Before we begin, I would like to say this upfront. This is heavily inspired by MessengerofDreams' fic of the same subject. A dear friend of mine—nay, ours—has recently suffered a tragedy close to her heart and has been suffering not only from her own feelings, but from people on this very site—from this very section—who feel that a person's sorrow isn't worth telling the public. JSparks is a great, sarcastic, slightly loony friend who has done nothing to deserve the treatment she's been getting from people who don't seem to understand that misery shouldn't be met with scorn. But where MoD was up front with his frustration, I decided to take a more subtle approach. IF you don't understand it, feel free to ask—unless you're an anonymous reviewer, in which case I have no way of contacting you (this is a oneshot and will stay that way).
So, with those in mind, I think that some people we all know have something to say. Let it begin, ladies and gents. Also, I don't own any of the characters involved, and the band DragonForce owns the quote below and used in the title.
"Crossing valleys, endless tears. In unity we stand!"
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Lyn sat on the hill, tears streaming down her face. As the sun painted the landscape fiery colors at the end of the day, the warrior of the plains considered the letter she'd received from her home.
Lady Lyn,
It is my solemn duty to tell you that during your absence, your grandfather, the Marquess of Caelin, passed away today. We do not have a reason at this moment, but the doctors suspect a heart attack. The Marquess wanted you to know that his final thoughts were about you and he has much faith in your abilities to lead.
The service is going to be held three days from now. We hope that this message will reach you in that time.
All of Caelin and Ostia are behind you in this time of need.
Sincerely,
Knight commander Kent
The letter had arrived yesterday. It was dated a week ago. She had missed the funeral.
The news was devastating. The man that had survived two assassination attempts over the course of two years and survived. Lyn had come to believe that he was indestructible. The one man she had grown closest to since the bandits had attacked her tribe had taken her in despite her parentage, despite his dislike for her father and mother. And now he was gone. She didn't even have a chance to say goodbye. The last words she had said to him were casual, almost dismissive.
Another sob burst from the new Marquess as she remembered what others had said. Many people disregarded her, allowing her space to grieve. But others had taken a more personal approach.
"Quit your whining you stupid girl!"
"You have no right to think you're the only one to lose a family member."
"So he's dead. Start acting like the princess you are!"
Even Master Hand, the one who had provided her the opportunity to be part of this tournament, had been cold.
"I know you're having a difficult time, but your duties come first."
The disembodied hand had been one of her biggest supporters. Bringing her to the Smash Brothers tournament was one of the kindest things anyone had done, and despite not being a Smasher, the Hand-lord had treated her with the utmost respect and kindness. There was no bigger betrayal.
Another sob, and Lyn contemplated the blade in her hands. The Mani Katti had spilled the blood of many a foe. Bandits, assassins, and kings had fallen before its might. Always wielded for justice and hope, the spiritual blade was always Lyn's go-to weapon for defending the people. Never once was a person cut down for anything other than crimes against her fellow humans.
Last night, Lyn had turned the holy weapon on herself.
It had been one cut. Just one, an analogy to see the pain within her own heart. But it had been enough. Before long one had become two; two became four; four became seven. Only when she was about to pass out from blood loss did Lyn stop. Taking a spare vulnerary from her travel bag, Lyn had drunk the potion and restored her health. The slashes had turned to scars, and the warrior had done what she could to remove the bloodstains.
Now Lyn held the sword again. The pain hadn't stopped—if anything, it had become worse. She needed to remove or block the pain somehow. When the cuts had hurt, her heart didn't.
Out here, without anyone to see, with the bloody sun to mask her own fluids, Lyn was going to try again.
The cold steel felt…right, like it was meant to remove the blood from Lyn's body. Closing her eyes and waiting no longer, the Lady of Caelin drew the blade across her arm.
There was no pain. Instead, there was the clanking of metal. Opening her tearful eyes, Lyn saw two things.
One was a hand, stretched down to her own. Neither stiff nor belittling, the appendage exuded friendship and aid.
