Author's Note: In case you missed it, the events of Fire Emblem: Awakening have not all come to pass (for reference this is before the events of Chapter 12 and beyond).

"...Where am I supposed to go, Master Hand? Master Hand?" Apparently he hadn't followed. Wonderful. Mere seconds after entering her new home, Lucina was already directionless.

Fortunately, someone seemed to have noticed her predicament. "Ah, hello there! A newcomer, I presume?" A young man with an unfamiliar red uniform and a matching cap strode over to her. There was a slight accent to his voice, but Lucina couldn't tell what it was. He extended a gloved hand. "My name's Mario."

"Lucina." They shook hands.

"If you would please follow me, I'll show you inside. They'll tell you where your room is."

"Well, some direction is better than no direction." While she normally would be suspicious, she suspected Master Hand would not approve of fighting outside the arena. The princess followed Mario inside to the mansion's foyer, where two women were sitting at a table. One of them, with blonde hair and in a pink dress, was looking rather bored. The other, in a purple-and-white outfit adorned with golden highlights, was talking to a man with blonde hair in a plain green tunic and a strange, pointed hat of the same color. He didn't look much older than Lucina herself. If not for the shield and sword slung on his back, she would have questioned why he was here.

The one in pink perked up as they approached. "Oh, do we finally have some newcomers? Thanks, Mario, I'll take it from here." She turned to Lucina. "Hello, I'm Princess Peach. You can just call me Peach."

She turned to her companions, her hands on her hips. "Come on, now, really? You two can't break it up long enough to say hello?" With another disapproving sigh she turned back to the cerulean swordswoman. "I'm terribly sorry about them. She - " Peach gestured " - is Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and the one in green is the Hero of Hyrule, Link."

"Hello." Zelda waved at Lucina. "It's an honor to meet you." Link, meanwhile, nodded in greeting and stepped forward to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you two. My name's Lucina."

"Oh come on, there has more to it than that!" Peach gave an exaggerated sigh. "How are we supposed to know who you are without any sort of title?" She scolded.

The joke was lost to Lucina. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!" She raised her hands defensively and took a step back. Peach started laughing, much to the former's confusion. Zelda frowned in disapproval, but said nothing while Link promptly facepalmed.

"Peach, I thought that having to work this job three times would have taught you that we come from different cultures," a new voice said from main hall. A tall, extremely well-built man with blue hair, a headband, a half-suit of armor similar to Chrom's but with a red cape, and a large, gold-tinted, black-hilted sword hoisted on one shoulder strode into the light of the foyer. Lucina's eyes widened as she recognized Ragnell from the books she had read as a child.

"Zelda, Link, Peach," he nodded at each of them in turn.

"W-Wait...you're...the Radiant Hero...?! I-It's an honor to meet you in person, milord!" Lucina hastily bowed as Ike turned to her.

"Please, just call me Ike. You must be Princess Lucina." He held out his hand.

"Ooh, another fighting royal heiress?" Ike scowled in irritation at Peach's interruption, but did not reply. Lucina timidly returned the handshake and affirmed the Radiant Hero's guess with a nod. She hadn't expected him to be so...down-to-earth looking, or humble. Then again, those qualities of heroes were usually overlooked in the old myths; she'd heard more about Marth's true nature from her parents than stories.

"Ike, there you are! I was beginning to fear you hadn't returned!"

"Marth, good to see you again too!" Ike shook hands with the Hero-King, who was now studying Lucina with interest.

"Who is this?"

Lucina met Marth's gaze and involuntarily shuddered. There was a piercing quality to his gaze, so fierce that one brief moment of eye contact would be enough for him to probe at the darkest depths of his victim's mind...

"Dammit, what are you doing?" She scolded herself for being so easily distracted. But there was just something to his gaze...it reminded her so much of Chrom...but then again, he was her ancestor, so it made sense for him to be similar in such ways...

Fortunately for her, Ike, caught on to the fact that she was rather preoccupied before his friend. "This is Princess Lucina, one of the newcomers from our universe," he said on her behalf. She took her cue to bow in greeting.

"Are you alright, Lucina?"

"I'm fine, milord," she replied. "J-Just...honored to be in your presence!"

The Hero-King chuckled. "Just call me Marth. It makes things a lot less complicated." He glanced at Peach, who was tapping her foot. "Er...perhaps we should let Peach do her job, then, Ike?"

