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Despite her best efforts, Severa couldn’t help the tear that rolled down her cheek. Back to back with Lucina, Laurent, and Gerome astride Minerva, Severa gripped her sword tightly and faced the horde of Risen surrounding them.
“Whatever happens,” Lucina said to her right, “I just want all of you to know I couldn’t have asked for better Shepherds or friends. It's been an honour to fight with you, and I want you to know that I love you all.”
Severa couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, and out of the blurry corners of her eyes, she thought that maybe her companions weren’t faring much better. So she let herself cry.
She cried for her mother, who had left one day to protect the Halidom and never returned. She cried for her father, who had mysteriously vanished at the same time as the death of the exalt. She cried for her friends, who had gone searching for the scattered pieces of the Fire Emblem in their last ditch attempt to stop the Fell Dragon. She cried for Lucina, Laurent, Gerome, and even Minerva, who she was sure she was about to die fighting next to. And she cried for her baby brother and sister, the twins, who she hadn't been able to save.
She didn’t understand why the Risen army hadn’t yet descended upon them. Perhaps the grimleal commander was savouring his victory and wanted to let them wallow in their misery.
Severa grit her teeth and shut her eyes tightly. A memory from long ago, before the world had gone to hell, flickered through her mind. She remembered it had been a day like any other. She was but a child, playing in the fields near her family's estate when a brigand had appeared from the tree line with a threatening smirk. She remembered screaming and her parents had come running. Staring up at their backs as they mercilessly tore her attacker to pieces with blades and magic, she couldn’t help but think they were the coolest parents in the Halidom.
Finally, the grimleal commander raised an arm in a wordless command to attack, and the undead army began to move.
Severa shifted to a ready stance, and prepared herself to go down fighting when the world lit up around her.
The light died just as quickly as it came, but now, standing between her and her friends and the Risen horde, were several dozen familiar silhouettes, and Severas jaw dropped.
“Shepherds!” The voice of the long dead Exalt rang across the battlefield, “To arms!”
A roar echoed around them, and the Risen crumpled like paper before the might of so much magic and steel.
A man with silvery white hair much like her own wearing a long dark cloak, and the towering form of a Pegasus with a crimson haired woman atop it stood between her and the nearest zombies, and they immediately set to work decimating the forces of the Fell dragon before them.
Frozen by her shock and inability to comprehend the events playing out before her, it was all Severa could do to keep her hand closed around her sword and watch as lightning magic and lance danced in a deadly display of might, and cut down the would be threat to their wielders precious daughter.
The Shepherds steadily pushed back against their enemy, thinning their numbers and making their way towards the now rage stricken Grimleal fanatic that had been so intent on killing them. Meanwhile, the parents of the four children they had just rescued broke away from the fight and circled back around to check on the baffled warriors behind them.
“Severa! At last we’ve found you!!” Cordelia cried, a look of concern on her face.
“I’m glad you're alright, sweetheart,” Robin said, smiling gently at her.
“M-mom? Daddy? You’re alive? What’re you doing here?” Severa said, flabbergasted and stumbling over her words.
Cordelia dismounted and gathered Severa up in a hug while Robin's smile faded.
“Not exactly, kiddo. We’re from another world. Naga brought us here to protect you and make up for our other self's mistakes.”
“I’m just so glad we found you in time!” Cordelia said. “You’re not hurt are you?”
“Hey!” Severa cried indignantly. “You don’t have to squeeze so tight! And what do you mean by another world? If you were brought here, why didn’t you come sooner? You shouldn’t have even died in the first place! Too little, too late!”
She forced her way out of her mothers hug, and pointed an accusing finger at her father. “We’ve managed just fine since you went and passed away! What gives you the right to show up now and save the day!?”
Cordelia again reached out, this time placing a hand on Severas shoulder, and despite herself, she leaned into the touch and accepted the comfort.
“I’m sorry we left you behind Severa,” Cordelia soothed. “I can assure you that in this world and in any other that it was the last thing we wanted for you. Just know that we’re so proud of you for protecting Lucina and your friends like that. Just like a true Pegasus Knight. You’ve become quite the amazing young lady.”
Severa scowled. “I don’t want your pride! You’re not even my real Mom and Dad! Get your hands off me!”
