Robert Dreese and Robynne Darling

*"Robynne" and "Darling" redirect here. For other characters with those respective names, see Robynne Dreese and Mrs. Dreese.*

## Robert Dreese / Robynne Ellis Darling

Robert (left) at the Standridge Circle with Kunapipi.

Spirit Guard Serenity (right) battles Day LaMode.

Robynne (left) with Fretribution.

### First appearance

* Chapter 1 (Robert)
* Chapter 14 (Spirit Guard Serenity)
* Chapter 16 (Robynne)

### Other names

* Rob
* Bluster, Waveform, Isocruciatic (online handles)
* Robby, Rosy, Red (Vivian's nicknames)
* Spirit Guard Serenity
* Ace (Mallory's nickname)
* Roby (Stacy's nickname)

### Gender

* Male (Robert)
* Unsure\* (Robynne)

### Home

* Deepwater
* Burton Hall
* Butterworth Hall, Apartment 218

### Occupation

* Student
* Champion

### Family

* Taylor Dreese (paternal uncle, guardian)
* Mrs. Dreese (mother, deceased)
* Ellis Dreese (father, deceased)
* Robynne Dreese (paternal grandmother, deceased)

### Affiliations

* Deepwater High Football Team (formerly)
* Mayhem Templar
* Spirit Guard
* SFEERS
* Knights of the Spherical Table
* SAU Cheerleading Team (Promotion Squad, mole for Spirit Guard)

**Robert Dreese**, or **Rob** for short, is the main protagonist of *Magical Girl Policy*. A young man from the small town of Deepwater attending his first year at SAU, Robert wants a simple, quiet life, but finds himself dragged into the conflict between Kessia City's resident superheroes and their foes. Robert learns that he has been chosen as a Champion of Fate, and as the reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden, he is the one to become the final member of the Spirit Guard. After Robert transforms into his superhero alter ego, **Spirit Guard Serenity**, his body is reformed into that of a young woman, adopting the name **Robynne Darling**. Robynne, Robert, and Serenity being one and the same is known only to the Spirit Guards and their allies. To those who don't know her secret, Robynne claims she is an old friend of Robert's that arrived to college late due to helping her Uncle Taylor with a harvest back home, and that Robert has moved back to Deepwater after the sudden death of his father.

Rob makes no direct appearances in MGP Vignettes, but is mentioned in "Monster Insurance", "Officer Hester", "Dungeon Direct Response", "Blood-stained Curtains", "Back To Basics", "Knight Shift", and "Missing Pieces".

## Appearance

Robert is an eighteen-year-old man with a height of about 6 feet 2 inches and an athletic build, which he has kept in shape from his years of playing American football and sticking to a healthy diet due to his guardian, Uncle Taylor, being a dental hygienist. He has a very light skin tone. He has short hair in a style he has barely changed since his middle school days. His hair color is chestnut brown in Chapter 1 and the series' cover illustration, but was retroactively changed to reddish-brown in Chapter 17 and is reflected in later artwork, which also shows that he inherited the color from his father. His blue eyes (brown in artwork) typically express a calm, calculating demeanor. He often has a stoic expression, but his displeasure can slip through and appear quite prominently on his face, and his glare is very cold. As someone from the southern United States, Robert has a slight country accent. Robert tends to dress for comfort over style, not minding SAU's business casual dress code but preferring sneakers, jeans, and graphic tees. At school, he carries a large backpack to fit his laptop in. Prior to transforming for the first time, calling upon his Investiture causes his silhouette to glow a light blue and his forehead to display the Ardentian emblem for serenity: a circle with a dot in the middle and a larger circle overlapping it that evokes ripples in water. Robert gains noticeable cuts on his face from Polygal's fingers digging into his skin, but the cuts get completely healed by his Spirit Guard transformation and the ensuing healing factor.

Unlike the other Spirit Guards, whose transformations gave them relatively minor body alterations to more closely resemble the people they reincarnated from, Spirit Guard Serenity's body is accompanied by a change in sex and is completely unrecognizable from Robert's. She is over a foot shorter than before at 5 feet 2 inches, and Rob's muscular build is replaced by a slimmer one associated with cheerleaders. She has a curvaceous body type, sporting a thin waist and large breasts. Her hair is wavy, reaches to her rear, and is a blood red color called scarlette. It is empathokinetically charged, causing it to flow like water even when she stands still as well as cover one of her green eyes no matter how she tries to move it, though her keen empathokinetic perception compensates for her slightly blocked vision. Her voice affects a southern drawl more noticeably than it had as Robert, and she is annoyed whenever people comment on her accent. Serenity's costume consists of a blue two-piece cheerleader uniform, short high-heeled boots, and long fingerless gloves. Artwork shows a wavy line pattern on her top and skirt. She carries a pair of identical daggers, which sport a sapphire blue hilt with engraved symbols that are foreign to her. The angular blades feature a blood groove, serration near the hilt, a barbed tip, and a water-like sheen.

Robynne retains the appearance of Serenity, but the Disconnection Effect as well as the Hush Corps work to block those who would associate the two. Her hair is no longer charged, so she prefers to keep it in a ponytail, usually a high one, to alleviate the annoyances of such long hair since her healing factor prevents her from keeping it short. Robynne's face and general figure, as well as her eye color in artwork, are similar to her late mother's, with photos of her mother even showing scarlette hair instead a more natural red after Rob moved to Kessia City. Her mother's hair color change is apparently due to the perception filter of the Standridge Stones and is known to occur to Kessia City residents, but it is unknown if Robynne would likewise appear as a regular redhead outside the area. Despite Robynne not resembling her original self at all, Eli recognizes her by the unchanged expression in her eyes. Robynne is considered exceptionally attractive, with Jodi seeing her as a potential ten out of ten on Cammy's hotness scale, but this causes Rob grief due to being uncomfortable in her new body as well as highly introverted. She attempts to downplay this by wearing loose, thick clothing in colors that clash with her hair. When subject to SAU's dress code, she wears a conservative blouse and skirt combo along with a pastel green backpack. After joining the cheer team, she is expected to wear the team's green two-piece cheerleader uniform on days she has promotion duty, but she only changes into the uniform once it's time to go to her post. When free from any clothing restrictions, Robynne dresses similarly to how she did as Robert. She uses her old, now oversized shirts as sleepwear.

## Personality

Robert is confident and logical, being good at remaining collected even in stressful situations, a trait he takes pride in, though he has wondered if such composure is natural or healthy. He feels that unneeded emotions cloud one's judgment, so he relies on his intellect and principles to guide him as he tries to focus on what is within reach, and he rarely doubts himself once he makes up his mind. When he can't quickly come to a decision, he is prone to overanalysis. This dichotomy is apparent in how Rob can make swift strategic plays in both real life and video game combat, but struggles with the minutiae of maintaining relationships. Although he has been mistaken for being cold due to his stoic, introverted nature, he is rather selfless and has a strong sense of justice, as he is not afraid to put himself in harm's way for the sake of even strangers. Rob greatly values honesty and despises the manipulation of others, though he notes this has made him poor at lying about things he had not prepared for beforehand. Despite his noble character, he can hold a grudge and derives petty pleasure from spiting people, especially those who would hurt others.

As an introvert, Rob is fond of his privacy and becomes uncomfortable while he's the center of attention, earning a reputation as a recluse. His reluctance to ask others for help stems from this as well as being raised as an only child by a single guardian. He has a habit of biting his thumbnail when contemplating something. Rob was socially awkward until he made a conscious effort to improve his social skills during high school, though he still gets nervous about engaging in unwanted conversation. He is prone to making sarcastic remarks, and after leaving home he also often winds up using his Uncle Taylor's unusual witticisms despite thinking they're corny. Rob considers himself a good judge of character, a skill he says he got from his uncle, and this is later compounded by a strong empathokinetic perception that can detect feelings such as distrust. For all of Robert's confidence, he has a large aversion to physical contact; he may reflexively stiffen, shiver, squirm away, or simply ask to be let go if he feels his personal space is being violated. Rob's tolerance is generally higher if the contact is expected or from a close friend, and some cases like carrying someone or dancing elicit no reaction, though Rob usually does not realize such a thing until after the fact.

Competitive by nature, Rob's hobbies include sports and video games, though he is sometimes alienated for being part of two opposing demographics. He played for his school's football team as a running back throughout middle school and much of high school, which had the added benefit of letting him feel closer to his late father, who played as well. Rob developed a fondness for dance during the ballet lessons he secretly took to improve his performance in football, but being reminded of the drama associated with it triggers immediate tension in him. Said drama caused him to quit the team due to no longer finding the environment fun, but he still enjoys watching football games on TV. Getting suspended during this led him to discover his favorite video game, *Aspect Realms*, which remains his primary pastime. Robert credits the game along with his friends in the Mayhem Templar guild for getting him through the end of high school, and Robynne joins SAU's nerd club SFEERS primarily to gain access to its Knights of the Spherical Table guild. Rob's avatar is initially a Deviling Windwhisper called Bluster, changing her into a Seraphim Rippleblade called Waveform (stylized "Waveförm") upon joining the Knights, and uses an alternative healer character called Isocruciatic while guiding Angela through the game. Rob is a skilled gamer and prefers competitive multiplayer, particularly enjoying the banter associated with team-based games such as *Aspect Realms* PvP matches. Rob also collects *Collider* comic books, who is his favorite superheroine, and listens to classic rock music such as Creed of Charisma. Robynne ends up joining the SAU Cheerleading Team's Promotion Squad in order to spy on and topple captain Cammy DeCroix, and in exchange for agreeing to sway SFEERS's Student Association votes in the future is allowed to skip the promotion assignments she loathes.

Rob is considered very smart and he takes his academics quite seriously, graduating fourth in his high school class, and continues to excel at college as a Mechanical Engineering major. As one who likes to understand how things work, Rob is skeptical on matters of mysticism and spirituality. Rob approaches the "magic" associated with the Spirit Guard with a critical eye, insistent on using "empathokinesis" and derived terminology, and even coined "empathokinetic perception" or "EKP". Rob is among the rare people in Kessia City alarmed by the existence of the Spirit Guard and monsters, apparently due to being new to town and resistant to the effects of the Standridge Stones, and he notes he might have joined the ConSpiriters to investigate the Spirit Guard had he heard of the group before learning he's a Spirit Guard himself. Rob derives no pleasure or sense of duty from being selected by Fate to serve as a Champion; he hates the deity for meddling in his life and doesn't care about being reincarnated from the Shrine Maiden, as he lives by his own principles and not any sort of destiny. All of Rob's Spirit Guard business is driven by his values alone: he initially refuses to quit his life to become Spirit Guard Serenity, offers to help the heroes to protect people in other ways, transforms when he's the only one who can save Mallory's life, and joins the cheer team to stop Cammy from hurting people like Evelyn had hurt Robert rather than out of belief that Cammy may be reincarnated from the Empress. After joining the Spirit Guard, Robynne continues her scientific approach to their supernatural business, questioning things the others never gave much thought and insisting they separates themselves from their past lives. Discontent to rely solely on the instincts of her Spirit Guard form like the others, she practices parkour with Noriko to improve her combat maneuvers, exercises her EKP throughout the day, and experiments with her powers to gain a better understanding of them.

