When Corrin returned from her meeting with Xander, Ragna wasn't surprised when she passed him with barely a glance. With Gunter getting his wounds patched up, and both Lilith and Jakob already asleep, Ragna was the only one to see Corrin walk up to her bed with a yawn. It was only by sheer luck that she realized she was still in her armor, causing her to turn to Ragna with a tired expression, raising an eyebrow. For a second, Ragna raised an eyebrow himself from his spot, leaning onto the wall with his arms folded. Then he realized what she was trying to say.

Privacy please, I need to change out of this.

With a nod, Ragna waved goodbye to Corrin, stepping out of the room, making sure to close the door on his way out. Well, at least she was taking his advice. It had been the second year that Ragna had worked for Corrin when he learned that she, for whatever reason, slept in her god damned armor, and apparently she wouldn't take anyone's advice to change. So, Ragna had tried it himself, and he wasn't sure if it was his bluntness or hurricane of swears, but he somehow managed to get her to start actually sleeping with normal sleep wear and not in armor.

Not his best lessons, but a pretty darn important one.

Ragna sighed to himself. Corrin was weird, that was for sure. But, hell, she was about to go to sleep after a particularly stressful day, which would only get more stressful in the morning… And Ragna sure wasn't going to be able to re enter that room anytime soon. So, Ragna did what Ragna did best.

Take a walk through the halls of Castle Krakenburg to clear his mind.

While recent events made it clear that the Castle was a hostile environment, Ragna chose the least sane option to take his walk. To him, it was kind of necessary. All of these bad feelings hanging over his head, and with barely anyone awake at this hour, it was the perfect stress reliever. Aside from punching someone in the face, that would always be the number one way.

As Ragna walked, he went over his life up to this point…. Which wasn't much. From what he recalled, about 5 years ago he had woken up somewhere in Nohr with barely any memories aside from a few vague ones, like the fact that he was trained by a master and that his cloak and sword came from a hero from legend. What legend and what hero… Ragna didn't exactly know.

But, forced with no other options, Ragna began simply traveling to try and figure out where he was, at the time. From his travels back then, despite the weird looks everyone gave him, Ragna learned he was in Nohr, one of the two kingdoms in the area… With its rival Hoshido. Where Nohr was black and dark, Hoshido was bright and sunny. How the hell Nohr didn't get much sunlight, Ragna didn't even know, but whatever the reason was… He found it rather… Calming.

He also learned other bits of information, like how the two kingdoms were at odds with each other, and war was likely to break out sooner or later, but Ragna didn't really focus on that. Instead, he continued traveling, his purpose in life, at that point… Rather unknown.

Then came that one night where his life turned upside down.


5 years prior

Ragna walked along the barren path, groaning to himself. He hadn't seen any village for the last 3 days, not even a caravan or something in that time as well. He didn't have much food for himself and even THAT was starting to run out. Ragna sighed to himself, knowing he'd have to find some sort of occupation in order to not starve to death. Couldn't live off the generous donations from several villagers for much longer…

But seriously, where the hell were people?!

Just as Ragna thought that, a loud roar came from behind him, causing the wandering swordsman to stop and look back. Behind him and coming in fast were three giant, humanoid creatures with green, bulging muscles and heads covered in masks. Ragna frowned, then grabbed his sword, recognizing the creatures charging him.

Faceless.

"Huh, thought you assholes were only sent into Hoshido" Ragna commented, drawing his sword out. Instead of replying, the first Faceless to reach him swung a fist at him.

Cue Rebellion II

Sighing to himself, Ragna stepped to the side, the large fist flying by his face. Then he swung his sword, connecting with the Faceless's wrist, severing the hand from it's host. Feeling the sudden pain from a lost body part, the Faceless stumbling back, roaring in pain… Only to be shoved aside as it's two brethren charged forward, the first one swinging it's fist down to try and crush the Reaper, only to find it's fist hitting the ground as Ragna jumped back. However, the second Faceless stepped forward, attempting to punch Ragna right in the chest. Without any other option, Ragna had to block the blow with the flat of his blade, the force sending him skiddng back several feet.

Ragna growled in response, "Shit… You guys pack a punch, huh?" He asked, knowing the response would be either a growl or a roar. The Faceless that managed to get a hit in decided to roar for it's response, charging forward again for another swing as it's brother joined in, the other Faceless still roaring in pain. Clearly, the Faceless were not made for good plans, as the Faceless missed entirely, even with the other Faceless throwing another swing. Ragna had ducked underneath both of their punches, smirking to himself as he gripped his sword tighter. Then, rising from his crouch, Ragna swung his sword up, catching the Faceless in front of him in the side of the chest… Then his sword continued upwards in a diagonal path, going straight through the Faceless and exiting it's shoulder. Soon after Ragna's sword left it's body, the two parts of the Faceless fell to the ground, lifeless before they even hit it. The other Faceless roared in rage, swinging at Ragna again… Only to find that Ragna had sidestepped it's punch, slicing off its arm by the elbow. Before the Faceless could roar in pain like the other one, Ragna spun around, his sword whistling through the air before meeting the Faceless's neck… Meeting next to no resistance as it went right on through.

As the now decapitated Faceless crumpled to the ground, Ragna couldn't help but smirk. If these were the bulk of Nohrian's invasion forces, then Ragna felt that if there was a war to break out, Nohr would be screwed.

Then Ragna turned to the last Faceless, ready to finish the job… Only to find that it had cast aside it's pain to charge Ragna. Ragna didn't even have time to react before he was hit square in the chest by the Faceless, sending him flying through the air. Once he hit the ground, Ragna tumbled through the dirt for a few feet, before regaining his footing and digging his fingers into the dirt, the glove he wore protecting them as he dragged them through the dirt to slow himself down. When he finally stopped, he put the same hand to his chest, wincing at the touch, Shit… There goes some ribs… Ragna thought to himself. Then, in spite of the pain, rose to stand again, glaring at the Faceless that hit him as it approached. Right before Ragna could start advancing on the Faceless again, he heard another pair of roars behind him, causing him to turn his head to see 5 more Faceless appear, "God damnit…" Ragna muttered, straightening his collar as the small force of Faceless approached.

It was going to be a long god damned night.

With that thought, Ragna charged the lone Faceless in front of him, ignoring the pain that went through his chest as he did so. Sensing his challenge, the Faceless roared, charging Ragna back, just as the new arrivals began picking up their pace.


10 minutes later

Ragna blocked yet another follow up strike from the Faceless, once again finding himself skidding a few feet from the force. He's killed 7 of these god damned things and more were coming… Now he was looking at a force of 10, each of them pissed off, either because of wounds Ragna had inflicted, or because they had watched one of their "pals" get killed by this man. Ragna himself was worse for wear… He had taken multiple hits and could feel the pain pulsing every time he breathed. With a grunt, Ragna dodged another attack from a Faceless, shoving his sword into it's chest, then kicking it off and jumping back to dodge another Faceless's attack.

