Welcome back, everyone. How have you been? I've been good.
It is once again time for another chapter. I've gotten quite far into this story, and the conclusion draws ever closer. When I get there, I hope you enjoy it. But until then, here is another normal chapter.
3 Question Marks: I'm surprised I managed to come up with a food combination that one you actually enjoyed when you were young. What are the odds? Honestly, I was just looking for a strange food combination. Though to be fair, when I was young, I enjoyed quite a few strange food combos. In fact, I still kind of do. On occasion, I like to use cream cheese as a dipping sauce for potato chips.
I'm glad you found Chrom's reaction funny. Though I know of Vegeta and Dragon Ball, I've never really watched it. Truth be told, I never really enjoyed anime at all very much. I'm not sure why. When I was writing that scene, the thought that went through my mind was that one scene from SpongeBob where he plays an April Fool's Day prank on a customer and the customer says 'YOU WHAT?' when demanding to know what SpongeBob did. I'm pretty sure that scene eventually became a meme.
Althea Sirius: To answer your first question, read on to find out. To answer your second question, I never put much thought into in aside from 'Cynthia will be an Aunt due to being Lucina's sister.' And 'Reyn will be an honorary Uncle due to being so close to Shulk.'. Will I do something with this? Maybe. Maybe not. You'll just have to wait to find out.
HartemisFTW: You're welcome. I'm glad I wasted ten minutes of your life on my stupid little joke. Alright, in all seriousness, though, it was a onetime thing. I thought about doing another stupid joke, and I sorta kinda did with chapter 13, but I don't plan on doing it again with this story. Also, don't worry, the next chapter won't take as long to get out as this one. But trust me, this isn't me at my worst. If you truly want to see me use the Dark Side of the Force, go full Sith Lord, just wait a few more chapters. *Insert Emperor Palpatine laugh here* (Oh great, you've brought out my inner Star Wars nerd. I was really hoping to keep it dormant until December. I hope you're happy.)
Well, now that that's all said and done, please sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter.
Super Smash Bros. © Nintendo/Masahiro Sakurai
*outside the Transporter Room*
*6:00 PM*
"Are you sure you want to do this, Lucina? It's only been a week since you gave birth." Shulk said.
"I am sure. While I am appreciative of everything you, Robin, and Marth have done for me over the past months, it is time that I began fighting for myself once again." Lucina responded.
The married couple were just outside the Transporter Room, with Shulk carrying their newborn son, Kirim. After Lucina had finally managed to recover from the post childbirth complications, she felt it was time to step back into the arena. However, Shulk was unsure. Not only had she not fought or even trained over the past nine months, but neither of them had gotten much sleep over the past week thanks to the baby. It had already started affecting Shulk's battle performance slightly, and now he was worried how Lucina would fare. Still, she only chalked it up to her husband being overly concerned for her. She felt she was ready to fight. So fight she would.
As Shulk and Kirim entered the Spectator Room, Lucina made her way into the Transporter Room for a fight against Meta Knight. This was to be a timed match, with three minutes on the clock. The fight would be taking place on a stage called Final Destination, one of the oldest stages in Smash Bros. history, second only to Battlefield. As the two combatants were transported to the stage, the announcer counted down to the fight.
3
2
1
GO!
Lucina made the first move. She ran over to Meta Knight and jumped above him. She then sent two individual sword swings at him while still airborne. While Meta Knight was almost knocked off the stage, he recovered and counterattacked by using his wings to fly upward in a circle and hit Lucina twice with his sword. Meta Knight landed on his feet while Lucina landed on her back. Once she got to her feet, the two combatants danced around each other for a few seconds before Lucina was hit by a sword swing. Meta Knight followed this up with a strong kick. He then swiped his sword at Lucina a few more times, sending her to the ground.
Before Lucina even had a chance to get back up, Meta Knight knocked her off the stage with another sword swing. He then jumped off the stage and hit her with another sword swing, knocking her past the point of possible recovery, resulting in Lucina's first KO. Meta Knight made it back to the stage no problem thanks to his wings.
Upon being returned to the stage, Lucina tried to attack Meta Knight, but was caught up in his infamous drill attack. Lucina quickly got to her feet, but was immediately hit with a series of sword swings from the Star Warrior, knocking her back a ways. Before Lucina could even land, Meta Knight got under her and sent a series of sword swings upward, launching Lucina even further into the air. He then followed up with another drill attack, sending Lucina to the other side of the stage.
