Ask Your MOTHER

by SmashBro37

After nearly a year since Brawl, Lucas returns just in time to compete in the fourth Super Smash Brothers tournament. His bad luck will put him up against friends, enemies, embarrassment, wizards, psychics, gloves, gods...and his worst nightmares. (All chapters edited!)

34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Parallel Scars

Lucas and Ness walked on red carpets over the checkerboard floors of the castle hallways lit by chandeliers. Chatter echoed through the stone walls which clearly weren't thick enough and reached their ears too quiet to understand until they were just outside the strategy room. Lucas peeked his head around the corner and saw a huge square table with Robin, Reflet, Chrom, Lucina, Kamui, and Roy near it, some sitting and some standing, almost all of them looking at several maps and papers strewn across the table. A few mugs of coffee were on the table too, and so far no one had spilled on any of those papers.

"Even if your plan to take the fight to him works, he can have the rest of his forces abandon their hit-and-run attacks and return to Valla through any rivers or lakes to ambush us from nearly any angle. The worst part is that since only they can travel to Valla through water, they won't have the threat of our own soldiers on the surface attacking them from the rear. I know I can travel through water as well and bring others with me through Lilith's astral keep, but I can't be everywhere at once!" Kamui's fist hit the table in frustration. The impact splashed a few drops of coffee out of the cup, yet they stopped in midair just before hitting the papers and floated right back to where they came from. Apparently coffee was still close enough to water for him to control with his other hand. "Sorry about that..."

"It's fine, you managed not to spill. I have to say your precision has improved...that training with Greninja must be paying off." Reflet said. "I know you can't be everywhere at once, and that's why we have to make our advance as quickly as possible." Reflet said while pointing to something on one of the maps. "The defender always has the advantage, but it's either attacking or letting him continue to chip away at us as long as he wants to drain our resources dry."

"Don't be so pessimistic: we've defied the odds before, and so have you." Chrom said.

"If we combine our strengths, I'm certain victory will be ours." Lucina said. "The power of two Falchions and your Yato should be more than enough to slay Anankos."

"A sword is only as good as the swordsman. I don't know why the Yato chose me...I could barely defeat Fath-Garon, even with everyone's help, and he was only Anankos's puppet. And next time, Azura won't be there to help..." Kamui grit his teeth. "The Yato chose wrong. I'm no chosen hero, just the son of a monster."

"Uh, is this a bad time?" Ness said.

Everyone turned and stared. Lucas shrunk back behind the corner.

"No, why would it be? We weren't in the middle of anything important, only making plans that may decide the fate of our world." Robin said sarcastically.

"Whoops." Ness said.

"Sorry, we were just trying to tell y'all that we managed to help Pikachu..." Lucas said awkwardly.

"That's good news, so why do I have a feeling from how you said it that there's bad news too?" Robin said.

"Um..." Good news and bad news. Now was not the time to pull a Bronson.

"The bad news can wait until I've had at least a second to speak." Reflet said in annoyance, then turned to Kamui. "You ought to read the room. 'Son of a monster'? Do you honestly think you're the only one with a terrible father here?"

Kamui glanced at Chrom and Robin nervously while avoiding eye contact with Reflet. "...No. Gods, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything! It's just...from what I know of you, you three have always done the right thing, and I can't say the same about myself."

"We've tried to do the right thing. That doesn't mean we don't have any regrets; there are always some lives you can't save." Chrom said.

"And you can make mistakes that leave you with regrets even if your parents were both good people." Lucina said.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. Now can we get the bad news over with already?" Roy said. "It's getting gloomy enough in here as is."

"The bad news is it was harder than we thought." Ness conveniently said for Lucas. "See, we thought we'd mostly be fighting Pikachu's nightmares to get his memories back, but we had to fight a lot of our own bad thoughts too. Don't worry about it, though, it all turned out fine, and I even learned a cool new move!" Ness teleported around the room a few times to show off before warping back to his original spot at the doorway.

"So, you learned to rapidly cast Warp and let it go to your head. Truly an incredible feat of magic." Robin said dryly.

"Don't rain on his parade, can't he be at least a little proud of himself?" Roy said. "I think it's cool."

"Thanks pal."

"What's cool about it? It's not as if he learned to cast Fimbulvetr or Blizzard." Lucina said.

Ness burst into laughter and even Lucas had to suppress a chuckle.

"It doesn't mean literally cold, but awesome or impressive..." Roy said. "His world has different slang that you're not familiar with yet."

"Haha, yeah...so, um, anyways, Mewtwo wasn't happy about how it was harder than we thought, so he said we're not ready to help you two yet. Sorry about that." Lucas said.

"I see...I can't say I understand this kind of battlefield, but if having more allies only means more enemies to fight, wouldn't it better for only one or two of you to do this? Does that mean all that effort you put in convincing others to help us was a waste?" Reflet said.

"No, it wasn't, really!" Lucas shook his head rapidly. "I know it was harder than we thought, but we were stronger as a team, and that made up for it."

"That's good to hear. Still, we're in the middle of something, so the details can wait. It's not as if we need our memories back to make these plans for the battle in our world, so it doesn't matter if you have to wait longer before he thinks you're ready." Reflet said.

"And if we're going to talk about how to help these two, we should wait until Link and Kirby are around to hear it too, or else we'll have to repeat ourselves..." Roy said. Lucas nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Ness said to Roy, then looked back at Reflet. "But if you're just making plans about fighting in your world, then what's with that map over there?" Ness walked over and pointed to one of the maps. "Isn't that a map of this world?"

"Yes, about that...R.O.B asked us to help him and the other strategists work on the contingency plans for if another enemy attacks this world. Or gods forbid, Tabuu somehow comes back to life." Reflet said. "Even if we came up with a flawless plan to defeat Anankos, it wouldn't be much use if something went wrong before we could even go home, would it?"

That thought sent a chill down Lucas's spine. The Subspace War began at the start of the tournament last time, but that didn't guarantee they were safe now.

"Wait, you're part of the strategy team now?" Ness stared at Roy. "And you didn't tell me? Not cool, dude."

"I thought if I did, you would try to help me, and you're busy enough already." Roy said.

"Sounds more like nobody wanted my help. Even those two got invited to the strategy team even though they're just newbies, and I didn't even though I'm one of the original twelve. I guess no one wants to listen to some stupid kid, huh? Great." Ness crossed his arms with a frown.

"You're not stupid, strategy just isn't your specialty..." Lucas said. "I know I'm no good at big plans like that either." That was Duster's job. "I get why you want to help, but we're already helping them get their memories back. I just hope they're wasting their time on all these plans for if Tabuu comes back, no offense...it was hard enough fighting him once."

"So do I. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help fight him in Subspace, but I've heard enough to know how dangerous he was." Roy said. "We do need your help, Ness, and not just for their amnesia. You've just shown how your skills at warp magic have improved, and one of our contingency plans involves everyone who can use it. We don't know where, when, or if an enemy might appear, so you could help everyone get to wherever they need to be if something goes wrong. There's always the teleporter devices, but I still hardly know anything about how these machines work, and they could always fail..."

"So I'll be a glorified taxi if the world starts ending again. Awesome." Ness said sarcastically. "Thanks, though." He smiled. "Wait, how would I know where everyone is?"

"That's another reason R.O.B designed those strange communicator bracelets. Not that I know how they work in the slightest...I still can't believe information can pass from one battlefield to another instantly in this world, it's awe-inspiring!" Robin said.

"With any luck, we won't fall victim to the same divide and conquer tactics as last time." Reflet said while gesturing to the map again. "Tabuu scattered everyone across the land to keep them apart, and he tricked some of us into fighting the rest. Master Hand briefed all the newcomers about a week after the tournament began...he could have done it right away, but I suppose he's a very busy man. Or glove." Reflet shrugged and looked at her own gloves on the table. "Whatever he is, I hope he's made sure none of us are stupid or selfish enough to be traitors in the future."

"Our numbers have increased, too. I remember when there were just twenty-four of us, and now we're nearly three times that." Roy said.

"Numbers don't always help, not when your enemy has overwhelming power." Kamui said. "Ordinary weapons broke on Garon's scales when he turned into a dragon. Even the Yato broke, for gods' sake! If that was only a fraction of my father's power, what good would numbers do against him?"

"Your sword sure doesn't look broken now." Ness said.

"It was magically repaired so I could defeat him, it's a long story..."

"Sure, ok. Lemme tell ya, I know a thing or two about fighting super strong bad guys, and a downer like you wouldn't last a minute against Giygas."

"For once, he's right." Robin said, making Ness pout. "If you believe the enemy when they say they're invincible, you're fighting half the battle for them. Tabuu wasn't all-powerful, neither was Grima, and the same will go for Anankos. There's this phrase I heard once, but I can't remember where...the almighty require no subtlety. Some say gods work in mysterious ways, but that only makes sense if they can't or won't interfere with mortal affairs directly out of some respect for their free will. Grima has none, so if he was truly so powerful, why did he need to be so cunning? Why did he spend centuries building up his cult of followers? Why did Tabuu scatter the Smashers and turn several of them to his cause? Why did Anankos cast such a devious curse to keep his enemies from even knowing of his existence, all the while turning them against each other and acting through his puppets from the shadows? They all did these things for one reason...because they were afraid. They knew they could lose, and so should you."