This wasn't looking good.


15 minutes later

End theme

It was done

Ragna stood in the middle of what looked to be a complete bloodbath, his sword impaled into the floor. The bodies of no less than 20 Faceless lay around him, each as dead as one can be. Ragna himself clearly looked at the edge of death's door… With blood coming from his mouth, and barely able to support himself, even with his sword.

Then he fell over, landing on the ground face up.

Looking at the sky, Ragna noted how it was completely black with clouds, not even a moon to shine upon him. He could feel his body beginning to shut down on him, the wounds now taking their toll on him, "God… Dammit…" He muttered to himself, his eyes begging to shut down on him.

Course it was those mindless assholes that bring him down.

….

"Wait, is that..?"

"My word, all those bodies-"

"There's someone in the middle of all that!"

If Ragna had the ability to frown, he would. He didn't know how long he had been laying where he was, but he was right about to go to sleep. Now people were approaching. Could ANYONE leave him in peace?

Suddenly, Ragna felt a hand on him. An armored one, sure, but a hand nonetheless. At the touch, Ragna's body felt like it was on fire, the pain renewing itself.

"Gods… He's still alive!"

"Elise-"

"On it!"

Suddenly, Ragna felt something spreading through his body. The pain that filled his being seemed to die a little, and Ragna felt his body beginning to repair itself. Broken ribs began to fix themselves, dull bruises began to fade.

As quickly as it came, the healing seemed to stop, and Ragna could finally open his eyes. What he saw were two women… No, one woman, one girl, staring down at him. The woman had long, light purple hair, and from what Ragna could see, rather revealing armor. The girl didn't seem to wear any armor, more of a fancy dress if anything else. Though, Ragna noted long, blonde pigtails, and the fact that they held a rod in their hands.

"Good job Elise, he's already waking up" the woman said as Ragna groaned, sitting up from his lying position, holding a hand to his head. Literally every part of his body still ached… Yet… That was the worst of it now.

"Yay!" The girl, Elise, shouted, making Ragna flinch from the sudden loud noise. Elise, having just likely saved Ragna's life, jumped in the air, clearly overjoyed by the simple act.

Ragna, on the other hand, looked rather confused, "Who… The hell are you people?" Ragna asked, seeing Camilla's face turn into a quick frown. However, before she could say anything, another voice called out from behind him,

"You could ask a bit nicer, considering one of us seemed to have saved your life"

Elise, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind Ragna's rude question, "I'm Elise, nice to meet you. That's Camilla-" Elise began, pointing at Camilla, "That's Leo, and that's Xander" she added, pointing at two others who Ragna could see.

Another voice, one different from the other voice Ragna heard, chuckled, "Well Elise, you could have us introduce ourselves" he said as Ragna decided to stand, ignoring Camilla's presence as he stood up. Then Ragna turned to see the two other people. Both were on their horses, and had blonde hair, but one wore black and violet armor, with more stylized hair and a sword in it's sheath, the other wore black and blue armor, with simple hair and a book in his hand, "Allow me to introduce myself officially. I am Xander, Prince of Nohr" The man with the sword greeted, his horse stepping forward a bit. At that, Ragna raised an eyebrow.

Oh shit he was dealing with royalty now. Which probably meant that the other three were ALSO royals.

Instantly, Elise jumped at the opportunity to speak, "So, may I ask your name?" She asked, nearly stepping into Ragna's personal space. The Grim Reaper sighed,

"Fine, Ragna" he replied, spotting his sword, "Thanks for saving my life and all, but-" Ragna began, reaching out to grab his sword before Xander cut him off,

"If I may, what is your purpose here? You should know that in this area, there is no villages for miles. In fact, the only sort of life you'd find here is Faceless… Which I notice you're already well acquainted with" Xander stated, gesturing towards the bodies scattered about.

With a frown, Ragna turned to look at Xander, "Well, I'm a traveler, and I thought there would be at least something of note here, so there's the answer to your first question" Ragna stated, narrowing his eyes, "... And if there's nothing around here, why the hell are YOU here?" Ragna asked.

Xander remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed, "To visit a sibling" He said simply.

"At, let me guess, a village in the direction I'm heading?" Ragna asked, watching Xander narrow his own eyes at Ragna,

"No"

With that, silence reigned supreme for a few seconds longer, then Xander decided to ask a question, "... Let me ask, what is your current occupation?" He asked, watching Ragna freeze.

Then, Ragna sighed, "Literally nothing. Like I said, just a traveler. Now if you'd excuse me-" Ragna replied, grabbing his sword and, with a bit of effort, yanked it free from the ground, "I'm gonna head off. Thanks again for the lifesaver" He said, turning to Elise as he said that. Then he began to walk off, determined to leave the experience behind.

For a bit, the royal family was silent, watching Ragna walk off. Then, Elise suddenly snapped her fingers, "Wait! I have an idea!" she yelled, managing to cause Ragna to halt, turning around with a glare, but curious, "Xander, didn't you say you were looking for someone to help train Corrin when you weren't around?" Elise asked, causing Xander to sigh,

"I was Elise, but if you're suggesting to hire him as a trainer, then-" Xander began, only to get cut off when Camilla spoke up,

"I believe that's a wonderful idea, actually. We all know that we can't stay around to help Corrin train all the time, so having someone specialized in training our little sister would be helpful to her" Camilla stated, "And… Well, we don't have to worry about his abilities in combat, as you can see around us." She added, gesturing to the battlefield they stood in.

At that, Leo couldn't help but shake his head, "We're going too fast here. We can't just expect someone to jump at the offer to train Corrin, failure would basically account towards execu-"

"Ah what the hell, I'll take the job"

With Ragna's sudden cut off for Leo, everyone turned to Ragna, who was walking back to the group, "What? I have literally nothing better to do" Ragna stated, stopping in front of the royal failure, "And yeah, might get executed for doing a poor job, but what the hell, I can handle it" Ragna added with a shrug.

The royal siblings stared at Ragna, both at his sheer indifference and bluntness. Then Xander smiled, "Well then, Ragna, if you're that determined, then we should get you started right away. Follow" Xander said, turning his horse and beckoning his siblings to follow. It only took them a few seconds, with Elise and Camilla having to get on their mounts, which was a horse for Elise and a freaking Wyvern for Camilla. Ragna was forced to walk besides them, but it didn't bother him too much.

Then they were off to the royal sibling's original destination: Corrin's home.

The entire walk was a combination of silence and the royals questioning Ragna about his origins and such. Apparently, his "I don't even know" backstory was somehow shared with retainers for the siblings already, which actually surprised Ragna. Guess they were just an amnesiac magnet.