Lucina got up and attempted to attack again, but two quick sword swings knocked her back. She attempted to jump over Meta Knight, but he intercepted the blue haired woman and knocked her slightly off stage with another sword attack. Lucina attempted to recover, but Meta Knight was waiting for her at the edge of the stage. He hit her with enough force to knock her into the stage's invisible barrier, resulting in her second KO.
Upon being brought back to the stage, Lucina attempted to land a series of sword swings at Meta Knight, but missed. Meta Knight replied by executing another drill attack, but also missed. Lucina tried to take advantage of the missed blow by performing a series of sword swings while stepping forward, but still didn't hit the masked warrior.
Meta Knight quickly swung behind him, knocking Lucina back, the two danced around each other for some time before Meta Knight got right in front of her and swiped his sword at her as hard as he could. He almost knocked her off the stage, but Lucina managed to land a counterattack, knocking Meta Knight near the center of the stage. Lucina quickly approached him and knocked him skyward with her sword. While in the air, Meta Knight performed another drill attack to get away from Lucina, but this did not work. Lucina jumped up and managed to hit Mata Knight with the tip of her sword, knocking him off the stage. However, he used his wings to get back on the stage.
Upon returning to the stage, Meta Knight knocked Lucina back with two individual sword swing attacks, before catching her up in a tornado like attack. While Lucina was knocked down from this attack, he attempted his tornado attack again, but failed to hit Lucina. As soon as she got back up, Lucina managed to land a series of sword swings on Meta Knight, using the last one to launch him upward. She attempted to land another attack on him by slashing her sword upward, but missed. Once they were both on the ground again, Lucina swiftly grabbed him and kneed him twice before throwing him forward and hitting him with her sword. Meta Knight used his wings to fly above Lucina and avoid her attacks before using his drill move to land behind her.
Upon landing, Meta Knight knocked Lucina into the air with his circular upward strike. Once she fell back on the stage, she managed to get behind Meta Knight and hit him with a powerful sword swing, and actually managed to KO him. Upon returning to the stage, Meta Knight was not amused. He unleashed a flurry of attacks on Lucina without giving her any room to counterattack. He started with a flurry of sword swings that knocked her back, then followed it up with a series of upward swings that launched Lucina upward. He next performed his signature tornado attack, striking Lucina multiple times, before topping it all off with another upward strike.
Once she landed, Lucina attempted to swing at Meta Knight but missed. The masked fighter then charged forward and grabbed Lucina. He headbutted her a few times before throwing her forward. After moving around each other for a few seconds, avoiding each other's attacks, Meta Knight managed to grab Lucina again and repeated his action from before. He headbutted her twice before throwing her. Upon throwing her, Meta Knight hit Lucina with a powerful sword swing that knocked her into the stage's invisible barrier, KO'ing blue haired woman for the third time.
Once Lucina returned to the stage, Meta Knight immediately went on the offensive. With only a minute left on the clock, Lucina knew she would have to act fast if she wanted to win. She and Meta Knight danced around each other for a few seconds until Meta Knight executed his drill attack once again. After being knocked off the stage by the attack, Lucina managed to hold onto the edge and pull herself back up, only to be immediately hit by an attack from Meta Knight. He knocked her upward with his upward loop attack and made her land flat on her back while he landed on his feet. The pair then danced around each other for several seconds, with both landing minor attacks on the other until Meta Knight landed an especially strong attack that sent Lucina flying across the stage before landing flat on her face.
Once she got back up, Lucina hit Meta Knight with a jab of her sword, sending him back a few feet. The Star Warrior responded by knocking Lucina into the air once again with his upward loop attack. Lucina landed on the ground, hard. She slowly got to her feet and ran for Meta Knight. The two combatants fought around each other for some time until Lucina sent out a sword jab right at Meta knight's mask. The attack knocked Meta Knight about halfway across the stage.
Meta Knight immediately hit Lucina with a sword swing that also knocked her about halfway across the stage. He then ran up to her and knocked her high into the air with a powerful sword jab. As she fell to the ground, Meta Knight knocked her even higher into the air with another jab attack. He then did it again as Lucina fell near him. This time, the attack was strong enough to knock Lucina into the invisible barrier surrounding the stage, and thus she was KO'd for the fourth time total.
