[A/N: An idea I just had to write out. I do apologise in advance for any details that are not canon. I might update this periodically, if I feel like continuing. Constructive advice is always welcome.]

It was a murky dusk sky that beckoned the end of the world. Again.

Lucina remembered the blood- there was always blood to be spilled- staining her armor a bright crimson as she fought for her future, stabbing and slicing without stop. Dusk had turned into night, and as the darkness settled so did the fatigue. She remembered the weariness and the panic: What happens if I fall?

What happens if we all fall to Grima again?

She remembered Mother with her tome. She remembered the way the tactician lifted her palms one last time, hands straight and confident, her dark eyes determined. She remembered the way her robe flared as she called out a bolt of lightning from her tome, the element crackling upon her palm. She shot it out, with a precise aim honed from the countless battles over the years.

It hit its mark. It hit Grima, and the beast that had haunted Lucina's nightmares over the years fell just like that, her body crumpled, as though she was mortal. Lucina would later shut the eyes of Grima's vessel herself, gently pushing down the lids of a woman long gone. Her corpse was stone cold, bleeding red, as though she was human. Lucina had to bury her Mother the way she buried her Father: a burial too late to save her grieving heart.

And at that moment as Grima fell, as the world slumbered in its first night of peace, Mother vanished like the wind.

Father was never an organized man. He never had to be: he had Frederick, constantly compiling the scuffled papers back into neat, alphabetically categorized piles upon his desk. The meticulous man had even bundled them up into sections. Lucina could see the man's dainty handwriting on the top left corner, the papers divided into sections such as "Logistics" and "Training Schedule", written with a slight flourish. From a casual flip through of the papers, Lucina could see that each was dated appropriately, the reports containing detailed information for each part. The man had definitely been here earlier today: humming softly as he labelled the papers and tidied the room, frowning at the mess Father would have made.

Lucina's lips curled upwards at the thought. Typical Frederick. Always watching out for his lord, and with Lucina's arrival, her too.

Frederick would be terribly upset if he knew of her plans to leave Ylisse.

She could almost see it: weary wrinkles appearing upon the man's face, his brows furrowed. Frederick was a constant worrier, evident now from how he fussed over the younger Lucina (or Luci, as she had taken to calling herself to differentiate from her big sis). Frederick had completely dominated the role of a surrogate mother, fussing over the four year old with the love her mother was not around to provide.

Mother.

In the empty room, Lucina didn't have to worry about hiding the pain. She allowed a stray tear to fall, and once again forced herself to construct her mother's face within her mind. Snowy white hair, falling to her shoulders. A gentle laugh as she pulled Lucina in for a hug, so tight that Lucina could smell her comforting, distinctive scent. Lucina knew the routine: she had did this back in her own world, when Father and Mother had left her. She will do it now, again, until Mother is back home in Ylisse.

She isn't your Mother. Your Mother is dead.

Lucina steeled herself, brushing away the thoughts within. She had to focus on the task at hand.

Frederick had made the search easier with his organization, but looking through father's papers of over five years would not be an easy feat. The humidity of the cramped, unbearably warm study room was no help either, and Lucina tugged at her tight armor as much as she possibly could without running the risk of indecency. The armor was a loyal friend in battle, but in peaceful times like these, she could certainly do better without it sticking to her skin.

She pulled open drawers, coughing as billows of dust stirred upon her movement. These drawers, forgotten and untouched for years, contained old documents from five years ago. Surprisingly, Frederick had neglected to clean these drawers. Lucina shuffled through the neglected documents, flipping through the yellowed paper until she found what she was looking for: a mention of a different world. A mention of Mother.

It was a daily report, a piece of paper detailing the battle before Mother had joined the Shepherds as a tactician. Owain had hinted to this battle, after much pestering from her. The words had faded slightly over time, but Lucina could barely make out the faint ink detailing the battle. It was a detailed report about strange visitors from a mystical land known as Nohr, who assisted the Shepherds in eliminating invisible warthogs. As strange as it sounds, the Shepherds, together with the party from Nohr, succeeded in getting rid of the warthogs. Frederick had included a description of the commander: a woman with long white hair and pale skin. Of course, there were many people who could fit the description: a two liner was not enough to ascertain that it was Mother. In fact, the logical part of Lucina simply concluded that it was a mere coincidence.

Morgan probably didn't think so. This was what he had meant before he left. He left in the middle of the night a few weeks after Mother had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a note for Lucina. She recognized the scrawl instantly, reading the short note over and over until she had it memorized, until she could recite it like a rhyme.

"I am going to search for Mother. What Owain and Father have told me has led me to believe that mother could be alive, in another space, another time.

I'll bring her home. Don't worry. "

Don't worry was possibly the worst advice Morgan could have given her. Ever since he left, she had spent every waking moment worrying about him. Morgan was her bright star, radiating happiness and joy, but he was naïve. How would he be able to handle himself alone without her? Morgan had been through everything with her, and there was never a moment when they had to be separated more than a short while. Lucina felt her heart ache. She missed Morgan. She missed her brother, and she missed her Mother, and it hurt all over again.

Concentrate. You'll be with him soon.

She had travelled through realms before. Fought through hordes of risen and survived, just barely, to journey across time and space. She could do it again: Tiki was alive in this realm, for one, to open a portal to a different realm again. The other realm could deal with its own troubles: Lucina would find Morgan, grab him and get him back home if it is the last thing she'll do.

You'll find mother too. You will bring back Mother, won't you?

She had to find Tiki immediately, pack supplies, and prepare for the trip. There were many things to be done, and Lucina refused to waste another second. Lucina placed the papers back exactly where she found them, the documents in its initial order. She leaves no trace: The drawers are closed, the papers seemingly untouched.

It would be like she was never there.