Author's note: So I've recently gotten into Fire Emblem. I'm in the middle of Awakening and Path of Radiance. The music and storylines and gameplay have grabbed me and held me tight...hopefully it'll let me go for LOZ: A Link Between Worlds, 'cause I'm still a Zelda fan at heart. Anyway, this is a drabble/one-shot dump of my "Outtakes" of Fire Emblem, as I am playing the games. Expect one for Path of Radiance and more for Awakening. Warning: There will be spoilers for those of you wanting to play, or have yet to reach some parts of the story. I'll be letting you know for Awakening, since that's still rather new.
Outtake One: Time Traveler
Game: Awakening
Spoiler alert: Don't read if you haven't gotten past Chapter Eleven. Warning: non-canon.
Summary: Lucina's point of view as she travels to the past to alter the dark future.
Note: I know cannon says Morgan doesn't come from Lucina's time, but I'm changing that. Also, my Avatar's name is Silver, so don't get too confused. That's the name I'll be using for as long as the Avatar is female.
The monsters were overrunning the palace. Guards desperately tried to fend off the Risen horde while protecting the last living members left of House Ylisse. One of the guards, a woman, was pinned to a wall by a Risen. It snarled, ready to kill as the woman gasped in fright, then it suddenly jerked its head back, and looked down. The woman followed its gaze and saw a shining blade protruding from its chest.
No one had seen the young woman enter the battlefield, yet there she was with a Risen skewered on her sword – the same sword she inherited from her late father. "I believe the one you want," the young woman began, "is me!" At that last word, she ripped the sword up and over, killing the Risen warrior and turning it to a cloud of dust.
"My lady!" the woman guard gasped. "Th-thank you!"
The blue-haired woman turned. A smile flashed across her face before being quickly replaced by a look of determination. She was dressed in blue – a tunic, breeches, boots, and cape. Her bangs fell into her blue eyes – the left of which had the Brand of the Exalt on it – and the rest of her hair was held back by a golden circlet. Her whole outfit, had she had much shorter hair, made her look like the Hero-King of old, and the sword she held in her hands did not help persuade otherwise.
Princess Lucina, daughter of Lord Chrom and Lady Silver, stood proud and tall, Falchion raised aloft as she rallied her troops. "We can't let those things win. Now grab a sword and fight!"
The guards and soldiers formed together. For the rest of the night, the battle was fought. As the sun rose, the brave Ylissen soldiers saw their enemy defeated and on the run…for the time being.
Lucina walked among her people, limping slightly from a wound she had acquired near dawn. She had been lucky; others weren't. She sighed in sorrow as the clerics covered yet another dead soldier with a shroud. One of the clerics, a blond woman, looked up. "Lucina!" she called, picking up her staff and hurrying over. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Lissa."
Lissa shook her head, and motioned toward the Princess' leg. "That doesn't look fine," she countered.
"Save your staff for those who need it more. I'm fine." She moved off. Lissa watched her, and shook her head. She had learned much from the Princess' mother, a renowned tactician, and knew how important it was to keep the leaders alive. Lucina may say that the wound didn't bother her, but if she was limping, it was only going to get worse. Ylisse needed someone like her. She was the one who had tipped the balance in this fight. They would have been long dead if she hadn't come.
Lissa muttered the spell under her breath, and her staff glowed green. Instantly, Lucina's wound healed, and the Princess whipped around as she felt the pain diminish, a scowl so much like her father's on her face. "You'll thank me later," Lissa said, adding one of her award-winning smiles before hurrying off to attend to those who could still be helped.
Lucina watched her aunt go, before rubbing at where the wound once was. Her hand came away sticky with the blood that had soaked into her breeches, but there was no wound, only an angry red mark that would go away in time.
"My lady!" A soldier, looking less battered than anyone else who had fought in the battle was running toward her. Lucina recognized him as the head scout. How he had managed to survive so far was a mystery. He stopped next to her, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "My lady," he gasped. "Urgent news."
"What?"
"The Grimleal, they've concocted a fell plan – they plan to use Grima's power to travel back in time."
Lucina cocked her head. She trusted this man, even before her father had been murdered. "Explain, please, what you mean." By this point, the room had gone silent. All eyes were on Lucina and her scout.
"I overheard one of them talking. They say you, my lady, are the biggest threat, that you need to be stopped. They plan to open the Outrealm Gate to the past, before you were born, and send Risen to kill your father…just before the Great Exalt Emmeryn passes."
Lucina's eyes widened. "When? And where?"
"Tonight, just north of what remains of Southtown."