Once she made it back to the stage, she attacked Meta Knight with all she had, but only managed to hit him once or twice. It was at this moment that the announcer began counting down to the end of the fight.
5
4
3
2
1
TIME!
"Meta Knight wins!" Cried the announcer.
Lucina was outright shocked at how badly that turned out for her. She knew she was out of practice, but she didn't think it was that bad.
"Hmph. Come back when you can put up a fight." Meta Knight said as he left the Transporter Room.
This comment left Lucina even more upset. She didn't even notice when Shulk came up to her holding Kirim until the former started talking.
"Lucina, you ok?" Shulk asked.
"No. I am not. How could I have been so weak as to perform like that in a fight? I have never performed so terribly in battle." Lucina complained.
"You're not terrible, love. Just out of practice. Give it some time, and I'm sure you'll be good as new." Shulk reassured.
"Perhaps you're right, Shulk. Perhaps I need only begin training once again."
"That's right, Lucy. But before you do that, could you maybe give me a hand with…"
"In fact, would you mind accompanying me to the Training Room for a practice spar?" Lucina asked, basically ignoring Shulk's request.
Before Shulk could give a response, Lucina began walking away in the direction of the Training Room. Shulk merely gave off a sigh as he followed her while still holding onto Kirim, who was beginning to get fussy.
Once in the Training Room, Shulk had managed to convince Chrom to hold Kirim while he and Lucina trained, though Chrom really didn't mind holding his grandson, even if he didn't like the thought that he was technically a grandfather now.
Lucina swung her sword at Shulk, but he managed to duck under it. He responded by sweeping the Monado under her feet, knocking her to the ground. She quickly got up and managed to land a few decent hits on her husband until he countered and landed a powerful one on her.
"You can't just focus on offense. Don't forget that defense is important too." Shulk reminded.
Shulk immediately followed his statement by swinging his weapon at Lucina several times. The blue haired woman managed to block several of them, but never once counterattacked, despite the numerous openings Shulk intentionally provided her. Lucina did eventually swing back, but Shulk dodged her sword with ease. Lucina then jumped up and tried to hit Shulk from above. Surprisingly, she succeeded. However, the hit wasn't quite enough to knock Shulk off his feet so she could capitalize on her blow.
"Not bad, but you need to put a little more force behind your swings if you want them to be effective." Shulk stated.
Lucina did just that, but a little too well. She swung her sword as hard as she possibly could, but she lacked a proper grip on its handle as a result, Falchion flew out of her hands and slid across the floor. Lucina sighed with embarrassment as she went to reclaim her weapon.
"Okay, that grip of yours needs a bit of work." Shulk said.
Before Lucina was able to respond, Chrom came up to the two with Kirim crying in his arms.
"Hey guys, I think Kirim needs something. He's been crying and squirming for a few minutes now. I'm surprised you didn't hear him." Chrom said.
"It is getting to be rather late. Maybe he's tired." Shulk suggested as he took his son from Chrom's arms.
"Yes. I think we could all do with a night's rest. Let us retire for the evening. I believe a peaceful rest will do us all some good." Lucina said.
As it turned out, no one would be getting a peaceful rest that evening. Before even two hours had passed, Shulk and Lucina were awoken by Kirim crying right next to them.
"Uuuuhhhh. What does he want now?" Shulk asked groggily.
"I'm not sure. But I'll find out." Lucina said just as groggily.
With that, the blue haired mother slowly got out of bed and went over to her son's crib. She gently picked him up and tried to figure out what was wrong with him.
"What's wrong? Are you hungry?"
Lucina attempted to grab a spoonful of baby food and force it into Kirim's mouth, but the baby refused to allow the utensil to enter his mouth and continued crying.
"Come on, please eat. It's what you want. I know it." Lucina pleaded.
In response, Kirim simply smacked the spoon away and began crying louder. Shulk and Lucina were both glad that the walls were soundproof. They didn't want to deal with the complaints of their hallmates.
"Perhaps you're not hungry. Is it that you are in need of a fresh diaper?"
Lucina then turned her baby upside down in order to determine by smell if a new diaper was needed. It wasn't, but being upside down made blood rush to Kirim's head, making him uncomfortable and cry even more.
