Corrin had nearly drowned.

It was his fault entirely—everyone could agree on that. Being the type of person he was, he of course did not try to blame anyone. It was a simple mistake anyway. Water from the waves crashing against the dock had splashed onto the gangplank and caused Corrin to slip and fall into the water below.

He was not a very good swimmer. While he had been taught the very basics by Camilla when he was nearing the age of ten that was the only time he had ever practiced. He had never had to actually swim before that moment, so he was left flailing around in the icy cold water before a hand wrapped around his arm and began to pull him up. Whoever was helping him was struggling, but Corrin felt another hand grab his other arm. This time, he was successfully pulled up onto the dock.

Gasping for breath whilst coughing up seawater, Corrin began to relax upon feeling a gentle hand rub his back. Setsuna, no doubt. However, he was a little surprised to see just who had pulled him out from the water. Takumi stood before him, drying his arm with a towel (presumably provided by Felicia; she always seemed to be able to pull cleaning supplies from nowhere). Next to him was Kagero, who was simply using the scarf hanging from her neck to dry herself off.

"Th-thank you. Both of you," Corrin sputtered. Setsuna helped him to his feet and he began to shiver from the water soaking through his armor.

"Be more careful next time. You're not cold blooded, are you?" Takumi inquired as he handed Felicia back the towel. "We're going to need to warm you up. Hey, Rinkah."

"I've got it." Approaching the young prince casually, the Flame Tribe princess clapped her hands and began to rub them together as if she were warming them up. Corrin soon found that this was exactly what she was doing, as they burst into flames not moments later. She placed her hands on Corrin's armor and he nearly panicked, but to his surprise, he was not set on fire. "They won't ignite or anything, so don't worry about that. Just stay still for a second."

It did not take long for Corrin to warm up completely, and his now heated armor made him feel quite toasty. The prince smiled, now extremely comfortable.

"Thank you. I wasn't aware that you had magic like that."

Rinkah wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Magic? Don't make me laugh! Don't you know that those with the blood of the chief of any tribe are gifted with abilities like that?"

"All of them? I'm sorry, I assumed it was just the Ice Tribe. You see, Felicia here can do the same." Corrin gestured to his retainer, who grinned and produced a small flurry of snow in her hands before blowing it away. The wind blew the snow directly into Azama's face. While Felicia gasped and began to apologize, he simply laughed.

Rinkah squinted. "You're a princess of the Ice Tribe? I was not aware of that."

"Our little gang's just full of royalty, huh?" Setsuna said with a slight chuckle as she played with Corrin's hair. "What about you, Hayato? Are you royalty, too?"

The short diviner blushed, crossing his arms. "N-not by blood, but Fuga is my adopted father. I can't do what he can…b-but I do know wind magic!"

Scowling, Rinkah left Corrin's side and slapped Hayato on the back of his head. "Don't speak like that! Magic you learn from tomes is NOT the same as the gifts you receive at birth as the chief's offspring! Are you saying that any random mage with a knack for flames has abilities comparable to mine?"

"O-of course not, Rinkah!"

"That's what I thought!"

As the rest of the party began to chat among themselves, Kagero approached Corrin and Setsuna with a smile. "I'm glad you're alright, Corrin. It would have been a tragedy to lose our commander by a death as unfortunate as drowning. Tell me, do you know much of Cyrkensia's history?"

Corrin sheepishly smiled. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't. I haven't really had time to study up, what with the whole war thing and what-not." He glanced behind him at his aloof partner, who gave a small smile back. "What about you, Setsuna?"

"Well, the whole city used to be the capital of Nestra— the country—but Nestra doesn't exist anymore. It was conquered and subse…subseque—subsequently absorbed into Nohr. I think that happened…you're twenty, right? Then it would have been right before you were born. Did I say that right?"

"Yes, you did."

"Nice." Setsuna chuckled. "Anyway, the city itself is like, a huge tourist spot for rich people from other countries. Sure, the process of travelling to Nohr legally is a hassle, but they say it's worth it just to hear the singers in the opera house. Apparently they have reeeeal pretty voices, just like you and Azura."

Corrin blinked. "You think my singing voice is pretty?"

"I think everything about you is pretty."

Kagero could not help but snicker, hiding her face behind her large scarf. "You two remind me of Saizo and Orochi when they first got together. I am happy that you are happy. Now then, I—" The kunoichi interrupted herself, quickly grabbing hold of a dagger from her belt and taking a fighting stance. She turned to the left, facing directly towards a narrow alley between two buildings. "Everyone, stay on guard."

