Final Preparations.
The final stage of the war had become. The Ylissian army and their allies were making their final preparations for one last battle against Grima and his dark forces. This battle would decided the fate of the entire world, so they could not afford to be anything less than fully prepared for anything they might face. Thanks to the efforts of their future children, our heroes had one chance to end Grima, and they needed to make sure not to waste it. Chrom was waiting in the training grounds and soon heard his daughter approaching him.
"I'm ready for today's training, Father" Lucina said in excitment.
"Before we begin, I have a question" Chrom said.
Lucina blinked in surprise "Oh?"
"It's something I'd been meaning to ask for some time now. Once this war is over, will you be able to return to your own world?" Chrom asked.
"...I don't know. Even if it were possible to cross the bounds of time again, my world itself may be lost. Naga said as much before we left" Lucina answered.
"I see" Chrom said.
"But don't worry, Father. Once peace is returned, I'll leave you to your life" Lucina assured.
Chrom looked shocked "What? Why?".
"I understand I don't belong in this time. I'll not have myself become a burden" Lucina answered.
"Lucina! I never want to hear you say such a thing again!" Chrom said sternly.
Lucina looked up in surprise "Father?".
"I've told you before, you are no burden. You could never be a burden!" Chrom said, he was angry, but not at Lucina herself, but at the things she said.
"But..." Lucina trailed of in an uncertain tone.
"I fear I'm not very adept at putting these sorts of things into words... But it's clear you need to hear something, so listen well" Chrom ordered.
Lucina was silent for a moment "...All right. I'm listening".
"Lucina... I am so very grateful for you. Grateful that you were born... That you grew into such a fine and noble woman... Grateful you withstood terrible hardship and risked all you knew to come here... I haven't the words to express how much it all means to me. None, save thank you" Chrom said, meaning every single word.
His words brought tears to Lucina's "Father...".
Chrom smiled at her "You're my daughter and my friend. You will always have a place at my side".
"Father, I... Th-thank... Oh, Father!" Lucina sobbed as she hugged her father tightly.
Chrom hugged her back "Shhh, it's all right, Lucina. There, there, it's all right now. Daddy's here for you...".
They stood like that for several minutes until both finally noticed a smiling Cassandra watching them.
"Mom!?" Lucina said slightly startled.
"How long have you been there?" Chrom asked.
Cassandra chuckled in amusement "Long enough, didn't want to ruin the moment. You sure have your ways with words, Chrom".
Chrom rubbed his head awkwardly "Well I've never been good at it, so I just told her the truth".
Cassandra walked up and gave him a deep kiss on the lips, making him blush in surprise "They were wonderful words, Chrom, couldn't have said them better myself".
"Oh... Good... really... good..." Chrom said in a slight dace from the kiss.
Lucina blushed awkwardly at the sight, still not used to seeing her parents being such a lovely couple... Still it was a beautiful sight, and Lucina couldn't help to wonder if she will find love like this one day... Yeah, maybe one day she too could find love.
Cassandra looked at her daughter "Well since your father said most of what I would've said, I will keep this simple: You are my daughter, Lucina and if you ever call yourself a burden again, you will get the booty smash".
Lucina gulped "Y-Yes mother".
Cassandra giggled at her daughter's fear before giving her a warm hug "You will always be welcomed in our home, Lucina, never think otherwise... And besides, your younger self could use an older sister".
"That... sounds very awkward" Lucina admitted, being a sister for her younger self... there is no telling what might come of that.
"We'll figure something out. We are family, we can get through anything together" Cassandra said.
Lucina smiled "You're right, mother... thank you".
Cassandra kissed her forehead "Anytime, sweetie, anytime".
Chrom smiled at the sight. Despite that they will be heading for their final battle soon, a battle that will decide the future of the world, he was still hopeful that together they can win.
Elsewhere, Severa flew through the air and landed on her back side.
"Ow..." She said as she rubbed her butt.