Kamui's mouth hung open.

"You look awfully proud of that speech." Reflet said. "I'm not saying you don't have a point, I just don't look forward to all the hurdles we'll have to deal with just to get to the battle, let alone win it. We have to convince thousands of soldiers that the Bottomless Canyon isn't bottomless, and we have to convince Hoshidans and Nohrians to fight alongside each other...honestly, I'm not sure which will be harder." She said with a chuckle. "What's worse is that we won't be able to tell them everything when we're not in Valla."

"Hold on...I heard you talk about that before, but how'd you find out?" Ness said.

"That's simple, Corrin and Kamui told us." Reflet said.

"Yeah, but how did they find out they could tell you without dying? Wouldn't they think they're playing Bearland Roulette by testing out if they're immune to the curse here?"

"Playing what now?" Reflet raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know that phrase, but I can guess what it means." Kamui said. "I found out when I was talking to Master Hand the same day I got to this world...honestly, it started the moment I arrived here. Let me explain..."

---

Kamui opened his eyes to the new world and felt a cold metal platform under his bare feet. Seven other circular platforms floated in this room of checkerboard tiles, each with another person standing on them. One was a Hoshidan-looking man in a martial arts gi with the sleeves torn off who, like him, saw no need for shoes. Next to him was a tall, freakish creature somewhere between cat and man with two necks, three-fingered hands and feet, a long tail, and an unnerving presence. Kamui tore his gaze from him and saw-

"What?"

Kamui paled and missed a breath: it was as if he had a long-lost twin sister! A twin sister wearing Nohrian armor, a dragonstone, and Azura's pendant. There was only one of that last one, and it had been on his neck ever since-no, he wasn't going to think of that, he wasn't going to think of that...he looked at the sword sheathed at her left hip instead. It looked so much like the Yato, yet different, more like the longsword it was before it had transformed to look more like a katana after receiving the Raijinto's power. The red-eyed woman stared at him with just as much silent shock...

---

"Okay, I get it, you were surprised to see her, but can we just skip to the important part where Master Hand told you?" Ness said impatiently.

"No, wait, I want to hear this..." Lucas said. "You showed up at the same time as me and the others, right? So...what happened after I, um...never mind, forget it!" Lucas looked away in embarrassment. They'd probably all laughed at his stupidity, and now he was being dumb enough to have that confirmed for him.

"Well, first I was confused how you teleported yourself without a Rewarp staff..."

---

Rapid footsteps distracted them both. A blond teenage boy ran across the checkerboard floor faster and faster until he jumped into a blue portal that disappeared. Warp magic wasn't supposed to look like that, was it? The boy didn't even have a staff.

"What is he doing?" A red-haired young man in fancy armor with an ornate sword sheathed said. "And who is he? His magic is just like Ness's..." Was the redhead a noble? Kamui didn't recognize him, so perhaps he was from a foreign land.

"Ugh...this must be the worst bloody portal I've ever gone through, and I've been to Inferno itself." A tall, black-haired woman held her head as if she was nauseous while a faint purple glow faded from her. Now that he wasn't staring at his 'sister', he remembered how strange the journey felt too, yet it all faded once he got here. She didn't seem to have weapons, was she a mage? That would explain the glowing. Her tomes had to be hidden somewhere in that strange outfit...or maybe not, with what the letter said about fighters being from other worlds.

The last stranger was a spiky-haired blond man with unusual clothes and an absurdly large sword. Kamui ignored him, jumped off the platform, and went back to staring at his doppelganger, whose hand was on her sheathed sword just like him.

"Who are you? Why do you look like me, why do you have the Yato, and where did you get that necklace?!"

"That's what I was about to ask you!"

"Calm down. I know inter-dimensional tournaments like this are confusing, but the fighting can wait until the actual matches." The Hoshidan-looking martial artist said.

"I'll second that." The redhead noble said. "Let's introduce ourselves instead. My name is Roy, how about you?"

"I'm Kamui..."

"You even have the same name?! At least, that used to be my name when I was growing up in Hoshido...I go by Corrin now."

The more she said, the less sense she made.

Just then, a giant white glove appeared floating in the air with a sound like a snap. The letter had been sent by 'Master Hand'...but he didn't expect a literal hand! Kamui's jaw dropped, and everyone else looked at least a little surprised except the freakish cat creature and Roy.

"Welcome to the tournament, newcomers, and welcome back, Mewtwo and Roy."

"Why the fuck are you a giant glove." The spiky-haired blond said.

"Ah. I see most of you are taken aback by my appearance, as expected. I did call myself Master Hand, didn't I? I recommend getting used to seeing strange things if you want to enjoy your time here."

"Don't ask why he looks like that, we don't know either." Roy said with a shrug.

"Moving on to more important questions, some of you may be wondering why Lucas suddenly teleported away after arriving here. He did so to interfere in Ness's match with Bowser, which is a violation of the rules. Normally he would receive a more severe punishment than he did, but I made an exception due to his past good behavior and the fact the one who lost due to his interference, Bowser, is one of our most notorious troublemakers."

"Why would he do that? Ness wouldn't want someone to cheat and help him win." Roy said. "How do they even know each other? Is he from Ness' world?"

"Yes, in a way...that being said, they only met in the third tournament which you were absent for. Regardless, his reasons are irrelevant, what matters is that you all know not to break the rules as he did. His punishment was to have his first match scheduled only an hour from now giving him less time to prepare for battle and re-adjust to this world. His opponent will be Bayonetta."

"Oh? Doesn't that mean you're punishing me too, even though I've done nothing wrong?"

"I know enough about your world to know that unlike him, you enjoy fighting, so for you it is no punishment at all."

"I'm not fond of fighting helpless children."

"He is far from helpless. I recommend not underestimating him if you don't want to lose your first match to a teenager."

Bayonetta laughed. "Now that would be a surprise. Don't tell me even the children around here have killed gods...speaking of, are there any angels here?" Had he heard that right? She had killed a god?

"Indeed there are. You can go to the Skyworld stage if you wish to fight them, but keep in mind that while sparring matches are allowed, all parties involved must agree to them beforehand."

"Now that sounds like a good time. Which way is it?"

"Before you go, you and the others need to hear the rules, at least the important ones."

"Must I sit through this lecture again?" The cat-man-creature finally spoke in a deep, annoyed voice. "Roy and I already know all of this."

---

"Wait, that's it? Didn't anyone else say anything about me?" Lucas said. Even his empathic sense told him Kamui had hardly thought about his stupidity at all at the time.

"No, not much. Did you think it was really that important to us?" Kamui said. "I had much bigger questions on my mind than why some random kid was breaking the rules, no offense."

"No, but I thought...never mind, sorry..." Lucas trailed off quietly and stared a hole into the floor.

"Relax, Luke, they weren't all laughing at you behind your back. Right Roy?" Ness said.

"Yes, it's as Kamui said. If they had, I would have said something about it, since Master Hand did say you were a friend of Ness." Roy said.

"Thanks, Roy..." Lucas smiled faintly. Maybe other people didn't think bad things about him as much as he did it to himself. It was probably self-centered of him to think they did. They had more important things in their lives, didn't they? Somehow that thought of his own insignificance was comforting.

"So what happened next? What were people talking about instead of me?"

"Next we had to listen to Master Hand go on and on about the rules and the Subspace War, but I barely paid attention to most of it..." Kamui said.

---

"Some rules have changed since the second tournament, such as the introduction of new items including Smash Balls and Assist Trophies. More importantly, the Subspace War happened."

"There was a war here?" Roy said in shock, and others echoed his surprise. "I wasn't there to help...please tell me no one died."

"Of course not. After all, fighters can only be turned into trophies...even so, it was a close battle. The short version is that a former subordinate of mine, Zero, now known as Tabuu, betrayed our organization and attempted to absorb our world into the dimension known as Subspace. To do so, he tricked several villains into working for me, and therefore him, when I was temporarily under his mind control. He scattered the rest of the Smashers across our world, but they eventually reunited and defeated him with Crazy Hand's help as well as mine. I hope none of you are foolish enough to be deceived in the same way by any future enemies who attack this world. The long version will have to wait until this Saturday when the week's matches are no longer keeping me busy. Then you and the other newcomers will receive the full explanation."

Kamui remained silent while the others had various reactions. With every answer came more questions.

"If we arrived later than the other newcomers like the letter said, why didn't you tell them already?" Ryu said.

"As I already said, I was busy scheduling matches, and I despise having to repeat myself. Now before we waste any more time, let me give you a brief explanation of what you need to know in your first few days here..."

Master Hand went on talking for a while, and most of it went over Kamui's head. He couldn't focus on much of anything except his doppelganger and the pendant she wore. Just who was she?

"If you have any further questions, ask the Miis or veteran Smashers for more details." The giant glove floated near him and Corrin. "I need to speak to Corrin and Kamui in my office."

He snapped his fingers and reality shifted around them.

---

"Finally, about time we got to the important part." Ness said.

"I felt the same way, all I wanted to know was how I could possibly have a female doppelganger. I had so many more questions too..." Kamui said.

