Xander took a steadying breath as he pushed open the doors to the throne room. Leo, Camilla, and Elise were trailing behind him as they prepared themselves for their father's wrath. When they entered the room, they found King Garon seated upon the throne, his head resting on his fist and Iago at his side.

"Well? Where is he?" Garon asked immediately.

Xander grimaced. "... We were unable to bring Corrin back with us."

"So, I expect that he is dead, then? Surely you wouldn't have let him escape if he had betrayed Nohr."

"He is not dead. He managed to evade capture by slaying the commanders of both the Hoshidan and Nohrian forces, forcing us to retreat. We don't know where he is at the moment," Xander replied, somewhat hesitantly.

Surprisingly, instead of shouting in anger, King Garon broke out into a hearty laugh. "So both armies were defeated by a mere boy? Idiots, the lot of you! Ha!"

Xander stared the floor in shame as Garon's laughter rang through the vast throne room.

"Well, as amusing as this is, I will not stand for it," King Garon finally said, his tone turning grave. "You will find Prince Corrin, and you will execute him for treason. We are already at war with Hoshido, so failure in this matter is unacceptable. We cannot afford distractions, especially not a rogue prince."

Xander gathered his courage before speaking. "But Father, I am sure that I can convince Corrin to come back if -"

"Silence, you incompetent fool!" Garon roared. "I gave you an order, and you will carry it out. Now, begone. I don't want to look at you failures any longer than I have to."

Xander bowed before leaving the throne room, his siblings in tow. Once they entered the royal courtyard and were a safe distance away from King Garon, Leo spoke up.

"So, are we actually doing this?"

"Of course not," Camilla replied. "Corrin is not a traitor, and I refuse to believe he would turn on us. You all heard him, didn't you? He said he wouldn't join Hoshido."

"But he also said he wouldn't fight with us," Xander countered. "If he opposes us, that makes him a traitor. After all we have done for him, he still refuses to join us…"

"You have to look at it from his perspective," Leo pointed out. "Those Hoshidans are also his siblings, technically. It was also revealed to him that Nohr killed both his birth father and mother, so it's natural that he would be confused."

"Yes, but…" Xander sighed. "It is as you say, Leo. I suppose I am just letting my frustrations get the better of me."

"Well, I won't fight against him," Elise chimed in. "There's no way I'd do that, even if Father ordered it!"

"Disobeying Father's orders is not such a simple task, though," Leo said. "One wrong move, and it could spell death for us."

"... Should we really be fighting for someone who would kill us if we failed him?" Camilla asked. "We must think of our choices. On one hand, there is our brother, whom we have loved and who loves us. On the other, there is our cruel, cold father who sees us as nothing more than tools."

"That's not true!" Xander shouted, and his siblings turned to stare at him, shocked by his outburst. He looked away, embarrassed that he lost his temper. "It's just… It's just not true."

With that, Xander walked away, leaving the remaining Nohrian royals to themselves.

"What's his problem?" Elise pouted.

"You have to remember that Xander has known Father the longest out of all of us," Camilla provided. "There was a time when Father was not the man he is now. You may not remember it, Elise, but Leo does, right?"

The youngest prince nodded. "Father was not always this… Distorted. He was always strict and firm, but he was undeniably kind as well. Fifteen years ago, I would have never expected Father to say the things he does now. He has changed, but Xander cannot, or refuses, to see that."

"But Corrin has seen it, and so have we," Camilla said. "We can't go on like this. If we stay on this path, Hoshido, Nohr, Corrin, and even we will all suffer. The only winner will be Father and his insatiable bloodlust."

Leo frowned. "But… What do we do? It won't be easy to disobey Father, and Corrin's cause is doomed to fail. We can't just join him and expect everything to be alright."

Camilla's eyes were uncharacteristically serious. "We'll have to make a decision. Will we fight and live with our Father, and sell our souls in the process? Or will we fight and die with our brother, with our hearts beating proudly until our very last moments? I can't tell you what to do, Leo. We must all make our own decision on this matter individually."

After imparting these words, Camilla also exited the courtyard, leaving Leo to ponder his sister's questions.

