Chapter Text
“It will help to focus on the reason you’re doing this as you enter the portal.” Naga told Lucina after she was done explaining the ritual to send her back in time.
“Of course.” Lucina nodded. “Stopping Grima.”
Naga shook her head, and Lucina snapped her mouth shut in confusion. When the manakete looked at her again, her stare was piercing, making Lucina feel like her very soul was being laid bare before this woman.
“That is the end goal, yes.” Naga stated. “But why you? Why are you going back to stop Grima?”
“Who else is going to do something?” Lucina answered immediately. “It has to be me.”
“So you feel obligated to do this?”
“No, I want to do this.” Lucina argued back as politely as she could. This was the Divine Dragon after all.
“That is good.” Naga nodded. “And your reason is not something you need to tell me. You have a few days before the gate is open to consider the answer.”
Lucina stopped herself from repeating her first answer back to this woman. It would do her no good to argue with the one person that had given her a chance at changing her world. She was going back to stop the rise of Grima; to save her world. Any personal stake she had in it didn’t matter. She didn’t matter.
All that mattered was stopping the Fell Dragon from rising.
At first she really tried to stay out of the world’s events as much as possible. She wasn’t sure what repercussions her actions could have on the timeline, and she couldn’t afford to change anything for the worse, with a few exceptions.
She couldn’t sit back and watch her aunt die just because a few Risen followed her through the portal. But the second Lissa was safe, Lucina practically sprinted away from the following battle. The sight of her father, young and alive, almost caused the princess to break down.
Then there was Emmeryn. Her father had told her such wonderful things about her late aunt. And after meeting her, Lucina was convinced that the Exalt could lead their nation into an era of peace. So she snuck onto the castle grounds the night of the attempted assassination and stood by the Shepherds in protecting her. There was also the benefit of convincing them to trust Panne that night, instead of the many months of distrust the taguel faced in her original timeline.
But then Emmeryn fell shortly after Lucina worked to save her, and the time traveler felt the first stab of fear that this entire undertaking was in vain. Just thinking back to watching Emmeryn falling from that cliff caused bile to rise in the back of her throat.
Then there was saving her father from that Risen assassin. She had managed to stay away for two years, taking odd jobs and clearing out any Risen she ran into. But once the war with Walhart began, Lucina knew she couldn’t stay away any longer. And seeing her father so close to death, she couldn’t stop herself from calling out to him.
Which is how she found herself traveling with the Shepherds, the moniker of “Marth” officially dropped. And it turned out that a few of her friends from the future had already been recruited by the army.
“You know, you can eat with the rest of the army.” Lucina shot up out of her musings to see Inigo smirking down at her, a steaming bowl in his hands.
“I’m used to being on my own.” She shrugged at her brother, looking back down into her own dinner, now lukewarm.
“That’s stupid.” He sat down next to her, pushing dark blue hair out of his eyes. It was getting long these days, clearly needing a trim. “I never understood your whole ‘self-sacrificing’ thing.”
“Yeah, well, I landed here much earlier than all of you.” Lucina muttered, stabbing a spoon into his food, ignoring his squawk of indignation. “I tried to stay away from the Shepherds as long as possible.”
“That’s what I mean!” He threw up his hands, managing to take Lucina’s spoon with the bowl that was now out of reach. She huffed and shot him a glare until he rolled his eyes and just handed her the bowl of stew. She smirked back at him and put her own bowl down between them before grabbing his. “You could have spent over two years with Mom and Dad. But instead you stuck a mask on your face and lied about who you were.”
“What would I have accomplished by being honest from the start, Inigo?” Lucina rolled her eyes, stirring the food around in the bowl. It had lost a bit of appeal now that she didn’t have to steal it from her brother.
“Maybe a bit of happiness?” He huffed, grabbing her abandoned food and digging in. Their future was far from forgotten, and no food was to go to waste. “Leave the brooding to Gerome, please. He has enough to cover all of us kids.”
Lucina had just taken a bite as he made his joke, and managed to choke as she let out a snort. He patted her back gently until she was done coughing.
“I’ll make sure to tell him you said that.” Lucina aimed a weak smile at her companion.
A grimace pulled at her brother’s face. “Please don’t.”
“But seriously, I was afraid of changing things too much.” Lucina shrugged. “I couldn’t know what consequences certain actions would have.”
“But you tried to save Aunt Emmeryn.” He pointed out gently.
“I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. But look at how that turned out.”
“What about the whole Champion of Ferox thing?” Inigo suddenly questioned, clearly trying to change the subject quickly.
“That was an accident…” Lucina admitted.
“Explain, please.”
“I was moving through the area, and Basilo ran into me.” Lucina huffed a short laugh. “I guess I looked enough like a warrior that he wanted me to fight Lon’qu. Give his champion a challenge and all.”
“And you won.” Inigo pointed out, a hint of pride in his voice.
“Yeah, about that…” Lucina rubbed at the back of her neck. “Lon’qu may have realized I was a woman and hesitated just long enough for me to get a good hit in.”
“You still won,” Inigo shrugged, “regardless of the circumstances.”
“I guess.”
“Be honest with me.” Lucina looked up at the sudden serious tone in his voice. “How many women flirted with the new champion after your victory?”
His smirk was quickly wiped off his face as Lucina shoved him clean off the log both were seated on.
Regardless of the distance she put between herself and the rest of the Shepherds, Lucina still found herself caring deeply for all of them. It was a group of truly good people, all out to make a difference in the world.
They had even found all her friends from the future, and while none really understood the distance she was forcing between herself and the group, they all respected it. She didn’t know how to explain to them that the more time she spent with these people, the harder it was to shut off her emotions and focus on the task at hand. It didn’t matter if she was happy or not; all that mattered was stopping Grima.
The only people that she really let herself interact with were Inigo and her parents. Inigo because he was persistent and stubborn enough to not let her suffer in silence, and Chrom and Olivia because she missed her parents dearly. Also because she wasn’t sure anyone could say no to Olivia when she was upset.
But otherwise, she sat back and watched her friends interact with their parents, truly happy for the first time in a long time. But sitting back and watching meant that she noticed Robin, wandering around camp, avoiding all the children chatting away with the past versions of their parents.
It was glaringly obvious that Robin was the only woman in camp without a child from the future. Lucina briefly wondered about that, knowing she was very popular with all her fellow Shepherds. She almost approached her once to scare her away from Chrom, a childish fear of the white-haired woman stealing her father away gripping her. But it was obvious in the way that Chrom looked at Olivia, and how Olivia looked back at Chrom, that her parents loved each other dearly, so Lucina didn’t bother.