"Lucina! Turn him around! He doesn't like being upside down! Listen to him!" Shulk shouted.
Lucina quickly turned her baby right side up, while mentally slapping herself for doing such a thing. How could she be so careless as to hold her baby in such a poor position? Of course it would make him uncomfortable. Anyone would be uncomfortable being held upside down like that. She pushed these thoughts back for the time being and went back to thinking about what was wrong. She racked her brain thinking about what to do, until a thought came to her. Maybe he had gas. She proceeded to pat hi back, but did so a bit too hard, causing him to cry even more. Shulk was about to tell her to stop, but then Kirim stopped crying for a second. He had a pained expression on his face. Then Kirim proceeded to vomit all over Lucina's favorite nightgown. Once he was done, his crying softened and he swiftly went back to sleep. Lucina was exasperated. While her son had finally quieted down, she was still awoken in the middle of the night, and now, her favorite nightgown was ruined. After putting Kirim back in his crib and changing into another nightgown, she got back into bed.
"Lucina are you…" Shulk started.
"Let's just sleep." Lucina said, too tired to say anything else.
Unfortunately, that wound up not happening. By the time morning came around, the pair were awoken three more times over the course of the night by their son. In other words, they barely got any sleep last night. But their troubles didn't stop there. Come breakfast, they were both trying to feed their son, but he wasn't having it. No matter what they tried, Kirim simply wouldn't let the food in his mouth.
"Come on, now. You gotta eat, kid. It's good for you." Shulk pleaded as he tried to get his son to open his mouth.
But Kirim still tried to inch away from the spoon, despite his high chair keeping him in place. No matter what Shulk tried, nothing worked. Even when he did manage to get a little bit of the food in Kirim's mouth, the baby just spit it back out. Shulk was starting to get agitated, trying to think of how to get his son to eat. Soon after, Lucina came up to them.
"Allow me to try." She offered.
"If you thing you can get him to eat, go for it." Shulk said as he passed the baby's spoon to his wife.
Lucina took the spoon and attempted to force it into her son's mouth, but to the same degree of effectiveness as Shulk before her.
"Come on! You must eat! It is the only way you can become stronger!" Lucina yelled.
She finally managed to push the spoon into Kirim's mouth and did not remove it.
"I will not relent until you have swallowed what is on the spoon!" Lucina declared.
But this action, combined with the angry yelling, only served to make Kirim start crying. When his mouth was wide open, Lucina tried to put another spoonful in his mouth, but the baby only angrily knocked the spoon to the ground. He then stuck his little fist into the baby food and threw the mashed-up gunk all over Shulk and Lucina. With their faces covered in baby food, Kirim stopped crying and instead started laughing at the annoyed, mush covered expressions of his parents.
"*Sigh* Battling Zanza was a breeze compared to this." Shulk stated.
Later that day, after finally getting Kirim to eat before putting him down for a nap, Shulk and Lucina returned to the Training Room to work more on the latter's rusty fighting skills. Chrom stood off to the side to observe his future daughter's progress and offer pointers whenever he could. However, Lucina seemed to be doing even worse than before. She felt like that was because she was spending more time caring for Kirim than she was practicing her fighting. Nevertheless, she pushed on.
Lucina sent a series of sword swings and jabs at Shulk, but he managed to dance just out of reach of each attack. Lucina followed it up with a downward strike, intending to knock Shulk off his feet. But again, Shulk avoided the attack. Shulk then went on the offensive and swung the Monado at Lucina several times. She dodged most of them, but the last one caught her off guard, sending her falling to the floor.
"Come on, focus Lucina. You'll never get back to where you were if you don't focus!" Shulk stated.
Lucina quickly got to her feet and ran toward Shulk. Once she was right in front of him, she immediately got into a parry position, expecting Shulk to attack her. But to her surprise, he didn't. That is, until she dropped her parry position and got into a more relaxed position. At that moment, a powerful swing of the Monado was sent toward Lucina, knocking her back once again.
Lucina then ran forward and ducked under another of Shulk's attacks. With his back facing her, Lucina landed an attack on Shulk's back. This managed to make Shulk fall on one knee, but not to the ground like she wanted. Shulk swiftly got to his feet and attacked Lucina again. She dodged the attack and again got ready to parry, but once again, Shulk did not attack until she dropped her stance, sending her to the floor for the third time total. It was at this point that Chrom stepped forward.