After two days of travel, they reached their destination… A large fort in the middle of nowhere, with barely any lights on. The family walked up to the gates, then Xander knocked loudly on the gates. A few seconds passed before the large doors opened by unseen guards, letting the royal family in. It only took them a few steps in to see two servants… Felicia and Jakob, as Ragna knew them now.

"Oh! Hello milords and miladies, we didn't expect to see you-" Felicia began, only to get cut off by Jakob,

"Who's he?" Jakob asked bluntly, pointing towards Ragna.

Xander himself decided to answer the question, "This is Ragna. He will be Corrin's personal trainer. If I may, where is our sister?" Xander replied.

With his question answer, Jakob turned around, beckoning the group to follow, which they did as Felicia ran ahead to alert Corrin. Ragna couldn't help but admire the place. Obviously, it was a bit worn down, but the interior was still rather nice anyway, "So, who's this 'Corrin'? I know she's another royal and a sister to you guys, but what else?" Ragna asked.

At that, Camilla turned to him with a smile, "Well, you'll find out soon" She said, then turned to keep her eyes in front, causing Ragna to mutter something about "cryptic bullshit".

Then they reached a small dining hall, likely used when this fort was actually used for when it was actually used for soldiers. It was then that Ragna had seen Corrin for the first time… When she had just finished eating a rather simple meal. Corrin, at the time, was much, MUCH shorter than Ragna was, about the height of Elise, for that matter. Her hair was much shorter than it was now, only going down to the back of her neck instead of down to her back.

Seeing her siblings come in, Corrin had nearly jumped out of her seat, nearly falling over to greet them. Then she asked who the red coated person was, as they had never seen Ragna before, until now.

"Corrin, meet Ragna. You're new mentor" Xander said, gesturing to Ragna, who simply lifted a hand in a form of wave, then folded his arms.

At that time, most of the family and Corrin's retainers thought that Ragna would be gone by a year in, either by execution or desertion. Who knew that Ragna would've stayed and kept training Corrin for 5 straight years…


Present

To himself, Ragna sighed. It was amazing how coincidences happen to spiral one's life into good fortune, or something like that. If Xander and the others hadn't have arrived to patch him up, Ragna would be as dead as dirt by now. Yet here he was, actually serving royalty.

Suddenly, Ragna paused, realizing that he had gone in a full circle and was now back at Corrin's door. Well, again, coincidences are something special. With a sigh, Ragna turned around. Yeah, walking around had cleared his mind, somehow, and about now Corrin would be out like a light. Really wasn't much reason to stay up himself.

So, Ragna headed towards the quarters given to the retainers, to share of course, for his own sleep.


Morning

In the morning of the next day, Corrin found herself walking with Elise, both heading towards the last place she wanted to be.

The Throne Room… Where Father was.

"Elise… Are you sure this is the best thing to do?" Corrin asked as the two walked, very hesitant about going through with Elise's plan. It didn't help that Elise was humming loudly as they walked.

"Yep! Don't worry Corrin, this is Father we're talking about, he's going to forgive you. Besides, I'll be helping as much as I can!" Elise replied happily.

Corrin couldn't help but sigh, "I… Hope you're right…" She muttered. Then, she noticed Elise had stopped, then looked up herself to see that they had stopped in front of the door to the throne room.

Elise turned to Corrin with a grin, "Now, watch and learn sis!" she said, then walked up to the door to knock on it.

Only to freeze when she heard a voice coming out from behind the door.

"-And that's exactly why I'm telling you little- Okay, okay, let me make myself more CLEAR then. I don't give two shits if you feel insulted about that damned 'trainer' to your little brat of a daughter, you. Don't. Kill him"

Elise blinked in shock, causing Corrin to step forward, "Elise, what-" She began, only to hear the argument going on behind the door and freezing herself.

"I still fail to see why you would want her trainer to live"

"IF YOU WOULD LET ME FINISH YOU SON OF A-"

For a second, the two could hear a poor attempt to take deep breaths from behind the door. It was at that point that Elise decided to speak again, "That's… That's Terumi. Terumi and father…" She whispered, then watched as Corrin put her ear to the door to try and listen in on the conversation, about the time that Terumi had, unsuccessfully, calmed himself down,

"Listen up King, because I'm going to explain this one more time so this can get through your thick head. You may want to bring an axe down on Rag's head, but guess what? If you want your god damned plans to succeed, you're going to have to let him live for now. Because guess what, he's a necessary pawn for now, and you killing him off means that-"

During Terumi's rant, Corrin had pressed herself tighter to the door, still trying to make out certain words. However, her insistence to hear Terumi's rant caused the door to burst open, the princess falling into open air with a panicked yell and falling face first onto the floor, cutting Terumi short. Elise popped in right afterward, "S-Sorry! We were right about to leave when we realized you were talking to someone and Corrin tripped, so-" Elise stammered, only to watch her Father raise up a hand to silence her as he stood up from his throne.

Terumi, on the other hand, barely suppressed a growl, "... I was just leaving" he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked past Elise and Corrin, the latter of which had picked herself off the ground.

Garon watched as Terumi left, then focused his attention on his two daughters, "... And what do you two want?" he asked simply, causing Elise to clear her throat and step forward,

"Father, we're here to apologize" Elise said, then looked at Corrin, "Right Corrin?" she asked,

"Yes, I apologize for questioning you yesterday Father" Corrin replied, pose once again rigid as she looked at Garon.

Garon himself remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed, "Corrin… You disobeyed a direct order from me. Ordinarily, you would not still be alive" Garon commented, causing Elise to jump in,

"Wait, Father, I can explain-"

"SILENCE!" Garon suddenly yelled, causing Elise to stop herself mid-sentence, "... But, you are my child Corrin, so I will grant you some leeway" Garon stated, causing both Corrin and Elise to sigh in relief, "So, with that in mind, I have a mission. Complete it, and I will pardon your crime in full. For both you, and your retainer" Garon added.

At that, Corrin blinked in surprise, "Really? What kind of mission Father?" she asked, watching Garon's eyes close as he explained,

"A simple reconnaissance mission. There is an abandoned fort perched on the Hoshidan border, specifically on the mountains that separate Hoshido from Nohr. I want you to go there and see if the fort is serviceable. No battle will be required" Garon stated, then opened his eyes with a glare, "... I will not tolerate failure again" he added, making sure the point was across.

With that, Corrin nodded, doing a quick bow, "Of course Father. I'll get it done" she said, then quickly back peddled out of the room in panic, leaving Elise and Garon all alone. For a second. Elise stood there confused, then waved at Father, turning to catch up with Corrin.


Later

"- aaand then I came here" Corrin finished explaining, watching her sibling's faces turn into various expressions, like concern, and bewilderment.

"Corrin darling, are you sure you're okay going out there? I'm a bit worried about this…" Camilla stated, causing Corrin to nod in response,

"Yep! Don't worry Camilla, it's just an abandoned fort" Corrin replied, looking about ready to burst out of the room to go to that fort, just to be able to see the world more.

