One year, three months ago, the base of Mount Prism

There was a deadly silence ringing throughout the camp. Chrom had just performed the Awakening ritual, and everyone knew the final battle was drawing closer.

Lucina sat in her tent pouring through old theological texts about Grima and Naga, trying to find some weakness in him. Her encounters with Robin recently had been few and far between, as he was busy devising battle strategies. Both were wrapped up heavily in their own research. So she was mildly surprised when Robin had come to visit her.

"Hello, princess. How goes your research?"

"Robin! It um... It's going..."

"...That sounds... Promising..." he said, clearly trying and failing to keep his spirits up about this.

She sighed and closed the book she'd been pouring through.

"Grima is not immortal. He can die. In fact he will die, eventually."

"But."

"But he's been doing everything in his power to prevent it. That's his whole purpose. To seek his own immortality."

"I see."

"You would need millions of soldiers, constantly hacking at him with wyrmslayers for years to put even a dent in him. Some sort of power greater than this world has ever seen..."

"...Or his own."

"...Yeah." she said dejectedly, knowing exactly what Robin was implying. "You've not found anything else in your research?"

Robin shook his head. "Everything I've seen says the same as what you've come up with. Death is nearly impossible except by Grima's own hand. ...And today, Naga confirmed that."

"...I've found this. A dark magic ritual." Lucina said, handing him a notebook. "It separates the soul from the body. If you could target it to remove only Grima's soul... Could it work?"

Robin flipped through the papers, scrutinizing every small detail. Finally, he spoke up. "Lucina, this is some of the darkest magic I've ever seen. A ritual like this should never have seen the light of day."

"...But could it work?"

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. It's too dangerous of a spell to ever be used. I can't ask Henry, or Tharja, or, gods forbid, Morgan, to risk their lives for mine. And I can't cast it on myself; it doesn't work that way."

"...You could teach me. I don't care about the risks, I'll study all day and night, just-"

"No. Never." he interrupted. "I won't have you risking your life for me. Besides... Magic ability is something you're either born with or not, and I don't think you have any dark magic ability whatsoever. Even if we did get it to work, Grima could probably interfere with it. And that could make our situation even worse. ...There's simply no way to kill Grima besides what Naga suggested."

"...But we can put him to sleep... My father has performed the Awakening. Grima can be sent to sleep for a thousand years. And maybe by then-"

"Maybe. But maybe not."

"...Are you truly so eager to die?"

"I don't have a choice! What's one life compared to millions?"

"We can find a way! There's got to be some other way! We can spend the rest of our lives looking for a way to kill Grima, permanently! Just, please, Robin... Let my father put him to sleep. The world will have a thousand years to develop new magic. He's mortal. You don't need to die."

The tactician responded by embracing his fiancee as they both began to cry lightly into each others arms. "...Alright. You're right. We'll find a way."

He honestly didn't know whether he was lying or not. He simply couldn't stand to see her cry, and if it made her feel better, he'd say anything.

One month later

The Shepherds stood on the back of their worst enemy. Grima was enormous, and had been gracious enough to host the final battle himself.

The battle was, as expected, the most difficult one any of them had fought in so far. Vaike was defending his wife and son as Brady frantically cast healing spells on the injured Maribelle. Libra's injury had sent Noire into full on "BLOOD AND THUNDER" mode. The monk, leaning on Tharja for support, watched in awe as his daughter cackled and let arrow after arrow fly through the heads of the Risen. Owain and Lon'qu stood back to back, father and son, moving in perfect sync to slaughter the monsters storming them. Cynthia was flying back and forth, bringing the injured to Lissa to treat. Nah held a wounded human form Nowi in her tail as she breathed death upon the Risen below her. Gangrel was, to Chrom's dismay, completely fine as he cut down Risen.

"Thank the gods I lent Nidhogg to Noire." remarked Lucina. "She'd put Prince Innes to shame!"

"Mom! Watch out!" called Morgan, tossing a fireball at a Risen Lucina had missed.

"You have my gratitude, milady."

"Ugh... Mom, we talked about this."

Lucina winced. She'd been making an effort to be less aloof toward Morgan, but old habits died hard. Three months, and she still occasionally slipped up and called her daughter "milady."

Truth be told, she was having a rather hard time adjusting to the idea of being a mother. She loved Morgan dearly, but until recently, she'd never even considered the possibility of a life after stopping Grima. The prospect both excited and frightened her.

"...I thank you, Morgan." the princess said, giving the girl a small smile.

"Okay, you could still stand to go a little less formal, but better!"

"Morgan..." she said, stabbing another Risen. "Is now really the time to do this?"

"Always time!" the girl cheered. "Listen. We-"

"Get back!"

Lucina jumped behind Morgan and cut the Risen sneaking up on her in half.

"You cannot afford to lose focus, even for a second."

"Nngh... Right. Do you see any more?" the young mage asked as she prepared another spell.

"...No. I think we've cleared the area."

"Good."

"Status report, Morgan."