"You must always be ready, Lucina. Do not wait for your opponent to attack you. You must strike first." Chrom said.
"I…I cannot. It is too much. I am too out of practice. I believe I have spent too much time caring for Kirim than practicing my swordplay." Lucina admitted.
"Well, you need to find a way to strike a balance between the two. Do you think you can do that?" Shulk asked.
"Shulk's right, Lucina. Can you be ready to fight at a moment's notice while also comforting your child?" Chrom asked.
"Can you be prepared to protect your kid with your life if need be?"
"Can you be willing to drop everything for the sake of your son?"
"Can you find a way to do multiple tasks at once like hold Kirim and swing a sword against your opponent if you must?"
"Can you…?"
"Can you…?"
"Can you…?"
The never-ending questions coming from her father and husband did nothing but put more pressure on poor Lucina. She started trembling as the weight of her stress began to crush her. She felt like one more question would cause her to snap.
"Lucina, are you alright?" Shulk asked.
"NO! I am not! It is too much for me! I feel crushed by all this weight and responsibility! I do not understand how you both could ask so much of me! How could you expect me to do so much? I feel like I am unable to keep up with it all, so how can you keep doing this to me?" Lucina snapped.
Without waiting for a reply, Lucina stormed out of the Training Room and headed for her bedroom, leaving a confused and concerned Shulk and Chrom behind.
All the stress of trying to get back into the Tournament fights while simultaneously raising a child was proving too much for Lucina. As soon as she returned to her room, she threw herself on her bed and gave off a loud sigh.
"What am I even doing? Why can I no longer do the simplest of things? Why am I such a failure at this?" Lucina asked herself.
Ever since she gave birth, she had been trying her absolute hardest to be a good mother, but it didn't seem to be working out. And now that she was fighting again, it only added to her stress. She wondered if she would ever be able to get past this. She felt like she wouldn't.
At that moment, Lucina heard a crying coming from next to her. Kirim had woken from his nap and clearly wanted something. With another sigh, Lucina pushed herself off the bed and went over to her baby.
"I take it you would like something. I only wonder what that 'something' might be. Well, let us go find your father. He might know better than I what you want." Lucina said to her crying son.
With that, Lucina gently picked Kirim up and turned to the door. But to her surprise, as soon as she started holding him, his crying softened. This caused Lucina to stare down at Kirim, who's watery eyes stared at her own. The blue haired mother then sat down on the bed and continued to stare at her son. She absentmindedly began rocking her arms, which seemed to calm the baby down further. Eventually, Kirim snuggled into Lucina's embrace and fell back asleep. Lucina was unable to help but give a small smile at the sight. She gently lifted Kirim up and gave him a small kiss on his forehead. She was glad that he simply wanted comfort this time. It was so simple, she wondered how she didn't know how she didn't pick up on it immediately. It was right then Lucina was struck with an interesting thought.
"Am I trying much too hard? Is this whole thing simpler than I have made it out to be?" Lucina whispered to her sleeping son. "I always knew taking care of you would be no easy feat, but perhaps I can make it a little easier. I will find a way to make this better for the both of us. I swear to you that I will do all I can to be the mother you deserve. Shulk and I will be nothing less than the finest parents for you, dear Kirim. I swear it. I love you."
The next day, Shulk found Lucina once again in the Training Room, working on her swordsmanship. He sighed, as he was concerned she was overtasking herself again. He didn't want a repeat of her outburst from yesterday. He approached her and prepared to tell her to slow down. But to his surprise, before he could even reach her, Lucina looked over at a clock on the wall, sheathed her sword, and approached the exit. Once she saw him, she smiled at her husband.
"Hello, Shulk. I was just finishing my training regimen. Now I believe I will check on Kirim. I believe now is about the time that he awakens from his nap." Lucina said.
"Alright then. I must admit, I'm impressed you managed to stop training on your own." Shulk stated.
"Yes, I can understand why you would think that, but recently, I came to a conclusion that made me rethink my position."
"Oh really? And what's that?"
"I cannot try too hard at this. If I try too hard, it will only affect me negatively in the long run. It has before. So from now on, I will only try as hard as I absolutely must."
"Good on you for figuring that out. I'm proud of you, love."
