Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 1 - Fleeting Peace

Sunlight filtered through the windows of Zelda and Lucina's flat. Zelda yawned and stretched as the gentle light woke her from her slumber. Clad in her lavender cotton nightgown and socks on her feet, she stepped out of bed and put her slippers on. She started walking toward the flat's restroom when she noticed that the door to the study was halfway open. She peered in, noticing the reading lamp was on, and walked in. Sure enough, at the reading desk was Lucina, clad in her silky blue pajamas, asleep with her head resting on her arm. Her hair was a mess and a bit of drool flowed out of her half-open mouth. Moreover, Zelda wondered how Lucina avoided catching a cold, seeing as how Lucina was barefoot.

Reaching her hand out, Zelda gently shook Lucina awake. "Oh, Sleeping Beauty..." she said in a singsong voice, in a somewhat teasing manner.

Lucina groaned as she awoke. "Nnng...Zelda...?"

Turning off the reading lamp, Zelda asked, "Were you in here all night?"

"Huh?" Lucina mumbled. After fully regaining consciousness and noticing the open book on the reading desk, she said, "Yeah, I guess I was."

Zelda paused for a moment, and asked, "Another nightmare, I take it?"

"Ah!" Lucina gasped. She was surprised that Zelda could tell so easily, as in the past, Zelda was awoken whenever Lucina had a nightmare, but Zelda did not wake up when Lucina did the night before.

"I knew it..." Zelda said. "You know, Lucy, if there's anything you want to talk to me about..."

"...I'm fine," Lucina said, standing up. "They're just bad dreams. I'm sure it's nothing."

Zelda looked concerned for a moment, but after seeing that Lucina didn't seem to be in any immediate distress, she said, "Well, I guess we'd better brush up and get ready, then."

"I guess so..." Lucina replied, as she followed Zelda to the bathroom. The two brushed their teeth and washed their faces. After they changed their clothes, Lucina looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She thought, Why can't I shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon?

"Lucina! Let's go!" Zelda called out from the hallway.

"Coming!" Lucina shouted. She followed Zelda to the hallway and the two waited for one of the elevators to come down to their floor.

Within a matter of seconds, the elevator doors opened with a ding. Shulk and Robin were the first two people Zelda and Lucina saw standing behind the elevator doors.

"Hello, ladies," Robin said.

"Zelda! Lucina! Good morning!" Shulk said, enthusiastically.

"Jovial as ever, aren't you, Shulk," Zelda teased.

"Oh, come now, Zelda!" Shulk replied, chuckling. The two princesses stepped inside the elevator before the doors closed and the elevator continued its descent.

Zelda stood close to Robin, Shulk, and Ness, who was obscured from the initial view when the doors first opened. Lucina, however, distanced herself from the others and looked down at the floor as she walked to the back of the elevator.

"So, Ness," Shulk said, "I heard your friend Lucas is coming back today."

"Yup!" Ness replied. "I hear two more fighters are coming with him."

Zelda asked Ness, "Is one of them...Roy? I heard he's finally returning as well."

"Uh-huh! There's also this guy named Ryu joining us. He calls himself a 'world warrior' or something."

"Intriguing..." Shulk pondered.

"Say, Shulk," Zelda inquired. "Have you seen Link?"

"No, not yet," Shulk replied. "I guess he's in a different elevator."

"I see..."

Lucina silently listened in on their conversation when she suddenly heard a familiar voice mutter, "Ryu, huh..."

Surprised, Lucina looked in the direction of the voice. Standing a short distance to her right was Captain Falcon. The two exchanged glances for a few moments, not saying anything, their faces expressionless.

Looking straight ahead, Lucina asked the Captain in an attempt to break the silence, "So...how are you doing?"

"...Could be better, really," Falcon replied with a sigh. "I didn't get much sleep last night..."

Lucina felt a bit of unease at that statement for a moment, but then immediately dismissed it as coincidence. "I see," she said, briefly looking at him.

"You seem concerned," Captain Falcon commented, noticing the look in Lucina's eyes. "Is there something on your mind...?"

"...No. I'm fine." Lucina said after a moment of hesitation.

Within a few seconds, the elevator doors opened once again with the familiar ding sound, having arrived at the lobby.

Walking up to Zelda and the others, Lucina inquired, "So...where to, guys?"

Robin said, "We're thinking of grabbing breakfast at the cafe, then heading to the rec room afterwards."

"Sounds good," Lucina said with a nod. She walked off with her friends, save for Shulk who was walking a bit behind. After he and the Captain stepped out of the elevator, Shulk turned around. "Is something the matter, Captain?"

"To be honest, yeah," Falcon replied. "You're a good friend of Lucina's, correct?"