"Let's see..." she placed a hand above her eyes to shield the sun. "Owain and Lon'qu have cleared their area. Gerome's injured; don't worry, Lissa's got it. Cherche and Cordelia are falling a bit behind dad's predictions, but Inigo's cleared his area and is filling in for Gerome, despite his inability to fly. Panne and Yarne are... Panne and Yarne-ing. Yarne's limping a bit; I think he was hit. Noire is blood and thunder; she's still ruining anyone stupid enough to go near her parents. Might wanna just... Leave her alone for now. Aunt Cynthia is currently flying Basilio back to Lissa. Henry is... Frowning. He's... He's upset... HENRY. ...Olivia must have been hurt, but... I don't see her... We've... We've been better mom, but we'll win this."

"...Alright. Where's your father?"

"Over there. Flirting with Say'ri."

"W-WHAT!?"

Morgan started laughing. "Ah, mom! Can't believe you fell for that!"

"Morgan! Now is not the time!" she scolded.

"Oh, fine... Frederick is bringing Severa back to Lissa, and dad's covering their escape. Let's see... Gregor is- WOAH WOAH WOAH! Grandpa is going for it!"

"NOW!?"

"He's got Sumia to cover him. They have a clear path to Grima! They're gonna kill him!"

Lucina breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the front of the dragon to see her parents charging towards Grima's human form. Until suddenly...

"Argh!"

Chrom fell to the wayside, pierced by some of Grima's dark magic. Sumia and her pegasus swooped in, saving him before he fell off the dragon. Unfortunately, they were still being pursued relentlessly by Risen.

"Will you be alright here, Morgan?" Lucina instantly asked.

"Yeah, I- Wait, mom, what are you gonna do!?"

Lucina pulled her daughter close and planted a kiss on her forehead. She then pressed the younger girl against her body protectively.

"I love you, Morgan. Be safe."

"Mom, don't! Your sword can't kill him!"

"I know. But Grima's not gonna sit around waiting for my father to recover, is he?"

"...Just... Come back in one piece, okay?"

"Of course."

Lucina embraced Morgan once more, then charged to the front of the dragon, slaying every Risen in her way.

"Lucina!" called Sumia. "Stand back!"

"Catch!" she shouted, tossing her mother an elixir. She kept running forward, toward the fell dragon. She grinned as Grima's Risen fell off Sumia's tail and started chasing her instead.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't the soundest strategy. Lon'qu and Owain were closer, and would have been able to back each other up. She could have even yelled for Virion to join them. However, her desire for revenge had taken over. She couldn't deny that she desperately wanted an opportunity to stab Grima personally.

She fought with an amazing ferocity. No Risen could stand against her onslaught, and before long, she'd made it to the fell dragon himself.

Her greatest enemy, the one who'd ruined her future, killed her parents, and slaughtered millions, stood only a few feet in front of her.

She leaped forward, stabbing Falchion through Grima's chest. The bastard who wore Robin's skin.

Then, something she wasn't expecting happened. The way he reacted... A look of shock and pain crossed his face. It... It was all over! It had to be!

...Then, a smile. A laugh.

"FOOL! YOU THOUGHT THAT WOULD KILL ME?"

He reached down and pulled her Falchion from his chest. A gaping purple hole was there in its place. His magic filled it in, and he was quickly healed.

"...No..."

He tore the sword from her grip.

"Wouldn't it be ironic? Killed with your own blade... It's a shame Falchion won't work for me."

He tossed the sword to his side like trash, and pulled a bronze sword from his robe.

"Do you recognize this sword?" he asked. "It's the one they found him with."

Lucina jumped toward her Falchion, until Grima held a hand in front of him, stopping her in place with his magic.

"It's almost worthless as a weapon. It's dull, too heavy to use properly... But perhaps, if I put just enough force into it..."

He thrust his blade into her chest, knocking her to the ground and leaving an enormous gash, though deliberately not killing her. Not yet, at least.

Lucina barely remained conscious as Grima knelt next to her.

"Do you want to know what your father's last words were? As the man you love killed him?" he asked, a smug smile creeping across his face.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" a voice shouted from behind them.

The fell dragon's human form wretched back, struck by a bolt of Thoron. He stood and turned around to face Robin, hand sparking with electricity.

"Good guess." Grima spat. "But no, his last words were actually 'Robin! How could you!?'"

Grima shot a spear of his own dark magic at Robin, who blocked it with his hand. He answered this with another bolt of Thoron. Grima simply teleported himself away. Suddenly, Robin felt his counterpart's presence directly behind him.

"Pathetic." he heard the beast whisper. Robin rolled to the ground just in time to avoid Grima's blade.

"Worthless human!" Grima shouted. "Surrender!"

"Human." Robin repeated. He started floating above the dragon's back, lightning storming down from above, fireballs shooting and striking down Risen left and right.

"You have no idea how badly I want to be human... To live a normal life..."

His voice barely rose above a whisper as his fists clenched together and started shaking.

He flew forwards towards Grima, tossing bolts of Thoron as he moved. Grima answered these with his own spears of dark magic.

It would have been an amazing sight, to an outside observer. Two of the world's most powerful magic users firing everything they had at each other. Lightning, fire, wind, and dark magic traveled in equal measure between the two. Dark magic flew with reckless abandon, while the other types of magic were all concentrated on a single being.

Robin looked below him to see his allies barely dodging the magic thrown about. Okay... It'll have to be swords, then.

Eventually, Robin caught up to the dragon's human form and pulled out a blade. The two began dueling, Grima's bronze sword against Robin's levin.

Meanwhile, Morgan ran towards her injured mother. She knelt beside her and examined the wound.

