Notes: just a couple things to make sure we're on the same page.
Laslow, Selena, and Odin went to Nohr after the events of Awakening wrapped up
Young Morgan's nickname is Momo, and I'll be using it just to keep the young and old Morgans separate
I hope you guys enjoy!
Laslow excused himself from the Mess hall and snuck out to the fortress. He knew Azura and his kids would be disappointed in him, but he hoped to find a nice girl to have tea with. The past few battles had been tough, and Laslow wanted to relax and have fun. He was about halfway down the forest path to town when he heard someone call him from behind.
"Father! Wait up." It was Soleil.
Laslow stopped and turned to see Soleil skipping over to him. "What is it?" He smiled once Soleil had caught up to him.
"You're going to get some girls, right? Can I join you?"
Laslow warmly laughed. "I'm sorry Soleil, but I haven't had the best of times with partner dates. I think I'm going to go it alone for now."
"Aw, and I was thinking of how bad it would be if mother found out what you were doing." Soleil teased playfully.
"Please don't tell Azura." Laslow begged. "She'd kill me if she found out what I was up to."
They laughed for a bit before Soleil started down the path. "I'll go on ahead while you think about your life choices." She then sprinted down the path and out of sight.
Laslow shook his head. "What am I going to do about that girl?" Lasow noticed out of the corner of his eye that someone watching him from behind a tree. He grabbed his sword as he turned towards the tree. "Who's there?" Laslow demanded. When they refused to respond, he stepped around the tree to see who it was. Laslow froze when he saw the person standing there. "Morgan?"
Memories flooded into Laslow's mind. Memories of the destroyed future, of his parents, of the Shepherds, of Robin, of marrying her, of their sons Morgan and Momo, and of losing all three of them in the battle against Grima. All of the memories crashed down on Laslow like a tidal wave, making him unsteady on his feet. He thought that Morgan was dead, but there he was. Alive.
Morgan turned and ran without warning as Laslow dueled with his thoughts. "Morgan, wait!" Laslow races after him. He could barely keep up with Morgan as he weaved through the undergrowth. Laslow's foot caught on a tree root, and he tumbled face first into a clearing. Laslow cursed under his breath as he pushed himself up with his elbows. He looked around where he fell and spotted Morgan standing in a half made camp with Momo hiding behind his leg. Momo looked confused and scared, while the older one looked relieved, but saddened.
"Father?" Morgan's voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes. "Is… is that really you?"
"It's me." Laslow reassured as he tried to stand. He was careful testing how much weight he could put on his foot, but he tried not to concern his son, er, sons.
Older Morgan half smiled as tears ran down his face. "Father." He ran over and gave Laslow a hug, almost knocking Laslow over in the process. "I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to run. I was just, you know… I'm sorry." Laslow held Morgan close as they both began to cry.
"It's alright." Laslow whispered as he pulled away to look into Morgan's eyes. Laslow remember just how much Morgan looked like Robin as he gazed into his eyes. Even so, Laslow didn't let the smile leave his face. "You guys… are really here. But how? I thought you guys died during the battle against Grima."
"I don't know." Morgan whispered. "I remember the fight, and mother sacrificing herself, but after that it's just dark. Then, three years later, Momo and I woke up in a field with no memories of how we got there or what had happened over the last three years." Morgan's head slowly dipped down as he had talked.
Laslow lifted Morgan's chin. "Then how did you two get here? Do you even know how far you are from Ylisse?"
Morgan sighed and closed his eyes. "Heh. That's… that's a long story. Too long, honestly. Kinda convoluted, too."
A scream behind them caused the two of them to split up. A Faceless had stomped its way into camp and had snatched up Momo in it's large hand. Laslow races towards the fiend with sword in hand, but found his injured ankle slowing him down significantly. Morgan was still scrambling around the Faceless for his sword and tome sitting some distance behind the monstrosity. Laslow panicked as the idea of Momo dying filled his head. "I can't lose them. Not after I just found them." Laslow thought.
Suddenly, an arrow came from behind Laslow, piercing the Faceless's arm. The Faceless releases Momo, leaving Morgan to catch him before he hit the ground. Laslow slashed the Faceless, leaving it to fall back dead. Laslow glanced to see who had shot the arrows.
Nina stood proudly on a rock as she drew another arrow. "Look out!" Nina called, firing another arrow past Laslow. He watched it sail past him and stick itself into an invisible warrior.