At this, Leo sighed, "You're acting rather casual about this Corrin. It isn't normal for Father to be so forgiving…" He said, holding his chin as he thought.

Then, without any warning, Elise jumped up and slapped him right across the face.

"HEY! What was that for?!" Leo yelled, watching as Elise put her hands on her hips in an attempt to be intimidating. It didn't work,

"Don't be such a downer all the time Leo, sheesh. And don't even try to scare Corrin on her first mission!" Elise replied, actually sounding rather annoyed at Leo.

Xander, on the other hand frowned at the news. Not so much at the news of Corrin's mission, but more towards what she had said Terumi acted like. Yes, while Terumi was by no means a well mannered person, his introduction to Corrin was a rare moment, he never went so far to insult royalty. At least, directly.

Camilla shook her head, "I still don't like this. Perhaps I should go along with you Corrin, just to make sure you're safe-" Camilla began,

"Sorry, but that isn't possible"

Suddenly, Terumi entered the family's view, causing Camilla to frown, "... And why not?" She asked, her voice indicating that she was fairly annoyed with Terumi, for multiple reasons.

In response, Terumi shrugged, "Well, what can I say… Garon wants to test the little Princess… No, not Elise, Corrin. He, the King, wants to see if Corrin is capable of doing something WITHOUT talking back. After all, she is royalty, and if royalty was rebelling against the King… Then what the hell, we'd have a huge problem on our hands. So, by Kings orders, and by my will as his TOP advisor and strategist… Corrin is going to have to do this mission alone" Terumi said, grinning at the last statement.

"Not ALL alone, Terumi"

With a groan, Terumi turned, seeing the King himself step in with a bald, muscular man, which caused Terumi to grin again at the sight, "I do not expect you to investigate this fort alone, Corrin. You may bring two of your retainers, plus Hans" Garon said, gesturing to the man next to him, "He is a Veteran warrior, and will ensure no harm falls upon you" He added. Once Garon was done, Hans scoffed, folding his arms.

Corrin was lost for words, due to how fast both Terumi and Garon had arrived. However, before she could respond, Xander leaned in to her, "... I would be careful of that man" he whispered, sighing when Corrin turned her head to him and lifted an eyebrow in an unasked question, "He's a criminal. A murderer and scoundrel. I arrested him myself, years ago. Father seems to think he's rehabilitated, but I'm not so sure. That said, he is a formidable soldier." Xander explained, shaking his head, "... Don't put all your trust in him" he added.

Corrin nodded in understanding. Like Ragna before… She was having a bad feeling about this mission.


Much later, Corrin, Hans, and the two retainers Corrin chose to accompany her, Gunter and Ragna found themselves on a rather narrow, old bridge, hanging above a dark pit in the middle of the mountains. Earlier, Corrin had introduced Hans to her two retainers, and while Gunter was silent, Ragna made it clear that he did not like Hans. Hans himself was rather silent, but it was clear that the veteran soldier didn't like Ragna as well.

"Holy hell, when was the last time this shit got repaired?!" Ragna asked as the bridge they stood on rocked again.

Corrin didn't answer that question. Instead, she continue forward, trying not to look down. She already did it once and nearly ran right on back to Krakenburg… Though, she was managing so far, "So… Gunter, you know a lot about this place, right?" She asked, seeing the old retainer nod, "Why AREN'T the bridges in good shape?" She added.

Gunter, in response, sighed, "This place, the Bottomless Canyon, is a place no one goes to because of how… Unright, it feels. The eternal darkness below, the constantly dark sky, the lightning, all feel unnatural. It gives off the impression that this place is somewhere mortals were never supposed to enter" Gunter explained, moving his horse steadily across the bridge, "Normally, we would go around to enter Hoshido, but due to Garon's command, we have to go through here to see the fort"

With that explanation, Corrin gulped, "W-Well, it's at least nice to get some fresh air… Much more lively than the fort" she added, causing Gunter to actually laugh,

"Well, that puts an interesting perspective on it. Fear not though, we're almost there"

With that, the group continued on, finally stepping onto the next stone platform. Now on solid ground, Ragna sighed with relief, "Seriously, those bridges are hell. Thought it was going to snap and send us falling about ten times there" Ragna muttered. Corrin, on the other hand, scanned the area, eventually stopping when she noticed a large, black shape just a few bridged away,

"Guys! It's the fort! We're nearly there!" Corrin exclaimed, pointing at the large shape. Sure enough, it did have the look of a large fort, "Now all we need to do is check it out and report back to father" Corrin added, walking towards the next bridge, which looked only slightly sturdier than the last.

However, the second Corrin's foot hit the bridge, a loud voice rang out,

"HALT!"

Suddenly, Corrin froze, and Ragna sighed in annoyance. Across the bridge, the group noticed a rather large group of Hoshidans coming out of hiding on the other edge of the bridge. In front of the group, and the speaker, was a Hoshidan ninja with brown hair, pointing directly at Corrin, "Crossing this bridge is a direct violation of our treaties, Nohrians. Turn back now, or we will kill you" The ninja warned.

For a second, Corrin was silent. Then her foot went back as she turned to the rest of the group, "Well, I didn't expect Hoshidan forces here… But I guess that's that. We at least know the fort is good enough to hold enemy forces now" Corrin said, causing Ragna to nod,

"Right, jobs done. Not really feeling up for taking on a full force of Hoshidans" Ragna commented, turning around with a shrug.

"Says you" Hans suddenly muttered. Then, before Gunter, Corrin, or Ragna could react, he ran past Corrin and onto the bridge… Right towards the Hoshidan forces. Corrin herself didn't realize what Hans was doing, but Ragna did,

"HANS GODDAMN IT GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Ragna yelled, turning around but not bothering to run after the other man.

Cue Dusk Falls (FE Fates)

Then, suddenly, another figure raced out of the Hoshidan forces, sword traveling through the air behind them, meeting Hans's charge. The Hoshidan was dressed in classic Hoshidan samurai armor, though with all of it being white, with brown hair coming from his helmet.

When the Hoshidan and Hans got near, the two swung their weapons at each other, the Hoshidan's sword slipping underneath Hans's axe blade to keep it from going any further. Then, pushing the axe away, the Hoshidan stepped forward, shoving Hans away with his shoulder. The larger man barely stepped back, but seemed amused by the fact that someone had just shoved him away.

The Hoshida took the time to readjust his position, pointing his sword at Hans, "You have picked death, Nohrians" he said, his sword slightly moving to point at Corrin and the others, "I, Tekeshi Akamatsu, shall defend my homeland, and smite you down!" The Hoshidan yelled, reentering his fighting position and Hans did the same with a smirk.

A second passed between the two. Then they both stepped forward and swung at each other.