As the married couple talked, they walked out of the Training Room and headed toward their bedroom. When they made it there, they slowly opened the door and saw that their son was still sleeping in his crib. Shulk quietly went over to it and gently picked up his son. Kirim awoke at his father's contact and began to slightly fuss at being woken up, but he quickly calmed down.
"Hey there, little guy. Have a good nap?" Shulk asked.
Kirim merely cooed in response, causing both Shulk and Lucina to smile. Lucina then took her son from Shulk's arms and held him close. Kirim continued to coo and babble as his mother held him. Lucina then took a sniff and smelled something bad. She knew what that meant.
"I believe you are in need of a new diaper. Come, let us get you changed."
With that, Lucina brought her son over to a small changing table the couple had set up in their bedroom and removed Kirim's dirty diaper and handed it to Shulk, who promptly threw it into a nearby garbage can. Lucina then grabbed a fresh diaper and put it on Kirim. Once that was done, Lucina picked her baby up and gave him a warm hug. This in turn caused Kirim to squeal happily.
"My dear son. How I adore you. May you always be happy and loved." Lucina whispered.
Shulk then put one of his arms around his wife's shoulder and the other one around his son. As he held his family close, he thought of nothing but how happy he was with what he had been given.
The next day, at breakfast, Lucina was unsuccessfully trying to get Kirim to eat again. No matter what she tried, she was unable to get the tiny spoon filled with baby food into Kirim's mouth.
"Come on. You must eat. It's good for you." Lucina pleaded.
In response, Kirim just knocked the spoon away from her. Lucina just sighed in response until Shulk came up next to her.
"Let me give it a go." The Monado wielder said.
Without a word, Lucina handed the baby spoon to Shulk, who held it in front of Kirim's mouth.
"C'mon kiddo, open up so the Flamii can get to his nest." Shulk said.
The blonde then made some silly noises while slowly bringing the spoon toward Kirim's mouth. Lucina thought Shulk was being rather odd. But much to her surprise, Kirim giggled and opened his mouth, allowing Shulk to put the food in his mouth. Shulk repeated the process and again got a spoonful of food into the previously uncooperative baby's mouth.
"How did you manage to do that? Also, what is a Flamii?" Lucina asked.
"It's a bird like creature from my home. Also, I was trying a technique I once saw a woman try on her kid back on Bionis. Works like a charm." Shulk answered.
As he spoke, he put another spoonful of baby food in Kirim's mouth. He was about to do it again, but Lucina stopped him.
"Wait, do you think I might give it a try?" Lucina asked.
"Go for it." Shulk said.
The blonde handed the small spoon to his wife and she began speaking to the baby.
"Alright, the Pegasus needs a place to land, so open up."
Lucina then made a bunch of makeshift horse-like noises as she slowly brought the spoon toward Kirim. Like Shulk before her, Kirim opened her mouth and allowed the food to enter. Lucina found that she was actually enjoying this process, and continued it until there was no more food for Kirim to eat.
"Very good, Kirim. You finished it all." Lucina praised.
"Good on ya, kiddo." Shulk added.
Kirim was happy to have both his parents shower him with praise. Even though he didn't know what they were saying or why they were so happy with him. But it made him happy, nonetheless.
Later that day, Shulk and Lucina returned to the Training Room so the latter could continue improving since her absence from the tournament. Chrom sat nearby, holding Kirim as the pair watched Shulk and Lucina train.
Lucina sent a sword swing at Shulk, but he dodged. He then responded with a floor bound swing with the Monado, but Lucina jumped up and avoided it. Shulk then sent several sword swings at his wife, but she managed to avoid them all. Eventually she saw an opening, and she took it. She parried Shulk's sword swing and countered, sending him to the ground.
"Not bad, Lucina, let's see if you can do it again." Shulk said as he got back up to his feet.
Lucina quickly jabbed her sword forward and struck Shulk, sending him backwards. However, Shulk quickly rose and went on the offensive. He activated his Jump Art and leapt behind Lucina. However, Lucina anticipated this and ran to where Shulk was landing. As soon as Shulk landed, Lucina swung her sword at him multiple times, but he managed to dodge. A powerful swing of the Monado sent Lucina to the ground, but she was quickly on her feet again.
"Not bad. You're back up much more quickly than before." Shulk commented.