While transformed into Spirit Guard Serenity, the instincts inherited from the Shrine Maiden put Rob into a state of mind suited for battle, granting a degree of familiarity with the new body she is normally uncomfortable with. The form gives her an urge for dramatic speech, though she prefers to do so to prod her opponent into making mistakes or revealing useful information. She bases her strategy on those used for boss fights in video games, cautiously observing her opponent's capabilities and habits before taking calculated risks to exploit them. Her speed, stealth, and twin daggers happen to mirror her avatar in *Aspect Realms*, and she employs tactics similar to those she uses in said game. Unlike the other Spirit Guard, Serenity places less emphasis on her special moves in favor of tearing at her opponent with her knives, and has no qualms with channeling negative emotions if they are the ones available. Though Robynne thinks the whole Spirit Guard getup is goofy, she finds monster-hunting significantly easier than the mess of a social life her transformation has left her, and enjoys pushing herself physically in a way she hadn't since quitting football. Rob eventually becomes frustrated by the disparity between her readiness to perform even the most massive of tasks to help someone in need and her difficulty doing something as simple as reciprocating her friends' engagement with her.

Robynne loathes the body her transformation has left her and finds it a constant source of problems. Her figure gets her unwanted attention, and she is not fond of women's clothing, particularly disliking skirts. She gets frustrated at her short stature and lowered strength. Her hair is much too long for her liking, and is annoyed that her healing factor enforces this length. On the other hand, her healing factor lets her have an unhealthy diet, including lots of her favorite soda Pep MD, and lets her skip showers, which have become torturous in a foreign body. She comes to dislike her new name; she chose it in memory of her mother and grandmother, but she finds the "Robynne" spelling overly feminine as she had forgotten her grandmother spelled it that way at the time, and the surname Darling to be cartoonish. Social interaction becomes her biggest hurdle, as everyone now treats her differently, she's limited in what she can say due to having to hide her secret identities and being hindered by her swear filter, and, in her mission of infiltrating the cheer team, pick up on and employ feminine social cues. Her gender identity and sexuality is also a problem: in her mind she remains a heterosexual male with a fondness for cheerleaders, but her body instead readily responds to muscular men with striking eyes. She believes she can't be definitively labeled as either male or female, but since she doesn't like to depress herself by thinking about her identity issues, she doesn't have a name for what she identifies as. To those who don't know her secret, she presents as a heterosexual female that currently has no desire to pursue a relationship. While Robynne often vents to her friends about her situation, she hides just how close she comes to breaking under the pressures of her new life. Once alone, her first night as Robynne sees her break down in tears, something she hadn't done since the death of her grandmother ten years prior. Once aspects of her new life become routine, her body woes are compounded by an identity crisis: she doesn't recognize who she's become, so the fear of her uncle not understanding when the time comes for her to explain everything returns to the forefront. Robynne copes with her new life's issues by trying to focus on certain aspects she can enjoy over smaller gripes she has no control of, and finds solace whenever she gets to live like she had as Robert, greatly valuing her continued friendship with Cory and Eli and playing *Aspect Realms* with the Knights. When overwhelmed by stress, she doubles down on her reclusiveness, shying away even from close friends at the first sign of one of her social hangups, and spends as much time as possible at her computer eating junk food in an attempt to avoid her problems.

## Abilities

Like the other Spirit Guard, Robert has an aura of a plant scent: a bouquet of fresh roses, and it is primarily composed of serenity. It becomes more vivid as Robynne, and flares up even more as Spirit Guard Serenity. This powerful aura can push out other auras, shielding Rob from their effects. Serenity's aura protects her from most forms of non-empathokinetic damage, said to be potent enough to stop bullets.

Robert possesses unusually keen empathokinetic perception, capable of feeling monsters drain people of their Investiture at a distance, represented as pains of icy chills in his bones, as well as vaguely sensing the Spirit Guard's auras, both abilities the other Spirit Guards did not have until after their first transformation. Syncing with his Spirit Stick stimulates his EKP, putting it on par with the Spirit Guard's civilian forms. Transforming into Serenity boosts it to its highest point, effectively serving as a second sight that detects even regular emotions, allowing her to predict enemy and ally movements by reading their intentions. Robynne's EKP is not quite as powerful as that, but it is the most sensitive of all the Spirit Guard, and through her regularly exercising it, she can pick up traces of emotion even while not transformed. According to Platicore, this strong EKP is due to Rob's great control over the power of tranquility, and this power borders on telepathy if it is fully mastered.

Robert's complex Investiture grants him a strong resistance to having it drained by a monster and has serenity as its strongest facet. When his inner self is being invaded, he instinctively weaponizes the chill he gets from a draining, manifesting it in the form of ice or water to attack the intruder. This can repel the monster or cause it to overload, releasing all of the Investiture it had collected and weakening it. Using his Investiture like this reveals his Ardent Resonance: a light blue glow around his body and the symbol of serenity on his forehead, with the former marking him as a Champion and the latter as the one chosen to become Spirit Guard Serenity. He can suppress this Resonance or make it glow brighter if desired, making his aura more visible to those who can sense it. The Resonance no longer appears after he transforms for the first time.

Robert transforms into Spirit Guard Serenity by holding his Spirit Stick and, while feeling serene, pulling the baton apart and saying "Fountain of Serenity, Spirit Guard Power Up!" This obscures him in a blue glow that renders him invulnerable during the transformation. He is placed in a sort of pocket dimension dubbed the Transformation Station, where he must dance to the song of the Shrine Maiden to complete the process. Regardless of how much time is spent in the Transformation Station, approximately thirty seconds pass in the real world, which is the longest duration among the Spirit Guard. Serenity reverts to Robynne by either losing consciousness or willing her power to return to her Investiture while subconsciously feeling out of danger, though her body returning to normal leaves her feeling weak for a short time. In contrast to her relatively long power-up time, her emotional control allows her to power down significantly faster than her teammates, capable of doing so in an instant.

Robert's history of playing football and the accompanying ballet training has given him a fit body with high strength, endurance, speed, and balance. Robynne's body being completely different largely negates this training. As Serenity, however, she boasts superhuman attributes all around as well as the Shrine Maiden's combat instincts, and is the most agile of the Spirit Guard. Unique to her among the Spirit Guard are unnaturally quiet footsteps and her body not making ripples or other disturbances in water, leaving her dry. These attributes augment her stealth capabilities, and she uses her experience in playing as a stealth character in *Aspect Realms* to take full advantage of them.

Serenity can mentally summon her weapons to her hands as well as dismiss them. They initially take the form of a pair of blue pompoms, but clapping them together switches between this form and their true appearance as a pair of daggers. Her special moves require her to speak the name of the move, which utilize the element of water. Like with her stealth, her character in *Aspect Realms* also uses twin daggers.

Serenity has a fast-acting healing factor that seals up wounds, prioritizing the smaller ones. It also attempts to keep her appearance consistent, leaving her relatively unblemished even during a violent battle. Powering down resets Robynne's body to how it was when she powered down for the first time, which she uses to skip showers and such. After having transformed, Robynne's normal form is granted a lesser healing factor that acts like an accelerated version of the human body's natural regeneration, though it also inexplicably applies to her hair, preventing her from keeping it cut for more than one night of sleep. Both forms of healing are fueled by calories, so Robynne uses this super metabolism to get away with an unhealthy diet.

The Disconnection Effect causes those who look at Spirit Guard Serenity or her image to mentally view her as a distinct entity, but it's weakened via repeated exposure. The effect applies on some level even to those who know she's Robynne, perceiving the two forms slightly differently. It also prevents Serenity herself from accidentally calling her fellow Spirit Guard by their real names.

Robynne occasionally receives visions of her past life as the Shrine Maiden during her sleep, complete with the Maiden's emotions and other sensations. While said visions provide information on the Ardent Empire and thus some background on the Spirit Guard's mission, the team believes they're actually granted in order to help the Spirit Guard in the future.

### Special moves

* **Placid Mist:** Serenity creates a spray that renders her, as well as those next to her if desired, invisible to the naked eye, and it is implied that mundane detection systems are also foiled. Empathokinetic perception and similar abilities can detect those cloaked. While the move is active, she can project her voice as if it was from several places at once to obscure her location. She can choose to make sounds not escape the veil, allowing her to move about or speak with one she brings into the veil without alerting others. The veil has a top speed that requires Serenity to move no faster than a jog (equivalent to a sprint for an ordinary human) in order to stay hidden, and attacking in any way dissipates it entirely. Usually she conjures the mist from her daggers, but she can also simply conjure it directly in front of her without them.
* **Geyser of Tranquility:** Launches high-pressure, steaming water from her daggers. She can either hold the daggers close together for a full-power blast or far from each other for two weaker attacks. This move requires Serenity to be holding both daggers in order to activate.
* **Halcyon Streams:** Creates a stream of water from each dagger that serves as a whip.

## Biography

### Background

Robert Dreese, named after his grandmother Robynne Dreese, was born in Deepwater, a small town in the southern United States. His parents died in a car accident when he was three years old, so his Uncle Taylor became his guardian. His grandmother's death when he was seven or eight left his uncle as his only remaining family. Robert started playing football in middle school to connect with his late father, who was an all-state running back.

Robert continued playing football at Deepwater High and looked to become the starting running back once the current one graduated. His sophomore year, however, saw Dustin Durfee get a massive growth spurt and overtake him on the depth chart. Dustin started dating the popular cheerleader Evelyn Gray, becoming the school's power couple. When Robert saw Evelyn make fun of her former friend to the point of making her cry, Robert stood up to Evelyn and called her out in front of a crowd. Evelyn, unable to effectively attack Robert's ego due to him being a confident honor student, decided to take her frustrations out on Brook, Robert's girlfriend who was on the cheer team. Dustin was later convinced by Evelyn to put Robert, who he saw as his football rival, in his place by trying to beat him up, though it ended with Dustin getting tripped by Robert and his shoulder separated. Robert was suspended for two weeks, and it was during this time that he started playing *Aspect Realms*.