Lucas listened carefully, maybe if he paid attention he'd be able to understand what led to Kamui and Corrin hating each other so much.

---

When the lights and colors stopped spinning, they were on an enormous desk in a room where everything was oversized to the point that Master Hand looked like an ordinary glove compared to the objects, as if they had shrunk to being tiny instead of human sized.

"What the...what is this place? Why did you bring us here?" Corrin said.

"You aren't in trouble. I brought you here because there is something both of you need to know."

"Oh, just one thing?" Kamui grit his teeth. "How about everything? Everything you've said has only given me more questions. Who are you? What are you? What is this world, really? What is this tournament for? Why invite me when there are more skilled fighters in my world like Ryoma? Has time truly stopped there? And just who is she?" He said pointing at Corrin. "How does she look so much like me, have my name, wield the Yato, and have Azura's pendant of all things?! I've never even heard of her before! Most importantly, can I talk about-" Kamui paled and cut himself off. Corrin gasped too, as if she realized the mistake he almost made. No, that couldn't be right. "Just tell me what you know."

"That would be easier if you didn't ask me so many questions."

"I've been lied to my entire life...what is so wrong with wanting some answers?"

"So be it. Let me start with the one question you wanted to ask, but did not: no, you have no need to fear Anan-"

"Don't say it!" They both said. So she really did know?

"I despise being interrupted. The curse does not reach this universe, and even if it did, Anankos's power would be no match for mine. See? I said his name, and nothing happened. I can speak of Valla as well, and so can you. Your silence is over...it must have been so difficult to be forced to give others only half-truths."

Kamui stared in shock. He didn't feel any reaction from Azura's pendant and its magic, nor did he see the glove start fading away into bubbles like Azura had after overusing her power. He didn't need to trust a stranger's word when the evidence was right before his eyes.

"We can finally talk about Anankos?" He took a deep breath after the last word, but nothing happened. No grisly death at his own father's hands awaited him. At least not yet. "Oh thank the gods. I've waited so long to be able to speak freely like this...I can't imagine how difficult it was for Azura keeping these secrets for so much longer." Kamui frowned, just how weak was he compared to her?

"You met her too? How is that even possible? She would have told me if she had seen someone who looks so much like me." Corrin said, but her face had a guilty look on it too.

"That brings me to my next answer. The two of you are similar because you are different versions of each other from different timelines."

"Time...line?" Corrin said.

"Of course you would be unfamiliar with the terminology...let me put it this way: imagine if history took a different course, partly by chance, and partly by you making different choices. The person standing across from you is the result of a world almost identical to yours, except that you were born the opposite gender and fought on the opposite side of the war."

Kamui stared at the woman who looked just like him, who was him, except not quite. It all clicked. She was what he could have been. The embodiment of all his worst fears and regrets was right in front of him. He'd always wondered if he could have saved both his families if he had chosen Nohr instead, or if he would have gotten even more of his loved ones killed instead.

"If you're who I would be if I chose Nohr, then why do you still have that pendant?!" Azura never would have given away her last keepsake of her mother if she still lived.

"That's what I should be asking you! Why did you let her die? Who else did you let die?!"

Kamui didn't know where to start. He wasn't interested in reopening those wounds...then again, he needed to know the exact same things from her...

"I would rather move on to answering the rest of the questions you asked me..." Master Hand said. "But clearly this is the one that matters the most to you, isn't it? You both wish to know which of your choices was the better one."

"Yes, exactly." Kamui said, and Corrin nodded as well. Nervous sweat went down his brow. Just how much did this glove know? What answers might he have?

"The answer depends on your views on morality. The facts are that the war had many casualties in both timelines, though not nearly as many as there would have been if it was not brought to a quicker conclusion by your efforts. However, some lives have a greater emotional weight to you than others, so let me start by explaining who among those close to you died in each timeline. Since your paths diverged when the war began, Mikoto's death happened in the same manner for both of you, and as you have guessed, Azura died in both timelines as well. The cause was identical: from overexerting her magic in the final battle. Another casualty you have in common is Lilith, who died protecting each of you in different circumstances. For Corrin, it was from a Faceless summoned by Iago, while for Kamui, it was from Hans. For your information, both of them were killed in revenge even in Corrin's timeline where she sided with Nohr. Both of you had to fight your adoptive father, Garon, in one way or another, but you had little love for him for good reason. When it comes to your adoptive siblings among the Nohrian and Hoshidan royalty, Takumi and Ryoma were killed in Corrin's timeline, while it was Elise and Xander in Kamui's." How could he say all that with so little emotion? It was too much information for Kamui to take.

"You killed ELISE?!" Corrin unsheathed her sword and jumped at him with a shout. Kamui reached for the Yato too slow to react in time, but a barrier appeared between them to block her slash.

"No, you don't understand, it wasn't me! It wasn't anyone else on my side either, it was...it was friendly fire." He couldn't bear to tell her who did it and how.

"Liar! A healer like her would be on the back lines, so that makes no sense."

"What he says is true, and it disappoints me that you've already broken the rule I told you about only minutes ago." Master Hand said.

"Why should I believe you? How do you even know so much about us in the first place? If you're so powerful and all-knowing, then did you watch everything that happened in our world and do nothing?" Corrin said with a glare.

"I would have intervened if I could have. However, I cannot leave this universe, nor am I omniscient. Believe me, I sympathize with your struggles, which is why I am being so lenient with your attitude right now. But do not test my patience further if you want me to continue generously telling you all of this information."

Corrin bit her lip and sheathed her sword, trying to calm down. Kamui did his best to do the same despite everything he'd heard that was making his head spin.

"No, Kamui did not kill Elise. Both of you did all you could to not bring any harm to your siblings, even when you were fighting on different sides. Even so, sometimes tragedy is unavoidable."

"Unavoidable? It could've been avoided if I wasn't so stupid!" Kamui said. "There must have been a way she could have done better too!"

"It is always easier to say that in hindsight. Like you, I too have made mistakes. It was my own stifling order that pushed Tabuu to rebellion, not just his own selfishness. If I had known what he had planned and how my actions would lead him down that path, I could have tried to prevent it. But now I can only live with the consequences and strive to do better...that is why the Miis have more freedom now than they did when they were still Wireframes. You too will have to learn to accept what happened instead of dwelling on what could have been."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but are you saying this is the best I could do?" Corrin blinked back tears. "Even if I chose Hoshido and did everything I could to save everyone, I'd still fail? Is my fate just to hurt everyone I love no matter what I choose or how hard I try?!"

"Tell me it's not true." Kamui couldn't keep his eyes dry either. "If I'm destined to fail, why even bother?"

"As I said, I am not omniscient...what I do know is that choosing to do nothing is also a choice. Do not give in to despair and assume your future efforts will only lead to more mistakes."

"What can I even do now?" Corrin said. "Anankos is still alive, it doesn't matter that we killed his puppet...and we can't tell anyone about him unless we can convince them to jump off a cliff."

"Let me answer another of your questions: time is indeed suspended in your worlds while you are here, or to be more accurate, this universe is outside of normal space-time. That means you have three months to figure out what to do once you return." Even that only brought him a small sense of relief.

"As for who and what I am, I am a primordial being nearly as old as time itself. I embody the forces of creation and order, and yes, I look like a right-handed glove. However, this is not my true form." He floated at an angle so that they could see into his 'back', the open part of the glove. "Inside is my core, though you cannot see it, and frankly, you would not want to." All they saw was a white void, not even any of the inside of the glove. Then he turned around. "This brings me to another point: like your sword, I am incomplete."

"What do you mean?" Kamui said. At least the confusion distracted him from the gut-wrenching pain. "Wait...you're a right-handed glove, so there should be a left-handed glove to go with you, is that it?"

"...Yes, that is one way to answer that. That would be Crazy Hand, my twin brother who embodies destruction and chaos. Order and chaos need to exist in balance for life to flourish, as do creation and destruction. My restrictive order led to chaos with Tabuu's rebellion, and the same applies in reverse: too much chaos destroys life, without which the universe is far more orderly. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I understand...you're saying Hoshido and Nohr could exist in harmony too." Kamui said. "And that I need them to work together if I want to use the Yato's full potential to stop Anankos."

"That still doesn't explain why you chose us for the tournament and not someone else." Corrin said. "Why not Xander instead of me, or Ryoma instead of him? If you made this tournament just for fun to find out who is the most skilled, I'm not the best choice." To think in her world, Xander still lived, but at the cost of Ryoma...how was he supposed to pick? What right did he have to decide who lived and who died? "Are you taking pity on us just to give us time to prepare? Is it because we know things that they don't?"

"There are several reasons I created this tournament. Entertainment is one of them, yes, and to find out what each of you are capable of and how you compare to each other. I see the potential in every Smasher, even if they fail to see it in themselves. We have more in common than you might think, which is why I sympathize with your struggles and hope you take my advice: don't waste your time here arguing with each other over who deserves more blame. I am certain you could keep asking me questions for hours, but you will have to hear the rest of the details of your timelines from each other. I have a very busy schedule. Enjoy your new living quarters."

Master Hand snapped his fingers again, which teleported them out of his office and to their rooms.

