[A/N: Happy belated birthday, Lucina! (I missed her birthday by an hour...no...) Here's the next chapter. I do hope I'm not going too slowly. I'm quite unsure of my own pace sometimes, when writing fics. Enjoy, remember that reviews are always appreciated!]
In a different timeline, Laslow saw the same gold sky, the same colours of a fading summer blending messily, the fields around him cast in soft, golden light as the Sun sank in the distance. Not Laslow, he wasn't called Laslow then. He was Inigo, Inigo of Ylisse, and beneath the caramel swirl of clouds he stood, sword in hand. There was no time to appreciate it, however: risen from all around came at the twelve of them, the bunch who were still standing. Frederick had already fallen from before, and now it was up to them to stay alive as they hacked away at the monsters. Inigo had never fought so hard, and he had fought his fair share of battles up to this point. The clawed menaces simply refused to back down, and Inigo was aware of Lucina behind him, the two fighting back to back against the risen, as though they were dancing in perfect harmony.
Inigo was painfully aware of her presence: how close she was as she slashed almost rhythmically, blade in motion, and how dire their situation was, twelve children against this mob. Inigo was a natural worrier: even though Lucina was the better swordsman of the two, a little part within him still worried for her safety.
Take me, but not Lucina. Never Lucina.
So when it happened, it was more than he could take. It all happened so fast, too fast for him to react. As claws reached out for him, Lucina intercepted the blow deftly with her blade. Yet, she didn't see a different pair of claws reach for her, and they dug into her back, through her blue cloak, and the fabric was slowly soaking in red as Lucina spluttered, falling to the ground. Inigo felt his blood freeze, a cold panic taking over him. This was not happening. It couldn't be-
Inigo slayed the last of the risen. Its claws were wet, and Inigo felt a cool rage settle in his chest. At the same time, Brady had rushed over to the fallen lord's side, his staff at the ready. Inigo and the others immediately gathered around Lucina.
"Back off, you all. Gatherin' around isn't gonna help matters." Brady shooed them off. Inigo was the only one who stood there, clinging on to her hand even as Brady gave him a glare.
"Ya hear me?!" Brady growled, and Inigo finally stepped back, loosening his grip on her hand. He hadn't wanted to: it felt like she would slip away if he did.
"Is Inigo…is he fine?" Lucina spoke, opening her eyes, the words coming out slowly and painfully. Sweat fell from her brow as she moaned in pain, as Brady tried to heal her. Her eyes swept her surroundings, settling on Inigo, and her body seemed to relax, the crease in her brow smoothening out.
Brady's staff glowed, but the usual healing hadn't happened. Lucina's wound looked no different from before. "Guys, I think Lucina's too far gone to save. It's a mortal wound, and the staff's did its all." Brady tried to sound calm, but then he exploded, throwing his staff aside. "Dammit!"
"Don't…waste the staff. You might need it later, when I'm gone." Lucina was still able to speak, but her words were interjected with heavy breathing, the girl wincing when she stopped. A collective hush took over them all.
The panic was still within, clawing at his chest, begging for some sort of release, but Inigo forced a smile onto his face. Bending downwards towards Lucina again, he tried to reassure her, "Don't say that. You're fine. We just have to bring you up the Mila tree, I'm sure Tiki can do something-"
"Owain." Lucina muttered, and the dark haired myrmidon joined Inigo, and Inigo saw the way his clenched fist shook, the way his lips pressed together as he held back tears. "Take Falchion. Morgan won't use it." She tried to break her sentences up and make them shorter, but even that seemed to be taking a toll on her.
"Brady! Do something! You can do something, right?" The smile was still plastered on Inigo's face, but even then it was forced. Inigo could see the rest of the children in his peripheral view, could see Cynthia in hysterics, her hands covering her mouth as tears fell. Brady was too, sniffing loudly beside him, but somehow it all seemed muffled.
The world was silent, the world slowed down, and now the world was blurry as he too, cried, stroking Lucina's hair gently.
Even as her eyelids drooped, she continued to speak with the last of her strength. "Inigo, smile. Do not cry."
"Morgan, they will rely on you now."
"Severa, move on. Do not stop."
For each person she spoke a sentence, and Inigo was almost furious at Lucina. You're dying, and you're still worrying for all of us? Really?
"You can't go. I love you." Inigo spoke, his voice soft and uncertain, a clear desperation in the way he spoke. It was then that Lucina finally broke: she cried, pathetic, tired sounds escaping her lips, the sound heartbreaking.
"I never…wanted to go like this." She forced her eyes open, just a bit, and Inigo saw her eyes, deep blue like a starless night sky, and Inigo wondered if his nights without her now would be starless too.