"So that's how it is, huh? What do you think, Elise?"

Leo turned around, but found that his younger sister was already gone.

Ryoma sat at the head of the table in the Castle Shirasagi's situation room, surrounded by his siblings. Save for one, the prince thought sourly, recalling Corrin's actions a couple weeks prior.

"What's taking him so long?" Takumi groaned. "I have better things to do than sit and wait around for people. If he doesn't -"

"Patience, young prince," Yukimura interrupted as he entered the room with the assistance of a cane. The tactician winced as he gingerly sat down at the table.

"Ah, Yukimura," Ryoma greeted. "How fare your injuries? Are you feeling any better?"

"Thank you for your concern, King Ryoma, but I am fine," Yukimura replied. "Let us get to the matter at hand. Things are quiet on the Nohrian front, but I do have news of Prince Corrin from our spies. It appears that he has arrived in Izumo."

"Izumo? That neutral nation?" Hinoka asked.

"Yes," Yukimura confirmed. "My guess is that he wishes to enlist their help in his futile struggle."

"But Izumo's military forces are meager at best," Ryoma said as he furrowed his brow. "Surely Corrin can't expect to make do with just that."

"Indeed. He plans to visit all the neutral nations and city-states who are unhappy with Nohrian or Hoshidan rule, and convert them to his cause. Therefore, we must anticipate his next moves before he makes them in order to bring him to justice."

"Hmm… Let's see. The only places I can think of off the top of my head are the Kitsune Hamlet, the Wind Tribe, Cheve, the Wolfskin on Mount Garou, and maybe the Ice Tribe in Nohr," Ryoma supplied. "All these places are either neutral or do not like their current position."

"Correct, Your Grace," Yukimura agreed. "Those are the biggest, and the most likely places where our traitorous prince will strike. Therefore, we will position our forces at these locations."

"Wait," Takumi interrupted, "this plan seems idiotic to me. If we concentrate our military strength to catch one person who isn't even that much of a threat, what will we do once Nohr attacks? And why can't we just go to Izumo and defeat Corrin there?"

"You lack patience, Prince Takumi," Yukimura chided again. "I was just about to address those concerns. First of all, we will not be putting all of our military strength into this task. On the contrary; we will only be diverting a small portion of our forces to catching Prince Corrin. Our main army will remain in its current formation. As for your second concern, we will attempt to cut Prince Corrin off at Izumo. In fact, I think you yourself would be best suited for this task, Your Grace."

"Me?" Takumi replied. "Well, if you insist. I suppose I would enjoy putting an arrow through that traitor's skull."

"I thought we agreed that we wouldn't kill him, Takumi," Ryoma said.

Takumi sighed. "Fine, whatever. Don't expect me to go easy on him, though. If he gets in my way, I'll show him the true meaning of pain."

Yukimura then turned to Ryoma. "King Ryoma, I would like you to go to Cheve and enlist their help. Their conflict is with Nohr, not with us, so I am sure they will be sympathetic to our cause. Cheve has the most military strength out of all the places you listed, and if the King of Hoshido himself goes to ask for their help, they will have no choice but to accept."

Ryoma frowned. "That's all well and good, but if I am at Cheve, who will lead our forces here?"

"Princess Hinoka," Yukimura replied, and Hinoka sat up in surprise. "Of course, she will have me to help her, so you do not have to worry, Your Grace."

Ryoma nodded, then turned to his sister. "Can you do it, Hinoka?"

"Of course!" she replied confidently. "Don't worry about a thing! Just beat those Nohrian scum and bring Corrin back, and I'll make sure things hold up over here."

"Good," Ryoma said, then stood up. "Well, now that we all have our assignments, let's get to it."

"Um, w-what about me?" Sakura piped up. "I wasn't told to do anything."

"Oh, that's right," Ryoma replied as he held his chin in his hand. "You could stay here with Hinoka, I suppose."

"Well, um, I w-was hoping that I could go with Takumi, actually," Sakura said, glancing furtively at her more abrasive brother.

