Edited: 4/1/2017
Lucina sometimes dreamed of another world. She was on a balcony overlooking a bustling city filled with the sounds of life. From the castle behind came a man who swept her into his arms to kiss her brow. Then she awoke, the sounds and images fading and the faces becoming a blur. She used to spend hours on the road attempting to grasp the memories but later began to dismiss them as irrelevant whispers from the past. The memory of when she met him that night was the earliest memory she cared to retain.
She didn't remember why she was in the room alone. But she remembered the door opening and averting her eyes from the flickering torch. She remembered fearing the dark cloaked figure, but he didn't feel like the monsters she caught glimpses of when running with her caretakers. Looking back, he was the only one that came for her. The now faceless others who took care of her left one by one and never returned. Before he came, was there only one left? Two? Five?
She said nothing, silently watching the figure and he responded in kind, merely staring at her. Then he knelt close enough that she could make out the tears falling from his dark sorrowful eyes.
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry Lucina."
"Who are you?" She whispered as he continuously apologized. The man wiped his face and tried to smile.
"My name is Robin. I'll keep you safe."
Robin never left her. Naturally she was nervous around him at first, as any young child on the run with a stranger would be. But she still wordlessly followed him out of the room at dawn. As the days went on, she grew more comfortable with his presence. How could she not? After all, Robin did everything for her. He would go and find food when she was hungry. The last drops of water would go to her without complaint. He would always carry her when she got tired and later would let her ride in the small cart he pulled around. Long nights in dangerous areas were spent watching over her sleeping form. When she seemed down or bored, he would know and try to entertain her.
They traveled through forests, over mountains, and across plains. Sometimes, they came to places that seemed familiar, perhaps from when she was younger. But they would always stop in the broken castles and keeps so the man could find books to read. Then one day the man stopped looking for books and instead started looking for what he said was "her birthright". And so they traveled through the desert into some ruins and found a sword and shield.
"They were your father's. You will carry it someday like he did."
She didn't understand at the time, but she thought it was a good thing because it was the first time he genuinely smiled.
Robin always kept her safe. The others before her would just take her and run. If they stayed, she never saw them again. But he would fight alone and always return. He would tell her to go hide and she always did so. But occasionally she peeked and watched Robin fight the monsters (Risen he called them, dead humans). She watched in wonder as his sword weaved its way through the creatures and how his words called forth a stream of elements.
He protected her at night too. Her dreams then were plagued with fire, death, and looming shadows. When she cried out, he would hug her close and whisper reassurances. He would stroke her hair and wipe her tears until she finally found rest. She slept with her previous caretakers as well, but in his arms she felt safe for the first time.
One day though, they met other people, living people who were not risen. Robin looked happy and invited them to their fire, but the men pointed a sword at him and demanded all of their food. He tried to talk to the men, but eventually drew his sword when they threatened to take her away.
That night, she curled up next to him as she always did and asked him what the humans did that Robin had to kill them (She would never question why. If he did so, Robin had a good reason).
"Not all humans are good like your father or his friends." Robin said. "They needed food but didn't want to share. Instead, they wanted to hurt us and take you away. During hard times, some people have to do bad things to survive, and eventually their choices define them. But there are good people out there Lucina. One day, we'll find them."
They never did.
They eventually came to the ocean. She didn't even know so much water could exist in one place and quickly grew to love the sea. By the blue waters, the winds were cool and refreshing. When Robin was busy, she could play in the sand and water. There were always birds, fish, and other things they could eat (her stomach hurt when Robin couldn't find more then roots for dinner but she never blamed him no matter how much he apologized). When enemies came, they could hide in caves or among the rocks. Once they even spent the night on an anchored raft. If they did fight, Robin could use the cliffs, coves, and beaches to his advantage. The sea gave them everything they needed and Lucina continued to tell Robin that they should just live there forever.
But Robin was looking for gems. They had three, and he needed to cross the sea to find the other two. After half a year fruitlessly searching for a suitable ship, Robin decided that they would build one themselves. He found books that taught him how, papers that outlined what the vessels should look like but he still had a lot of trouble, even with her help. They eventually settled on an island close to shore where the risen could not reach them and labored for over a year. Those peaceful days by the sea were some of her fondest memories.
Around her seventh birthday (three years after he found her according to him) the boat was done. While Lucina remembered the dark clouds of her past, the days had slowly grown brighter and it was a sunny cloudless morning when they set off. She quickly discovered that while she loved the beach, the small wooden ship was rather boring. They would occasionally fish or play the games they invented, but save for the rare storm, nothing really happened on their voyage. This meant Robin could double down on her lessons.
