Happy New Years to the lot of you! Well... 'Eve' for majority of you, but regardless! This year is finally coming to an end! And with it is a new year! And with that new year... a lot of good things are going to come out that I am very excited for~! What are they? Well, that is for me to know and you all to find out! Speaking of finding out, let's see what happens with Riana and friends! Enjoy it~!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Fire Emblem of any kind for either of them. I do, however, own my OC. Adrian is owned by Antex- The Legendary Zoroark.

"Normal people talking"

'Thoughts'

"Z-MOVE!"

"Dragon-type Pokemon talking" Only from Corrin's perspective

"Pokemon talking"

When Corrin and the others came to, the first thing they noticed was that they were in the middle of a field. Each slowly rose up and saw islands... floating around them. Some islands were inverted, while others were sideways.

"Where... are we?" Riana asked.

Corrin let out a groan as she tried to come back to all of her senses. "...Ugh. Is this... the bottom of the canyon?" she guessed. "That was a heck of a jump, but nothing seems to be broken..."

"Thank goodness. I said you'd be all right, didn't I?" Azura said, seemingly unfazed by the fall they had done. "Jakob, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine, of course," the butler answered. "I'm relieved to see Lady Corrin is unhurt as well."

"Rocky? Blue? How about you two?" Corrin asked.

"Aroo..." the Rockruff answered, shaking some feeling back in himself.

"Poppo," the Popplio barked, doing the same.

"So... Where exactly are we?" Adrian asked. "Last I checked, the bottom of a canyon should not have led us to an entirely different place. And I thought from the name itself, there shouldn't be a bottom to this canyon. Are we even still at Bottomless Canyon?"

"Well, one thing's for sure... This place looks like it's definitely seen better days..." Corrin stated.

Azura took a moment to answer. "...This is the kingdom of Valla. It's responsible for the war between Hoshido and Nohr."

Her friends all looked at her in confusion. "Responsible? This place? How?" Riana asked.

"Follow me, all of you. If we linger here, we'll be spotted." They all looked at each other before following the songstress of a princess.

After some time of running, the group in what seemed to be a cave.

"We should be safe here," Azura said. "As I was saying... The throne of Valla is occupied by King Anankos. Before his arrival, this land was a peaceful one. All was well until Anankos killed our king and took the throne for himself. Once bountiful farmlands were devastated, replaced by wastelands and graveyards."

"He destroyed an entire kingdom?! For no reason at all?" Corrin questioned.

"...Yes. And he isn't finished. He wishes to lay waste to the entire world. First Valla, then Nohr and Hoshido. Even now, he's the hidden influence that quietly forces Nohr and Hoshido to fight. King Garon's invasion is the result of Anankos's subtle manipulations."

"That's horrible!"

"But wait, if that's true, then maybe we can stop this war by defeating Anankos," Riana suggested. "We need to get back up above and explain this to everyone! If we can get Nohr and Hoshido to work together-"

"I'm sorry, but you can't. You mustn't talk about Valla to anyone when you're beyond its borders," Azura sadly turned down.

"And just why is that?" Adrian asked.

"Because if you do, you'll trigger a curse that will cause your body to dissolve and disappear. That's what happened to my mother... To Arete, the former queen of Valla."

"What? Your mother was a queen in Valla, not Nohr?" Corrin asked. "Then, that makes you..."

"Yes... I am a Vallite princess. The king that Anankos murdered... He was my father."

"And because of him, you were forced to flee," Adrian added, putting those pieces together. "And thanks to the curse, you can't tell anyone about what's really going on as it would literally cost you your life."

"Yes... But I wasn't able to tell anyone about this before. Because of that curse... Even if I wanted to talk, I couldn't," Azura confirmed. "I was trapped... No matter how much I missed my parents. I had to keep it all bottled up inside... Until now."

"Azura..." Corrin called gloomily.

"Listen, Corrin. I'm sorry to say this, but... Now that you've chosen this path, you'll know exactly what I've been feeling," Azura said to her fellow princess. "No matter how much you want someone to understand what's happening... No matter how much you want to tell them the truth... You won't be able to tell them. You need to prepare yourself for that. I can't even express how painful it is to know the truth and not be able to say it."

"... All right. I understand."

The songstress turned to her retainers. "As for you two, you both still have a choice. If you go back now and tell Ryoma and the others you were both only doing your jobs as retainers-"

"Then we're staying with you," Adrian cut her off, surprising their princess. "Don't give me that look. You're the one who suggested that we convince them we were doing what retainers are suppose to do."