"Ragna, we have to at least help" Corrin stated, causing Ragna to growl,

"Asshole just ran off when we had already seen the condition of the fort, filled with god damned Hoshidans, and yet you still want to help him? That's a full on Hoshidan wall, we'd never break through it and you fucking know it" Ragna replied angrily. Then he paused, then sighed, "You aren't going to be swayed on this, are you?" Ranga asked, watching as Corrin nodded at him. Then, Ragna threw his hands into the air, "Fucking hell, fine, we'll clear out the fort. See if you can't find another way around that thing, I'm not charging into that shit" Ragna said, watching as Corrin began actually looking around.

Putting a hand on her chin, Corrin stepped around the platform, looking around on the ground. Then, suddenly, she stopped, pointing at the next platform to the side, "There! That way we can get across!" Corrin stated, turning to Ragna, who rose an eyebrow,

"Wait, there's literally no way to get around over there. What the hell do you-" Ragna began, then paused, "... You sense a Dragon vein over there, don't you?" he asked with a sigh, causing Corrin to grin and nod, "Alright, let's get this done with. Get this cleared out and maybe your Father won't be too keen on murdering ya on the spot" Ragna added, straightening his collar and walking past Corrin.

The princess, on the other hand, looked back at Hans, who was busy fighting Tekeshi, "But what about Hans?" Corrin asked, causing Ragna to stop and look back. His eyes held no warmth to the question,

"Fuck him. He dragged us into this shit and he's going to pay for that" Ragna replied, stepping onto the side bridge, "Now let's move. Don't want to have that Hoshidan army falling upon us without cover" he added. Following his lead, Corrin and Gunter followed.


Back on the bridge, Hans found himself being pushed back by Tekeshi, despite his best efforts. Wherever his axe went, Tekeshi's sword would intercept, forcing Hans to back off and block before Tekeshi could get an actual hit in.

Tekeshi himself kept pushing, almost feeling insulted by how predictable the Nohrian was. Sure, they had strength, enough to break through any weapon clash, but he was also easy to counter. All the Nohrian did was strike with no thought, trying to inflict major damage on him with barely any self preservation. Really, it was almost child's play. The only difficulty was try to find a good opening to attack, and hopefully before he pushed the Nohrian too far.

The two continued to trade blows, with Tekeshi redirecting the strikes then moving to the side to try and hit Hans, who either managed to back out of the strike's range or block it. The rest of the Hoshidan army watched, focused on the two's fighting. The ninja, or the commander of the forces, named Omozu, sighed as he watched. He was rather annoyed with Tekeshi's wishing to face off against a Nohrian, despite being sent to make sure that no one even tries to cross the border into Hoshido. Of course, now that he's actually able to fight against a Nohrian, he might actually shut up for a few days and actually do the job of guarding. That'll be helpful.

Just as he thought that, a loud crash rang out from where the other Nohrians have gone.

In reaction to the noise, almost everyone turned their attention in surprise, even Tekeshi, who only had time to look for about a second before he had to dodge another one of Hans's strikes. Where there had been an empty chasm now lay a new, stone bridge connecting the platform the Nohrians were on… And the platform with the fort on it.

"Pegasus Riders! Get moving!" Omozu yelled, getting nods from the two riders as their steeds ran off, taking off into the air to assist the two samurai who were guarding the fort, "Everyone else, keep defending this bridge!" He added, getting nods from his soldiers as he himself began sprinting towards the fort, the rest of his soldiers keeping their defensive wall up as Hans and Tekeshi's battle began moving towards them.


Back with Corrin's group, the princess was nearly overjoyed by the fact that the dragon vein actually worked. Ragna and Gunter, on the other hand, charged forward without another word, both noticing the Hoshidan army that was coming their way. They had no cover, and with an entire force falling on them the chances of survival were… Slim. Corrin soon noticed the two running off, shaking off her celebration to run after them.

Just as the small group neared the fort, four shapes shot out, two from the cliffside and two from the sort. The two from the cliffside were the two Pegasus Riders sent from Omozu, while the two from the fort were the Samurai.

Ragna growled, pulling out his sword, "Alright, Corrin, Gunter, take care of the Pegasi, I got the Samurai" he said, preparing to charge the Samurai when Corrin shot past him, "Corrin, god damnit!" Ragna suddenly yelled, about to sprint after her when the two riders finally caught up to them, jabbing at both him and Gunter with their naginatas. With a growl, Ragna batted one away with Gunter blocking the other's naginata with his shield, then swung his own spear at the Hoshidan, causing the latter's Pegasi to jump back.

Corrin on the other hand, finally reached the two Samurai, who were rather surprised that one person would charge them. Then they both slashed at Corrin, both at different sides, only to watch as the Nohrian Princess jumped right over their strikes, flying over their heads and onto the ground. The first Samurai growled, spinning around to slash at Corrin once more, while his friend simply stepped back and swung his sword again, this time both striking towards Corrin's stomach. However, both their swords met thin air as the princess ducked underneath, then rose, slashing at the first Samurai's chest, managing a direct hit as a thin line was cut through his "armor" diagonally, causing the Hoshidan to yell in pain and step back. The second tried to slash down at Corrin, only to find his blade traveling down hers and down to the ground. Before he could react, Corrin had spun her sword around so the hilt was facing his head, then roughly hit him in the head with him… Knocking him out cold.

The first Samurai had finally managed to ignore the pain enough to come back into the fight. The slash hurt, that's for sure, but it wasn't lethal at all, despite it's appearance. Rushing forward, the Samurai jabbed at Corrin, finding his blade batted aside by the princess's. Immediately afterwards, he spun around, using the momentum from Corrin's parry to attack from the side. The movement would likely surprise many who didn't expect it, but while Corrin didn't expect it, she wasn't exactly surprised. At least, enough for it to be a problem, Ducking underneath the slash, Corrin stepped forward, twisting her body around so her back was facing the Hoshidan. Then she elbowed him, hard, in the chest, the pain from the slash from earlier erupting again, causing the Samurai to let out a pained gasp. Then, turning around once more and tossing Gangrali to her other hand, Corrin rose up, uppercutting the Samurai with more force than her appearance would suggest. The force of the punch sent the Samurai into the air, then onto his back… Also out cold, like his partner.

Ragna and Gunter more or less were doing the same. The Pegasus Riders were clearly outmatched by the two warriors, with Ragna able to dodge or parry anything the first rider could throw at him, and Gunter simply deflecting any strike with his shield and armor. However, it was clear that Ragna was doing his best not to kill his opponent, for the simple reason that if he did, Corrin would be completely pissed at him and likely resort to being angry at him for a full week. While Ragna didn't exactly care about her being angry at him as long as he did his job, it was still extremely annoying. So, with that in mind, Ragna stepped to the side of the Pegasus Rider's naginata, then grabbed the weapon and yanked on it, hard, bringing the rider and his Pegasus forward. Then, with that, he jumped up, fairly high for a human being, and spun around, his metal-tipped boot connecting to the Rider's head, launching him off his steed and onto the floor. Like with Corrin's opponents, he was down for the count. Not dead, but he would wake up with a nasty headache. Landing on the floor, Ragna straightened his collar, the Pegasus nearby panicking since its rider had just gotten launched off, then began to run off. Probably would come back later, but wasn't risking it's life staying around.

