Every Day is Great When You're Dead
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom Brave or Hyrule Warriors. They go to Nippon Ichi and Nintendo.
Summary: Marona sent a bottle note to Lana telling her and Cia that Ash had been feeling down. Lana didn't want Cia to avoid speaking to Ash again so the two witches head to Phantom Isle to meet their friends again. While Lana kept Marona busy, Cia was forced to figure out why Ash fell into a state of depression.
Pairing: Ash/Cia
Rated: K+ (for older children)
Genre: Romance, Hurt/Comfort
Warning: Swearing and unintentional OOC
This is day 20 of the writing version of Inktober. Today's theme is "phantom". I figured it would be easier to get this out of the way. I do apologize if the story is confusing. It requires some knowledge of what is going on with Cia and Lana in my Smash universe and does require one to play Phantom Brave to truly understand Ash as a character. I try to outline some of the basics of his character from the game so it sort of makes sense. Enjoy!
Second chances were always given to people you least expected. Cia was one of those people who thought she would never get a second chance at life. After being tempted by Ganondorf into trying to take over Hyrule, she assumed she would be heading for death after allowing Lana to finish her off. That wasn't the case, and Cia found herself being brought back to life by a mysterious alien who wanted to use his powers for his own selfish plans. She escaped from him and in that timeline, many things led to another before she found herself set in a timeloop with Lana.
The time loop was painful. She went through the motions in Hyrule due to her memories being sealed up until her death. Once Ganondorf was defeated yet again according to Lana, the White Witch would leave Hyrule and regain her memories. At the same time, Cia would be brought back to life by the alien with her memories intact. This allowed her to escape easily, and instead of causing chaos for those she befriended in the Smash Realm, she searched and reunited with her twin sister instead. This allowed for the same events to not repeat therefore preventing some events from happening. Instead of crashing a party in the Smash Brothers Realm, Cia and Lana would re-introduce themselves to Dark Pit specifically. This way, the problems that came originally were lightened. It was still terrible for Cia to be treated poorly by the Smashers, but Cia learned that the only ones she should care about were Dark Pit, Lucina and Lucas. The rest could have a negative opinion of her for all she cared. They didn't actively reach out to her the first time she came into the Smash Brothers Realm.
The issue came from trying to talk to Ash. Before, Cia had ended up on Phantom Isle and nursed back to health by him and Marona. Cia did not expect kindness from a child and a man who were already dead. The Black Sorceress developed a bond with Ash before she knew it due to his patience and kindness. He reminded her of Link in almost every way. The main difference was that Ash wasn't strangled by the red strings of fate thus if Cia chose to pursue Ash like Lana wanted, nothing would get in her way. Cia, being the prideful person, chose to ignore her growing feelings for him. It soon became harder to do so timeline after timeline. Once Cia and Lana learned where Phantom Isle was in the universe, the quest to actually find Ash was over. They could see him and introduce themselves to him whenever they chose. Lana made sure Cia did it every timeline just so they had someone to turn to for potential allies in combat.
Because of maintaining their memories from previous timelines, Cia learned so much about Ash. He might have been a phantom that was Marona's guardian but she quickly learned how uncomfortable he was for not aging for ten years. His body could not be hot or cold. He could not sweat from the hot sun or be damped by the rain. While Ash could choose when he wanted others to see him, he didn't have the power to change his appearance. At least, that's what Cia thought. Apparently Ash could turn into a water sword if he so chose (which wasn't a surprise given his elemental affinity with water).
Cia then got some details of Ash's life before he died. He would be best described as a loner who chose not to befriend everyone. He believed he could survive on his own until he almost got killed by monsters one day. Marona's father had saved him from near death, and Marona's mother nursed him back to life. Since then, Ash had dedicated his life to them even if he was doomed to not be able to obtain the love of Marona's mother. In a sense, Ash was like Cia when it came to bad luck with love. The woman he fell in love with indirectly caused his death. Cia got driven mad for her love for Link, and now she had to live knowing that she nearly ruined Hyrule due to her quest for love.