---

By the time Kamui was done explaining, Lucas had the feeling he had left out a lot. His empathic sense made him certain that conversation had been far more intense than he let on. Especially what little he said of what Master Hand had explained to each of them about the other's timeline. But he wasn't going to make the mistake of spying on someone else's memories again, so he'd have to deal with not knowing everything Kamui just remembered.

"What confused me the most was how he said the two of us have some things in common with him...what could I have in common with a giant, floating glove?" Kamui said.

"I don't know, you'd be surprised..." Lucas said. "I think we're all more similar than we think." Being able to sense people's emotions didn't hurt. Coming up with plans to take down a seemingly unstoppable dictator...pushing down endless guilt and what ifs...even being forced to fight his own family...he knew a thing or two about what those felt like. "I'm sure you two can beat that guy, too. I know dictators try really hard to make themselves look strong, but they're really cowardly and lazy deep down. Just like Porky..." He muttered that last part. "If even I could overthrow one, there's no way you can't with all these people helping you." Lucas said.

"Robin already told me, but I still can't believe you did that at what, thirteen years old? That's even younger than Elise!" Kamui said.

"Who's Elise?" Lucas said.

"..."

All he got from his empathic senses was 'youngest sister' and 'dead', and an awful feeling he'd see something bad if he was stupid enough to snoop on Kamui's thoughts right now. These two weren't just sad, they were depressed. It wasn't the same as an emotion...it practically drained the color from the world and made everything feel dull and meaningless, even things that used to be fun. Even getting out of bed could be a difficult task. No wonder the fight with them had been easy when they'd lost even more people than he had. It was that and their bad teamwork...so just what would they be capable of if they weren't held back by either?

Was that what held him back in the last tournament, too? Lucas frowned, other people had been through things as bad as him or worse and they hadn't been so weak.

Mewtwo opened the door and floated into the room, making everyone turn their heads.

"Lucas and Ness, I told you earlier that you aren't ready to help Robin and Reflet, but that can change. I can teach you the rest of what you need to know if you're willing to learn."

"Like what?" Ness said. "What can you teach us that we don't already know? We already helped out Pikachu, and with them it's just the same thing but harder. Plus now I know PK Teleport Omega, and I think that'll make finding their memories way easier. You've got a little snow right there, by the way." Ness saying that made Mewtwo wipe a bit of snow off his shoulder. "Where did that come from? I thought you were too boring for snowball fights."

"It's none of your business, and there is so much that you don't know. This will not be merely a more difficult version of what happened with Pikachu...the key difference here is Grima. He exerts a corruptive influence over Robin and Reflet's minds, so we must be able to suppress it when recovering their memories, in case they are not able to do it themselves. I would do that on my own, but the problem is that my power is ineffective against darkness, which forces me to rely on the two of you by combining our psychic energy. Because of that, you need to be capable of not only defending against his possession attempts but striking back. In other words, you need to know at least the basics of how to control another's mind."

"But I don't wanna know how to do that!" Lucas said. "It's messed up to control other people, even if they're bad...I don't want to be able to do the same bad stuff as Porky. Or, uh..."

"Or me? You can just say it. Don't be foolish enough to assume that gaining a skill will somehow turn you into a monster...it's up to you how you use it, and you could use it to keep others from using it for evil. Knowing how it's done makes it much easier to stop or reverse it. Besides, Grima is not an enemy who deserves any sympathy. Robin has told me he has had centuries to change his evil ways and has no interest in doing so. We need to take every precaution to ensure he has no chance of ever controlling Robin's body again."

"I get what you mean, I'm just not sure..." The thought of being able to inflict anything remotely similar to the kind of torment Claus suffered made him feel sick. "There's gotta be some better way we could make this easier. Like, uh...um..." Lucas racked his brain for answers. What could they do better? "Maybe I could learn PK Teleport Omega too? He said that helps with memories...no, wait, that's stupid, I only just learned how to use Gamma!" There was no way he could learn it faster than Ness had. But if that wasn't an option, then what else was there? "Uh...well..." Lucas stared into the table to avoid everyone's expectant looks. He couldn't think fast enough.

Oh right. He could.

Lucas made the neurons in his brain work faster, or the electrical impulses, or whatever it was, he was no scientist. It wasn't like he could make himself any smarter, though. He was sure Red could come up with an answer in a fraction of the time, fast thoughts or not. No one knew better about how to optimize a team. The problem was people and Pokemon both took time to train to get stronger or learn new moves. But balancing a team wasn't just about increasing strengths, it was about compensating for weaknesses too, like all the nasty things they'd seen in Magicant. Time went back to its normal speed when the idea hit him.

"Wait, what if we're thinking of all this backwards? It's like a Pokemon team, we can't just learn new moves, we have to cover each other's weak points too, right? And some of us barely know each other...that's why some stuff surprised people in Magicant, like the stuff Mewtwo wanted me to keep a secret!" Lucas stared at Mewtwo.

"Back then you said your past is your business, but you made it our business when we had to fight it." Ness said with a frown and crossed arms.

"How hypocritical of you to say that when you kept your own secrets as well, which the rest of us had to fight." Mewtwo said.

"Not as many as you!" Ness pouted.

"Calm down, Ness...Mewtwo, I get your privacy is important, and I'm not blaming you, but the thing is, we ended up finding out anyways." Lucas said. "So it just made it harder since nobody knew what to expect. And I know Ness did that too, that's why we should all try to tell each other what to expect next time. Wouldn't that help?"

"What was that you said earlier? Magic can't what?" Corrin said tilting her head in confusion.

"No, it's a word for a place called 'Magicant'...well not really a place, just what it looks like in someone's mind...uh, I don't know how to explain it. Sorry." Lucas said awkwardly.

"Yeah, you can't really get it until you've been there." Ness said. "So, uh, back to what you said, Luke, are you saying you want everyone in the team to talk about their pasts? That sounds like it would get really awkward fast, and it would take a while."

"You're right, it's probably stupid..."

"Hey, I didn't say it wouldn't be worth it."

"I do. It would be a waste of time for everyone involved." Mewtwo said. "What good would complaining about our feelings do? We are preparing for a battle, not a therapy session." He spat out the last two words with disgust.

"About that..." Lucas hesitated to say what he thought of next. What if he exposed his own secrets by implication? Enough people looked down on him already...but staying silent would keep him from helping these people. "Y'all need therapy. All those nightmares came from the stuff bothering us. Maybe if we talked about it, we wouldn't have to fight as many..."

"How ironic for you of all people to say that." Had he revealed it to everyone else? No, that didn't confirm anything...but they might suspect.

"Fine, I get it, I've got issues too, but at least I admit it! You act all tough and try to handle everything on your own, but you just end up making it everyone else's problem."

Just like Dad. Or how he used to be, at least. Leaving those wounds to fester didn't hurt just the one who had them.

"So you see me as a burden on the group?" Mewtwo said.

"No, sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I know you're really good at this stuff, and I appreciate all the help, I'm just saying it'll be easier for everyone if we tell each other our pasts. Maybe. I don't know. It's not a therapy session, and I'm not good at that, anyways...but I heard some Luma saying Rosalina is."

"This is still a terrible idea. All of you can do what you wish, but I want no part in it." Mewtwo said.

"Personally, I think he has a point." Robin said. "I can't say I know much about fighting on some bizarre mental battlefield, so I'd like to have some idea of what enemies we'll be going up against besides Grima. If we each know of each other's pasts, we won't be in the dark on that front. Except for my own past, of course...as for what he said about therapy, I'm doing fine, but it might help the children. They've already seen too much for their age, and adding in everyone else's fears will only make it worse."

A few nervous glances showed him the others weren't reacting like he thought either. Were they really not going to laugh at his ideas? Lucas frowned, it wasn't right to assume they'd be so mean, he just couldn't help it.

"You aren't 'fine', Robin, or did I only imagine all the times nightmares disturbed your sleep?" Lucina said.

"No, but yours are more frequent, and do they really need to hear this?" Robin said.

"They do if your mind is going to be a battlefield."

"I suppose you're right..." Robin sighed. "Still, your past was far worse than mine."

"We don't know everything about your past yet." Lucina said ominously. "I wish the version of you from my time had told me more of the details...he said he would when I was older, but by then, he had already been possessed by Grima."

"A poor move on my part." Robin said. "Thanks to him, we don't know much except that my mother fled the Grimleal after I was born, and we moved to Ylisse at some point after the war Chrom's father waged on Plegia. We haven't found much evidence for what we did after that, either...whoever we were, we must have lived a quiet life."

"Whatever it was, what could possibly compete with Grima nearly ending the world?" Reflet said. "No matter what lies in our clouded memories, it can't be worse than that."

"Even if you're right, that doesn't mean it couldn't be terrible." Chrom said. "Are you sure you still want to remember all of this? You're just fine the way you are, and I don't want any of it to trouble you..."

"I have to know. But I know there are risks...that's why I'll go along with Lucas's idea of hearing everyone's stories so we can come up with some kind of plan based on what we'll be working with and against. You know how the saying goes: 'if you know yourself and your enemy, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'"

"Didn't you come up with that phrase?" Chrom said. "I've heard the same general idea before in strategy lessons, but I remember you being the first one to put it in those exact words."

