Saizo was rushing inside the cave, searching high and low. "Where is that coward?"

He heard a sound in the wind and jumped back before a shuriken sunk into the ground where he stood. He looked up to see Kotaro hanging from the ceiling before he jumped down.

"Oh, ho! Saw past that did you? You're a better ninja than Kagero, I'll give you that.

"Kotaro of Mokushu...you will answer to me."

"I answer to no one. Who are you to suggest otherwise?"

"I am Saizo the Fifth, servant to the Hoshidan royal family."

Kotaro smirked at the name. "Saizo...that's familiar. I believe I've murdered others of your pitiful lineage."

The red-haired ninja grabbed his weapon. "You—! How dare you. My father was an honorable man."

"Honorable? Maybe. Weak? Definitely. That balding old fool had the audacity to lecture ME! So, naturally...I put an end to his life."

"I knew you were the one responsible for his death. Coward!"

"Bwahaha! Isn't this a stroke of luck? To fell both father and son with the same blade... How poetic!"

"I'm about to rewrite your poem..."

"Please. If you're anything like your father, you won't land a single blow."

Both ninja rushed at each other, weapons in hand.

Corrin stared at the sword pointed at him.

Sakura was the first to step forward. "Ike, please don't'-

Takumi grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Leave him be. Corrin needs to learn. The hard way if necessary."

"Well? What's it going to be?" Ike asked, displaying nothing on his face.

Corrin drew his Yato and pointed it at him. "I don't want to hurt you Ike. But I have to help Saizo!"

"Ha! You? Hurt me? Don't be naive. If Robin beat you easily, while injured you stand no chance against me."

"Don't be so sure. I've gotten stronger since then!"

"Barley. I say you still have a long way to go before you can be on equal footing with him. You most certainty can't beat me in a full out brawl. How about this. We'll call it my win when you decide you've had enough. But if you land one hit on me, no matter how small, I'll admit defeat and let you go after Saizo."

"What?!"

"One more thing." Ike put away his Ragnell and took out his axe, Urvan. "There. This is the only weapon I need."

"An axe against a sword? And Corrin only needs one hit? He's mighty confident…" Mozu said.

"And for good reason." Marth replied. "Ike is no idle boaster. He is one of the best warrior's I ever met."

"Shall we begin?" Ike asked.

Corrin was the first to move. He swung overhead at Ike who simply blocked it with Urvan. He parried the next swing and kicked Corrin over. "I'm not impressed."

Corrin growled to himself as he got up. He continued slashing at Ike, but the mercenary blocked every attack with his massive axe.

"Come now, Robin would have at least made me draw my sword by now!"

"Rah!"

Corrin brought Yato down at Ike with all his strength, only for the attack to be blocked effortlessly. He shoved Corrin back and revved up his axe.

By the time Corrin regained composer Ike charged at him with his weapon. He blocked the hit but the impact had his own sword cut his side and shot him right into a tree, with a harsh crash.

Corrin sat against it wincing in pain as the leaves slowly fell on him. "Darn it…"

"I've faced countless swordsmen. You don't make the top ten…no. Not even the top fifty."

"Darn it…Fine! Let's see you beat a dragon!"

Ike smirked. "I imagine you'll have a hard time doing that…without this."

To Corrin's utter shock, Ike was holding his Dragonstone. The prince checked his pocket to find it empty.

"How did you-

BOP

Ike flung the stone into Corrin's forehead knocking him over. "The same way I did that. Took advantage of one of the many holes in your defence."

Corrin grumbled to himself as he picked up the stone. "Darn it! Don't expect that to happen twice!"

"It won't. But only because I don't feel like doing it anymore. It's like taking candy from a baby."

Corrin held up his Dragonstone and transformed.

Saizo threw a shuriken at his opponent, who blocked it with a katana.

"Come on! Your old man was better than this!"

The angry ninja drew his own blade and rushed forward.

"Father…lend me your strength."

Corrin was slammed into another tree, that was knocked over. The impact knocked him out of his dragon form.

"Ike, twenty, corn zero." Tom said sitting on a stump.

"His name is CORRIN, boy! Not CORN!" Gunter glared.

"Corrin, corn, tomato, tamato."

"You done?" Ike asked. "It's your call when we quit."