That was probably why Cia developed a soft spot for Ash and fell for him as time went on. Lana knew and tried hooking them up in every timeline. Ash might not have been able to remember anything that happened before but the two witches noticed that Ash kept his feelings for Cia. Because he was a phantom, his feelings for Cia transcended time and space so every time they met, Ash was lovestruck without understanding why. Cia felt that she had to pretend she didn't care so she didn't ruin what she had with Ash. Lana didn't like that in the slightest. The White Witch often teamed up with Marona to get Cia and Ash together. Today was no exception despite how dire the situation was.
Marona had sent a bottle to where Lana and Cia were staying in the Smash Brothers Realm. The two often stayed near Smash Harbor because of the random chance of finding a note in a bottle written by Marona. As if on schedule, a bottle from the green haired necromancer arrived. The letter detailed to the sorceress twins that something was wrong with Ash. He had shut himself off and wasn't exactly responding to her except when she had a job to do. Ash keeping his distance and not speaking to Marona was an odd thing to hear especially since Ash had said he would always lend an ear to the young girl. Marona asked if the twins could visit them and see what was up. Cia wanted to deny the request, but Lana knew that this was an opportunity for the two to talk.
"Lana, you're not going to make me go just because Marona is worried for her emo phantom," Cia growled. To her disappointment, Lana didn't care for the insults.
"Cia, I know you're worried about Ash as much as I am. Let's go. We don't have anything to do today. Dark Pit has his tournament match today so it's not like we can talk to him."
The white haired witch grunted before allowing Lana to take her hand and drag her back to the hotel room they stayed in. The magic circle that allowed them to travel was inside there and no one can get into the room as long as the magical barrier was around their door. The magical barrier prevented powerful beings from noticing their presence in the Smash Brothers Realm. Should those aliens try to pursue them, they at least had a place to hide until they left the realm.
Phantom Isle wasn't the easiest place to find in the universe. For one thing, it wasn't a Netherworld. That was why the two sorceresses initially had a difficult time pinpointing the location. Phantom Isle and Ivoire were in the human world of a Netherworld. That meant if they wanted to find Ash's location, they would have to find the Netherworld that could take them to Phantom Isle. From there, they could finally set a pin that allowed them easy access no matter what timeline they were in. Cia at first worried Ash would notice but because he didn't keep his memory, he didn't suspect a thing.
Marona waited patiently in her house for the witch twins to arrive. Ash continued to keep a neutral expression while they waited. The phantom knew he shouldn't worry the little girl but what plagued him prevented him from being the caretaker he was supposed to be at the moment. Marona continued to smile even though she was worried sick for her friend.
Once Lana and Cia arrived, Marona hopped out of the chair and hugged Lana. Cia couldn't get used to someone as happy and energetic as the White Witch.
"Lana! Cia! You came!" Marona cheered.
Lana swung Marona around while embracing her. She giggled at how happy the necromancer was. "I'm happy to see you too!"
"Same…" Cia groaned, not at all enthusiastic as her younger twin was. "Where is the emo phantom?"
"I am not emo…" Ash grumbled.
Once Lana stopped spinning Marona, the green haired child was able to point out something that caused her to worry in the first place. "Ash, you're talking again."
Ash shut his mouth in annoyance. He looked over to the Black Sorceress before looking at something else in the hut. Cia smirked, knowing that Ash was always uncomfortable with the way she dressed. The more they got to know each other, the more comfortable he was around her. In this timeline, he was somewhat used to her but still got flustered around her. It was a shame he died so young to not understand how male hormones worked.
"Ash, do you think you can talk to Cia about your problems?" Marona questioned. "I know you like talking to her when there is something you don't want to tell me."
"That's not it, Marona…" Ash mumbled. "It's just..."
Lana hummed as she took Marona by the hand. "We'll leave you two alone. Don't do anything funny while we go out and play."
