"No no no!" Owain pounded his fist on the inanimate Outrealm Gate. It didn't acknowledge his presence at all. "Why aren't you working?! Why won't you open?!" He slumped against the inert portal and buried his face in his arm. "This was our last hope, and now it's not working! Naga has abandoned us."

Cynthia walked up to him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, come on. Cheer up my justice cabal companion! There's always hope, and Naga would never do that to us. Right Lucina?" Cynthia eagerly turned to her companion, but Lucina's own expression was closer to her cousin's. The Outrealm Gate was supposed to be their final chance to undo the destruction Grima had brought to the world. Naga had promised that it would open at this time, but the gate had been completely unresponsive. Nothing the second generation Shepherds did affected it, and Naga refused to appear before them. Lucina had never given up hope yet, but she could see no other answer. Perhaps Naga had abandoned them. Maybe even lied to them. Lucina was so lost in thought that she didn't realize she went several seconds without even acknowledging Cynthia, and she was becoming more worried. "Lucina? Are you okay?"

"It's over." She almost whispered. She slowly fell to her knees and stared blankly at the apathetic Outrealm Gate. "I'm sorry. You all followed me this far. You trusted me. But… it's over. Grima has chased us everywhere. It destroyed everything. There's nowhere else to go. If we can't go through the Outrealm Gate… we can't escape." The other second generation Shepherds looked sorrowfully at her. They hadn't all truly believed in Lucina's plan, and they weren't initially willing to follow her, but they had been inspired by her. She never gave up. To see her like this now physically shook them. Severa eventually walked over and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"That's not… that's not true. We can still try."

"How, Severa? Naga didn't open the gate for us." Lucina looked up to her. "She wants us to die."

"That… can't be true." Severa wanted to say something, anything, to snap Lucina out of her misery, but she wasn't sure what. More than that, she couldn't find any fault in what she was saying. Naga had given them their one final chance at defeating the Fell Dragon, but now, when they needed her most, the Outrealm Gate refused to open. They had put everything on this last desperate hope, and now they were trapped. After a minute of failing to relieve Lucina's worry, Severa withdrew her hand and stepped back. Gerome slowly approached Lucina, and for a moment Severa felt relieved. Maybe he knew what to say.

"Lucina." Gerome said, his voice gruff and serious as always, but also soft. Lucina looked at him, and for an instant she seemed hopeful. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Gerome?"

"If we're not going to the past… I want my mask back."

"Oh… o-of course." Lucina sighed as she retrieved the butterfly mask Gerome had lent her, knowing that giving it up meant giving up hope that the Outrealm Gate would ever open. The significance was not lost on Severa.

"Oh come on, Gerome!"

"She won't be using it. That was hard to make."

"Y-you already have a mask! You're not even going to wear it. You just had it lying around. You only want it now because Lucina wants it."

"That is not true." Gerome donned the mask, wearing it over his other one. "I have need of this mask."

"Great. It was bad enough that you wore that dumb bandit mask. Now you look like a complete idiot!"

Gerome stood up taller, but his lips twitched slightly. "You know Severa, you may not think your words have meaning… but they do."

"It's fine, Severa." Lucina stood up, but her head was still hung. "I won't be needing it."

Noire nervously looked around. "What do we do now?!"

"We have to try running again."

Brady shook his head. "There's no point. The whole world is gone! Ylisstol was the last settlement to fall, and now we have nothing."

Laurent solemnly nodded. "He is correct. Human civilization is eradicated, and the logistics of maintaining any sizable population are now impossible. Even if we escape death at Grima's hand, we'll surely starve."

Cynthia tried to put on a brave face, but none of her allies returned her gaze. As desperately as she wanted to maintain her heroic demeanor, they were really getting to her. "Then we fight… right? I mean… what else can we do?"

Yarne twitched. "I don't think we'll have to make that decision."

"What?"

"I can smell it. Changes in the atmosphere. Grima." He looked Cynthia dead in the eye. "It's found us."

"Already?!"

Owain turned back to the Outrealm Gate. "Oh great and powerful tool of divine glory! Unleash your cleansing power, and propel us forward on the path to salvation from this doomed world! Help us walk the righteous path!" Owain waited for a few seconds before kicking it. "Oh just open up!"

