This is just something I wanted to write just to relieve myself from the stress of college work, enjoy. ;)
I do not own anything as Smash Bros. is owned by Nintendo, although Mega Man is Capcom's.
Frosty Euphoria
A stoic warrior—or so the Smashers called her.
It was no revelation that Lucina had received such a title. Her background story was enough to prove that she was not suitable for mockery. It was even more emphasized when Lady Palutena had teased about her dry sense of humor to Pit in her guidances. Despite that, she was determined to keep her position as a worthy fighter in the world of Smash. She would trample down enemies with her trusted Falchion, and would never surrender to defeat.
Until that day.
Walking through a forest's snowy path was a little unnerving, or so Lucina had thought. Not that she wasn't used to the cold season called winter, her homeland of Ylisse shared plenty of that itself. However, she expected to see herself trudging later on if the snow continued to pile up and replace the cleaned up pathway back toward the mansion. Flakes of snow fluttered to the cold ground, and Lucina perfectly viewed the mist she emitted when she breathed. The days were getting colder, and she sighed. First, the taste of defeat she had received from her opponent in a match and now this glacial weather.
The day had become so glum, and not welcome in her eyes.
She cursed herself, reminiscing on the latest battle she had with her opponent—a bitter one she found it be when she failed to conquer in the battlefield. This opponent was no veteran either, but a newcomer!
It was more disastrous that her ancestor the Hero King and the Radiant Hero were spectators of the event! She knew she had a good reason in being hesitant of inviting them to the event, but Robin—oh how difficult it was for her to deny him—encouraged her to. After seeing Lucina have so many winning streaks, he told her that this was a perfect opportunity to create a good impression, and make Marth proud of having such an incredible warrior as his descendant. Of course, taking his words and believing that it was time to show off, Lucina finally agreed to the idea. Even more surprising that the Hero King invited Ike to the match, who was also eager to see Lucina's skills that Robin had been boasting to him about.
Such opportunity went down to waste when she lost to her opponent. She felt distraught, she was doing so well and while Marth and Ike gave their condolences and praised her attempt on winning, it was not enough to remove her melancholic mood.
To Lucina, it was such a huge honor to be invited here in the world of Smash. It was a symbol of worthiness. Here was where one would compete with other legendary and strong heroes, and strive for the best. The fact that she had went through a loss was unacceptable! She was ashamed and angry, at least her dear father Chrom was not present to witness it. Just thought of that made her heart bleed.
If only she had not underestimated her opponent. The princess found him a underwhelming due to his youthful and funny appearance, but it was misleading her to a great error. Mega Man assured his potential of being a worthy competitor, and when he was declared the winner, he smiled and waved at the crowd. Lucina was slightly envious when the Hero King went to congratulate him. It annoyed her, but she accepted defeat and politely excused herself once the match ended.
Looking back, she shook her head and sighed again.
I must train harder, for father. she thought.
Lost in thought and not aware where her surroundings, the Ylissean princess stepped on ice and felt a loss of balance. Realizing she was about to fall, she tried to regain balance but found herself being caught.
A slight chuckle came from the one who held her. "That was close!"
The princess looked at her savior, it was no other than the Blue Bomber himself.
"Mega Man?" she inquired in surprise.
"Hi," Mega Man greeted with a smile. "I've been looking for you."
Lucina felt flustered, out of all who had to save her from a potential icy hit...it had been her opponent! She swiftly rose up away from Mega Man's grasp and wiped herself in embarrassment.
Mega Man's smile dimmed. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Lucina lied. She reclaimed her composure so that she could move on. "Is there something you need, Mega Man?"
"Well, uh it's not a favor or anything," the blue bomber stated, smiling again. "It's more of gratitude. I just want to say it was an honor battling you...Lucina, right?"
"Yes, that is my name."
"Okay, just making sure! You were quite strong, the battle was actually pretty tough for me. I didn't even know who was going to win and I wanted to tell you this before but you left. So..."
"Oh. Well thank you," Lucina stated dryly, still bitter about the match and not wanting to talk about it anymore.
"...I'm also done for the day, and I see you are heading back to the mansion," Mega Man added. "So am I! Want to have dinner together? I'm sure you must be hungry after such a battle, my treat."