Marona's eyes sparkled at the mention of being able to play with a friend. Cia, in contrast, was far from amused at the implication. Then again, Lana knew how far the relationship between her and Ash were capable of going if she willed it.
Cia waited for Lana to take Marona out to the beach. The two would be having fun in the sun while Cia was left in the dark with Ash. The phantom wished to join Marona but once the little girl insisted he should relax, he had no choice but to obey. Cia wondered if Ash knew he wasn't exactly obligated to follow Marona's orders. Then again, Ash never said no to what Marona wanted.
"So, are you going to tell me why you're making Marona worry and making Lana drag me all the way here to talk to your depressed ass?"
Cia had no intention of hiding her annoyance with the phantom. She told herself time and time again she would avoid him in every timeline unless absolutely necessary. This phantom had saved her life more times than she could count. The problem was she felt like she wasn't good enough for someone as kind as him and decided to always reject him if the subject came up.
Fortunately, the subject wasn't about her this time around. Ash seemed satisfied with answering Cia's question if she were to stop asking questions afterward.
"...I was just thinking...about Marona's parents."
Cia didn't quite understand what he meant. "You're always thinking about them. Why now? Why is it bad that Marona had to write about it to us?"
"Marona was worrying too much. It's not of her concern…" Ash sighed knowing that was an obvious lie. He couldn't get out of it. "...I was thinking about Jasmine."
Jasmine? Who is...oh…
Cia gave Ash an odd look that caused his body to tremble despite being an undead being.
"It's embarrassing," Ash continued. "Marona started talking about celebrating that one holiday that was being held in the other realms. It had to do with demon worshipping…"
"Halloween," Cia corrected.
"Right...Marona spoke of wanting to go to the Smash Brothers Realm to participate in the Halloween event going there. If it is interpreted as worshipping the dead...then I expect Marona to focus more on her parents."
"And how is that a problem?"
"...They're dead and I'm alive. Well...I'm dead too. But I'm in that in-between world. If I go with Marona, will I be treated differently? What about the people who are dead and can't walk amongst the living?"
Cia reminded herself that she was a very insensitive person. She could have just told Ash he was overthinking things and needed to stop. The problem was that this ran deeper than just a Halloween event.
"I've been dead for ten years," Ash muttered. "I should have passed on once Sulphur was eradicated from this world. I didn't...I had to continue looking out for Marona...but…"
Ash wanted to stop venting to the black sorceress. He always kept his thoughts and feelings to himself. The last thing he wanted was for others to be worried for him. As a phantom, many of his insecurities did not matter.
"Why do you want to pass on? You're Marona's guardian," Cia reminded him. "You promised her parents you would take care of her."
"I did," affirmed Ash. His expression darkened. "But now...Marona no longer needs me. She has proven she can survive in the Netherworld without me. My objective...is complete. My worth...is gone. But...I can't leave Marona's side even when I know my duties are complete."
"You have a lot of issues," Cia interrupted.
Ash gasped at Cia's words. The dark witch watched Ash fade for a few seconds before reappearing with an angry countenance.
"You're probably think I'm upset about nothing but-"
"You're a phantom who has the special privilege of existing in the human world. You have one task and that is to look out for Marona. You want nothing else, so you should not complain," Cia told him harshly. "If you are still in the human world, it's obvious you still have second thoughts and it has nothing to do with Marona."
Ash couldn't believe it. "Who else would I care for to stay here? I can be with Marona's parents. Being dead for ten years is exhausting!"
"You mentioned Jasmine."
"Y-Yeah…"
"I won't pretend I know what your relationship with her entails," Cia started. "I assume that Marona's parents want you to be happy now that Marona has made some friends and is no longer rejected by society as a whole."
Cia knew she hit the mark. While she didn't know who Jasmine was exactly, she noticed from previous timelines that when Ash brought up Marona's mother, he would fumble with his words when talking about her and often changed the subject when he was alone with her. The Black Sorceress deduced that Ash felt guilty of developing romantic feelings for Marona's mother and potentially passing it onto Marona. Cia's powers allowed her to confirm how he felt but he had self-restraint. As one of the undead, there wasn't much he could do.