Upon noticing Kagero, the rest of the party took hold of their weapons quickly and prepared to attack. The fishermen and sailors nearby looked fearful, but their worries were quelled by the call of one of their own.

"It's just Kaden!" a sailor near the alley shouted. His peers sighed with relief and resumed their activities, confusing the Hoshidans greatly. To their surprise, instead of an assailant appearing from the alley like they suspected, they were met with quite the peculiar being.

This being appeared to be human at a glance, but closer inspection would reveal two perky, furry ears sprouting from beneath his shiny blonde head of hair. He wore a blue shirt and matching slacks, complete with sandals that did not look like they were made for running. He ran directly up to the army with no fear in his eyes, but instead a smile on his face—a smile that displayed his prominent canine teeth.

"Hey! You guys are human, right? You look Hoshidan, too. So that'd make you human Hoshidans!"

Corrin squinted. He was immediately confused as to what this person was inquiring, but upon receiving a glance from Azura, he knew that it was up to him to do the talking.

"Well, yes. We are both human and Hoshidan—for the most part. And you are…?"

"I'm a kitsune and I'm Kaden!" he said happily. Corrin felt relieved; he had read about Kitsune before. They were a tribe of people that were able to transform into foxes, or rather a tribe of foxes that were able to transform into people (scholars could never agree on which it was). They were native to Hoshido, so Corrin was baffled as to why there was one so far from home. "I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have!"

"What are you doing so far from Hoshido?" Azura inquired, ignoring Kaden's question. "I thought that kitsune never left their tribes."

"Yeah yeah, they don't. I haven't left, by the way, I'm just here returning a favor. See, I wandered off from my tribe a little while ago and some nice humans protected me from a couple of poachers, so I had to help them out with something. I asked some other people to help me out with returning that first favor, and then I owed them something, and the cycle continued until I ended up here! Now, can you help me or not?"

Takumi rolled his eyes, the bowstring and arrow of the Fujin Yumi dissipating. He was the last to put his weapon away. "I'm sorry, but we're on a mission here. I'm afraid we can't help you."

Corrin bit the inside of his cheek. "Actually, it depends on what the favor is. I'm sure we can spare a little bit of time. Ryoma isn't going anywhere, after all."

"That may be true, but I don't think that a baby is going to wait for us to get there to be born," Takumi replied through grit teeth. Oboro placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Hey now, relax. We probably have time to spare, don't fret too much over it, alright?" Oboro told him. He grumbled, shaking his head before speaking.

"Fine. No more than a few hours, alright?"

Corrin gave Takumi a warm smile. "Thank you, Takumi. Now then, Kaden, right? What is it that you need?"

"You'll help? Nice!" The kitsune turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth, calling back into the alley he had emerged from. "Hey, Layla, it's alright! These guys are friendly and they said they'll help!"

Moments later, Corrin was surprised to see a young woman exit the alley and step into the light. She was a frail little thing, her hands clasped together over her chest and a despaired expression on her face. Her pink hair was cut in a short bob and she wore elegant garbs that Corrin would expect to see on a Nohrian dancer, a lace veil, a white top with a gold trim, and her midsection as well as her arms were covered by a pink see-through fabric. The woman's cheeks were stained with tears and her lip was quivering.

"This is Layla," Kaden began. "Do you want to tell these guys what's up or should I?"

The girl sniffled and wiped her damp face with the back of her hand. "It's fine, I can explain. It's my mother—she's sick. I've just received a letter telling me that her life could come to an end any day now…she lives in a village that is rather far from here, and I'll have to leave today if I want to make it within three days. I know that she might live a bit longer, but I don't want to risk it!"

Corrin nodded, his face having grown dark. "I'm sorry, that must be horrible. Is it transportation you want? I'm not sure that my party and I will be able to escort you, but I am a prince. I could probably pull some strings and have a caravan take you to where you need to be? However, we are in Nohr."

"Prince?" Layla parroted. She took a step forward to get a closer look at the party before gasping, covering her mouth with her hands. "Prince Takumi! And Princesses Hinoka and Sakura. Then you must be…Corrin! Oh no no no!" She shook her head and moved her hands up to cover her face, then turning around. "I can't bother you over something like this! I'll find another way!"

"Oh, don't let that get in the way!" Corrin pleaded. "Please, just tell me what the problem is and I'll see if there's anything we can do to help."