"Yeah," Shulk confirmed. "Robin and I hang out with her a lot. I really admire both of their abilities, and Lucina herself reminds me of a friend I have back home. She's met her, actually." By "her", Shulk was referring to his childhood sweetheart, Fiora. The two met during an off-world quest, one in which Lucina's own father, Chrom, also came along, and even the newest Smasher, Ryu himself.

"I see," Falcon said. "I wish I could say the same in regards to my relationship with her..."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Shulk invited. "Over breakfast, of course. I'll be heading to the cafe too."

"Okay."

...

The cafe was packed with many different people, including Smashers, who would be socializing at the waiting line if not at a table. After the two grabbed their food and drinks, they sat down at a table a short distance from Lucina and her friends, who seemed to all be chatting it up.

After taking a bite of his food and swallowing, Shulk asked, "So, Captain. What's up with you and Lucina?"

Falcon took a sip of his coffee, and replied, "Before you joined the tournament, you saw the broadcast of the day I fought her and Robin to allow them entry into the tournament, right?"

"Yeah..." Shulk said.

"Well," Falcon continued, "I feel like she may be upset at me for what I did to her father..."

"You mean Chrom?" Shulk questioned.

"Yeah," Falcon answered. "I really didn't mean to hurt him, and it seemed he wanted to participate too. Probably alongside his own daughter. In the end he became Robin's teammate in his Final Smash, like how you call on your friends, Riki and...?"

"Dunban?"

"Yeah. That's his name." Pausing for a moment, Falcon continued, "I know I hurt Lucina at that time...she seemed so distraught seeing her father lying on the ground. And I just couldn't bring myself to let actual harm come to her..."

"I understand..." Shulk said, his voice sounding somewhat melancholy. It really was a lot to take in.

"So with that in mind," Falcon said, "I want to make up with her. I had a conversation with her in the elevator earlier, and while it was a bit...awkward, she didn't seem to hate me like I feared she would. But...what can I do?"

"I really don't know," Shulk answered honestly. "In my opinion, the best you can do for now is be there when she needs someone. Trust your instincts."

"My instincts, huh," Falcon murmured. Those words of advice Shulk gave were eerily similar to Snake's advice.

After they finished their breakfast, Lucina and all her friends walked to the recreational center down the street, with Captain Falcon following a short distance behind, seeing as how he felt he had nothing better to do during the day.

The recreational center was a laid-back place where Smashers could have fun when they weren't fighting. There were some arcade machines throughout, mostly of fighting and racing games, with some shooters and rhythm games mixed in. A jukebox was positioned on the wall perpendicular to the entrance, with a vending machine for soft drinks to its left. Zelda and Link were having a conversation close to the jukebox. There were also billiards and ping-pong tables. On the wall opposite the jukebox was a large screen HDTV and couch, where Lucina, Shulk, Robin and Ness were watching the latest episode of LoLo's Outlandish Trek. The episode airing was one fans had been waiting for; the epic final confrontation between Lotaro and Nio. Every once in a while excited shouts erupted from the TV corner whenever an action-packed scene showed.

"Heh," Captain Falcon murmured, seeing Lucina and her friends enjoying themselves watching the animated action show. He walked over to a pool table, removed the triangle from the pool balls, and grabbed a cue. Aiming his shot, he was about to take it when he heard a voice saying, "I guess even someone like you can take it easy once in a while."

Captain Falcon recognized that voice. "Samus..." he said, looking up at the blonde bounty huntress. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I could say the same," Samus replied. She took a cue herself and took a shot, knocking several balls into the holes. "I don't know if you heard, but with Lucas and Roy returning, along with someone new named Ryu joining us, Smash City is holding a small championship."

"Hmm..." Falcon glanced over at a man wearing a red bandana and white karate gi silently observing Mario and Luigi playing a fighting arcade game from afar. Falcon recognized that person as Ryu.

"Yeah, that's him," Samus said, noticing Falcon looking at him. "It's going to be tonight, I suggest you do your best if you want to have a chance of fighting Ryu at the end."

"Sounds like it'll be a blast..." Falcon said.

"I just wish Snake was there to see it..." Samus sighed, putting the cue away.

"I know you miss him," Falcon tried to console her. "He'll be watching, I'm sure. Just don't give up hope on him coming back, okay?"

"Of course. I'll see you there tonight."

"I look forward to it...you just give it your best."

"You too, Captain," Samus said, walking off.

Little did anyone know, after that night, nothing would be the same...

...Well. At the time of writing this author's note, I just found out that Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo, passed away. ;_; It was all too sudden. I can't even give this a thought-out ending, but I think it will suffice for plot's sake.

Anyway; I can't believe Iwata is gone. At only 55, too. He seemed healthy at E3 too ;A; Nintendo Directs will not be the same without him. I would have loved to meet him too, but...

Until then...see you on the other side, Iwata. ;-;

In Memory

December 6, 1959 - July 12, 2015