Damn! If only I knew healing magic! Think, Morgan, think...

Morgan did have an elixir, but she couldn't force an unconscious woman to drink it. Then, she noticed her mother's Falchion on the ground not too far away.

Mom uses it to heal herself sometimes, doesn't she? If I can just...

The young tactician darted towards the blade, grabbed it, and ran back to hold it above Lucina. To Morgan's surprise, merely by willing it to happen, a blue glow covered the sword, and the blood flow from Lucina's chest slowed to a halt. No incantations or additional effort necessary.

Morgan smiled to herself. Divine magic is fantastic! Thank Naga... Literally.

She knelt back down and examined the wound again. It was still open, but blood no longer flowed from it. Morgan had seen many battlefield injuries in the past, and she recognized that this could have been fatal. Luckily, Falchion's magic would be enough keep her alive for a while. At least until the battle was over and she could be properly treated.

Sorry, mom. Best I can do under the circumstances.

Standing up, she barely had time to react before blocking a blow from a Risen's axe. Morgan used a bit of wind magic to knock the creature off its balance, then beheaded it with Falchion.

...Wait... Did I just kill that guy with Falchion!?

"...I suppose that means I'm one of your chosen, huh, Falchy?" she muttered. "Heh, Owain and Cynthia are gonna be so jealous! Alright... Don't let us down!"

Just as the tactician had expected, it was a perfect weapon. The weight was balanced exactly as it should be, and it was sharp enough to cut through Risen with little to no effort. It felt less like a sword and more like an extension of Morgan's own arm.

Which was good, because while Morgan had been treating Lucina, the duo ended up surrounded by Risen on all sides.

She cast a quick fire spell behind her, creating a wall of flames to cover her back. Then, with her mother's sword in hand, she charged toward the horde in front of her.

"You know something, Robin." said Grima. "You will give in eventually. You know how I know?"

He began speaking in a voice identical to Robin's, losing the otherworldly echo he was so fond of.

"Because you already have."

Robin sent electricity coursing through his sword and continued to strike it against Grima's blade. With his left hand, he tossed random spells at Grima, which the god blocked with his own magic.

"Not this time, Grima." Robin said between blows. "Lucina gave me a second chance, and I'll be damned if I let you take it from me!"

"Once we're reunited, I think I'll kill Chrom first." Grima continued, not breaking a sweat. "Lucina's already injured, I suppose I'll just let her bleed to death... That'll be painful. Serves her right, all the trouble she's caused me. That daughter of yours... Morgan. Daddy's little angel, huh?" He started laughing. "She'll listen to anything you say. I think I'll make her lead the world's most powerful army of Risen. It'll be wonderful!"

Grima darted backwards away from Robin and held his bronze sword in the air. "This sword was the last gift your mother gave you, you know."

Robin charged forward, knocked Grima's sword from his hand, and pointed his own blade at Grima's throat.

"Do it." spat the fell dragon. "I dare you. You'll cease to exist. You- GAH!"

A blade suddenly stabbed through Grima from behind, stopping just short of going through Robin as well. The blade was silver, with a distinctive golden groove down the middle.

"I come to end you, Grima!" shouted the prince of Ylisse from behind the dragon's human form. Sumia rode above the two, having just dropped her husband off to assist. Grima teleported away, for the first time, showing genuine pain and anger. His human form held a large wound from where Falchion had struck, and no amount of magic could heal it.

"ARROGANT MORTAL!" he shouted at Chrom. "I AM THE END!"

Grima summoned spears of dark magic from the dragon's back, with Chrom only barely dodging them. Sumia jumped off her pegasus, landing behind Grima and stabbing him with her own lance. It wouldn't do much but distract, and she knew that, but she continued fighting. Chrom and Sumia struck blow after blow at Grima, with Chrom managing to hit him with Falchion a few times. The more he was hit, the more exhausted he became, until finally, Sumia managed to knock him on the ground. She placed her foot on the now weakened god's throat.

Chrom pointed Falchion at Grima's chest. "Any last- AH!"

Ylisse's prince found himself blown off his feet by a gust of weak wind magic. Sumia looked up to see her tactician, apparently having betrayed her husband.

Then he pulled a new tome from his robe.

Sumia had little magical ability, and differentiating between tomes was difficult for her. But she knew a dark magic tome when she saw one. And she knew that symbol on the back of it. It looked like a horseshoe with six eyes around the edges; the same symbol that covered Robin and Morgan's right hands.

The Mark of Grima.

And, of course, Grima could only be destroyed by his own power. Now it all made sense.

Robin looked into Sumia's eyes, as if wordlessly asking her permission. He knew Chrom wouldn't approve, Lucina wouldn't approve, and Morgan wouldn't approve, but dammit, if just some member of the royal family would tell him he could go ahead...

Sumia nodded at her friend.

"...Tell Lucina and Morgan that I'm sorry. That I love them." said Robin.

Tears streamed down the young man's cheeks, as his mouth contorted into possibly the saddest smile Sumia had ever seen. The pegasus knight backed away from Grima, leaving him to Robin.

Their conversation a few days ago flooded back into Sumia's mind.

"You know... Morgan is really fond of you. She adores you."

"I think she's closer to you than anyone else here, actually."

