A crucial chapter I wanted to write. It has finally come. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 35

The Classic Smash round had come to an end. Sixteen teams came into the competition but only eight remained. Palutena and Lucina were one of the teams that progressed to the third round of the tournament along with the team of Samus and Zelda and Fox and Falco. The other five teams that qualified were Mario and Luigi, Link and Meta Knight, Marth and Roy, Sonic and Pac-Man, and Mega Man and Ryu. The competition was getting tougher. Just several days after the Classic Smash run, the eight competitors had three days to prepare for their All-Star round. In this particular round, the time slots remain the same as the previous round. Each team will get a certain amount of time to complete a run without losing all their lives. The four teams with the better results will proceed to the finals. As the media was hyping up the competition, many ponder who will lift the title. The teams likely to win were Samus and Zelda or Link and Meta Knight. They were the favorites to win it all. Although many overlooked Palutena and Lucina as contenders, they had impressed the spectators due to achieving crucial moments when needed. Some consider them the underdogs of the tournament.

It had been two days since Robin and Dark Pit's first date together along with Samus and Zelda. The Hylian was still recovering from the ecstasy she had felt when she and the bounty hunter went to a theme park. She still could not forget that day because it was one of the best days she had lived in her life. Now that she and Samus went back into the training grind, things have been getting better. During their practice sessions with the All-Star mode, most of their runs resulted in defeating nearly the entire cast without many issues. Although the difficulty setting was at normal, they shifted to a more difficult setting. For those runs, they managed to be consistent although it was just harder to finish off some fighters.

Meanwhile, Robin and Dark Pit did not have to worry about the tournament anymore since they could not progress through the third phase. It was not a big deal to them since they were officially a couple now. They had met again the day after their date. On that day, they saw each other in the lounge. For that time, the couple watched television that broadcasted the tournament and its competitors. The tactician was not particularly pleased when the commentators or the 'analysts' they were called say how Palutena and Lucina were not the favorites to win and how they managed to get lucky throughout the tournament. It rubbed her the wrong way because the media was portraying her friend in a negative way. She knew that Lucina never relied on chance to get where she was now; the bluenette was hard-working and would always do her best at any cost. After watching some television, Dark Pit and Robin went to the city to get some lunch and walked around the just to talk. It was a way to pass time. After several hours of spending time in the city, they returned to the mansion. From there, the mage will never forget what transpired then.

"Robin, there you are," a bird saw and walked up to the couple, waiting for their arrival. "I was looking for you."

Something felt different about him. Falco appeared to be a new person after the confrontation between him, Robin, and Dark Pit. He sounded sincere and kind to the tactician and the dark angel. Robin had to take in that particular detail because she never expected the ace pilot to drastically change his behavior just like that.

"Um, what do you want from me?" She asked, a bit curious to know what was on the blue bird's mind.

"I never truly apologized to you after that incident several days ago," he began as he bowed his head, feeling ashamed to even lock eyes to the people he wronged. "In fact, it goes beyond that. From the beginning of the singles tournament to now, I, without a doubt, acted like a complete ass-"

"No kidding, you never treated her nicely," Dark Pit preemptively admonished him, letting his anger get the best of him.

"Angel," the tactician softly yet firmly placed her hand on his right shoulder. "Don't make it worse, please."

"Sorry, I got worked up there."

"You have every right to be infuriated at me," Falco knew what the back angel was feeling since he was also involved as well. "I'm a hothead who thinks that being this tough, macho jerk was so cool that I thought people would like that. However, I was clearly wrong. I tried to get with you, Robin. Even though you didn't want to, I kept persisting, which made you uncomfortable. I was not just inconsiderate but completely crossed your boundaries. And to you, Dark Pit, I regarded you as a clone, something that made you look like you were nothing. I know you don't like hearing that word because I used to deal with that but never to the extent that you had to suffer."

"I appreciate your apology if that's what you're trying to say," Dark Pit did feel good that Falco apologized to him for his behavior.