Ever since she was found, Robin had taught her. He made sure she could read and write, encouraging her to keep a journal and peruse all the books she could. She grew to love them as they were her only companions aside from him, windows into different worlds, and constant sources of discussion between the two of them.
When she did well, he would praise her as a good student so she always tried her very best no matter the subject. Sometimes he would teach her about nature and the fundamental rules that governed the land. Other times he would lecture her about what the world used to be like, of countries and kings and wars. He would teach her numbers, ethics, and even tactics. He told her stories of important people such as her father and his companions. And frequently, he would give some variation of the speech about her ancestry.
"Lucina. You have special blood in you. You can wield falchion and slay the fell dragon. Then one day the survivors will gather and your kingdom will be rebuilt."
He said it so often it must have been important, and thus she never told him that she didn't really care about being the daughter of a dead king and the head of a broken nonexistent country. When she was young, she asked him what exactly a daughter and father was. He carefully explained the concept of a family and that she used to have one as well.
"-and a father... he is the man who raises you with his wife. Except maybe your spouse, he is the man that loves you the most and who you would have loved the most."
"But I love you the most. Are you my father then? Can I call you that?"
It was one of the few times Robin had grown truly upset.
She listened at first and tried to love her parents. Certainly they sounded heroic, loving, and amazing from the tales Robin told her. Sometimes, she could make out an indiscernible face with blue hair but she gave up eventually (or maybe she imagined it because she had blue hair?). They were her heroes but only existed in stories; how could she love them like she loved Robin? Where were they when the dragon came? Did they protect her from bandits and risen? Were they the ones who taught her to read and write? Yes, they were dead, but did that mean she had to think of them like Robin told her to? In fact, how could she love the people that were the chasm between Robin and her? She noticed that while kind, Robin would always grow cooler towards her when the two became too close, especially when he began to talk of her father.
It made her feel guilty, mentally disobeying Robin. She never told him what she felt for fear of upsetting him, but she slowly grew to hate the symbol in her eye, the symbol that represented her lineage. If it wasn't there, maybe she could have truly been his daughter.
When they reached the new continent (Valm, Robin had taught her and he went into a full lecture about the continent and its history) they continued to travel. There were more risen here and even less people. For a time, the risen would come almost nightly, and she could see it start to wear Robin down.
"Teach me how to fight." She said one day as Robin nursed a bruise. "I can help you."
"Out of the question, you are eight." He immediately replied.
But she followed him one day with the sword of Chrom. It was too heavy for her, even with two hands, but she managed to sneak over and stab the last monster through the back. Robin was upset but realized that short of tying her up, he couldn't really stop her. And she was getting to an age where she could at least wield short swords and other small weapons. Learning to protect herself in case Robin wasn't there was also a bonus. From that day on, along with her lessons, he taught her how fight. He would occasionally allow her to come with him (the Risen had grown more lethargic over time she noticed) and watched her like a hawk. But she was unsatisfied.
"Why are you teaching me this?" She said one evening as she went through another form. Robin eyed her curiously.
"What do you mean? Didn't you want to learn how to fight?"
"I do... but I want to learn how to fight like you do. Teach me magic and a one-handed sword style."
"Lucina... this style is your father's style; it is the style that the wielders of Falchion use. It is best for you to learn how to wield your family's sword. It has special properties only you can unlock."
Of course it went back to her father, it sometimes made her jealous how Robin spoke so reverently of him. But she continued to pester him until he finally gave her a magic tome. It only made her feel slightly guilty when Robin gave her a troubled look when she began to fight mirroring his movements.
Valm was large and with the lessons and enemies, they moved slowly. When they finally returned to Ylisse, she was ten years old, almost eleven. All the gems were found and put on the shield known as the Fire Emblem. Robin seemed happier than ever, but she also saw another side of him emerge. At nights, or when he thought she wasn't looking (but she was always looking, she never left his side) he would clutch his head in pain. He would snap sometimes when fighting and slash more violently and yell his incantations with a fury she had never seen before. He seemed more hesitant to be around her, and tried to be more distant but one sad look from her always brought him around. He could never deny her, a weakness Lucina tried not to exploit too often.
After all, Robin was always good to her. After all the lessons, all the traveling, all the work necessary to just survive, Robin always made time for entertainment. On the road, they would play increasingly complex word games with the rules changing daily. When resting, they would invent other games, such as having contests to see who could stack objects higher. By the sea, they built sandcastles and he taught her how to swim. In the summer fields, they made vibrant flower bouquets and gazed at the stars. Come winter, snowball fights and snow sculptures were the norm. Her happiness was his first priority and Lucina loved him even more for that.