"Hmm...I was sure it wasn't me. That's strange." Reflet held her chin in confusion, then put her gloved hand back on the table.

"I dunno what you're talking about, but I'm with Luke's idea too. You can't think your way through everything, though. Magicant gets crazy, so it's a battle of willpower, not smarts."

"Well, I'm not." Kamui said. "Just how long are we going to talk about this before we get back to business? I'm trying to save my world here. No offense, but I think that's more important than all of you going on and on about your pasts. I don't have all day, and tomorrow I'll have to worry about tournament matches again..." Kamui sighed.

"You have a point, this has taken a while...can the three of you come back later today? I'll find some time to talk with you and the rest of your teammates later." Reflet said.

"Okay, but Roy hasn't said what he thinks yet." Ness turned to Roy. "So, you cool with Luke's idea or not?"

"Doesn't everyone in our group already know about my past?"

"Yeah, mostly, since I told Link and Lucas about you in the third tournament. You could still hear whatever you missed about everyone else, though. Like the stuff Mewtwo doesn't wanna talk about..." Ness stared at Mewtwo. "Don't you get everyone else is gonna find out about your past anyways? So what's the point of trying to hide it? All you're gonna do is make it harder for everyone. What, are you too chicken?"

"Do you honestly think I would fall for such childish taunts?"

"I think if you're really as smart as you think you are, you'll figure out you're the one being stupid here."

Mewtwo stared back for a long moment.

"Fine. I will tell them what they need to know, but no more than that. I still need both of you to at least learn how to help suppress Grima's influence...if Lucas refuses to, then one of you learning it would be better than nothing."

"Eh, I don't know if I want to learn that either, but I guess I should just in case. So, sounds like everyone agrees with the plan then."

"I don't." Kamui said.

"No one cares, dude, you're not on the team anyways."

"I'm not on your team? You're the one who barged into my strategy meeting!"

"All right, that's enough arguing." Robin said. "To be fair, you did do that. The three of you can come back here in...oh, I don't know..." Robin squinted at the clock. "An hour? That'll have to be long enough for us to wrap this up. Sorry, Kamui, I know that isn't much...I'll try to make it up to you later with whatever I learn from all these memories."

"No, it's fine..." Kamui said, calming himself down. "I owe you already for everything you've done."

Mewtwo teleported away in a flash. Moments later, Ness did the same. Lucas pouted, when would he get to do that?

He got out of his chair while Reflet took another sip of her coffee. Now that he looked, there were bags under her eyes, and the same went for Robin. Just how much coffee had they had?

---

Later that day...

"I think that sums it up, that's everything that happened in Magicant." Ness said while sitting next to Lucas at the table. Across from them were Roy, Robin, and Reflet, to Ness's left was the younger Link, with Kirby sitting on his lap. Shulk sat at the corner seat near Reflet while Mewtwo sat in the middle seat of the right side which put some empty space between him and the others. The chair was clearly too small for him...

"That's quite the story!" Reflet said. "As hard as it is to believe, if all of that truly happened, then that tells us a lot about what we have to worry about. It seems our enemies will be whatever we fear or regret the most. And Grima."

"So Grima isn't among your fears?" Robin said.

"Not anymore." Reflet lied. "All he can do now is whine about his fate, and I only let myself hear him if I feel like it."

"It's the same for me. You should hear some of the things he's said about his plans for revenge if he can resurrect himself again. He's quite creative in his pettiness when he wants to be." Robin said with a chuckle. "What's really hard to believe is that one of Mewtwo's worst fears is a little girl of all thi-"

"Silence! I am not afraid of a little girl." Mewtwo glared and flared with a pink aura of hostile intent. "You know almost nothing about me, and Ness failed to explain the full context behind what happened in Magicant."

"Only 'cuz you'd get mad at me telling your secret!" Ness said.

"Which is why I will explain it myself, at least to the extent they need to know of." Mewtwo frowned and turned his head while hunched over at the table. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. You already know I destroyed Dr. Fuji's lab, but there is more to my past before that day. My first memories are from when I was much younger and still growing in that same test tube. Even though I appeared to be asleep to the humans, my telepathic abilities activated on their own and allowed me to communicate with someone else...that someone was the little girl you speak of. I was not the only test subject in that terrible place."

"They experimented on children?!" Reflet said in shock.

"Yes, just not in the way you think. Fuji was mad with grief and sought to bring back his daughter, Amber, by making a clone of her. However, she was not the same person as the original, and human cloning is illegal for a good reason: human clones cannot survive past early childhood, so creating them dooms them to an early death. Fuji thought he could overcome this limitation by learning the secrets of Mew's immortality from my DNA, but he failed."

"Then that girl, Amber...she didn't make it."

"Ambertwo died, and I...there is no other way to say it: I threw a temper tantrum like the brat I was. I was so weak and emotional back then, but my psychic powers were already great enough to terrify the humans. They thought their only hope was to sedate me and erase all my memories of her...they were fools. That was why when I awoke years later, I had no good memories of humans to outweigh how they treated me like a tool. You know what that led to." Ness had already told them the rest of the story based on what they saw in Magicant.

"Yes, I'm well aware...you two must have been close for her to change your opinion on humans so much. That means she was in this 'Magicant' as one of your regrets, not your fears." Robin said.

"Is that enough to satisfy you, or must I explain even more?" Mewtwo said with an annoyed look.

"No, that's enough...I understand why you don't want to talk about it, I just never imagined you as a child like that." Robin said. "Hold on a second, this is what Lucas meant when he said he restored some of your memories, isn't it? He told me that he did during your battle, but not what those memories were...they were of your childhood with Ambertwo, weren't they? Didn't you say her name was Amber earlier?"

"No, Amber is the girl she was a clone of, hence the name Ambertwo...or did you think my name has a 'two' in it by accident?"

"Oh...yes, of course, now that makes me sound like an idiot. Fantastic. Excuse me for not being familiar with your world's advanced technology." Robin said with a sigh. Mewtwo chuckled and made a smug smirk at Robin's embarrassed reaction. Apparently deciding to be good didn't get rid of Mewtwo's evil laugh. "So, who's next? Now we know what the four of them saw in their minds, but not what the rest of us would have to fight."

"Ooh, I could tell my story first!" Link said. "Want me to tell you about that time I fought a giant bird? Or how about when I teamed up with Tetra to fight Ganondorf?"

"I've got a better idea, how about we each tell each other's stories?" Ness said. "I'll tell Lucas's story, he can tell yours, and you can explain mine. Roy doesn't have to talk about his past since everyone's already heard it." Lucas silently thanked him for bringing up the idea without saying the reason for it.

"I haven't heard it." Shulk said.

"Oh. Uh...I dunno then. We'll figure that out later, let's just start talking so this doesn't take all day."

So that was what they did. Lucas went first with explaining Link's adventure and remembered how much they had in common. For Link, the quest to save his sister turned into a journey to save the world too, and for him, it was the other way around. Retelling Link's story wasn't so hard since it didn't end tragically, other than the old king of Hyrule sacrificing himself to send them to the surface at the end while the lost undersea ruins of Hyrule were washed away for good. How strange that he and Link both had to find out about an old world in ruins and were forced to fight horrors of that past clawing their way back to the present.

Next was his own story, and Lucas silently thanked Ness for telling it for him again. Only Shulk, Robin, and Reflet didn't already know it, so he watched their reactions carefully. Shulk gasped, Robin and Reflet's faces paled, and Reflet's mouth hung open in shock.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Shulk said.

"So am I." Robin said. "I had no idea you lost your brother too...for a while now, I've been wondering why you were like this, and now it all makes sense. I'm surprised you even joined the tournament at all after seeing him..." He frowned, opened his mouth, then paused awkwardly. "I...know what that's like. Not losing a sibling, but witnessing someone...do what Emmeryn did. Chrom and Lissa were her siblings, not me, so it hit them the hardest, but it was my fault...we all wanted to find a way to save her, but I was the tactician, it was my job to think of one." Robin said with a guilty look. "But I'm fine now. Now I know sometimes there just isn't any good choice..."

"I don't get what you mean about not having a choice...were you too far away to stop her when you found out she was going to?" Lucas said. "How did you even find out, and why did she do it?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know the circumstances...it wasn't that she was miserable and wanted to end her own life. Emmeryn was captured by Gangrel and his army during the war with Plegia, and he planned to have her publicly executed in the Plegian capitol. We raced to stop him, but he used her as a hostage: it was either hand over the Fire Emblem, or let her die. That's what I meant about having no choice. We had a plan to rescue her with pegasus knights, but I didn't know Aversa could summon Risen archers to shoot them down...a fatal oversight on my part."

"I still don't get it. If it was the bad guys who wanted to hurt her, then why did she do it?"