Takumi raised an eyebrow. "With me? Are you sure? It could be dangerous."

"Ah, you want to see Corrin, is that it?" Ryoma asked.

Sakura blushed. "W-well, I…"

"That's fine," the Hoshidan King said with a smile. "If you and Takumi can convince Corrin to join us instead of fighting us, then all the better."

"Right!" Sakura exclaimed with a determined look. "I'll do my best!"

Takumi sighed. "I doubt we can do that. You guys are far too optimistic."

"It's times like this when we most need optimism," Ryoma replied. "Now, let's go. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Well, I'd simply love to help, but I'm afraid we can't," Izana said with a smile.

Corrin frowned. "Why not?"

Corrin, along with his four allies, were seated in Castle Izumo's lavish dining room as they spoke with the city-state's archduke, Izana. The castle was situated above the ground, nestled in a pair of gigantic trees, and if one were to look out the window, he would be able to glimpse the lush countryside and the bustling city of Izumo in its full glory.

"We can't spare the troops," Izana answered. "Our army is small enough as it is, so we can't be giving away soldiers to strangers, can we?"

"And that's exactly the problem," Corrin stated, frustrated. "When Nohr's forces get here, they will burn your town and your castle to the ground. Your pathetic excuse for an army won't stand a chance."

Izana frowned exaggeratedly. "If our army is so pathetic, then how can it help you?"

Corrin stood up, smirking as he puffed his chest out. "I am Corrin, a Prince of Nohr and a Prince of Hoshido. I am spoken of far and wide as the greatest tactician who ever lived, and whenever we visit any towns, peasants flock to me, begging to hear of how I single-handedly defeated two entire armies."

"When did all this happen?" Felicia whispered to Jakob, but she only received a curt 'shush!' in reply.

"If you lend me your forces, I can surely bring down both Hoshido and Nohr, and prevent places like Izumo from being torn apart in their conflict," Corrin continued. "If they see that you placed your trust in me, then other nations like yours will begin to believe in me as well. Soon, I will have an army to rival that of Hoshido's and Nohr's."

When Corrin was finished, Izana laughed. "My, you certainly don't lack confidence in yourself, I'll give you that. However, your perception of events and the reality of things may not be the same, you know. Even if I lend you my troops, there is a good chance that you will be crushed anyway, and then Nohr will come to punish me for aiding you."

"But you'll be destroyed even if you don't give me any help! Don't you understand that?" Corrin shouted, before he regained his composure. "If you don't think that I am capable of victory, then why did you even invite me into your castle? Why didn't you turn me away?"

Izana's gaze dropped to Corrin's side. "Is that Yato, by any chance?"

"Huh? Oh, this?" Corrin drew his sword. The divine blade glowed brightly as the prince held it up.

"Ah, wonderful!" Izana exclaimed as he watched, captivated by the sword. He then grew more serious. "It seems Yato has chosen you as its wielder, Prince Corrin… And, as the prophecies say, Yato's wielder has a great destiny ahead of him."

"Truly? Then all the more reason why you should join me."

Izana chuckled again. "You misunderstand me, Prince. When I say 'great,' I do not mean 'good.' It simply means that you have an important role to play in coming events. I do not know whether that role will be one of victory, defeat, happiness, or sadness."

Corrin eyes grew hard. "I see. However, I will ensure that my 'great destiny' is one of success. Though Yato may have chosen me, I make my own fate."

Izana smiled, his expression conveying a hint of mystery and curiosity. "Is that so? Interesting. Maybe I will take a chance on you and Yato, Prince Corrin. I can lend you about one hundred troops. Will that do?"

Corrin returned Izana's smile and sheathed his blade. "Yes, Archduke. Thank you for your generosity. I swear to you that I will be victorious."

"Ha! I wish you luck, then. Now, will you be off, or would you care to stay another night? I wouldn't mind."

"That's gracious of you, but we should get going. Every second we waste just helps our enemies. If we don't build up our army as soon as possible, then we could risk being caught and destroyed by a larger force."

"Understandable," Izana said. "I will go have your soldiers prepared. In the meantime, why don't you go have a look around the city? I am sure you and your companions would enjoy it!"