Laslow then spotted another invisible warrior. Then another. It wasn't long until Laslow realized that they were completely surrounded by invisible warrior. He raced over to Morgan and Momo. "We have to go. Grab anything important and follow me." The boys followed Laslow's instructions as Laslow fought off some of the warriors with Nina's help. Once Morgan and Momo had gotten their things, they raced away from the invisible warriors.
Nina noticed that Laslow was slower than his usual self and that he was falling behind the group. "Come on Laslow! We're almost to camp."
"J-just keep going!" Laslow panted. "I'll catch up. Just get the boys to safety."
Morgan cut him off from saying anything else. "Nope. No way. I've lost you once already, I can't lose you again. Plus, you still owe me an explanation about that girl with blue hair." Morgan and Momo both slowed down to stay in step with Laslow.
"R-right." Laslow grunted.
They eventually made it to the camp. Nina hesitated at the entrance long enough to shoot another invisible warrior in the head. "Invisible warriors incoming!" Nina called as she took aim at another one. Other soldier came over to join the fight.
Laslow pointed over to the Mess hall when they were a little ways into camp. "You two stay in that building. I'll met up with you guys after the fight."
"I can help." Morgan started, holding up his tome.
Laslow pushed the tome down firmly. "No, Morgan. That tome only has about ten uses left, and your sword isn't in any better shape. Plus, I need you to stay with your brother. Okay?"
Morgan hesitantly nodded. "Okay. Come on Momo. Let's go." He took Momo and raced into the dining hall.
Laslow turned and joined the fray. He raced over and joined his place in between Azura and Xander. "Good to see you could join us." Xander noted.
"I had to make sure those kids were safely away from the battle." Laslow reported, slashing at a fighter that was getting close to Azura. She nodded to him, and sang a song to refresh Laslow. "Thanks love."
"No worries." Azura replied as she gracefully dodged a stray arrow.
More and more people joined the fight, and it was over before it had really begun. Peri and Reina rushed forward to chase off the last of the invisible warriors as everyone else began to relax. Laslow leaned against a wall so he could get the weight off of his injured leg.
Midori raced over to Laslow's side. "Are you alright? You we're limping during the fight."
"I twisted my ankle earlier today." Laslow admitted, straightening his posture a bit.
"Sit down, I want to see." Laslow listened to Midori and sat on the ground. She quickly checked his ankle, muttering something under her breath. "It looks like you sprained it. I'll wrap it now, but you're going to have to get a lot of rest."
"Of course. Thank you." Laslow nodded. He spotted Corrin leading Morgan over to him.
"Laslow," Corrin started, "we need to talk about your friend here."
"What's going on?" Laslow asked as he carefully stood. "Did something happen?"
"During the fight, this young man brutally killed someone."
"It was self defense!" Morgan insisted, taking a step forward. "That soldier was trying to kill me and Momo. I didn't have a choice. It was kill or be killed. Fa- Laslow… you have to believe me."
Laslow raised a hand and waited for Morgan to stop. "Morgan, I know you didn't mean anything by it, but things are different around here."
Morgan furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "Different? Different how?"
"Well, for one, these invisible warriors are a lot less blood thirsty compared to Risen, or even the Grimleal." Laslow placed his hand on Morgan's shoulder, trying to find the words to explain. "They won't just throw away their life just to injure you. They… they value their lives. They're not, for lack of a better word, monsters."
Morgan was silent for a moment as he processed what Laslow had said. "Wait. So you're saying that guy would have just retreated if I had let him?" Morgan shuttered as the realization of what he had done hit him.
Laslow thought about not being completely honest, but he thought he should be truthful with him. "Yes, Morgan. That's why it's such a big deal that you killed him."
"I… I didn't know. I… I'm…" Morgan ran his fingers through your his bangs as he stuttered.
"No, no. It's fine." Corrin cut in suddenly. "I didn't realize you grew up in such a violent way. If I had known I wouldn't have been so harshly earlier."
"You had no way of knowing that." Morgan frowned. He shook his head before turning to Laslow. "So, uh, now what?"
Laslow let out a heavy breath as he looked around. "I probably should talk to Azura about this before any decisions are made. Corrin, do you know where she is?"
"I thought I saw her helping Sakura with something by the Accessory Shop." Corrin replied. She noticed Jakob coming over to them. "Looks like I have to go. See you two later." She excused herself before meeting up with Jakob.
Laslow and Morgan waved goodbye to her. "Well," Laslow said, leading Morgan farther into camp, "let's go find Azura."