Somewhere behind her, Lissa gasped. Lucina looked around. Her family and friends – children of the once-great Shepherds of Ylisse – were gathered. They were all threatened by this daring and seemingly-impossible feat was accomplished, for it had been Lucina's father that brought their parents together. "An hour's rest, then we ride for Southtown," Lucina decided.
It was evening before the group of Shepherds made it to the location. They could see the Risen gathering around one of the Grimleal. Behind Lucina, her friends muttered among themselves. How were they going to get to the Outrealm Gate once it was opened?
"Lucina," a quiet, male voice began. She glanced behind her and saw Gerome, his face covered as usual by a mask. He held another in his hand out to her. "So they don't recognize you by your Brand – that is, if you still plan on disguising yourself."
Lucina had decided to go undercover as the Hero-King her clothes and sword reminded everyone. If she encountered anyone asking her name, she would say she was Marth.
She gratefully accepted the mask, placing it on her face. To complete her disguise, she tucked her long hair away, using the mask's strap. "Well?" she asked, lowering her voice.
Her younger twin, Morgan, whistled under his breath. "Nice, Sis," he said, and the others muttered in agreement.
Lucina allowed another smile to cross her face, before unsheathing Falchion. "Let's stop this party, shall we?" she said.
They charged, weapons branded and mouths open with battle cries of "For Ylisse!"
The Risen turned at the sound, and began to attack. The small group of Shepherds fought their way toward the Grimleal member, but found they were too late. The large, circular Gate opened like an eye, and Risen began to march through.
Lucina charged forward, determined to make it through with her friends. A bolt of Thunder magic stopped her in her tracks and she saw just who it was that had opened the Gate.
"Not so fast, dearest."
Lucina growled at the distorted voice as she saw the figure of her mother step down from the perch she had been on to open the Gate. But it was not her mother. Silver was possessed by the fell dragon Grima. It was his voice combined with hers as she spoke next. "I can't let you stop my plans. Though I have to admit, you are more like your father, and less like me – you have no sense of tactics, Lucina. You delivered yourself right into my waiting arms."
The princess scowled behind her mask. "I'm sorry, Mother," she muttered, and dashed forward, swinging Falchion with all her might. Silver/Grima went flying into a tree stump, but quickly got back to their feet. Lucina looked toward the Gate, then back at her friends.
"Go, Lucina!" her cousin Owain shouted. "We'll find you!"
Lucina nodded, sheathed her sword, and ran full out to the Gate. Another blast of Thunder nearly scathed her head. She ducked just in time and slipped through the Gate.
Time itself blurred. The far end of the blue tunnel widened and suddenly she saw a burning forest. Two of the Risen were attacking two figures on the ground. One was dispatched with ease, but the other went for the defenseless girl the Princess recognized as her aunt.
She reached a hand out, passing though the other side, and leaped down. Her feet hit the ground, and her right leg almost gave out as it was still healing somewhat from the wound earlier. She pushed past the pain and ran forward, drawing Falchion.
She dashed in front of her much younger aunt just in time, Falchion thrown up over her back to stop the axe of the Risen soldier. To her left, the blue-haired man stopped, surprised.
Lucina pushed against the Risen's sharp blade, grunting with the effort and not noticing Lissa's stunned expression. She glanced to her left and called out desperately to Chrom. "Help!"
The young man nodded. "Right." With a fierce cry, he raced toward the Risen, which looked up in surprise. Feeling the weight off of the blade, Lucina slashed at the Risen at the same time Chrom did. The monster dissolved into purple ash and suddenly, all was silent.
Lissa sighed, lowering her healing staff as Lucina turned her back on the man she knew was her father. She slowly sheathed Falchion, unsure of what to do now. Chrom decided that for her.
"Quite an entrance," he said. "What's your name?"
She turned her head slightly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye through the slits of the mask she wore. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a deeper voice. "Milord! Milady!"
"Chrom!"
If Lucina had been close to tears from hearing her father's voice for the first time in a long while, this second new voice pushed her over the edge. She slunk into the shadows, planning on slaying as many Risen as possible, but not before looking at the newcomers. Frederick, good, dependable Frederick, was running toward Chrom. Behind him was a woman, her cloak whipping out behind her as she ran. A tome was grasped in one hand, and a bronze sword hung from her belt.
Tears slipped down Lucina's face, and under the mask, dripping onto the ash-covered ground below her feet. Her mother, Silver, looked like she had never been touched by Grima. The bright look in her eyes as she surveyed the battlefield made the young Princess long for days gone by – in her time, of course.
But now was not the time for sentiment. Now was the time for action. She was going to stop the dark future, no matter the cost.
She was going to save her father and, hopefully, her mother.
Posted 6/28/13, Edited 7/14/13