Cynthia turned back to Lucina. "What do we do now?!"

"We… fall."

Not moments later the Fell Dragon's mountain sized form materialized in the sky from a portal, thunderstorms accompanying it as the atmosphere itself reacted to its presence. It's black, leathery wings sheathed the area in shadow, and its six glowing red eyes provided the only major source of light. This wasn't the first time the group had seen their lifelong foe up close, but it was a sight they would never get used to. The increasingly deafening sounds of screeching as hundreds of Risen teleported in below their master weren't something they could ever get used to either. There were so many Risen that they stretched into the horizon, and no one could see where they ended.

"SO ENDS THE HUMAN RACE!" The Fell Dragon's inhuman voice boomed, the sound resonating across the land. "THE FUTURE IS BUILT UPON THE PAST, BUT YOUR KIND WILL NEVER LIVE TO SEE IT."

An instinctive, primal fear gripped the group. Lucina didn't want to look up at it, but there was an animalistic desire to be facing the source of danger that she couldn't overcome. She brought her gaze up at the monstrous being and readied her Falchion, even as she told herself that it was pointless. "Grima." She stated in a broken voice.

"DID YOU THINK I COULD BE DEFEATED? DID YOU THINK MY ASCENSION WAS NOT AN INEVITABILITY? YOU CANNOT KILL WHAT MAY NEVER DIE."

Noire drew her bow and readied an arrow. "I… I… aaaAAAAHHHH! YOU MONSTER! DIE LIKE THE EARTH DRAGONS OF OLD!" She defiantly but fruitlessly unleashed an arrow upon the Fell Dragon, and it was flying so low that the projectile actually found its target.

"AARRGH! OOF! OW. Ow, ouch. Golly gee willikers. That smarts! Am I bleeding? Am I-oh no. No I'm not bleeding. Ouch though! Come on! What did I ever do to you?"

"You ruined our lives!"

"Yeah but I never, like, threw things at you guys. Come on. Let's all be civil here. Huh? Yes? Thank you? Anyways, let's start over. Hey you guys! It's been awhile! How's it been? How has it been? Lucina? Still have that sword? How's Chrom doing?"

Lucina readied her Falchion, if only to calm herself. "You murdered him you monster."

"Did I? Did… oh, OH! Yeah, yeah! I remember now. I did do that. Heh, I'm sorry. It's just that I've killed so many fathers. I lose track. Wow… I made that awkward. Open mouth, insert wing am I right? Heh heh. Anyways, Severa? Cynthia? I see you're still wearing pigtails. Looks good on you. Gerome? How's Minerva? Inigo? How's the dating scene? Don't worry, you'll meet the right one some day. Maybe she's standing right next to you. Heh! No seriously though, how's it been everyone?"

Owain went back to pounding on the Outrealm Gate. "Open up! Open up!"

"We have fun don't we? Remember all the good times? How about the destruction of Ylisstol a few days ago. Remember that? I destroyed the whole city? Lucina flew up and hit me on the head? Ah. Good times, good times. Really you guys have made this quite the adventure. Pat yourselves on the back. You all earned it! Stubborn little rascals all of you. I destroy your cities, and you run to another city, and then I destroy that city. I was going to win eventually of course, but you really had me going!"

"How did it find us this quickly?" Cynthia asked in a panicked tone as she alternated between looking up at Grima and looking at the still growing army of Risen.