It was such a modest invitation from the robot child, being a newcomer and in process of making friends with other Smashers to get himself comfortable in this world, Mega Man was willing to extend his friendly offerings at Lucina. The princess on the other hand, did not seem interested nor devoid near the one who defeated her. She would rather be training. Unlike Mega Man, she was reserved. There were times where she would decline social invitations from other Smashers for the sake of training, she rarely associated herself with fellow fighters besides Robin. Although there were a few like Princess Peach, Zelda, and Lady Palutena that she managed to be acquaintances with, actual friendly links was something she lacked.
"I'm sorry Mega Man, but I must decline," Lucina bitterly replied and walked off, leaving the boy's face crestfallen. "I have other things I must do."
"O-oh..." Mega Man mumbled, feeling a little upset that she rejected his offer. He followed her on the trail. "Okay. Maybe next time."
There was silence along the way back, and Lucina was curious as to why Mega Man was following her, but she recalled that he stated he was also returning to the mansion. From there she decided to let it be and ignore the blue robot behind her.
It wasn't until Mega Man broke the awkward silence between them by timidly commenting on her clothing. "Um, I like your cape."
Lucina heard the compliment which she thanked him for and continued her trail. Nevertheless, Mega Man added more in order to create a conversation to lighten the atmosphere.
"My older brother has a cape too. Well it's more of a scarf but it's pretty cool," he said. "Except that it's yellow."
Lucina was slightly interested on what she had heard, she was not aware that Mega Man even had a brother. Alas, she did not make any comment—inducing the conversation to die, as her slight anger about the battle took over.
It was at that moment the blue bomber could feel the tension around them, noticing that something wasn't right. He perceived a sense of resentment towards him.
Is she upset because she lost the match? he mused worriedly. She doesn't look happy at all.
He decided find out for himself and asked, "Lucina, are you...angry at me?"
Lucina stopped her tracks and gasped lightly, so the blue metal hero had figured it out. She hesitantly turned to face him, not to induce to drama. "I.."
"It's because you lost the match, right?" Mega Man asked sadly. "You...wanted to win."
No response. The silence was enough to affirm the answer and Mega Man's face was upset.
"I'm sorry."
When she heard those words come from his mouth, the Ylissean Princess was suddenly washed in guilt, it did not help that his face expressed pain. She was making him feel shameful of his victory than proud, and that she was treating him quite poorly. She mentally smacked herself, the horror! Just seeing this poor child upset made her stoic heart sore.
"No Mega Man! It's fine!" Lucina blurted out, adamant in relaxing the tense sensation between them. "I lost and I accept my defeat. I'll admit...I'm unhappy about the loss but I'll get over it."
"I didn't mean to make you upset," Mega Man stated wistfully, aware of her displeasure. "But..I just did what I had to do. We were in a match."
"I know, I know," said Lucina. "It's just...this has been my first loss in a while. You see, I had family there watching me and hoping I would win..."
"It must have been a big deal..."
"Well, yes it was. I was hoping to make the Hero King acknowledge my potential because I am a descendant of his," Lucina explained sheepishly. "However today was not the day to do that. I underestimated you, and I learned my lesson. So I ask you to take my apologies for my bitter persona."
She made a curly bow, in recognition of her errors and hoped for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, I did not wish to make you feel ill. I apologize for showing such inappropriate behavior toward you earlier."
Mega Man appreciated the gesture "No it's ok! I understand. I mean if I were in your shoes I would probably be bummed out myself, but...you weren't a terrible match. I actually had a hard time with you, honest. I was worried whether I would actually pull it off. So please, don't be sad. You did your best, and I hope that you do better in future battles so that Marth will be able to praise such an amazing descendant."
Lucina was stunned, she had no idea that her competitor felt that way about her. "Really?"
"Of course! I really respect you now Lucina," the blue bomber said, smiling. "You were great to me, I hope we can battle again. You're really...awesome."
This made the princess lightly smile, flattered by the slight honor she was being given. While it was not the Hero King's—it was something. "I wouldn't mind."
"That's great!" Mega Man cried in relief, noticing her relaxed face. "So uh, does that mean we're cool?"
"I suppose so."
His face lightened up. "So, will you take my dinner offer again?"
Lucina's eyebrows piqued with curiosity. Mega Man still preferred to dine with her? She suddenly found that a little cute, and wondered if she should take the offer. Yet, an idea appeared and it was about the previous match. She pondered whether she could take some lessons from the blue bomber, and use them to help her improve in future battles. An abnormal wave of confidence came to the princess.
"Perhaps," she said sharply. "But...I would like to spar with you again."