It was odd, however, that the central figure of the Shepherd’s army came up so little in the future. Sure, Lucina had heard of the brave tactician of the Shepherds, but no one had details of the woman that lead them to so many victories.
But then Validar commanded Robin to steal the Fire Emblem off of her father. And, to everyone’s horror, the woman obeyed, fear clear in her eyes, leaving Lucina cursing that she hadn’t paid more attention to the one person she knew the least about. It became clear to Lucina in that moment that the person who killed her father, the person whom he trusted enough to get close to him, was none other than Robin herself.
Everything after that moment happened too fast for Lucina to really process. She wanted to confront Robin, but before she even had a chance, they were racing to the Dragon’s Table to stop Validar from summoning Grima. Then, to her horror, she watched Robin shove a bolt of lightning straight into her father’s chest.
Falchion drawn, she almost rushed Robin before Basilo’s voice stopped her in her tracks. The day was suddenly saved, the stones they brought fakes and her father standing up, shaky but alive. Validar was killed, and Lucina, for a brief moment, thought they had won. That they had managed to stop Grima. The whole situation almost seemed too good to be true.
So, of course, Robin’s doppelganger chose that moment to appear and inform them all that she was Robin from Lucina’s future; the Robin that killed Chrom. And not only that, both women had Grima’s heart, allowing them to become the Fell Dragon himself.
Robin tried to refuse the power. She claimed the two women were nothing alike, but the future Robin just let out a terrible laugh in response. Then there was some sort of dark energy surrounding the evil clone, knocking all of them off their feet as they stared in horror as she began to float above the ground.
Lucina watched in terror as the floating woman then rushed their Robin, grabbing her by the throat and bringing her to eye level. “I wasn’t asking for your cooperation. We will become Grima. You get no choice in the matter.”
The scream of agony that escaped Robin chilled Lucina to the core, and she watched as darkness enveloped both women, before exploding outwards. Her father was suddenly there, pulling her to her feet and out of the building as it started coming down around them.
And in the sky above the structure, the body of the Fell Dragon materialized. Grima had awoken.
“No…” Lucina stared in horror at the beast, looking stronger than ever, let out a chilling roar.
“Robin…” Chrom muttered, still clutching at Lucina’s arm. “We failed her.”
“I failed the world.” Lucina’s voice broke as dread overtook her. The very thing she came back to stop had just occurred.
In that moment, the massive dragon’s head turned to the two royals, a deep growling coming from its parted jaws.
“Run!” Chrom yelled, pulling at Lucina’s arm once more.
She followed after him, even though she knew it was pointless. There was no running from Grima. And unfortunately, she was proven right a moment later as dark flame washed over the fleeing pair. Pain like nothing she had ever experienced enveloped Lucina before everything went black.
Attempt #2
Lucina gasped as she came to consciousness, feeling like she was floating. The last thing she remembered was burning in Grima’s flames. There was no way she could have survived that, so did that mean she was dead? That would certainly explain the floating.
Except she felt like she was floating forward, faster and faster. She tried to bring a hand up to her face, only to be met with the cold sensation of metal. She was wearing her… mask?
Then images became clear before her eyes: a forest, cracking apart and burning. Risen, lumbering forward through the trees. And her father, fighting off one Risen as another cornered her aunt.
But that couldn’t be right. This was when she was first dropped into the past. How on earth did she get back here?
As she broke through the barrier into the past, Lucina realized she didn’t have time to wonder about the circumstances. She had been blessed with a second chance, true, but right now she needed to save Lissa.
The second her feet touched the ground she was off, reaching her aunt just in time to bring her sword up to stop the axe. Both siblings let out a gasp as she appeared, and she had to spur her father into action just like last time. If she wasn’t currently fighting for her life, she’d laugh at the situation.
“Quite an entrance. What’s your name?” She turned to see her father, regarding her suspiciously, sword held loosely at his side.
She couldn’t help it, Lucina ripped off the mask and rushed forward, crushing her father into a hug. She felt his breath hitch and his body stiffen and the sudden contact, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
“Father, you’re alive.”
“Father?” His voice came out in nearly a squeak as she let go of him, realizing her mistake. This Chrom hadn’t even met Oliva yet, let alone though about children.
The crash of more Risen through the trees saved Lucina from having to elaborate, and soon they found themselves fighting alongside Frederick, Virion, Sully, and…
And Robin.
Robin, who was very much alive and not fused with Grima yet.
Soon enough they had dispatched the few Risen that had ambushed them, the group speculating on what they had just fought. But Lucina couldn’t take her eyes off of Robin; couldn’t take her eyes off of the woman who had now killed her father twice. Who had destroyed the world twice.
Fate had gifted her a second chance to save the world, and this time she wouldn’t take any chances. Gripping her Falchion firmly in her hand, she marched up to the white-haired woman. She turned as Lucina approached, a tentative smile on her face, mouth open to say something, but shut it quickly as Lucina’s blade rested on the hollow of her throat.
“What are you doing?” Her father was suddenly at her side, hands raised as if to snatch the sword out of her hands, but afraid to jostle the blade as it pressed into his friend’s neck.
“You just saved me!” Lissa was on her other side, staff held like a bat as if to smack her. “You’re on our side! Why are you hurting Robin?”
“She’s not who you think she is.” Lucina ground out through clenched teeth.
“What do you mean?” Frederick asked, now standing by Robin. Lucina remembered that he was wary of Robin at first. Maybe he would be an ally now.
“There’s no reason such a lovely woman should be threatening another.” Virion spoke up.
“Seriously?” Sully muttered, smacking him upside the head, but never taking her eyes off of Lucina.
“She’s Grima’s vessel.” Lucina answered, pressing slightly and drawing a bead of blood from the other woman’s skin.
“Who?” Robin asked, eyes wide and flicking between all the people around her.
“The Fell Dragon?” Lissa asked. “But he’s sealed away.”
Lucina glanced over towards her aunt, ready to explain before she felt a pain on the back of her head. And for the second time today, everything went black.
Lucina groaned as she felt a gentle rocking motion wake her. She shook her head gently, feeling a headache pound at her temples.
“You’re awake then?” She turned to see Frederick looking down at her. She realized then that she was thrown across the back of his horse, hands tied together.
“What happened?” Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton as she groaned out her question.
“My Lord knocked you out before you could do any damage to Robin.”
