A/N: I have returned, my fellow readers. If you read the summary, you'll already know that this story is the second arc of Snapped I promoted before. But why not give you an actual title to this section of the story or more description about it than I did, you ask? All I ever said is that it would be the second arc and that the genre would be much different.

Well, part of the reason for all of that mystery is that, obviously, it would have spoiled a number of things that I left open in the first arc. Secondly, I didn't entirely know what direction I would take Doomsday in. I wanted to make sure I did this story right. I want to make this story as realistic as possible, or as much as it can be with the presence of magic and mythology and Gods, while at the same time adhering to the plot devices used by the various games that are wrapped up in this fiction; that's a lot of stories considering that this is Super Smash Brothers. Good SSB fiction is very hard to write because of this, so I have to pull out all the stops. I don't want a repeat of the catastrophic failure of Of Chimeras and Ghosts, where a single misconceived plot point meant the doom of the whole story.

Now, motives aside, there are a few things I'd like to explain:

-Firstly, like its predecessor, Doomsday will be in first person perspective. Though for obvious reasons – or at least, they're obvious if you read Snapped – Lucas won't be the only one this story focuses on. Take a wild guess at who the other character will be.

-Secondly, unlike the first story, the majority of the plot will not focus on Lucas' growing madness. Much of it will be based on many philosophies of life and religious values; I will make clear with you right now that these may or may not reflect my own beliefs and are only used for the sake of the story, I do not mean to offend any agnostics or atheists or anyone else who holds differing opinions of deities than I do.

-This is more of a preference issue than anything: I need to stress that I will try to only use using game franchises in Super Smash Brothers, and only I will be allowed to choose which ones I use. Other ones like Summon Night: Swordcraft Story and Boktai are only reference when I feel like it, they will not be used in the story unless there is a good reason and they already tie in with another franchise currently in SSB (like Boktai was to Metal Gear Solid). There's just going to be one exception that I must do for the sake of story progression, and that's all. Why am I telling you this? Because given the scale of the story, it's likely to be one of those "world-hopping" adventures like you see so often on FFnet, and I've seen many review boxes of such stories filled with "OMG PLZ USE THIS WORLD IN UR STORIE" comments. I will warn you right now: do not pull this stunt with me. I will ignore and, if possible, delete any such messages and reviews I receive, and I will not reply to them. I won't hesitate to block repeated offenders either. Just telling you now.

-Lastly, a suggestion to all of you people reading this story for the first time: if you have not yet read Snapped, I strongly advise you to go and do so now before you start reading this one. Doomsday is a direct sequel, and thus I won't go out of my way to explain vital plot points or character descriptions of anything of the sort here since it's already there. This story is written assuming you already know everything you could from reading Snapped first. Bare this in mind.

...Alright, I think I've covered everything I was supposed to. Sorry for the whole MSWord-page worth of notes. Now, without further ado...

Doomsday

Prologue: Resurrection

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Where... am I...?

I'm laying on something hard... I slowly move to get up. I feel weightless... like I'm suddenly floating. In fact I think I am floating, because I don't feel the ground anymore... I open my eyes to look, and I'm staring at a sea of lights flowing underneath me... red lights, almost like blood... I look forward to see where those lights are coming from; from behind a person, expanding almost infinitely like a tunnel...

But when I notice that person, my notice is totally on him, no longer on the red lights. That orange-and-yellow striped shirt, and those blue denim shorts... blonde hair, matted down to cover his face, but that doesn't stop me from recognizing him...

"Lucas..."

Why... why are you being made to feel so much pain? You opened yourself up to me, let me share your pain to try and help you through it... but even then...

"I'm sorry..."

It's like I haven't done anything at all...

I "walk" towards him, touching my hand to his cheek and lifting it up so I can see his face... then, his face splits into a grin...

Not a happy grin... a mad, twisted grin.

His head jerks up to look at me, and he changes in that instant. The sweet, innocent face I was hoping to see was replaced with the vampire-like monster I had become used to seeing him as. But this isn't the same... this time, his blazing red eyes fill me with terror...

Then, as he begins laughing a shrill scream, suddenly I am whisked backwards at such a high speed, trying in vain to reach out to him...

0000000000

"Lucas!" The shout of his name tears through my throat as the world around me changes, and I'm suddenly introduced to so much pain. My hand flies to my chest, grasping where my ribs are... why do they hurt so much? And this place... this isn't the cave where I was moments ago, this is... my bedroom... my bedroom back home, at Castle Caelin, sitting up in my bed... what on earth... what on earth has happened? Why am I back here? Where is Lord Eliwood and Ninian? And Shadow? And... Lucas...?