"He's right. We're sticking with you no matter what, Azura. And nothing you say can change that," Riana agreed.

"I understand you both take your position as my retainers seriously, despite that it was practically forced onto you, but-"

"If you think we're only doing this because we're your retainers, you have another thing coming," Riana interrupted Azura. "We're not just doing this as your retainers. We're also doing this because we're friends. And friends stick together."

Agreeing with those words, Blue and Rocky both climbed up on Azura's shoulders and gave her some assured cuddles, causing the girl to let out a small laugh.

"... Okay, you win. But if things get tough-" Azura stopped talking there and looked to the side, hearing something from a distance. "What was that?!

"Whatever it is, it sounds like trouble. And at a large number at that," Adrian said. "We'll need to deal with this threat before we can continue."

"Right!" Everyone nodded in agreement to the plan.

"Tread carefully... Our enemies may use the shadows to ambush us," Azura advised, for the deeper part of the cave was too dark for any of them to see through.

"If sight is the problem..." Riana took out a Pokeball and tossed it in the air. "I choose you, Eelektross!" Out from the ball was a large, dark blue and yellow, eel-like Pokemon, with a long, tentacle-like finned-limb extending from its head and clawed, paddle-like arms.

"Eelektross!" it screeched.

Seeing it suddenly appear was a huge shock to Jakob. "What the-?! What is that eel?!" he demanded.

Corrin, seeing it a few times before before the attack on Hoshido, calmly answered, "That's Eelektross, one of Riana's Pokemon."

"Okay. And just how is it going to help us see in the dark?" the butler questioned.

A smirk formed on Adrian's face. "You better take notes then, if you want to know, Sir Uptight Butler," he told him.

"What did you call me?!" Jakob demanded at the insulting nickname.

Ignoring the small confrontation behind her, Riana ordered, "Eelektross, dive deeper in this cave!" The EleFish Pokemon obliged at the command and 'flew' into the darkness, to the others shock. "Now, use Flash!" At her command, light suddenly appeared deep inside the cave. Not only does it illuminate a path for the others, but it also blinded the enemies that were hidden within the shadows. "Now's your chance!"

Corrin, Rocky, Azura, Blue, and Jakob snapped out of their surprise and charged into the now-brightened area, taking down the distracted enemies.

"No way I'm going to be left out on this battle," Adrian said, taking out a Pokeball as well and called out the Pokemon within. "Midnight! Let's go!"

"Canra-ooooooohh!" the Rock-type howled before joining in on the action.

The group fought as hard as they could against the enemy soldiers. It was hard, especially when they can turn invisible. Thankfully, the purple wisps that surrounded their bodies gave away their locations, as well as the shadows produced by Eelektross's Flash. Said EleFish Pokemon also joined in the fray with some Thunderbolt attacks here and there, as well as some good Aqua Tail hits. Not to mention, both Rocky and Blue were small and quite speedy; they managed to land in some strong hits themselves.

After some time of fighting, a familiar figure riding a horse appeared before Corrin's eyes. "What the-? Is there something wrong with my eyes? Could that knight be...?"

"What's wrong?" Adrian asked, noticing her rubbing her eyes.

"Lady Corrin!" the figure called out.

One sound of his voice brought a smile to Corrin's face. "Gunter! Is that really you?! And you're alive?!" Her cry got the other's attention, as they turned and saw the old knight alive and well. The last part being more directed specifically to those who were more familiar with him.

"I am. I lost consciousness as I fell, and when I awoke, I was here. I have no idea how I survived such a fall... But I swear on my blade I'm no ghost. My arms and legs are as sturdy as ever," Gunter assured her.

A relieved smile formed on Corrin's face. "It's good to see you in one piece, Gunter. I'm so glad we found you."

"I would love to celebrate, milady, but it appears we don't have time right now... These foes are truly challenging. I'll help you fend them off!"

The group all picked up the pace at those words, quickly taking out the remaining enemies. Along the way, the group found some treasure chests and, using the keys they took from the invisible soldiers, unlocked the chests and gained some weapons and gold from within.

After defeating the last of the soldiers, Corrin and friends all met up with Gunter.

"Gunter, it's so good to see you safe and sound!" Corrin cried out.

"Aroof woof!" Rocky barked in agreement, jumping in the old guy's arms and giving him the usual love cuddles.

