Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
Robin dives out of the axe's path, gritting his teeth as his shoulder bumps a rock. He rolls quickly, ignoring the mud that splatters on his coat. The axe blade lands in the muck beside him: a near miss.
Robin was surrounded. Three barbarians, two mages, an archer, and a cavalier. The teal-haired boy was a good fighter for sure, but even this was beyond his capabilities… or it would be if it weren't for his ace. As the boy dodges and weaves he pulls a small watch from a pocket and holds it out.
"Time snap!"
The hands on the watch started to move while the rest of the world freezes around Robin. The barbarians slow and stop their swings, the cavalier and their horse are entirely off the ground caught in mid gallop, an arrow from the archer hangs in the air over Robin's head, and the mage's magic circle are clearly visible in immobile detail as no one has ever seen them before.
Robin doesn't care though, he wants to survive. The clock was ticking, literally, and Robin knows from experience he only has a minute until the effects wear off. He dashes to the cavalier stabbing his iron sword through the man's chest, he then goes to the archer, the mage, the barbarians.
He got all but one. When the effects wear off and the world starts again, the entire group of plegian soldiers fall dead to the ground, all but a single barbarian. The man's eyes go wide at seeing his entire squad die in an instant and his target seemingly teleporting from one spot to another.
"M-Monster…"
"No more than you, raiding dastard." Robin snaps, pulling out his tome from beneath his coat. The electricity crackles along his hands and he launches a bolt, searing the man's chest and electrocuting him. The barbarian falls, twitching on the ground as the electric currents move through his muscles.
Robin huffs, putting his watch away. The current time was 12:28. He'd used it twenty eight times since waking up outside of southtown with no memories. Sometimes he wonders if the different times actually do anything, or if it was all aesthetic. Maybe the watch would break when he used all twelve hours? All he really knew for certain was that the ability was usable only once per hour, and lasted for precisely one minute.
It was a mystery for another day though. Robin could hear Chrom calling for him.
###
One o'clock, not a second later. The watch rested on that number, the battle was over.
Robin waited. He'd only used the ability a few minutes ago. Was something going to happen? He stared down at the copper pocket-watch, ignoring everyone around him. Surely something would happen. Could it really be nothing?
"Robin." Chrom said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Nicely done."
"Thank you Chrom." The tactician coughs, pocketing the watch. "It was a tough one, wasn't it?"
"Indeed. How did you defeat those wyvern riders all on your own? One moment you were surrounded, I turned to call Frederick to cover for me, and when I looked back they were all dead."
Robin grins nervously. "I'm just that good I guess. I didn't pick up this wind tome for nothing."
"I suppose I should have more faith in you then." Chrom laughs. He turns to the rest of his team. "Alright Shepherds, you know the drill! Search the bodies for usable supplies and gather them together for burial! We move on in an hour!"
Emmeryn disapproved of taking from the dead, but Chrom disagreed. If supplies (weapons, armor, money) were salvageable they should be taken. He drew the line at personal artifacts though. Any medallions, rings, or personal items were to be left alone and buried with the soldier. Letters (if they were present on the soldier's person for some reason) were to be delivered to the address if at all possible after being read over to ensure they didn't contain military information.
This was assuming there wasn't other soldiers of the same faction around to identify the dead soldiers and take their personal belonging back to their families. If that was the case (though it was yet to happen for Robin) the bodies were to be searched as normal but not buried. Instead they would be left to their own people to bury as they saw fit and arrange for things to be sent back to families.
Robin rarely partook in the actual searching though. Instead he took stock of injuries, broken weapons and staves, and made calculations on how the battle would affect their time to their destination. Emmet, the Shepherds' quartermaster, helped him during such times. The man made it so Robin didn't have to leave his office to gather reports and updates, which significantly sped up the process of making a new assessment of their situation. Despite one of his legs being a wooden replacement, the man has no complaints about moving around to gather reports. Emmet isn't fast, but he doesn't have to be. It takes a while to sort through all the information anyways.
This time though, Robin is distracted. He keeps thinking about the watch in his pocket, and has to resist the urge to take it out and stare all the time. Emmet brings reports faster than Robin is processing, and he ends up taking an extra half an hour to deal with them.
Robin goes to sleep that night staring at the pocket-watch, wondering if there is something he's missing.
###
"Cordelia, no!" The red-haired girl desperately slashes with her steel lance, trying to batter off the wyvern riders and their axes.
"Sumia, stay back!" Robin barks. Somehow he knows the situation even though… why does he…?
"But that's my friend! We have to- gods…" Sumia sobs as the other pegasus knight ('Cordelia' Robin assumes) falls from her mount and crashes into the rocks below.