Lucina shot to attention at that. She frantically glanced around, seeing Robin talking to Chrom as they walked behind the horse, though both were now staring at her. She also noticed her Falchion strapped to Chrom’s other hip.
“You should know we don’t take kindly to people threatening our own.” Frederick commented as he turned back to the road in front of him.
“Your own?” Lucina let out a huff. “You don’t even trust her.”
He stiffened at that, but didn’t look back at her. “My Lord trusts her, and that’s enough for me.”
“And if I told you that she becomes the Fell Dragon? That she kills Chrom and destroys the world? What then?”
“I’d say you’re a raving lunatic, and we’re right to lock you up where you can’t hurt anyone else.” Frederick shrugged, his massive armor grating slightly at the movement.
“Great…” Lucina muttered. There went her one ally.
“How did you come across this sword?” In her distraction, she hadn’t even noticed her father approach.
“Does it matter what I say?” Lucina turned to hide her left eye, and the brand it contained. “You won’t believe me.”
“I just wanted to know who would go through all the trouble to craft a replica of the Falchion.” Chrom pressed.
“It was given to me.” Lucina answered as vaguely as she could, if only to stop him from trying to catch her eye. “I never asked where it came from.”
She heard a huff as Chrom slowed his pace to march with Robin’s once more. She turned to look, and noticed Robin still staring intently at her.
“What?” She snapped at Robin as the staring became uncomfortable.
Lucina watched her flinch, and a stab of guilt hit her in the chest. She was here to help people, and yet she almost… Her eyes, of their own accord, drifted to the red mark on the other woman’s neck where Lucina had pressed her sword.
“Do I know you?”
Her eyes shot back up as she gave Robin a confused look.
“You spoke of me like you knew me.” Robin continued, hands wringing as she spoke. “I just… I’ve been having some memory issues and was wondering if you knew me.”
“No.” Lucina muttered, looking down to the ground as it passed underneath her. She realized she didn’t actually know Robin at all. She was far more concerned with keeping her distance, so scared of changing the past too much to ever have a real conversation with their tactician. But now…
“Oh.” Lucina heard the disappointment in Robin’s voice, but refused to look up again. “Alright, then.”
Upon arrival at Ylisstol, Lucina was thrown into a cell until a verdict could be made. On one hand, she did save a member of the royal family, but on the other, she did try to kill a member of the Shepherds. She didn’t have much hope for herself.
“Dammit!” She slammed her fist into the wall next to her. How could she mess this up? She was given a second chance, a true miracle, and look at what she did with it. Lucina let out a sob in despair. She failed her world twice over, all because she couldn’t kill one woman.
One woman who looked at Lucina with the same fear in her eyes she saw when Robin was being controlled by Validar. The same fear from when the evil Robin seized her by the throat. Tears ran down Lucina’s face, thinking Robin wanted to become Grima just about as much Lucina wanted to let Grima rise. How could she kill a woman that was just as much a victim as the rest of them?
But if her death could prevent the rise of Grima? If sacrificing Robin meant the world had a chance? Would that be worth it?
Lucina let her head fall back against the stone wall behind her. Her hesitation was going to be the reason they all died, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to think about that right now.
With Chrom and the Shepherds travelling to Ferox, Lucina’s sentencing was postponed. That gave Lucina plenty of time to scour her entire cell for any way out, be overcome with despair when she found nothing, and repeat the process twice over.
But then she heard that her father’s band was on its way back, and Lucina knew she had to escape. Without her out there, no one would know about the assassination attempt! Banging on the bars, she began calling for someone, anyone, to come down and listen to her.
“What’s with that the noise?” A guard finally came into the dungeon, spear at the ready.
“You need to listen to me!” Lucina gripped the bars and pressed her face into the gap between them. “There’s going to be an attack on the castle tonight! The Exalt is in danger!”
“Right. So I’ll just let you out of that cell and you can tell The Exalt, yeah?”
“Yes!” Lucina almost let out a sob in relief.
“That… That was sarcasm, lady.” The guard shook his head. “I’m not letting you out.”
“What? You have to!” She was desperately reaching out to him now.
“Look, the prince is coming back today, then we’ll figure out what’s going to happen to you.” The guard shrugged and turned to go back up the stairs. “Just sit tight until then.”
Lucina collapsed into the bars as he left her alone once again. She allowed herself a few moments to let the tears fall, then forced herself to stand once more. There was going to be an attack tonight, and she needed to be out there to defend the royal family.
Starting her inspection of the cell once more, she had no idea how much time had passed as she ran her hands over every inch of the cell she could reach. There were no windows down here to indicate the time of day, but Lucina felt like there was a clock ticking down in her head as she worked.
The sudden crashing from above her caused Lucina to flinch and look towards the stairs. “No, no, no, no…” She couldn’t be too late. She couldn’t.
Sudden footsteps caused her to perk up again. If someone was coming down here, maybe they would let her out!
When a familiar head of bright orange hair appeared around the corner, she almost cried out in relief. “Gaius!”
His head whipped around to look at the woman crying out in the cell. “Wrong room.” He shrugged and turned to leave.
“No, wait!” She called, desperate to make him stay. “I know where Lissa keeps her stash of candy!”
Nothing for a few tense moments, then Gaius’s head poked around the corner again.
“What was that?”
“Candy fit for a royal.” Lucina assured him. “I can get it for you, but you need to let me out.”
“Or I could just make you tell me.” He shrugged as she approached the cell, twirling a dagger in his hand.
“You won’t kill me.” Lucina tried not to scoff. “You didn’t even know that the group you came here with wants to kill Emmeryn.”
“The Exalt?” He looked at her in surprise. “I’m not on board with assassinating royalty.”
“I know that. So let me out and we can stop that from happening.”
“Or I could just leave now.”
Lucina held back a growl of frustration. “You don’t get the candy if you leave now.”
The thief had the gall to consider her words for a moment before he knelt down in front of her cell, picking the lock in no time at all.
“You’re teaching me how to do that later.” Lucina informed him as she threw the cell door open and began running up the stairs.
“Right.” He chuckled and followed behind her.
“Give me your sword.” Lucina held a hand back as she ran.
“Absolutely not.”
“You have daggers, I have nothing.” Lucina snarled down at him, her frustration boiling over. “You want us to live, you’ll give me that blade.”
She heard a grumble, but a hilt was being pushed into her hands, so she couldn’t find it in her to care. A moment later, she was bursting into the main floor of the castle, sword in hand. A group of assassins were gathered around the stairs, and upon seeing her, drew weapons and began to approach.