Smart horse.

Looking to the side, Ragna saw Gunter's battle becoming more of a standstill if anything. The Rider was doing a pretty good job of keeping away from Gunter's spear, yet couldn't get his own actual damage in. Gunter would probably win in time, and right now if Ragna helped. Then Ragna shrugged, deciding to give the old man his chance. With that, Ragna turned to see how Corrin was doing, his face falling as he saw the Hoshidan ninja running up to the princess.


Back at the bridge, the fight between Hans and Tekeshi was obviously nearing its end. Hans made one too many wrong moves, and Tekeshi had taken full advantage of it by dodging Hans's strike, then flipping his sword around to hit him square in the face with the hilt, then spinning around to get a full slash on Hans's torso, a thin line of red quickly appearing from the slash.

With that, Hans stepped back, a hand going to his wound, Heh…. Guess I've done as much damage as I could do. Damn Hoshidan Hans thought with a frown. Then, he spun around, and began running, faster than one would expect from a newly wounded person.

Tekeshi was surprised at the sudden retreat, then quickly grew angry, "Hey! Get back here and lets finish this!" Tekeshi said, beginning to run after the Nohrian… Before he quickly realized that he would never be able to catch up to them. Growling, Tekeshi turned… Then noticed that, at the force, the faint shape of Omozu was doing battle with one of the Nohrians. Now even more surprised, Tekeshi sheathed his sword, then began to run back to the wall, running right past them… And right towards the fort.


Corrin noticed Omozu running up to her, and immediately began talking, "S-Sorry for all this! I didn't mean for Hans to charge, he just did!" Corrin apologized as Omozu come close.

With a growl in response, Omozu drew his shurikens, "Do you have ANY idea what you've done here today?" Omozu asked, cutting off any continued apologies from the Nohrian Princess, "You've violated our treaties, killed my men… Hoshido will not stand for these unprovoked attacks, Nohrian!" he yelled, getting into a fighting stance.

In response, Corrin nearly put her palms out, still trying to talk Omozu down, "No! I haven't killed anyone- No one's even dead! These two are already-" Corrin began, only to be cut off, once again, when Omozu suddenly charged with a roar. Instinctively, Corrin's blade moved, blocking the first slash from Omozu easily. In response, Omozu spun around, both his shurikens slashing at Corrin, who blocked the first and jumped back from the second. Then he jumped up, flying over Corrin's head and throwing a shuriken down at her, causing her to step to the side to avoid it. Once he hit the ground, Corrin swung her sword at Omozu's chest, barely missing as the ninja stepped back.

For a second the two stood, watching each other. Then Corrin suddenly realized that she felt… Weaker. Then she felt small traces of blood on her face, bringing up a hand to wipe it off when she realized that is was HER blood, that was coming from her cheek. It took her another second to realize what had happened: She didn't dodge Omozu's attack, it had still managed to hit her, albeit barely.

Crap.

Seeing the fact that his earlier strike did damage, Omozu rushed forward, slashing at Corrin as the princess ducked underneath, then rolled to the slide, spinning when she got to her feet, and slashing at Omozu again, the ninja doing to same thing he's done before and stepping out of the sword's range. Then Corrin took to the offensive, charging Omozu as the ninja threw his shurikens at her, the first deflected away with her sword, and the other barely grazing the armor at her waist. Then, as Omozu was grabbing another shuriken, Corrin got close, slashing downwards diagonally… Finally managing the one hit she needed and causing Omozu to fall to his knee with a curse as the sword did the same to him as it had done to one of his Samurai. For a second, Corrin didn't move, watching as Omozu struggled to stay on his knee without falling over.

Then she straightened, looking down at the ninja, "Your beaten. I don't want to kill you, so please, just surrender and no one else has to get hurt" Corrin said, causing Omozu to look up with a frown. Silence passed between the two before Omozu finally looked down and sighed,

"Fine. You win, the fort is yours" He muttered.

With that, Corrin visibly brightened as she spun Gangrali around, planting the sword into the ground, "Good to hear" She said, reaching a hand out to help Omozu to his feet.

At around this time, Tekeshi had finally reached the fort, running around the side of the walls to see the sight of the clear Nohrian commander reaching down to help Omozu to his feet. It was a sight Tekeshi had never seen before, mostly because at this point Omozu would either be knocked out or dead.

Then he saw Omozu's stray hand grab a spare shuriken, "Omozu, DON'T-" Tekeshi yelled, his body suddenly lurching forward as he saw the Nohrian commander turn in surprise at Tekeshi's yell, and Omozu rising up to turn an offer of help into a swift kill.

Corrin on the other hand, heard someone yell behind her, turning around to face the newcomer almost reactively. She didn't even notice Omozu coming up to use the distraction to quickly slash her neck.

SHING

Suddenly, silence filled the air as Omozu froze. Seeing Tekeshi's suddenly shocked face, Corrin turned to see a strange sight. Omozu, his shuriken just about to connect with the back of her neck… And Ragna, standing about a foot away from Omozu with his sword out.

Then Corrin noticed the wound on Omozu's chest that nearly split him in half.

With a pained gasp, Omozu fell to the ground on his side, not taking long to pass away. Corrin, on the other hand, turned to Ragna, her face once more showing complete anger, "Ranga, why did you-" she began, watching Ragna straighten and look at her from the side of his eyes,

"He was right about to kill you Corrin. Slit your throat as you offered a hand. You need to learn" Ragna replied, his voice adopting his "no bullshit" tone as he turned to her, "Much as I hate to admit it, people like him are going to try and kill you the second you try and show kindness. Sometimes you have to finish the job if you want to live" he added, watching Corrin's face grow redder with anger as she tried to figure out a response to that, even if she knew it was true.

Tekeshi, on the other hand, stood in silence. He had just watched his commander try and kill someone when they had tried to help them out. Nohrian or not, that was something Tekeshi himself didn't agree on doing, and viewed it as an act of cowardice.

Still, he was duty bound to avenge a commander.

With that thought, Tekeshi took a breath, drawing his blade. Omozu may be dead, the other Pegasus Rider just being defeated by the last Nohrian, and two fighters ready for continued battle, even if they were yelling at each other… But Tekeshi still had to defend the fort, with his last breath if he had to-

"So this is the Nohrian Commander"

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up next to Tekeshi, loud enough to also cause Ragna and Corrin to stop arguing and turn. Next to Tekeshi was yet another ninja… Yet with a long, blue scarf covering his mouth, a faint scar going across his right eye, and bright red hair. Tekeshi almost relaxed at the sight, "Saizo, good to see you're here, right on time" Tekeshi stated, causing Saizo's one open eye to turn to look at him. Then Tekeshi pointed his blade… Right at Corrin, "And yes, SHE is the Nohrian commander" he added. Where normal Hoshidans would say 'Nohrian' with disgust, Tekeshi said it with a medium of respect.

