Outtake Twenty-Five: Hot Springs - Burning Sacrifice
Game: Awakening
Spoilers: End of game/Hot Springs Scramble
Summary: Ah, nothing like a little romantic get-away. Unfortunately, it's ruined by the Risen. Once the battle is over and the Shepherds are snug in their beds, romance takes things too far, with unpredicted consequences.
Note: This is the first of two parts, inspired by Nykolai and Lucina's conversations in the Hot Springs Scramble DLC and a comment on YouTube about said conversation. For those of you concerned, this implies only what happens, and does not go into detail...meh, you'll see what I mean. It's rated T for a reason folks, rating will not go up ('cause I don't do M).
Enjoy and thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!
The crickets chirped their evening song as Lucina and Nykolai walked slowly, hand-in-hand, back to their room that Anna had given them for their stay in the Bathrealm. They had just eaten dinner, and, before that, had a nice soak in the hot springs. It was a well-deserved break from the constant fighting they and the other Shepherds had been doing.
"So what's this I hear about you fainting in the spring?" Lucina asked.
Nykolai flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, um, Anna – not our Anna, the Bathrealm one – decided to come into the men-only bath and peep with some weird tome. We ended up having a splashing war, and I kind of fainted before I could chase her out…? Though I did destroy her tome."
Lucina rolled her eyes. "Only you could get into something like that," she teased. They reached their room, and Lucina entered, leaving her husband to watch her, slightly stunned at her teasing comment.
"Hey! That's not fair!"
Lucina laughed and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind them.
Ten minutes later, they were cuddled up next to each other. "Sure beats a cot," the Grandmaster stated.
"It does." Lucina sighed. Her face reddened slightly before lifting her head to look at her husband, whose eyes were closed. Feeling her move, though, he opened his eyes. "You…promised a repeat performance, remember?" she asked softly. Nykolai's face went as red as a tomato, causing his wife to fall back to the mattress, laughing.
Nykolai had impulsively kissed Lucina in the middle of the battle field earlier that afternoon when they were supposed to be fighting off the Risen invading the spring. While the battlefield was a rather inappropriate place to kiss, Lucina had requested that the simple yet passionate form of affection be repeated in a more appropriate location.
Bearing that in mind, Nykolai leaned over his wife and kissed her. "You know," he murmured as they parted, mere inches between their faces. "We've come a long way from that awkward couple we used to be."
"True, but do not try to deny the fact that you're still rather awkward."
Nykolai sighed. "I know, I'm an incurable and impulsive klutz who-"
"Nyk?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Just shut up and kiss me."
"Well, aren't we forward?" But he obliged. She responded in kind, and all too soon, things got far beyond a simple kiss...
Two Months Later
"Flavia! Basilio! Help Nah and Brady!" Nykolai shouted as he saw the manakete and war monk get surrounded by Grimleal.
The two khans did as they were told, and Lucina, in front of Nykolai on her Pegasus, guided the animal lower next to Chrom and Sumia. Her hands shook on the reins, but she put it down to whatever bug she seemed to be getting. It would be her luck, too, to get sick before the final battle.
"Are you alright?" Nykolai asked softly, wrapping his arms a bit tighter around his wife's waist as they descended.
"Just fine, I suppose," Lucina replied. "I still feel a bit ill."
Nykolai leaned his head forward, bestowing a kiss on his wife's cheek. "I'm sure you'll feel better soon." Lucina made a noise of agreement.
"Nykolai! Lucina!" Chrom called, catching the couple's attention. "Let's go in for the final blow!"
The Grandmaster nodded and the four of them – Chrom, Sumia, Lucina, and Nykolai – moved off to where Nykolai's dark-future-self waited for them. Grima smiled nastily as they approached and immediately launched an attack at them. The ensuing battle ended quickly, and Grima collapsed.
"Now!" Chrom shouted. "This is our chance! I'm going to finish it!" He moved forward. Lucina breathed a sigh of relief. The nightmare was practically over. But then she saw Nykolai, who had gotten down from her Pegasus at the start of the duel with Grima, step in front of her father, an orb of dark magic forming over his raised hand. "What are you doing?!" Chrom exclaimed. Lucina jumped off her Pegasus, and started running toward her husband, but a wave of nausea caused her to stagger. She could only watch as Grima, struck by his own magic, dissolved. For a moment, it seemed that her husband wouldn't die, but he too began to disappear.