Just before they were upon her, they were crushed under a massive beast. She heard Gaius’s yelp of fear, but Lucina lowered her sword. “Panne.”
The giant rabbit glared at the two newcomers, then seemed to focus on Gaius behind her, poised to leap once more.
“Wait, no!” Lucina dropped the sword and put her hands up in what she hoped was a calming gesture. “He wants to help save Emmeryn!”
The giant head tilted to the side, red eyes narrowing before an echoing voice came from Panne. “The man-spawn have already killed her.”
Lucina froze on the spot. “What?”
“I failed to repay my debt to her, so I will clear her home and then leave.”
With that, the taguel turned and fled deeper into the castle.
“We’re too late.” Lucina’s hands went to her hair, nails biting into her scalp.
“Damn.” Gaius spat behind her. “The Exalt was a good woman. She deserved better than this.”
Lucina’s eyes widened suddenly as she remembered the garden, and the assassins she stopped last time. “Father.”
Before Gaius could even question her, she sprinted towards the exit. She passed soldiers and Shepherds alike, all calling out in surprise, but she couldn’t stop. Lucina had almost made it to the exit before a strong hand snatched the back of her cape, nearly choking her as she was stopped.
“No!” She struggled, not even looking to see who had grabbed her. “I have to go! I have to see him!”
“It’s rather convenient, don’t you think?” She began to unclip her cape, only for the hands to grab her arms and spin her around. “You show up trying to kill Robin, and not a month later there’s a group of Plegians attacking our castle.”
Lucina glanced up to see Frederick’s furious face glaring down at her.
“I tried to warn you.” Lucina spat. “But no one would listen to me.”
“And how would you have known about this attack?” All the fight left Lucina as she heard her father’s voice from behind Frederick.
“I…” Lucina hesitated. Could she be honest?
“Answer my lord!”
She looked up in fear, never hearing that tone from Frederick before. Of course, once she really looked him in the eye, she heard his gasp. A moment later he dropped her, and she fell to one knee.
“The Brand. You have the Brand.”
“Shit.” Lucina cursed quietly. She was trying to avoid this. Looking up, she saw many of the other Shepherds had gathered to see what was going on. All the Shepherds except for one.
“Where’s Robin?” Lucina’s brow furrowed as she looked up at her father.
“Robin…” Chrom looked down to the floor, clenching his fists. “She was taken by a Plegian mage.”
“What?” Lucina shot up, taking a step towards Chrom. Of course, when several different weapons were pointed at her, she stopped.
“She saved me from an assassin, but was wounded.” Chrom answered, still not looking to Lucina. “Before I could get her to safety, she was grabbed by a man who teleported them away.”
“What did he look like?” Lucina choked out.
Now Chrom did look up at her in confusion. “Does it matter?” Lucina just nodded. And as her father described Validar exactly, she felt her stomach drop.
“He’s going to awaken Grima.” Lucina whispered, but by everyone’s reactions, she knew the others all heard her.
“This again?” Frederick questioned, seeming to move past his surprise. “You can’t expect us to believe that, Brand or no.”
“How do you even have The Brand of the Exalt?” Lissa poked her head around Frederick’s massive form.
“It doesn’t matter.” Lucina shook her head, before looking up with a look of determination. “I need to get to the Dragon’s Table now. If we can reach it before Validar, then maybe we can… maybe…” It was a longshot, but it was a chance, nonetheless.
“The Dragon’s Table?” Chrom shook his head in confusion. “Why?”
“Please, you don’t have to believe me, but you have to trust me.” Lucina pleaded. “I only want to save this world. If you can’t trust me, trust in the Brand.”
“Chrom…” Lissa looked to her brother.
“How could you even get there before him?” Chrom asked. “He can transport them with magic.”
“I don’t think he can teleport them all the way there.” Lucina guessed. “Or else we’d know.”
“But still.”
“Chrom.” Sumia stepped forward. “I could take her.”
“Sumia…”
“This is obviously important. And it may be Robin’s only chance.” The normally timid woman had a fire in her eyes Lucina had never seen before. Was this the effect Robin had on all these people?
He just stared at the Pegasus Knight for a moment before giving her a tense nod. Sumia then turned to Lucina. “If this is a trick… If you somehow were involved in this attack…”
“I promise it’s not.” Lucina assured her. “But if you think I’m lying, you have every right to strike me down.”
Sumia nodded and left to no doubt collect her pegasus.
“You’ll need this back, then.” Lucina turned to see Chrom handing her back Falchion. She hurriedly reattached it to her belt, feeling much better with its weight at her side once more. “It’s not a replica, is it?”
“I…”
“Ready?” She turned to see Sumia already seated on the back of her mount.
“I’ll explain once I’m back.” She assured her father. He didn’t look pleased with the decision, but he stood back as Lucina took Sumia’s hand and settled behind her on the animal.
Wasting no time, Sumia snapped the reins, and the two were launched into the air.
“You’ll need to give me some directions.” Sumia called over the rush of air.
“Southwest.” Lucina answered, grabbing onto Sumia’s waist in order to actually stay on the pegasus. “It’s a large temple, kind of hard to miss.”
“Got it.”
The two were silent as they shot through the air, and Lucina realized she never actually knew how fast a pegasus could travel. Maybe she should have actually taken Cynthia up on those flying lessons. It may have helped her anxiety right now. One would think that with the threat of total annihilation hanging over their heads, something as small as heights wouldn’t be bothering Lucina right now.
“Do you think you could loosen your hold a bit?” Sumia’s voice came out strained, and Lucina realized she was crushing the poor woman.
“Sorry…” She managed to loosen her grip, but only slightly.
“It’s fine.” Sumia turned to look at her, and Lucina had to stop herself from insisting Sumia watch the skies in front of her. “Chrom did the same thing the first time I flew with him.”
“Really?” Lucina asked, not knowing that about her dad.
“Yeah.” Sumia turned back forwards. “Not many people are used to flying. I probably did it the first time I went flying with Cor-”
The brunette stopped herself short, and Lucina could see her hands tighten around the reins as Lucina looked over her shoulder. Lucina didn’t know much about the two women’s relationship before the Shepherds other than the fact that Cordelia became a Pegasus Knight while Sumia didn’t. Clearly there was more to it than that, but now was absolutely not the time.