The boy blinked, in awe of the question. "Huh? You mean right now?"
"Yes. I would like to try again, just as practice. If you win, I will join you for dinner."
Such a test! Mega Man was startled at the idea, after all they just had a recent match. He even felt hesitant. What if Lucina would be upset again? The boy could not fathom another melodrama.
"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly.
"Yes. I'm sure," Lucina insisted. "Like I said, this is just practice. I would like to train more so I could be more competent in my next match. So Mega Man, are you up for it?"
The robot contemplated for an answer for a few moments, once settled he smirked. Bent on winning, he was willing to go for another round and hopefully get Ylissean princess for his offer. "Okay Lucina, I accept your challenge!"
"Perfect." The princess smirked, and wielded her trusted sword the Falchion. She went on a fighting stance, confident in sharpening her skills. "I won't go easy on you. This blade has slashed many."
"That's exactly what I need to hear," Mega Man said, wielding his Mega Buster. "Oh yeah? Well this cannon has blasted many. I'm ready when you are."
Taking those words as a sign to begin the match, Lucina dashed toward her opponent. This time more careful to not make the same mistakes as before, and claim a victory of her own.
For father! I won't lose!
Once at her opponent, her blade attempted to slash Mega Man, but he swiftly dodged the weapon to make Lucina to go off guard.
What!?
Too slow... thought Mega Man as he moved away. He charged his buster, aiming to blast her from behind.
Just as Lucina took notice of where her opponent was and his weapon charging at her, a sudden snowball hit him from the sidelines—making Mega Man slip and miss his target. The lazer from his arm cannon ended up blasting a tree branch.
The battle was withdrawn. Lucina rushed to the blue bomber's aid, who fell in the snow.
"Are you alright Mega Man?" she asked with concern, reaching her hand at him.
The blue hero took her hand and rubbed the back of his helmet. "Ouch..."
A sudden laugh was heard, inviting the two Smashers to look around for the source. Once found, they were in shock to see it was from a Smasher veteran, who took form of a pink star warrior.
"Kirby!?"
The star warrior was laughing, his small arms waved at them and shifting their attention at his presence.
"What are you doing out here buddy?" Mega Man asked sweetly as he and Lucina approached him.
Kirby shouted with enthusiasm at the falling snow. "Poyo!"
"He must like the weather," Lucina commented.
Kirby placed his arms in the snow, making a ball of it. Once finished, he presented it to the Smashers with a smile.
Mega Man chuckled. "Oh, so that's where the sudden attack of snow came from! It was you, wasn't it?"
Kirby nodded in delight, and tugged on his boots to play with him for a round of snowball fights.
"Hm...as much as I would love to play with you Kirby, I'm currently in a match with Lucina here," Mega Man explained, declining the offer. "Maybe later?"
The pink puff's face became glum. "Aww..."
"I'm sorry," Mega Man stated sadly. "But I will play with you—"
Another snowball was thrown at his face, irrupting his sentence. The star warrior laughed again at the childish gesture he just did. Mega Man unamusingly wiped the snow off his face and glared at Kirby. "So, that's how you want to play huh?"
"Poyo?" Kirby asked nervously, viewing the blue robot deviously smirking and building a snow ball, ready to aim at him.
The ball was thrown and it hit the poor pink puff, who fell.
Mega Man crossed his arms. "That will teach you."
"Mmf!" Yet it was no use, Kirby rose up, not willing to step down and proceeded to make another snow ball.
"He doesn't seem to want to quit," Lucina remarked, who Mega Man took notice of.
"Kirby?"
Another one was launched, then another. It eventually rolled into Mega Man and Kirby engaging in a snowball fight that Lucina felt completely confused at the scene.
What?
She could view the joyful expressions the other two Smashers admitted, which Lucina did not understand. How they could be so happy with snow being thrown at each other? Also, she knew that this was not supposed to be happening as she wanted to her partner to remember the sparring that took place before.
"I thought we were supposed to be having a match Mega Man!" Lucina called out, not liking that her partner was being distracted, insisting to end the farce.
"Yeah sorry! It's just...can I play with Kirby for a bit?" Mega Man replied, building a snow fort. The princess rolled her eyes, he was a kid after all, who also loved to have fun.
"Well then, if that's the case I suppose I should head back," Lucina muttered in annoyance. "Lets battle at another time."
"Huh? Wait! Don't go!" Mega Man cried. "Why don't you play with us?"