Cordelia stepped back, giving Severa the space she asked for, and Severa breathed heavily, still trying to process what was happening. Around her, she could overhear her friends having their own conversations with their own otherworldly parents.
“No matter where you two are from, you’re always the same! It’s always about comparisons and how you feel, and never about what I want! You two left us, when all I ever wanted was you! Not your pride, not the pressure of living up to you, just YOU!”
Severa broke down again, and Robin and Cordelia both scooped her up into their arms.
“Shhh,” Cordelia soothed. “My poor girl… don’t cry now. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you what you wanted, but so long as we’re here in this world, I promise that you’ll have us, and we’ll let no harm befall you.”
“That’s right,” Robin agreed. “We failed you. I couldn’t keep you or your mother safe. I couldn’t even come back to you myself. We failed to consider your feelings properly.”
“You should’ve not DIED is what you should’ve done!” Severa shouted through her tears.
“I understand Severa,” Robin continued. “But we’re here now, and we’re going to protect you. Your other friends will return shortly with the pieces necessary to complete the Fire Emblem, and then you can seal away that smug Dastard Grima over there. Until that time comes, we’re not going to walk away and let you get hurt until your victory is assured.”
“Grima?” Severa asked, anger leaving her for the moment to be replaced by confusion.
Robin's grin returned. “That’s right. You and your friends scared Grima so badly he came to try and put you down himself!”
Cordelia withdrew from the embrace and held Severa at arms length. “We’re sorry for everything we’ve put you through. Now you just leave it to us to clean up our mistakes, alright? When the time is right, you and your friends will strike the final blow and finish what we started. Okay?”
Severa sniffed. “Fine. I accept your apology. And I take back the mean things I said. Just promise you won’t get yourself killed out there. Your Severa needs you to come home too.”
“You can count on it,” Robin affirmed confidently. “I have no plans of dying today, and I won’t let anyone else die either. Now get going and regroup. We’ll rout the Risen for you.”
Robin and Cordelia stood and prepared to rejoin the battle, but Severa interrupted them.
“Wait! I’m not ready for you to go yet! I missed you so much!”
“We’re here now, Severa. I’m sorry it won’t be for long. There’s so much I wish I could teach you. We’re leaving this world in your capable hands. Will you be okay?”
Severa swallowed hard, but nodded. “You can count on me Daddy. And Mom, please don’t let him do anything stupid.”
Cordelia smiled wryly. “That’s my job sweetheart. Don’t worry about us. Just keep doing what you’re doing and protect your friends.”
“And one more thing!” Robin said as he pulled out his Levin Sword. “During our last skirmish in this world while protecting your other friends, I thought I saw your Sister fleeing the battle. I had hoped she’d come back to you, but it seems that it’s not the case. When this is all over, will you look for her?”
Severa gasped. “Morgan is alive? I promise I’ll find her if she is! For now I’ll keep Lucina and the others safe! You just worry about keeping your own damn word!”
“That’s my girl,” Robin said. “And for what little it’s worth, we really are proud of you.”
Then he turned and joined the other Shepherds and assisted in cutting a path towards the figure Severa now knew to be Grima.
Forcing herself to look away, Severa rejoined Lucina and the others and made their way to the edge of the battle field, away from the fight.
“I can’t believe my eyes…” Lucina murmured as Severa joined her. “Thank Naga for this blessing. It is truly a miracle…”
Severa couldn’t help but agree with Lucina as they watched their fathers combine the Divine Dragons fang with brilliant arcs of lightning, pressing Grima back further and further, until the monster's human form was cornered against a wall with two swords pointed at him and a band of angry warriors surrounding them.
Almost inconceivably, the Shepherd's sudden arrival had completely routed the army of Risen and even injured the hooded avatar of the Fell Dragon himself. Severa couldn’t exactly make out what was being said, but she could tell Grima was furious.
Suddenly, the Fell avatar lurched forward, and Lucina shrieked right with Severa, but the avatar wasn’t attacking. Instead, a brilliant light surrounded the Shepherds, and they vanished, just as quickly as they had arrived.
Rage overtook Severas mind, and she charged the kneeling monster, Lucina right beside her, matching her step for step, but the figure on the ground made no move to defend itself. Severa and Lucina slowed as confusion replaced their anger, Gerome and Laurent coming to a stop behind them.
