Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 10: Scared to be Lonely

Content warnings for this chapter: blood and gore depictions (to an extent), partial nudity, strong language, alcohol use, and FEELS.

Also some knowledge of the Awakening locales may be a bit rusty, I apologize. It's been forever since I played it.

Title based on "Scared to be Lonely" by Martin Garrix feat. Dua Lipa

Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 10 - Scared to be Lonely

"I'm...home..." Lucina panted, soaking wet as she staggered through Ylisse's gates - her father's Ylisse - and entered the town.

I figure...if I should have to head home soon and leave Smash City...I might as well get used to it now.

She felt like she had walked a thousand miles. As she entered the town, which was mostly quiet and asleep as it was nighttime, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Lucina? Is that...you?"

Slowly lifting her gaze, she saw Lissa, the youngest child of the current Ylissean royal family and her aunt. In the back of her mind, Lucina found it a bit strange to call Lissa "Aunt Lissa" when Lissa was several years younger than Lucina, even though this was only due to the fact that Lucina had traveled back in time to when her father was still alive, so Lissa would of course be her younger self.

"Li...ssa?" She murmured weakly.

"You okay there, Lucina?" Chrom's younger sister asked her. "You don't look too good...what are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were in Smash City."

"I just..." Lucina began before letting out a cough. She could feel her world becoming distorted again, her vision blurring. Feebly, she continued, "...wanted...to come home..." Before she could say another word, she felt her body give way as the ground rushed up to meet her.

As her consciousness faded, she saw Lissa rush to her out of the corner of her eye and cry, "Lucina?!...Shepherds! Someone, help!"

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"3...2...1...GO!"

The race began like any other, with the Blue Falcon speeding off into the distance and maneuvering along the track. Just as the race was almost halfway into its second lap, though, Captain Falcon could hear screams of agony in the distance.

"What...?" He murmured, confused as the scene before him seemed clear, but he could not react in time to prevent what happened next.

Almost as if in a flash of light, the scene transformed into a hellish nightmare scape of twisted metal, flames, and injured racers lying on the racetrack, writhing in agony from their wounds. The Blue Falcon's windshield was damaged, and he could feel the scorching heat of the flames through the cracks.

This is...it can't be... He thought, looking out of the windshield of his vehicle and seeing the man who would eventually become Mighty Gazelle lying a distance from his vehicle, lacerations covering up to ninety percent of his body, bleeding profusely.

"I...have to..." He murmured weakly, trying to stand, but ultimately failing. "What? Why...?" He asked himself before examining his body. He realized that his upper torso and arms had several bleeding gashes on it, and almost immediately he felt a piercing pain on his head, close to his left eye. He lifted his hand to that area and felt a glass shard protruding from the area close to his left eyebrow. It wasn't in deep enough to cause brain damage, but had it struck him any lower, it may well have taken his eye. It was only then he realized a large piece of his helmet was broken off, precisely the piece that would have covered where the wound was. Moving his hand away from the wound, he saw the yellow glove tainted with a crimson smear.