Upon looking at Corrin, Saizo actually scoffed, "She? She's nothing but a child" He stated, shaking his head. Then he spoke again before Corrin could ask a question, "Nohrian commander, I am Saizo the fifth" He said, drawing his shurikens. At that motion, a sudden force of Hoshidans, very large in comparison to the last force, came out of seemingly nowhere, backing Saizo and Tekeshi, weapons drawn, "... I am here to claim your life" Saizo added.

In response, Corrin yanked her sword from the ground as Ragna brought his own sword up, with Gunter rode up besides the two, "Crap… Think we can get away from this?" Corrin whispered to Ragna, who shook his head,

"No way in hell. They got Pegasus Riders, they'll run us down before we even get to the second bridge" Ragna stated, narrowing his eyes, "... Forts a death trap as well, since there's only three of us" He added.

With that, Corrin sighed, bringing her sword up, "Well… I guess we can at least fight" She said, causing Ragna to smirk as they both got into their fighting stances. Seeing them get into their stances, Saizo nodded, "Destroy them" he ordered. At that, the Pegasus Riders charged forward, signalling the start of the charge…

"I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

Suddenly, a large explosion of dark energy erupted from in front of Corrin and her group, stopping the Pegasus Riders in their place. Right after that, a flurry of hooves came up from behind the group, causing Corrin to turn around and see… Xander, and her siblings, charging up,

"X-Xander?! What are you-" Corrin began, only to see Xander's horse slow down and trot up so Xander was in front of the group.

Reaching up, Leo couldn't help but smile, "Looks like we caught up just in time. Lucky as always, aren't you Sister?" Leo asked, holding up his tome as Saizo narrowed his eye,

"So this is their true commander…" Saizo muttered, looking at Tekeshi, "You're free to charge" he said. Tekeshi needed no other prompting, as once Saizo said that, the samurai charged forward, straight at Xander, who returned the charge with barely a reaction on his face.

As the two connected blades, Camilla rode up on her Wyvern, smiling despite the situation, "I'm glad you're still unhurt Corrin, I was so worried about you-" Camilla began, then froze when she noticed the red line on Corrin's cheek, just as the rest of the Hoshidans began to charge. Then, Camilla's face turned into one of pure rage as she urged her Wyvern forward, "WHO DARE HURT MY BELOVED CORRIN?! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER!" Camilla roared, charging past Xander and into the Hoshidan front lines. Despite having the number advantage, the force was caught off guard by the sheer force and anger that Camilla brought upon them as she tore through them.

Both Ragna and Corrin watched in surprise. Leo, on the other hand, merely sighed, moving his horse next to them, "This probably isn't their entire force. They likely have reinforcements coming in behind them" Leo stated, then looked down at Corrin, "Get going, we'll cover you" He added, then looked back up and began casting one of his spells at the Hoshidans.

Corrin was about to protest, but Ragna put a hand on her shoulder, "No buts right now Corrin, just go with Gunter. I'll help hold the line before coming after ya" Ragna stated, forcing Corrin to nod as Gunter turned horse and began moving, causing Corrin to have to sprint after him. Watching the princess run off, Ragna sighed, turning back to the Hoshidan army and charging forward.


"Gods, I hope they'll be alright" Corrin said as she and Gunter crossed the third bridge away from the battle.

Gunter himself sighed, "They will be. Lets just keep going… I can't stand being on this bridge any longer…" he muttered, leading his horse across the bridge.

"Heh…"

Suddenly, a large shape came out from behind the two, launching themselves at the side of Gunter's horse. With a large shove, they sent Gunter's horse stumbling to the side… Then slipping off the bridge. Gunter only had one word to say before he fell into the black abyss below,

"HAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"

Corrin raced to the side, desperately reaching out to grab Gunter, even though the retainer was already several feet down and going down faster. Watching one of her protectors fall before her very eyes, Corrin stared in shock… As Hans next to her laughed.

It took Corrin a few seconds to regain her wits. When she did, she stood, turning to Hans with an expression that could only be described as: "Pissed beyond belief",

"Hans… WHY?!" Corrin yelled, stepping towards the larger man, "Why Gunter?! Why did you just… Just push him off! WHY?!" She yelled again, causing Hans to stop laughing as he looked back down at Corrin with a grin,

"Just followin' orders" He stated, preparing his axe, "Don't worry though, you'll join your baby sitter soon enough" He added, his grin growing wider as he prepared to attack.

At that, Corrin's rage broke, "You… YOU… I'LL FUCKING MURDER YOU!" She yelled, charging forward. Just as she did, her free hand began to become enveloped with what looked like water… Before dissipating and revealing a long needle with a color scheme resembling Corrin's armor.

Seeing that, Hans actually stepped back, lifting his axe to defend himself from Corrin's first slash, then stepping to the dodge the jab from Corrin's other arm, "What are you?!" Hans asked, jumping back from Corrin's follow-up.

Instead of replying, Corrin simply roared as she continued the assault, driving Hans back as the latter was forced to stay on the defensive.


Ragna himself was running along the bridges in search of Corrin and Gunter. Once they got an opening, the royal siblings and Ragna broke off, retreating from the Hoshidan forces with barely any scratches thanks to Elise's healing. Xander had explained a rendezvous that Ragna could meet up with, once he managed to find Corrin and Gunter, who likely went on a different path to throw off pursuers.

So here Ragna was, trying to find those two.

Then he saw two shapes on one of the bridge, instantly recognizing one shape as Corrin. At that, Ragna picked up his pace a bit, managing to reach their bridge in less than 10 seconds.

Then he froze at the sight he saw.

Corrin, with her arm formed into something completely different, was fighting against Hans, with no sight of Gunter. Corrin herself was screaming and yelling in complete anger, something Ragna never thought he'd see before, and driving Hans towards the edge of the bridge.

Ragna realized Hans's plan too late.

"Oh shit- CORRIN!" Ragna yelled, suddenly sprinting forward, only to watch as Hans sidestepped one of Corrin's strikes, grabbing the latter's shoulder and pulling her past him. Corrin herself stumbled past, turning around at the last second, just as her foot her mid-air. Due to the fact that she was still stumbling, she didn't have time to grab onto anything, since both her hands were occupied, or even get her balance before she too went off with a panicked yell.

Then she was gone.

Ragna's sprint faltered as he reached the halfway point of the bridge, eyes in shock at what he saw. Then, faster than Corrin did, he shifted his attention to Hans, his eyes narrowing as the latter turned to him with a smirk. Almost naturally, Ragna drew his blade from his back, not moving from his spot, "You have one chance. ONE chance to give me a good reason on what you just did" Ragna growled.