"NO!" shouted Grima. "...WHAT... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for..."

"Hah, I suppose you're right... Be that as it may, I'm glad she has a grandmother like you."

"I love her, Robin, I really do."

"Good. Because there's gonna be things in her life she can't talk to me or Lucina about, for one reason or another."

"Yeah? Like what? You two are inseparable!"

"...YOU WOULD...NOT DARE!"

"I would and I will." Robin said calmly. "The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable... In some way, I-we share the blame. It's only right we meet our end together!"

"Well... For example, no teenage girl is gonna want to tell her dad about her crushes... Stuff like that, I suppose."

"Heh, I guess you're right..."

"The point is, Sumia, I'm just glad there's someone else who loves Morgan as much as Lucina and I do. ...Who can be there for her when I can't."

"Of course! She's my granddaughter; I'd lay down my life for her, the same as my own daughters!"

Robin called on Grima's own magic to finally slay the god, stabbing him with an enormous violet spear. The Risen immediately collapsed, dead where they stood, and pieces of Grima's and Robin's bodies began vanishing before the eyes of the Shepherds.

"As would I, Sumia. For her and Lucina... I'd give anything."

"Come on, then! Who else wants a piece of me!?" called Morgan as she sent Falchion flying through yet another Risen. "I'll take all of you down, I-Huh?"

The Risen simply stopped in their tracks and fell to the ground. Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. "...It's over, isn't it?"

She knelt down next to Lucina. "You alright?"

No response. But Morgan checked her pulse and was relieved to find that it was still beating.

"Okay, just hang on, mom. I'm gonna go get dad. We'll get you to a healer."

She stood and looked around. "...Now... Where is- Oh no. No no no no no no dear gods no please no."

She saw her father, fading from existence, and she saw Grima across from him, with a spear of violet magic through him.

"FATHER!" she yelled and sprinted toward him.

At this point, neither Grima nor Robin could move from where they stood.

Robin gave his daughter an apologetic smile. "Morgan... I'm so sorry."

"F-father!" She wrapped her arms around Robin and cried, even as he began to fade from existence.

"Remember what Naga said? If our bonds were strong enough, I could come back. But... Even if I don't... Don't cry for me, alright? Be strong. I needed to do this."

"But... Dad-"

"Please... Right now, you have to help your mother. She's hurt. Leave me. I love you, Morgan. ...Goodbye."

"I-I can't l-let you die! I c-can't leave you!"

He shook his head.

"...It's too late for me. Help your mother. Get her to a healer."

"...I-I..."

She cut herself off. She nodded at him, understandingly, then, with tears in her eyes, bolted back over to Lucina's side. She scooped Lucina up in her arms and started carrying her to the nearest healer.

Suddenly, Robin saw beams of green light surround his comrades. It was Naga's magic, sending them off the fell dragon as it crashed to the ground.

"...Curse you, Robin... I'll make you pay for this! With everything I have left! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" Grima groaned out in pain.

Robin didn't respond. He simply watched Grima fade, knowing that, despite the costs, they'd won. At long last, they'd won.

Naga had sent the Shepherds, along with their entire encampment, to a field just a few hours outside of Ylisstol. Despite ultimately having accomplished their goal, ended the war, and ushered in peace, none of the Shepherds felt much like celebrating. Not only had they lost a dear friend, but far too many of their comrades ended up in bandages. A strange air of bittersweet melancholy fell over the Shepherds, far more bitter than sweet for those closest to Robin.

Sumia and Morgan sat outside of Lucina's medical tent. Morgan was resting on Sumia's shoulder, her eyes closed, but still not asleep, with her grandmother's arms holding her tightly. She was wearing one of Sumia's dresses underneath her cloak, since her battle robes were covered in blood from carrying Lucina back. Sumia's eyes were a bloodshot red from tears. Morgan had, however, surprisingly, not cried nearly as much as the pegasus knight was expecting. Her reaction had been more shock than anything else.

Lucina's injury was major, but Brady had assured them that he got to it in time to save her.

As the day went on, people from around the camp stopped by to give their condolences to Morgan for the loss of her father and ask about Lucina's condition. At least, those who weren't injured or busy healing people did. Morgan politely thanked them and told them about Lucina's injury, but it soon became obvious to Sumia that her granddaughter was overwhelmed and exhausted. After Frederick's visit, Sumia quietly asked the knight to keep any further visitors away. It wasn't that Morgan didn't appreciate them, it was simply that she was still struggling with the reality of the day's events.

Owain had actually been the only family member to visit them. Cynthia had two broken legs, Emmeryn had been left back at Ylisstol, Lissa was focused on healing, Lon'qu had been made into her nurse, and Chrom, once the adrenaline wore off, was dealing with the after effects of Grima's dark magic. Still, from what Frederick said, Lissa had to forcibly restrain Chrom from worsening his injuries by shrugging them off and visiting Lucina, Sumia, and Morgan.

The two must have gone hours in complete silence, before Morgan finally piped up. "...Grandma Sumia? When Grandpa thought Emmeryn had died, how did he deal with it?"

"...Not very well..." she said frankly. "First, he just got angry. He wanted revenge. ...Do you know about the battle of the Midmire?"

Morgan nodded.

"If I know you..." Sumia said. "You're going over the whole situation in your head right now. You're trying to think of a way you could have saved your parents. Am I right?"