"Thank you. Now then, let us continue!" Lucina yelled.
Lucina lunged at Shulk, who managed to dodge all her sword swings, but just barely. Eventually, Shulk countered one of her moves and used the Monado to launch her into the air. However, she landed on her feet and continued the fight. A series of sword swings was sent to Shulk, but he managed to avoid them all. All but the last one. The last one sent him sliding several feet backwards, but still on his feet. Shulk then charged forward and exchanged several sword swings with Lucina. Eventually Lucina saw another opening and took it. After parrying one of Shulk's attacks, she grabbed him by the shirt and kneed him in the stomach several times. After that, she sent her husband to the ground with a powerful sword swing.
"Good job, Lucina. Y'know, I think you're ready to get back into the real fights." Shulk said as he rose to his feet.
"Really? You think so?" Lucina asked.
"Yeah, I do. When is your next fight, anyway?"
"Not until tomorrow. However, I do not wish to wait. Perhaps I will see if anyone is willing to battle right now."
Right as Lucina finished speaking, Meta Knight entered the Training Room and walked over to a sandbag. Lucina then approached him.
"Meta Knight! I wish to challenge you to a rematch! I might have done poorly in our last battle, but now I am ready." Lucina said confidently.
"Hmph. You say that, but can you truly back it up? We will see. I accept your challenge. When shall we duel?" Meta Knight asked.
"Shall we spar right now? I am ready." Lucina answered.
"Very well." Meta Knight responded.
With that, Meta Knight and Lucina made their way toward the Transporter Room, with Shulk and Kirim following behind. As Meta Knight and Lucina stepped into the Transporter Room, Shulk and Kirim entered the Spectator Room to watch. On the way, the two combatants decided to hold their match on the Battlefield stage, just like last time. However, unlike last time, this would be a stock match, with both fighters starting with 2 stocks. As they were teleported to the stage, the announcer began counting down to the fight.
3
2
1
GO!
This time around, Meta Knight made the first move, performing his tornado attack and striking Lucina numerous times. But after breaking out of the attack, she swung her sword as hard as she could and knocked Meta Knight back. After that, the combatants danced around each other for about two second before Lucina landed another attack. After recovering from this attack, Meta Knight activated his drill move. Despite her best attempts to dodge it, Lucina was caught up in it. After the attack ended, Meta Knight swung his sword upward, sending Lucina into the air.
Upon landing, Meta Knight landed another attack and almost hit Lucina off the stage, but she managed to stop herself from falling off. Meta Knight went after her, intending to knock her off the stage for real, but she dodged his attack and the masked warrior fell off the stage instead. However, he quickly recovered thanks to his wings. As he was airborne, Lucina jumped up and attempted to strike him, but Meta Knight performed a drill attack and struck her multiple times.
Once both fighters returned to the stage, they danced around each other for several seconds, both landing small attacks on each other. Meta Knight executed another tornado attack, knocking Lucina off the stage, but she managed to save herself by holding onto the edge. Once she pulled herself up, she swiftly attacked Meta Knight, knocking him back a ways. Another jab of the sword sent the Star Warrior back even more. He was knocked off the stage, but managed to recover. He and Lucina danced around each other, each trying to land a powerful attack on the other. Ultimately, Meta Knight was successful in this. He jabbed his spiked sword upward, launching Lucina skyward. Just as she fell to the ground, Meta Knight swung his sword as hard as he could, launching Lucina and almost knocking her out. However, she managed to make her way back to the stage. Both tried to attack each other for several seconds, to no avail. However, this changed when Lucina sent a powerful sword swing downward, throwing Meta Knight back a distance.
Once Meta Knight returned to the stage, he was on the very edge. Both combatants tried to hit the other with enough force to knock them off the stage so they could not recover. When this tactic bore no fruit, Meta Knight sidestepped around Lucina and brought himself closer to the center of the stage. However, this turned out to be a mistake. Lucina immediately swung her sword at Meta Knight's back. The force of this blow was enough to knock Meta Knight into the stage's invisible barrier, resulting in the fight's first KO.