The latter grunted in agreement. "Nice to meet you, Lucina. Would you be open to joining us in the lounge later tonight? I would very much like to hear your story."

"Oh, erm...okay. Bye...?" She waved awkwardly. Ike gave her a smile and headed back from where he had come, deeper within the mansion.

"Probably going to eat," Marth groaned. "Anyway, I, too, would be intrigued to learn more about you, Lucina, I do hope you'll accept our invitation."

"O-of course, Marth."

"Very well, I shall see you then. Farewell for the present, Lucina." He strode out the front door into the sunlight.

Peach giggled. "We need to work on your social skills, Lucina. Anyway, I've registered you, so if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your room."

"Alright." Lucina's mind was still hazy from the past few minutes. She had not only met both legendary heroes in person, but been referred to as an equal. And Ike had said he was interested in hearing her story...she wasn't that extraordinary, was she? All Lucina had done her entire life was fight a losing guerrilla war against Grima's Risen, and taken the only option left when that war was lost.

"Here we are," Peach stopped in front of a door. "Go on in, if you need help unpacking, just ask."

"I think I can manage, thank you, Peach." Lucina opened the door and examined it with a frown.

"Is something wrong?"

"There's no lock on this door. Not one that I see a means to control, at least."

"Oh, Master Hand controls them so he can enforce curfew. Don't worry, nobody except either him or Crazy Hand has the ability to control them," Peach added, sensing Lucina's apprehension at living in a room without a controllable lock.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Come on, Master Hand's not that strict about the rules," Peach replied, thinking that the lack of freedom was what was bothering her.

"It's not that. What if someone breaks in?"

"Oh, that's not an issue," Peach gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "The only people besides us Smashers in this world are the people who live in town, and they're all nice people. They wouldn't bother taking stuff when they can make a lot more money off franchising."

"Erm...what?"

"You'll see. Anyway, I'm sure many of the veterans are eager to meet you, since other newcomers haven't shown up yet. If you'd like, I can introduce you to them."

"Oh...well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." Not like she had anything else to be doing at the moment. All this free time was a bit of a new thing for her; almost every moment prior to her return to the past had been either fighting off Risen or scavenging for supplies. "Is it alright if you give me some time to settle?"

"Oh, no problem! I'll be back in an hour and you can meet them at lunch, is that okay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Peach." Lucina hauled her rucksack inside and flopped down on the bed with a sigh, rubbing temples.

"Ooh...I think I'm getting a headache from all of this...it's all happening so fast."

"So what do you make of this place?" Rock asked his brother as they shut the door to their room behind them. Both androids waited for their videoreceptors to adjust to the glare of the late afternoon sun before moving.

"I can only hope the inhabitants make up for its appearance," Elec Man said with a disdainful sniff.

"Oh come off of it, just because the architecture isn't as modern as in our world doesn't mean it's ugly. I think it looks quite nice."

There was a pause. "Where do you reckon the others are? Mario told me we were one of the last to arrive."

"Who knows? There's no figuring out the people here."

"As prejudiced as that sounds, I have to agree to an extent. They're different from those in our world, thankfully for the better. Why don't we try the cafeteria? Food usually brings everyone together."

"Rock, it's not dinnertime."

"Well, it's open right now, so apparently there are people who still eat now or are eating early."

Another pause before Elec Man switched tacks. "You do remember Mario saying that the rooms don't lock, right?"

"I trust Rush and Tango are going to remember to keep their activities confined to the room. It's not like it's a small, either, so they should have space to romp around."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, they found Mario, Dr. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Rosalina sitting around a table.

"Hi there! Wanna join us for tea?" Peach called to them.

"Oh, sure, why not? Coming, Elec Man?"

"No thank you, I have other business I would rather be attending to than fraternizing with simple humans," the electric robot said with a disdainful sniff. He turned heel and left while Rock walked over and pulled up a seat. Mario gave him a polite nod of greeting.

"Sorry about Elec Man's behavior, he's usually not like this," Rock said apologetically as he sat down. "I guess it's because he's only an assist trophy."

"Oh, no worries, if that's the case I'm sure he'll get over it," Peach said dismissively as she poured him a cup of tea.

"So, you are a newcomer, I presume? What is your name?" Rosalina asked, the Luma in her lap studying Rock with interest.

