealing it to be Nelson. He shook off his transformation magic, the cute female face melting off and he threw off the wig that sat on top of his head.
"Of course not!" He spat. "She's either too clever or too stupid to take the bait. How come every time we ambush them with a good plan, she always foils it?! We almost had her last time, but that damn songstress had to intervene! If you hadn't been taken out by that prince, we would have gotten away with it!"
Garrick grimaced at the memory and rubbed at his throat. A light scar lining his neck where it was sliced open. He watched as Nelson continued to rant and rave about his failure plans and let out a chuckle, folding his arms and legs together. He has never seen Nelson so troubled and angry before. Nelson spent years serving Grima with his experiments and Garrick has noticed that working in confinement has made his patience grow thin. Garrick has plenty of patience to ride this little adventure out and watching Nelson slowly go mad was like watching a kid yell at their favorite television show.
"If you are so imprudent about getting FF1-C2," The burly man scoffed. "Then we need to devise a plan to capture her at the right moment."
"You don't think I'm trying?! How will I redeem myself to our lord? He will dispose of me, I know it!" Nelson's voice was becoming shrill and his face becoming red. It then relaxed a bit before he started to sing praises. "But if he does dispose of me, how will he do it? Auugh, just imagining him above me…"
He whipped back around to Garrick, his face hardened with a cold stare. "Since you know so much, how do you propose we go about this?!"
They sat in silence for a bit, before Garrick pulled out a book from one of his bags. He began flipping through the book silently before stopping on a page and turning it to face Nelson.
"If what our Lord has told us is true," He pointed to one of the paragraphs written out on the page. "Then our opportune moment is when they defeat the jester, Gangrel."
Nelson snatched the book out of his hands and reviewed it, staring at the answer. His scowl turned into one of pleasure and he began to giggle manically.
"Of course our Lord would have all the answers!" He coughed and threw the book back. "Fine, I will follow what you say. But we must go back and see how the others are doing on our other experimental beings. We must be ready."
Robin climbed stairs to the arena, the crowd loud as ever and the cheers echoed down the halls. She noticed Stahl and Olivia talking by one of the entrances, watching one of the battles. She frowned and recalled seeing her just now. Did she run to meet Stahl just now? She approached them and they greeted her, Stahl pointing out for Robin.
"Look!" He shouted over the noise. "Lon'qu's just finishing his last match!"
He was right and watched as Lon'qu finished off the woman he was pitted against. He let her get up and both bowed to each other before walking off towards the changing rooms. Robin clapped with everyone and leaned towards Olivia.
"Hey, so you wanted to give me some pointers earlier?" She tried to yell in her ear. "I had no idea that you were going the same way as me, what did you want to tell me?"
Olivia looked over to her and gave her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about? I've been here with Stahl since I lost!"
Robin stopped and her brows furrowed. If that wasn't Olivia just now, who was that? Her blood ran cold and she began to go through scenarios and possibilities that could have happened or could happen. If there is a double, it could have the intention of hurting the Exalt or even another party member within the army. Robin opened her mouth to tell Olivia about her double, but was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.
"Did you see that? I hope we're not pitted against that!"
She turned to see Chrom in his usual attire and his eyes were glued to the arena around him.
"Chrom!" Robin started. "I need to tell you-"
"That was spectacular!" Basilio's voice boomed forth from his sitting area. "We now have our last champion for the Semi-Finals!" Cheers erupted from the stands. Robin could feel a small migraine coming and she was becoming irritated with all the noise. "I'll welcome our next challengers to the floor: To support the East, Cordelia!"
The Pegasus rider hurried out to the floor, her Brave Lance ready at her side. She waved at the crowd and another wave of cheers sounded.
"And for her opponent, Robin!"
Robin blanched at her name. How was she on so soon? And now of all times! There could be an imposter among the crowd and she wouldn't know where they could be! Laughs and hollers went her way and she felt a push on her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Chrom laughed in her ear. "Go out there and win!"
She stumbled under the weight of hands pushing into the arena and hesitantly walked forth, but not before taking a look back to give a worried look back to Chrom. He must have seen it as his expression fell and also shot back the worried expression. Turning back, she locked eyes with Cordelia, who had a determined and stern expression. Robin felt something was off and a flag went off into her head. Could she also be an imposter? There was only one way to find out.
A horn was sounded at the start of the battle. Cordelia spun her lance and charged at her, trying to leave no time for Robin to react. But Robin was just as fast, she whipped out her Levin sword with her dominant hand and arcfire with the other. Charging her Levin sword, she let go of it and used some wind magic to spin it in the air and released a bolt of lightning from the tip of the sword. Cordelia dodged it and swung her lance to try and hit Robin's side, but was blocked and Robin parried it with ease. Using the jagged sides of the sword, she tried to lock the lance in and run up the side, aiming arcfire low into Cordelia's abdomen. She had dodged once again, but not coming out unscathed in the process. Her side was hit, but the cut wasn't too deep.
Cordelia thrusted her lance out of the lock and stuck it into the ground. She performed an aerial jump kick, grabbing the hilt of the lance and propelled herself into the air. She got a few hits into Robin's back and side, before keeping a distance to gain the upper hand.
Robin panted heavily and came out of her crouch, dusting off her coat a little. The arena was loud, but all she could hear was the sound of her blood rushing through her head. Her sides began to sting and she could feel the bruises forming on her back. Surveying her opponent, she saw that Cordelia carried a certain air around her and walked a long circle around her. She didn't seem to be another person, but was confident and determined to beat Robin. Her clothes were burnt in some places and her hair was still tied up in the ribbon, albeit some strands of hair coming undone from it. Dirt and dust were smudged on her face from kicking up the arena floor, but both were covered with the floor debris.
She didn't want to use Insight yet, she wanted to save it for when she made it to the Final round, but if she must then she will. She raised Arcfire and felt mana flow through her to the book, pages flying from one end to the other, before she dashed forward and crossed her arms. She let out a burst of fire, crying out, "Arcfire!" The flames found Cordelia's feet and crawled up her figure before exploding on impact to the key word.
Cordelia let out a yelp, stumbling back from the blow. She thrusted her lance forward in a blind rage and found Robin's shoulder, digging it deep. Robin also let out a grunt, before propelling herself backwards with her low-level wind spell.
Both women landed on their backs or sides, grunting from the wounds that have been inflicted. Robin touched her shoulder and winced at the sharp pain and warm blood flow into her fingertips. Her head began to swell once again and she grimaced. Her head begins to explode with memories that she hadn't recalled before; fire everywhere and someone above her, sneering at her while laughing at her pain.
She shook herself out of her stupor, rage filling her emotions and she charged forward at the rider. She used Insight, using moves she hadn't recalled knowing before as they produced themselves before her. She hit Cordelia left and right and even threw her sword at one point to throw in a couple punches. Something inside her made her feel some sick pleasure seeing her comrade lie below her, blood oozing out of her nose and her face covered in soot and dirt. She felt a grin spread against her cheeks and she kept punching repeatedly, a giggle escaping.
Cordelia was stunned at the sudden rush, but quickly retaliated and pushed back with the hilt of her lance. Robin summoned her sword once again. She felt a little braver from the adrenaline rush and aimed a bigger shot of lightning at Cordelia. Cordelia took the blow, but emerged from the smoke and dust to deliver a flurry of blows that rendered Robin's legs useless as she found the back of her knees bleeding.
Laying on her back, she watched as Cordelia stood above her and raised the blunt end of her lance to deliver the final swing and afterwards, everything went to black.