“What did you do to them!?” Severa shrieked as the group warily surrounded the avatar.
The figure was breathing heavily. Slowly, as non threateningly as possible, the figure rose to a kneeling position.
“Grima…” it began slowly, struggling to get the words out, “Grima was preparing an attack that would’ve seriously hurt them, if not killed them. I had to send them back home. I managed to wrest control from the beast, if only for a moment, and use its power as I wished. I… I am sorry. I never wanted any of this. You have suffered for my weakness.”
As the Avatar spoke, Severa was filled with a horrible feeling as the creature's familiar voice stirred her emotions around in her gut.
“It, it can’t be…” she muttered, taking a step back.
The Avatar winced, “I am sorry to you in particular, Severa, and you, Lucina.”
The creature pulled back its hood, revealing the pained face of a silver haired man. Severa sank to her knees in despair.
“Sir Robin?” Laurent said in surprise, like he couldn’t understand what his eyes were showing him.
“Uncle…?” Lucina trailed off, equally baffled.
“ Daddy !” Severa sobbed from her place on the ground.
Robin's eyes flickered from their natural brown to a deep red and back again. He clenched his jaw, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Grima possessed my body,” Robin lamented, clearly fighting for the control he had managed to win from the monster. “He forced me to strike down Chrom, and then the other Shepherds. I couldn’t stop it. It’s my fault. You must strike me down. Your friends will arrive momentarily with the gems. I can sense them.”
Sure enough, two figures could be made out in the sky above. One large glistening shape that could only be Nah in Manakete form carrying Kjelle and Noire on her back, and a smaller form darting around her that must’ve been Cynthia on her Pegasus. Below them, the unmistakable shape of a Taguel emerged from the forest, with three figures riding on its back. Yarne, Inigo, Owain and Brady had returned as well.
Severa turned back to her father in time to watch his eyes flash red once more, causing him to scream in pain.
“Lucina,” he said as the glow subsided. “You must strike me down as soon as you have the fire emblem and perform the Awakening. It is the only way to send Grima back to sleep.”
“Is there not a way to save you?” Severa interrupted desperately. “Please Daddy, tell me that you don’t have to die again!”
Robin frowned. “I’m sorry sweetheart. Even if it were possible, I don’t deserve to be saved. I couldn’t protect any of you. This is my fault. Just promise me you’ll find the twins. Grima used me to brainwash them into fighting for him. He might’ve tried to get you as well, but I managed to prevent that from within him. I regret that I wasn’t strong enough to save your siblings. Can I count on you to find them?”
Severa swallowed back another sob as Nah touched down nearby, stirring up wind with her great draconic wings and blowing Severas own silver pigtails around. She nodded. She didn’t want to accept that her father couldn’t be saved, but his tone made it clear there was no hope. “I promise,” she said. “I’ll bring them home Daddy. I promise.”
Robin nodded, and for a moment, he looked at peace, before pain wracked his body again. Severa heard a gasp behind her and turned to see their friends gathered behind them, Nah and Yarne transformed back into their human forms.
“Quickly!” He choked. “Perform the-“
The red glow in his eyes returned full force, and Robin was gone. Only Grima remained now.
“Foolish!” The Fell Dragon spat from Robin's mouth. “You can only perform the Awakening at Mt. Prism, which my forces have long since destroyed. Naga is dead! I killed her! I may be wounded now, but you cannot kill me. I will escape and recover! Naga’s futile intervention from another world was for nothing! Fate cannot be altered!
“Wrong again, Grima,” a new, yet familiar voice said. Everyone turned to see an ethereal Tiki floating above them.
Grima hissed but Tiki simply looked down at him sadly. “By killing me here and failing to do anything with my body, you inadvertently made the ruins of Ylisstol the new holiest place of my mothers power in the land. Now that Mt. Prism is gone, so too is my mother, but my spirit has succeeded her and become the new Naga. I suspect that it was Robin manipulating you to create this outcome from within all along, am I correct?”
For the briefest of moments, Grimas eyes faded to brown again. “You got it Tiki,” Robin said tiredly, before his eyes once again burned red with Grimas fury.
“Damn you, Nagaspawn!” Grima roared, but Tiki ignored him.