In front of her was Siegfried holding his sword over his shoulder "You're still to aggressive, Severa. You need to focus more on defense. Predict your opponent's next move and work in a counter".
"Got it, now let's go again" Severa said as she got back up.
"We've been at this for an hour already. Don't you want to spend some time with your mother before the final battle?" Siegfried asked.
Severa looked away "We... have talked... Still hard to overcome our rough beginning".
"Yeah, she told me about your... aggressive attitude towards her at the beginning. But now you have a second chance to set everything right and have a proper relationship with her" Siegfried said.
"I want to, really I do... I'm just not sure how" Severa said.
"I understand, relationships are hard. Me and my father didn't exactly have the ideal father son relationship. But we managed to find a middle ground and make the best of what we had. You and your friends have already made sure I never become Nightmare, now Cordelia remains the only one you need to help" Siegfried said.
Severa was silent for a moment, clearly considering her father's words "Fine, I will try. But only after one more clash".
Siegfried smiled "That sounds fair. Very well, one more clash. And this time I wont hold back".
"You were holding back!? Oh now I'm really going to hurt you!" Severa declared as she charged at her father, who got ready to face her head on.
The last night before the final battle with Grima had arrived. Everyone had prepared the best they could, now all they could do was make sure they were all fully rested so they could fight at their best. However, someone wasn't sleeping. Robin sat awake in his tent, looking over the plans he had came up with. His mind was going through countless simulations, trying to think of every possible outcome to this war. He knew if his plan failed, they would all fail, and the world would be doomed. But the one they were facing was him... his future self. So who's to say he wouldn't be ready for whatever plan Robin could come up with? That possibility scared him to no end...
"Can we really do this...?" He wondered silently to himself.
"Of course we can" Came a familiar voice.
Robin looked up in mild surprise "Taki? What are you doing up this late?".
"I could ask you the same thing. We march to our final battle tomorrow, we'll need that tactical mind of yours in top shape" Taki said as she walked up to his desk.
"For what good it'll do. I've gone over the plans hundreds of times already, trying to find any flaws that needs to be fixed... But our enemy is me from the future, so coming up with a perfect plan is next to impossible" Robin said with a tired sigh.
Taki shakes her head "You know, for someone who's supposed to be so smart, you sure are clueless".
Robin looked up confused "What?".
"There is no such thing as a perfect plan, Robin. You can predict what your enemy's action, but there is no certainty that they will take that action. Even the best laid plans could fail if the situation doesn't go as calculated. The best strategy to win a fight, is to make your plan flexible and adapt in case things doesn't work out" Taki said.
Robin thinks for a moment before he smiles "You're right, I've been spending to much time thinking about what could happen, not what will happen. All I can do now I help guide our allies the best way I can, and one way or the other, Grima will be stopped".
Taki smiled at him "Now there is the man I fell in love with. Now, come along, I will make sure you get a full night sleep".
"No one I'd rather share a bedding with than you" Robin said as she got up and kissed her.
Taki smiled from the kiss and both went to sleep together.
At the crak of dawn, Lucina woke up earlier than the rest. She could feel something was wrong. Getting dressed and grabbing her sword, Lucina headed out, being careful not to wake anyone else. She left the camp and walked through some trees, until she reached a clearing. She looked around before pulling out her sword and aimed it at an mysterious figure among the trees. The figure didn't even try to hide and simply walked in to the light. And the figure was no stranger. It was someone Cassandra knew all to well.
Lucina got wide eyes and lowered her sword "Mother...".
It was indeed her mom... but it also was her corrupted future mother. Seeing her like that hurt more than any blade.
"Lucina... my daughter..." The corrupted Cassandra said in an almost dead tone.
Lucina took a step towards her "It's me mother. I... I'm sorry this happened to you, but I swear, will find a way to free you and-".
"It's to late Lucina!" Dark Cassandra said in a desperate tone "I'm beyond saving, Soul Edge already has my soul, I am cursed to follow it's will".