"Oh yeah, great story that. See I had a theory. They can't be in an area I've burned to cinders, so they have to be somewhere I haven't burned to cinders. This is the only place I haven't burned to cinders, so you'd have to be here. Clever huh? Ah, I'm just tooting my own horn now. No one likes a braggart." The Fell Dragon brought its head up and seemed to stare into space, though it was hard to tell exactly where its attention was focused on. "You know, I remember something my daddy told me, when I was just a hatchling. My dad sat me on his knee and said to me 'Son, if you have a dream, you have to pursue it. It doesn't matter if the senate thinks you're crazy, or if they send soldiers to kill you, or if they lock you and all your creations in an unbreachable labyrinth. You have to follow your dream, and you can't let anything get in your way.' That really stuck with me, you know? Now I have a dream. I have a dream that one day, all the people of the world will come together regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, language, sexuality, nationality, or anything else like that. They'll all come together and be equally dead, because my dream is to wipe your disgusting, mouth breathing race from the face of the world. I know that's a big dream, but I don't give up. That's what my daddy taught me. Sure there were bad times. There was that time the green haired man with the sword and the red haired woman with the sword killed me. There was that time the blue haired man with the sword killed me. Now you're a blue haired lady with a sword trying to kill me. Something about swords, yeesh. I never gave up though. I believed in myself, and now I'm about to achieve self actualization and realize my dream. You've all been a part of it, and that means a lot to me. Really it does. I love you guys. So much. All things come to an end though, so I guess this is goodbye. Really though. It was fun destroying your families."

Owain pounded more furiously on the Outrealm Gate. "Open up-Open up-Open up!"

Lucina raised her Falchion into the air. Terrified as she was, she would go down fighting. "We're not afraid of you, monster! If the human race falls this day, then it falls fighting!"

"Woah, hey, come on. That looks sharp."

"You've delivered oblivion to our whole world, but we will not lay down here!"

Severa nodded and raised her own sword. "Maybe we can't stop you. Maybe you will destroy us… but we're going to make you work for it!"

The second generation Shepherds all raised their weapons into the air and cheered. "You ruined our lives!" Lucina roared. "You took everything from us, but we will always stand against you! Someday, no matter what it takes, humanity will win. You will be defeated, monster!"

Grima shook its massive head back and forth, sending gusts of wind all the way to the surface. "You know, your tone seems very pointed right now."

"Foul beast!"

"Okay you know what, I could respond to that, but I'm going to be the bigger dragon. Come find me when you can be civil." A portal appeared before Grima, and its massive form slipped away. The Risen all vanished into thin air moments later, leaving the group dumbfounded.

"Huh." Inigo muttered. "I guess we never did try insulting it before."

Lucina fell to her knees again, bracing herself with the Falchion. She looked at the Outrealm Gate with a mixture of rage and terror, but her voice was filled with determination. "Naga! W-why! You promised the Outrealm Gate would open for us! Why have you abandoned us?! Please! I ask you to appear before me! Please tell us!"

A white light consumed the center of the room, and a transparent humanoid figure emerged from it. Everyone stared in wonder, and Nah in particular ran up in excitement. "Naga! You're really here! I-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so great. Big whoop. Let's get to the point. Which one of you anklebiters wanted me?"

Lucina slowly stood up, and Naga turned her unfeeling gaze to her. "I-I did. Naga… the Outrealm Gate. It is inert. W-why?"

"Yeah about that… " Naga snapped her fingers, and the Outrealm Gate roared to life. Lucina felt her stress and fear melt away as its bluish light shined over the land, but Naga moved to be in front of it. "I closed the gate for your own safety. See… I can't quite get the time travel down. You'll end up somewhere, but not where you want to go."

"You can't… do it?"

"This was really always Mila's thing. What happened to her, hmm… oh that's right. You killed her! You lot kill all of my workers and then expect me to know how to do everything. I don't know how this works. Time travel magic broke."

"Time travel magic broke?! W-what does that even mean?!"

"I don't know how to send you back to exactly when you want to go. You'll end up away from here, but I can't control when. It's not safe."

"Naga, we need this! This is our last hope! Please!"

"Argh! Humans are so neeedy! Naga do this! Naga do that! You should hear some of the prayers I get. Naga, a plague is ravaging the land! Naga, my crops won't grow! Naga, my son doesn't like girls and won't continue the bloodline! How in all the hells did your species ever survive on its own! What do you even need this for? What's attacking you this time? Loptyr? Medeus? Duma? Are they even around anymore? I'm pretty sure Medeus isn't around. I'd remember his complaining."

Lucina almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. "T-to save the world from Grima!"

"That alien thing?! Oh come on. Are you sure you can't just kill it?"

"You told me the Falchion's divine power couldn't be awakened with only four gems. You told us this was the only way!"