"Come on, Rosalina, surely you've heard about this newcomer! He was the most requested, after all!" Peach chimed in.

"Of the many details you have told me about the world of Smash before I arrived here, Princess Peach, that was not one of them," Rosalina replied.

"Well, he's to his world what I am to ours," Mario explained.

"Ah...brother, that doesn't help," Luigi said.

"Um...anyway, I'm Mega Man," Rock cut in before the Mario cast's argument proceeded any further.

"Oh! I expected you to be...a little less ordinary-looking. I am Rosalina - "

"Mother of the Lumas, keeper of the Comet Observatory?" Rock inquired, to general astonishment. He then named each of them and their achievements.

"Um...how did you know all of that?" Luigi inquired.

Mario, on the other hand, made a noise of comprehension. "Been putting your remote access to the archives to use, have you?"

"When you only need to see things once to commit it to memory, knowledge doesn't hurt. Back to your point, Rosalina, a hero needs an alternate identity sometimes. You never know when it might come in handy."

"Wow!" Luigi exclaimed. "Must be a lot easier to fight off evil with all those fancy powers of yours."

"Um...thank you...?"

"Luigi, show a little respect!" Peach scolded. Turning to Rock, she continued, "Sounds like you should talk to Lucina or Zelda."

"Sorry, who?"

"Lucina's another newcomer, and Zelda was the other one at the registration table when I brought you in earlier," Mario explained.

"Huh. That's unlike me, to forget someone's name," Rock mused.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Luigi told him. "All of this must be a bit of a shock."

"Anyway, I think both Zelda and Lucina could sympathize with your point of view," Peach continued. "But, personally, I don't think I could put up a facade like that."

"Not that you would need to, all you do is let yourself get kidnapped and wait for your friends to save you," Morton Koopa jeered as he and two of his siblings scuttled past with a bag from the kitchen.

Mario stood suddenly, his face ablaze with anger. "Say that again, I dare you."

As their Clown Cars were still being assembled by their father, there wasn't much more the Koopalings could do but make faces at the group before leaving.

"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to invite villains here, again?" Rock grumbled as their laughter faded down the hall.

"Master Hand thinks it adds diversity to the roster. At the very least, there's more than one of them, so they can just mingle among themselves and leave the rest of us alone," Mario explained with a sigh.

"...Well, he's in charge here, so I guess we don't have a choice but to go along with that. Anyway, Peach, do you mind explaining why you think Zelda and Lucina would sympathize with me?"

"If you don't mind being here for a bit, sure. The stories are kinda long. Oh, and before I start, I have ask you one more thing as a general rule."

"What's that?"

"Don't reveal any talk about newcomers that you heard in front of them, okay? Master Hand has...an advance copy of the script, so to speak, in some cases."

"As in...he can predict the future?"

"Well, given that he can travel between dimensions at will, and he controls literally everything about this world if he's inclined to, it's more likely he's seen rather than truly forecasted anything, but, I guess that's predicting in a way since nobody else has that ability."

"Wow, why don't we have more people like him in positions of power?" Rock grumbled. "Would save me a lot of trouble, and who knows how many others."

Mario chuckled. "With you there."

Rock assumed a more relaxed pose in his chair. "Anyway, go ahead, Peach. Might as well get a leg up on knowing more about everyone here than just a name and title."

Courtyard, Smash Mansion

"Met any of the newcomers yet besides Lucina?" Ike asked as he caught up with Marth a few hours later. The latter was examining the throng of Smashers gathering in the center of the courtyard from a bench. "I heard our universe is getting one more besides her."

"I have not, nor have I see any newcomers beside her at all. It seems they are all taking time to get accustomed to this place. I'll admit, I can sympathize."

Ike chuckled and sat down. "Me too. It was quite a culture shock for me. Plus, there's more veterans and people here overall, which just makes things more difficult. The only newcomer I've met so far is some Pokemon called Greninja, but you know how they are, they always hang out with their own kind. I went over to ask Charizard where Ivysaur and Squirtle were and he was with them."

"Hm, that is a good question, though. Where are those two?"

"Apparently they are not returning, so Charizard is an individual fighter now rather than part of a team."

"That should keep things interesting for sure," Marth mused. He waved to Zelda and Link as they passed.