"Thank you. I'm not finished with what I have to say. Robin, not only was I being uncomfortable to you, but I went to insult your friend, Lucina by calling her a clone as well."

Hearing that word made Robin twitch especially if it was towards Lucina because that word just infuriated her if anyone dared to use that towards the bluenette. She took a deep breath before proceeding to listen more of Falco's apology.

"Words will never be enough to make amends with you two. This will not be enough to compromise our relationship. If you guys end up not wanting to talk to me, then that is okay. I will gladly not talk to you two."

"Falco," Robin said with a hint of sympathy. "You really have changed for the better. You looked at yourself and made a significant change. That I will accept. You were right about one thing. Words alone will not make everything better. I still glad you apologized, but it takes more than words to make amends. You have to earn our trust that you'll never revert to being a douche. I don't know if that'll happen, but if it does, then we can be friends."

"Thank you for your words," he embraced her response and had his head held high with pride. "I wish the best for you two."

"Do you know?" Dark Pit asked if Falco knew that he and Robin were dating.

"I am assuming so," Falco replied before seeing the black angel nod his head to confirm that the two were dating. The bird had a little smile on his beak. "I'm happy for you two. I must leave now. Carry on. Thank you for forgiving my words of apology."

All three waved a goodbye. As Falco went up the stairs, Robin chuckled with joy. She could not believe what she had witnessed.

"Did that really just happen?" Robin felt like it was a dream. It did not seem real to her because she never thought the day where Falco became a changed bird.

"It did," the black angel held his girlfriend's left hand and gripped it tightly. "Looks like people can change."

"It looks like it," she giggled before placing her head on Dark Pit's right shoulder. "I'm in the mood to play Mario Kart."

"Oh, you're going to get beaten by me," he boasted before Robin had something to say.

"Want to bet on it?"

"Bring it."

At the training facility, Palutena and Lucina were spending their time getting used to the long, strenuous session of fighting all the Smashers in a single run. Even though there were breaks to replenish their energies for the actual tournament, the swordswoman suggested pushing further to gain endurance. The goddess was in no way objecting to her partner's tactic. In the beginning, the trials started off shaky, however, as they practiced more they managed to improve each trial.

There were seven levels of the All-Star phase. Each one consisted of fighters in a certain timeline of their franchises. Rather than going in chronological order, it was in reverse fashion, meaning that competitors will face a group of Smashers from the present to the past. The first five levels, Palutena and Lucina managed to cruise through without relying on replenishing items or losing a single life. It looked like Lucina's training method was paying off well. The greenette was impressed on the bluenette's idea. To her, Palutena felt a sudden improvement and adaptation with her fighting depending on the stage and situation.

The sixth level took place in the Duck Hunt stage. The stage selection in the tournament was random just like the training simulation. The first four fighters that appeared were Duck Hunt, Peach, Bowser, and Samus. Palutena took care of Duck Hunt and Peach while Lucina fought against Bowser and Samus. Their strategy was to separate the fighters and spar them in a 2v1 format. The pink princess floated to strike the goddess with her crown at a vertical arc. Palutena leaped towards her but not too close before slamming her blue shield, which she won the clash. Dunk Hunt sent out a can and it was being flicked towards her. The greenette emitted a rectangular barrier to reflect the projectile back to the dog but the can exploded nowhere near it. Duck Hunt quickly sent out one of the gunmen to fire at Palutena. She evaded the attack which hit Peach instead. The goddess then rammed her with her shield, sending her back quite far. The dog threw a clay pigeon at a fast, straight angle. She reflected it again before grabbing the dog to telekinetically throw the pup down. Palutena then twirled around while emitting her halo, which ended up defeating Duck Hunt. However, it left her vulnerable for a moment which Peach struck her with her crown. While trying to fight back, Bowser came up to swing his head in a semicircle motion, which sent her up upwards, nearly taking her first life. Lucina came up to slash the Koopa King away from the greenette.