The prince struggled to his knees. "Ngh…I'm…not done yet…"

Sakura started to break into tears. "Corrin, please stop!"

"I think we've seen enough." Henry said. "At this rate Saizo will be done long before you land a hit on Ike."

"I can still…"

"Corrin no! You've lost this battle already!" Takumi said. "Just accept your defeat like a man and keep what little dignity you have left at this point."

The pain in Corrin's back and the soreness in his muscles was telling him to give in to. Ike looked board more than tired like him. "…Fine. I yield."

"Good." Ike replied putting his weapon away. Sakura ran to her brother to heal his wound. "You stand little chance against me. I was trained by one of the greatest warriors of my world. My father."

"General Gawain." Robin said. "I read about him."

"He abandoned that name. My father was Greil. A brave and honorable warrior. He taught me how to wield a sword. I saw him die at the hands of his student. The Black Knight."

"What? His own student? Why would he do that?" Henry asked.

"He wanted to fight his master at his best. But when the time came for me to avenge him, I swore I would do it alone. I knew I would only be able to end him once. I had to do it with my own strength alone. Not just for myself but for my father. I was not about to deny Saizo that satisfaction."

"Saizo…? What's he got to do with anything?" Corrin asked.

"Wait…did the leader of this clan…kill his father?" Roy asked.

"He said he had his suspicions." Ike replied. "He wanted to confirm them. And that's why he asked me to stop anyone from following them."

"What?!" Corrin asked. "That's why you-

"That's right. I can relate to his situation. That's why I can't let anyone interfere with this fight."

Corrin thought to himself. Maybe Ike was right. When he and Azura saw his mother's killer while they were held prisoner in Valla he wanted to destroy him with his own hands. He had to respect the same feeling for Saizo.

Saizo put his weapon away as he stared at Kotaro's broken, bleeding body. "How's that? Did I land a single blow?"

"Ugh...*cough* *cough* *gurgle*"

"Fitting. Father, you are avenged."

Saizo walked back outside to meet with the others. "It's done."

"The leader?" Ike asked.

"Dead."

"Where's Hana?" Subaki asked.

"Inside somewhere. There could be more guards lying in wait. I may need a team with me."

"Then I'll go with you."

"Same here." Alm said. "I'm not leaving without Celica."

"I shall go too." Kaze said.

"I'll take point then." Henry said. "Chrom, Tom, you mind coming with me?"

"Sure."

"I'm in!"

The captain turned to the others. "Give us fifteen minutes. If we don't return by then, send another team."

With that Saizo led them into the cave. Kaze was the first to speak up. "Brother…tell me, how long did you suspect the Mokushu were responsible for our father's death?"

Saizo was quiet before giving Kaze his response. "A while now. I once infiltrated Mokushu, believing that they played a part in father's death. And my suspicions were well founded. I came across evidence proving that a ninja of Mokushu assassinated him. But I failed to avenge myself upon his killer, losing my eye in the process."

"Brother…why did you keep this from me for so long?"

"You were absent from our home village on an errand at the time. And I couldn't tell anyone else that I was wounded at the hand of a Mokushujin."

"Why didn't you just tell your king?" Alm asked. "If you had evidence there's no way he would let this slide."

"I might have if not for the wound. It was a constant, throbbing reminder that I failed to avenge my father. That I wasn't strong enough. Never again in my life have I felt such shame!"

Kaze looked at his brother in disbelief.

"I…I'm sorry, brother. I didn't mean to reopen this scar on your heart. It was foolish of me to think drawing this out of you would help…"

"It wasn't a secret I was nursing, brother. It was my miserable pride. I thought if no one knew the wretched story of it all…"

"But you did share it. Do you feel better at all to have it out in the open?"

Saizo turned back the tunnel and continued. "We are short on time. We must hurry." With that he walked on ahead. Kaze sighed before following.

"Well…that got dark real fast." Tom said, as the others followed.

They went down the torch lite caves. So far there were no ninja in sight.

"It's quiet…" Henry said. "To quiet…"

Deep inside the cave in a wooden cage, Celica, Hana, Felicia and Kagero kneeled on the floor, still tied up.