Corrin agreed, and his band headed out of the castle and into the city of Izumo to wait for Izana's preparations to finish. The group walked through the markets, gawking at vendors selling strange goods and taking in the new sights and smells. The experience was especially poignant for Corrin, as he had spent his entire life inside the walls of Castle Krakenberg and the Northern Fortress.

"Your Grace, you should try this," Kaze said when the group was stopped at a small ramen stand. "It's quite good."

"Oh, please. Nothing could compare to my special soup, which I have made for His Grace a number of times. That swill wouldn't even register on his refined taste buds," Jakob parried.

"I don't know, Jakob. This might be better than your soup!" Felicia exclaimed.

Corrin couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, but I'm full." He then turned to Azura, who was looking off into the distance. "Are you all right, Azura?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I thought I saw something, but I am sure it's nothing."

"What did you see?" Corrin asked. "It wasn't an enemy, was it?"

Azura frowned. "Well, I thought it was -"

The songstress cut her sentence short as the crowd around them began to grow restless. People began mumbling, and some of them started walking hurriedly away from the main square.

"This isn't good," Corrin said. "Hoshido must have realized that we would go to Izumo, and so they sent a force to cut us off. It must have been that damn Yukimura… Damn it, I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

"What do we do, Your Grace?" Kaze asked as he readied a fistful of shurikens.

Corrin thought for a moment, then nodded. "Well, they're obviously here looking for us, so that gives us the advantage. This is a relatively large city, so there are plenty of places for us to hide. We'll find a tall building to overlook the paths into the city and to the castle, and then we will pick them off, one by one."

Kaze nodded. "I have been specially trained for missions like this. Leave it to me."

"Good," Corrin said as he set his eyes on a clocktower in the distance. "Jakob and Felicia are also skilled with throwing knives, so they should be able to help. I'm afraid Azura and I won't be of much use unless we're up close."

"I can use my singing to reinvigorate us," Azura informed them. "My song has special qualities, so I should be able to make a small difference."

The group then headed off towards the tower, climbing up the stairs in the inside of the structure and then hiding out on near the top. They crouched, hidden by the walls of the tower. Corrin poked his head out and saw a force of about fifteen soldiers entering the city. Though they were still some distance away, he could clearly make out Takumi at the head of the group.

So, that arrogant bastard thinks he can defeat me with a force of fifteen? I'll make him pay for that mistake, Corrin thought as he watched Takumi's band of soldiers move through the city. The streets had mostly been cleared by now, though a few people still lingered about.

Corrin sat in silence for a few minutes, then turned to his group. "We should wait to attack until Izana is finished gathering our soldiers, or maybe Takumi will give up and leave before then. There's no need to get into a conflict right now."

"Agreed," Kaze said. "I should check on their position, just in case."

However, as the ninja stuck his head out to glance at the troop positioning, a glowing, blue arrow shot towards him, barely missing his head. Kaze quickly ducked back behind the wall.

"How did they know we were here?!" Jakob asked. "Were you not stealthy enough, Ninja?"

Kaze bit his lip. "It must have been one of the civilians. They might have seen us go up here and then told Prince Takumi."

"It was probably the ramen stall owner," Felicia said as she glared at Jakob. "You said that his food was 'swill,' Jakob."

"What? You cannot possibly be saying this is my fault!"

Their bickering was interrupted when Takumi called out to them.

"Corrin! Surrender now, and I promise we won't kill you!"

Corrin cautiously peeked his head over the wall and saw Takumi and his soldiers standing at the base of the tower. Corrin also noticed that Sakura was with them, though the princess looked nervous and refused to meet his eyes.

"Fool!" Corrin replied. "Our reinforcements will be here soon. Unless you want to be crushed by a force of one hundred soldiers of Izumo, I suggest you leave!"

"Ha! You expect me to believe that?" Takumi derided. "This is your last chance. If you don't surrender now, I will have my men storm this tower and take you down by force."

"Suit yourself, then. You'll wish you hadn't crossed me when this is over," Corrin growled as he hid back behind the wall.