Samus grabbed the bluenette and slammed her to the ground before firing five fiery blasts in a downward arc motion. Palutena tried to roundhouse kick the bounty hunter but Bowser came down at an incredible velocity with his ground pound. It was strong enough to take the goddess's first life. The next fighter was R.O.B. It grabbed Lucina and drilled her to the ground headfirst. It then followed up with a series of rapid rotation of its arms, sending her up away before Bowser swung in an upward head-butt. As a result, Lucina lost her first life.

"Lucina, got any ideas?" The greenette said as she fought against Samus.

"I'm not sure," the bluenette evaded every grab that Bowser had while R.O.B was firing its lasers. "Our initial idea isn't working. Focus on one opponent."

"I hope that works," Palutena had enough damage put on Samus before she was ready to finish her off with her kill set up. Fortunately, it worked at the price of getting hit by Peach's crown again. "Alright, Peach, you're making me mad."

"She's cute when she gets mad at something like that," Lucina lost focus before nearly getting grabbed by the Koopa King. "Why did I just think that? Never mind that. I need to focus."

The Ylissean walled out Bowser with her aerial sword strikes. Once she conditioned him to try to challenge her in the air, Lucina charged up her powerful grounded lunging downward slash. That attack defeated Bowser. Then Zelda appeared. Suddenly, Link appeared behind Lucina and grabbed her with his hook shot. It looked like Palutena took care of Peach after managing to meteor smash her offstage. The greenette rushed to ram Link with her shield. However, she was met with a downward swing by Samus's Arm Cannon. Afterward, Zelda kicked the goddess with her magic infused kick, sending her off the stage. Lucina was dealt with heavy damage from all four opponents. Palutena then used her custom move that barely any competitor would use. Although it was not against tournament rules, all Smashers were never fond of the custom moves, so it was rarely used by anyone. She became light and was agiler than before. Swiftly, she struck all four fighters, freeing Lucina. With little time left, Palutena managed to keep all the fighters in the air, prompting the Ylissean to strike back. She jumped onto the tree and saw Samus and R.O.B being knocked back to her. Thus, Lucina struck her Falchion overhead, killing both fighters. Palutena's lightweight was coming to an end, but she managed to deal enough damage to Link and Zelda for an easy kill. Lucina simply ran up to Link before he reached for his hook shot and threw up upwards to finish him off. Palutena grabbed the Hylian princess and the bluenette delivered a powerful downward arc slash, completing the sixth level.

Although they fought in the last level ahead, they could not finish the job. Afterward, both women returned to the facility.

"Well, that was a close one," the greenette said calmly as she was getting her bottle to hydrate herself.

"It was," Lucina agreed but was not feeling disappointed at their performance at all. "It's only the sixth and seventh phase that we need to practice more on. We were overwhelmed by their attacks and we almost lost because of it."

"Don't feel too bad about it," the goddess walked up to swordswoman. "Besides, we can always review and see what we can do to improve our tactic."

"Can we check that now? I think we've practiced enough for today. We can wrap it up tomorrow."

"Anything for you, Lucina."

As Palutena was bringing up the part of the video where they were at the sixth level, the bluenette heard a ringing tone coming from her phone. She picked up next to her belongings and saw it was from Meta Knight.

"Sir Meta Knight, hello," hearing that name engendered Palutena's mood to become crestfallen. She continued to clip the beginning of the sixth level up to where they won.

"Lady Lucina, it's good to hear you again," Lucina giggled at the sound of his greeting. "I am calling to see if you were available right now."

"I'm in the middle of my training with Lady Palutena. Although afterward, I have to clean up and cook a meal. I can meet up afterward."

"Fantastic. Let me know when you are available. I'll be waiting by the garden for your arrival," he hung up. Lucina was worried that the goddess would feel displeased by a sudden call from the Star Warrior.

"Lady Palutena," she tried to explain that it was not what she was thinking.

"Don't worry about it, Lucina," she kept a smile to hide from the fact that she and the bluenette may not get back together. "I won't control you on who you decide. I know you and Meta Knight have a good chemistry, so I only want you to be happy."

"Thank you," Lucina tried not to make things worse so saying thanks was enough. "Shall we analyze our work?"

"Absolutely."

After assessing their own fighting for an hour, they found several major flaws on how they handled the fighters on the sixth level. The 2v1 strategy was not an effective method because it left them many vulnerable spots for attack. Secondly, Palutena and Lucina were not utilizing their team combos effectively since there were more fighters than usual. Third, neither tried to help each other out when either was in disadvantage state. As a result, they lost their first life or took heavy damage. They tried to figure out solutions to their issues so they can implement that for tomorrow's practice before the tournament resumed. They concluded that they should keep a short distance from each other to assist whenever one was in disadvantage. Another solution was to separate from that distance only if the situation was in their favor. Once they noted that in their analysis, their training was done for today.

"See… you tomorrow," Palutena said to Lucina before walking away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," the Ylissean knew this had to end as soon as she can. She can feel it coming to an end. However, something still looked foggy. Lucina had not made a decision to end her complicated situation.

Lucina took her time to shower before heading to the kitchen to make a simple sandwich. She walked to the lounge and sat on one of the comfortable couches while watching the television in relation to the tournament. As she watched while eating her sandwich and drinking her water, the bluenette took notice that she and Palutena impressed some people on their performance. She grinned at the fact that she was getting recognition for her spectacular performance throughout this tournament despite personal conflicts that were happening along the way. Of course, Lucina wanted to win the tournament but if she had to choose who would win, it would be Marth and Roy since she idolized the Hero-King. Winning a major tournament would be a major feat for him and the swordswoman would have no complaints if that were to occur. After finishing her meal, she was met by her best friend who saw Lucina sitting by herself.

"Robin," Lucina said before the tactician sat down next to her.

"Hey, Lucy," she greeted happily as the swordswoman took notice with her beaming expression.

"You're much happier than the last time I saw you," it was not a bad thing, but it was something Lucina did not usually see.

"Things have happened in the last few days," her smile was getting stronger and the bluenette could not decipher why.

"What happened?"

"First, Falco is a changed bird now."

"I don't believe you," Lucina gave a disgusted look by the thought of the pilot.

"Believe me," she expected her response to be like that. "After the fight between him and Dark Pit, he had to reflect himself and apologized to me, Angel, and you for being an asshole."

"I still have to talk to him to believe it, but knowing you, I think that possibility seems much more probable."

"I would never lie to you like that."

"Anything else that happened?"

"Oh, I am officially Angel's girlfriend," Robin could not wait to see her friend's reaction at the exciting news.

"Oh, my," Lucina covered her mouth in disbelief yet happy to hear the news. "That's so wonderful, Robin."

"AH!" She screamed with glee, which startled the Ylissean princess a bit. "I know! It's amazing!"

"Did you guys go out?" Lucina had to know if they did or not.

"Oh," the tactician giddily was prepared to tell everything about her date with the black angel. Her body language was an indicator that they did go on a date. "I have so much to tell you, Lucy!"

"Please, I want to know."

Robin told Lucina everything that happened on her date. She described the restaurant they went to where she ate delicious food. The one thing that confused yet was amusing to the swordswoman was that they both sang while consuming their meals. The mage had to explain that the rooms were an exclusive area for people who want to dine and sing. After their entertaining portion of the date, she told Lucina that they ended the night by sitting on a hill overlooking the striking lights of the city. It was a relaxing and calming environment where Robin and Dark Pit just enjoyed each other's company without anyone else present within their vicinity. That was all the tactician had to say to Lucina about her date with the black angel.

"Wow," was her first reaction after listening to the entire story of her friend's first date. Lucina could not hold how thrilled she was to hear that Robin had found love. "Robin, I'm really happy that you and Dark Pit are finally together. I know he was your friend; I never realized that it became something more."

"I finally understand how Avatar felt when you were with him," she began, trying to hold back her tears of joy. "Holding to someone that you care and love so much that finally expressing that feeling and having that person feeling the same way is one of the rarest yet purest forms of love I've ever experienced. It was how he felt before you and he broke up. Now he and I finally came to good terms."

"Everything is getting better for you," Robin saw her friend's blue eyes express conflicting emotions compared to her facial expression.

"Now I feel bad," Lucina was a bit confused by the mage's comment. "I've been talking about how I finally found love and you're in a rough situation. I've been so inconsiderate that I think you're not taking this well."

"In a sense, you're right," the Ylissean princess admitted, trying to not to cover it up with a lie. "I'm still lost in finding my answer yet…"

"Yet what?"

"That answer is so close for me to grasp, but the more I reach out for it, the further it gets away from me. Just when I think I found the answer, the light tells me otherwise."

"You don't sound confident in your answer," Robin said as a possible explanation.

"Is it?"

"By the way you're saying about your answer, it doesn't sound like you truly did found it. Although I think you are close to finding it. However, you're leaving so much doubt on yourself. You should know that you can't make everyone happy. Someone will have to bear the sad news if you don't choose that person. It comes down to who will make you happy forever."

Lucina had thought about her best friend's words, which helped her significantly. Before she was about to find her answer, the tactician had more to say.

"One more thing," Robin placed her left hand on Lucina's right shoulder. "If you truly like, love someone, the answer may just be in front of you all this time. I mean that that person was always there for you and also felt exactly same as you do. Answer yourself this: without thinking, who do you have actual feelings for? You don't have to tell me. This should only be settled by you."

The bluenette thought the question to herself and went with the answer that first came to her mind. That answer came within her mind and heart. Both sides choose the same answer, which finally allowed Lucina to capture the light she so longed to reach for. She stood up and was ready to face her fate.

"Robin," she first embraced Robin so tightly because she helped her find the answer that was lurking in the dark. "Thank you so much for helping me in finding the answer. It really was there the entire time. It took some time but no more conflict. I know what I have to do."

"Go, Lucy," with that the Ylissean princess walked away and Robin had no sight of her. "I hope she picked her."

Lucina knew her answer. It was in front of her eyes all this time, but she was no longer lost. The bluenette was ready to face everything that was going to happen. She stepped out and walked to the garden to meet with the Star Warrior. He was joyous that his lady showed up.

"Lady Lucina," Meta Knight flew so his body was in front of her face. "After thinking the times we shared together, I really want to express to you how much I like you."

"Sir Meta Knight," she was halted by his right glove.

"My beloved lady," he gave out his right hand so that his palm was visible. "Accept my hand as we become romantic partners. I express my feelings for you here."

Lucina was trembling to a point where she became anxious because of how things may turn out. Her heart was racing and pounding on her chest as hard as it could be. Meta Knight was concerned if the swordswoman could not contain her excitement about committing to becoming a couple.

"Lady Lucina?"

Then, she could not hold it anymore. It was too much for her to hide.

"I can't."

She turned away and closed her eyes to alleviate her stresses for a moment. The Star Warrior looked like he was in denial. He thought it was a slip of her tongue and that the Ylissean did not mean it at all.

"Surely, you are exuberant about our commitment that you say unusual words, correct?"

"No," Lucina conceded, facing him who was heartbroken by her rejection. "I just can't."

"Why not? Nothing wrong came across between us. We share many characteristics. We share our knowledge on swordplay. What is wrong?"

"I can't because of… Palutena," Meta Knight could not believe what he was hearing.

"She treated you horribly," he attempted to reason her to hopefully change her mind. "She called you a clone, such a derogatory term for a so-called goddess to say. She tried to control you in your relationship as friends. That's a horrendous reason to not accept me."