A night without Lucina. The thought was too painful to bear. But as Lucina too, cried, he realized what he had to do. He smiled, a full, proper Inigo smile.
"Don't cry, Lucina. We will be fine. We'll save the world for you, you hear?" He spoke with as much calmness he could gather, cupping her face with his hand. Leaning towards her, he planted a soft kiss upon her forehead, just above her eyebrows, and he could feel her leave, her body growing limp. She now laid on the ground, the light framing her corpse, and Inigo could almost fool himself that she was merely asleep. Almost.
Lucina had left, but Inigo continued to sit, even as someone gripped his shoulders, signaling for him to move on. They could grieve later. Now, they would have to bury Frederick and Lucina, and move on, like Lucina said. Move on, and live, and save the world.
Lucina had the brightest smiles. And even that, Grima extinguished.
For Lucina, for my parents, and for all the people I've lost to this cruel battle: I will be Grima's bane. We all will.
Laslow was hanging on by the string of a thread. Bloodied, sweaty and exhausted, the hero was no longer fighting for glory, nor for his cause: he was merely fighting for survival, a drowning swimmer struggling to keep his face above the water. He was fighting alongside Xander and Peri, who have both abandoned their dead mounts a while back: now, the three were on foot, three against what seemed like an impossible number. Sword met sword as Inigo did the repetitive routine of blocking and slashing. The desperate fight to survive almost reminded him of the last day in his Ylisse, and how Lucina died right before they went back in time.
What happened that day will not happen again today. A fierce burst of energy came to Inigo, and he slashed out. It is a good thing we're being pushed back, Inigo thought morbidly. As least the corpses will not pile up and reduce mobility.
Laslow knew that Nohr's losses in the earlier part of the war resulted in them having lesser men to fight, but he didn't think the odds were this bad. He could hear his own heaving chest, his mouth gasping, taking in as much oxygen he could. His lungs were on fire, and he was beginning to feel that giving up right now would not be too bad.
Selena and Odin can succeed where I have failed.
As the enemy before him fell, he caught a sudden glimpse of deep blue hair, dark like open night skies, and he stopped short, his swinging blade stopped in midair. The last time the world stopped like this was also the last time he saw hair like that: wild, blue, untamable. Her name caught in his throat.
Lucina.
The enemy did not take kindly to his inaction: sensing an opportunity, the sword came down, and he screamed as metal came into contact with soft skin. The pain was unbearable, and Laslow could feel himself almost blacking out. His sword fell to the ground as he knelt, trying to cover his wound with shaking hands. The blood did not stop: it came out, dark and gushing, and for a moment he feared the worst.
No, I cannot let my soul be claimed this easily. I have unfinished duties in Nohr…
Gritting his teeth, he slowly rose, well aware of a presence defending him. Xander towered before him, dark armor stained scarlet. While Laslow was out of it, Xander had stepped in to block the blows directed at him. He noticed too, that the numbers on their side had grown, and now soldiers in familiar armor stood before him as they fought back against the pressing Hoshidan army.
"Retreat, Laslow! Corrin has sent reinforcements." Xander commanded.
Laslow was vaguely aware of hands grasping his hands, his legs, his shoulders, hands that hoisted him upwards onto a stretcher, and he was vaguely aware of people around him and their blended voices, calling out to him. Laslow. Laslow.
He was vaguely aware of the sky as he laid on his back, facing upwards. Red, fading into dusk. Almost nightfall. Almost blue.
"Laslow."
Her voice was the last thing he heard before he allowed himself to succumb to the darkness.
Laslow is fine.
The thought gave Lucina relief, and she allowed her body to relax, just a little. Even then, there was a battle to be fought, and Lucina could only rest after the fighting. Her eyes scanned the enemy's front lines, and she noted that there was only a small pack of soldiers left to deal with: way lesser alive than she had expected. It was hard to believe that Laslow and those two people packed such a punch. These trio could have made it without the reinforcements. Lucina was in awe at how formidable this small group was. Indeed, Nohr had lost soldiers too, but for the three of them to make it this far was almost a miracle.
How much had Laslow improved since Ylisse?
The battle was direct, and now with the reinforcements, it would end fast. Lucina unsheathed Falchion, and jumped straight into battle.
Upon the battlefield, Lucina made a few observations, about these fellow Nohrians she fought with. They did not fight with the same cohesion that Lucina's pack did, for one: each person fought individually, as compared to the tag team method Ylisse used during the war, innovated by Mother. On the other hand, they covered more areas, and cleared the enemies faster. They somehow managed to finish off the enemy without a tactician, fighting almost fluidly with one another while Ylisse had to rely on Mother for her war strategies.
The difference was jarring, but nothing she could not adapt to. With a few swings of her sword, the Hoshidans fell dead by her feet.