"Speaking of newcomers, what do you make of Lucina?"

"Well, all I know at the moment besides what we've seen in the archives is that she's really awkward."

Ike raised an eyebrow. "It's not like you to be so blunt about people. I think it's the result of the fact that we're legends in her time. She probably grew up hearing stories about us and our deeds. I'd also imagine that the fact she took your name and appearance might have made it worse."

"Really? I would have taken it as a compliment."

The Radiant Hero laughed. "Marth, when has history ever depicted us accurately? Every detail of our adventures will be twisted and exaggerated with the generations. It's only a matter of how many."

"That's not entirely rue. I know the stories will get a few things right about you for eternity: you fight for your friends and your enemies should expect so little sympathy from you that you need to warn them."

Ike's laughter darkened to a scowl. "Very funny."

"There's perks to learning two languages. They can't do anything but mock my Japanese."

"I'm going to get some food." Ike stood.

"Again? Do you ever stop eating?"

"No, and I've got the strength to show for not starving myself." Ike brandished one of his arms, noticeably thicker than Marth's.

"Hey, it takes strength to wield Falchion, too," Marth protested, but the Radiant Hero was already walking away with a smirk. Marth groaned and, deciding it would be a good time check if any newcomers had gotten settled yet, headed towards the crowd.

From the corner of the courtyard, Lucina watched the two Fire Emblem heroes go their separate ways, still unsure of whether this was not some strange dream. After all, how could her skills possibly compare to those of the two greatest legends of all time?

"Marth, fancy meeting you here." Lucina jumped at the sound of the familiar voice.

"C-Chrom. Robin."

"Are you alright?"

"You do not need to worry about me. I should have figured your performance in the arena would be enough to grant you entry."

"Actually, I am here at Robin's request. He was the lucky one. And there are better ways to get to know these people than hanging out in the shadows."

"Chrom, was that really necessary? Being Exalt does not mean you should just force your opinions on other people," Robin interjected, and Lucina's respect for the tactician went up a notch. "That's when a monarch becomes a dictator."

He merely shrugged. "Alright, take it easy, Robin. I'm just trying to offer some advice. And I've already told you not to refer to me as 'Exalt'. Good day to you, Marth." The pair walked off, Robin turning and raising a hand in farewell while Chrom kept walking. Lucina did not return the gesture and pretended to be interested in Kirby, King Dedede, who was now wielding the largest hammer she'd ever seen, and a winged swordsman about Kirby's size she remembered as Meta Knight.

"That was close. I almost called him 'father' there."

"...On second thought, it may not have been a bad idea to reveal myself. Everyone else already knows my true name, and with the Hero-King himself present, it is only a matter of time before my identity is revealed to him. I may not remember much of my father, but I know he could never stand dishonesty." She sighed. Had she not run into him like that, she could have passed herself off as being from the future. But Chrom had seen her first, and now there was going to be some awkward explaining to do. Lucina scolded herself for her stupidity. Now her first impression on her father was going to be about as bad as it could be. He could probably look past that in time and with an explanation, but it still boded ill, both for how much he would believe her and whether he might punish her for lying if he did. Lucina hurried after him.

She was halfway to him when a voice stopped her. "Why hello, sweetie." She turned and saw a man in a blue jumpsuit that she remembered as being amongst the veterans that had witnessed her arrival.

"Er...who are you?"

"Name's Falcon. Douglas Jay Falcon, but they call me Captain Falcon around here. I heard you're one of the newcomers?"

"Yes. My name's Lucina."

"Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful lady," Falcon replied with a blinding smile and took a couple steps closer.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have someone to meet." Lucina backed away nervously.

"Oh come now, I'm sure they'd understand if you had some business to take care of with Captain Falcon." He was seriously starting to creep her out. "Come on, sweetie, I don't bite," he promised, and before the princess could react he'd swiftly kissed her cheek.

"You pig!" She shoved him backwards and drew Parallel Falchion, her face turning scarlet. "I-I'll teach you a lesson on how to behave towards a woman!"

Falcon was quicker than she could have imagined; he was back on one knee already. The bounty hunter slammed his elbow down, deflecting her attack. In the next instant he was on his feet and had Parallel Falchion pinned with his left foot. With the other, he kicked at her hands, causing her to relinquish Parallel Falchion as her fingers reflexively opened in pain. Falcon pushed it away with his now-free left foot before slamming it into her chest, sending her flying backwards. By now, some of the nearby Smashers had noticed the commotion.