“Brady, Cynthia, please present Lucina with the gemstones so she may complete the Fire Emblem. Lucina, you know the rest,”
Grima struggled to stand, to do anything to stop what was about to happen, but the holy presence of the Divine dragon intensified, and his eyes began to flicker between red and brown once again. Through the combined efforts of Tiki and Robin, Grima was temporarily subdued.
“C’mon now,” Owain murmured, wiping at his eyes as he knelt next to Severa while Brady and Cynthia helped Lucina fit the gemstones into the shield strapped to her arm. “It isn’t right for a warrior of your caliber to be on the ground like this, you know.”
Severa gave him a shove, but let him help her up anyway. She scowled at him, but was secretly happy that he attempted to console her, ineffective as it was. She allowed Owain to support her as he led her away, and did her best to ignore the screams of the Dragon possessing her father behind her.
“Thank you for your help aunt Tiki,” Lucina said. “I am ready.”
She took a deep breath, and planted her feet, holding Falchion aloft in front of her.
“Hear me, Naga! I bear proof of our sacred covenant! In the name of the exalted blood, I ask for the divine dragon's power! Baptize me in fire, that I may become your true daughter!”
Immediately a torrent of rainbow hued flames descended in a column from the heavens, consuming Lucina. Yet she didn’t burn. Instead she stood tall and grit her teeth, staring unflinchingly at the body of the man who had been like an uncle to her.
Severa watched with bated breath as the flames dissipated, and Lucina still stood, unharmed, and almost glowing blue as the power of Naga radiated from her in waves.
“Awakener, your heart has been tested and deemed worthy,” Tiki spoke ceremoniously, “Cleansed in my fire, your desire has proved stronger. I shall now imbue your blade with my power.”
“ARGHH!” Grima writhed in desperation. “I would crush you worms if I could just move my body! Why does he still resist? Why does he still refuse to become one with me? Why does he interfere? Damn you Robin! You… will all… PAY!”
“Now, Lucina!” Tiki prompted. “Accomplish your first task as exalt and lay the beast low. Return hope to mankind!”
Around her, the others all cheered Lucina on in their own way, and Severa could feel the excitement of finally being free of the Dragon build. “Do it already!” She screamed. “Free my Daddy from that bastard's control! I believe in you! Don’t let us down!”
Robin's brown eyes watched with a sad smile. “I’m ready Lucina… finish this.”
Lucina readied Falchion. “I swear to you all… our days of defeat end here! Father… Mother… watch over me, because today, right now, I’m taking our world back!!”
Lucina struck with all her might, and Severa shut her eyes. There was no scream of pain, no demonic wails. Just a quiet ‘oomph’ and the sickening noise of a blade piercing human flesh. Purple smoke began to drift from his form.
“At last… I can rest,” Robin said. “No one else… will suffer… because of me… thank you Lucina. And I’m sorry Severa. All of you… Be strong for each other. Lead Ylisse into the bright future we could not. I promise that your parents and I will watch over you from the afterlife. I hope… all of your lives… are filled with joy. Tell the twins… I’m sorry… I put them through so much… I hope they… will forgive me…”
And then he faded away, leaving only his robes behind. Robin was no more.
“It’s over,” Lucina confirmed, and Severa sobbed into Owain's shoulder.
“Well done Lucina, all of you,” Tiki commended. “You have saved the world. I only wish it did not come at such a cost.
“Thank you Aunt Tiki,” Lucina said. “But it wasn’t just us. Our parents saved us from beyond the grave and the borders of worlds. They deserve our thanks as well.”
Tiki smiled. “That is true enough. But do not underestimate your own contributions. You all deserve praise as well. Even against terrible odds, you refused to give up. You should be proud. Now go. There is work to be done. I know that with you and your friends' help, mankind will flourish once again. Now that I am the Divine Dragon, I may no longer meddle with human affairs, but I shall always watch over you. You are all my family too after all.”
Lucina smiled sadly. “Aunt Tiki, we shall not let you down.”
Tiki smiled, and began to fade into the heavens.
Severa watched as she went, and moved to stand at Lucina's side. “She’s gone…” she muttered.
Lucina leaned into her, and Severa was glad for the contact with her best friend.
Lucina turned to face the group, and they all smiled at her. “Today was difficult for everyone,” she said. “There’s still a long way to go, but so long as we support each other, we’ll all thrive in this new era. Thank you all for fighting by my side. Now then, shall we head home and begin to spread the word of Grimas defeat?”