"What now?" Azura asked. "If Takumi's men try and come up here, we will need to stand up to fight them, exposing ourselves. If we do that, Takumi will shoot us from down below."

"We'll have to fight on the stairs, then," Corrin answered. "We'll have the advantage of the higher ground, and the staircase curves around the tower to the right, in a sort of 'C' shape. Therefore, for the soldiers trying to storm the tower, it will be difficult for them to use their weapons if they are right-handed, which I'm assuming is most of them. Their numbers advantage is also negated because of how narrow the staircase is. I chose this position for exactly this type of situation."

The group then opened the door to the staircase and positioned themselves so that Corrin was at the front and Azura was in the back. In between were those capable of throwing projectiles. Corrin had set up this formation so that the heaviest hitter would be at the front, and he would be supported by Kaze's shurikens and Jakob's and Felicia's knives. Azura's song would also keep them energized.

The clamor of boots on the stone staircase rang out, and Corrin tightened his grip on Yato. "They're coming. Prepare yourselves!"

The first soldier appeared, wielding an iron katana. This soldier fell to Corrin's divine blade, and he tumbled down the stairs after one of Kaze's shurikens grazed his face and Yato pierced his chest. The next two soldiers met similar fates, and it was only at the fourth where Corrin's formation was truly tested.

A man with messy brown hair and a katana appeared, and Azura's golden eyes lit up. "Corrin, that man is Hinata. He is one of Takumi's retainers, and he is exceptionally skilled with the blade. Be on your guard."

Hinata rushed at Corrin, dodging a shuriken in the process. He stabbed at Corrin and managed to graze the prince's arm, but he was quickly repelled by a flurry of knives. However, Hinata quickly rebounded and slashed at Corrin. Corrin blocked his blade with Yato, causing a resounding clang to echo throughout the staircase.

"You're pretty good," Hinata praised as the two locked blades, each one struggling to overpower the other.

"You're not so bad yourself," Corrin replied, then smirked.

The red-eyed prince suddenly let up his resistance and ducked, causing Hinata to stumble forward. Since he had lost his balance, Takumi's retainer could not avoid Kaze's shuriken, and as the metal throwing star embedded itself in his shoulder, Hinata fell down the staircase. A series of crashes resounded through the staircase as Hinata rolled roughly down the stairs, taking a couple soldiers who were behind him down as well.

Corrin's victory was short-lived, as a javelin suddenly came out of nowhere and slashed open the prince's right shoulder. Corrin gasped in pain as he toppled forward, but his cape was grabbed by Kaze, preventing him from falling down the stairs. A woman with a blue ponytail and a scowl on her face appeared, a naginata clenched firmly in her hand.

"Tch, looks like I missed," she observed as Corrin got to his feet.

"That's Oboro, another one of Takumi's retainers," Azura informed. "She is also highly skilled."

Corrin grit his teeth angrily as his shoulder throbbed in agony. "You'll pay for that, you foul creature."

"Sure, if you can even touch me," Oboro countered as she held out her naginata. "Now die, Nohrian scum!"

Corrin was able to fight off her weapon, but Oboro herself was out of his range. The prince's sword arm was also suffering due to his injury, and Oboro had managed to dodge most of the projectiles that had been thrown at her. Looks like Takumi's retainers are no joke…

The naginata suddenly slid past Yato and bit into Corrin's armor, piercing his skin near his right breast. A well-timed knife forced Oboro to dodge and prevented her from doing any more damage, but she was far from beaten.

"I'm afraid I'm running low on knives, Your Grace," Jakob called out.

"Me too," Felicia echoed.

Corrin snarled in anger. "Fine, then. I'll finish this myself… I've had enough of this bitch."

The dark-haired prince roared a battle cry, and his dragonstone necklace began to heat up and glow. A scaly tail emerged from Corrin's backside, and the prince leapt towards his opponent. Oboro, too shocked to react, was thrown backwards as the tail slammed into her stomach. She grunted in pain as she was smashed into the wall of the tower, and her body went limp as she rolled down the stairs and collapsed at the entrance to the tower. The few soldiers that were left watched the scene with horror, and they hurriedly ran out of the tower when Corrin roared at them.