They stayed a while in the city of her birth, the city she would have been raised in. He seemed sad, like he always did when he spoke of the past, but still walked her through the ruined castle and even showed her the nursery where she had supposedly once lived.
Despite his stories, she struggled to imagine a life in these walls. She could not imagine sleeping in such a luxurious room, even if the roof was caved in and the sheets stained and spoiled. She had always slept on the ground in a simple tent or in the remains of an abandoned building next to Robin.
She could not imagine spending her entire day inside of the large castle, passing the days with friends and family. Growing up, she had walked beside Robin; helping him by searching for food, gathering wood, or looking out for trouble. Then they would play the games only she and Robin knew.
She could not imagine learning at a desk in a room full of books, from men and women she would never meet. Robin taught her as they walked along the road, as they sailed the seas, as they sat together by a fire.
She could not imagine eating at a large dining table with Chrom and his wife, feasting on dishes she could not even imagine the tastes of. It was always by a fire or on the road where she consumed her small plain meals.
The training yard, the kitchens, the stables, the gardens; no, she could not imagine living a life here surrounded by friends and family no matter how wonderful a tale Robin spun. The Lucina of that life would have been happy, but she was not that Lucina. Would that Lucina have known what plants were safe to eat and how to trap small game? Would that Lucina know the best ways to start a fire and the steps to set up a safe camp? Would that Lucina be able to walk for an entire day straight without tiring and still be able to practice her blade afterwards? Would that Lucina be able to fight off risen and live a life looking over her shoulder for enemies? Would that Lucina look like her, a thin girl with short messy hair dressed in practical boy's clothing?
Could she have been happier? Perhaps, but she was happy and content with the now, not with speculation. She refused to entertain thoughts of possible lives or ruined pasts. Her current world was difficult at times, but she was proud of what she had become under Robin's care. And so, her place was beside him, not within these empty halls with the ghosts he spoke of.
He never fully explained what the gems were for. He told her the legend of the Fell Dragon Grima (she still occasionally had nightmares of him or faked them after Robin insisted she was old enough to sleep alone) and how her ancestor sealed him away with the awakened Falchion. He told her of the ceremony to summon a goddess and empower the blade. But she saw no dragon and wondered why they were on this quest. Why did they travel and fight so much when they could just return to those halcyon days by the sea and live together in peace? Robin said the world was ruined because the dragon woke up but didn't he say it was sleeping again?
They reached Mount Prism and began to climb. Life was greener now but especially colorful here. The water was cleaner, the air fresher, and the fruits more succulent. She wouldn't have minded living here either. As they climbed, Robin taught her words, words for the awakening ritual. At the top, they entered the temple of Naga, perhaps the only intact building she had ever seen. The inside was beautiful but seeing such beauty seemed wrong to someone who had only known a broken world.
"Hear me, Naga! I bear proof of our sacred covenant!"
As she went on to finish the words Robin had taught her, the altar exploded in light, and fire engulfed her. She remembered a city on fire and a dark dragon. Had it not been for Robin's reassurances, she would have fled the temple there and then. But soon enough, a shining figure, a person Lucina knew to be beautiful and holy, appeared before them.
"Be welcome, Awakener. Your heart has been tested and deemed worthy." The being then turned towards Robin. "And so are you… fellblood."
She could no longer keep up as Robin began to speak to the goddess incarnate in front of her.
"Lady Naga, I have gathered the stones and helped Lucina perform the awakening. All so that I could speak to you, and I suspect you know why."
"I know of your plight fellblood. However, I am no true goddess. It is not in my power to change what has passed. I can help to remove the remnants of darkness from this world, but I cannot bring back humanity. What remains is all that is left."
"Then humanity has essentially fallen… civilization has probably been set back a couple hundred years if any people remain. All because of me. I suspected as much… but more importantly…"
"Grima and I are of equal power. I cannot truly destroy him and he cannot truly destroy me. Only Grima can end Grima. The most my power can do is to seal him away into sleep once again. The Falchion will hold my power until the Fire Emblem is disassembled."
"I see… perhaps I have hoped for too much. But I am prepared, I knew what could happen. Lucina, please draw the Falchion."
Despite being confused, she dutifully drew the sword of Chrom. Light engulfed it and it began to glow with energy.
"I cannot save you, but it would be best for Grima to be sealed." Naga said, a sad look on her face.