Slowly, Layla uncovered her face and faced the party once again, her lip quivering. "I…I would leave today, but I have a concert this even for King Garon that I can't get out of, and…"

Layla's voice seemed to fade to nothing as Corrin's heart sank. He could hear the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his chest, as loud as a mallet banging against a drum. He felt like he was sinking to the bottom of a murky lake, his vision becoming cloudier by the moment before eventually fading to black.

Garon was here.

"Corrin. Corrin!"

The young prince was snapped out of his daze by his younger brother shaking his shoulder, looking into his eyes with a fire. "You heard that, right? Garon is in Cyrkensia! We could take him out right now!"

"I'm not sure that that's a good idea, Takumi…" Kagero began. "At least, without preparation. Garon will undoubtedly be accompanied by bodyguards and the like. We won't be able to get to him easily."

"H-he always requests a performance from me particularly. He seems to have grown fond of my voice…he'll be told for sure if I'm not available, so I can't leave. If he finds out that I'm not there, there's no telling what he'd do to the organizers!"

Layla was right. Garon was always unpredictable when he was told "no". Sometimes he'd exile the person responsible, other times he'd have them executed, and he would seldom bestow upon them the privilege of being killed by the king himself. Corrin thought about what their course of action should be, but before he could pitch an idea, the woman who was essentially his second in command spoke up.

"I could perform in your stead."

Everyone looked to Azura with a confused expression, all except Azama. The wise sage knew immediately what her plan was and laughed. "Oh, right you are, Azura! How simple minded of you all to not know what she's suggesting."

Pouting, Felicia crossed her arms. "Well, then you tell us! They don't look anything like each other, so how could she possibly do that!"

"If we're going to lug around that worm we call a mage, we may as well get some use out of him. Did you forget already how we came across him? He's skilled in illusion magic. He could easily make Azura appear to be Layla, could he not?"

"I didn't know that! I wasn't there when you guys got him!"

"Well, you never asked either."

Azura cut their debate short. "You're right, Azama. Zola, is that something that you could do?"

The mousy mage furrowed his brow, scratching at the back of his hand. "I…I don't know. If Garon found out, I'd be killed on the spot."

His keeper leaned in next to his ear and spoke in a hushed tone. "I promise you, if you don't at least try, you won't ever get to see Garon again in the first place."

Immediately, a shudder ran down Zola's spine. He'd grown terrified of Hinoka over the last few days and was not interested in invoking her wrath even further. With a moan of acceptance, her nodded his head and cast his gaze down onto the dirt.

"Ugh…to help kill the king of my home country. It's…dishonorable."

Corrin approached the mage and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, making him look up at the young prince. He stared at him with pleading eyes. "Please, Zola. You must understand that we're only trying to end the war as quickly and peacefully as possible. I'm sure that once Garon is dead, Xander will ascend to the throne and will be much more open to negotiations. He's a kind hearted man."

"Assuming he survives the rest of the war…" Hinata mumbled, uncomfortably rubbing his arm.

Reluctantly, Zola nodded his head, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. "Damn it all. I suppose I can't argue with that…fine, I'll do it. But I need you to understand the way my magic works." He stood up straight and took a deep breath, readying himself to cast a spell. After calling out the incantation, there was a puff of black smoke and poof , he was suddenly a perfect copy of Princess Hinoka herself.

"When transforming myself, I copy everything but the brain. Blood type, internal injuries, you name it. This includes vocal chords," Zola said in Hinoka's signature raspy voice. "However, when I cast the spell on others, I can only copy what is immediately apparent. Height, weight and the like. Azura will still sound like herself, but only look like Layla here."

Hinoka's face burned as red as her hair. "Wh-why'd you choose me?! You insolent, vile, perverted, good for nothing—" The princess hurled insults and expletives at Zola as she struck him in the back and sides several times with her fists. He cried out in pain with each blow and protected his head with his arms, struggling to cast the spell once more. Once he did, he was once again consumed by smoke that cleared and revealed his true form.

Stifling a laugh, Azura put her hand to her chin and nodded. "I understand. I'm not concerned, however. As long as I make my performance believable, it'll work out fine."

"So, let's go over the plan from the start, yeah?" Orochi suggested, resting her chin on the back of her hand. "We have to make sure everyone knows what we're doing."

"Right, of course," Corrin replied with a nod. "Layla, about how long do we have until this happens?"

"Well, the performance is scheduled for nine, so...six or so hours."