Morgan sniffed and nodded again, and Sumia brought her closer.

"Robin did the same thing after the first war with Plegia. For days, he sat in his office going over the battle where we lost Emmeryn, trying to find a way he could have saved her."

"Did he- did he come up with anything?"

"...Yes." she sighed. "He came up with several plans that would have saved Emmeryn. But they all involved sacrificing at least one other person. ...Himself, in most cases."

"...Emmeryn would never stand for that. Spending someone else's life for her own..."

"And neither would your father."

Sumia had figured out Morgan's entire thought process. She'd noticed Morgan darting her eyes to her right hand, the Mark of Grima having finally faded from its back. Morgan was wondering whether she could have killed Grima and taken Robin's place.

"As for your mother, if you hadn't thought to use Falchion to heal her, things would be much worse. You did all you could, Morgan."

"I... Didn't say goodbye... Didn't tell him that I loved him..."

"...We'll find him, Morgan. I know it." said Sumia, rocking Morgan back and forth gently.

"I love you, grandma."

"My poor, sweet girl... I love you too."

A short while later, Brady walked out of the tent.

"How is she?" asked Morgan.

"She'll carry a scar across her chest for the rest of her life, but she'll recover all the way." said the young priest. "We're, uh... We're lucky."

Brady instantly winced and silently cursed himself. "Lucky" was not the right word to be using with a girl who'd just lost her father and nearly lost her mother.

Brady's sleeves had been stained in blood, from dressing Lucina's wound. After hours of surgery and healing magic to save the princess, the blonde had bags under his eyes and looked ready to collapse. His eyes were as red as Sumia's, but it was impossible to tell whether that was from tears or exhaustion. Knowing Brady, it was probably from both.

"...I won't lie to ya. If that cut had been an inch deeper, we'd 'a lost her. But she'll be okay."

Sumia smiled back at him, a bittersweet half smile. "...Thank you so much, Brady."

"It's my job. No need for thanks."

"Can I go see her?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Be careful though. She's lost a lotta blood. Don't touch her, ya might mess with the stitches. ...I mean, you can, uh... Hold her hand, if ya want. Just don't bump her chest. And uh... If she wakes up, don't do anything to shock 'er."

Morgan nodded and walked into the tent to see her mother wrapped in medical bandages, lying on a cot. To her left was Falchion, and another cot was set up across from the swordswoman, empty. Sumia followed shortly behind.

Morgan sat down next to Lucina and grabbed her hand. The older girl was unconscious, but still breathing gently. Morgan said nothing. She simply watched Lucina's chest rise and fall, to make sure it still would. It was her assurance that at least her mother was okay.

Soon, the tent flap opened and Brady walked in.

"I promise, she'll be alright."

"How long until she's all healed?"

"Only 'bout a week. Her injuries are serious, don't get me wrong, but we've got some powerful healing spells. It's all physical damage, nothin' magical. Easy to fix."

She nodded at him again and turned her attention back to the cot.

"...Listen, Morg. If ya need me, ya know, for anything, I'll be just outside this tent. ...I'm um... I'm sorry about your old man."

The tactician said nothing in return.

"That... That other cot's yours."

The young girl finally spoke up, using a strangely unaffected tone. As if she was still taking the day's events in. "Shouldn't you be with your mother? She was injured too, right?"

"...Ma's wounds ain't too bad. Lissa's taking care of her. They both know I got a job to do, and uh... Out of everyone, your ma got the worst of it. So someone needs to stay nearby, ya know... In case..."

"In case she gets worse."

"...Yeah."

"Take that cot, then. I can sleep on the ground. You're exhausted."

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to sleeping on the ground. Bad future, 'n all. 'Sides... With all you've gone through today..."

"I don't need sympathy as much as I need a healer who isn't too tired to work when mom needs him."

"...Right."

"I'll just... Go get another cot." Sumia added awkwardly, slipping out to go to the supply tent.

There was no arguing with Morgan at this point. Brady silently washed the blood of the day's surgeries from his hands and dragged the cot outside. There simply wasn't enough room for all of them inside. He'd fallen asleep within a few minutes.

Morgan remained at her mother's side, before finally speaking up. She figured that maybe, even if no one was around to listen, talking about it would help.

"Hey, mom... We uh... We won. We beat Grima. ...Actually, that's not true. Dad did. Dad killed Grima. He's gone now, though... He... He died.

...

...Dad died today."

Morgan laid down and closed her eyes, still gripping Lucina's hand from her spot on the floor.

"...And you... You almost died. But I'm not gonna cry. He told me not to. He told me to be strong.

...

I don't wanna be strong, though. I want you and dad to hold me. ...I wanna cry. But I can't have that. You can't hold me. You can't even move. And dad... Even if Naga was right, and he can come back, he could be anywhere. He's not here, though... With us. So he can't hold me either. And I dunno if he ever will again. So... So I can't cry. Not until you can. We... We'll mourn him together.

...

Get up soon, mom. I want to cry."

"Nngh... Oooohhh... Hurts..."

Hearing this, Morgan shot up off the floor and started staring at her mother, still holding her hand.

Lucina groaned and weakly opened her eyes, looking at the hooded figure across from her. Her vision was still blurry, but she recognized a pair of dark brown eyes and a certain black cloak.