Both Lucina and Chrom shouted in defiance, but Nykolai just waved, a peaceful smile on his face. "Thank you, Chrom. For…everything… Tell the others…my last thoughts were of them… And Lucina, I love you….Don't ever forget it."
Tears were streaming down Lucina's face, and she fell to her knees as her husband disappeared from sight. "Come back, Nyk! Come back!" she sobbed.
But he was gone.
For some time, he found himself in a state of nothingness. He was no one, and he would never be anyone. He may have been someone at some point, but that was gone.
He was nothing.
It took him a while to realize this, but when he did, memories started to come unbidden. At first they were meaningless: a memory of a child trying to impress his tall, foreboding, and often scary father; a nighttime journey with a woman to a whole new place, racing to escape the consequences of his birth. Then his mother's face, and the friends he had made in the life after their escape, giving definition to his nothingness. These memories were fuzzy, as if they had been damaged, but they provided substance nevertheless.
The memories sharpened dramatically. A new face surfaced in his mind: a young man with blue hair offering his hand to help him stand. Friends, battles, and a young woman, also with dark blue hair and a tactician's eye, grinning admiringly up at him. His nothingness left him as each face and experience flew by him. He was being defined, shaped.
He was no longer nothing. He was something, someone.
"Come back, Nyk!"
The voice, the last he had heard before he had entered the nothingness, filled his mind. The woman he loved came to the forefront: her long sapphire hair, her cerulean eyes sparkling at him, her prowess in battle, yet her gentleness as she bandaged a wound on his arm.
"Lucina," he whispered.
Suddenly it all came back to him. He was Nykolai, Grandmaster Tactician of the Ylissean League, primary advisor to Exalt Chrom, husband of Princess Lucina, father of Morgan.
With this realization came himself, and suddenly, he could feel the ground below him, feel the breeze and the grass. He opened his eyes to a blue sky, clouds scudding across the infinite expanse. He breathed in the air and, for the moment, was content to lie there, basking in the sunlight, only briefly wondering where he was.
There was a noise, one that he hadn't registered at first, but was slowly coming to his attention. It was a distant but obvious noise: metal clashing on metal, shouts and screams.
Battle.
He pushed himself up, finally some course of action giving him motivation. Whoever it was fighting, he figured he could ask them where he was, or even aid them. Rubbing his eyes, he saw a Thoron tome and a silver sword lying next to him. He grabbed the weapons and hauled himself to his feet, only to find that the appendages weren't ready to support his weight. He fell forward, and his hands barely caught his fall.
"Okay," he said to himself. "Nice and slow." He stood again, swaying slightly but otherwise staying upright. His hands moved of their own accord, buckling on the sword and tucking the tome away. He took a few steps toward the sound of the battle, and, finding no resistance from his limbs or gravity, broke into a sprint.
The sound of battle led him on a path through a forest next to the field he had ironically woken up in. The pine trees of the forest were not so dense, so he picked his way through with ease, only to come upon the forest edge. Here, the land sloped downward before flattening out once again. It was also here that he found the source of the battle.
A horde of creatures crashed against a small wall of motley soldiers, all fighting under a blue banner. What was stunning was that each unit fought seamlessly together, all directed by a young woman at the back of the soldiers. Nykolai watched as she turned to her right to relay an instruction to the Swordmaster by her side. Instantly, he recognized her.
His daughter. Morgan. He glanced at others among the soldiers: there was Vaike, roaring a battle cry as he smashed his axe down on a Risen; here was Noire, sniping off enemies from the rear line; there were Frederick and Sully, charging down the Risen's ranks as only Great Knights could; there was Gaius, slipping around and killing off Risen like any Assassin could; and then there was Henry, cackling like no other as he slung spell after spell into the enemy ranks. Inigo stood by Morgan, protecting her. There were many others, each who had known Nykolai at some point. At the front, Chrom raised his sword, Falchion, rallying the troops once more.