"Right into a pack of wyverns… I'm sorry Stumbles." Gaius grimaces, patting the girl's leg as her pegasus hovers next to him.
###
Robin blinks awake, the dream fresh in his mind. He fumbles for his journal, scribbling down what he remembers. That was too vivid to be a normal dream.
"Cordelia, red hair, pegasus knight." Robin murmurs fervently. "Battle on cliffs, wyverns behind, ambush?"
The tactician knows their plan is to go around Whisperwind Mountain to get to the eastern palace. They'll go through a small pass along the side of a cliff… that must be what he just saw. Some way, somehow, Robin received a premonition through a dream. He would try to save this 'Cordelia', and be prepared for the upcoming battle that no one else knew about.
###
"Robin? What are you doing?" Chrom asks, confused.
"Just… keeping an eye out." The boy murmurs, watching the cliffside. "Perfect place for an ambush, wouldn't you say?"
"And I thought Frederick was wary." The boy chuckles.
"Hmm… Chrom."
"Yes?"
"Do you know someone named Cordelia?"
"Indeed I do. When did you hear of her? From Sumia?"
"Sure. Where is she now?"
"At the border I think. I'll confess, I don't keep track of her. She's Sumia's friend more than mine."
"Hmm…"
Robin falls silent, still scanning the mountainside.
Not ten minutes later, a group of wyverns swoop down in front of them. The Hierarch, who had been accompanying them, runs up announcing his defection… and is promptly killed by the men to whom he was defecting.
An ambush, just like Robin thought. There were no wyverns behind them yet, but that didn't mean Cordelia was safe.
"Shepherds!" Robin barks. "Focus those wyverns! I don't want any getting past us! Defensive wall!"
The boy knows he would usually have ordered a turtle formation and not a wall. A wall is much easier to breach… but it's also better at stopping things from getting past. With the mages spread out we can better take down any wyverns that try to get past.
Normally they would leave those that get past for Emmeryn's guard to deal with, but this time Robin's know Cordeila's life is on the line. They'll catch her between the guard and the Shepherds, surround her, and kill her between safe zones.
It's almost as if that thought triggered her appearance. A pegasus knights flies over the mountain, baring down on them with great speed. Some wyvern riders try to intercept, but the long reach of the wall allows Ricken to pick them off, meaning only one rider gets past.
Cordelia, contrary to what Robin saw in his dream, seems to be a perfectly adept fighter. She peppers the wyvern rider with javelins, killing him long before the rider can even swing his axe at her.
Robin nods to himself and focuses back on the battle. That's one problem solved. "Shepherds, turtle formation! Slow advance!"
###
Two o'clock. Slaughtering their way through Plegia to get to Emmeryn means Robin is using his power frequently to tip the scales of fights. Wyvern rider ambushes are common, and Robin finds himself using time snap to get out of sticky situations with great frequency.
That night he expects the dream and has his paper, quill, and ink ready by his bedside when he goes to sleep.
###
"Go wee one, Gregor stay and fight." The crusty man whispers quietly, shoving the small green-haired girl through a gap in the bones. "See man with fancy sword? He is Ylissian. Ylissians will like you."
"No! I won't just leave you-" The little girl squeaks, trying to fight back against the man.
"No time for talking, is time to be running! Go to man with fancy sword." Gregor murmurs, pushing a bag of coins (judging by the sound) into her hands. "We both die if you stay. Go, live for Gregor. Don't make last act worthless yes?"
"B-But-"
"Gregor old man. You still have long life. Go!"
###
Robin blinks awake. Old man Gregor, scantily-clad little girl, bones, being pursued. Sent to Chrom…
The tactician knows he'll have to find this before it happens. He can't react to something this time. He pulls out a map, searching. The map is somewhat out of date, but there are some villages here centered around an oasis. No note of bones, but if Gregor and the girl are coming from anywhere it's probably the villages.
He purses his lips. In order to keep those two safe they'll need to send people in advance. Sumia and Cordelia. They can pick up the two and bring them to safety. It's risky to send two unaccompanied pegasus knights, but it's the only way Robin can save Gregor.
As they approach the villages later that day (still not able to be seen over the horizon) Robin starts looking for bones. He borrowed Gaius' spyglass earlier that day because he 'wanted to try it out'. In reality, he knew he needed to spot those bones as quickly as possible.
"There they are." Robin murmurs. The giant remains of some reptile (as can be told by the structure of the head) lie baking and half buried in the sand. It's landmark not on the map, but there's no way it can be recent. Regardless, it's time to start the rescue mission. He raises a hand in the air and shouts. "Sumia! Cordelia!"