"Because Gangrel made an oversight too in the location he chose for the execution: positioned on the edge of Grima's massive skeleton, so he could have her fall to her death where everyone could see. I tried to think of another way to save her, but I couldn't, and I couldn't just let her die, nor could I give up the Fire Emblem knowing Validar would use it to revive Grima. So...she made the choice for me." Robin said bitterly. "The only consolation I can take is that her sacrifice changed the world. Her words to the Plegian army and her sacrifice convinced thousands of soldiers to desert now that they knew Ylisseans weren't all like her fa-"

"No, that can't be right!" Lucas blurted out before he knew it. "There must've been a better way! Why didn't she try to find a way out too? Didn't she care how much she was hurting her siblings?! It wasn't...it wasn't the right thing to do!" Lucas seethed, then sniffled and blinked back tears. "It wasn't the right thing for Claus either! I know he thought he had to do it or else he'd hurt me, but h-he...he s-snapped out of it, he was himself again! He didn't h-have to...he just felt so bad he was hasty...I know he was s-scared and he wanted to see Mom again, but it's not fair...why'd he have to do that to himself? Why'd he have to do that to me? It's n-not...it's not fair..!" Lucas's voice cracked. He wiped his eyes and tried not to break into sobs.

"I'm sorry...I don't know what to say..." Robin paused awkwardly. "You know your brother better than I do. What happened with him wasn't the same as with Emmeryn, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. He was just a child, so he must have been confused and scared, and I don't know if what he did was a mistake or not, but it was tragic either way. Emmeryn was an adult trying to make the best of an impossible situation...but it still hurt Chrom and Lissa, and I know she was sorry for that. I'm sure Claus was sorry too. Sorry...I should stop talking, shouldn't I?" Robin said with another guilty look before looking away.

There was something about that guilty look, as if he was sorry for something else he did. Even without being able to read Robin's mind thanks to the second psychic presence obscuring his thoughts, he knew he was hiding something. Lucas tried his hardest to think despite his blurry vision and racing thoughts. He took a deep breath, and then it hit him.

"You said..." Lucas sniffled again and wiped his eyes. "You said a while ago that you sacrificed yourself to kill Grima for good, but then you came back. I didn't think about it back then because you turned out ok...but you didn't know that when you did it. You thought you would stay dead...so why did you do it? Didn't you want to live? Didn't you care about hurting your friends' feelings?!"

"Believe me, I did, and I'm sorry for it, but it was the only way I could make sure Grima didn't come back to life. I couldn't stand the thought of being responsible for the suffering he would inflict on future generations. It wouldn't be anyone I know personally, but it felt wrong to not care just because of that...even strangers are still people with feelings just like my friends and Lucina. Now I understand how Emmeryn was feeling back then...even if it would end her life and make her loved ones mourn her, she chose the greater good regardless."

"I still don't like it..." Lucas said with a frown.

"I know, and I'm glad I survived. Still, I don't regret what I chose, I just wish your brother hadn't done the same..."

Lucas looked away from Robin and saw Reflet staring at him with a horrified, guilty expression. Why hadn't she said anything all this time? An awkward silence fell over the room.

"Back then, in our battle, you..." Reflet said awkwardly. "You had this look in your eyes every time I used lightning...it was just like the look Lucina had back when she thought she had to...then at the end, you missed when I used the Levin Sword...was this why? Because of what your brother did?"

Lucas's silence was enough of an answer.

"So I made you relive all of that...oh gods, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to apologize."

"It's not like you knew, so it's not your fault...it's fine. I'm fine. Really. I don't want people to go easy on me anyways...but what were you saying about Lucina?"

Reflet sighed. "If you must know, I'll tell you. After Validar managed to temporarily control me, Lucina convinced herself the only way to stop Grima's revival was to kill me first. But before you judge her, she couldn't bring herself to go through with it. I am her mother, after all..."

"...Oh." Lucas felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't think of anything more disturbing than someone feeling like they had to kill their mom to save the world. He'd thought he could handle hearing his story again. Apparently he was wrong. "C-can I step out of the room for a minute? I already know Ness's story, so I'll come back once Link is done talking about it."

He didn't want to look weak, but having a breakdown in front of them would be even worse.

"Of course, go ahead." Robin said.

He managed to walk out of the room at a normal speed and hold back his tears long enough to get out of their hearing range in the hallways. He tried to cry quietly in case anyone else was wandering around here. There was always the option of teleporting somewhere quieter, but it was hard to focus like this.

"Luke, you don't have to come back, okay? I can just fill you in on the details once we're done." Ness said telepathically.

"No, I'll be okay, just give me a minute."

Lucas cut off the telepathic link and found an empty room with some chairs so he could sit down. He needed to get this out of his system so he didn't have a meltdown. Well. A worse one than he'd already had.

He tried looking at his surroundings to ground himself. Apparently this room had a piano, but unlike Nana he didn't know how to play one. All he knew how to play even a little was the guitar Duster got him for his birthday. Even he could think of his favorite songs in his head, though, no need for one of those weird PorkPods. The DCMC's best hits played while he waited for his tear ducts to dry out. Thankfully, he had the foresight to bring some tissues in his pocket before the meeting.

---

They had finished telling what they knew of Kirby's story before he got back, not just Ness's, but he still remembered both of those, so it was fine. Roy's story wasn't new to him either, not when he'd heard it secondhand from Ness last tournament.

So how did it still manage to chill him to the bone? Maybe it was because he was hearing it from Roy, who felt like telling it himself instead of having Ness say it for him. This red-haired boy became the commander of an army at the tender age of fifteen. Commander. Lucas shuddered at the word. So what if he had chosen the role unlike Claus? He hadn't chosen his father becoming ill and leaving him with only two options, shamefully turn away from what he felt was his duty, or chase after his father's shadow. It was an easy choice. Of course it was when he had no idea what war was truly like, no matter how many stories and strategy lessons he'd heard.

Experience was a teacher nearly as quick and brutal as Rutger. Treachery and tragedy awaited at every turn, starting with the death of Hector. Roy arrived just in time to watch the man who was his uncle in all but blood bleed out from wounds given to him by Zephiel and the dragons his priestess summoned. Yes, plural. Of course they hadn't fought fair, and of course he had shown up just barely too late.

"I was too late to save Lord Hector, but his struggle wasn't in vain. He and Lady Lyn badly wounded Zephiel and Idunn in their battle against them...if they had been there and at full strength by the time we arrived, our army would have been finished then and there. They both had to retreat and took weeks to recover. Even so, I can't help wondering...if Father had never fallen ill, could he have made it in time? He could have fought alongside his old friends and defeated a dragon, just like old times..." Roy sighed. "But he was not there, I was. And I wasn't a good enough replacement."

"That's not fair to say about yourself." Reflet said. "You did everything you could, and it's not as if Eliwood could have made the same army move so much faster."

"Yeah, and your dad was older than you when he started his journey too!" Ness said. "So even if he was better, it's not like that's your fault, and even he couldn't save everyone."

"I know, I know...I've heard all of this before. Even so, none of it changes the fact that they died. I don't need to be consoled...as Mewtwo said, this is a strategy meeting, not a therapy session. I'm telling you all of this because we need to prepare each other for whatever enemies we may face, even if those enemies could be memories of our fallen friends. Especially then." He said while glancing at Mewtwo, who frowned in response to the implication it was his turn to talk.

"Fine...discussing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses is a more logical reason to speak of our losses than complaining about our feelings." Mewtwo said, then turned to the others. "All of you have nothing to fear from Ambertwo: she was never able to live in the outside world, let alone learn to fight. Even in my imagination, all she had was our fellow clones, Charmandertwo, Bulbasaurtwo, and Squirtletwo, who were unevolved and therefore relatively weak. As for what other enemies may come from my thoughts, Ness already mentioned our battle with Giovanni and Deoxys, so there is no need for me to waste time repeating what they are capable of." He looked back at Roy and waited.

"I suppose it's my turn again, then. There's so much I could say about them, so I'll focus on how they fought: Hector was a master of the Thunder Axe Armads, and even in middle age he was still one of the greatest warriors in Elibe. Lyn was different: she favored speed over strength and used the sword Mani Katti. They were different in many ways, honestly, but their strengths complemented each other. I still miss them...not that my grief could compare to Lilina's, since they were her parents...and I was the one who had to tell her..."

"Sorry you had to give her the bad news..." Lucas said.

"Thank you, but that was a long time ago. Now where was I..?"

Roy moved on with telling his tale before long, explaining how he reunited with Lilina to give her said news while fighting traitors among Ostia's ranks. Then an army led by the egotistical general Narcian marched to their doorstep, only to be forced to flee by the arrival of Cecilia who led the Etrurian forces that finally answered the Lycian League's call for aid.

However, just when it seemed the tide would turn in their favor now that the largest rival to Bern was on their side, they discovered infighting even among Etruria. All of it was part of Zephiel's plan prepared years in advance to divide and conquer his enemies by exploiting human greed and cowardice. After all, there were many benefits to being on the winning side of a war, and not so many to facing an army backed by the firepower of dragons. Durandal was heavy in Roy's hands as he and his allies collected other legendary weapons like it to turn the tide of the war. They found more allies, too, and visited the hidden village of Arcadia along the way before finally defeating Narcian in the Etrurian capitol. From then on, it was their turn to push back Bern's forces and liberate Sacae and Ilia, and their success made Roy hopeful they could bring an end to the fighting soon.

"If only it was that simple." Roy said with a sigh. "Bern's armies retreated from the nations we freed and then regrouped, which meant we finally faced the full force of their military when we set foot on their soil and marched towards the Shrine of Seals. That morning, the sun dawned on the bloodiest day Elibe had ever seen since the Scouring a thousand years ago."