Robert returned to school to find much of the students as well as his coach mad at him for injuring the star player, and was moved further down the depth chart. Robert's continued grumpiness at this caused his uncle to suggest getting so good that he'd have to be moved back up, specifically ballet lessons to improve his leg strength and balance like his father had. Robert, insecure about this, agreed on the terms that he do it out of town. This was somehow discovered by Evelyn, who quietly spread rumors that Robert was gay in hopes of undermining his relationship with Brook, who was made to wonder about his aversion to touching and gradually pushed for more intimacy. At the start of junior year, Evelyn finally revealed that Robert took ballet, and the football team's relentless name-calling wore on him to the point of no longer enjoying the sport. After Robert went to the Homecoming dance with Brook and was convinced to take her to a scenic outlook, the intimacy problem turned into an argument where she accused him of faking their year-and-a-half-long relationship to hide his sexuality, which ended in their breakup. Brook started hanging with Evelyn's group, and Robert eventually quit the football team and hated his remaining time at high school.

After graduating high school, Robert decided to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree at Schuyler Adamson University, the school his mother and father had met at as a cheerleader and football player respectively. His Uncle Taylor suggested he go someplace closer to home, but Robert was happy that Kessia City was halfway across the country as it meant he could get far away from the drama at Deepwater. Upon arriving, he immediately hit it off with his roommates Cory and Eli, who are nerds just like him.

### Week 1

The day before classes start, Robert and Cory visit Eli at his part-time job, the Loose Change arcade. Robert feels a heaviness in the air and an icy chill in his bones when he notices a group of children acting strangely around the *Zombie Mansion* machine, so he and Cory play the game to see what's so special about it. Upon starting the game, its Polygal character reaches her hands through the screen to grab the two and start draining their energy. Robert instinctively wills the icy feeling within him to defend his inner self, forcing Polygal to release them, return the energy she stole, and fully reveal her monster form. Robert, glowing blue from that stunt and with a hunch that things will work out, stands his ground so the reinvigorated children can safely escape. Robert is confused by his glowing, which Polygal calls an Ardent Resonance and concludes he is some sort of ally to "them" that should be taken to Platicore as a new servant. With Rob ensnared and his friends held at gunpoint, the group is saved by the Spirit Guard. Both Polygal and the Spirit Guard are shocked to find a strange symbol appear on his forehead along with the glow, believing it means something impossible. Once the Spirit Guard destroy Polygal, Rob presses the heroes on what his glowing means, and though he's distrustful of them for somehow being unknown outside of Kessia City, he's convinced to give his phone number so he can be contacted after research is done.

Robert, Cory, and Eli are questioned by the police about the monster attack at the arcade, making sure not to mention Rob's glowing. After returning to their dorm, Robert has his friends explain the Spirit Guard to him, and the trio tries to make sense of all that happened. Throughout that day and the next, Robert ends up speaking to people who are secretly connected to the Spirit Guard and trying to get a read on his character. Mallory visits the dorm along with Vivian to check on her brother Eli after hearing a monster appeared at his job, probing Robert for the details of the incident, impressed to hear that he fearlessly stood up to Polygal despite being unaware of the Spirit Guard's existence. Rob meets Angela in his World History class, finding her strange with her theories of the Standridge Hill Stone Circle being constructed via magic as well as connected to the Spirit Guard and monster attacks. When the subject turns to the Spirit Guard's exploits, he appalls her by considering a monster evil yet clever for taking hostages, saying emotion has no place on the battlefield. When his uncle calls him, Robert decides not to tell him about the attack as he doesn't want him to worry about his nephew being in danger and potentially ordering him home. Rob is then called by SAU student counselor Ms. Kuna, who inquires as to his condition after the attack, is surprised to hear he's not shaken up by it, and offers a meeting with him if necessary.

Robert receives a text message seemingly from himself: the Spirit Guard have figured out what his glowing meant and want to meet him alone at the Standridge Circle the following night. Robert, suspicious that the extremely secretive vigilantes plan to do something to him for glowing in a way they seemed to be worried about, convinces Cory and Eli to remotely record the meeting in case something bad happens. The next day, Rob is out of it due to being uncharacteristically worried about the plan, absentmindedly kicking a pebble toward the cheerleaders Stacy and Lilly. After profusely apologizing and helping Lilly pick up her dropped fliers, he's given one such flier for the upcoming Club Week.

That night at the foot of Standridge Hill, Robert enacts the first stage of the plan by pretending to call it off, sending Cory and Eli away. At the Circle, Robert is called by Eli so the phone in his pocket picks up audio while the fiber-optic camera hidden on his headphones sends video to Cory's laptop. The Spirit Guard appear and introduce Kunapipi, the expert they asked about Rob's glowing. Robert is unsettled by the talking wallaby, so she assumes her human form of Ms. Kuna. She explains how Fate works, her own role as a Guide sent to find Champions such as Robert and the Spirit Guard, and how Platicore crusades against Fate for manipulating people's destinies, the last of which causes Rob to shock her by wondering aloud if Platicore has the right idea. In order to explain why Robert glowed and resisted Polygal draining his Investiture, Ms. Kuna and the Spirit Guard tell the story of the Ardent Empire's experiments with empathokinesis and its eventual downfall, with Rob making snarky comments about how ridiculous and cliché the whole thing is.

At Spirit Guard Tenacity's instruction, Robert reaches into the iris of the Standridge Circle and pulls out a light blue baton, an empathokinetic focus said to only be available to a reincarnated member of the Princess's team. His first thought is that he's the reincarnated Knight due to Polygal describing Rob as an aloof protector of the Spirit Guard. While he's surprised to be told he's actually reincarnated from the Shrine Maiden, he's not particularly bothered that he was apparently supposed to be born a girl as he's happy with the life he has. He shows hesitation about the burdens of being a superhero, which becomes anger when he's told transforming into Spirit Guard Serenity would force him to live the rest of his life as a woman in order to align his body with the Shrine Maiden's. When he brings up having to leave Cory and Eli as a reason why he won't do it, Tenacity explains he can remain part of their lives and convinces the Spirit Guard to reveal their secret identities to him, as Tenacity is Eli's sister Mallory. The Spirit Guard say Robert needs to transform because the newest member always appears exactly when needed, explaining he had weakened Polygal when his resistance caused her to lose her Investiture. Robert's refusal remains firm: he makes his own decisions and won't quit his life to fulfill the plans of Fate and his alleged past self. When Noriko appears with the caught Cory and Eli, Rob reveals the recording was his own plan, explains why he did it, that he wouldn't have done so if he knew the Spirit Guard were going to reveal their identities, and swears to never tell their secret. As the team leaves, Noriko warns him that the Hush Corps will be closely monitoring him and steals his phone to delete any evidence it may have, though he notices this and stops her, having Angela convince her to give it back as well as return Cory's laptop as quickly as possible. Despite giving his Spirit Stick to Ms. Kuna for safekeeping, he's annoyed to find it shortly warp back to his side like Vivian said it would.

The next day, Robert meets Angela in their World History class, having been unable to sleep due to the sensation of his Spirit Stick seemingly watching him at all times. She explains it as his empathokinetic sense awakening, and that he'll be able to tune out the Stick's presence given time. She invites him to have lunch with her, Mallory, and Vivian to help clear the air from last night, but he turns her down, clarifying that he holds nothing against them but won't be changing his mind on not joining the Spirit Guard.

That Saturday, Robert goes to the Rale Valley Mall with Cory and Eli, entering the Dungeon Direct comic book store for the latest issue of the *Collider* series. After checking out, he notices Angela and Mallory, who have been searching the mall along with Kara and Vivian for the strange empathokinetic humming that appears in seemingly random locations. Having felt the humming himself, Rob offers to help in the search, as it's something he can do to protect people without transforming. They turn him down and ask him to leave the mall in case the sensation is a monster, as Mallory is worried the loyalty of Cory and Eli will put their lives at risk like it had at the arcade. On the trio's way out, Robert discovers the source of the humming: a mannequin monster called Day LaMode that reveals itself after its failure to remotely drain him causes him to glow and catch the monster's attention. The group is pursued by LaMode and her mannequin army around the mall, and Robert twice stalls for the Spirit Guard's arrival by using his Ardent Resonance as an empathokinetic beacon and getting her to talk, taunting her for believing she's Platicore's only monster. The second time has Spirit Guard Tenacity arrive alone, getting brutally beaten by her nimbler opponent. With Eli and Cory in tears as they can do nothing but watch Mallory's death approach, Robert decides he's the only one who can do something about it and retrieves his Spirit Stick. He has his friends flee so he can be alone when he transforms, cursing everything that got him to this point but knowing he could never forgive himself if someone died due to his inaction. Rob, now Spirit Guard Serenity, makes her entrance with a flying kick as Day LaMode is about to deal a fatal blow to Tenacity. Serenity easily gains the upper hand with her speed, Placid Mist invisibility, and verbal barbs, continuing her taunts from where she left off. She feels something like a guilty conscience belonging to something invisible on top of a trash can, but decides against pursuing it in the middle of a fight. After tricking Day LaMode into charging at the barely conscious Tenacity, Serenity uncloaks, stabs her in the mouth to prevent her verbally activated body transfer, and kills her with Geyser of Tranquility. The other Spirit Guard and Noriko arrive, surprised at Serenity's appearance and grateful for her sacrifice. In order to evade the incoming police, Serenity uses Placid Mist to hide herself, Charity, and Tenacity while Charity operates on Tenacity. Afterwards, Serenity carries Tenacity to her apartment via the Standridge Stones, then enters Kunapipi's office to relay further instructions from Charity.

After Serenity explains why she transformed, Ms. Kuna teaches her how to power down, which she manages to do faster than any of the other Spirit Guard. With the Shrine Maiden's instincts removed, Rob is suddenly hit by how wrong her new body feels, including her outfit being refit to her. Rob and Ms. Kuna then begin setting up Rob's new identity. Her new name, Robynne Ellis Darling, is derived from her grandmother's name (though she assumes it's spelled "Robin"), father's name, and mother's maiden name. No longer able to live in her old dorm, she can live in either Angela and Mallory's apartment or a dorm with Kara, Vivian, and Noriko. She decides to share a room with Noriko rather than Angela due to a shared desire for privacy, the room having ample desk space for her computer, and the dorm being closer to Cory and Eli's. Her classes are lightened due to likely having to remain in town to fight monsters over the summer as well as needing less stress while adjusting to her new life. A few options for how to explain the situation to her Uncle Taylor are discussed, deciding it'd be best to avoid speaking over the phone so she can tell him in person where the Standridge Stones's perception filter makes him more open to the idea of the Spirit Guard; the Hush Corps will rig a contest to win him a trip to the Homecoming football game that's in 28 days.

Robynne arrives in her new dorm, where Cory, Eli, and Angela had just finished moving her belongings. She feels betrayed that her old roommates briefly check out her body before they recognize her. They all discuss her new name and cover story as well as Mallory's condition. Robynne's alien laugh at Cory's joke has her realize how much of her identity she's lost, sending everyone away so she can eat dinner alone and have time to think. After eating, her attempts at relieving her stress are foiled by her long hair getting caught in the door as well as finding herself unable to talk to her *Aspect Realms* friends or answer her uncle's phone call with her new voice. With no one able to understand what she's going through and unable to speak with the family she desperately needs, Robynne is overcome by loneliness and breaks down crying for the first time since the death of her grandmother ten years ago.