The memories come back to me in a flash. General Murdock kneeling on the ground beside me, defeated, but not without nearly crushing my rib cage. Eliwood and Ninian suspended in the air of the cave by heavy chains, Shadow threatening to kill them if I didn't... I panic and feel for the wound, but where there should be a hole through my heart, there is nothing... I look down at it to see that my skin is perfectly intact. Well, perhaps not perfectly, as just below it where my ribs are hurting, there are bandages tied around me. The upper part of my dress is gone, probably so the bandages could be applied, leaving me with my white bra. But then... what happened to the wound...?

A more pressing thought crosses my mind then: if I'm alright, then what became of the others? Where are Eliwood, Ninian, Princia and Lucas? Especially Lucas? Surely I hadn't dreamed that entire confrontation with that demon up! I'm certain that I'd impaled my own heart with the Mani Katti, so where is it? Where is my sword, and where is the wound it made? And... if Lucas saw it happen... what became of him...?

"He he he… I wonder what would happen to him if your life was cut short before his very eyes?"

It's as if my heart stops beating. No... that can't be... if he saw me stab myself... in that state of mind...

"No! Lyn, what are you doing! Don't do it! You… YOU TOLD ME NO ONE WAS GOING TO DIE!"

I gasp shakily, shaking my head and holding it... no... it can't be true...! Please, someone, anyone tell me I'm just imaging things...!

I hear steady, loudening thumps outside of my door; someone is coming. Thank goodness, a distraction to help me get my head together! Not being entirely decent right now I grab my blanket and pull it over my chest, milliseconds before my door is flung open. In the doorway is a Caelin guard in full armor and uniform, spear in hand. There's another one behind him, trying to look around the first to see into the room. "Lady Lyndis, we heard you scream. Is everything alright?" the first guards asks me.

Heard me scream…? Oh, when I'd called out Lucas' name. "Oh, I'm fine… thank you. It was only a bad dream." I reply. It's not a total lie, at least, though part of me wishes that everything that had transpired before was just a dream…

"Lady Lyndis!" calls another, more familiar voice from the hallway outside. Lord Eliwood and Ninian are rushing up to meet me as well… they're here! But the Caelin guards bar their path.

"Let them through…" I order them simply. Immediately they lower their weapons and grant Pherae's Marquess and his wife passage into my quarters. Both of them are clothing of Caelin-origin, Eliwood in a set of armor and Ninian in a princess' dress. They hadn't had much clothing on when I last saw them in that cave, so my people must have remedied this. I can clearly see that worry is etched in their faces.

"Lady Lyndis…" Eliwood greets me, bowing down to me so he's not standing over me. "Praise the Gods that you're alright…" Similar thoughts were running through my own mind as well; Eliwood and Ninian were truly a sight for sore eyes. I try to bend over and touch his shoulder in comfort, by my aching ribs protest this action; I vainly try to hide the pain.

Both of them look at me hopelessly. "Try not to move, Lady Lyndis. You've suffered a terrible injury to your ribs." Ninian tells me.

"So I've noticed…" I groan in response. Yes, it's painful, but I've suffered worse; I'll live.

"You're lucky that's the only injury you've sustained!" Eliwood says to me, suddenly scolding me. "What were you thinking, impaling yourself in the heart! Don't ever worry us like that again!"

This anger from him is something I am not pleased to see. "Well, what would you have done in my position!" I fire back at him. He grimaces, but he doesn't say anything more. That's what I thought. "Do you know what it's like… having to choose which of your closest friends gets to live or die…?" Then I remember, the pain of that horrible, horrible moment all too vividly. Eliwood and Ninian suspended above a black pit, that… that monster hovering behind them threatening to end both of their lives if I don't choose between them… and then gives me the option to spare them both if I take my own life… I can feel my eyes watering up. Damn it, I don't want to cry…

Eliwood takes it upon himself to calm me down, getting back up and hugging my head to his armored chest. The cold steel is little comfort, but at least it reassures me that they're both alive and well… "I'm sorry, Lyndis…" he says to me.

It takes all of my willpower to force the real tears back. I can't cry now… there are things that I need to know. After a moment I wiggle my head out of his grip and get to the matter at hand. "Tell me what happened. How are you here? How long was I asleep for?" I ask desperately.