"The what?" Shulk said.

"That's the name given to the war between humans and dragons which ended in most dragons either being killed or exiled through a portal called the Dragon's Gate."

"That's taking it too far, isn't it?" Shulk said. "A war's no excuse for a genocide. Not that anything else is an excuse for a genocide."

"I know, but I wasn't there a thousand years ago to stop it. It's not as if all dragons were gone from Elibe, however...some of them survived and lived in harmony with humans in a village hidden in the Nabata Desert called Arcadia."

"That's good to know...but what were you saying about the bloodiest battle in a thousand years? What made it so bloody?"

The air chilled by at least ten degrees.

"Right...that."

"You don't have to talk about it, bud..." Ness said.

"No, I do." Roy shook his head. "If we're truly going to face echoes of our worst regrets, then you all need to hear this. It was the bloodiest battle in a millenia because that is what happens when the two largest armies in the continent go to war. General Murdock was a skilled commander who wielded Armads, thanks to Zephiel stealing it from Hector after-" Roy grit his teeth. "The point is, he was a strong fighter and he led a fearsome force with more wyvern riders than I could count. We wouldn't have stood a chance without our archers, like my best friend Wolt. Ever since we liberated Sacae and I gave him the legendary bow Mulagir, he was nearly unstoppable. He insisted he wasn't worthy of such an honor and that others could use it better, so I told him he was and it was an order. He saved my life at least three times that day. I just..." Roy stopped gritting his teeth and let out a visible breath. "I just wish I could have repaid the favor."

"It wasn't your fault..." Lucas said. The words felt wrong the moment they came out of his mouth. Hadn't he heard that platitude enough times himself?

"And how would you know?!" The cold intensified as Roy gripped the table's edge too tightly. "You weren't there...if I'd just reached him sooner, or...or what if giving him Mulagir was a mistake? I wanted to help him defend himself, but it made him more of a target the more enemies he killed...and he was so young!"

"So were you. I know I can't know for sure if you did the best thing, but you tried your best...and, uh..."

"He wouldn't blame ya even if it was your fault." Ness said. There were the words he was looking for. "He's not like Porky losing a baseball game."

"You're probably right, I just wish I could know that for certain...he didn't get to say any last words. One moment he was with us, and the next he was gone."

"That must have been hard...at least he didn't suffer." Lucas said. "I know what it's like to lose your best friend in a fight like that."

"But how would you...oh." Roy remembered what Ness told him and the others in the club, and the chill in the air warmed. "I'm sorry for what I said, I'd forgotten for a moment that you went through as much as I did or worse..." Roy glanced around the table with an increasingly concerned look. "Wait...have any of us not had to fight at a young age?"

"Doesn't Mewtwo count? He was pretty big when he woke up from his coma." Ness said.

"Yeah, but he was a kid before he fell asleep, so he wasn't an adult mentally back then..." Lucas said.

"Just like Idunn...she was used as a weapon by her fellow dragons in their war with humanity, then sealed away by humans, then Zephiel awakened her and used her again...I know Mewtwo didn't sleep for quite so long or fight before then, but you see what I mean."

"Yes, the similarities are obvious enough." Mewtwo said dismissively. "So, what of the rest of you? Are any of you not former child soldiers?"

"Dang, it sounds really bad when you say it like that!" Link said. "And I'm not sure...technically, back on Outset we have this big coming of age ceremony whenever someone turns twelve, and everything started on my 12th birthday, but I know I'm still a kid by most people's standards. Worst birthday ever..." He rolled his eyes.

"What about you, Prophecy Man?" Ness said to Shulk. "I know you're eighteen, but were you that old back when you had to fight too?"

"Yes, just barely." Shulk said. "At least I was when the Mechon attacked Colony 9...I was taught how to fight before then, but that wasn't the same. That battle was when I found out I could use the Monado, since Dunban couldn't handle the strain of it anymore. I didn't understand back then why it didn't hurt me like it did with Dunban...not until I found out I was the vessel of Zanza, the god of the Bionis."

"Just like Robin and I are Grima's vessels. To be honest, it's not quite the same, but close enough." Reflet said. "What we have in common is that for our whole childhood, some dark god was waiting for us to grow up so they could exploit their connection to us. Thankfully, Shulk was able to get rid of Zanza for good, while for us it'll have to wait until we've gotten old and died of natural causes. At least I hope it will be natural causes..."

"So did you guys have to fight when you were younger or...wait, of course you don't remember, I'm being stupid, sorry!" Lucas said.

"Don't worry about it. I wish I could tell you more about what you might be walking into in our minds." Robin said. "I still don't understand it...if almost all of you have been through so much at a young age, then why do you still want to help us? Haven't you suffered enough already?"

"Yeah, sure, maybe we have." Ness said. "But you're like us...we've all gotten screwed over by destiny, and I dunno about all of you, but I'm fucking sick of it! That's why we gotta stick together. Instead of complaining about the world taking stuff from us, how about we take something back?"

"Your past doesn't belong to Grima, just like the future didn't belong to Zanza. Everyone deserves to know where they came from." Shulk said.

"I can't think of anything cool to say, but I'm in." Link said.

"Yeah...we're all in this together." Lucas said with a smile.

"Thank you again...I just hope I can find some way to repay you all." Reflet said.

"You're already doing more than enough as part of the strategy team." Roy said. "If we ever have to use all those contingency plans, then we'll be the ones who owe you. You can't overwork yourself too much..."

"You help with those plans too, but you have a point...Chrom has been complaining about how little I've slept." Reflet said.

"And Lucina's said the same to me, it must run in the family." Robin said.

"We should start listening to them." Reflet took another sip of her coffee. "Coffee can only do so much, and I hate being too tired at night for s..." She quickly glanced at the children present. "Sparring matches. Have to stay in shape for the tournament, after all!" She said with her face turning red.

Ness and Link snickered. "I'm psychic, I know you were really talking about sex. Even Link knows and he's not." Lucas just blushed faintly and pretended he didn't hear anything.

"If that's what they meant, then I wish I could do some 'sparring' myself..." Shulk muttered under his breath.

"Boo hoo, your girlfriend isn't here, join the club." Ness said.

"That makes three of us. You'd think Master Hand would want to recruit a mage from my world like Lilina, but no, only swordsmen..." Roy sighed.

"At least you guys have girlfriends..." The younger Link pouted with the same complaint Lucas had held in.

"Come on, I'm pretty sure Tetra likes you too, it's not my fault you keep getting cold feet." Ness said.

"Hey, you're being a hypocrite, Paula was the one who said she liked you fir-"

"Can we stop wasting time on this nonsense?" Mewtwo said, facepalming.

"You know what, he's right." Shulk said. "Sorry about all that...where were we again? Roy wasn't done telling his story when we got off track. What happened after that battle?"

"After we fought General Murdock, we made it to the Shrine of Seals he was guarding and found the Binding Blade, and compared to Durandal it was as light as a feather. That's why I gave Durandal to Rutger and used the Binding Blade instead...it definitely wasn't called the strongest of the legendary weapons for nothing, and I needed its power to defeat Zephiel in the next battle."

"You say that as if it wasn't the last battle. Zephiel was the enemy leader, so defeating him should have meant the end of the war. Then again, that's what I thought when I fought Egil too..." Shulk said. "Come to think of it, why did he even start the war in the first place?"

"It wasn't mere imperial ambition like most people thought. Zephiel kept his real goal a secret from most of his allies except Jahn, one of the last living dragons in Elibe outside of Arcadia. He was the one who corrupted Idunn's mind and turned her into a weapon, too...and he convinced Zephiel that humanity's victory over dragons a thousand years ago was a mistake. Zephiel had lost his faith in humanity and decided to make dragons rule Elibe again, so even after his death, we had to go to the Dragon Sanctuary to stop Idunn from summoning them and free her of the magic corrupting her."

"I know what that feels like, just when you think you've beaten your final enemy, another one turns out to have been lurking in the shadows all along." Shulk said. "I can't say he's much like Zanza, though, if he lost faith in his own race...Zanza didn't care about anyone except himself, that was why he kept absorbing all life on the Bionis in cycles to keep himself alive forever."

"Yeah, Porky wasn't like that either: he kinda hated most people even before he ran into Giygas, but he thought he was better than everyone else, and it's not like he thought aliens like Giygas were better than him. Didn't you say Zephiel had a crappy family too?"

"Yes, although his half-sister Guinevere cared for him, his father was terribly abusive and wanted her to inherit the throne instead of him. He even went as far as trying to have him assassinated by the Black Fang...unfortunately, Father and his friends helped save him. He was just a child back then, so he didn't deserve it, and they had no idea what he would become, but still..."

"So he turned into an ungrateful jerk just like Porky, huh. Man, doesn't it suck how in feudalism these crappy families can make their problems everyone's problem?"

"It does...but in your world, where wealthy merchants seized power from the nobility, rich families like Porky's can still do the same thing." Roy said.

"Sure, but at least we have democracy, right?" Ness said.

"Does it matter if the wealthy still have most of the real power and pass it on to their children just like nobles do?"

"Uh...crap, you got a point there."