A smile made its way onto Corrin's face and he glanced back at the ferry they arrived on. It was sailing away and already quite a distance from the dock. The prince gave a determined sigh and eyed the alley that Layla and Kaden had emerged from, looking to open the portal to the Deeprealms.

"Eight hours…" he said in a whisper. "That's plenty of time."


Kamui had only ever been to an opera house once before in her life.

She was eight years old at the time, and after a conversation over dinner about how the twins had never seen a performance of any sort, Garon promptly took the both of them to the highest regarded opera house in all of Nohr, called the Vasterius Opera House—named for the city in which it was located. She was able to recall only a few things from the trip. She remembered that Corrin was completely enamored by the woman singing, she remembered that the woman's voice was more soprano than she ever thought someone's voice could be, and she remembered that the woman was absolutely stunning.

The blurred memory of the event was a pleasant one, but not significant enough for Kamui to be excited about attending a performance. According to the advertisements she had seen on the carriage ride through Cyrkensia, there was to be only three performances and one of the singers was to sing for over an hour without a break. Her voice would undoubtedly be shot well into the performance and that would muddle the whole experience. Kamui thought that the event was poorly planned and questioned why this particular opera house was so renowned.

While it did sadden her a bit, it made sense that her entire squadron wasn't permitted to sit up in the balcony with her and her family. High above the stage, Kamui sat behind her father and looked down over his head. Jakob and Elise were on either side of her while Camilla was the only one to sit by Garon's side, occasionally glancing back to wave to her little sisters as they waited for the show to begin.

The Nohrian forces weren't far behind, of course. Some had chosen to sit in the standard ground level seats while others had opted to simply wait nearby. While they were not anticipating an attack, they were still at war. If the king were to go out in public, he had to be protected. That is why as Kamui listened to Garon and Camilla converse about the velvet carpeting of the stage, she traced her finger along the indentations of the Yato's hilt.

The opera house itself was a unique one. The seats of course ranged from being placed at ground level to several meters in the air and surrounded the stage on all but one side. The stage itself was really just a small portion of the opera house floor, the rest being a colossal pool of water filled with several boats of varying sizes. Kamui wondered which architect came up with that idea, but came to the conclusion that they were only there because they were aesthetically pleasing.

"Hey, Kamui!" Elise whispered, leaning over to her sister and poking her arm. "If you think that one of the ladies performing is cute, then you should go see them after the show! Who knows what might happen?"

Kamui stifled a small smile while Elise giggled to herself. "Elise, I'm in my armor. I'm not exactly the most stunning woman in the world right now. I'm sure I'd just intimidate them."

"That's not true! You're beautiful no matter what you wear!"

"I concur," Jakob added. "I believe that you'd be able to steal the heart of any man or woman if you pleased."

With a blushing face, Kamui waved their comments off. "You flatter me far too much, really. I do appreciate the compliments, though."

Suddenly, the lights began to dim and Camilla glanced back at Kamui, an excited smile on her face. Kamui set her sword down at her side and adjusted her cape, leaning back and getting comfortable in her seat. She made a mental note to figure out a better design for her cape. It had a pouch on the interior where she could store a tome, but outside of combat, it just got in the way.

The balcony became cast in shadow as the stage was bathed in spotlight, illuminating the center of the opera house for all to see. From the tunnel in the back emerged a tall, handsome man with a well defined jawline and burgundy hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a seemingly expensive black and red checkered suit and walked to the center of the stage with his hands behind his back. He cleared his throat and produced a glowing baton from inside his jacket and spoke directly into it, his voice magically resonating throughout the opera house.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Cyrkensia Opera House!" He paused for applause and cheers, then resumed speaking when it died down. "I am your host for the evening, Matoi. Unfortunately, the usual announcer for this fine establishment fell suddenly ill, and so I had to step in to fill the role."

Little did the audience know, the actual host—a middle aged man with a baritone voice—was currently in a deep slumber courtesy of Hoshido's finest, Orochi. In the dressing room of the opera house, she kept a close eye on him with Felicia and Azama, kneeling down at his side as he snored loudly.

"Man, this one's a heavy sleeper. The spell isn't supposed to last this long."

"Your typical slugabed," Azama added with a sigh. "Oh, how I loathe those afflicted by sloth."

Crouching on the catwalk were Corrin and Kagero. Kaze and Setsuna were also positioned high above the ground, but on the opposite side. Kaze looked to his commander for the signal and Corrin held up two fingers, letting him know that there was little time until they struck.