"You've… you've been asleep for three days, Lady Lyndis." Ninian informs me. Three days! "But truthfully, neither Eliwood nor I know much other than that. The last thing we remember in that cave was a woman appearing from nowhere, reversing the damage you'd done to yourself… at least that's what it looked like."

My interest is immediately captured. "A woman…?" I repeat. Ninian nods. So the reason I'm not dead right now… is because of that woman? I must know more about her. "Do you know who she was? What she looked like?"

"I don't know who she was…" Ninian admitted. "She was dressed in a white robe adorned with all sorts of gold, and she had green hair like yours… and her whole body was shining with a golden light. I could tell that she was very powerful…" Green hair and shining with a golden light…? That description only fit one person I knew of: Palutena, the Goddess of Angel Land and a dear friend of Pit. But… is it even possible? She's a Goddess, wouldn't coming to my aid in such a way have violated the oath that Shadow told us about? "…And that was that last thing we saw. The next thing we knew, we were back here at Castle Caelin, waiting for you to wake up ever since three days ago."

It doesn't add up. Eliwood and Ninian appearing out of nowhere at Shadow's will, my attempting to kill myself, and then… suddenly we're all back in our own world as if none of it happened? If Palutena was there, did she… send us all back here? It's as sound of a theory as I have right now. "I see…" I respond dully.

"Lyn, do you know that woman?" Eliwood asked me.

"Hm? Well…"

"The prospect of anyone outside of their dominion knowing about their existence terrifies them... now they'll literally do anything to shut your organization up, as quickly as possible."

Remembering Shadow's speech, it awakens a buried fear in my heart. The Smashers and I… we're all in grave danger if his words prove to be true. I need to be careful not to tell Eliwood and Ninian too much, lest they suffer the same burden. "I don't know her personally…" I confess. "But if she is who I believe her to be, then I think she's fully capable of bring me back from death. She probably sent us back here, too."

"Is she a God?" Eliwood asks.

My face pales. "Wh-what?"

"Is she a God, Lyndis?" he presses. I'm too surprised to answer. How… how did he come to that conclusion? "This 'Shadow' made sure we could hear the entire conversation you had. Don't hide anything from us, Lyndis. I don't want you digging yourself a deeper grave because you're trying to protect us. We know all too well how it ended the last time you pulled such a stunt."

So Shadow told them too… I fight the urge to curse aloud. Of course… this is probably his way of making sure he has no loose ends to tie up. He made it clear that he fully intends to just leave us to the Gods rather than dispose of us all himself. But I didn't think he'd include people who weren't in the organization! Eliwood is staring at me expectantly, where as Ninian is looking back and forth between us hopelessly. I decide to tell him the truth… it couldn't do any more harm, anyway. "Yes… I believe she is."

His expression softened, but he still looked concerned. "Then why would she help us after everything Shadow told us about them?" he inquired.

Unfortunately, this is a question I do not have an answer to. He admitted himself that he was closer to the Gods than any other being could possibly be, and claimed to know them so well. If all Gods were like this, then... why were we saved? "I wish I knew…" I tell him, shaking my head and gazing down at the floor. "I wish I knew a lot of things about this fine mess we've found ourselves in…"

"Then… is there anything else about this you know that we don't?" Eliwood asks.

I take the time to ponder that… but then I shake my head and answer, "No… Shadow covered everything that was worth noting. You know everything I do." He sighed, probably disappointed. But on the subject of what we did and didn't know, there was one question that has been nagging at me persistently that Eliwood and Ninian might have the answer to. "Eliwood, Ninian… do you know what became of Lucas?"

Eliwood blinked. "Do you mean the child that… turned into that monster?" I glare at him for describing him so; granted Lucas and Eliwood had never met each other before, in fact their first encounter was in that cave, but since he is my best friend I wish that he would speak about him more kindly. I see regret in his eyes… and he looks away ashamed. I immediately know that the news is not good. "When he… changed… and you stabbed yourself… he went completely berserk. Shadow took his leave, and Lucas chased right after him." he explains to me. "We didn't see him again after that… I'm sorry, Lyndis…"

I feel the weight of depression so suddenly, it threatens to push me back down onto the mattress. "No…" I mutter. The moment I stabbed myself… were mine and Lucas' worst fears realized? Did his mind… break down…? "No…!" I pound my fist into the mattress as anger and sorrow well up in me.

"Lyndis… who was Lucas to you?" Ninian asks me.