Lucina looked at the blue hero as if he were mad. Why snowball fights were childish games! She had no time to engage in such a sport nor was this her original intention. She was not fond this one bit, and preferred if they were battling.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not really liking what's going on here," she admitted. "We are supposed to be sparring."
Mega Man stopped building his fort, he rose up and approached Lucina with an ashamed expression. He was not liking that she was upset because he was being neglectful of the training session. "You're right...sorry."
There it was again, that sad face. Lucina looked at it uneasily, resisting the urge to not give in. There was just something in Mega Man's face that she could not go against, perhaps because he was a child and it was difficult hold him accountable for anything. Mega Man was a good kid, and did no harm. The fact that she was insisting on him to make her fight against and to use as practice suddenly did not suit with her. Shouldn't he be seen as more than just a fighting partner?
Lucina paused herself and held the blue bomber off with her hand, taking note of her actions. "No. I... forgive me. I was being selfish. You have every right to decline and enjoy yourself. We can always spare another time."
She smiled sadly and walked off. "See you later."
It was enough. The Ylissean Princess walked off in shame, she just couldn't control herself in being adamant on becoming a better warrior. She had taken things too seriously, found that such characteristics may create issues with others, and disrupting peace was the last thing she needed.
Meanwhile, Mega Man and Kirby looked at blue haired Smasher with worry.
Does...she ever try to have fun? Mega Man thought.
He suddenly reminisced the stories other Smashers have told him about the Ylissean princess. Lucina was generally seen as a serious and stoic warrior. It could be that was why he had seen her always look alone and just focus on training. However, the blue hero found that to be...depressing. It was one thing to participate in battles, but to simply focus on them was alarming. He even wondered if she was even okay with just doing that. Was there ever times where she would relax or even socialize? Did she have others to hang out? There was Robin of course and the royal acquaintances, but was there anyone else she hung out with? Did she actually have...friends?
Mega Man contemplated for a solution, as he believed that a fellow newcomer shouldn't endure all that, and she looked stressed.
An idea came to brighten the mood and Mega Man smiled. "That's it!" He picked up snow from ground and molded it into a ball. Kirby who viewed at the process, gasped where Mega Man was aiming the snowball at.
He winked at pink warrior. "She's gonna kill me but..."
He threw the ball with his might, which hit the back of Lucina's cape—who she stopped herself and turned in shock. "Huh!?"
Got her. Mega Man thought in delight, catching her attention. He went to make another ball, while the princess frowned. "Mega Man!"
"Oops! I didn't mean to hurt you Lucina," Mega Man teased. "But...take this!"
"Wha—augh!"
The poor swordswoman wiped the snow off her face, annoyed at the younger Smashers who laughed from the redness of her skin being exposed to the cold.
"Why you!" Lucina glared at the two from irritation and lightly gasped at the preparation of more snowballs. It was only then, that her mind had to think of a way of defense. To the point where she initiated herself to create a snowball of her own.
I will stop this! She declared in her thoughts.
And once it was ready, she aimed two snowballs at her opponents and chucked them. The younger Smashers fell onto the snow, signaling that the princess was not in the mood for silly games. Yet, the sight of them fallen made Lucina amused, and she lightly chuckled. They looked pretty funny, and she could not resist the temptation to laugh a little.
Kirby rose up and noticed the happy gesture from the warrior. He smiled and urged Mega Man to get up and see the scene. The robot got up, viewing what was happening he grinned. It's working!
He picked up more snow to make more. "Oh it's on, Lucina!" He cried as he sent another ball.
It hit her, she let renaming snow fall on the ground and saw the two laughing again. Lucina laughed lightly again as she came to a realization.
This...this is pretty fun.
Lucina made no reluctance to make another ball and aim it at Kirby, while the star warrior directed his at the Ylissean. Another was thrown, then another, and another, snow flew across each other and a full fledged fight was on between the three Smashers. Not only that, but it delivered laughter and amusement. They hid and threw, laughing and smiling at every snowball launched at each other.
Finally the last batch was thrown at the same time, which made all three get hit by snow. From there, they laughed and fell in the snow together. Both Kirby and Mega Man rested next to Lucina as she reached her gloved hand to the snowy sky, feeling the flakes hit her palm.
"That...that was fun," said Mega Man happily.
"Poyo!" shouted Kirby in delight, the two then viewed at Lucina who was waiting for her answer.
The princess smiled lightly. "It was fun."