"...Robin..." she sighed happily, closing her eyes again.

Morgan started to cry. Brady had told her that Lucina might be a bit delirious on waking up, but this...

"...Morgan's okay...?"

Morgan pulled her hood further over her face and gave Lucina a thumbs up with her free hand. Lucina opened her eyes briefly to see it, and then closed them again.

"...Good..." she smiled. "It's all... Over..."

She gasped for air and coughed, spilling a bit of blood onto her chin. Another symptom. Punctured lung. She ran her fingers gently over Morgan's hand.

"...How's ever... Everyone else?"

Morgan, still unable to tell her about Robin, traced "OK" on the back of Lucina's hand.

"...Okay, huh? ...Good..."

"...How am I gonna tell you...?" Morgan muttered without thinking.

"Morgan? You're here... Too?"

"I uh... Yeah, mom. I am."

Lucina smiled. "I'm glad you... Came... I'm alright, just... Hard to talk..."

For both of us, mom...

"Grima's gone. The healers said you need to get some sleep. You were stabbed in the chest. You'll be alright. Your lung was cut and your heart was almost hit. You've lost a lot of blood. But you'll be okay, you just have to take it easy. Don't exert yourself."

Lucina nodded and squeezed Morgan's hand tighter. "Okay... Love you both..."

"...We love you too..."

One week later

Lucina opened her eyes. She saw the roof of a tent. Given the pain coursing through her body, it was the medical tent.

...The medical tent. Right, Morgan and Robin were here the other day... I was... I was stabbed, she said...

"How are you feeling?" asked a gentle voice from across the tent.

"...Tiki? Is that you?"

"Yes. Do you know where you are?"

"The... The medical tent." she responded. "I... I remember the last battle..."

The memory of plunging her blade through Grima remained vivid in her head.

"...Oh, gods, I must have caused you all so much worry..."

"We're just glad you're okay."

"Poor Robin must be beside himself..."

Tiki's ears perked up at this, and she slowly knelt down next to her friend. She took Lucina's hand in hers and said her name.

Lucina looked into Tiki's eyes. The dragon's pitiful, apologetic face told her all she needed to know.

"He... He's okay." Lucina muttered. "He told me... He said he... He wouldn't..."

"I'm so sorry..." Tiki whispered as she shook her head. "...He killed Grima."

Lucina closed her eyes and shook her head. "...Dammit... Gods damn it all..."

The princess drew her hand back and covered her eyes, choking back sobs. Hearing this, Morgan charged in, as even during the brief periods of time she wasn't in Lucina's tent in the past week, she remained within earshot.

Morgan had been trying valiantly to honor her father's last wish, with varying degrees of success. She'd tried not to cry, to be strong for him, but the second she saw her mother's tears, that all washed away. She dashed to Lucina's bedside and wrapped her arms around her. No words were necessary. A week's worth of repressed tears fell from Morgan's eyes.

Lucina returned her daughter's grip, biting back her own physical pain. She buried her face in Morgan's shoulder as the younger girl mumbled incoherent apologies.

Lucina found herself examining Morgan's cloak. It was, in fact, Robin's original cloak, plus about fifteen to twenty additional years of wear. The tears and stitches were in the same spots, and the patterns were identical.

The one thing Morgan's cloak was missing, Lucina noted, was Robin's smell.

She shot her eyes to the door of her tent, a part of her expecting to see Robin walk in. To realize this was all some disgusting joke, a mistake, a dream... Anything.

That night, and every night thereafter until she left, Lucina slept in Robin's bed, alone.

Three weeks later

"Lucina, talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about." declared the young swordswoman as she cut yet another training dummy in half, then clutched her chest momentarily in pain. "There are casualties in war. To assume Robin would not be among them was naive. Do we have any more training dummies?"

"Forget the damn training dummies! You've been at this all day!" Sumia shouted. "You're pushing your family away!"

Lucina sighed, sheathed Falchion, and started walking toward the supply room for the training grounds.

"Talk to me. I am here for you!"

Lucina ignored her mother and began loading training dummies into a wheelbarrow. Sumia stood in front of the door as Lucina turned toward the exit.

"Lucina, you are not okay and you are not leaving this room until you and I speak!"

"I suppose I could train in here, then..."

"Lucina!"

She let her wheelbarrow fall to the ground. "What do you want me to say!?"

"I want you to tell me how you feel! I want you to talk to me! Cry on my shoulder, if you have to! But don't push away the people who love you!"

Lucina sighed, then dropped to the ground and rubbed her temples. "...I threatened to kill him. During the war. Did you know that!?"

Sumia sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, until Lucina shrugged it off.

"When I found out he was under Validar's control, I put my sword to his chest and told him I would take his life. And do you know what he said?"

Sumia shook her head.

"...He offered it freely. And so I... I broke down. I couldn't do it." she said, blinking back tears. "I-I promised him that I'd... I'd find a way to kill Grima and keep him alive. But gods, I couldn't even do that! I failed him, mother!"

"Lucina..."

"So... So thanks to my incompetence, a great man, the man I love, is dead, and my daughter is going to grow up without a father... "

"...If you must blame someone for his death, blame me."

"...Why on Earth would I blame you?"

"...Because I could have stopped him. I had Grima trapped under my foot, and I stepped back to let Robin kill him."