"I'm glad to see you too, Lady Corrin..." the old knight replied, letting the pup down. "After I fell, I truly thought I'd never see your face again. It seems you've grown stronger while we've been apart, as well..."

"So you aren't dead, old man. Can you give me back the time I wasted grieving over your demise?" Jakob said in sarcasm.

Gunter sighed at the tone he used. "Hmph... You haven't changed. It wouldn't hurt for you to be kinder. But, why are you all here?" He turned his attention on Eelektross, Midnight, and Blue. "And those creatures with you... Are they also Pokemon?"

"They're our Pokemon," Adrian said, glaring at the guy as he stood between him and the Pokemon. He may be a good guy in Corrin's book, and maybe Jakob's, but everyone else didn't know him as well as they did. Adrian was just taking precautions.

"And you are?"

"Adrian. A Pokemon trainer."

"And I'm Riana, also a trainer," Riana followed, placing a hand on her fellow retainer's shoulder, calming him down somewhat.

Gunter raised a brow upon hearing of their occupation. "Pokemon trainers? As in with King Garon? But why are you both...?"

"We're not with Nohr," the Alolan champion corrected.

"It turns out, the trainer Pokemon lent to Nohr are actually forced to work with them. Taken from their original trainers and... made into slaves," Corrin sadly revealed.

The old knight's eyes widened at the truth. "I... see..." To the trainers, he then said, "I know a simply apology will not cut for what happened, but I apologize on behalf of my people for such a thing to occur."

"Don't be. It's not like you all knew," Adrian said.

Gunter nodded at his words and turned to Azura. "And who are you?"

"My name is Azura. If I said I was the princess kidnapped from Nohr as a child... would you understand?" the songstress princess asked.

Realization was shown in his eyes. "Ah! Yes, I remember when you were little. I apologize for my failure to protect you from your Hoshidan kidnappers..."

"There is no need to apologize, really... It doesn't matter at the moment. I'd rather learn how you've survived here. You are quite the knight to have avoided meeting a terrible fate."

"You seem familiar with this place, Lady Azura. Where are we, exactly?"

"This is Valla, an invisible Kingdom tied to the world by the Bottomless Canyon. It is ruled by Anankos, who wishes to destroy the entire world. So long as he remains in the Vallite throne, the world will not know peace."

"But though we know of this threat now, as much as we want to tell anyone else the truth, we can't," Adrian said. "Apparently, if we speak of Valla when we're not here, a curse will kill us."

Hearing this shocked the knight. "What?! Is that possible?"

"It seems so," Corrin confirmed. "Also, I've... made enemies of both Hoshido and Nohr, Gunter. I couldn't bring myself to side against either of them, so both turned on me. Whenever we meet next, it will be a difficult fight. Will you stand with me?"

"Of course, Lady Corrin. I shall always remain at your side," Gunter assured.

A smile formed on the Nohr Princess's face. "Thank you, Gunter."

"I feel like I must be in a dream, surviving being attacked and falling so far... Though I have to admit... Hans was a disappointment. He barely left a scratch," Gunter said, rubbing the part where the traitor of a Nohrian fighter struck him.

"Ah, that reminds me: Hans said something strange," Corrin said. "He claimed he was following King Garon's orders by attacking you."

Gunter looked away when she said that. "I'm embarrassed to admit this, but... King Garon despises me."

"Despises you? Why?"

"After being honored for valor in battle, I was granted an audience with King Garon. He offered me dragon's blood; accepting would require absolute loyalty to the king. It would have meant becoming his most trusted retainer, the highest of positions. However, it also would have meant leaving my homeland, my wife, and my child. I turned him down. I wanted to live a normal life. I begged for his understanding. I will never forget his resentment... his rage."

"I didn't know..."

"What if it wasn't him?" Riana asked, causing everyone to turn to her.

"What do you mean?" Gunter asked her.

"Azura said it earlier. Anankos is controlling King Garon from behind the scenes. What if the Garon back then is controlled by him? What if the blood he was going to offer you was really a way to take control over you, knowing how strong you really are? And when you declined King Garon, you really declined Anankos..."

"For someone who found out of the horrible things Nohr did to Pokemon and their trainers, you sure are strongly defending them," Adrian said to her.

"It's not much of defending them. If you think about it, it's really Anankos that's really forcing the trainers and Pokemon to cooperate through King Garon." The male trainer couldn't argue at the point made.