Once he was returned to the stage, Meta Knight immediately attempted to perform his drill attack on Lucina, but she managed to jump over it and strike the masked man from above. Meta Knight responded by swinging his sword three times, launching Lucina on the third one. Lucina was thrown off the stage, but managed to recover and get back on the stage. After that, Lucina and Meta danced around each other for several seconds once again. This little exchange ended when Meta Knight managed to catch Lucina up in one of his tornado attacks. He then followed this up with an exceptionally powerful sword swing, which resulted in Lucina's first KO.
Once she made her way back to the stage, she and Meta Knight went about trying to attack each other. Lucina managed to land one attack by jumping upward and striking Meta Knight from above. Meta Knight then tried the same tactic and achieved the same results. After that, the pair continued to attack each other to no avail. That is, until Meta Knight executed his tornado attack on the princess of Ylisse, hitting her multiple times. Once she broke out of this combo attack, she sidestepped behind Meta Knight and swung her sword at him, knocking him back. Once he got up, he flew into the air in an attempt to avoid Lucina for a little bit. Lucina jumped up several times in an attempt to strike Meta Knight, but to no avail. While still airborne, Meta Knight activated his tornado spin move, hoping to catch Lucina in it. While Meta Knight was spinning, Lucina once again jumped up and performed an upward slash with her sword. Both attacks collided with each other, knocking both combatants away just a little bit.
Once they were both back on solid ground, both ran and attacked each other, but neither landed a worthwhile blow until Meta Knight managed to catch Lucina in a flurry of sword swings. Lucina eventually managed to get out of this combo attack and knock Meta Knight back with a powerful jab from her sword. After that, the pair once again danced around each other for some time. Lucina ultimately made the next move, hitting Meta Knight with a powerful sword swing that almost KO'd him. But, he still survived the attack and got back to the stage, only for Lucina to repeat her attack to the same effect.
Upon returning to the stage the second time, Meta Knight ducked under many of Lucina's attacks by grabbing the edge of the stage or by floating just under the edge with his wings. Eventually, he did get back onto the stage and attempted to attack Lucina, but to no avail. Lucina attempted to attack him numerous times, but to no avail, as Meta Knight kept sidestepping around her. However, she finally got lucky and landed a powerful sword swing at Meta Knight. This attack was strong enough to launch Meta Knight into the stage's invisible barrier, KO'ing him, and ending the match.
"GAME!" The announcer called.
"Lucina wins!"
Lucina exited the Transporter Room with a smile on her face. She was happy to finally be back in fighting form and competing in the tournament at full strength once again. As she left the Transporter Room, she was instantly greeted by her husband and child.
"Well done, Lucy! I knew you could do it!" Shulk said proudly as he embraced his wife.
"Thank you, Shulk. It feels good to once again be competing in this tournament. And I look forward to doing it while spending time as a caring wife and mother." Lucina responded.
Right then, Kirim began squirming in Shulk's grasp and reaching his tiny arms out toward his mother. Lucina smiled and took her son from Shulk. Kirim instantly calmed down and cooed at his mom. Lucina's smile widened and she held her child tightly. Just then, Meta Knight also exited the Transporter Room.
"Well done, Lucina. You have improved much since we last fought. I look forward to the day we may fight once again. That will be a good day, indeed." Meta Knight said before leaving to go about his own business.
"So what should we do now?" Shulk asked.
"Now, I believe it would be a good time to put Kirim down for a nap. He is looking quite tired." Lucina answered.
On cue, Kirim gave off a cute little yawn and his eyes began to close. Within moments, he was sound asleep in his mother's embrace. The loving parents then began walking toward their bedroom to put their baby in his crib for a nice nap.
It's always the chapters I'm least excited about that are either the shortest or I procrastinate most on. In this case, both.
I'm sorry this took so long, truly I am. I'm also sorry this was a weak chapter. Truth be told, even I'm somewhat disappointed in it. I had the basic concept down a long time ago. I had always planned for there to be a chapter showing the difficulty of being a parent, especially when fighting a tournament like Smash at the same time. But when it came to stretching that out over a chapter, I did kind of lackluster, at best. Still, please do not leave unnecessary negativity or hatred in my story. I don't want that. Nobody wants that.
Rest assured that I have much more confidence in the next chapter. That means it will be longer than this one and will be out quicker than this one. And after that…oh boy, I can't wait to get there.
But we'll get there when we get there. Until then…
Next time: Our happy couple will be celebrating certain holidays with their child.
That will be out soon. Until then, stay tuned, we're almost done.