“Aye!” Owain immediately agreed. “The people should know they may rest easy, thanks to we mighty twelve!”
Normally Severa would’ve cuffed him on the head, but seeing as she was standing opposite from him, and that she was so emotionally and physically exhausted, she figured she could let it slide, just this once.
“I concur,” Laurent said. “With Grima gone, the Risen are likely just mindless beasts now. We’ll be able to dispatch them at our leisure.”
“What’re we waiting for then?” Brady asked. “We’ve got good news to share, plans to start, and dreams to make reality. About damn time if you asked me.”
“Daddy said… Daddy said that the twins might still be alive. I have to try and find them.”
“If they can be found, we’ll find them Severa,” Gerome replied, sounding uncharacteristically soft, “but you’ll do them no good if you go looking right away. We’re all tired and we need to rest before doing anything.
“Fine,” Severa replied with a stomp that even she recognised was childish, but she knew Gerome was right. “But as soon as everything has calmed down a little, I’m going out looking!”
“We’ll help in any way we can!” Nah pledged.
Severa let out a huff, but didn’t say anything else, choosing instead to listen as Lucina steered the conversation back towards heading home, before herding her Shepherds out of the ruins they’d been fighting in.
She would never say it out loud, but Severa had great friends.
Several months later…
Shortly after the knowledge of Grimas defeat spread, the survivors of the war began to trickle back towards the now partially reconstructed Ylisstol.
After a fair amount of begging, Severa had agreed to help Cynthia rebuild the Pegasus Knights, and was doing fairly well for herself as deputy commander.
Lucina, who had been officially crowned Exalt as soon as enough people had returned and the infrastructure had been repaired, had appointed Severa as her personal knight, so she had little time to herself.
What time she did have she spent following leads as to the whereabouts of her siblings. The other Shepherds had been keeping an eye out and reporting back to her about whatever they heard, but it almost seemed like if the twins were out there, they didn’t want to be discovered, because by the time Severa or one of her friends could check it out, they were nowhere to be found.
Severa had just returned with a squad of new Pegasus Knights after routing a small band of remaining Risen. Despite her general annoyance at her inability to find the twins, she was pleased to be able to say that her squad had dealt with the problem without a single injury. Never let it be said that Severa didn’t inherit any of her fathers tactical prowess.
Her warring pride and sour attitude had Severa so thoroughly distracted as she stalked through the partially reconstructed city, that she very nearly crashed straight into Lucina on her way towards the castle.
“Severa!” Lucina exclaimed excitedly as she caught and steadied her. “I have good news, but we must hurry, so I’ll have to explain on the way. Follow me, please.”
Without checking to see if she followed, Lucina turned and began striding towards the Pegasus stables, leaving Severa to scramble to catch up. She did her best to remain composed as would be expected of the Exalts personal guard, though she wasn’t sure how well she did.
“Well?” Severa questioned, “What’s going on? Where are we going?”
“I’ve got a lead,” Lucina replied, still just as excited. “Someone matching Morgan's description was spotted on the outskirts of New Southtown. If we hurry, we might be able to find her. How quickly can you saddle your Pegasus?”
Severa stumbled slightly from the shock of the revelation.
“With motivation like that? It shouldn’t take five minutes!” Severa recovered. “Let’s go!”
She quickened her pace and led Lucina into the stables and towards her mount, saddling it and preparing for flight in record time while Lucina explained to Cynthia, who happened to be in the stables, where they were going.
In just a few short minutes, the pair had mounted Severa’s Pegasus and were in the air, flying towards New Southtown. It was a mercifully short flight, not even taking an hour, which Severa was thankful for.
“I can see smoke in the woods near the village!” Lucina called from her seat behind Severa. “We should land just outside the village and ask the villagers to take care of your Pegasus before we go looking for the source. It looks like a campfire, and I suspect that we may find the twins at its source!”
Severa nodded her head, and steered her mount towards the ground just outside the main entrance of the village. They startled a villager as they landed, but he quickly recognized Lucina as the exalt. They explained to him what they needed, and the villager gladly agreed to watch over Severa’s Pegasus for them. Soon, they were trudging through the underbrush, looking for signs of life, walking in the direction they had seen the smoke in.
They heard it before they saw it.