Hans, in response, shrugged, "Just following orders. Someone wanted Corrin gone… Though, thanks for coming to me, so I can get three in a-" Hans explained, suddenly cut off when Ragna closed the distance and punched him square in the face, sending the larger man flying past the rest of the bridge and onto the stone ground.

Blinking the surprise out of his face, Hans sat up, wiping blood from his mouth as he saw Ragna walking towards him, almost casually, his eyes holding no warmth to Hans, "And just like that, you're life's forfeit" Ragna stated as his foot hit the stone floor as well.

Hans rose to his feet, frowning at Ragna, "You're going to pay for that…" He muttered, then charged Ragna, who did the same.

The fight was over before it even began.

Hans started the battle by swinging his axe down. Ragna countered by batting the axe to the side, then grabbing Hans by the shoulder, bring his sword back… Then shoving it straight into Hans's chest.

Hans gasped in pain, looking down at Ragna as the latter lifted him up to the air, his other hand going to his sword's hilt as he lifted him up, "If you ever get a next life asshole, try learning a bit about fighting" Ragna said, then stepped forward, lifting Hans into the air… Then implanting both his sword, and Hans on it, into the ground.

Ragna let Hans try and weakly pull the sword out, before doing the favor himself. The sword slid out cleanly… And Hans was dead before the sword even left him.

With Hans dead, Ragna stared at the dead corpse, almost expecting it to jump up and attack. Certainly what life felt like doing, in light of recent events. Now Corrin was gone, right off the edge of a "bottomless pit". If she didn't fall forever, she would most definitely hit the ground… Hard. Not only that but the royal family would likely be pissed at him for not doing his job, maybe not Elise though, she'd be sad, and then Ragna's head would be on a silver platter by dawn. If Ragna stayed here, then the Hoshidan army would fall on him and rip him to shreds.

Letting a frustrated groan escape his lips, Ragna began walking forward, past Hans's corpse. Better to just become a wandering criminal in Nohr than anything else…

"Well isn't this a fine predicament you've gotten yourself into"

Suddenly, a voice popped out of nowhere, causing Ragna to sigh in even more frustration, turning around to face the speaker. What he saw was a girl shorter than him, about Elise's hight, with long, blond twin-tails, pale skin, red eyes, and rather elegant gothic clothing. In her hands was a black umbrella… Why she carried that, Ragna couldn't even guess.

The girl carried on as if nothing happened, taking a few steps towards Ragna, "You probably know what will happen once you walk away, don't you? Either you'll die by Hoshido, the Nohrians, or live your life as a criminal. Fate doesn't seem to look good for you, does it?" The girl asked calmly, stopping a few feet from Ragna. She didn't even bother looking down at the corpse she was standing right next to, and probably didn't care.

In response though, Ragna frowned, "And why the hell do you care about it?" Ragna asked back, shifting his body so he was facing the girl.

The girl's mouth nearly twitched into a smile, "Because, despite what you believe, Corrin's still alive" she stated, watching as Ragna's face barely moved. He didn't believe her. With that, the girl reached out her hand, "I can set you on the path to regroup with her, if you want" She added.

Ragna stared at the hand for a few seconds, thinking to himself. Yeah, he saw Corrin go, so his chances of finding her alive were very slim. But at the same time… He was bound to die from this event anyway.

With yet another frustrated sigh, Ragna grabbed the girl's hand. The second it came into contact, a black field surrounded the two, then disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving no trace that Ragna was even there, besides the corpse of Hans.


With a start, Corrin's eyes snapped open as she sat up straight, her head looking around in panic. She was in a bed, surrounded by a… Barely decorated room. Suddenly she remembered what happened before she blacked out. Hans had pushed Gunter off the side of the cliff, then she fought him, then she fell off…

Blinking in confusion, Corrin looked down at her arm… Perfectly normal. Looking back up, she saw Gangrali resting to the side of the wall.

Okay this was weird.

It took Corrin a few minutes before she finally stood up from her bed, picking up Gangrali. She didn't recognize the place, and while she felt strangely comfortable in it, she didn't want to stay in it. With a frustrated sigh, Corrin walked to the door, pushing it open…

Only to walk out onto a balcony, with multiple tree branches at the edge of her vision. Looking around, she realized that she had apparently slept inside a TREE HOUSE, somehow. Then she looked down and…

Saw a tiny, blue and white fish like dragon flying up towards her.

In a panic, Corrin jumped back as the dragon flew up, it's face smiling… Somehow, as it looked at Corrin, "Glad you're finally awake Corrin!" The dragon said, hovering in place.

Corrin recognized the voice,

"Lilith?!" Corrin asked, watching the dragon nod.

"Yep! You're good friend Lilith is here" Lilith responded happily, flying up to Corrin, "Welcome to the Dragon Fort!" She added, causing Corrin to, once again, blink in confusion,

"Dragon… Fort? Lilith, what is that? How did I get here? Why are YOU a dragon?!" Corrin asked, swearing that Lilith rolled her eyes at her at the questions,

"Well, the Dragon Fort is a place in the veins of the world, I'll explain that later, don't worry, and how you got here was that I saved you while you were falling!" Lilith answered, watching as Corrin's eyebrows only rose higher, "... Oh yeah, and this is my true form. I can shapeshift!" Lilith added, causing Corrin to nod slightly, "Well, I was planning on teaching you the place… But it seems that you slept a biiiit too late. Time flows differently here but you should get back to the real world" Lilith added, lifting one of her fins up,

"Wait, Lilith I don't even-" Corrin began, a flash of light appearing in her vision as she talked,


"-Understand…" She finished once the flash of light dissipated. The new sight caused Corrin to blink in confusion as she looked around.

Right back at the fort.

And no one seemed to be around.

Now Corrin was really confused, looking around with a quizzical look on her face, "Okay… That's something…" Corrin muttered to herself, "Well, since I'm back… Time to head on back I guess" She added with a nod, turning to begin walking back home, to Nohr. Her family was probably worried sick about her.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

Suddenly, a yell came from behind Corrin, causing the princess to, in a panic, turn around with her sword already flying through the air. However, her turning around only let a club hit her directly in the face, sending the princess flying about a foot through the air and onto the floor.

She was out in less than a second, blackness filling her vision as a shape walked over to stand over her.

Author's Note: And they keep. Getting. BIGGER.

I know I may have killed of Hans quickly, without much of a fight, but I have no regrets for my decision. I remembered this chapter of FE Fates being one of betrayal, from Hans, and with Ragna in the picture I found no good way to really… Well… Keep him alive. So yeah, you can basically guess who's replacing Hans from now on.

In addition, for those who remember the 4th chapter for FE Fates… Well, don't be surprised if new BB characters start popping up.

Until then, enjoy!