The two girl flutter down to hover over his head. "Yes Robin?"
"Over there are some bones." Robin gestures off to the horizon with one arm and hands the spyglass up to Cordelia with the other. The red-haired girl squints through and nods. "I need you two to give it a fly-over. We'll be passing it by on our way over and we don't want to be ambushed."
"Understood." Sumia nods. Cordelia hands back the spyglass and the two fly off.
Not half an hour later Robin can see them suddenly swoop down from the sky behind the bones. When they return back to the air they each have a passenger. As they fly back the tactician notices a few spells shoot up behind them. Robin grins to himself and pockets the spyglass. Success. Now they just have to fight. "Shepherds! Sumia and Cordelia have found trouble, prepare for combat!"
###
Three o'clock, a vision of Emmeryn falling from her perch. Averted by sending Gaius ahead of them, and breaking Emmeryn out of her captivity before they even arrive.
Four o'clock, a frail dancer being captured by a plegian elite mercenary (also known as a 'hero') as Lon'qu falls trying to protect her. Averted with more caution, and placing the girl in the protection of the backline. The lack of inspiration for the frontline is unfortunate, but the battle is won regardless.
During the two years of peace that follow, Robin doesn't use his time snap. He considers it, but realizes he doesn't know how far in the future the visions go, and he doesn't know what happens at twelve o'clock. So for those two years the watch remains unused, lying at three minutes past four.
Marriages abound during this time. Gaius and Sumia, Chrom and Maribelle, Lissa and Donnel, and Lon'qu and Olivia. Robin watches all of this happen with a faint amusement. He has a few guesses as to who will be next.
Those guesses don't come to pass as soon as he expects. War returns, this time with some country called 'Valm'. Robin dusts off his old pocket-watch and tome, and goes back to war with the rest of the Shepherds.
###
Robin has never had trouble understanding the prophetic dreams before, but this one confuses him. 'Father' the blue-haired girl said, but Chrom's daughter is young, only two years old. All of this while crows caw in the background, and dusk casts a shadow over everyone's face. Five o'clock… a confusing confrontation.
When the event eventually comes to pass, Robin is there to see it. Marth joins them for a battle against a sudden Risen attack, bringing along a boy named Henry. When Chrom almost falls to a sudden sword to the back, Marth calls out "Father!" and dives to intercept.
Marth, Lucina, a girl from the future. It seems Robin isn't the only one with powers over time. Lucina admits she's never seen the watch before, and that he never showed any ability to manipulate time in the future.
At that point, Robin is positive that twelve o'clock is the end of the watch.
Six o'clock. A women surrounded by valmese knights, weaponless. Cherch, Sumia, and Cordelia (with Gregor and Nowi riding with them) blaze a path to her while the other Shepherds hack through the main force.
Seven, eight, nine, ten. All used in the war to prevent deaths. Say'ri's brother is saved, Tharja avoids an arrow through the chest, Sully gets off with a bruise rather than a broken collarbone, and Owain is stopped from suiciding against an entire bandit team on his own.
The knowledge of the children is privileged information and only a few are told: Emmeryn, Philia, and Rami are the only ones outside the Shepherds (and Basilio and Flavia) to know the secret. Over the course of the war, some of the children are found. Some are in Valm, discovered as the Shepherds march across the country. Some are in Ylisse, and either naturally make their way to the capital or are found by the pegasus knights during routine Risen cleanup thanks to Lucina providing detailed descriptions. Some are in Ferox, and are discovered on virtue of their incredible fighting skills.
The strangest cases are those found in Plegia. They aren't delivered by the ruler of Plegia, but by (of all people) Gangrel. The Mad King comes stomping into Ylisstol one day with Yarne and Severa, demanding that 'these future brats' be taken off his hands.
It turns out Severa found Gangrel in a pirate gang and recognized him. When she tried to buy his services from the pirates and they attacked her, Gangrel came to her defense and they escaped.
Gangrel vehemently denies that he did it out of any sort of goodwill or kindness because Severa tried to free him, but the man helping to save Yarne later at no benefit to himself says volumes about his attempts to redeem himself.
When asked why she even bothered to try and save him, Severa just scoffs and says "I recognized his description and knew he was supposed to be dead. I figured I could get him to help me because it would be better than staying with those nasty pirates."
By the time they're preparing to fight Walhart all of the future children are found. Robin uses the eleventh vision the night before the battle.