A deep rumbling sound echoed around them, slow and steady. Almost like breathing, but a lot louder. They arrived at a clearing, and the first thing that they saw was a Wyvern, almost as big as Minerva, snoring away next to the smouldering embers of a campfire. Severa reached for her sword, but Lucina stopped her, and pointed at the Wyverns side.
Curled up against the Wyverns belly under a blanket, were two slumbering figures.
Severa gasped, and almost ran straight to them, ignoring the danger, before Lucina stopped her again.
Severa glared at her, but Lucina just rolled her eyes. “We have to proceed carefully, Severa. You know better than to startle a sleeping Wyvern.”
Severa blushed, but continued to glare. “Then what do we do?” She whispered.
“We’ve got to get their attention without provoking the Wyvern…” Lucina looked at Severa expectantly, and she realised Lucina was waiting for her to come up with a plan. Ever since the twins had disappeared, Severa had been expected to fulfil the role of tactician. The Idea Girl. Just because of who her father was. As if it wasn’t bad enough being compared to her mother all the time, now Severa was expected to be just as good as her father.
Severa sighed. It was annoying, but she had no choice but to bear the burden, considering she was almost universally looked up to as a hero of Ylisse. Besides, Severa did have an idea.
“Don’t tell anyone about this,” Severa warned. Before Lucina could respond, Severa began to sing.
Cordelia had always been a talented musician and singer among her many other talents, and for once, it was an ability Severa felt confident she had inherited from her mother. She chose not to advertise that fact though, because she didn’t want to give people any more reason to compare them and expect her to be more like her mother.
Starting softly, Severa sang an old lullaby that her parents had once used to soothe her and her siblings to sleep as children. As she progressed through the song, she steadily increased her volume. Thankfully, the plan worked. The twins stirred while the wyvern continued to slumber.
“Hnng, mother?” Morgan asked confusedly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“… the strangest dream,” Marc said in a sleep-addled voice.
Severa and Lucina watched as the red headed twins sat up and looked around in confusion. They were wearing strange clothes, clearly Grimleal in design, but Severa was honestly just glad to see that they were safe. She could worry about the implications of their outfits later.
“I wasn’t imagining that, right?” Marc asked.
“No,” Morgan agreed. “Be on guard though. Who knows what sort of foul trickery is afoot.”
“You like tricks,” Marc snarked, but he reached out and grabbed a magic tome anyway.
Slowly, so as not to startle them, Severa rose from their hiding place, and stepped into the clearing. The change in the twins' demeanour was instantaneous. Their expressions went from cautious and inquisitive to fearful, and Severa’s heart shattered.
Like she always did when she didn’t know how to express herself, Severa resorted to anger.
“Where have you two been?!” She whisper-shouted. “I’ve been worried sick! You can’t just up and disappear like that when I’m responsible for you! I-“ Severa stopped when she saw the twins expressions morph from fear to terror, and again, just as always, she was quick to backtrack.
She darted forward, and the twins flinched, but Severa drew them into a hug, which seemed to confuse them a great deal.
“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Severa whispered in their ears. “I thought I’d lost you guys… to find you again like this, I-“
“Wait,” Morgan asked. “You don't hate us?”
“Perish the thought,” Lucina said, choosing then to make her presence known. Instantly, Severa felt her siblings tense up again, and she wondered why they would have that reaction at all.
“I am glad to see that the two of you are safe,” Lucina continued, oblivious to the twins' reactions. “We’ve been worried about the two of you.”
“You should hate us,” Marc said self-deprecatingly. “We betrayed you…”
Severa glanced back at Lucina, and they shared an odd look.
“Betrayed us?” Severa asked. “What are you talking about?”
Marc glanced at Morgan, as if to say ‘can you believe them?’ before turning back to Severa.
“I guess we should explain ourselves… Morgan, wake up your lizard. We don’t want him getting temperamental about Luci and Sev if he wakes up to them with no explanation.”
“Mushu is not a lizard,” Morgan huffed, but moved to wake up her beast anyway.
“That’s a cute name,” Severa remarked. For a moment, Severa saw Morgan’s old self shine through. The girl who got excited over just about anything. It was quickly smothered by a dour expression though.
After the wyvern was awake, the four of them sat around the embers of the twins campfire, with Mushu sitting contently behind Morgan.