The other was an orange sword, keeping her own weapon from dealing damage. Ragnell, the divine blade of the goddess Ashera, was keeping the Mani Katti from destroying the flesh that desired its touch.
Looking up, Lyn saw Ike with a stern-but-kind face looking down at her with great concern. "You shouldn't be doing that."
Lyn was speechless, which allowed another voice to talk. "There are many ways to grieve for your losses, but the Goddesses frown upon self-mutilation." The delicate hand of Princess Zelda laid itself upon the warrior's shoulder.
"Yeah. You know, there's plenty of help for sadness. It's not too late to make yourself feel better." Fox stood behind Zelda and flashed a brief smile, but seemed to remain wary.
Link came from behind and helped the Lady to her feet. Captain Falcon gently removed the Mani Katti from her grip and let it fall to the ground
It wasn't just Smashers, either. Many Assist Trophies came forward as well, forming a ring around Lyn. It seemed as though everyone from Brawl was standing at Lyn's side.
Or almost everyone.
The harsh voice of Bowser burst forth. "So this is where everyone went. Great, the crying princess can be wussy with her friends."
"Wa ha ha!" The laughter was accompanied by Wario's trademark garlic smell. "Shouldn't you all be back in yer rooms? Let the girl be alone! If she dies, what's the problem?"
"If the stupid girl can't take care of herself, why should she be allowed to be here?" asked Ganondorf cruelly. His sneer glowed a malevolent red in the setting sun.
"She will die just like her grandfather. And good riddance, too." Even the heartless Andross robot had joined in.
Lyn's supporters quickly formed a barrier between the grieving—and thankful—fighter. "Will you all shut up?" yelled Ike. "Just because you think she's not up to your standards doesn't mean she doesn't deserve respect. Watch your mouths or we'll cut you down where you stand." Few complaints were among the general murmur of agreements.
The tension grew as weapons were drawn and powers were activated. Insults were exchanged with increasing speed and intensity.
"Asshole!"
"Coward!"
"Douches!"
"Pussies!"
Just as the fever reached a climax, two figures stepped between the opposing factions.
"Will you all shut up?" Wolf's snarl quieted the meeker of the Smashers.
Dedede's hammer swing silenced the rest. "Really! This is one of the dumbest fights I've ever seen!"
The pair of fighters stood back-to-back, daring either side to come forth. Eventually, the question that needed to be asked was. "Why are you two stopping us?"
Wolf growled. "We're not heartless, y'know. Just because we take the antagonistic side sometimes doesn't mean we don't get right and wrong."
"None of y'all are in the right here. All Lyn wanted to do was feel sad about her loss. Yet here you fools are making a bigger deal about it than it needs to be. There's no reason to be angry about someone's sadness, and there's no need to beat people up over that anger."
"Shut it, penguin! We're gonna make her see that you need to be tough to be in the competition!" Bowser bared his claws, prompting Wolf to counter with his own talons.
"And we'll always be here to show you that it takes more than just a big body to fight!" Ike held Ragnell at the ready, forcing Dedede to keep his hammer steady.
As the night drew closer, the standoff lost members. Every so often, a member of the Smashers would break away and head back to civilization. Andross went back to his dorm, as did Wario. By the time the moon had risen in full, only the most militant warriors were left.
Finally, Lyn walked forward. Placing her hands on Wolf and Dedede's shoulders, she summoned all of her authority to her voice, she spoke her first words in over twenty-four hours. "E-everyone, that's enough. There's no point in laying blame or antagonizing. I'm going back to my room, and I promise to stop crying and talk this out in the morning."
The stunned defenders and antagonists watched the woman walk away with grace. With several angry glances, the Smashers defending Lyn followed her, leaving Ganondorf and Bowser standing alone in the dark.
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There's my piece. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And yes, I know I'm going to get flak for this. That's on your souls, not mine.
Ciao chow. And good luck, JSparks. We're behind you.