"I'll be honest, I said that to make you go away. I wasn't actually sure I could do it. You know, this wouldn't have happened if you humans could take care of my crap. If you'd take better care of the Falchion then it wouldn't lose its divine power. What you think I have unlimited teeth? That's like the third or fourth thing I've made for your kind from my teeth. I'm going to need divine dentures pretty soon."

"Naga, we have no choice." Kjelle added. "How dangerous would it be?"

"It works if you only care about running away, but you probably won't end up when you want to be. Do you still want to make that choice?"

Lucina realized the circumstances had changed, and that her companions might not want to follow her plan now. She glanced around, and all the second generation Shepherds had nervous looks, but they all made it clear that no one would stay. Grima would certainly destroy them if they stayed. "Naga… is there no way you can control it?"

Naga shrugged. "Eh? Maybe? I don't feel like messing with it anymore."

The conversation was interrupted as a portal opened up above the group once more, and the Fell Dragon materialized. The hundreds of Risen returned to where they had been just seconds later. "You know?" Grima's voices boomed. "I thought about it, and now I see that the only opinion that matters is my own. I am strong and beautiful, and my life has meaning. Your insults won't hurt me anymore."

"Quick, Inigo! Insult it again or something!" Severa shouted.

Inigo didn't see any other option. "Uh, uh, your mother never loved you, and she dresses ya funny!" Severa glared at him, but Inigo stuck his arms out. "I don't know! What was I supposed to say?"

Grima hung its head slightly. "Hey come on man. Leave mothers out of this. I don't actually think I have a mother, but it's the principle." Grima brought its eyes down on the group. "Oh hey, Naga! It's been awhile! How's it going? How's the kid?"

"You destroyed Tiki."

"Did I? I'm sorry. I lose track of these things."

Lucina quickly turned back to the Divine Dragon. "Naga, please let us do this. Please try to help us. We're out of time."

Grima opened its mouth, and purple energy began to glow from it. "Well again it's been fun, but I am getting a bit upset. You guys just keep running and running. You're making me do a lot of legwork."

"You don't have legs, you overgrown lizard!"

"Hey. Come on now. We all have different body types, and I'm comfortable with my body. There's no need to call me names. Anyways it's time for this to come to an end. Thanks for all the fun but uh… bye." Grima fired a blast of energy at the group, but it soared over the sky and struck somewhere in the horizon. Even then, the group could feel the blast impacting the ground. "Oh nuts. I knew I should have worn my contacts today. Hey, can you guys spot for me? I'm kind of eyeballing it here."

"Naga, please!"

"I don't know." Naga moved closer to the Outrealm Gate. "It looks like you guys are listening to me, but I know you're going to complain about wherever you end up even though I'm warning you."

Grima fired another blast of energy. It struck just over a kilometer away, and the air became so heated that Lucina felt the urge to tear off her clothing. She couldn't stand still anymore, and had to quickly pace around in a desperate attempt to get away from the sudden heat. "I beg of you! We don't have a choice."

"Can you sign a waiver? If you go through the Outrealm Gate now, you'll be voiding the warranty… so to speak."

Grima fired another blast of energy, and it hit less than a kilometer away. The air was now so searingly hot that Lucina could barely speak, and she struggled to breathe. "Milady! I beg of you!"

"Err…"

"Did I get you? Oh I think I was a bit too high. Hold on." Grima fired again, and the blast impacted with enough force to shake the ground. Everyone was knocked off their feet, and the air was now burning. It took all the strength Lucina still had to breathe, and every inhale burned her lungs. "I think I overcompensated. I was too low. Hold on. This next one should hit. Thanks for your patience by the way. I really appreciate it."

"Naga!" She sputtered.

"Alright." She said in a reluctant tone.

The second generation Shepherds disappeared in a flash of bluish white light an instant before a blast of energy struck where they had been. The land was completely obliterated, the surface burned into glass and the air blown away. Grima looked down. "And… they're gone. Great. Wonderful." Grima craned its neck to look at the hundreds of Risen. "So do any of you have an idea on where they went? Anyone? I'm listening." The Risen all shrieked at their master, and Grima withdrew its head. "You know the humans have a great new invention called… breath mints. Some of you should try them."