"B-But you are talking to me now. You know what's going on, your mind is still your own" Lucina said.
"BECAUSE THAT WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO THINK!" Dark Cassandra screamed before grabbing her head in pain "That's why he sent me to kill you! Because he knew you would hesitate to strike me down... But you must, Lucina. You must kill me!".
Lucina took a step back "N-No, I can't do that".
"You must! ARGH!" Dark Cassandra shouted as she suddenly pulled her dark blade and shield and charged Lucina who was forced to block a powerful strike.
Dark Cassandra continued to launch several more strikes, forcing Lucina on the back foot as she blocked each strike. Her corrupted mother was much more aggressive, and her strikes were so powerful, Lucina could feel her arms sting from each blow. Lucina continued blocking until they entered a blade lock, Cassandra trying to overpower her daughter, while Lucina was only trying to hold her back.
"Damn it Lucina! FIGHT BACK!" Dark Cassandra demanded in desperation.
"No! I will not fight you! You can be saved, I know it!" Lucina said as she struggled to hold her mother back.
"There is only one way to save me Lucina... you know that..." Dark Cassandra said.
"No..." Lucina begged with tears in her eyes.
"Please Lucina... I don't want to kill you... You are the last light in my soul... please, free me" Dark Cassandra said before slamming her shield in to Lucina chest making her slide back.
Lucina looked up, tears running down her face, but she had a more determined look in her eyes "Ok... I will set you free mother".
Dark Cassandra roars, sounding more like an feral animal as she ran towards Lucina who blocks her attack with her sword. Lucina pushes Dark Cassandra a bit back, and tries to stab her, which her mother deflects with her shield. Lucina then tries to slash her in the chest, but Dark Cassandra dodges backwards, and slammed Lucina with her shield. Lucina slides back but recovers quickly and blocks her mother next attack, she then hits Dark Cassandra with the hilt of her sword and then tries to stab her, but Dark Cassandra blocks it and slashes Lucina, leaving a small cut on her chest. It hurt but nowhere near deep enough to kill... Proof that Dark Cassandra was holding herself back to avoid kill shots.
What happened next was like a short but deadly dance. Both of them started clashing with their swords, Lucina blocking each of Dark Cassandra's vicious blows, and Dark Cassandra's shield blocked Lucina's counters. They were evenly matched for a few seconds until Dark Cassandra managed to take back just enough control to stop herself from blocking Lucina's incoming stab... which went straight through her chest.
Once Lucina realized what happened she looked horrified "No, mother!".
Dark Cassandra only smiled, her eyes returning to normal "You did good... my... daughter... I'm... proud... of... you...".
Lucina pulled her blade out and caught her mother before she could hit the ground before kneeling down and holding her close "Mother! MOTHER!".
Her mother had a peaceful smile... and her body slowly faded away until it was gone. Lucina looked at her empty hands, her mother was now dead for real... and she didn't even have a body to bury... she began sobbing uncontrollably, and not long after, the un corrupted past Cassandra came running up.
"Lucina! You ok? What happened?" She asked in worry.
Lucina looked up, tears running down her face "She's gone... she's gone... I couldn't save her, I couldn't...".
Cassandra understood right away and quickly knelt down and hugged her daughter "I'm sorry Lucina... I'm sorry...".
Lucina cried in to her mother's chest. This was the second time she lost her, and if they fail in their final battle, she would loose her for a third time... the death of her future mother only served to make Lucina more determined to destroy Grima, once and for all. She could still save her parents here in the past and she will not let Grima take them from her again. Never again.
It was finally time. Grima's last attempt to crush their spirits had failed. Now, they take the fight directly to the Fel Dragon, and one way or the other, this will all end.
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Yeah I was not ready to say goodbye to this story just yet, so I made this bonus chapter, giving the characters some time with each other and allowing Lucina to face her final test before they head of to fight Grima.
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Tell me what you think.