A little while later, Robynne's sorrow is interrupted by Vivian, who treats her to a "choco-phagial communication therapy" session where they eat ice cream and vent about her situation. Robynne learns the pros and cons associated with her healing factor and body resetting after transformation. When Vivian suggests her theory that the Spirit Guard's body alterations stem from attractive women in their family, Robynne shows pictures of her late mother and is told there is a strong resemblance. The photos mysteriously show her mother with scarlette hair instead of the reddish-brown they had in past, but Robynne saves that question for another day. Noriko appears and apologizes to Robynne for misjudging her, Cory, and Eli for recording the Standridge Circle meeting. Robynne is touched that Noriko retrieved the *Collider* comic she had dropped at the mall, treasuring the damaged yet intact issue that reminds her of her own identity. After Noriko kicks Vivian out of the room, Robynne spends the rest of the night reading her comic book.

### Weeks 2-4

The next day, Robynne goes shopping for a new wardrobe with Kara, Vivian, and Noriko using Ms. Kuna's credit card, struggling to find anything comfortable on her unfamiliar body. Kara and Noriko suggest dressing in a manner that's similar to but more modest than other girls on campus in order to avoid unwanted attention, downplaying her red hair with colors such as orange and obscuring her figure and age with a suit jacket. Robynne is unenthused about having to wear a skirt to class, and admits that while she had considered SAU's dress code a positive as Robert, even then she found it odd that the unusually powerful Student Association hasn't overturned girls having to wear skirts. Robynne convinces Vivian to give Cory a second chance, explaining that the two of them get along great and the spying at the Circle was Rob's idea.

That Monday, Robynne skips class to play video games, as she felt so uncomfortable alone in the shower that she decided she's not ready to meet people outside. She's frustrated at the sexist comments from the other *Corona Forge* players, but a witty comeback gets some of them, such as Fretribution, to stand up for her. Robynne is startled by Noriko suddenly appearing behind her, and explains why she needs another day to be ready for class. Noriko opens a binder of Robynne's new documentation from the Twins of the Hush Corps, including updated records for her and her uncle in the future. Robynne is annoyed at the spelling of her first name as she was unaware of how her grandmother spelled it, but is advised against changing it again as it might catch the attention of government agencies. Noriko, unfamiliar with internet culture, expresses interest in Robynne's online handle of Bluster, which Rob says was chosen simply due to her Aspect Realms character using wind. Robynne wants to change it so it's not so easily twisted into a sexist insult like "Busty", so Noriko suggests relating it to her scientific interests and Spirit Guard element of water, with the two eventually deciding on Waveform.

Robynne returns to class the next day, nervous at the thought of people looking at her body. In her Intro to Business class, Stacy, one of the cheerleaders Robert had accidentally kicked a rock at days prior, sits next to Robynne and chats with her. Stacy is surprised that Robynne has no cheer experience given her build and even offers to ask for a spot on the team, explaining the unusual split structure of SAU's cheer team in the process. Robynne turns her down, but is glad that her first conversation with a stranger as her new self is with someone kind and sincere. After class, she's disturbed to have felt no desire to let her eyes linger on the cheerleader like she would have as Robert. On her way to her Introduction to Digital Media Arts class, she's greeted and given coffee by her classmate Nick Siekert, who has to introduce himself as one of the Twins due to forgetting the person he made documentation for had never actually met him. He accidentally hurts her feelings by making a point to chivalrously open the door for her, but the two take to teasing each other once that misunderstanding is cleared up.

Robynne resigns from the Mayhem Templar guild in *Aspect Realms*, claiming to be quitting the game due to college workload. She had told her uncle that her phone's receiver is broken, so they now text each other throughout the day. She uses her lunch break to visit the Club Week area, checking out the SFEERS booth Cory and Eli had recommended for having an *Aspect Realms* guild that won't associate her with Robert. Robynne is greeted by club president Fretribution, though she dismisses him recognizing her voice from *Corona Forge* as a mistake due to now having Waveform as her handle. She notices he has an aura with crushed velvet's texture, and doesn't like that she finds his eyes attractive. The other person manning the booth, GalleyGirl, is an officer in the club's Knights of the Spherical Table guild and is excited to have a skilled player like Robynne join. Robynne signs up for the club and plans to attend the opening social on Friday. Robynne is unknowingly spotted exiting the booth by cheer captain Cammy DeCroix and her right hand Jodi, who determine Robynne is the hot nerd the cheer team needs and make plans to recruit her.

Back at her dorm, Robynne tells her friends and teammates how her first day back to class went, saying it could've been worse, and also mentions the auras she felt around campus. Angela takes interest at the latter point; Robynne noticing Angela and Mallory's auras before the Standridge Stone warp lit up, describing the team's auras in the most detail, and sensing Eli's aura at all leads to the conclusion that she has the strongest empathokinetic sense among the Spirit Guard. Unable to sense her own aura, Robynne is bothered when Angela describes it as the scent of a rose bouquet. Robynne mentioning Fretribution's textured aura has Angela act up, who had a bad experience with a similar but more potent aura in the past. Robynne retreats to her room early to catch up on the homework her reentry to college has left her, finding comfort in it as something that's free from her new life's complications.

That night, Robynne has a vision of the Shrine Maiden being visited by the Scholar and learning of drama in the Church of High Spirits as well as the plan to let the Ardent Empire die and save Earth. Mentioning it to Vivian in the morning causes an impromptu meeting with the whole team. Robynne is skeptical over the plan's need to eradicate the Ardentia instead of saving some people, negative emotions being forbidden, and the vision rendering the team's past lives' names as garbled sounds. Later that day, Robynne goes with Mallory to buy a backpack that won't dig into her breasts. Mallory insists on buying an expensive backpack with a credit card from her father as she's allowed to do so for her friends, saying she'll always be eager to help Rob for saving her life. Robynne learns that Mallory plans to tell her parents she's a Spirit Guard and asks to know how it goes to help prepare for her own plan to tell her uncle.

Robynne alters her *Aspect Realms* character into Waveform and joins the Knights of the Spherical Table, staying up late as she plays with her new guildmates, which Stacy takes notice of the next morning. Stacy insists on treating Robynne to lunch, but their meal is interrupted by Cammy the cheer captain, who has a sticky texture aura like the one Angela said she was hurt by in the past. Robynne realizes the aura is affecting her when she starts feeling jealous of Cammy's looks and pushes it out. She sees through Cammy's casual act and calls her out for making Stacy arrange the meeting just to get something from Robynne. As clubs determine Student Council votes and Cammy clearly considers nerds beneath her, Robynne correctly guesses that Cammy wanting her on the cheer team is due to her SFEERS membership. Cammy admits that she expected Robynne to be easily convinced as she found no info from Robynne's nonexistent social media presence. Robynne turns her down and shocks her when she gets up and leaves.

Robynne is texted by Angela, who saw the whole thing, and the two briefly discuss it in Robynne's room before Angela turns to her sensitive history with Cammy. Angela then explains her theory of Cammy possibly being reincarnated from the Empress, a theory she'd kept hidden from the others out of fear they wouldn't believe her due to them not feeling the potency of Cammy's aura like she and Robynne do. Robynne opens the door when she senses the rest of the team eavesdropping, letting them and Angela cry out their misunderstandings. Returning to Cammy's desire for Robynne on the cheer team, Angela notes that Cammy must see the rapidly growing SFEERS as a threat to her controlled Student Council votes. The gang's brainstorming for what to do is interrupted by a package: an extremely expensive tailor-made dress "C" bought to bribe Robynne into joining the team. Robynne is uneasy about her joining the team as a spy being presented as the best option, but finds herself wanting to take Cammy down regardless of possible Empress relations due to being reminded of Evelyn ruining Robert's high school life, which she explains to the others. They decide to send Robynne in to return the bribe along with a list of demands she's actually interested in, such as letting Vivian join so she won't be alone.

Robynne goes to Cory and Eli's dorm and surprises them when she explains her plan of joining cheer to them, admitting she's unsure about it but can't think of a better way to deal with the dangerous Cammy. They're interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Dale; the pair had warned Robynne about their new roommate's attraction to scarlettes like her and thus planned the meeting to coincide with his band practice. Robynne notices his relaxing textured aura and is unnerved to find him attractive. Dale fails to hide his interest in her and asks how she knows Cory and Eli. The trio explains that she knows them through her old friend Robert; she considers saying she's Robert's girlfriend to shut down Dale's pursuits but feels disgusted even thinking about her two selves that way. Robynne quickly excuses herself and decides to avoid Dale until she's better at dealing with attractions and auras.

Robynne goes to meet Cammy with Vivian, uncomfortable with the makeup and more stylish outfit meant to display her confidence to the cheer captain. Robynne sends Vivian away when they find Cammy, who likewise dismisses her officers. Robynne tells Cammy she's reconsidered the offer to play Cammy's "game" of manipulating clubs for Student Council votes, wanting to be the cheerleader that gets SFEERS involved so she can protect it. Robynne sets several conditions for her joining the team: let Vivian join as well, don't manipulate people like Stacy to ask Robynne for things, and let Robynne ditch any promotion job she's given. She also demands the dress she was bribed with be returned in favor of shipping computer parts to "Bluster" at Cory, Eli, and Dale's dorm, as she'll need to run high-end games in order to get close to the SFEERS officers. Cammy is furious at being ordered around but agrees.

The next day, Robynne and Vivian fill out their bios and head to a photo shoot for use on the cheer team's website. While Robynne has Stacy do her makeup, she learns that telling Cammy off at lunch had gotten her a reputation of being stuck up among the team. She meets Tanya and finds the snooping officer particularly annoying, but follows her instructions as she gets her pictures taken. Afterwards, Robynne and Vivian head to the SFEERS opening social to meet with Cory, Eli, and Kara, with Stacy tagging along at Vivian's request. Robynne and Vivian were ordered by Cammy to show up in their cheer uniforms, but they exploit a loophole by changing in the restrooms once they get there. Appearing in uniform makes quite an impression on the club, as Robynne is told there was a similar occurrence last year where a pair of cheerleaders apparently sent by Cammy failed to fit in with their feigned interest. Robynne meets several of her guildmates in person for the first time, deciding she'll have to placate NightKnight's frustration at being less skilled than her if she wants to get along with the fellow PvP enthusiast. She finds Fretribution, letting his emboldening aura mitigate her nervousness as she sings in *Tour de Rock*, being terrible at it due to never singing with her new voice. As he thanks her for embarrassing herself to help the others feel at ease, she realizes his aura must be responsible for the club's rapid growth and targeting by Cammy. Fretribution is frustrated at SFEERS continually being ignored by the Promotion Squad, which Stacy overhears and volunteers herself, Robynne, and Vivian to promote themselves.

After the social, Robynne and friends hang at Cory and Eli's dorm for a while, with Robynne returning to her own dorm shortly after Stacy leaves so her coupled friends can be by themselves. She explains how her night went to Noriko, who suggests she warps via the Standridge Stones to discuss it with the lonely Angela in person. At the Circle, Robynne senses something like a song within the center stone that should be empty now that the Spirit Guard is fully assembled. She also senses something like being watched, which she realizes she had previously felt when she showered in her new body for the first time. She decides it's either Fate or a spy of some sort, but loses track of it when her focus wavers. She explains this to Angela who has had similar experiences when alone, but they decide against pursuing it for now so they don't alarm it. Robynne and Angela talk about their respective experiences with the cheer team, realizing they have a lot in common despite their opposite personalities. Angela apologizes for how she acted to Robert at the Circle; she had assumed the Princess and Shrine Maiden's lifelong friendship would somehow translate to him eagerly joining the Spirit Guard, never considering their past lives separate people until Rob pointed out the absurdity of it. When Angela laments how she can't meet Stacy or be seen in public with Robynne due to Cammy's surveillance, Robynne convinces her to join SFEERS and borrow her old computer to play *Aspect Realms* with her so she can make new friends, as the club escapes Cammy's watch, uses online handles rather than real names, and has Fretribution's aura to study.

The next day, Robynne packs up her old computer, Windswept, and explains her and Angela's plan to Kara, noting how weird it feels to give away the last thing she had invested so much of herself into as Robert. Mallory and Noriko arrive with the new components from Cory and Eli's dorm. Robynne is annoyed to find Cammy had spited her for her demands; instead of getting black-and-blue components as requested, she got white-and-pink ones in a different style. Mallory offers to buy a different case at the store right then, but Robynne decides to keep it for now when Noriko suggests it would let Robynne subvert expectations of people who judge it by its colorful exterior, offering the name CandyStrike for it. Nick and Will come over so the latter can inspect the components for spying equipment. Will finds nothing but seems intimidated by Robynne, so she reminds him that she's a guy on the inside and gets him to vent about how he struggles with girls while Nick effortlessly gets dates. Robynne notices Will's morale increase when she shows interest in his computer building, and considers that being an attractive woman in this case helped the insecure Will. She accepts his offer to let her know when he finds a deal on a case she'll like more than her current one.

Robynne is paired with Lilly for promotion duty, but makes it clear they can safely skip it. Robynne's looks, late arrival to the team, refusal to socialize with the other cheerleaders, and Stacy's eagerness to talk about her new friend has led to several rumors about her that she shuts down, such as Dale answering the door to receive her computer parts meaning they must be dating. A rumor she had prepared for with all of her friends is that she's a lesbian, which she denies; much to her frustration, she finds her new body is attracted to men and not women. Deciding she has to be more proactive about her reputation, she admits her unfamiliarity with gossip and such is due to mostly having male friends growing up, and her type is guys with pretty eyes.

### Week 5

Robynne, Cory, and Eli stop at Buy Bright to find a birthday present for Cory's father on their way to a "Guys' Night" at the Headlights restaurant. Robynne is relieved to learn that Mallory explaining her superhero business to her parents went well for both her and Eli, giving her hope for when she has to do the same to her Uncle Taylor. She barely senses the phones of customers like Stacy drain trace amounts of Investiture from them and those they text and send it to a certain store employee. She has Cory and Eli contact the Spirit Guard and their allies and then sends them away with her own affected phone so Will can examine it. Fearing the monster will become too powerful if left alone for much longer, she ignores Eli's warning and decides to start the fight alone. Immediately after transforming into Spirit Guard Serenity in the restroom, she is attacked by the employee, who reveals herself as a monster called Cell-celia. Wounded and having dropped one of her daggers, Serenity gets Cell-celia to gloat, learning that Cell-celia is an advancement Platicore had sought for a while and that previous monsters had been monitored by a "stooge" of his. Spirit Guard Charity arrives to heal her. Serenity's sneak attacks and attempts to retrieve her weapon are foiled by the monster's signal-based detection, as are her attempts to plan with Charity by the Voice-to-Text move replacing verbal communication with visible text boxes. Spirit Guard Valor arrives, tells Serenity she can recall her weapon by mentally dismissing it first, hinders Cell-celia's signal vision with her Rising Spirit walls, and has Serenity cover her for a finishing blow. Serenity gets chewed out for recklessly fighting alone, with her realizing she knows little of her teammates' capabilities and is a poor team player because of it. She distracts the police by having them pursue her for a while before turning invisible and heading to Kunapipi's office to debrief. Her mention of Cell-celia's human disguise, signal vision, and low-key Investiture collection has the team conclude that Platicore is shifting his monster designs in hopes of harvesting as much Investiture as possible before the Spirit Guard find them. Mallory suggests nightly patrols of the city in order to snuff out newly planted monsters, but the plan is put off until Robynne explains her situation to her uncle.

When Robynne mentions giving her phone to Cory and Eli for Will's inspection, she's told by Ms. Kuna that the Hush Corps will contact Uncle Taylor tomorrow so he can plan to arrive at Kessia City that week. She attempts to destress that night by playing *Aspect Realms* and talking with Angela and Mallory, but her fatigue from the Cell-celia fight as well as fear of her uncle's arrival is apparent, heading to bed at her friends' suggestion. Seeing her reflection wearing Robert's oversized football jersey and realizing how much of her new life has become routine, she has no idea who she is anymore and is terrified at the thought of her uncle not recognizing the person who doesn't even recognize herself.

During the night, Robynne has a vision of the Shrine Maiden, who finds herself in a cell due to her and her shrine arriving to the capital unannounced, but the Princess and Soldier free her. As part of the plan, she is removed from the clergy and becomes a Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess, who lies her way past the corrupt Vice-Archon Liff. Robynne and the other Spirit Guard discuss this in the morning. The others are surprised the Princess made use of her religion's forbidden emotions even as an act due to having no hint of this in their own visions, but wonder if the Maiden shares Robynne's superior empathokinetic perception and thus detects what the others could not. Robynne is told the team's visions are apparently intended to teach a lesson to be used in the future.

As the meeting winds down, Tanya appears with a surprise promotion assignment for Robynne and Vivian. The two of them along with Stacy and Lilly are to hand out fliers for the *Mega Mash Family Battle* tournament SFEERS is hosting tonight, doing so at the Billot Building during the lunch rush. Robynne is upset that Cammy is ignoring the agreement to ditch promotion, but is told this is a test to see if she'll be remain loyal now that she's had her extorted computer for a while. Robynne is paired with Stacy, nervous to talk with so many strangers. Stacy knows Robynne skips promotion from Lilly letting it slip to the team, but assures Robynne that even an introvert can do it. While Stacy is occupied with another group, Robynne is hounded by a meathead hitting on her. NightKnight sees this and tries to help send the man away. The two are about to start a fight when Robynne tells the guy off and reminds him of the consequences of fighting on campus, and stops NightKnight from pursuing when the guy insults her while leaving. At this point Stacy notices and comes over, with Robynne properly introducing her to NightKnight, whose real name is Connor. During the confrontation, Robynne had sensed NightKnight's new textured aura and wonders if it's connected to his altered appearance, so she asks about the latter. He says his height is due to a growth spurt and his new hair color an effect of moving to Kessia City, though Robynne doubts this since he's a sophomore and his hair should've been affected by the Standridge Stones sooner. He wonders aloud if hair color changing in the area is connected to the Spirit Guard and monsters, and reveals himself as a ConSpiriter. When Stacy mentions that she and Robynne were at Buy Bright just before the monster attack, NightKnight wants to interview them on the matter. Unable to get the others off the subject that would pose a risk to her secret identity if pursued, Rob shuts the conversation down by forcing herself to cry, claiming that living in a city under threat of real monsters has been a terrifying experience, one that is too sensitive to talk about. NightKnight, humiliated at inducing this reaction, promptly leaves, with Robynne and Stacy returning to their assignment shortly afterward. The four cheerleaders have lunch after the job is finished, then part ways.

On the way back to their dorm, Robynne fills Vivian in on the encounter with NightKnight, and the other Spirit Guards and Noriko are brought up to speed at another team meeting shortly after. Rob is suggested to leave the matter of the ConSpiriters to the Hush Corps so she may focus on her upcoming meeting with Uncle Taylor, with the plan for that having Angela and Mallory pose as representatives for the contest he won and lead him to his hotel room where Rob will be waiting, with Noriko on standby and the surrounding rooms rented out for their privacy. The team wonders if there is significance in Rob happening upon the textured auras of NightKnight, Dale, and Fretribution in such short time, as before this Cammy's was the only one they knew of. Hearing from Eli that Dale intends to go to the *Mega Mash Family* tournament, the team figures it would be an ideal opportunity for Rob, Vivian, and Kara to compare Dale's aura with Fretribution's. Angela also wants to attend the tournament, but Noriko fears Cammy might learn of Angela's appearance at SFEERS, so Robynne suggests she go in a goth disguise. The team agrees, so the others leave Rob and Kara in order to prepare this "Alison Ward" alter ego. Rob then speaks with NightKnight over *Aspect Realms*, assuring him that she's not mad about their prior meeting going wrong, and convinces him to come to the tournament, so his aura can be studied as well.

After dealing with NightKnight, Rob helps Kara frost and carry the cupcakes prepared for the tournament. During this, Kara says Rob's recent increase in reclusiveness and unhealthy eating habits worries her, saying what was once a coping mechanism for her life's problems has evolved into a harmful attempt to avoid important issues like Taylor's arrival. Rob deflects from the sensitive family issue by attributing her stress to her social hangups hurting her relationships. She feels she is a poor friend who continues to isolate herself rather than reciprocate her friends' engagement with her, and is especially frustrated given she easily does tasks as huge as fighting monsters to help people in need. Kara assures her this sort of skill imbalance is not unique, citing her brothers' relationship with her growing up. Kara suggests that if Rob wishes to learn how to manage her social problems, the most effective way would be to occasionally force herself to join her friends in situations she normally shies away from. One issue Kara wants Rob to deal with right away is shutting down Dale's pinings for her, so Rob plans to, ideally with Stacy's help, find a way to have Dale meet Lilly, who has expressed interest in him. After listening to Kara's vision for the future, Rob is asked why Taylor never married, to which Rob replies that Taylor never maintained a serious relationship because he is a less outgoing person who's hesitant to shake up the life he's content with, and he is also apparently uncomfortable with bringing a woman into his home that his late mother lived in. Rob is again reminded of her fears about Taylor's arrival, but is brought to attention when Stacy calls for her and Kara.