"Falcon, what have you done now, you hotheaded idiot?" Link demanded.

"Hey, she started it!"

"Probably because you were 'welcoming' her like you do to every female or even gender-ambiguous newcomer." Zelda rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I still don't understand how I didn't try to vaporize you when you did that to me."

"Because he did it in the middle of one of Master Hand's announcements," Link deadpanned.

"That would explain it. Not that I should particularly care to remember that. Falcon, you're losing your touch, or what little of it you had."

"What's that supposed to mean? And I am not stalking anyone! Nobody here has a proper sense of how relationships work!" Falcon protested.

"Er...no offense," said a voice from behind Link, "...but your method makes those of people in my world look restrained." An ordinary-looking boy, with brown hair and looking to be in his mid-teens, stepped forwards. Well, ordinary save the pair of large blue boots he wore that extended to his knees.

"As if you knew anything about the subject at hand," Falcon scoffed. "What is a fanboy doing here anyway? If you want my autograph, I don't have a pen on me."

"Fanboy? Hahaha!" Someone in a rather strange-looking black, yellow, and red armor stepped forward. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Sure enough, the boy's skin seemed to be pixelating into cyan and blue armor. While most of the crowd looked stunned at Mega Man's sudden revelation, Falcon just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll admit you got me, but what would a robot know of hooking up with someone anyways?"

"I've seen enough stalking and pushy relationships in my time. I think you've taken the cake for pushiest of them all, though."

Falcon threw up his hands and walked away. "I rest my case. Nobody has a proper sense of relationships here." He disappeared into the crowd, which immediately started conversing amongst themselves again.

"Geez, what a nutcase," Elec Man grumbled.

"From what I've heard, he's cocky, but really good, so I guess he's earned that right. Wouldn't you say so? Also, you can't really talk about how he chases women."

Elec Man was very similar to Falcon in both respects, so it was a surprise he responded at all. "Wonder why he went through so much trouble for her," he grumbled as he caught a glimpse of Lucina, who was brushing herself off, dismissing Peach and Zelda's offers of assistance. "Nothing remarkable. How she was invited when there are the likes of me that were rejected - "

"Ground control to Elec Man, it's time to come back down." Personally, Rock couldn't see why the electric robot was suddenly setting so much store by a first impression; it wasn't like him. Probably just because he was playing second fiddle to his brother again. "It's not like being leered at puts you in the optimal state to put up a fight, especially against an unknown opponent."

"Shut up."

"Make me. You know my point is valid." Elec Man pursed his lips for a second before forcing himself to calm down. Rock, meanwhile, decided this would be a good time to make a new acquaintance and left his brother alone, picking up the Parallel Falchion by the hilt as he left. He also decided to keep his armor on, since it seemed that almost all the veterans, and even some newcomers, were more familiar with him in that form.

"Are you all right, Lucina? I think this belongs to you." He tossed the sword up lightly and caught it by the flat of its blade with the tips of his fingers, keeping them away from the razor-sharp edges. Link and Zelda both raised an eyebrow at the unexpected display, while Peach looked rather impressed. Whatever reaction Lucina had didn't show physically, Rock noted as he held Parallel Falchion out for her to take. Now that they were close to each other, he got his first thorough look at her.

She couldn't be more than a few years older than he looked now, maybe seventeen or eighteen at the oldest. Her left eye's iris and pupil were distorted...maybe the result of some injury? No...it looked a lot like the mark he had seen on Chrom's shoulder when he'd briefly met Robin and the Exalt. So it looked like what the Blue Bomber heard about her was true; she was Chrom's direct and Marth's distant descendant, even if neither knew it. Speaking of the Hero-King, she seemed to look a lot like him too. That was a story that he could ask about later. Even without a backstory, though, he sensed there was a lot of tragedy in her life. She'd obviously been fighting for a long time to be skilled enough for an invitation. With how young Lucina was, she could have easily take up the sword as a child, which wasn't something that was usually done willingly. Not only that, but he could see the situation was rather awkward for her. It was the same type of subtle nervousness that his brother Proto Man often displayed when in conversation not related to a task at hand or looming threat to the world. Apparently, she didn't socialize very often, and if what he'd deduced already was true, it was because of constant warfare and loss. He didn't know or want to know to what degree.