Celica gasped in pain. Even the slightest movement sent pain up her arms and back. "Gods…the positioning is torture…"

Ignoring the pain was Hana as she continued to squirm, hoping to loosen her bonds or discover a weakness to them. "Ngh! Those traitors were smart about this…they even tied our fingers, so we wouldn't try to free each other."

"Hana, what are you doing here?" Kagero asked. "And why are you with a Nohrian maid?"

"It's…a long story. See we-

"Celica!"

"Hana!"

Alm and Subaki rushed over to the cage. The girls turned to them at the sound of their footsteps. Saizo picked the lock on the cage before they all came in.

"Kagero, are you injured?" Saizo asked.

"Saizo? Why are you in Mokushu?"

"Isn't it obvious? We came to save you."

"Then I am indebted to all of you. The nature of my job requires that I be prepared to give my life every day...Thank you for making sure today wasn't that day. Now I can pass along the message that Lord Ryoma gave me."

"So, you do know where our lord is."

"I do."

"Then save the story when we meet up with our gang." Henry said as Alm hugged Celica.

"Celica, are you okay?"

"Y-yes…just a bit shocked. Thank you Alm. Can you untie me? This is putting serious strain on my arms…"

"Sure."

"Are you hurt, Hana?" Subaki asked as he and Tom tried to untie the samurai.

"I'm alright, but they utterly destroyed my pride."

"Ah, good! At least it was only something that will heal in about ten minutes anyway." The Pegasus rider joked.

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Hana replied, returning his grin.

"Shesh! These knots are tight! They sure didn't want ya all goin' nowhere!" Tom said.

"Well that's the general idea with prisoners." Henry said. "And one of them is a ninja."

Saizo cut through Kagero's bonds with a knife before handing it to Henry. "Here. This will help."

"Thanks. You can be real nice when ya try."

"Hmph."

Celica sighed in relief as she was finally able to unfold her arms.

"Thank you Kaze." Felicia said as she rubbed her sore wrists. "I was actually really scared."

"It's alright. You're safe now." The ninja replied cutting her ankle bindings.

"Y-yes, of course. But while you're here I was hoping you could tell me something. The other day, you were just about to tell me why you were helping me, but stopped. What were you going to say?"

"Ah, you remember that." Kaze replied awkwardly.

"Of course, I do! I haven't been able to stop thinking about it! It's been causing me to mess up my chores even more than usual!"

"Even more? That is a problem..." Kaze sighed. He looked at the people around him before speaking again. Hana seemed excited. "Very well. But I want all of you to promise me something. You must never tell Lord Corrin what I am about to disclose."

Felicia looked at him in concern. "Lord Corrin? OK, then. I promise."

"You have my word, brother." Saizo added.

The others nodded, in agreement.

"The truth is...Lord Corrin asked me to look after you."

Felicia was in disbelief. "Wh-what?!"

"Wait that's what it was?" Hana asked. "That's kinda…disappointing."

"Why? What did you think it was?"

"Nothing. Never mind." Hana sighed as Subaki finally got her arms free, so she could help him with liberating her legs.

"So then...he doesn't really trust me, does he?" The maid asked in disappointment.

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that. Lord Corrin cherishes you. I think that's why he came to talk to me. He just wanted to make sure you were OK."

"I guess you're right. It's just...I only wanted to be helpful, but it turns out I'm just a burden on the both of you..."

"No. You're a valuable part of the army, Felicia. You shouldn't feel like a burden. That's what friends are for. So, please, don't beat yourself up too much over it." Kaze smiled as he got rid of the rope around Felicia's thighs, freeing her of all of it before standing up. He offered her a hand.

The maid smiled as she took it.

"OK. Thank you, Kaze. You always know what to say!"

"It's no problem."

"So...does this mean we're friends? You're not just helping because you have to?"

"Of course. I said so from the beginning. I enjoy helping you."

"That's great! I'm so happy to have you as my friend!"

With all four girls untied they exited the cage.

"So, what happened to you girls?" Henry asked.

"We were ambushed." Celica said.

"Ninjas?"

"No. Two knights."

"Knights?"

"I think they work with Nohr." Hana said. "Kotaro claimed not to know them but he could be lying."

"I don't know." Celica replied. "He already admitted allying with Nohr. Why would he need to lie about that?"

"Good point…"

"Wait." Chrom looked around the empty caverns.