Lucas quietly pondered the fundamental flaws of capitalism.

"So, anyway, now what?" Ness said. "I think everyone said their stories already, except those two, but we already heard some of theirs earlier...wait, there's Prophecy Man, but his is really convoluted, no offense. Do we still have to hear it anyways?" Ness said to Mewtwo.

"Try having some patience for once." Mewtwo said.

"He's right that it was complicated, though...I'll try to spare you of all the details and focus on what was important." Shulk said. "At first it seemed like it was just a war between the people of the Bionis and the Mechonis, the two titans we were living on, and a one-sided one. Normal weapons barely had any effect on the strongest Mechons, which was why I kept researching the Monado so we could fight back. If you people actually end up fighting my worst memories, then one of them would be when I thought Fiora died when Mumkhar attacked her. But in hindsight, it's not as bad knowing she survived and eventually we found her and turned her back to normal. Other than that, another one could be when Dickson betrayed us and shot me in the back, or when we had to kill him..."

"Haha, his name sure suits him!" Ness said. "Wait, who was he and why'd you feel so bad about it?"

"He was one of Dunban's friends, and the one who found me after my parents died when I was four...and that happened because they and everyone else on the expedition found the Monado, which sucked the Ether out of all of them. It did that to me, too...the only reason I'm still alive is because Zanza possessed me without me realizing it."

"Geez, that's not a good time to have a 'bring your kid to work' day!"

"To be fair, they didn't know the Monado could do that, but yes."

"That's too bad for this 'Dunban' guy too if his old friend betrayed him."

"I know, and he used to be friends with Mumkhar too..."

"I thought Mumkhar was one of those robot guys."

"No, he was a Homs who betrayed Colony 9, he just did it sooner than Dickson. And speaking of Dickson, the reason he betrayed us was because he was working for Zanza all along, long before he met anyone at Colony 9. His motivation was that Zanza offered him immortality like himself as long as he worked for him as his disciple. He brought me to Colony 9 after Zanza turned me into his vessel, but Zanza had to wait until I grew up and learned to use the Monado before he could do anything. So for all those years, Dickson raised me almost like a son and taught me how to research the Monado, just so Zanza could use me one day..."

"Oh man...I get it, you think you know someone, and then..."

"And then what?"

"Uh, then they betray you, like Porky did with me, I thought that was obvious." Ness said in confusion. "You're not good with guessing what people mean, huh...you're even more like Jeff than I thought. I mean, not that you're stupid or anything, Jeff says you're good with science. Anyways, uh, about Dickson...was he...did he hurt you?" Ness's voice dropped an octave and turned chilling.

"I already told you how he shot me in the back."

"No, I mean did he abuse you when you were a kid?"

"Why didn't you ask that in the first place? No, he didn't. It's the strangest thing: he was a terrible person, but he wasn't the worst parent. Looking back on everything, there was a certain distance between us...I had always thought that was just because he wasn't my actual father. But he still taught me a lot of what I know about science and fighting, and if he hadn't, I never would have beaten him. I don't know how much of it was an act just so people wouldn't catch on to his goals, and how much he actually cared...but in the end, it didn't matter if he cared about his mission more." Shulk sighed.

"What was his mission, anyways? And how come he waited so long to betray you?"

"He was waiting for the right moment. As long as I was fighting the Machina, I was doing what Zanza wanted me to, but the moment I stopped was when he made his move. It was when I fought Egil and resisted the urge to kill him...once I asked him why he did such terrible things, I found out that he wasn't as evil as I thought. He thought killing the people of the Bionis was the only way to save his own people and stop the Bionis from absorbing the life force of everyone on it so it could awaken and attack the Mechonis like it did long ago, but the real problem was Zanza, the god of the Bionis that made it attack...he realized that since I could use the Monado without being controlled by Zanza, I might have a chance of stopping him. Then just when I thought I'd made peace with him, Dickson shot me so Zanza could steal the Monado and make his move. It's hard to explain what happened after that, but Egil and Meyneth both ended up sacrificing themselves to give us a chance to stop Zanza, and we had to fight Dickson on our way to him. He wouldn't back down, so we had no choice but to kill him to save the world...is it wrong of me to feel bad about it?"

"I dunno...but if it is, then we're both wrong."

"Thank you...you know, you're not as annoying as I thought you were."

"Hey! Not cool...ok, fine, maybe I deserved that one. You're not so bad either, so I guess I should stop calling you Prophecy Man, that was a thing I did since I don't like prophecies. I know, how about I nickname you Straight Jeff instead?"

Link burst into laughter and even Lucas chuckled. "That's a good one!" Link said.

"If you insist." Shulk said.

"So now what?" Link said. "Is that it, or are you gonna tell us more?"

"No, as much as I'd like to, I think I've said enough." Shulk said.

"About time, just look how late it's getting!" Link said while pointing at the clock.

"Mewtwo, you said it would take at least another week to train them, right?" Reflet said.

"At least."

"Then we don't need to make all our plans today. We can talk again tomorrow at...hold on, at what time does no one here have a match to go to?"

They talked for a little longer about how to set up their next talk. Was this what life was like for adults? Struggling to navigate busy schedules and find rare openings where they could actually hang out and do stuff they wanted to? Lucas wanted no part of it.

"Let me go over the basics of the plan one more time so you don't all forget about it." Mewtwo said. "First, Reflet and Robin will hold on to the Master Sword and Binding Blade respectively, so Link and Roy can ensure neither of them can be possessed by Grima. Then Ness will use his PSI Hypnosis to put both of them to sleep. After that, I will assist Lucas in restoring Reflet's memories while Ness and Kirby do the same for Robin, with Kirby having copied our psychic abilities beforehand. This team composition is because Ness knows Roy and Kirby better than Link, and has been irritatingly annoyed at me ever since the second tournament. While Ness and Lucas are effective teammates, I would prefer to have two psychics for each of them. Meanwhile, Lucina and Chrom will remain awake and stand nearby with their Falchions to weaken Grima's power, and they don't need to be in this meeting since their role is so simple. Finally, Shulk will aid us by using his future visions while we use telepathy to show him what we are seeing."

"Wasn't Marth helping too?" Link said.

"He said Lucina can borrow his Falchion when the time comes, since he'd rather not hear about what happens in the future." Mewtwo said.

"Eh, it's not like Back to the Future, but whatever. Anyway, about this whole thing, are you sure it won't take forever?" Ness said. "Pikachu only had a day of amnesia and they've got what, eighteen years?"

"That isn't how it works. We have no need to see every last one of their lost memories to restore them all, only a few core memories that will let them regain the rest. The difference is that I actively placed safeguards to prevent Pikachu's memories from returning, while Grima had no intention of wiping their minds in the first place. All he wanted was to possess them, he merely broke their minds by accident when he failed. That is why more than anything else, we must restore their memory of the moment Grima did this to undo the damage he caused." He frowned. "Be warned, this experience may have been extremely painful."

"Knowing Grima, I'm certain of it. Oh well." Robin shrugged.

"We have to rip off the bandage at some point, don't we?" Reflet said.

"You don't have to." Lucas said. "It's ok to just live with it if you want...I know Duster was happy when he had amnesia." And the villagers...so much for the thought that Fassad was the first to give them the idea they could find happiness artificially.

"Well, I'm tired of all these unanswered questions." Reflet said, then frowned. "No, it's not just that...it reminds me of something I told Chrom once, that our bonds and choices are what define us and tie us together, not some scripted fate. But it was Grima that broke those invisible ties between me and everyone in my past...and if I think about forgetting anyone I know now, it's terrifying, honestly. So what about the people I forgot back then? My mother, and any friends I had...I feel that I owe it to my past self to reforge those ties."

"Like we did our future selves a favor by killing Grima who possessed them?" Robin said.

"Yes, but this is different...that was another version of me who lived a different life. My past self is me, isn't she? I just don't remember being her yet...but I'll still be myself after I do. Isn't that how it went for you, Mewtwo?"

Mewtwo nodded. "The only difference is that I did not know of my amnesia prior to Lucas helping me cure it. I understand your hesitance, but these memories will not change who you are at your core. If anything, they will help you better understand how you became who you are today. Remembering your past mistakes may cause you grief, but it is better than living in ignorance and repeating them."

"Yeah...I just hope it won't be too hard for us to help you remember your mom." Lucas said.

"Relax Luke, I'm sure we can handle this just fine. There's around twice as many of us helping as there was last time. So...uh...are we done talking now? 'Cuz it's getting late."

"Tell me about it, Kirby fell asleep a while ago." Link held Kirby who snored in his lap, somehow having spontaneously created a purple sleeping cap with yellow polka dots while a snot bubble kept expanding and contracting with his breathing.

"Aww..." Lucas said.

"It's hard to believe someone so adorable can be so powerful." Reflet said.

"Trust me, you'll believe soon enough. That guy eats nightmares for breakfast." Ness said. "Wait, no one answered my question."

"Yes, you can leave..." Mewtwo said in an annoyed tone. "But what would help us more than numbers would be if all of you could get over your irrational negative thoughts."

"Says you!" Ness said, then teleported out of the room.

"Leaving to get the last word, how childish." Mewtwo disappeared in a flash of purple light.

If only he could do that so easily.