These were the Shepherds, the people who had taken him in however long ago it had been, the people who had become his family, those he had sacrificed himself for.
Morgan was desperately trying to call out orders, but she was getting overwhelmed. The Shepherd ranks were split, and a Risen came right for Morgan, only to be cut down by Inigo.
Nykolai decided enough was enough. He drew his sword and scrambled down the hill, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. He caught sight of a Risen closing in on his daughter's unprotected side and shouted out to her. "Morgan! Watch your left!"
The young tactician turned to the left and dodged the Risen, stabbing it as it stumbled past her. Another monster raised its axe over its head, ready to bring it down on her, but she caught it off guard with a well-spoken Bolganone spell.
Morgan turned toward her savior, safe for the moment, and her eyes widened. "Father?" she asked as Nykolai ran to her side. "How…" She trailed off and shook her head. "Never mind. I'll ask later. Glad to see you back after so long!"
"I'm glad to be back." He deftly decapitated a Risen and glanced at his daughter. "Wait, how long is so long?"
"Huh?"
"How long have I been gone?"
"Three years."
"And there are still Risen?"
"Yeah," Inigo replied. "Grima must have called them all up as a last act. Either that, or there's an Outrealm gate hanging open and unwatched."
"I thought that Anna was supposed to guard the Outrealms," Morgan stated.
"She's doing a fine job of it, isn't she?" Nykolai asked, his voice laced with sarcasm as he blocked a Risen Swordmaster's blade on his own.
At that moment, Stahl burst through, bringing down several Risen with his sword. His eyes widened with surprise at Nykolai, but didn't say anything about the Grandmaster's presence. "Chrom and Sumia are in trouble."
Morgan ran a hand through her hair, her jaw clenched tight. Nykolai, seeing his daughter's distress, spoke up. "Morgan, stay here and keep up the good work. I'll help out Chrom."
Morgan nodded, and Nykolai ran off.
Chrom staggered to his feet, raising Falchion once more and standing between the Risen Chief – a fierce Berserker wielding a huge axe – and his wife, who had been knocked off her Pegasus. The Risen swung his axe with a roar, and though Chrom tried to block, his sword was knocked out of his hands. He felt a punch connect with his middle and he collapsed, gasping for breath. The Risen brought the axe down, barely missing the exalt, who had rolled out of the way just in time.
Chrom, now sprawled on his back, looked up at the massive axe raised above him once more and knew his end was at hand. He closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a loud blast of thunder seared the air, making Chrom's ears ring. The Risen Chief gave a guttural moan. Chrom opened his eyes to see the beast collapse, once more dead, sparks still running along its body. A figure stood next to Chrom, a hand out to help him to his feet. The second the exalt got a look at the person's face, he gaped. "Nykolai? Where did you come from?"
Nykolai laughed, pulling his best friend to his feet. "Up the hill," he replied, gesturing over his shoulder. "I'll tell you all about this once we take care of the Risen."
Chrom nodded. "Thanks, by the way."
"Ha, what are friends for?"
The conflict was quickly ended after that. Every Shepherd present gathered around Nykolai, welcoming him back to the world of the living, while Morgan clung to his side without pause. Once most everyone had gotten to greet him, the Grandmaster turned to Chrom, who was helping Sumia with a bandage. "Where's Lucina?" he asked.
Chrom glanced up at him. "She's in Ylisstol, along with Lissa and a few others." He smirked as if he was hiding something. "Were you hoping to see her?"
"Yes. She is my wife."
"Of course." Chrom sighed and tied the knot on Sumia's bandage. "You realize you broke her heart with that stunt you pulled. You put her through a lot of crap." Sumia laid a hand on her husband's arm.
"He's just hurt, too, Nykolai," she said, trying to smooth over any insult taken.
Nykolai looked down. "Sumia, it's okay," he said softly. "I know what I did hurt Lucina. Believe me it was the hardest decision I've ever made. I'll do anything to make it up to her."
Chrom smiled once more. "You can start by coming back to Ylisstol with us tomorrow."
Nykolai grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Published 9/29/2013