Suddenly, the Pokemon sensed something and turned to it, all taking battle positions.

"Hm? What's wrong with them?" Jakob asked.

Just as he asked that, a burst of magical flames and light occurred near the group. Appearing from them was a trio of invisible figures. One was a woman while the other two seemed to be males.

"Leave now... You should not be here," the woman said.

"What the- Who are you?!" Corrin asked in surprise.

"I am a mage of Valla... You were warned. Vallite warriors, eliminate them."

"This is bad... I don't think we're strong enough to defeat them," Azura informed. "Let's retreat to the other world!"

"How do you suggest we do that?!" Adrian asked.

"Just run!" Riana said, giving him a little push as they started to run from the Vallite warriors.

After some time of running, the group managed to make it back to the Bottomless Canyon through a portal Azura opened up with a Dragon Vein.

"Phew... It looks like we've made it back," Corrin sighed in relief. "Who was that woman down there? She said she was a mage..."

Azura was silent at the question. Instead, she said, "... When dawn turns to dusk. When dusk turns to dawn. Then the door will spawn."

Everyone was confused at her words. "Huh? Is that a poem, Azura?" Corrin asked

"My mother... She said those words to me a long time ago. She said that when dawn turns to dusk, and dusk turns to dawn... The pass in the Bottomless Canyon opens or closes."

"And just what is that suppose to mean? The path opens and closes every 24 hours? That makes no sense," Adrian said.

"But in Nohr, there's never a daytime like in Hoshido," Corrin informed.

"When the dawn turns... Hmm..." Gunter pondered on what the words meant. "Oh, I get it. Once every few decades, the skies above Nohr and Hoshido will reverse. If I remember right, that should happen a few months from now."

"Really?" Riana asked.

"Yes. I'm sure that's the sign that the pass down there has opened or closed. Since we're obviously able to travel there now, it will close next time. Once it closes, it will stay that way for decades. We won't be able to get there... We don't have much time."

"I see," Corrin said. "Then, we'll need both kingdoms to stop fighting each other and help us. If we had Xander and Ryoma, there's no way we'd lose."

"You left out the part as to how we can convince them. Don't forget, we can't say a word to anyone about... well... over there," Riana reminded her.

"We'll just have to find another way. It's the only chance we have. Now that I know there is a common enemy for both countries to fight... I think we can save Nohr and Hoshido. All I can do is believe in myself and try to convince others to join us."

"Ruff ruff!" Rocky barked in agreement, standing by Corrin's side.

"Corrin... I suppose you're right. I felt so powerless on my own, but together we might be able to pull something off!" Azura said. "Nothing will change if we stay here. Let's return to Hoshido first. I feel like they might be more willing to listen to us."

Adrian looked at the sky. "It looks like it will be late soon. We should head back to the Astral Plains," he advised.

"Good idea," Corrin agreed. "Lil-"

"Actually," Riana spoke up, cutting off the princess's call for the dragon. "There is a small village nearby. We can stay the night there instead."

"Are you suggesting Lady Corrin to stay the night out in the woods?!" Jakob demanded. "Something like that is not fitting for a princess like Lady Corrin! Especially Lady Corrin!"

"I know you're a butler, but I'm pretty sure you're taking that role a little too far," Adrian muttered. "Besides, camping out is not bad either."

"You be silence! You just suggested that the princesses should be camping out!"

"I did not say that at all, Sir Uptight Butler!"

"Jakob, please calm down!" Corrin cried out, holding back her retainer with Rocky, as Gunter and Midnight did the same with Adrian.

"Is there something special about the village that you wish to go there instead of the Astral Plains?" Azura asked Riana, picking up and holding Blue.

"In a way. For one thing, I just thought it'd be a good experience for you and Corrin to know what life is like with villagers. It'll be a nice experience. Plus, we do have some vegetables and a lot of berries back in Astral Plains; I can't do all that work by myself. It'll be easier if you guys have some professionals teach you how farming is done," Riana explained.

"That's true. And assuming that this is something all Pokemon Trainers do in your world, it would only make more sense for us to grow those berries."

"Well, not every trainer does this. But pretty much. And also... the village that's near here is the very same one I ended up in when I first came to this world." The bickering in the background ceased at those words, as everyone stared at the female trainer. "I want to see how everyone's doing. It's been over a month since I last saw them after all."

