[A/N: The reviews made me very excited so I pumped out a second chapter! (It won't be this fast in the future though, heheh.) I apologise if the pacing of the story is a bit slow, but I'll try to speed it up. Concrit is always welcome.]


Tiki's residence within the Mila Tree was simple: a small, homely temple upon the tree's magnificent canopy. The last time Tiki opened the portal for her, the temple was barely holding, its marble stone exterior threatening to fall under the might of Grima's risen army. Now, the temple stood firm, vines crawling all over its walls like tiny, clutching wyvern claws. Lucina followed Tiki down the familiar hallway, where statues and murals of Naga adorned the otherwise empty room.

"I know not of this place you speak of, Lucina, but I have previously consulted Anna in regards to the linkage of portals between worlds. I believe that I would be able to open an out realm portal to Nohr," Tiki spoke with her usual sense of calmness, her posture dignified even as she prepared the opening of the portal.

"Thank you." Lucina would have to owe Tiki again. She wasn't able to repay the Tiki of her world for opening the portal to this world, for giving her another chance at saving the beloved family she had lost.

And she never will.

"I'll be back with Morgan," Lucina promised. Tiki paused as she spoke, rising and turning around to look at her. A smile graced her ageless face, and she reached out to Lucina, her gentle hands holding Lucina's gloved ones.

"I know you will. I trust that you will bring him back, and with him, your Mother." Tiki had a kind voice, almost motherly, and the manakete's hands were smooth and warm upon her trembling ones.

"You know my purpose? You heard from Morgan, before he left?" Of course. There was no way Morgan could have travelled to a different realm on his own, without any help.

"Yes. However, this is my first time having to open a realm to Nohr." Tiki's face revealed nothing. Lucina allowed the fact to sink in, and the realization struck her.

"Morgan didn't travel to Nohr, did he?" Lucina said it like a statement, waiting for Tiki to disagree. When there was silence, she pressed further. "Where is he?"

Tiki showed no obvious reaction to Lucina's raised voice. "He travelled to a different place, known as 'Hoshido'."

"So Nohr was the wrong world, then?"

"No. Both Nohr and Hoshido belong to the realm your brother is in. Your brother assured me of that, before he left."

"But…" Lucina couldn't get her mind around it. "But Mother is in Nohr."

"Is she? How sure are you?"

Lucina had been looking down at her hands. She had battle weary hands: her exposed fingers were calloused, riddled with marks and scars. She looked up, straight into Tiki's eyes, her voice cracking as she spoke, "She has to be."

She had finally found the missing link Morgan had hinted at, after pestering Owain for an entire week. She had scoured document after document just to find the location. She had packed her things, her Falchion strapped to her side, all prepared to travel to a whole unknown world just to find Mother.

Mother has to be there. Mother has to be-

"Do not cry, child." Lucina hastily wiped away the tears as Tiki moved across the room, finishing the set up. "Follow your heart. You have a good heart, and a good head above your shoulders."

"My heart misleads my mind." Lucina walked over to help, distracting herself from the bitter taste her words left behind. Silence fell as they successfully managed to open the portal: ancient runes of glowing white surrounded the brilliant circle, the portal oozing mystical energy.

Tiki spoke again, "Your heart is overflowing with love, for your friends and your family. It does what it believes is right. That, my dear Lucina," She stands up, tucking a lock of green hair behind an ear, "Is the right direction." Scrutinizing the portal, she smiled widely in satisfaction. "It is done."

Lucina smiled back slightly, her hand reaching for her sack of supplies as she stopped short.

"Wait. How will I get back from the other side?"

"You will need another person of Naga's blood to open up the realm back into our world again. Not that you wouldn't be able to get back, without a manakete. Somehow the Annas make do without it. You will be fine, either way."

"That makes sense." Lucina stood up, the bag of supplies now safely secured to her back. She peered into the activated portal, a swirling storm of white, and shuddered. The last time she had to travel into a different world, she had everyone else with her: She had held onto Owain's and Cynthia's hands as they leapt into the portal together, their presence comforting as the world crumbled behind them.

She remembered leaving the portal alone. She knew how she would feel later, when she arrived: an aching sense of loneliness and a numb, empty feeling.

Mother needs you.

Lucina could not back away, not now. She strode forward towards the portal, standing right in front of it, until all she could see was an endless white. White, like the snow of Plegia. White, like the battle beneath the white moon the night Grima fell. White, like Mother's hair.

"Lucina!"

Lucina recognized that voice. She turned instantly, backing away from the portal to see Father hastily approaching, breathing heavily as he entered the temple.

"What are you doing here, Father?" Her voice shook as she looked at him. He should have been at a council meeting at this time.

"Are you leaving without bidding farewell to your father?" Chrom's voice was light-hearted, but the man had aged ten years over the course of one- he walked regally, but with a sort of weariness brought about by having the weight of Ylisse upon his shoulders.

"Don't try to stop me, Father. My mind is set." She steadied her voice, her fingers clasped together to stop the shaking.

Stop me, Father. I am running down a doomed path to a Mother I might not find.

"I came to say goodbye, Lucina." Swiftly, Chrom closed the distance, and pulled her into an embrace. Father and daughter held onto each other, as though it was a final parting. Lucina closed her eyes and held onto this moment: the way Father felt in her arms, strong yet vulnerable, and the way he looked when he bid goodbye. Father had a clumsy smile on his face, but Lucina saw the pain in his eyes, and the way he clenched his fist.

Just like Mother's, Lucina would keep this memory close and dear.

"Goodbye, Father. I will be back." She whispered to him in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. Lucina was a bad actor, but better than her Father, at the very least.

"See you again, Lucina." Father released her from the embrace too soon. He stared at her for a while, almost longingly, and left as swiftly as he had appeared. Lucina stared at his fading back, the man's cape billowing from the winds of the Mila Tree.

I wonder if he sees Mother when he looks at me.

Tiki had been silent all this while, and her voice reminded Lucina of her task. "Godspeed then, Lucina. Before you regret it."

Lucina nodded solemnly. The faked bravado from before was now a live beast in her heart, and with every step she took, she channeled the fearlessness of one.

"Farewell, my child. May Naga watch over your journey."

"Until we meet again, Tiki. Bid the rest farewell for me."

Walking into the portal was like walking off a cliff. Lucina shut her eyes, and took one more step into the unknown.

And then she tumbled. A surge of white rushed past her as she dropped downwards towards another world, leaving Ylisse far behind. There was no sound now, only the whistling wind of her fall, and adrenaline rushed through her veins. The end of the tunnel arrived almost as soon as it had begun.

Lucina gripped onto Falchion, and braced herself for the fall.

Morgan, I will find Mother. And then I will find you, and then we will all return home. Together.