Conversation was nonexistent after that as the temple began to appear in the distance. Lucina could hear the pegasus breathing heavily under them, and she resolved to give the poor animal all the sugar cubes she wanted after this was all over.
Because there would be an “after”. Lucina couldn’t fail a second time, even if it meant…
Even if it meant putting her sword through Robin herself.
But as the two drew closer, the crackling of purple lighting signaled they were too late.
“No!” Lucina cried as she watched the form of Grima take shape once more.
“That’s Grima?!” Sumia cried, steering them away from the crackling energy.
Maybe she wasn’t too late. Maybe Grima was still weak after awakening. If there was any chance…
“Take us up above him.” Lucina called out. Sumia looked back in disbelief, but something about Lucina’s expression must have convinced her, because a moment later they were climbing up steadily.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Sumia pleaded as they passed over the beast’s horns.
“Not even a little bit.” Lucina muttered before flinging herself off of the pegasus.
She heard Sumia’s cry of shock as she fell, but all she could focus on was drawing Falchion and pointing it at the dragon’s head. Letting out a battle cry, she plummeted towards the creature that ended her world twice now, praying to any god listening that this would work.
Attempt #3
At first Lucina thought that she had phased through Grima as she plummeted at him. There was darkness on all sides of her, and if she hadn’t been falling, she wouldn’t have even known which way was up. But then a pinprick of light appeared before her, and Lucina had an indication of how fast she was really going.
If she had gone through all of this twice only to fall to her death then there truly was no justice in this world. Except as the light grew, she realized she was slowing down. Images became clearer, and sound began to accompany them: A forest, cracking apart. Risen. Her father and aunt.
She was back. Somehow, she was back at the beginning again.
Knowing she didn’t have time to dwell on that just yet, she shot towards Lissa, deflected the Risen’s attack, and called for her father’s help once again.
“Quite an entrance. What’s your name?” She turned slowly to see her father, sword at his side, looking at her the same way as the last two times.
Lucina knew she had to be smart about this or else she’d fail all over again. “My name is Marth.”
“Thank you for saving me.” Lissa smiled at her.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Lucina told her. “There’s plenty more of those things in these woods.”
“Oh geez.” Lissa clutched her staff tighter to her chest.
“We need to meet up with Frederick and Robin, then.” Chrom decided, and Lucina just nodded at him.
She could do this. She could play along long enough to get Robin alone this time around. Then she could…
Then she could deal with the situation when it came time.
It took no time at all for the group to dispatch the Risen that had surrounded their camp, and soon enough she was sheathing her Falchion and approaching the others.
“You’re pretty handy with that sword.” Chrom commented as she approached, and she nodded to him in acknowledgement. “Mind telling us why you just happened to be out here as these creatures attacked us?”
Trying not to panic, Lucina tried to quickly come up with any excuse. “I’ve been following them.”
“Why?” Frederick was now looking critically at her.
“They attacked my village.” Lucina scrambled.
“So you just picked up a replica of my sword and decided to fight them?”
“Yes?” Lucina grimaced as she heard the question in her own answer.
“Where are you headed?”
“My Lord!” Frederick looked to Chrom in surprise. “You’re not going to continue to question her?”
Lucina realized in that moment that she hadn’t bothered to deepen her voice to complete the ruse.
“She saved Lissa.” Her father informed the knight. “She dropped out of the sky, and the first thing she did was rush to protect somebody. I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt.”
“The mask doesn’t bother you?”
“I’m sure she has her reasons.” Chrom looked back to Lucina, and she was struck with how kind her father truly was.
“Ylisstol.” She said suddenly.
“Hmm?”
“I’m headed to Ylisstol.” Lucina repeated. “I was going to inform The Exalt of what happened to my people, to see if a force could be amassed to stop these creatures. And to see if I could join it. I want to make sure what happened to my people can’t happen to anyone else.”
She may have been laying it on a little thick, but she needed him to offer her a place in the Shepherds if her plan was going to work.
Chrom seemed to light up at that. “It seems like the gods sent us to each other tonight.” He stated. If he only knew… “You happened to find the Shepherds. We travel the land working to keep the people of Ylisse safe.”
“Really?” She feigned surprise.
“I can tell you more about it on the road.” Chrom decided. “Depending on what you think, we may be able to find you a new home.”
“That would be amazing.”
“Well, this has been a productive trip.” Lissa pipped in. “We have two new additions.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, this is Robin.” Lissa pulled the poor woman forward, a look of panic clear on her face. Robin clearly wasn’t used to this kind of attention yet. “We found her in a field just a little while ago.”
A gloved hand came up in greeting, and Lucina tried not to look too interested as she waved back.
“Oh, right!” Lissa seemed to realize something. “Everyone, this is Marth. She saved me from being sliced in two by one of those creatures.” Sully and Virion greeted her politely as she gave each a wave.
The group set up camp quickly, then were up early in the morning to start their trek back home. Lucina took the time on the road to solidify her plan, and to watch Robin. She needed to figure out the best time to put it into action.
Not on the road, that was for sure. With no tents, anyone could see her steal Robin away.
As soon as they returned to Ylisstol? Lucina wasn’t sure if they group took a day’s rest before rushing off to Ferox or not.
All she knew was that it had to be before the assassination attempt. While Gangrel’s orders were to kill The Exalt, Validar clearly had other goals. And if he got his hands on Robin again…
Lucina didn’t know why she had been given another chance, but she wasn’t about to waste it.
It turned out that they were going to get one night to rest before setting off again, so Lucina decided to put her plan into place that night. And it even seemed like the gods themselves were on her side, because she watched Robin slip out of the Shepherds’ barracks alone.
Making sure to stay as silent as possible, she slipped out of the barracks and tailed the woman into the small building she had entered. Straining her eyes against the dark, she tried to figure out where Robin had gone, only to be momentarily blinded by a light.
“I was hoping you’d follow me.” Lucina squinted against the sudden brightness to see Robin, holding a small fire in her palm. Panicking, Lucina wondered if this Robin had already succumbed to Grima’s influence somehow. “You’ve been watching me as we travel.”
“N-no.” Lucina muttered, backing up and trying to find the door handle. Robin, seemingly unaware of Lucina’s panic, moved to light a small candle set on the table next to her, illuminating the storage room they had apparently found themselves in.
“The way you look at me…” Robin muttered. “Do you know me?”
Robin looked up with such a desperation in her eyes that Lucina stopped her scrambling for a way out. This wasn’t the evil vessel of Lucina’s future; this was a scared girl with amnesia thrown into a crazy world against her will.