"Why didn't you say so?!" Corrin asked, suddenly appearing at Riana's face. "We should go there now. Lead the way!" That said, the princess was practically dragging the champion back into the woods.

"Okay, I hear you. Stop dragging me," the female trainer said.

"Well, you heard the princess. Let's go to the village," Adrian told them, as he and Azura followed the two girls, along with Midnight and Eelektross.

Jakob was shocked at the development that had occurred. Never, had he ever, thought there would be a day when Corrin would ever be living with commoners, or stay the night in a village full of them.

"We should get going now, Jakob," Gunter told the butler, following Adrian, the girls and the Pokemon. "Come on now. Before we lose them."

Seeing that he had no other choice in the matter, Jakob followed after the group.

After some time of walking, the sun was starting to set. The group was still venturing on in the woods, with no sign of the village in sight. Eelektross and Midnight were both called back into their Pokeballs during the walk.

"I thought you said it was near," Jakob said to Riana.

"I did, but I didn't say how close exactly," she replied. "Although, it's weird..."

"What is?" Azura asked.

Riana stopped and cupped her ears. "Everyone stop and be silent." They all did as told, wondering what the Alolan Champion was doing. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear... what?" Corrin asked back.

"Exactly." That response brought more confusion to them. "There's no sound. In this forest, close to that village, there are a lot of Pokemon." The confusion changed to shock. "It's one thing if it was the sound they make, but there's no rustling, no wings flapping, nothing. Something's not right here."

"If this is your idea of a bluff, it's not working well," Jakob said, not believing a single word that came out of her mouth.

"No, Riana's right," Adrian agreed. "It's not that dark yet. If there is that many Pokemon in these woods, then it shouldn't be this quiet."

"I don't like this feeling I'm getting... We have to hurry!" Riana told them. Without a warning, the female trainer took off deeper into the woods, much to the others' shock.

"Wait! Riana!" Azura called out, as they all followed after her.

Some time of running later, the group started to hear screams from up ahead.

"Did you hear that?! Those screams! Something terrible really is happening!" Corrin exclaimed.

"Mozu! Everyone!" Riana cried out, extremely worried for the village.

"You said you left a Pokemon with them, didn't you? Can't it protect them?" Adrian asked.

"I did, but it's not much of a fighter! If it's bandits, it's strong enough to handle them. But just what is-?!" Riana trailed off, as the group made it out of the woods and saw a bunch of Faceless at the village.

"Faceless! And the place has been ravaged. I fear we're too late!" Jakob said.

"No! There must be some survivors. With any luck, some people escaped, but if there's even one left here somewhere... Let's get searching everyone!" Corrin shouted.

"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A roar was heard, followed by a crash in the woods nearby.

Riana and Adrian recognized the roar, especially the former. "Charizard!" The Alolan Champion rushed to the source.

"Riana, wait!" Azura called out. Unfortunately, the girl was out of hearing range.

"Azura, Jakob! You two, Rocky, Blue and I are going after Riana! Adrian, Gunter! Take out the Faceless in the village and save any surviving villagers!" Corrin ordered.

Without a word of protest, everyone went along with Corrin's plan.

With the Alolan Champion, she rushed into the woods, desperate to get to Charizard before the worse can ever happen. Desperate to get to him before... what happened back then happens again.

Good news, she found the Flame Pokemon. Bad news, she found it downed and being towered by a couple of Faceless.

"Leave Charizard alone!" she shouted at the monsters.

Before she could call out a Pokemon though, stars and what seemed like a large beam of light were shot at the pair of Faceless, defeating them and causing them to dissipate away.

"Nice shot, Fira! You too, Sage!" came a voice.

Riana turned to the source of that voice and saw a girl there, with two Pokemon by her side.

One of the Pokemon was a brown, dog-like creature with a cream-colored mane and cream-colored tip on its bushy tail. The other Pokemon was big and green, with a large, pink flower on its back, supported by a brown trunk, which was surrounded by what seemed like big, green leaves. It wasn't the Pokemon that surprised Riana, but the person controlling them.

The girl with the pair of Pokemon had peach hues skin with a long auburn hair tied back in a braid. Her eyes were hazel, and she had freckles on her face. Her attire consisted of a light blue, jean shorts, a long sleeved green shirt, boots, a black bracelet around her right wrist and black, fingerless gloves on her hands. Everything about this girl screamed out...

"A Pokemon trainer?!" the Alolan Champion gasped out in shock.