I struggle to fight back tears of frustration while I answer her. "He was… he was everything to me… my partner, my confidant, my… he was my best friend…" I tell them.

"Oh my… Lyndis, I'm so sorry…" Ninian apologizes.

"Wait, wait. Hold on a moment." Eliwood interrupts. "Why are we apologizing as if we've lost someone dear to us? We don't know that for sure yet. He could still be alive. He might've been sent away from that cave just like we were."

His words provide me with a ray of hope… he's right. We only know about what we saw when Lucas left to go after that blackheart. We don't know what his ultimate fate was. For all I know… he could still very well be sane, and alive. He could be somewhere in the multiverse, waiting for me to find him. "If that's true, then…" I mutter. "I have to find him."

"I'm afraid that is out of the question." says a new voice; another familiar one, and one that I have not heard in a long time indeed. I look to the doorway to see an aged man with short, white hair with a bald forehead. He is tall and wears green, royal robes.

"Grandfather…" I murmur. He is the Marquess of Caelin, and the last remaining blood relative that I have. I am ecstatic to see him at first… but then my mind registers his words. "Why can I not go?"

"Because, my granddaughter, you are injured." He replies solemnly as he enters the room and stands beside Eliwood. "Marquess Pherae here has informed me of your near-death experience… and to be fair, you should not even be able to sit up with four broken ribs."

"B-but… I'm fine! I've had much worse injuries than this!" I protest. In my outrage, I attempt to stand on my own two feet to prove my point. The pain is more excruciating than I expected, but nonetheless, I succeed… only to have Eliwood force me back down to the bed. I struggle against him, but because of the injury and his overall superior physical strength, it is a losing battle.

"But do you even know where to go?" my grandfather countered. His rebuttal gave me pause, and I stopped resisting. He was right. I don't know where Lucas is now. And even though my first instinct is to go back to the place where tragedy struck us before, I don't have the information to enter into the Transportation System in this castle. There was… quite simply nothing I could do… "I understand your desire to find him, and your warrior's pride to not give up, my granddaughter…" he continued. "However you must think rationally. You won't find him if you have no proof or inkling of where to search. As desperate as the situation may or may not be, the best thing you can do now is focus on recovering."

I will not deny that I despise my grandfather very much right now, as well as my friends for nodding and sharing in his sentiments. But none of that changes the fact that he is absolutely correct. If I were to search for Lucas now, it really would be a wild goose chase, and would only worsen my condition. Begrudgingly, I lay back down on the bed and groan. Pain is tightening in my chest… it's as if my broken rips are reminding me of my failure with pain, filling me with despair as I know that it's nothing compared to what he's gone through and could be going through right now. "What do I do…?" I ask helplessly.

"Do you believe in him, Lyndis?" Eliwood replies. "Do you believe that he'll come back to you unharmed?"

Believe in Lucas…? "…Of course I do." I reply without any hesitation. Even in the worst of times we've shared, I've always believed in him. That's what Lucas was to me, an incorruptible beacon of everything right and just in the world. Even when my heart was breaking when he asked me to make that promise…

"Lyn, I-I... I don't think I'm ever going to fully recover from this... It's gotten so bad that my mind has literally split in two, like another person inside my head... and despite my best efforts, I'm losing out to it... I think... it's only a matter of time before I lose myself completely... Lyn... if that happens... I want you to stop me..."

And I'd meant it when I agreed to it. To the very end, he thought only of the well-being of everyone around him, especially me. He thought so highly of me that I'm the only one he'd dare ask to carry out such a terrible task, and if his nightmares would come true, I would do as he wished. But by the same token, I hope that I don't have to. I made him promise to keep fighting this until the very end, until he couldn't any longer, as long as he had something to fight for. He's still out there somewhere, fighting against the darkness warping his body and mind… I'm sure of it.

"Then do not fret over it." my grandfather said. "Believe that you will see him again, and it will only be a matter of time before you do. But for now… please try to get some rest, my granddaughter."

"…Okay."

At his request, everyone follows him out of the room and the guards close the door behind them. All I can do right now is believe…

I'll find you, Lucas, I swear it. And everything will be alright.

A/N: If Lyn only knew…

So yes, we'll be seeing most of the story from Lyn's perspective. This may or may not change later, I can't spoil anything. But for those of you who know what happened in Snapped, you must know things aren't going to go as smoothly as everyone hopes…

Keep those reviews coming, people. Any motivation I get to write makes chapters come out faster!