Neither Marc nor Morgan looked like they wanted to talk, but Severa prompted them anyway with what she hoped was a reassuring look. She had never quite taken to big sisterhood like Lucina had with Cynthia.
Eventually, Morgan sighed. “We went looking for Father,” she said. “That’s why we disappeared. We didn’t tell you because we knew you’d stop us.”
“We had figured since he was MIA it might mean he was still alive somewhere, and just stuck,” Marc continued. “We didn’t believe that anybody could beat him.”
Severa nodded. She remembered having a hard time believing it as well when her mother had first broken the news to them after their disastrous mission in Plegia.
“We retraced the Shepherd's steps all the way to the Dragons Table,” Morgan said. “Since you guys beat Grima thanks to the outrealm Shepherds, you might be able to hazard a guess as to what we found.”
Severa gasped. “You actually found him? Then… What did that bastard Grima do to you?!” She demanded.
“To be honest we’re not exactly sure,” Marc replied. “Everything gets a bit fuzzy after that. I remember being excited thinking we’d found Dad, but then it turned out to be Grima. I think he made us believe that he and father were the same thing. Like, that there was no difference between Grimas cruelty and fathers kindness…” he trailed off, as if unsure how to explain further.
“So, what you’re saying is that you were tricked?” Lucina asked. “Or brainwashed?”
Marc blinked. “I, um, I suppose so?”
“As far as we were concerned, we had found Father, and we were together again,” Morgan agreed. “It was like nothing else mattered. Like Marc said, things are a bit fuzzy, but I can remember bits and pieces…” she suppressed a shudder. “We did horrible things in his name,” Morgan whispered. “It wasn’t until a few months ago that everything became clear again, like waking up. We realized what had happened, and we’ve been hiding from civilization ever since…”
Severa grit her teeth. “That foul, no good, black hearted dastard used you!” She raged. “I didn’t think it was possible that any being could stoop so low as to manipulate a child with the face of their parent! It makes me so mad!”
“See,” Marc laughed darkly. “You hate us.”
Severa looked at him, flabbergasted, but he was too busy hanging his head in shame to notice.
“Weren’t you listening to what I said?” Severa shouted.
“What she means is that we’re not mad at you,” Lucina interjected, causing the twins to look up. “We’re mad because we find it hard to believe that anyone, including Grima could be so evil,” she explained. “The two of you are blameless.”
“But,” Morgan stammered. “We did all those terrible things, and-“
“And you were manipulated ,” Severa stressed. “I know you. There’s no way you two would hurt anyone you didn’t have to in your right state of mind.”
She took a deep breath, and sighed.
“I spoke to the other versions of our parents. They said they saw you on the battlefield, and that you looked scared and like you needed help. They asked me to find you and keep you safe, just like our versions of them did. Do you honestly think that if Grima was truly the same as our Father that he would’ve put you through all of that?”
“Umm…” Marc said nervously, and looked at Morgan for help, but she didn’t have anything to offer either.
Lucina smiled gently at them. “If you’re so convinced that you’ve done wrong, then come back to Ylisstol with us and make up for those wrongdoings. Help us rebuild and restore humanity. That should absolve you of your perceived wrongs, shouldn’t it?”
“I… suppose…” Morgan cautioned.
“Our friends miss you too,” Severa added, really trying to drive it home. “Owain and Cynthia can’t have the Justice Club without you, you know.”
“Justice Cabal,” Morgan and Marc corrected simultaneously, and Severa smiled at them.
“Come home,” Severa insisted. “We can be a family again.”
Slowly, the twins allowed themselves small smiles.
“Alright,” they said.
Severa’s heart felt full to bursting. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this happy.
“I did it Father, Mother,” she thought to herself. “This time, I’ll keep them safe, I promise.”
Two presences watched the clearing, unseen and unheard.
“All’s well, that ends well, eh, Robin?” The first spirit said.
Robin's spirit chuckled sadly. “I just wish we could share this with them.”
“I know what you mean,” the first said. “It’s painful to see them grow so strong and not be a part of it.”
“It’s all we can do to watch over them from the after life now,” Robin agreed. “But I know they will be fine. Come on, Chrom old friend. We should go.”
“Yes, you’re right, of course,” Chrom’s spirit said. “They’ll be just fine.”