"What? Is something wrong?" Felicia asked.

"Does anyone else feel that? This sinister presence…"

"Yeah. It's like I'm being watched." Alm replied.

Henry looked at his friends. "It's probably just your-

"Watch out!" Saizo tackled Henry to the side just as a blade of wind flew by them, carving into the ground as It passed by.

"What the-

The captain then saw him. A knight in heavy black armor. He held a large sword and dawned a black cape.

"That's him!" Celica said. "He's one of the knights!"

"Gods no…" Chrom started to tremble.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"Not him…"

"You know this guy?" Subaki asked.

The knight's armor clanked heavily as he approached.

Chrom immediately drew Falchion. "Tom, Subaki, take the girls and go, we'll hold him off!"

"We're not leaving you behind!" the Pegasus knight insisted.

"Just go! We'll catch up!"

Subaki, Tom and the unarmed girls reluctantly went for the exit.

Chrom ran up to the knight and they clashed their weapons.

"You clearly know who I am." The knight said in a deep voice. "Is it foolishness or arrogance that commands you to fight me rather then run for your life?"

Saizo and Kaze appeared from behind the knight and threw shuriken at him. But the attacks did not even scratch his armor. Saizo stared in disbelief. "What?!"

"You two go as well!" Chrom said. "Ordinary attacks are useless against him!"

"…Very well. We'll wait at the exit." Kaze said before he and his brother disappeared.

The knight pushed Chrom's sword away and kicked him in the gut making him stumble back. He looked up to see his opponent's massive sword come towards him from above. Just before it could cleave through him, Alm blocked the attack. The knighted kicked him into Chrom bringing them both to the ground.

Henry came at him next with his rapier. He thrusted at him multiple times, but the knight effortlessly blocked every strike. "Impossible! How is he blocking me with that heavy thing using one hand?! And why dose this guy's fighting style seem…familiar?"

The knight then took a swing at Henry's chest, who was saved from the worst of it, by his armor but was still knocked over. "Pathetic. You have much yet to learn before you are ready to wield that sword. Nothing more than a waste of metal." The knight walked up to the downed captain. "Know your place."

Just as he swung down, Alm came in to block the attack with his sword. With the knight's sword on top of Alm's he swung it at him to decapitate the young emperor, but he ducked under the attack. Henry rolled away as Alm jumped back.

The knight swung his sword in circles over his head before swinging down, making a shockwave that went for Alm. The man was shocked at the sight alone. "That's one of Ike's attacks!" He jumped to the side. The wave slammed into the nearby wall making a hole into the rock.

Chrom and Alm came at him together but the knight blocked their swords and pushed them back. He then rushed at Chrom and swung viciously at him. It took all of the Exalt's strength just to block his blows.

"This is insane!" Henry said. "The three of us together can't keep up with him!"

Chrom jumped back to put some distance between him and the knight.

Suddenly they heard a loud boom. Looking up they saw chunks off the ceiling fall. Chrom ran away as the knight was buried in stone.

"What the-

Saizo suddenly appeared. "A trap I prepared of course. Thanks to you distracting him I was able to set it."

"Good work. He was a formidable opponent." Alm said. "We should leave."

The four men put their weapons away and walked. "The others?" Henry asked.

"Outside." Saizo replied. "Once we get there Kagero will tell us where lord Ryo-

They heard rumbling sound behind them. Turning around they saw the knight lift the rock he has under off him.

Henry could only gape. "Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me."

The knight effortlessly pushed to rock to the side. He thrusted his sword into the ground and an army of Faceless rose up.

"Great, can this get any worse?"

"I say let's not stick around and find out!" Alm replied.

"Agreed! Run!" Chrom said.

As they hurried out of the cave the hulking beasts rushed after them. The knight just stood there.

Outside everyone waited for their friends return. Celica, Hana and Felicia got their weapons back.

"They're taking a while." Kagero said. "Maybe I should go after them."

"Not you. You have yet to tell us where Prince Ryoma is." Robin said.

"This must be a formidable foe they're fighting." Marth said.

"What's he look like?" Dorothy asked.

"A knight in black armor." Hana said. "He had a crimson cape and-

"What?!" Ike walked up to the samurai. "Are you certain?"