"Snowball fights are always the best," Mega Man said. "They always bring a lot of joy."
"Do they?"
"Yeah, you had fun...right Lucina?"
"I...I did."
"See? I told you, and...do you feel better now?
"Pardon?" Lucina inquired, wondering on what the robot meant.
"You know what I mean, Lucina. You looked really upset before."
"Huh?"
Mega Man took a deep breath, signaling that he was in for a long speech.
"Here's the thing, I have heard a lot about you Lucina. That you are quiet, serious, and rarely can take jokes. It doesn't help that you have a pretty crazy story behind yourself. Anyways, you are pretty adamant in achieving accomplishments and always do your best to win in matches. So when I was up against you, I knew you would be a pretty formidable opponent. Once the match was over, I really wanted to congratulate you even though you lost. Of course that ended up happening, and I tried to get you to hang out with me, and while you tried to be modest—I could tell that you were upset and stressed. You don't like that you lost, and you sought to train more. And while it's great that you seek improvement, it's also good to take a break. Also, I've said this before you were amazing, yeah sure you lost. But so what? We all have our bad days, but that doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up for it, or reject yourself from others."
The princess blushed in astonishment at the robot's speech. "Mega Man..."
Mega Man continued on, "The way you acted when you played with us...it was so genuine. You should open up more, don't you agree Kirby?"
The pink star warrior nodded in agreement and smiled. "Poyo!"
"So...if you ever want to play or take a break, come to us. We're here for you...in fact...consider us...as your friends."
"Friends?"
"Yeah, friends. I don't want you to push yourself away from anyone anymore, but even if you do continue to be reserved with everyone else...you can be open with us."
The Ylissean lightly laughed as she wiped a tear from her eye, such kindness and understanding she had just received. "Well...I don't know what to say..."
The two Smashers grinned at her. "Then just smile."
Yes, despite all the battles, all the accomplishments, all the losses—it would not be a bad thing to take a break and have fun. Lucina now fell in accordance to that, there was definitely more in the world of Smash than just battling, and it was never too late to start exploring them. And what better way to start with other fighters she now considered...as friends? It was even more amazing that they we were willing to befriend with a resilient warrior as she who had been through a lot, perhaps if this were to keep up she may able to make even more. It was then that her stoic heart began to melt. She no longer had to endure simply training on her own or even focus simply on matches, she now had others to relax herself with.
"Can...we do this again sometime?" she asked, eager for more events like these to happen in the future with her new friends.
"Of course!" Mega Man cried. "We would love to!"
"Poyo—Po!" Kirby answered in delight.
"Then lets try again tomorrow," said Lucina.
"Sure, another round of kicking your butt is fine with me," teased Mega Man.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean that I could win against you again."
He laughed as Lucina lightly nudged him amusingly. "Don't underestimate me, robot."
"Well, what do we have here?"
Lucina's face was flushed with pink, the presence of someone close to her compelled such feature. "Robin!?" she yelped.
Feeling embarrassed that she saw her close friend view her engaging in cutesy and friendly acts with the other two, she immediately rose up to face the tactician.
"Wha...what are you doing here?" she inquired sheepishly.
"I was on my way back to the mansion," Robin explained, then smiling at Kirby and Mega Man. "And I see...that you made new friends."
Lucina blushed madly, fiddling with her uniform, now worried about what Robin's impression of her was like. "Um...well..."
"Yep, she did," Mega Man beamed, making Lucina even more tense.
"So you are finally deciding to branch out more? And to Mega Man and Kirby here? How cute," Robin chuckled. "It seems that all of your fates have intertwined, have they?"
"Robin!" Lucina yelled in embarrassment at the sappy statement of her new bonds as the other Smashers giggled. "They're...just—!"
She sneezed, and then sniffed at the snot from her nose. "Oh..."
"Oh my, looks like someone is catching a cold," Robin declared. "Hm, this calls for something warm. Mega Man, Kirby, would you two like to help me prepare delicious soup for your new and beautiful friend here?"
"Wait! What?" Lucina cried. But before she could state more, the younger Smashers accepted the offer in delight, and Robin decided to lead the flustered princess and her new companions back to the mansion. Along the way, she finally broke her flustered image and laughed at what was happening, leading the others to do the same.
For underneath the serious persona, was a beautiful and sweet princess.
"Thank you," she said to them, grinning.
Even the most stoic warriors need a laugh.
Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading!