Hello everyone, thanks for the warm welcome!
As I've mentioned before, I'm attempting a different take on the ending, enjoy this chapter!
Every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face, bloody and in pain. Nevertheless, even in the midst of such suffering, it was her—her welfare—that weighed in on his mind.
This is not your fault, he insisted. Promise me, you'll escape from this place.
She could still remember, with painful accuracy, his exact last words, the one he breathed with so much labor. His voice was barely a whisper then, but enough to be etched forever into her memory.
I love you.
A blessing for her, a curse for him.
She stayed still even until long after he stopped moving. The pool of blood beneath him had also stopped expanding. That scenery dealt an unimaginable amount of pain in her heart; it was as if there was a sudden, huge black hole in her heart—exactly where he had been. She cried out and wept, but there was no other but the two of them. Her heart recited strings of prayers, the ones he had taught her, but no one answered. Did Naga ignore her for the blood running in her veins?
Come, my vessel, a whisper said so softly. Let me fill that void with my power. No god answers you… because you can be a god yourself. You ARE a god!
She clutched her heart. Would I be able to revive him? Would Chrom return to me?
What a god can do, you will… if only you accept my power.
She stared at the empty altar. The emblem was bathed in a dark light. Every step of the preparation had been executed properly; the only thing that she needed to do was to touch the Emblem and received the power of the Fell Dragon.
Roxanne closed her eyes and tears started to flow. All of her memories with Chrom flowed with it; when she was inducted into the Shepherds, their first date, their first kiss, their wedding… gods, she could remember vividly the way he always smiled when he saw her and said those three words:
I love you.
Come… the voice beckoned.
If this is the way I could get him back, Roxanne thought as she approached the altar, so be it.
Destiny sure was a stubborn mule. That was what she thought to herself when she saw the alternate version of her, standing with her Chrom—the one that was very much alive thanks to her alternate's—and some others'—intervention. Over their shoulders, she could see Lucina—her Lucina. It seemed that the sword made its way into her hand, just as it was meant to be.
No matter, she told herself. This Chrom shall die, too. Destiny has it so.
She gave a sudden push to her sword before jumping a few steps back. Her alternate mirrored her movement, landing right in front of her Chrom. She pointed her sword at him.
"You know what will happen to him," she said. "He will die."
"Have you not realized? We have changed the course of history. That shall not come to pass!" her alternate declared defiantly.
She laughed. Her shrill voice filled the atmosphere as the voice behind her head gradually grew stronger. This is your chance to reclaim your power—bring the time back to how it should be.
"Such arrogance! Even with interventions from your future children, look—who was dead in their time is dead here, in this time, too!"
She saw a brief moment of hesitation in her alternate's face, acknowledging the bitter truth in her words. It was then she took her chance. She performed a Mjölnir spell; not strong enough to kill her but definitely strong enough to knock her out from the battle for the time being.
"Roxanne!" Chrom cried out.
She turned to face the prince. If they were indeed one and the same, all that she needed to do was to repeat the history so that her alternate accepted her own fate. She dashed towards Chrom, a bolt of lightning starting to form in her hand. The prince evaded her skillfully, while at the same time deflecting her hand so her lightning bolt shot into an empty space.
It became the first of their long volley of attack-parry-counter. This Chrom really reminded her of her Chrom—well, they were supposed to be the same person, anyway. That way, she knew just how he would attack and defend himself. It came with the price of him knowing exactly her moveset as well, evening out the odds.
Lucina and Marc immediately joined their parents into the fray; Lucina deflected her melee attacks while Marc performing counterspells to her magic attack. "This battle is over if you are defeated, Father!" Lucina pointed out correctly. Perks of coming from the future.
She snorted. "Simply knowing the future would not help you. You should have learned, my foolish daughter."
"I am not your daughter!"
She sent a wave of dark energy towards the two children, sweeping them away. "This is a matter of adults. Children should not interfere," she said coldly.
"Lucina! Marc!"
They were swept into different directions, but Chrom, seeing that Marc was worse off, dashed towards his son from the future. However, she stopped him from doing so by shooting a lightning bolt right in front of him. "Are you sure you want to take your eyes off from me, Chrom?" she asked. "Your other self was too trusting that I could drive a lightning bolt into his heart."
Much to her surprise and confusion, Chrom stopped and faced her.
This is your opportunity. Kill him!
"I've been made aware that particular trait of mine could be my fatal flaw," he told her. "But I'm sure that he bore no grudge towards his Roxanne. It was not Roxanne who killed him, but Grima controlling her."
She held her breath. This Chrom was equally—if not more—fool than her Chrom. Was her presence not enough proof of how his kindness cost him his life? She raised her hand and prepared another lightning bolt. If her alternate would not kill her Chrom, she would do it in her stead and claim the power in her stead.
Destiny must be fulfilled. There was no escaping.
Yes, that is correct, my vessel… you chose wisely.
She was put to a halt when someone held her wrist. She turned her head and found her alternate, channelling her power into herself, controlling the lightning. "I'm sorry you lost your Chrom, but that is all the more reason I have to defend mine. I'm sure you can understand."
"Have you lost your mind?!"
"I know that Grima did not control all of you. There's a part of you—us—that remains. That's why you allowed me to meet Chrom. That's why you did not simply kill Lucina, Marc, or any other of the children that came back. That's why you've been hesitating to kill Chrom. If we are truly the same, the force that has been driving us should be the same—and you know it's not Grima, or thirst of power."
"Let… me… go."
"Let's do the right thing," she suggested, while gently leading her hand to her heart.
Resist her! What are you doing?!
Chrom finally caught up on what Roxanne was planning. He dashed towards them: "No! There's got to be another way!"
Roxanne erected a Thoron barrier between them, effectively stopping Chrom—or anyone else, for that matter—in his track.
"Roxanne," he pleaded. "Please don't do this…"
She looked at the man staring at her—no, her alternate self—desperately, pleading for her life. For a moment, she could remember her Chrom once again. She knew he would have done the same thing, and now she could understand her alternate self perfectly—as it should have been.
Fool! FOOOOOOL! The voice behind her head roared incessantly.
Their mutual understanding broken off, she could feel Grima trying to take over her completely. She tried to resist, but she knew she couldn't hold off for long.
"Be quick… when I still have him under control."
She could feel a nod behind her and then a flash of white light took over all of her vision field. "Roxanne!" she could hear Chrom calling. She knew it was not her precisely that he was calling for, but for a moment she allowed herself to believe otherwise.
Her mouth muttered those three words she did not manage to tell her Chrom:
"I love you…"
The other Roxanne dissolved into black smoke before everyone's eyes. A moment later, the Thoron barrier she had erected was dispelled.
"Is it… over?" Lucina asked hesitatingly.
"It is," she assured her.
Chrom lunged at her and hugged her. "You're still here, thank Naga…"
Roxanne hugged him back for a moment before realizing that a similar dark smoke began to rise from her skin. "For now…"
"…Roxanne?"
They let go of each other and finally, Chrom learned of what she meant, again, a beat too late. She tried to smile for him; now that there was no turning back, the parting was much more difficult than she had thought it would be.
"It was for the best," said she, in an attempt to console her husband—and herself, too. "It's the right thing to do."
Naga appeared before them. "Well done. With Grima died by his own hands, he shall never return."
As she finished her sentence, light began to slowly engulf the bodies of those coming from the future. "W-what is happening?"
"The time paradox must be resolved," Naga explained calmly. "There can be no two of one person stay in the same timeline. You have changed the course of history, you will reap your reward in the right time."
"But, Marc is not born yet!" Lucina pointed out.
"I did tell you that there is a risk of altering history, exalted blood. You traveled back in time with that risk."
"But—!"
"It's okay, sis," Marc intercepted. He then looked at his parents. "At least, I get to meet Father and Mother, spend time with them, train, fight, eat and play together… and make memories together. I have no regrets. This is the right thing to do."
Roxanne touched her belly. She could feel the slight movement in her. "I'm sorry, Marc,"
"It's okay, Mother. Like I said, it's the right thing to do!"
She chuckled wryly. "Really, like mother like son."
Chrom reached out to Lucina and Marc. "Lucina, you really are my pride," he said. "And Marc… no matter what happens, you are my son."
"Father…"
"Thanks, Father!"
With that, Lucina and Marc dissolved into myriads of light spheres, followed by the other children with promises of 'see you soon' from their parents. That left the original Shepherds, with their allies, who began to crowd around Roxanne.
Naga looked over the horizon; the sun had begun to set.
"You have until the end of the sunset."
Roxanne nodded. "Thank you," she said gratefully.
After Naga making her exit, Roxanne cast a glance over her comrades. None of them spoke, so she decided to be the one: "All of you are aware of it, restoring Ylisse to its former glory is the hard work, but I have faith in all of you. Thank you for having faith in me. It has been an honor to fight and serve alongside all of you."
Frederick knelt on the ground, his head bowed in respect. "It has been an honor serving you."
His gesture was followed by the other Shepherds, one by one; even Flavia and Virion bowed out of respect for her. Now, all that was left was Chrom.
"My dear Chrom…" she murmured. "Believe me when I say meeting you has been the best day of my life."
Chrom took her hand. She could feel the warmth of his skin, but it gradually faded alongside with her being. "Roxanne, remember what Naga said about our bonds? I swear by my blood I will not stop looking for you. One day, we will meet again."
She chuckled. "Let's say that works. What if I don't remember who you are?"
"It's okay. I'll make you remember. Or we can just make new memories, like we've always been doing."
In an attempt to fight back her tears, she forced herself to smile. "That sounds good."
"I'll be the Exalt this time, and you'll be my queen. Your place is not with Grima, it's by my side."
"You will be a great one—no, I know you are a great one."
As the sun further withdrew in the horizon, Roxanne further disappeared from their sight. Determined not to be victimized by the same regret with her other self, Roxanne leaned in towards Chrom and gave him a brief kiss.
"I love you."
"And I, you."
The night falls and there was nothing to suggest Roxanne's presence in this realm, except for Chrom's unending tears. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain composed, and turned to his comrades.
"It has been a long campaign, one that is much grander than we had initially thought. You have been most loyal, and I cannot thank you enough. As Roxanne had pointed out, we had another great task ahead: rebuilding what the war has destroyed. Together, I know we can do it," he said. "I want everyone to remember that this victory is gained with so much loss. Roxanne, Khan Basilio, Say'ri… and countless others. Do not forget them. Do not forget their sacrifices. Do not forget their hopes and dreams. Instead, we must bring all those hopes, dreams and memories as we rebuild this world. So that they can live on, even if only… in memory."
The Shepherds and their allies voiced their agreements. There was no cheer of victory; there was only silence. Chrom looked over his shoulder into the empty distance.
I will find you, Roxanne, he swore inwardly. Even if that takes a lifetime, or more. I promise.
At last the long campaign came to an end... with a great cost
Next chapter would be the epilogue.
Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!