Lucina glared at Sumia and shook her head. Then, she let herself fall into Sumia's shoulder. "I-I can't be mad at you... Part of me knows it was... It was the rational choice, but I just feel so guilty..."

Sumia patted her back as light tears fell from her daughter's eyes. Following Robin's death, Sumia had become something of the emotional rock for her family. Chrom and Lucina were both too stubborn to admit when they needed help, and Morgan had probably been hit the hardest. It ended up falling on Ylisse's queen to be the royal family's shoulder to cry on. Literally, more often than not.

Each of Robin's loved ones had dealt with his death in a different way. To say Morgan was hurt would be the understatement of the century. She'd begun spending most of her time reading through her father's library in her room, occasionally confiding in Chrom and Lucina, but especially in Sumia.

Chrom had been saddled with rebuilding his country the second Grima had died, and had been trying his hardest to maintain a tough appearance about things. However, he would sob when he was alone with Sumia. He'd considered Robin as something like a younger brother. Watching another of his siblings sacrifice himself for the greater good, and watching his daughter and granddaughter broken up over it, had been hard, to say the least.

Likewise, Sumia had grown to consider Robin a brother as well. She'd dealt with the loss by growing more compassionate towards her family members, letting them know daily how much she loved them.

Lucina had taken almost the opposite approach from Sumia's. She grew more distant from her family, spending ever more time alone, training with the blade. Her already bad situation was made even worse by the fact that she'd been unconscious when Robin had died. That had only added to her guilt.

"...I've got to make this right..." Lucina whispered.

Lucina knocked on the heavy double doors separating her daughter's room from the rest of the palace.

"Can I come in?"

"It's unlocked." responded a small, muffled voice.

Lucina pressed her weight against the door, forcing herself inside. She stepped carefully over the stacks of books lying nearly everywhere on the floor. Morgan was lying on her bed, reading, as she usually did. Sumia had made a habit of bringing her granddaughter new books to read daily. It was the only time any of her family saw her smile.

The older princess sat down on the edge of Morgan's bed.

"What are you reading?"

"It's a biography of Lyon's life. I found it in dad's stuff. He was an ancient prince of Grado, in Magvel. They say he was one of the most powerful dark magic users who ever lived. He could do lots of stuff no one else could. Like, for example, he could see the future."

"Is that so?"

Morgan nodded. "Thing is, almost all of his work was burned after his death." she said, somewhat disappointed. "But it's probably for the best... His experiments nearly ended the world."

"That was Ephraim and Eirika who stopped him, right?"

"Yeah. The dark arts aren't inherently evil, but they are inherently dangerous." she continued, folding a quick dog ear in her book and setting it off to the side. "What's up?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Morgan sat in silence for a moment, before sighing and pulling Lucina into a hug. "...I... I miss him so much, mom..."

"Me too..." whispered Lucina, patting Morgan's back gently.

"...Mom?" Morgan spoke up, wiping tears from her eyes. "What do you suppose it's like?"

There was absolutely no need to clarify what she was talking about.

"...I asked Tharja." Morgan continued. "Sh-she can work as a medium sometimes, you know. She said that once someone dies, they stick around as something like a ghost for a few years, and that's when she can contact them. B-but after that t-they move on to the afterlife, and no one knows what happens."

"...When my father died, back in my time, my mother told me that when good people passed away, they joined the stars, and they would look over us every night."

Lucina's tone indicated this wasn't exactly something she believed herself, as much as she wanted to.

"I tried to get Tharja to contact father." the tactician said. "She couldn't find him in the lands of the living or the dead, and she also says there's no way he's reached the afterlife so soon. Her theory is that, thanks to the way he died, he's somewhere on the border of life and death right now. She's never seen anything like it before, though."

Lucina sniffed back a few more tears.

"...Don't worry. ...I'm going to fix this, Morgan."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"If... When he does come back, we have no idea where he'll show up. I'm going on a journey to find him. I swear, it'll all be okay."

"You're leaving?" Morgan's voice wasn't accusatory, nor angry. It was... Sad. Almost pleading.

"...In a week. And only for a little while." responded Lucina. "I'll be back the instant I find him."

"Let me come with you."

"It's dangerous, Morgan. I can't let you get hurt."

"I can fight, mom!"

Lucina stared back at Morgan. Her hair was disheveled, she gave zero attention to her outfit, throwing on whatever rags she had lying around, and she had only occasionally left her room in the past month. She was getting better as time went on, but still, only mildly. The girl who was once the most energetic, lively person Lucina knew had sunk into a deep depression.

"I know you can, sweetheart. You're probably better than me!" Lucina leaned over and wrapped her arms around Morgan. "It'll likely be only a few weeks. Those bonds your father used to talk about... I have faith they'll bring us back together soon enough."

"But... Why can't I come with you?"

Because I'm afraid I'll fail you like I failed your father. Because I'm no substitute for him and I know it. Because Sumia and Chrom can take better care of you than I can.

"...Because you need to be safe."

Tears started streaming down both girl's cheeks, as they held onto each other for a while. Finally, Lucina broke the silence.

"...Be good, okay? Listen to your grandparents. Can you be strong for me?"

I can't. Stay with me. Please. I need you. I don't want you to leave me too.

"I can. I'll be okay."

"Good. It's going to be alright, Morgan. I love you."