"What of Lucina?"
"I can send her somewhere safe. I promise this. You need not worry."
She did not like the way this conversation was going.
"There is no other choice. Lucina, please raise your sword, I need to examine Falchion's awakened state."
She wanted to protest. She wanted to know why it sounded like they would be separated. But she trusted Robin. She raised the sword and Robin touched the blade, carefully looking it over.
What?
Robin's blood trailed down Falchion onto her hands and she immediately let go. He collapsed, the sword clattering to the ground.
What?
Without thinking, Lucina caught his body and began looking for the healing staff they always carried around before realizing it was missing.
What?
"I'm sorry Lucina." Robin said weakly, red pooling beneath him. "This is… for the best. My letter will explain everything, my final words. I don't know if I deserve to say this but …I love you. You'll be okay. I know you will."
"No." Tears pooled in her eyes and she could barely make out his face. She began to yell. "No! You can't die! You can't leave me! I need you! I love you too! Please! I don't want to be alone!"
Robin smiled weakly and whispered a quiet apology before closing his eyes forever. Why? Why had he thrown himself on the blade? Why did he have to die? She screamed as she hugged his dead body. Her body heaved as she sobbed and begged for him to return. No matter what he said, Robin was her father. He raised her. He taught her everything she knew. He walked beside her and protected her. Every day she could remember, she had woken up to his smile and went to sleep listening to his steady breaths. It was always him and her, the two of them alone with only each other to rely upon. He completed her, he was her other half. But now he was dead. Her world was dead.
I will follow you forever.
She raised her own short sword (she would never willingly touch the blade of Chrom; the blade that had killed Robin) and placed it against her neck.
"Please, stay your blade child. You are distressed, but this was meant to be, just as you are not meant to die yet. I promised to send you somewhere safe."
She had all but forgotten the (useless) goddess before her, the goddess who looked on with pity as Robin bled out on the floor of her temple. Before she could do anything else, she felt a pull as light surrounded her.
"With no more fellblood, perhaps Grima will be sealed forever. But this world is gone, and it will never be what it once was ever again. You have no future here."
She felt herself rising into the air and went to clutch Robin's body to her but couldn't reach.
"May you find peace young one."
And she was gone, leaving behind the only world she had ever known.
Author's Notes: My initial idea was what if X 1st generation Shepherd took care of X 2nd generation member in a post-apocalyptic world? Feel free to think of your own interpretations of this. I edited this recently, but I am still not really good at editing.
1. This is clearly an alternate universe so continuity and the mechanics of this world's Grima awakening shouldn't be taken too seriously (the whole Fire Emblem and Grima awakening thing is ambiguous as it is). But in my AU, the ritual is imperfect or there is some other mechanic that causes Robin to regain control. Maybe Validar was ignorant and messed up the ceremony. Maybe Robin was actually not the perfect vessel. But regardless, in this AU, Robin somehow regains control after a short time but Grima is still awake inside of him, always trying to regain power.
2. The awakening ritual and the gemstones seem to be uncommon knowledge. Chrom and Robin both didn't know, and Chrom had to read up on the awakening ritual. Even Lucina seemed surprised by what the awakening ritual entailed. In the bad future where no one even knew about Grima, I doubt anyone really knew about the ritual. This is why Robin had to go find info on it.
3. The age Lucina became Exalt is unclear. But in this fic, the Grima awakening and apocalypse happen when Lucina is very young.
4. In my universe, I made it so that Grima's attack is far more savage and humanity is more thoroughly destroyed. In the game, Lucina states that remnants of the countries banded together and Nah's states that a family was able to live in the country with her defense. But in this one, it is far more apocalyptic. There are a lot more risen and almost all humans are dead. Those that remain try to survive by hiding from the risen and/or stealing from others. Humanity is also far more ruthless and untrusting. There are few if any villages or bands of survivors, it's more of a free for all scenario.
5. There is not much information regarding the state of the ruined future in the game. It looks cloudy and dark but it could just be night/the weather. We know there are a lot of risen and they remain after Grima is defeated in the DLC. Their strength though is unknown now that Grima is gone. It is implied that the land is barren and there are no bright colors. A year later though, in the Future Past DLC, the land is green and vibrant again. There are no ships, they are smashed with the ports. From Nah's supports, plants and berries grew in the future. My guess and the setting I use is that it is usually dark/cloudy when Grima is around, but enough light gets through that some plants grow and some animals live. After Grima's power fades, the risen are less aggressive and the world starts to brighten again.