"I am happy if Marona is happy," Ash said. "But…"
"You may be happy for her but you yourself are not happy."
"...Then what should I do?"
Cia finally stood up from the chair. Ash eyed her suspiciously as she head toward the door.
"Wait, Cia…"
"I'm not a hero so don't expect a motivational speech," Cia began. "You decide what you want to do with yourself. If you can sit and mope all day for things out of your control, then surely you can use that time wisely and have fun with Marona."
Cia left before Ash could bring up her hypocritical sentence. Lana called out to her sister, nagging her to come join them in the water. The Black Sorceress wasn't much for splashing in the water. She preferred getting a tan and dipping in the water when the temperature went down.
Ash pondered Cia's words. She might have been rough around the edges but she had an idea what he feared. The closer it got to Halloween, the more anxiety he would feel. At this time, it wasn't a big deal. Marona might have saved the world but she was still at a tender age of thirteen. Give her five more years and then she would be an adult who didn't need a guardian phantom trailing after her.
I guess I shouldn't think about this for now. Ash thought to himself as he walked over to the entrance. I might as well have some fun as a phantom while I'm at it.
Cia's words might not have been encouraging but Ash's mindset changed by her crude wording. Over time, he would obtain the answer he needed. In the future, he would find someone who would replace Jasmine's heart. More than anything, Ash would finally learn to embrace his status as a phantom in years to come.
Me: Done with 3608 words. Notes!
1 Because Cia was revived before Hyrule Warriors: Legend came out and redeemed her, in my universe, a specific event has her come back to life in a confused mindset and her redemption comes from her interaction with Dark Pit's group. As a result, she was never able to make up with Link and the effect is still apparent. The Link in Smash isn't the same one she was attached to in Warriors anyway. In my universe, the alien Arrow revives her and she escapes from his facility. Originally, she ended up on Phantom Isle but without any way of pinpointing Ash, the Smash Colors series pretty much has her and Lana struggling to find the Netherworld Ash is from to reunite with him.
2. Ash is one of the few members of Dark Pit's group who might never meet Dark Pit. Because he doesn't have much of an impact on him as the other people Dark Pit meets (like Reyn), he isn't always going to show up in the Smash Brothers Realm. Only Cia and Lana can make him meet Dark Pit. There are a few exceptions such as one of the earliest stories in the timeline where Ash shows up to specifically deal with a threat in Smash Brothers Realm (and this is way before Cia is even revived).
3. A subtle thing that was brought up in the Disgaea artbook is Ash's romantic feelings toward Marona's mother Jasmine. We don't know his backstory in the game. We just know that he was a Chroma who worked with Marona's parents but it doesn't explain why he's there. I gave a subtle backstory here that would explain why he's so loyal to the family in the first place but it's an odd implication that Ash is in love with Marona's mom but somehow doesn't display the same feelings to Marona. Then again, Carona calls Ash a pedophile so I assume she is aware that Ash stuck around because of Jasmine.
4. Another thing I feel the game didn't do was address how Ash really felt being dead. Since Marona is the main character, the problems revolve around her and Ash watches over her as a guardian. However, I find it odd how Ash is dead and can't move on but never seems to complain. He thinks near the end of the game how Marona doesn't need him anymore and Marona insists he stays. But I feel there is going to be a point where Marona can't keep Ash around because it's not fair how he can't pass on. Eventually, Marona is going to be older than him and he will never age because he's dead. They only have one argument in the entire game where Ash calls Marona out for being insensitive to how he feels but they get over the issue stupidly fast because Ash "acted out of line". I think it's odd how in ten years, he never complained about how he can't feel anything on his body so he can't understand the hardship Marona goes through when going through the desert or tundra.
In the future, I do hope to have a story about Ash where he is the main character and not a supporting character to another member of Dark Pit's group. I would be able to explain his distant personality and somewhat bipolar way of thinking then.