"Uh…yeah. Come to think of it his sword kinda looks like yours. Only it was white instead of gold."

Ike stared in shock for a minute.

"Ike? What's wrong?" Roy asked.

"Wait here." Ike said as he turned towards the tunnel.

"Gangway, coming through!"

He stopped when he saw Henry, Chrom, Alm and Saizo running for the exit. Heavy stomping was heard behind them.

"Brother, now! Do it!"

Kaze threw a shrunken with a red tag at the top of the entrance.

Just as the Faceless were in sight the ceiling came down. One of them was buried alive, as Henry and the others barley got away in time. Looking back, the entrance was blocked by boulders.

"Yikes, that was close." Henry sighed.

"Where is he?" Ike asked.

"The knight? Still in there. Who was that, Chrom? Seemed like you knew something. His fighting style was similar to Ike's."

The mercenary turned to Chrom. "Was it him?"

The exalt was sitting on a rock catching his breath.

"I've read your saga in history…I've heard descriptions…it had to have been him."

"Who?" Takumi asked.

Ike turned to the cave. "The Black Knight."

Everyone only stared at Ike in astonishment.

"The…Black Knight? Isn't he the one who killed your father?" Tiger Lilly asked.

"The same. I should have guessed. Aldonte went missing and our enemy can raise the dead."

"Wait…is that the sword you lost this morning?" Alm asked. "The Black Knight stole it?"

"Well…maybe "stole" isn't the proper word. It was his. I took it after our last encounter."

"Now what?" John asked.

"We dig through this rubble. He and I have business."

"Ike, no, he has an army of Faceless waiting on the other side of those rocks!" Chrom ordered.

"And it doesn't help that our army is worn out from the battle." Robin said. "We should leave. We'll confront him later. But now's not the time."

Ike simply sheathed his sword. "Fine. Then we should go now. I know him. This won't hold him for long."

Everyone turned back and left the cave.

"Kagero, can you tell us where Ryoma is?" Takumi asked.

"When I left him, Lord Ryoma was on his way to Cheve, near the Nohrian border."

Saizo turned to her in surprise. "Cheve?!"

"Correct. The area is currently fighting against Nohrian forces. Apparently, the people could no longer take Nohrian oppression and have revolted. It is Lord Ryoma's objective to befriend the rebels and use them to cross into Nohr."

"Hrmph. Our lord has not lost his reckless habits, I see. We must locate him before anything happens."

"I can't believe he would dive into enemy territory like that to recruit a bunch of strangers." Tiger Lilly said. "It's crazy! Er, no offence."

Takumi turned to his brother. "Corrin, let's head to the port. We'll need a boat in order to reach Cheve."

"All right. We'd better hurry. We're going to need Ryoma's help. I don't know why, but I think he may know about the dragon Archduke Izana spoke of."

"That's one heck of a conclusion to leap to." John said.

"Well, we need all the help we can get." Celica said. "Besides, we don't have any other leads, so it wouldn't hurt to ask him."

Henry walked up to Ike. "Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

"What?"

"I want you to train me."

The mercenary turned to him in surprise. "Where's this coming from?"

"That fight with the Black Knight made me realize that I'm not much of a swordsman. If I'm gonna be of more use here I need to get stronger."

Ike simply smirked. "I respect your dedication. But if your looking for a easy time, I suggest you forget about it."

Henry smirked back. "Heh. Fine by me. If I thought you'd go easy on me, I'd never ask."

After a long walk towards the nearest port. Halfway there They decided to stop for the evening and returned to the Astral plain.

Corrin was sitting on a rock, looking at a small black box in his hand.

"Hey Corrin."

He noticed Takumi approach him.

"Hello Takumi."

The archer noticed the box.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Did Dorothy spread word on that to?" Corrin sighed.

"Sure did. Still mustering the courage to ask Azura?"

"Yeah."

Takumi sighed to himself.

"Look. I won't pretend to know what your going through. But you won't accomplish anything if you let fear get to you. Father always told us that if you're brave, you can be strong."

"Father…"

"The reason why you got that is because you want to get this done sooner rather than later, right?"

"Yeah…Thinking about what she said at Izumo had me thinking…If I don't do this soon, I might not have another chance. War is cruel."

"And your afraid it will take her from you."