"What kind of reality must she have come from to go through that...I can't imagine." Mega Man suddenly realized that Lucina had taken hold of Parallel Falchion's hilt and let go, hoping his hesitation hadn't been noticed.

"I am fine, and thank you." She took her weapon back and sheathed it. "I see you are no stranger to handling blades. Who are you?"

"What? You don't know who this is?" Peach gasped.

"How am I supposed to, Peach? I didn't know about this whole tournament until less than a day ago!"

"But he was, like, the most popular nominee for this year's newcomers list!"

"Er...I don't think that would be something Master Hand would put in the letter he gave us newcomers," the Blue Bomber said before Lucina could retort. "Anyway, I'm Mega Man."

"There's nothing 'mega' about you though," Peach said suddenly with a giggle.

"As if we haven't already heard that joke a dozen times today from you," Zelda grumbled. "I think I'm going to leave before I have to suffer from that again. Good day." Link excused himself and followed suit.

Lucina didn't think it was funny either, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. "Actually, Peach brought up a good point. Where did you get your name?"

"Well, it comes from my primary weapon, the Mega Buster." His right arm was covered by the same pixelating effect Lucina had seen earlier and was replaced with a cylindrical device with a faintly-glowing meter on one side. It tapered off to a hole at the end that was covered by a dull red but translucent substance.

Lucina frowned. "How does it work? Is it like a tome?"

"What's a tome?"

"A spellbook that magicians use to cast magic spells."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elec Man grumbled, saying his first words since he'd joined them. "And nice of you to introduce me to your friends, brother."

The electric robot's words went unacknowledged by his sibling. "Uh...I think we came from two completely separate realms of reality here. There's no magic involved in the Mega Buster, but even Fox fell asleep when I was explaining how this thing worked, so I don't think it's a good idea to do so."

"...Oh. My apologies." Lucina lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling rather silly.

Sensing her mood, Rock switched tacks, taking his armor off as he did so. "By the way, this is my brother, Elec Man." The Robot Master nodded in greeting.

"I presume you can control Thunder Magic, then?" Zero out of five now on thinking before acting. Lucina mentally kicked herself.

To her surprise, he nodded but said nothing more. Rock stepped in again. "Well, we call it electricity in our world, but I imagine it's the same thing in principle."

"I get the feeling your brother doesn't like her," Peach remarked.

"Don't worry about that, he's still getting over being only an Assist Trophy. When you have an ego the size of Captain Falcon's, I guess it's only a natural reaction."

Elec Man looked like he might fry his brother on the spot, but Rock's expression didn't change. Other than his signature pixelating effect near his right hand, nothing moved as a saw blade materialized in his hand. "Down."

"I am not Rush! That's it, if you're going to use me as some mere object of amusement, I will be leaving now!" He stormed off. The saw blade disappeared in the same manner it had been summoned. The teenage android merely sighed, but Peach was giggling uncontrollably at the scene that had just played out.

"What's so funny?" Lucina wasn't any more amused by it than Rock. "All he did was summon that disc."

"As unamusing as I found it myself, Lucina, if that's all you saw in it, we need to work on your people skills," he said with another sigh.

"Yeah, you're about as observant of people as Toad. I guess it comes with being Chrom's daughter; heard the guy's dense as cinderblock."

Rock was about to retort that Peach was being insensitive when none other than Chrom himself walked over, Robin, Ike, and the real Marth close behind, a scowl on the Exalt's face. "What was that about me?"

"Oh, Naga, no," Lucina groaned to herself. Of all times for her to have her hand forced...

"I rest my case. I'll be off now, goodbye!" Peach turned heel and walked away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Chrom demanded, but the princess had gone. He shifted his glare to Rock, but didn't recognize him. "I'm sorry, I don't recall your name. However, I must ask you to please leave us for the time being."

"If you can have Ike and Robin present, surely this isn't a fa - sensitive issue. Almost let the cat out of the bag there; I have to be more careful. If Lucina doesn't want to reveal her identity yet, then that's her choice to make."

Lucina turned to him, surprised at his adamant reply. Chrom, on the other hand, deepened his scowl and examined Rock through narrowing eyes. "You're awfully stubborn, even for a child."