###
The red axe falls, clashing with Falchion as the two men duel. "This is the moment from my dream." Robin realizes, eyes narrowing. His time snap has already been used this fight to break through the generals blocking the hall. "Come on Gangrel, I'm trusting you on this."
Excellus appears in a flash of purple light, teleporting back into view with his toad-like smile. In the man's hand is a giant red tome. If he fires that, it will kill not only Chrom but Walhart, Robin, and everyone else in the room.
Siege tomes are brutally powerful. Excellus is trying to massacre everyone, not just the Shepherds.
"You're an eyesore!" Gangrel cackles, suddenly leaping out from a nearby alcove. His jagged sword buries itself in Excellus' neck as the wiry man lands on the sage's back. "Sorry, but there's only room for one pitiful excuse for a human being around here, and that's me!"
As Excellus falls Robin gives Gangrel a nod. A flawless execution. He points a finger to Walhart and Chrom, and the gangly man dashes forward with Levin sword in hand.
The Mad King and the Exalted Prince fighting the Conqueror. Robin snorts and returns to battling the group of sages. A royal battle indeed.
###
One minute left. Robin is hanging on to this. All of his time snaps are gone but one, and more importantly he has one last vision. Twelve o'clock.
"Dad?" Morgan asks, popping her head through the doorway. "What's up?" Her eyes find the watch. "Damn, you've used a lot of time on that thing already."
Lucina hadn't known Morgan existed. The girl was an oddity, just like himself. She had no memory and woke up with an old copper watch in her pocket. The difference was that hers had already been half used.
She didn't get visions like him. Instead each hour on the watch gave her a bit of her memories back. Morgan was still sparing with its use though, saving it for battles rather than using it whenever she could just to get her memories.
"I have one minute left Morgan." Robin murmurs. "One last vision. One last snap. What's more valuable?"
"Well a snap is nice and all, but it's the visions that save lives right?" Morgan chirps. "Save the vision for Grima, use the snap the day before."
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing." The tactician nods. "But the snap could let me kill Grima without the fight dragging on."
"And risk a death?"
"A drawn out fight is more likely to risk a death with or without a vision."
"Well it's up to you Dad. Your call."
"I know… gods I hate decisions like this."
###
Robin saves the snap. A vision would be great, but the chance to kill Grima before the fighting can really start is too tempting to pass up. He never told Chrom about the ability, but somehow he thinks the prince knows. Robin was never subtle about its use after all.
Naga teleports them aboard Grima's back, and the clone of Robin laughs. He raises his hand, maybe to call an attack, and Robin acts.
"Time snap!"
Robin dashes forwards, throwing bolt after bolt of thoron lightning. In the last three seconds the tactician reaches his target, wrenches the silver sword from his hip, and buries it in his clone's chest.
Time lurches back to normal, and the Risen roar to life. Grima gasps, grabbing at the sword though his body. The tome in his hand is dropped to the floor and Robin kicks it away. He then grabs the sword hilt, grits his teeth, and wrenches upwards.
In less than ten seconds real time Grima is dead. The time snap prevents minutes of mindless fighting. Robin smiles grimly. He can hear Chrom yelling at him, cursing him for sacrificing himself as the Risen already start to drop.
Robin turns, given a salute to his fellow Shepherds, and then (to spare them the pain of seeing him dissolve as he can already feel his arms going numb) jumps off the dragon and falls through the air.
The tactician never hits the ground, dissolving into purple mist long before. When Chrom and Morgan find the spot he would have hit later all they find is an old copper pocket-watch.
###
That night Chrom dreams. He sees Robin sitting at a table with the rest of the Shepherds. He's laughing and smiling, and when he reaches for a drink Chrom can see the gold wedding band on his finger.
At that time, Chrom knows Robin must be alive. This dream is a vision. He's positive.
Robin doesn't appear the next day or the day after that, but Chrom knows the boy will return to them a some point. He just hopes that it will be sooner than later: Morgan misses her father, and Anna is starting to threatening to sue Naga if she never gets a chance to propose properly.
As amusing at that would be, Chrom hope Robin comes back before that happens. Something tells him that trying to take a god to court won't go over well.
This chapter is all over the place. I like the idea, but it's one that needs a longer story to be done well I think.
Zero kami no mu: We'll see how it goes. Expect it soon enough.
Invisible Prince: Hmm… I'll see about that. The idea might need tweaking though.
Scorin: It's up to you. Don't rely on my help too much though, I'm basically improvising everything I do. I don't plan these chapters that much before I start, I just make them up as I go. My skill is in writing, not planning or giving feedback.
I'll note all those ideas down for consideration. No guarantees how quickly I'll get to them though.