With the last of his opponents gone, Corrin sat down on one of the steps, his tail dissipating with a brief flash of light. The prince panted as he tried to suck in air, his body aching from his various injuries. It looks like even a partial transformation takes a lot of energy out of me.

His allies quickly huddled around him. "Are you all right, Your Grace?" Jakob asked.

"I hear shouting outside," Azura said. "That must be our reinforcements."

The group descended the tower, and when they exited the building, they found that Izana's soldiers had indeed arrived.

"What are you talking about!" Takumi demanded as he confronted Izana and the relatively large force of soldiers assembled behind the archduke.

"As I said, this is a neutral territory. Sorry, but you can't come in here with your soldiers and do whatever you please," Izana told the Hoshidan prince.

Takumi clenched his fists as he whirled around to see Corrin and his group. "Damn it all!"

"It's over, you imbecile," Corrin said with a smirk, in spite of his injuries. "I told you this would happen."

"Shut up!" Takumi yelled as he grit his teeth. "Fuck! I can't believe I lost to you, of all people!"

"Oh, you're hurt!" Sakura called out to Corrin as she noticed his injuries. She grasped her staff and began concentrating. "Let me heal that for you."

Corrin smiled at her. "Thank you, Sakura."

"Are you insane?! Stop helping the enemy, Sakura!" Takumi called out.

Corrin sighed. "I told you, I'm not your enemy."

"Is that so? Then why'd you trash my soldiers!"

"You attacked me first."

"Because you betrayed Hoshido!"

"I did not betray anyone," Corrin insisted. "I plan on ending this war, not aiding one side or another. I also gave you a chance to join me… An offer which still stands, by the way."

Takumi scoffed at that. "As if I'd ever join you."

"I'll join you," Sakura said as she finished healing Corrin. She then looked away shyly. "I-if you'll have me, that is…"

"Sure. We could use an excellent healer like you," Corrin replied as he flexed his upper body muscles, surprised at how well they had healed.

"R-really? Thank you!"

Corrin chuckled as he patted her on the head. "I should be the one thanking you… Sister."

Sakura's smile grew wider, and Takumi groaned. "Sakura! Don't be taken in by his kind words!"

"I don't know, Prince Takumi," Hinata started from where he was being healed by one of Izana's soldiers. "They seem all right to me."

Takumi scowled. "Did I ask you?"

"Come now, don't be so prickly," Izana cut in. "Aren't you and Prince Corrin supposed to be brothers? Why don't you help him out, Prince Takumi?"

"I understand if you're scared," Corrin said. "If you join us, you might have to fight both Hoshidan and Nohrian forces. It will undoubtedly be harder than anything you've done before, so if you're not up to the task, just say so."

"Are you kidding me? I fear no man from Nohr or Hoshido!" Takumi declared.

"Oh? Care to put that statement to the test?"

Takumi frowned, then sighed. The way things stood now, his only options were to join Corrin or become a prisoner of war. "Fine… Since you defeated me here, I guess I can give you a little help as a reward. Besides, if you really want to stop this war, then I suppose you're not really as bad as the rest of your Nohrian kin. I also love a good challenge. This war was too easy up until this point anyway."

Corrin nodded, then grinned. "Good. Welcome to our army, Brother."

A/N: So that concludes chapter two. Sakura was the first to join Corrin in Revelations and always seemed to have a soft spot for him, so it makes sense for her to want to help Corrin here as well. Takumi in Revelations also isn't as confrontational as he is in Conquest, probably because Corrin isn't openly siding against Hoshido (and we all know that Takumi is a tsundere anyway). Also, the Hoshidans won't kill Takumi or Sakura, so it isn't as if they are putting their lives in mortal danger or betraying their country by joining Corrin. Sakura and Takumi (and also Elise) are the youngest and most 'immature' of Corrin's siblings, which is why it wasn't too difficult to convince them to join. However, things may get harder on that front soon enough...