It shifted from Chrom to Lucina.
And from Lucina, to the child she never knew she had.
In this world, Lucina had returned once again, this time, with 11 other children in tow. And now, the tactician could safely call her daughter by her true name, and Lucina, in turn, called her "Mother". With her husband and daughter by her side, she felt that, finally, she had succeeded. She must have. Never in her previous timelines did she get so far. Only surrounded by what she knew, of course she was shocked when they arrived at the ruins.
A boy, who looked young but couldn't be many years her junior, called her "Mother". She knew that other children from the future had arrived in the past with Lucina, but her daughter never mentioned having a younger brother. However, despite lacking any memory of everything except her, the boy was so optimistic, so aspiring, that his enthusiasm won her over.
And she realized she was a fool for not to having seeing it sooner. Not only did he wear the tactician robes she must have in his timeline, Morgan's hair was the exact shade of blue that matched Chrom's. A pretty shade of saphire that had always tempted her to grasp one of his curls and play with it. Moran's eyes were shaped like Lucina's but instead of her azure blue, he had a spectrum of caramel brown — a reflection of her own. And yes, he did enjoy using magic, but he always seemed to prefer swords, which must have been a result of Chrom's influence, whether Morgan remembered his father or not.
In another world, this child...
And yet,
why did Lucina never mention him?
Perhaps she'd wanted to keep it a surprise, but if Lucina had a brother, she must have been worried sick about him. She'd seen the way her daughter secretly fretted over her friends. She was their leader. If nothing else, it was her duty to keep them safe.
She cornered her daughter, and for a moment, her composure faltered.
"Dammit, Lucina, he's your brother. Your brother! Our son. Would it have killed you to tell your father and I that he existed?"
"You don't understand! Neither you or Father could ever understand why—"
"Even so, we had the right to know! If we had arrived any later than we did—"
"Mother, please, listen to me..."
The tactician was stunned silent. Her daughter never pleaded; she never begged. No, Lucina ordered; she instructed, and in all the timelines she knew her, Lucina never threw her pride away to anyone. It was a trait that had been passed down to her by her mother.
"In my world, Morgan — Morgan was the one who chased us down when we fled to Mount Prism. He betrayed all of us, Mother. Why he did," she shrugged helplessly, "I'll never know. I only knew that Father was gone and you had disappeared. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never thought that he'd turn up in this world... without any memories."
Oh.
Oh, Morgan...
She had witnessed it herself, her son's admiration (borderline worship) of her. His aspiration to be just like her, and the way he would copy every move she made on the battlefield. But she never thought a fierce loyalty such as his could turn into a betrayal of his own flesh and blood.
But now she knew...
And that's why it shouldn't have surprised her, when her grip loosened and when Grima took back control, even for the slimmest amount of time, Morgan had betrayed his comrades a second time, and both Chrom and Lucina lay dead at his feet.
Despite everything he's done,
I will always forgive him.
Because when all's said and done,
I will always love my kin.
And after all, everything he's done is for me.
Me... I am the problem.
It's not just some flimsy bonds that affect our fate.
In the end, the start of everything,
It was me.
And to make things right, that's why, once again, I will...
RESTART