“Yes.” Lucina told her, taking a step away from the door.
“Really?” Robin’s expression immediately became relieved. “You have to tell me everything you know! I have no memories at all…”
“What if you don’t like what I tell you?” Lucina asked, not able to meet the bright eyes looking at her. She didn’t know how she ever convinced herself she’d be able to kill this woman.
“Then I’ll work to be a better person.” Lucina’s eyes screwed shut and she grit her teeth at Robin’s answer.
“And if you can’t be better?”
“What do you mean?” Lucina felt a gentle hand on her arm, and she flinched away. She didn’t deserve to be comforted. “Did I hurt you? Is that why you’re here? To stop me?”
“How…?” Lucina looked up to meet Robin’s concerned gaze.
“A gut feeling.” Robin let out a humorless laugh before hugging herself. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t your choice, but yes.” Lucina admitted.
“Please Marth-”
“Lucina.” She interrupted, figuring if she was about to tell the truth, she could start with her name.
“Well, that’s a much prettier name.” Robin tried to joke, but it fell flat.
Lucina just sighed and removed the mask. She took a step forward, and stared deeply into the other woman’s eyes. Robin gasped as she saw the mark in Lucina’s eye.
“That’s the mark that Chrom and Emmeryn have.” Robin muttered, clearly confused.
“It signifies royal blood.” Lucina told her.
“So you’re related to Chrom?” Lucina nodded. “His sister? Cousin?”
“His daughter.” Lucina corrected.
Robin let out a snort of laughter, but when Lucina held her stare, Robin’s face twisted in confusion.
“I came back from a future where you destroy the world.” Lucina figured she’d just rip off the bandage now. “Plegia forced you to be the vessel to a dormant, evil god. Sacrificing you allowed him to rise, and he destroyed everything. You destroyed everything.”
“No.” Robin’s face twisted in horror, and she took a step back, bumping into a crate. She sat down on it, head falling into her hands. “You’re absolutely sure?”
“I wish it wasn’t true.” Lucina told her. “But I’ve seen it happen twice now.”
“Twice?” Robin looked up.
“I went back in time to stop the rise of Grima.” Lucina told her, glad someone was believing her this time around, even if this was painful for both of them to hear. “I failed, and Grima rose. Then I woke up at the exact moment I came back to the first time. Then I failed a second time. Plegia manages to take you no matter what I try, and forces you to merge with Grima’s power.”
“Oh gods.” Robin whispered.
“Why do you believe me?” Lucina asked, desperate.
“Somewhere, deep down, I just know what you’re saying about me is true. There’s this dark corner in my mind that I try to ignore, but your words are forcing me to face it. And it scares me.” Her gaze was unnerving, and Lucina had a feeling that the power of Grima was always just under the surface of this woman.
“Well that’s…” Lucina started, but didn’t quite know how to continue.
Luckily for her, Robin started speaking again. “So when you woke up this time, you realized what you had to do.” She said, voice devoid of any emotion.
“I…”
“Do it.” Robin stood suddenly, and Lucina took a step back.
“Robin, I’m not sure I can.” Lucina admitted, voice breaking.
Robin took a step forward, and Lucina backed up until her back hit the door. Robin kept walking until she was barely a foot from Lucina. “If killing me stops the end of the world, then I think you have to.”
“You’d sacrifice yourself, just like that?” Lucina asked, nervous at the intense look in Robin’s eyes.
The determination slipped, and suddenly Robin looked every bit the lost, scared girl that woke up in a field just a few days previous. “I don’t want to hurt these people. They’re so good and kind, Lucina. How could I live with myself, knowing that I’m destined to destroy them all?”
“I…okay.”
“You’ll stay with me, right?” Robin asked as she took a step back, face determined, but fear still clear in her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“I promise.” Lucina assured her as she drew Falchion. “I’ll be here until it’s over.”
“Thank you.”
Lucina raised the blade and placed it at Robin’s heart, hands shaking. This was so different than raising her blade in the heat of battle. This was execution. Robin met her gaze, head held high, and nodded.
She let out a half-yell, half-sob as she pushed forward, and felt the blade sink into Robin’s chest. The Falchion slid through Robin, and soon was sticking out of the other side of the woman. Lucina felt like she was going to vomit as she watched the shock overtake Robin’s face.
“It’s okay, Lucina.” Robin’s hands were suddenly covering hers, forcing her to realize how far she had really pushed. “You’re doing the right thing.”
Lucina just let out a sob in response, pulling out the blade and throwing it to the ground. Robin collapsed into her, and she fell to her knees, holding onto the other woman. “I’m sorry. Oh gods, I’m so sorry.”
As the princess sobbed into Robin’s coat, she almost missed the dark smoke seeping out of the wound in her chest. She shot up, eyes widening as she watched the smoke gather into a human-like figure, then glide out of the building.
“No, no, no, no…” Lucina grabbed her sword and burst out of the door, horrified as she watched the smoke glide in the direction she knew, deep down, the Dragon’s Table was. Desperate, she sprinted at it and swing her sword, but the Falchion passed harmlessly through the figure. In fact, her efforts only seemed to cause the smoke to shoot away more quickly.
All she could do was watch in horror as the figure flew faster and faster to the southwest. Within no time, she saw the lightning, heard the roaring of the massive creature.
Grima had risen again.
Attempt #4
Lucina was disoriented as she fell from the portal the next time around. She hadn’t even died last time, and yet she still found herself falling to the forest floor. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up and made her way towards her aunt.
But as she jumped in front of Lissa, as her hand went to her Falchion, she hesitated. She hesitated, because all she could see was Robin’s face as Lucina killed her. And that brief hesitation was all it took for the Risen to sink its axe straight into her neck.
Attempt #5
Lucina saved Lissa, then collapsed to her hands and knees. How many more chances was she going to get? What happened if she ran out?
“It will help to focus on the reason you’re doing this.” That’s what Naga had told her.
She was starting to understand why “Stopping Grima” wasn’t an acceptable answer. Sure, that’s what she needed to do, but without something to fight for, this repetition was likely to drive her insane.
“Hey, are you okay? Did that creature hurt you?” She heard her aunt’s voice above her, and took a steadying breath.
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern.” She answered, making sure to deepen her voice as she did. She stood, grabbed her sword and sheathed it without looking at the blade.
“That was quite the entrance.” She grit her teeth as her father approached. “What’s your name?”
“Marth.” She turned to leave.