"And you would know what exactly about children and parenting? You've been married for only a few weeks!"

"Anyway," Lucina quickly cut in, shooting her newfound defender a glare that was mostly for show, "What do you wish to discuss, Chrom?"

"I was hoping you might clear up something for me."

Her anxiety went up a few notches. "O-Oh? What would that be?"

"Sumia has told me something has happened. And...well...I heard...it seems..."

"He fucked her so hard their child was sent back in time! Hahaha!" Wario cackled from behind them..

Lucina recoiled in disgust. "How crude! Who thought it was a good idea to invite him?!" The others appeared to be thinking along similar lines.

Marth recovered first. "Firstly, Wario, that wasn't even funny; it was extraordinarily crude. Secondly, if you must make jokes of that nature, don't say them in the company of the subject matter." He turned to the others. "Excuse me while I remove this disgusting sight from our presence." He seized Wario by the arm and started dragging him away, pulling his own Falchion out and pointing its tip at the former's neck when he resisted.

Ike sighed. "I'll make sure Marth doesn't get himself in trouble. He's usually harder to anger than I am, but he has a tendency to be rash when angered. See you three later tonight, then?"

"A-Absolutely," Lucina stammered, still embarrassed at Wario's joke about her.

"'Subject matter'?" Robin was swiveling his head back and forth between Chrom and Lucina in confusion. "Oh..." His eyes suddenly widened in understanding. "Excuse me." The tactician quickly hurried off. Rock had remained silent hitherto, though Marth's words had confirmed his silent suspicions.

"Er...perhaps it's best that I give you two some space." The android hurriedly left as well.

"...Right then," Lucina spoke after an uncomfortable silence. "What did you want to say to me?"

"Well...Sumia has found out she is pregnant with our first child. And she has already decided to call her Lucina. I am not the creative type, so I consented to letting her choose the name." Hearing her name spoken from her father's mouth for the first time in more than a decade almost made Lucina's legs give out, but she willed herself to keep her composure.

Chrom took a step closer. "And just hours later, I learned from the Hero-King that someone named Lucina, and from our world nonetheless, has been invited to the tournament. I...have suspected since you thwarted Emmeryn's assassination that your true name is not Marth, though I have nothing better to call you. But I will not ask you to reveal anything you don't wish to; whoever you are, Ylisse is forever indebted to you."

"Thank you, but I think we would both prefer that I reveal the truth, whatever your suspicions may already be. Look closely, and it will be made clear." She lifted her gaze to his.

"...The Brand of the Exalt..." Chrom's gaze briefly raised to the tiara she wore, identical to the one that Sumia currently wore as the Queen, then lowered to the weapon at her waist, a Falchion identical to his own and Marth's.

"...Lucina..?" With the revelation came a wrenching rush of emotions as her warnings about the future from the day she had first appeared returned. "What kind of father and ruler must I have been, to leave my daughter a world so unfit for mankind that she was forced to become a warrior and Exalt as a child..." He raised his gaze to briefly meet his daughter's again before looking down. "You deserve better from me than a world of troubles and only a sword to combat them. I'm sorry..."

The tears that had formed in her eyes started to fall, the remains of the barrier she'd held herself behind melting down before father's words. A gentle touch on her cheeks wiped them away. She looked up to see Chrom wearing the same expression she so fondly remembered from her childhood. The one that had an instantaneous calming effect no matter what was upsetting her, the one that told her everything would be all right and that her father was here.

"Oh, Father!" Lucina could hold back no longer and blindly started forward, holding her arms out to embrace her father for the first time in many years. Chrom unhesitatingly returned it, putting a hand around her neck and stroking her hair to calm her down. "Father, I'm sorry..."

Chrom gently hushed his daughter and waited a few moments for her tears to stop before replying. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"...But...the way I spoke to you...what I said - "

"You did what you had to. None of your actions would be necessary if I had done my job as a parent and ruler better..." They stood in silence for a minute as he continued to hold her. "...Father...?" he mused aloud. Lucina looked up and hastily removed her arms from around him.

"Sh-Should I call you something else?"

"No, it's just...new to me." He gently took her hands in his. "I like it, though it will definitely take some getting used to, heheh."

A green blur shot between Lucina's legs, causing her to yelp in surprise. A streak of red shot over both of their heads and dove onto the green blur, revealing the former to be a dog of sorts and the latter a cat. For a moment, the two strangely-colored animals wrestled with each other before the former overpowered the latter.

"Tango! Rush! What did I tell you not to do?!" Rock's stern voice came from one of the entrances into the mansion and he came pelting out. "I'm terribly sorry, are either of you hurt?"

"No, we're fine," Chrom assured him. "I would appreciate, however, if your pets caused mayhem elsewhere."

"My apologies, I forgot the doors to our rooms here don't have locks we can't control. I'll take them away, posthaste." Rock shooed the two robotic animals inside and followed suit.

Lucina was a little crestfallen that the moment had been broken, but nevertheless she felt a huge burden lifted from her shoulders. Her father had accepted her as his daughter and forgiven her far more readily than she expected. Suddenly the sun seemed a little brighter and the colors around her more vibrant. Maybe she could live a life with her family after all...

"So, Lucina, I have a favor to ask of you." Her father broke her train of thought.

"Ask away. I am your daughter, and at your beck and call."

Chrom smiled. He could see a fair bit of Sumia in her. "Now that Robin and I have settled here, I will be returning to Ylisse tomorrow and staying until the tournament begins at the end of the week, and I would like you to accompany me so that I may introduce you."

"Father, wouldn't that be a little...unseemly? A strange woman suddenly appearing in the palace, neither the wife nor daughter of the Exalt? What would the people say? Their trust in the crown is still tenuous, even after Aunt Emmeryn's..." Lucina's voice trailed off and she bit her lip. It was even more painful to reflect upon that now that she fully realized her relation to Emmeryn.

Her father's smile just broadened as he put his hands on her shoulders. He could also see himself in her, too. If there had been any doubts in his mind about her lineage, they were gone now. "Not to worry, I'm sure we can conjure up a story before then. I'll speak to Robin about it tonight."

"Thank you." Lucina caught herself staring at her father and quickly looked over his shoulder, blushing slightly. It had just been a very long time since she'd beheld him with her own eyes up close, but he might not see it that way.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, Father. A lot is on my mind right now."

"I understand. If you want to talk - "

"I know you'll be there. You always were," she replied with a small smile. "However, I would prefer to be alone to gather my thoughts. Why don't you see if Robin is available to discuss a cover story for my visit?"

Chrom raised an eyebrow at the command thinly veiled as a suggestion. "Been a while since you've been in the subordinate position, young lady?"

Lucina lowered her gaze. "Forgive me, father. I did not mean to order you around."

Her father just chuckled. She definitely had his tendency to be literal. "Perhaps you could teach me a thing or two about ordering people around, then. I'm still not sure I'll be cut out for ruling Ylisse with my disinclination to force people to do anything."

"Well, you did fine in my future. Other...events just saw to it that your time was short."

Sensing her discomfort, Chrom switched tacks. "There will be plenty of time to discuss the future, Lucina. In the meantime, I may take you up on your suggestion to find Robin. I will see you at dinner, then?"

"Of course." Her father walked away, surprised at how much the exchange had revealed about himself. It was no secret to even himself that he often took things too literally and was never remotely skilled at reading people, yet, judging from how things had gone, he had read Lucina perfectly. The only other people he'd been able to do that with were Sumia, Lissa and Emmeryn.

"Maybe it's just because she's a lot like Sumia and I. Oh, hello, Robin. What's the rush?" For he had just stumbled upon the tactician running full tilt out of the mansion.

The latter scurried out from in front of the doorway before gasping a reply. "Koopalings...pranking Ike." On cue, several of them scurried out from where he'd emerged, followed less than a second later by a very enraged Ike, whose hair and armor were covered in various pie fillings and pieces of crust. Ragnell was in his hands, and enveloped in blue flames.

Chrom stared for a few seconds before turning back to his friend. "Er...here's probably not a good place to discuss - " An explosion from behind him was more than sufficient motivation for the pair to duck inside before continuing their conversation. Despite leaving a patch of scorched ground almost as big as Charizard, Ike's blow had missed the Koopalings, who were scurrying inside to their father's protection. The Radiant Hero cursed under his breath and stalked off to clean up and find Master Hand.

Author's Note: Despite whatever his role in this chapter says, I promise you that I don't hate Captain Falcon.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!