"Love you too, mom."

Two months later

"I'm leaving, grandfather."

Chrom stared back at Morgan in disbelief.

"...Why?"

"To find my father." she responded with the first hint of confidence she'd displayed in months. She looked well. At least, better than she had been. She'd finally decided to take care of herself, looking more like the girl she was before Robin's death.

"Morgan, there are so many search parties-"

"Have they found him yet?"

Chrom sighed. "No... No they haven't."

"Then it's not good enough. Your search parties can't cover everywhere."

"Morgan, you will stay in-"

"My mother is out there looking for him, and I need to be out there too."

"I know how you feel, believe me. If I didn't have a country to run I'd be out there myself!"

"Then let me go in your place!"

"Dammit, Morgan-"

"I am an adult! I can take care of myself!"

"Anna has all of her sisters looking for him. Tharja has half of Plegia cursed to let her know if he shows up there. Nah and Nowi have been flying around to distant continents. There's no need for you to go too."

Morgan sighed and reached into her cloak, pulling out an old, battered tome.

Chrom didn't know much about magic, but he recognized a teleportation tome when he saw one. The implications were clear.

He shook his head. No, he didn't want her to leave, but Morgan was so headstrong, she'd take off anyway. And none of his guards could stop a powerful mage with a spell like that. Not without hurting her in the process, anyway. Still, if he pretended to approve, maybe he could keep her safe...

"Fine. Fine, if you're so determined to leave..."

He pulled down a map from his shelf and laid it down in front of him. Several large sections of the map were shaded off in different colors.

"...Here." he said, pointing to an uncolored section of the map in Regna Ferox. "You can search for him here. We have no search parties in the area. You can use that town as a base of operations."

Morgan nodded. "Right."

"...Are you okay, Morgan?"

"I'm fine." she lied.

Before he could even respond, she tore around Chrom's desk and hugged him. "I love you, grandfather."

He patted her back gently. "I love you too, sweetheart. Make sure to say goodbye to your grandma before you leave, okay?"

Morgan simply nodded, then, broke out of the hug and turned toward the exit.

"...Goodbye, grandfather."

Before she left his office, Chrom stopped the girl.

"You know you don't have to do this."

"...This is something I need to do. For my father. ...So long, grandfather."

"Frederick will accompany you along the way, then. Go pack. And good luck."

After she'd left his office, Chrom grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper.

If I can't stop her... I can at least tell Flavia to watch out for her...

"...Be safe, Morgan."

I'm a bit nervous about this chapter. For one, it's one of two chapters I've spent the entire fic building up to, the other being the actual reunion. For two, it's drama, and drama is hard to write. But I think it ended up okay!

I love Robin x Lucina, I really do.

But it's hard to deny that this pairing is going to cause a lot of pain for all involved. Even with the totally inferior Chrom ending, Lucina and Robin are still going to have to deal with the fact that he's the vessel for the being that destroyed her world. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I like it so much. Drama is interesting, after all.

The Sacred Stones references are strong in this chapter. For what it's worth, Nidhogg is the closest thing to Lucina's "canon" bow, based on her DLC appearance in Monster Hunter and her Amiibo only appearance in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.. And those of you who've played Sacred Stones should be able to deduce just why Morgan was researching Lyon, of all people. Makes that scene a bit darker, in retrospect.

Also, you people have no idea how hard it was for me to not reference a certain other JRPG in the Robin vs. Grima scene. Robin: "They are living beings! If you cannot understand this, you have no right to call yourself a god!" Grima: "And who decides that? A god!? Because only a god may decide!" Robin: "Grima... If you choose to deny the existence of every living being but yourself, then I choose to fight. To fight for them!"

Bonus points in my heart if you understood that reference.

Also, Morgan refers to Chrom and Sumia as her grandparents pretty freely in this chapter, and neither of them take any issue with it. This contrasts with something I see in a lot of Robin x Lucina fanfics, which is Chrom insisting on not being called "Grandfather." See, I imagine Chrom would take issue with being called "Grandfather" at first, but Sumia, having fallen completely and instantly into the "grandmother" role, would yell at Chrom until he allowed Morgan to call him "Grandfather." And after a bit, he'd fall into the role himself. Because Chrom's a family man at heart.

Finally, I just wanna say that I really like Sumia and I feel like she's under appreciated.

Review responses!

To Dane Namor: ...Well, crap. I dunno how I missed what is, in retrospect, a rather obvious plot hole. The impression I was trying to give was that Tiki was rather close to Robin and Lucina, and would have been privy to info like that. But yeah... I suppose I didn't explain that well enough... But I did try to remedy that somewhat in this chapter. Hope that worked out!

To Jetstream Girge: Thank you! I'll definitely take those things into account. About Tiki, I tried to write her as a bit more playful than she might come off in the game. Specifically, I based her more off of her supports with Say'ri than with Robin. Mainly because I was trying to make her seem close to Robin. Additionally, I feel like she would be more playful/at peace in a world without Grima. I feel like Robin and Tiki would have a sort of special connection, given their associations with opposite gods.

(...In fact Tiki x Robin is my second favorite pair for him, behind Lucina...)

As always, thank you all so much for reviews, favorites, follows, anything! Yous guys are what keep me writing this! :)

Last thing: #TeamNohr.