“Wait, that’s it?” Lissa called as she walked away.
Lucina didn’t answer, just disappeared into the woods the opposite direction of the Risen surrounding the Shepherd’s camp. Clearly trying to change things so early in the timeline wasn’t working for her. Her impatience to stop Grima as soon as possible was causing more problems in the end. So she’d wait a bit and really think about the best time to stop Robin from becoming Grima.
Because she couldn’t kill the woman again. Not only did it accomplish nothing, but Lucina couldn’t handle that image burned into her brain a second time.
For now, she headed to Ferox to follow the original timeline as closely as possible. She had a champion to dethrone.
Lucina ended up following the script all throughout the Ylisse-Plegia War, not able to think of a good time to make any changes without major consequences. It hurt to allow Emmeryn to be captured by Plegia all over again, but Lucina had to admit, even if she hated herself for not thinking of another solution, that her aunt’s sacrifice truly was the turning point of the war.
And in her time of isolation, she did manage to come up with a plan she only prayed would work: Strike Grima down when he was certain he had won. It worked on Validar, so hopefully it could work on Grima as well. Hopefully as he was taking time to gloat, she’d be able to catch him by surprise.
She prepared herself for two years of agonizing waiting for the right time. She cursed that she was sent back so close to the start, when Grima would not rise for over two years. Lucina thought about tracking Laurent down, knowing he was the only other one of them that ended up in the past this early, but realized she had never asked him where he went in those five years he spent before meeting up with the Shepherds.
Outside, she could still hear the celebrations of the royal wedding. She was staying in an inn on the edges of Ylisstol, wanting to stay close just in case something unexpected popped up before it was time to meet back up with her father. She firmly shut the window and pulled the curtains before climbing into bed, just wanting to get this over with.
Groaning at the sudden, flickering light in her eyes, Lucina briefly wondered if the curtains had somehow come open in the middle of the night. She cracked one eye open to see a campfire burning in front of her.
Lucina shot up, frantically looking around at her surroundings. She was in the woods somewhere and had apparently fallen asleep leaning back against a tree. But that… that couldn’t be right? She had fallen asleep in an inn last night.
She stood and tried to get her bearings, hoping something, anything, could give her a clue to where she was. As she spun around, she noticed smoke rising in the distance. Figuring it was a good enough lead, Lucina grabbed her pack, doused the fire, and made her way towards the beacon.
The sounds of battle became clear as Lucina approached, and she picked up her pace, ready to assist if someone was in trouble. She broke out of the woods into a clearing, and the battle raging on before her became clear. Risen had taken up positions on forts overlooking a dip in the land, and they were raining arrows down on…
On the Shepherds?
Lucina’s eyes widened as she recognized this fight. This was the fight right before she revealed herself to her father. Two years after she had fallen asleep.
Sudden pain flared in her side as an arrow grazed her. She looked up to see several Risen pointing bows at her now, clearly noticing her as she stood in shock. Eyes widening, she ducked back into the woods to give herself some cover.
As much as she’d like to take out the bastard that shot her, she had to make her way around to the bridge where her father would be. Lucina didn’t know how she had gotten here, but she knew that she had to save her father from that assassin.
To her relief, it went just as it had the first time around: jump in, block the attack, swing back, watch the Risen warp away. Lucina let her father look into her left eye, let him see the Brand that marked her as his child. And, to her surprise, found herself tearing up all over again. She thought being through this once already would have made it easier, but seeing her father look at her like this again, it was too much to bear.
A throat clearing caused Lucina to pull away and look behind her to see Olivia, squeezing Robin’s arm in a death grip, and the tactician looking at Chrom and her with a raised eyebrow.
“Everything alright here?” Robin asked in a clipped voice.
“Lucina, is it alright if I tell them?” Chrom asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.
“Of course.” Lucina nodded and tried to wipe the last of her tears away.
“Lucina?” Olivia furrowed her brow as she looked at her. “But that’s…”
Lucina offered her a small smile. “Hello, mother.”
This was no less odd the second time around.
“I’ll give you all a moment.” Robin excused herself. Or at least, she tried to, but Oliva was still clutching onto her arm. “Oliva?”
“Oh!” The dancer dropped the grip with a blush. “Right. Sorry Robin.”
As Lucina traveled with the Shepherds, she was relieved that everything was going the exact same as the first time. Soon enough, they were recruiting her friends, and the awkward, but still happy reunions began once again.
“Is this still as weird for you as it is for me?” Lucina asked Severa once over dinner, and the prickly girl just gave her a weird look.
“Of course it’s weird.” She scoffed. “We’re meeting our parents before they’ve even thought about having most of us yet.”
“No, I mean…” Lucina stopped herself.
Was she the only one who remembered doing this all before? Her eyes widened as she had the thought.
“Sev, what’s the last thing you remember before joining us yesterday?”
“Jumping through that portal to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed, duh.” Severa was now giving her an odd look. “You okay? You’re looking a little pale.”
After that, she had tried to subtlety ask the others if they remembered anything else, and got pretty much the same answers from all of them. They had all just arrived here a little bit ago, and tried to bide their time until they could join up with their parents. Even Laurent, who was apparently conducting various research projects over the last 5 years, only remembered this run.
So Lucina was the only one of the kids who remembered doing this over and over. That was fine. That had to be fine. She could bite her tongue and play along until it was time to strike Grima down.
Lucina was sure most of the other kids were getting concerned for her; the closer to the final battle they got, the twitchier she became. Most were just avoiding her all together as they marched towards the Plegian castle. She wished she could tell them what was about to happen, but then she’d have to explain her whole situation, and they didn’t have the time right now.
She acted just as surprised as everyone else when Robin turned on them, stealing the Fire Emblem against her will. Then she planned with them as they decided to confront Validar at the Dragon’s Table. This time, she did pull Robin to the side before the final confrontation, however.
“I’m guessing I can’t convince you to stay behind?” Lucina asked, just to be sure. Keeping Robin out of the line of fire would be ideal, but she knew the woman could be just as stubborn as she was.
“You’ll need me to pull this off.” Robin answered, looking determined.
“I thought so.” Lucina sighed, looking off towards the sunset. “Just… try to keep yourself safe, okay?”
When she didn’t get a response, she turned to see Robin giving her an odd look.
“What?”
“It’s just,” she shook her head and let out a short huff of laughter, “I think this is the most you’ve spoken to me since joining the Shepherds. Did you know that?”
Lucina flushed in embarrassment. “That can’t be right.”