"Prepare yourself." A blade came at Lucina, so fast that Lucina barely managed to block it. Both swordsmen jumped backwards, a distance between the two as they judged the other. Before Lucina stood a short girl with pink clothing, light wear that allowed for mobility. Based on the way she stood, poised and proud, she appeared to be the one in charge of the Hoshidans. Long locks of brown hair framed a small face, strands sticking to her face from her sweat, and she seemed almost like your average civilian, if not for the long sword she held in one hand. Her face was stoic with determination, and Lucina mirrored the expression.
"I am always prepared." Lucina came at her without warning, her sword slashing out. Her opponent was no average Joe, however, and she countered each attack adequately with ones of her own. Lucina was unused to having to fight someone of such skill, and strangely her heart sang, almost in joy.
This is not right. I should not be enjoying murder like a game. But oh, her heart raced in excitement, her mind working away, trying to crack her opponent, almost like a game of chess. If I come at her from the left, would she parry it? Should I come at her like this, then?
The two swords crossed, metal meeting in a clang as the two fought for dominance, pushing against the other.
"You fight well. For a Nohrian." She growled at Lucina, eyes narrowed.
"I am no Nohrian." Lucina responded. "Likewise, you wield your sword with remarkable skill." At that moment, Lucina overpowered the girl and she pushed her back with Falchion, causing her to fall back. Before the girl could recover, Lucina aimed for her chest.
She was fast, but not fast enough. Falchion cut into her waist, almost near her hips, and she cried out in pain as she fell. Lucina readied herself for her fatal blow-
But as she did, a Pegasus flew in, the sudden rush of air distracting Lucina enough for the mounted creature to land, its majestic wings spread protectively before the girl. Lucina had jumped back upon sensing the Pegasus: she regretted it now, as the girl boarded the Pegasus behind a red haired knight.
"Blue hair, like Morgan." Lucina whipped her head towards the voice upon hearing those words, her eyes wide in disbelief. She lowered her arm, initially positioned in an attacking stance as she stared at the knight who had spoken.
Morgan. He knows Morgan. Did I hear wrongly? I must have-
"We can talk about Morgan later. Let's go first. We have to retreat." The girl urged the knight as her hand clutched at her waist, bending forward in pain.
"You're lucky I'm around." The knight smiled, and without a word the Pegasus took off into the skies. Lucina, dazed, only snapped out of it now as she ran forward. It was too late: the Pegasus was air bound, and flying off.
"Gawds, did you just let them escape?" From behind Lucina, a familiar voice came as Selena stormed towards her, her hands on her hips.
"I…My apologies. I was careless." Lucina admitted. Even then, her mind was still processing the information she had just received from the knight.
Morgan was not just in Hoshido: he is part of the Hoshidan army. I'm fighting against my brother.
"Now now, Selena. We all make mistakes." Camilla smiles radiantly, sugary sweet, making the contrast of her blood soaked axe in her hand more peculiar. "We should be celebrating our victory instead, no matter how minor it was."
"Indeed." Leo chimed from behind as he joined the girls. "Corrin would be happy with our results, especially when we've left the generals alive." The remark cut a little, but Lucina paid it no mind.
"My sweet Corrin is too innocent, honestly. It'll be one less thing for us to cover up, though." Upon seeing Lucina's inquisitive face, Camilla chuckled lightly. "Corrin believes that murder is unnecessary to win this war. Thus, we do it behind her back, when we can get away with it. If not, it would have spelt certain defeat for Nohr."
Leo sighed. "Corrin has a good heart, and she could make a good leader, but one needs a steel heart to command an army to fight a war."
Lucina nodded. "A heart strong enough to bear the burden of every life lost."
"It is getting dark, my lady." Selena prompted. She needn't have said a thing: without lit torches, the area was turning darker by the minute, and Lucina was beginning to lose sight of her surroundings.
"Let us head back, then." Leo decided, walking away to prepare the portal.
Camilla slumped as they were talking before, but now she smiled again, back to her usual self. "Of course, darling. We wouldn't want Corrin to worry." Lucina was starting to figure Camilla out. She was cold, almost like Selena in the way she holds up a mask, but when it came to Corrin, the edges melt and the true Camilla shone true, warm and loving.
Perhaps it was why Selena has such strong admiration for the Malig Knight. Lucina made a mental note to ask Selena about it later.
Even as she was starting to get to know her new companions, Lucina had much to consider about her current situation. About Morgan-if it was even her Morgan- and about her position in this war. About her friends from Ylisse, and the task they have to accomplish, albeit more secretive than she preferred. About what she will do now, in order to find Mother.
Time to make a decision, and time to make it soon.
[A/N: I almost killed Laslow off, to be honest. But he's alive! Rejoice!]