## Relationships

### Taylor Dreese

Robert's only remaining family is his Uncle Taylor, who has been his guardian since his parents died when he was three years old. Rob attributes much of his character to his uncle, such as his sense of responsibility, ability to judge one's sincerity, and use of his uncle's unusual sayings. Though they are very close, with Taylor being the person Rob loves most, their introverted personalities means they are not as open with each other as they could be. Taylor becomes lonely when Robert leaves home to attend SAU on the other side of the country, so they talk on the phone several times a week. Rob avoids mentioning the Spirit Guard and monster attacks in Kessia City so his uncle won't fear for Rob's safety and make him return to Deepwater. After transforming, Robynne frets over how to explain her situation to him, deciding that telling him in person while he's under the Standridge Stones's perception filter is the best idea, with the plan involving the Hush Corps manipulating a contest to win him ticket and travel to the Homecoming football game. In the meantime, Robynne claims her phone's receiver is currently broken, so she and her uncle periodically text each other instead. Robynne's biggest fear is the possibility of her uncle not believing her when the time comes to explain everything to him.

### Dreese family

Robert's mother and father died in a car accident when he was three years old, so he has no memory of them and only knows them through photographs and stories from his grandmother and Uncle Taylor, who raised him in their place. He felt that playing football as a running back like his father helped him feel closer to him. Rob was very close to his grandmother, and her death and funeral when he was around eight was one of the saddest moments of his life. It was the last time Rob would cry for ten years, and was so impactful that it can be recalled in the present to force tears. Rob keeps photos of his deceased relatives in his wallet and is uncomfortable speaking of them in significant detail to others. At times, Rob laments how the feelings of a standard family dynamic were lost to him.

### Dustin Durfee

Robert and Dustin were on the football team together throughout middle and high school, with the two being rivals as Rob was consistently just ahead of Dustin for the running back position. With his massive growth spurt during sophomore year, Dustin surpassed Robert and took to antagonizing him, culminating in picking a fight. Rob got suspended, moved down the depth chart, and earned the scorn of much of the school for injuring the popular Dustin. Rob secretly took ballet lessons in hopes of improving his performance and catching up to Dustin, but when this leaked and rumors formed that Rob was gay, Dustin began to lead the rest of the football team in name-calling until Rob eventually quit the team during senior year.

### Brook

Robert and Brook began dating during their freshman year of high school. Brook is the only girl Robert has asked out and he was initially too nervous to do so, but finally did it after learning they had shared interests. Their relationship barely progressed over the course of a year and a half due to Rob's difficulties with physical contact, with dancing being one of the rare high-contact things he had little trouble with. Rumors of Rob being gay made Brook push for more intimacy, and his continued aversion to touching convinced her come junior year that he was faking their relationship and broke up with him. In hindsight, Rob admits he should've split with her once it became obvious they wanted different things out of the relationship, but having a girlfriend gave him an out in the football team's sex-focused conversations. Rob still thinks about Brook on occasion, but after transforming it comes with a level of discomfort as Robynne knows her new body is hotter than Brook's.

### Evelyn Gray

During their sophomore year of high school, Robert saw Evelyn mercilessly picking on a girl she had a falling out with and told her off in front of a crowd. Evelyn's subsequent attacks on his social standing failed since he had more self-confidence than her typical targets, so she turned to less direct methods, eventually succeeding in convincing the school, including Rob's girlfriend Brook, that he was gay. Robert would've attacked Evelyn to make her stop were it not for the stigma of boys hitting girls, and his time in high school became hellish. Rob retains a deep hatred for Evelyn, and seeing her in Cammy is what convinces Robynne to infiltrate the cheer team and take the captain down. Robynne dislikes her new laugh in part because it reminds her of Evelyn's.

### Mayhem Templar

Robert, under the handle Bluster, joined the Mayhem Templar guild in *Aspect Realms* due to it being a PvP-oriented group with voice chat, and became among the best stealth players in the group. He became close friends with Tantrall, a guildmate who was also in high school, and he credits Tantrall and the others with helping him cope with his real-life drama. After transforming, Robynne can't speak to her guildmates due to lacking an excuse for a girl's voice coming from Bluster's mic, and doesn't want to pose as a new member in the historically sexist group or give up voice chat entirely. Sad to leave her friends behind, she later resigns from the guild, claiming to be quitting the game due to college workload, and wipes her friends list so she won't be noticed transferring to another server with a changed username.

### Cory Frost and Eli Drake

In the span of a week after arriving at SAU, Robert becomes best friends with his roommates Cory and Eli due to their shared nerdy interests. They often call him Rob both before and after he transforms. Though Rob is sometimes unintentionally excluded from the pair's tangential banter, he quickly becomes part of their tight-knit friendship. The three are fiercely loyal to each other, with Cory and Eli standing with Rob against Polygal and agreeing to discretely record his meeting with the Spirit Guard against their better judgment. Rob's bond with them is one reason he initially refuses to become Spirit Guard Serenity, as Rob would lose this bond if he transformed without their knowledge and presented as a different person like the Spirit Guard want. Cory and Eli's tears over their inability to save Mallory from Day LaMode is what convinces Rob to transform into Spirit Guard Serenity and save her himself. Robynne is forced to move out of the men's dorms, and chooses to move into Vivian, Kara, and Noriko's dorm in part due to its close proximity to her old one. Upon reuniting, Robynne is hurt that Cory and Eli instinctively ogled her new body before recognizing her, but their friendship reaffirms itself, with Rob disgusted at the idea of attraction to Cory or Eli and vice versa. Robynne uses her new position as Vivian and Kara's roommate to nudge them in the direction of Cory and Eli respectively and is pleased when they begin dating, but at times feels left out when the five of them are together. Robynne's friendship with Cory and Eli is a great source of comfort for her because they treat largely the same way they did before her transformation. The trio has taken to making their hangouts into "Guys' Nights" to give Rob a break from her female roommates and a chance to feel like her old self again. The pair make it clear that their dorm is still home to Robynne, but she doesn't visit as often as she'd like due to the arrival of their roommate Dale who tries to hit on her, and at times she frustratingly notices Cory accidentally stare at her chest or Eli display that he still blames himself for her transformation. Cory and Eli are in SFEERS with Robynne, being the ones to recommend the club to her in the first place. Cory and Eli are unable to do much regarding Spirit Guard business, but they do whatever they can to aid Rob, who insists they are part of the team regardless of ability. Robynne is the only one who can sense Eli's aura, but elects not to tell him because she believes he would not like its unflattering description of faint and bland.

### Angela Warrant

Robert meets Angela in her Spirit Guard Valor guise when being rescued from Polygal, later meeting Angela proper in their World History class, where he pegs her as a weird fan of the Spirit Guard that links mysteries of the world to magic. When the Spirit Guard reveal their identities and try to recruit him, he finds Angela's stubborn opposition to his refusal and her inability to separate him from the Shrine Maiden infuriating. Their subsequent interactions are awkward, but Rob's willingness to assist the Spirit Guard with his EKP improves things. Rob becoming Spirit Guard Serenity to defeat Day LaMode deeply moves Angela, who feels indebted to Rob for saving Mallory's life and is eager to help Rob deal with the hardships the transformation brings. Robynne hates being compared to Angela and can find her uptight moral standards, reverence for Fate, and letting her Spirit Guard duties rule her life to be grating, but the two bond over their similar upbringings and mutual hatred of sociopath cheerleaders from their pasts. When Robynne joins the cheer team to spy on Cammy, Angela jumps at the chance to help defeat her nemesis, but remains on the sidelines so Rob's cover isn't blown. Rob lends her old computer to Angela, convincing her to play *Aspect Realms* with her and join SFEERS and the Knights in order to make new friends away from Cammy's watch. Robynne uses an alternative healer character called Isocruciatic when playing with the green Angela. Rob becomes a sort of mentor figure to Angela when it comes to gaming, feeling proud as she watches her student gradually morph into a nerd like her. Serenity admires Valor's leadership skills and mastery of empathokinesis, but her lone wolf tendencies have earned her Valor's ire. Rob believes that had none of the Spirit Guard business occured, he would've considered dating Angela.

### Mallory Drake

Robert meets Mallory in her Spirit Guard Tenacity form when being rescued from Polygal, and is introduced to Mal herself when she visits his dorm later that day. She's glad he's the first person to become part of Eli and Cory's impenetrable friendship, but is not happy that the two stand by him whenever he lands himself in danger best left to the Spirit Guard. When Rob meets with the heroes and they explain everything, Mallory is uncomfortable at the idea of recruiting him and is understanding of his refusal to join, as she shares his disdain for Fate and past life business. Rob becomes Spirit Guard Serenity to save Mallory from Day LaMode, earning the nickname Ace for this dramatic rescue. Though Mal understands that Rob did this purely out of principle, she is forever grateful and offers her aid for any reason, knowing that Rob is slow to ask others for help. Robynne is proud that heroism is her defining trait to Mallory, who from as early as their first meeting is repeatedly impressed with how far Rob's selflessness will go. Mallory teases Robynne and dismisses her nerdy hobbies in the same playful manner that she does Eli and Cory, which Robynne agrees helps her feel like her old self. Despite Mal complaining that Robynne turned Angela into a nerd, the three enjoy the banter they have when Rob and Angela play *Aspect Realms* together.

### Vivian Feliz

Robert meets Vivian in her Spirit Guard Felicity form when the Spirit Guard rescue him from Polygal, and is introduced to Vivian herself when she visits his dorm later that day, where he is a bit unnerved at her interest in his account of the monster attack. When the Spirit Guard reveal their identities and try to recruit Rob, Vivian understands his refusal to join them because of the cruel destiny Fate has thrust onto him, but she's worried that, like with previous Spirit Guards, a monster may soon appear that requires his help to defeat. After transforming, Robynne moves into Vivian's dorm. Vivian uses her boundless energy to keep Robynne's spirits up, utilizing her irreverent brand of humor to poke fun at the ridiculousness of Robynne's situation. Robynne sometimes tires of living with Vivian's antics, but appreciates Vivian as one who never walks on eggshells around her, which can bait her into doing some needed venting. Seeing Cory and Vivian's clear interest in each other before his spying on the Standridge Stones meeting broke her trust in him, Robynne convinces Vivian to give him a second chance and is glad when the two begin dating. Vivian gives Robynne the nicknames Rosy and Red in reference to her scarlette hair. She's not especially fond of the nicknames but can't dissuade Vivian from using them, so she generally only protests when other people use them. Rob initially pegs Vivian as a space case, but finds that they share a scientific thought process, so they like to discuss theories on and experiment with empathokinesis. Vivian follows Kara's lead of joining SFEERS to be there for Robynne. She also joins Robynne on her infiltration of the cheer team so she won't be alone in such a harsh and unfamiliar social field, but plays up a stereotypical cheerleader personality while on duty in order to fly under Cammy's radar.