“I figured you hated me.” Robin shrugged.
Lucina flinched and couldn’t look her in the eye. “I don’t hate you, Robin.” If anything, you should hate me. “There’s just so much going on.”
“I understand.” Robin gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Can I ask you something, Lucina?”
“What is it?” Lucina looked up at Robin.
“If Validar controls me again, I’ve asked your father to stop me.” Robin told her, and Lucina felt her eyebrows raise in surprise. “But I’m honestly not sure he has it in him to strike me down.”
“And you think I do.” Lucina stated, feeling sick. She could almost feel the blood on her hands all over again.
“I think you’ll keep your father safe, no matter what.” Robin corrected. “I don’t think you want to kill me, but if you had no choice…”
“I understand.” It won’t come to that. Not this time.
“Good.” Robin gave her a tense smile. “Then come on. We have a crazy cult leader to stop.”
They arrived at the temple, fought off the Gimleal, and she had to watch Robin fake-kill her father all over again. That was definitely not any better the second time around, but at least this time she wasn’t about to strike the woman down in retaliation.
She stayed back this time, making sure she’d be in the perfect position to strike. And just like last time, Grima-Robin warped in, and started monologuing like the villain they were. It provided the perfect opportunity for Lucina to silently rush in and thrust Falchion straight through the doppelganger’s heart.
“Lucina, I presume?” Lucina’s eyes widened as she heard evil-Robin’s voice strong as ever. “It was a good attempt, I’ll give you that. You even destroyed this vessel.”
She was blasted back as a wave of dark energy slammed into her. Scrambling to her feet, she let out a cry of despair as she saw the dark smoke-form of Grima now curled around Robin.
“Lucky for me, you just happened to bring me another.”
And with that, the two merged.
Attempt #6
Lucina tried staying with the Shepherds this time around, telling them the same story as the last time she stayed. Except this time, she made sure not to obviously watch Robin as they traveled, not wanting to prompt another late-night conversation with her.
They reached Ylisstol, and Lucina immediately went to a library to read anything she could about Grima. Unfortunately, the books contained basically everything she already knew about him.
She wasn’t too familiar with the early days of Robin with the Shepherds, so she tried to pay as much attention to everything happening as closely as possible. Honestly, she was amazed the group made it through all they did without losing anyone.
The night after Cordelia joined up with them, Robin decided to join Lucina for dinner. She looked up in surprise as the white-haired woman sat down heavily across from her.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Robin began, looking up through her lashes bashfully. “I normally eat with Sumia, but…”
But Sumia was with Cordelia tonight, trying to console the poor woman.
“It’s fine.” Lucina shrugged, forcing food into her mouth. The loss of the Pegasus Knights was weighing heavily on all of them, even her.
“So do you sleep with that mask on?” Robin suddenly asked, a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks.
“What? No, that would be ridiculous.” Lucina scoffed.
“Sorry, that was a bad attempt at a joke.” Robin’s shoulders curled inwards. “I didn’t actually think you did.”
“Oh.” Lucina felt bad for her reaction now. “Sorry. Sometimes I take things a little too seriously.”
“Sometimes?” Robin asked with a small smile.
“Most of the time.” Lucina sighed. “The mask just makes me feel better around everyone.”
“I get that.” Her shoulders had finally straightened back out, and Lucina felt a little better. “Honestly, sometimes I just put my hood up to try to block out some of this.” She motioned generally to the camp.
The two ate in relative silence after that, Lucina excusing herself after a little bit. She still had to figure out what her plan was this time around. Her best idea up until now was to force Robin to stay at camp when they fought Validar. If she wasn’t there, then Grima couldn’t possess her.
Except he could still find her later.
Lucina groaned and rubbed at her head. She was going to need a second opinion on this. Her ideas were running short, and she was starting to think she couldn’t come up with a solution all on her own. For now, she just went to her tent and got ready for bed. They were marching towards their final confrontation with Gangrel soon, and she needed to be ready.
The fight with Gangrel was so much worse than Lucina was expecting. Battle raged on all sides of her as she covered Robin’s back, their small group trying to make headway towards the Mad King himself.
Sully and Stahl managed to carve them a narrow path forward, which Robin immediately took advantage of. Chrom, Lon’qu, and Lucina flanked her, Olivia giving them all the motivation to charge on.
Lucina couldn’t even appreciate her mother’s skill, too concerned with the fire in Robin’s eyes. She knew that Robin was supposed to make it out of this battle alive, but it couldn’t hurt to keep close and cover her back.
Their small group reached Gangrel and his guard, Robin and Chrom immediately calling out to the king to surrender. Lucina quickly took up a place on Robin’s other side, ready to jump into action.
“Look at all these sheep you’ve brought for me to slaughter.” Gangrel laughed as one of his guard took a magic bolt meant for him, falling. Robin hissed in frustration and began preparing another spell. “Which shall I start with?”
Lucina quickly dispatched an enemy that had come a little too close to Robin’s back, frantically scanning for any other threat.
“Her then.”
Lucina heard the words uttered from the king but didn’t quite register what was happening until she felt the telltale crackle in the air of an arcane attack. She turned to see a rather large bolt of dark energy streaking towards her, and went to put up her Falchion in defense, no matter how futile. Magic resistance was never Lucina’s strong suit, so she had a horrible feeling in her gut as the attack approached.
“NO!”
Suddenly, Lucina found herself flying away from the bolt, and could only look on in horror as Robin, who has apparently pushed her out of the way, was struck straight in the chest by the attack.
“Not what I was aiming for, but it’ll do.” Gangrel’s laugh was cut off by a wet gurgling as Chrom sliced clean through his chest, but all Lucina could focus on was Robin.
Robin, who was not moving as she lay on the ground, clothing still smoking from the attack.
“No, no, no, no…” Lucina scrambled over to Robin, and propped the other woman up on her knees. “You can’t die here. You have to be okay.”
There was no response, and Lucina’s blood ran cold. Why would Robin sacrifice herself for Lucina’s sake? Lucina was just another soldier in this fight; Robin was their leader.
“Why would you do that, you stupid woman?” Lucina hissed through clenched teeth, clutching at Robin’s shoulders. “I’m not worth you dying over. You’re so much more important than me in this fight.”
Then the dark smoke began pouring off Robin, and Lucina felt the familiar dread grip at her heart. Her carelessness forced Robin to save Lucina at the expense of her own life.
This time, it was solely Lucina’s fault Grima had risen.