"You know well that she had trouble with romantic partnerships with other gods and goddesses from her past," she defended the greenette's name. Her tone showed that she disliked anyone who talked to Palutena in a bad name. "She finally found me because I like her a lot. I'll never forget the smiles and the sweet moments she would always give to me whenever we dated. No one could understand her except me. I saw the side that hardly anyone saw. I see the honest, sincere, and beautiful goddess who would do whatever it takes to protect the ones she cares for. That's why I still… have those feelings for her."

Meta Knight initially felt he wanted to pour out his tears. However, as Lucina continued on with her reasons, he became more disappointed at the bluenette for going back to someone whom he thought treated Lucina poorly. "Despite that, she still said and did horrible things to you. How can you not see that?"

"She went through a breakup that should've never had happened!" Lucina got so upset by the Star Warrior's comment that she angrily responded something she thought was not true. "Lady Palutena was so distraught by another breakup that she resorted to drinking and felt lonely."

"It explains her behavior but it does not justify it."

"That may be so," she admitted but was still persistent. "She still harbors the feelings that I feel for her. She's genuinely regretting all that had happened, so why can't I give her a second chance when I like her too?"

"You disappoint me, Lucina," he closed his eyes and flew away from the Ylissean at a distance before stopping. "I really thought you were unique from the others. The fact that you cannot move on from a past relationship just bewilders me. I can't see you as who you truly are."

"What do you see me as of right now?" Lucina took one step closer to the Star Warrior with a irked expression.

"I won't say as I still respect you," he glided into the mansion. The final words Lucina heard were, "Goodbye, Lucina."

There was a brief silence for Lucina as she stood in the breeze of the garden and the rustling sounds of the leaves. She looked down and said to herself, "If you really see me differently, did you ever liked me in the first place?"

Now that was out of the way, Lucina knew what she had to do next. She walked up the stairs that felt like an eternity since she was so eager to end her frustrating conflict. Eventually, she found the hallways she wanted to be on and walked towards a specific door. Lucina stood in front of the door, feeling a bit nervous to face what was going to happen. Her fist slowly approached the door just inches away from contacting it. The swordswoman took a deep breath before finally knocking on the door. She waited until she heard a voice.

"Who is it?" A voice called from the inside.

"It's Lucina," the Ylissean replied.

"Oh, I'll be out in a second." It was not literally a second, but it took a little longer than expected before the person came to the door.

The door opened. Lucina's eyes were watering up as a green-haired goddess stood in front of her. Palutena at first was concerned because the bluenette looked like she was going to cry out of sadness.

"Lucina," the greenette worriedly spoke to the swordswoman. "What's wrong? Did something happen to you?"

She said nothing, never planned on responding to her question. Lucina grabbed Palutena's torso, pulled her, and planted her lips with the goddess's lips. The world was silent as the outside noise became deaf to the greenette. Her eyes began to water up so much that it was running down her face. She wrapped her arms around the bluenette's back and passionately kissed her back. Lucina had to be on her the tip of her shoes since the goddess was taller than she was.

"Oh my, oh my," Palutena frantically thought to herself. "Lucina's kissing me. Kissing me!"

They broke the kiss. They both laughed as they took in what had transpired. Palutena had no clue what to say because she was overjoyed that Lucina kissed her.

"We shouldn't have broken up in the first place," the Ylissean admitted to her.

"We really shouldn't have," the goddess agreed before combing her hair to see her eyes. "What does this mean?"

"Lady Palutena-"

"Call me Palutena," she interrupted, which Lucina did not mind at all.

"Palutena, I want us to get back together."

"Yes! That's how I've felt ever since we broke up and you started talking to Meta Knight," she wanted to cry because the woman she liked came back to her, thinking she was going away for someone else. "Lucina, I love you."

"I love you, too Palutena."

That was it. No more words. They embraced each other for the first time as a couple again. Lucina found her answer.