### Kara Balmer

Robert meets Kara in her Spirit Guard Charity form when he is rescued from Polygal, though unlike with the other Spirit Guards, he doesn't interact with her regular persona until the team reveals their identities to him, at that point only knowing her as the girl Eli likes. After transforming, Robynne moves into Kara's dorm. Kara's great empathy makes her well-equipped to helping Robynne cope with the awkwardness her new body brings to her life, especially in regards to social interaction. Though Kara is patient and understanding of Rob's shortcomings, she is the only Spirit Guard who readily challenges her to improve herself and is willing to be frank with her. Rob greatly enjoys Kara's cooking and is in no rush to learn for herself, though Kara would very much like to teach her. Kara likes to hug but knows Rob dislikes being touched, so she apologizes for the times she fails to control her urges. Robynne encourages Kara to get closer to Eli and finds them a cute couple. Kara, predicting that Robynne will join SFEERS and enjoy having her friends there, joins the club herself, though Rob disapproves of Kara using her first name in place of a pseudonym for her handle. When Rob begins her infiltration into the cheer team, Kara teaches her ways to help fit in, which Rob has little patience for and pejoratively dubs "Girl Lessons".

### Kunapipi

As a Champion on Earth, Rob is assigned Kunapipi as his Guide. He is called by Ms. Kuna the day after his encounter with Polygal, but declines meeting with her for counseling on the matter, so he only learns of her true nature during his meeting with the Spirit Guard at the Standridge Circle. He is apparently her first Champion that so brazenly despises Fate and challenges ideas the Guide takes for granted. Rob isn't fond of her for being Fate's servant and seemingly only good for mundane tasks rather than offering actual guidance to the heroes. After joining the Spirit Guard, Robynne meets with Kunapipi only when necessary, having little patience for the servant of Fate with a lack of tact toward her life being ruined by the deity's plans. She demands Kunapipi appear in human form, as she finds a talking wallaby unsettling and reasons that the Guide can handle the temporary discomfort of a foreign body in the presence of one forced to live with said discomfort. Rob often addresses Kunapipi as Ms. Kuna even though she prefers her true name, and when away from her may also refer to her as simply "the kangaroo rat".

### Noriko Yukimura

Robert and Noriko meet during the meeting with the Spirit Guard at the Standridge Circle. They initially dislike each other: she distrusts him for having Cory and Eli secretly record the meeting, while Rob holds a grudge against her for threatening his friends with her sword when they got caught doing so. Despite this, after transforming, Robynne moves into Noriko's room rather than Angela's in part due to Ms. Kuna's claim of Noriko sharing her desire for privacy. The two learn they misjudged each other soon after: Noriko is moved by the selfless sacrifice involved in Rob's transformation, as is Rob by Noriko's sincere apology and going to the trouble to return the comic book she had lost during the battle. Rob is initially unnerved at living with a ninja assassin that unknowingly sneaks about, but soon tires of doubting her roommate's good intentions. Noriko's analytical nature helps Robynne understand and deal with the complications of her new life, and also trains her in parkour for use in monster fights. As Noriko occasionally enters through the window in their room rather than the front door, Rob makes a habit of unlocking it if going to bed before the ninja returns.

### Nick Siekert

Robynne meets Nick on her first day back to college, as they share an Introduction to Digital Arts class. She is confused by his familiarity with her until he introduces himself, as he and Will know all about her from creating her new documentation. Their belated meeting also has Nick forget that Rob isn't truly a woman and she finds his resulting chivalry patronizing, though once this is cleared up the two become friends that like to tease each other. Rob dislikes how being around Nick causes some people misinterpret them as a couple, but does enjoy how it wards off guys who might hit on her. She envies Nick for not stressing out over dates, and explaining the downsides of her introversion helps him gain a better understanding of Will's similar troubles.

### Will Siekert

Robynne and Will knew of each other due to his work in forging her documentation, but they don't actually meet until he comes over to inspect the computer parts sent by Cammy. Like Nick, Will forgot that Rob isn't really a girl, and his nervousness at talking to women initially extends her. He becomes more comfortable after she reminds him of who she is and expresses interest in his computer building. Robynne considers that perhaps giving Will positive attention while also being an attractive woman boosts his confidence more than usual, so she's glad at least one person is benefiting from her new body.

### Platicore's forces

Robert's powerful Investiture puts him in the sights of Platicore's monsters, who can't drain him and instead try to capture him so their master can convert him into a servant. Upon learning about Platicore, Rob empathizes with the villain's aim to destroy Fate, but has zero tolerance for harming innocent people and thus opposes him. Rob initially refuses to join the Spirit Guard, but offers noncombat support in their efforts to stop the monsters. Rob becomes Spirit Guard Serenity when, during the battle with Day LaMode, he is the only one who can stop her from taking Mallory's life. Serenity is the only Spirit Guard to have detected the presence of Trace, and this along with her unique fighting style catches the eye of Platicore's assistant, who decides to investigate Serenity in her spare time.

### Shrine Maiden

As the reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden, Robert received a portion of her soul, including Investiture, which is what allows him access to the Spirit Guard Serenity form and its inherited combat instincts and empathokinetic abilities. Kunapipi believes Rob was selected for this due to an error, however, and the mismatch between Rob and Shrine Maiden results in the Spirit Guard transformation turning Rob's body female among the physical changes one receives to more closely resemble their predecessor. Unlike the other Spirit Guards, Rob's personality is vastly different from his predecessor's beyond broad character traits associated with their high serenity levels; the Shrine Maiden was the soul of her team and very pious, while Rob is highly introverted, doesn't care for spiritual matters, and lacks an inherent sense of duty in being chosen as a Champion. After transforming, Robynne sometimes experiences visions of the Shrine Maiden's life while sleeping. While the other Spirit Guards would generally consider their past lives as a part of themselves, Rob views the Shrine Maiden as a completely distinct person and pushes the others to likewise distance themselves from the people in their visions.

### Fate

Robert was selected by Fate to become a Champion as Spirit Guard Serenity, and the deity arranged things so he would come to Kessia City and learn of this destiny. Rob despises being manipulated, so when the Spirit Guard explain the situation, he is furious at being pushed toward a role he absolutely doesn't want. He rejects the notion that Fate is truly benevolent and doesn't consider Platicore's ultimate goal of destroying the deity an unjust one. When he finally transforms to save Mallory, he curses Fate as he does so, doing it only because he would've forever regretted allowing a death he could've prevented. Whenever Robynne encounters a problem brought on by her new body, she often wonders if it is yet another result of Fate's schemes. She also considers the possibility that Fate is the cause of her sometimes feeling watched and is not pleased at the thought.

### Dale Bridges

Robert is initially set to share a dorm room with Dale, but hopes to end up with a room to himself when Dale fails to show up the first week of class. Dale finally arrives just hours after the transformed Robynne is moved out, with Cory and Eli explaining Robert's absence to their new roommate as moving back home at the death of his father, with the two later warning Rob of Dale's fondness of scarlettes. While Robynne discusses with Cory and Eli her plan of infiltrating the cheer team, Dale shows up earlier than expected, so she adds on to Cory and Eli's lie by claiming to be an old friend of Robert's. Unnerved at his relaxing textured aura, obvious interest in her, and her unwanted attraction to him, she quickly excuses herself and in the future makes sure to visit the dorm only when Cory and Eli are certain he won't be there. Sanvi seeing Dale receive the computer parts Rob had extorted from Cammy creates a rumor on the cheer team that Rob is dating him, which she quashes when asked about it. Robynne is uneasy about confronting Dale and initially hopes he'll give up on her after some time, but this fails to dissuade his advances, so at Kara's prodding, Rob decides she'll shut Dale down by getting him to meet Lilly, who has expressed interest in him.

### Stacy Ambrose

Robynne finds herself making unlikely friends with Stacy, one of the cheerleaders she had absentmindedly kicked a rock towards as Robert. The two meet again in their Intro to Business class, and their conversation is the first one Robynne has with someone who doesn't know her secret. Robynne's personality sharply contrasts with the bubbly Stacy's, but she is comfortable being herself around her due to Stacy's sincerity and nonjudgmental attitude, with Stacy's comments on Rob's quirks largely limited to surprise at seeing her do anything even slightly feminine. Rob sometimes ends up in unwanted situations due to Stacy's eagerness to help and tendency to talk about her, but finds her trustworthy. Stacy's interest in her and sharp memory becomes a threat to Robynne's cover, as Stacy points out gaps in Rob's backstory and is convinced Rob puts up with the cheer team for something more than getting Vivian a spot. Robynne periodically drops hints about Cammy's true nature to Stacy, hoping that letting Stacy decide for herself to not trust Cammy will help her resist the captain's commanding aura. Rob is surprised at Stacy's readiness to attend SFEERS events despite not being a member or having interests aligned with the club. Rob is annoyed whenever she catches herself using Stacy's infectious verbal tic of "like". Robynne laments that had she remained Robert, Stacy would've made for a great girlfriend.

### Lilly Winters

Robert accidentally kicks a rock towards Lilly shortly before his meeting with the Spirit Guard, and the two peg each other as clumsy and rude, respectively. After joining the cheer team, Robynne's condition of only being given skippable promotion jobs often sees her paired up with Lilly, who shares her disdain for the work and is easily convinced to slack off. Robynne likes being able to complain about Cammy to her, and Lilly enjoys learning about the mysterious recruit. Robynne being so straightforward in conversation surprises the gossip Lilly, who serves as a window into her reputation among the team. Lilly was supposed to keep her ditching promotion with Robynne a secret, but lets it slip to the rest of the team. Since Lilly is interested in Dale, Robynne hopes to get them to meet in order to be free of Dale's advances.

### Cammy DeCroix

Robynne first hears of Cammy as the cheer captain that Angela has bad blood with, and when Cammy attempts to recruit her, Rob sees through the captain's powerful aura and friendly facade, being one of the only people call Cammy out as selfish and manipulative. The Spirit Guard later decides Cammy is too dangerous to ignore, so plans are made for Robynne to join the cheer team and spy on her; Rob is motivated not by Angela's theory of Cammy being the Empress reincarnated, but by a desire to tear Cammy down so she can no longer hurt people the same way Evelyn had ruined Robert's high school life. In return for joining the team and promising to use her SFEERS membership to sway the club's Student Association votes toward Cammy's interests, Robynne makes several demands of the captain, such as allowing Vivian to join and Robynne to slack on promotion work. Cammy is mostly hands-off with Robynne, but will remind her who's in charge by giving orders intended to annoy her and test her loyalty. Despite her hatred for Cammy, Robynne is intrigued by her unusual aura and mysterious schemes. A small part of Rob's aura gets affected by Cammy's and points in her general direction, so Rob can use this along with her strong EKP to track the captain over great distances.

### Jodi Ryder

After joining the cheer team, Robynne reports to Jodi for her promotion assignments. Robynne, per her agreement with Cammy, is only given jobs in remote parts of campus that the officers can turn a blind eye to when she doesn't do the work.