"Yeah…"

"Well then don't let it happen. Protect her. Help her. Be there for her."

"What if I can't?"

"Then the rest of us will back you up."

Corrin turned to Takumi in surprise. He gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Takumi. I'm glad that I have you as a brother."

"I know."

The archer watched as Corrin got up and walked away.

"Me too."

"You are the oceans grey waves…"

Azura was singing by the same lake she always visited.

"Azura?"

The woman turned around to see Corrin with one hand behind his back.

"Hello. Corrin? Can I help you?"

"Well…you see…I've been thinking about what you said at Izumo. How war can take people away when you least expect it."

"Yes…?"

"I have something to ask. I know it's rather sudden…At first it was so, I would have done so before something could happen to you…But I'm not going to think that way anymore. I will keep you alive. No mater what."

"Corrin…"

"I guess the real reason why I'm asking this is…because I want to know now."

In the trees behind Corrin, Sakura and Takumi here hiding out of sight.

"What's he saying?" Sakura asked.

Corrin got on one knee and showed Azura the box, who had the most shocked expression, the Hoshidans have ever seen.

"I think you know." Takumi smiled.

Both of them waited in anticipation. Waiting for Azura's response.

Finally, Azura said something. Neither of them could tell what it was. But the figured it out by her smile and how Corrin took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.

Sakura smiled as she saw the now engaged couple embrace.

"I knew he could do it." Takumi smirked.

Corrin wrapped his arms around Azura and flew into the lake. Takumi and Sakura laughed as Azura shrieked as she tried to wrestle out of Corrin's grip at the surface of the water, before submerging.

Azura found herself laughing with her fiancé as he lifted her out of the water in his arms.

"I suppose I'll have to get used to this."

Corrin held her close. "Yeah. But you'll have all the time in the world."

The following day of Corrin's proposal, they held a small ceremony for him and Azura. And the next morning Hana and Subaki had given them an idea.

"A Deeprealm?" Corrin asked. "What's that?"

"It's where Subaki and I spent our honeymoon." Hana said. "Time moves very slowly in there."

"You two can spend a couple months there, and you'll only miss a couple days of the action." Subaki added."

Corrin turned to Azura.

"What do you think?"

"That…sounds rather nice." Azura replied.

"Then what are you waiting for? We'll look into finding us a ride to Cheve, while you guys take a well earned break."

"I'll go talk to Henry." Corrin replied.

"Oh, speaking of him." Hana said. "He wanted me to give these to you two."

She gave Corrin and Azura, two small tomes. No barley bigger than their hands.

"A book?" Corrin asked.

"Not just any book. The Professor just made these. He call's them Wireless Tomes after some kind of equipment in his world called Wireless."

"What does it do?" Azura asked.

Hana took a identical tome of her own. She flipped it to a specific page and held it close to her face.

"Lady Sakura? I just gave Lord Corrin and Lady Azura their Wireless Tomes. Wanna try calling them?"

Shortly after Hana put it away. Corrin then felt the tome in his hand warm up. Looking at it, he saw it glow blue. He opened it and noticed specific page was glowing red. Flipping over to it he could see his sister's face.

"B-Big brother?"

"Sakura? Is that you?"

"Y-yeas it's me! Henry has been giving these out to everyone! He said we can use them to talk to each other. Even if we're far away."

"That's amazing!"

"I hope it helps. I'd should go. Tiger Lilly wants my help with something."

"Right. Thank you." The image of Sakura faded from the page. "This is so cool! I can call Henry with this to, right?"

"That's right. Just flip to the page with his name on it and put your hand over it." Subaki replied. "It's in alphabetic order."

Corrin flipped backwards through the pages, until he found Henry's. He put his hand on it as instructed, and it glowed red. Suddenly the captain's face formed on the page.

"Got you Wireless Tome I see."

"Yeah. This thing's amazing!" We can discus the situation of the battle field even while apart!"

"That's right! Professor Carter got the idea from a helpful tool in our world. Anyway, do you need something, or are ya just testing it out?"

"Actually…"

And that's all for now. I know the battle with Ike and Corrin was totally one-sided and I know I'm going to get criticized for what I'm about to say. But I honestly think Ike may be the strongest protagonist in the series, due to being trained all his life and having the most life and death experiences.