### Tanya Tell

Robynne often has to deal with the cheer team officer Tanya, and finds her extremely irritating. There's a paltry amount of information on Rob for Tanya to dig up, making the recruit a wildcard to the snooping social media expert. Knowing that the shallow gossip won't trust anyone she lacks perceived dirt on, Rob answers Tanya's probing with measured responses that are typically vague or half-truthful in nature.

### SAU Cheerleading Team

Robynne joins the cheer team in order to stop plans of captain Cammy, though the other cheerleaders are under the impression that Cammy herself convinced her to join. From hearing of Rob telling Cammy off and assuming the naïve Stacy has the wrong impression of her antisocial friend, the idea of the hot new recruit being stuck up springs from the rumor mill, among several others. Robynne denies all of the rumors after Lilly tells her about them, deciding she'll have to interact with cheerleaders beyond Vivian and Stacy outside of work at least a little in order to keep her reputation in check. After Lilly accidentally reveals she and Robynne regularly skip their promotion duties, the gossip quickly causes the whole team to find out, though Rob being allowed to do so as part of an agreement with Cammy apparently remains a secret since Lilly was never told.

### NightKnight

Robert plays against NightKnight in an *Aspect Realms* PvP match, angering his opponent with his stealth tactics. They speak again when Robynne joins the Knights of the Spherical Table as Waveform, but don't recognize each other since Rob has forgotten their previous encounter and now sports a different voice and handle. They are the two biggest PvP enthusiasts in the guild, but after Rob ends up in NightKnight's usual leader role due to her superior tactical and social skills, he starts skipping sessions, causing her concern that his wounded pride will lead to drama. While Robynne is promoting SFEERS's *Mega Mash Family Battle* tournament, she is surprised to see NightKnight not only put his grudge aside to help drive away a meathead who's hounding her, but sport a new aura and an appearance distinct from when they met at the SFEERS opening social. She learns he's part of the ConSpiriters, and when Stacy says she and Robynne were at Buy Bright just before the monster attack, he becomes eager to question them. Rob feigns tears and claims the subject of monsters is too sensitive, thoroughly humiliating him. She feels guilty about having to do that to him and helps him try to get over it, in part because she wants to meet him so his textured aura can be examined, but she also wants to help him learn to manage his social issues since they are reminiscent of the ones she learned to manage during high school.

### ergoAwesome

Robert plays against ergoAwesome in an *Aspect Realms* PvP match, though the Seraphim Cloudmender accompanying NightKnight was not named at the time. When Robynne joins the Knights as Waveform, Rob has forgotten that encounter and Awesome wouldn't recognize Rob's different voice and handle. Awesome is glad to have another girl in the male-dominant guild as well as a skilled PvP player that can hold the group together better than NightKnight can.

### GalleyGirl

Robynne finds GalleyGirl manning the SFEERS booth during Club Week, and joins her in both the club and the Knights of the Spherical Table. Rob finds her friendly enough, but gets tired of her frequent suggestions to get into cosplay, given Rob's distaste for dressing up and discomfort with her body. Though Rob readily shoots her down every time, GalleyGirl remains persistent and her feelings are apparently unhurt.

### Fretribution

Robynne plays a game of *Corona Forge* alongside Fretribution during her first online experience as a girl, and he defends her when she gets harassed. She later meets him in person at SFEERS's Club Week booth, but convinces him he is mistaken in recognizing her voice, as she had since changed her online handle. Rob dislikes that she finds him attractive, but makes an effort to observe his emboldening aura that's apparently the cause of SFEERS's rapid growth and subsequent targeting by Cammy. Though Stacy ends up making Robynne Fretribution's contact in dealing with the cheer team's failure to promote SFEERS events, in practice he ends up working with Stacy instead.

### SFEERS

Robynne checks out the nerd club SFEERS's booth during Club Week at the suggestion of Cory and Eli due to it having an *Aspect Realms* guild that won't associate her character with Robert. Being an especially attractive SFEERS member lands Robynne in the sights of Cammy, who wants her to join the cheer team and manipulate the club's Student Association votes. Rob agrees to this in order to keep Cammy from interfering with the club itself, which Rob finds one of the few avenues of release left to her after her transformation. Robynne initially appearing at the SFEERS opening social in her cheerleader uniform per Cammy's orders makes a poor first impression on the club, making many of its members slow to believe that she's genuinely like them and not a poser.

### Knights of the Spherical Table

After Robynne's transformation causes her to resign from the Mayhem Templar, she considers quitting *Aspect Realms* entirely until Cory and Eli find out SFEERS has a guild of its own called the Knights of the Spherical Table. Rob soon joins under the new handle Waveform and quickly fits into the guild. She mostly continues to play PvP and even ends up the de facto leader of this group, but also participates in the guild's raid group. She surprises the other girls of the mostly-male guild by her readiness to use voice chat, and while Robynne finds many people online treat her differently upon hearing her voice, her negative experiences frequently amount to low-effort remarks from strangers that she can easily retort. Robynne is glad that joining the Knights has allowed *Aspect Realms* to remain as fun as before and one of the few constants in her life after her transformation.

## In *MGP Alpha*

In *MGP Alpha*, Rob served the same role as main protagonist as he does in the current *Magical Girl Policy*. Robert Dirken is a fourteen-year-old freshman at the Peavy Academy boarding high school, and through the whims of Fate is chosen to become Spirit Guard Serenity, the fifth member of the monster-fighting Spirit Guard magical girl team. After transforming to save the Spirit Guards from Day LaMode, Robert is forced to live with a female body and adopts the name Robynne Pacifica Darling. Robynne joins the video game club and an attempt to recruit her to the cheer team is made by cheer captain Katy Masters, with Robynne eventually joining because Angela is certain Katy has some diabolical scheme in mind for the school via the unusually powerful student government. Robynne later starts to receive dreams that are symbolic prophecies of the near future. She acquires three unwanted admirers in the form of Dale VanHalen, Eric Allman, and Jimmy Rollen who try to compete for her affection, though she continues to interact with them because she suspects one of them is the true identity of Tremolo Bass, a mysterious magical boy hero that appears to aid the Spirit Guard in battle. When her Uncle Taylor makes a surprise visit looking for Robert, Robynne meets with him through an improvised plan with Cory and Eli. Taylor doesn't believe she's his nephew at first and thinks this setup is an elaborate prank by Robert, but changes his mind when Robynne recounts in detail her deeply guarded middle school experience: when Robert's classmates found out he took ballet lessons to improve at football, he was constantly made fun of for supposedly being gay, to the point that it was the reason Jenny Coles refused to go out with him. Robynne and Taylor then reestablish regular contact, and Taylor also looks to move to a place nearby.

For aesthetic differences, Robert has brown hair, Spirit Guard Serenity's hair doesn't cover an eye, Robynne keeps her hair down. Rob's favorite color is blue and he likes to wear it, unlike the reboot which gives Rob no attachment to the color and has Robynne avoid wearing it. Rob plays *World of Warcraft* rather than the reboot's fictional equivalent *Aspect Realms*. With the more lighthearted tone and younger cast of *Alpha*, this version of Rob is generally less mature and has more dramatic reactions than his reboot counterpart. Compared to the reboot, *Alpha* focuses more on the social issues brought on by Rob's unwanted change in sex than psychological ones. Rob's names are also handled differently: the male form is Robert Dirken or Rob for short, with Rob being widely used by many characters and referring exclusively to this form, rather than the reboot having mainly Cory and Eli use it to refer to all forms. Mallory also gives him the unwanted nickname of Bobby. The female form is Robynne Pacifica Darling, with only the last name having the same origin as the reboot. The first name was chosen for its similarity to Robert, but the "Robynne" spelling Ms. Kuna selected ruined what Rob assumed was the gender-neutral "Robin", and Pacifica was chosen by Ms. Kuna to evoke water since Rob had no ideas for a middle name. An additional nickname is "Robby", which Robert was called by his late grandmother, and later by Taylor as a way to get used to Robynne's name change.

Rob's unique powers were handled differently in *Alpha*. Spirit Guard Serenity's passive ability to remain dry by having water move around her is instead possessed by Felicity. The Spirit Guards do not receive visions, but Robynne does get dreams that represent events in the near future.

## Gallery

*For all images featuring this character, see Robert Dreese and Robynne Darling/Gallery.*
Robert with Kunapipi during the meeting with the Spirit Guard at the Standridge Circle.Robert, before and after transforming into Spirit Guard Serenity.Serenity makes her appearance to battle Day LaMode and save Spirit Guard Tenacity.Robynne and Vivian at the cheer team photo shoot.Robynne talking with Fretribution at the SFEERS social.
## Trivia

* Spirit Guard Serenity's hair color and eye-obscuring hair style happen to be the same as Collider's, the titular heroine of Rob's favorite comic book.
* Prior to Robynne realizing how her new name is spelled, its spelling depended on the character speaking:
	+ Kunapipi and Noriko used the correct "Robynne", as they had access to records of Robynne Dreese, who Rob is named after.
	+ Rob herself, Cory, and Kara used "Robin".
	+ Eli, Angela, and Vivian used "Robyn".
* A few of Rob's character traits stem from the author, Taralynn Andrews:
	+ Andrews's love of *World of Warcraft* is why Rob plays the game in *MGP Alpha*. In the rebooted *Magical Girl Policy*, Rob plays the MGP universe's equivalent game, *Aspect Realms*.
	+ In Chapter 32's author commentary, Andrews notes that people finding it strange how Rob can be a fan of both football and video games mirrors her own experience as someone who is heavily into baseball and nerdy things.
	+ In the September 2016 Q&A, it's stated that Rob drinking large amounts of Pep MD stems from Andrews's guilty pleasure of Dr. Pepper.
* Spirit Guard Serenity's daggers having a barbed tip originate from a piece of fanart by Theo, which Andrews was highly receptive to and incorporated it into the official design.
* Rob is referenced in several headers on the original Taralynn's Desk:
	+ "Spirit Guard Serenity Says would just be gaming advice... l2p n00b"
	+ "Conspiring to make Robynne's day a little more girly since 2008!"
	+ "Robynne wanted me to remind you that her accent isn't that thick!"
	+ "Searching for more embarrassing Robynne situations... Loading..."
* In Chapter 16's author commentary, Andrews says she considered having Robynne struggle to speak and walk at first in her new body, but discarded it out of concern that it would unnecessarily slow the story down.
* In Chapter 30's author commentary, it's revealed that the details of Robert's high school drama was initially planned to be revealed later in the story, but Andrews felt Vivian wouldn't ignore Robynne hinting at it affecting her decision to take Cammy down. Due to this, said backstory is given relatively little foreshadowing.
* In the October 2016 Q&A, Rob is stated to have no real preference of car, merely desiring something reliable and low-maintenance.
* In the February 2017 Q&A, it's said that Robynne, with proper voice coaching, could be great at singing country or folk rock.