"You look troubled," Kagero told him, staring intently at his face. "Could it be that you're scared of heights?"

"Do I?" The young prince shook his head and rubbed his hands on his face, then letting out a deep breath. "Sorry about that. I'm not scared of heights, but…Garon. He was my father up until a few weeks ago, and I haven't seen him since. Looking at him now…it's a lot."

Kagero turned her head to match Corrin's gaze. Sure enough, the king of Nohr was sitting on the uppermost balcony, front and center. Every row of seats behind him was cast in shadow so dark that they couldn't see a thing, and even the king himself was slightly obscured by the darkness. His expression was steadfast and stoic, just as she had seen in all the portraits. Kagero had of course never seen the king in person before, and now that she was this close to him, she could practically feel the menacing aura radiating from his being.

"I understand," she said with a nod. "Separating oneself from the person they once considered family cannot be easy. I can't say that I can empathize with how you must feel, but I know that you must be hurting."

Corrin's face wavered from frowning to smiling before settling on a gentle grin. "Thank you, Kagero. I appreciate that more than you could know." Kagero winced at the same time he said her name and his face returned to a frown, but this time it was one of concern. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

"Well, no, it's just that…" The kunoichi stared down at the water below as she pursed her lips, a red tint appearing on her cheeks. "I apologize for bringing this up at such a poor time, but…you've been mispronouncing my name."

Corrin blinked. There were no words said for several moments, the only sounds being the low humming of the light fixtures and Subaki's opening announcements from below. All he could bring himself to say was "What".

"I know you're not used to Hoshidan as a language, so I don't fault you, but it has been bothering me recently. I assumed you would have picked up the way others were saying it, but I suppose not. You've been saying Kagero with a long 'e' while also putting emphasis on the 'ge'. It's supposed to be a soft 'e' with emphasis on the 'Ka'. KAH-gero."

Corrin felt the blood rushing to his face as Kagero explained, biting her lip when she finished. "I…Gods, I'm sorry. I don't know how I didn't notice that earlier. You must think I'm a fool." He covered his face in his hands and bent forward even more than he already was, absolutely mortified.

"No no no, it's fine! It was a simple mistake! You weren't too off either, so I promise you that I take no offense!" Kagero rubbed his back in reassurance, only stopping when Subaki finished his speech and retreated back through the tunnel, the crowd erupting into cheers as the star of the show emerged from the same tunnel.

To anyone who had not been specifically chosen by Zola's spell, they saw Layla, who by now had already left to go see her mother. To those who were chosen, however, they saw Azura standing there in all her glory. Despite the fact that she was disguised, she had insisted that she wear a specific outfit that she had Lilith make for the occasion. It was practically identical to what she usually wore, but the color scheme was an indigo and deep purple as opposed to her usual light blue and weight. In addition to this, she wore a black nylon veil that concealed her face from below her eyes, embroidered with gold patterns.

Kagero nodded to Corrin once the music started up, a simple bongo beat with added tambourine. Corrin held up four fingers vertically then turned them so that they were horizontal, giving Kaze and Setsuna the previously agreed upon signal. Kagero took a single shuriken from her pouch as Azura began to sing, the plan finally being set into motion.

" Embrace the dark, " Azura began, holding both hands up to frame her face. From the air, she drew droplets of water that surrounded her arm. " You call a home. Gaze upon an empty white throne. A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise. "

As the bagpipes began to come in, Azura's dancing became more erratic, implementing sudden turning of her hips as well as stomping her bare feet on the ground. It was a dominant yet somehow serene gesture, one that enthralled Corrin and caused him to stare. He snapped himself out of the trance, reminding himself that he had work to do.

" Sing with me a song of conquest and fate, the black pillar cracks beneath its weight, " Azura continued, her powerful voice resonating throughout the building. As she danced, her arms spiraling and twisting around, more and more water appeared around her. She seemed to be drawing the moisture from the air and using it to add to her dance, something that Kamui found to be quite intriguing. What she also found intriguing were the slight grunts and groans she was hearing from the crowd.

It was not everyone—not by a long shot—but Kamui's sensitive ears picked up several individuals who appeared to be quite agitated by the singer's song. Even her father was letting out groans of increasing discomfort. Camilla put her hand on his shoulder to make sure that he was feeling alright, but he roughly pulled away from her.

" Night breaks through the day! " Azura called, raising her arms in the air. The water spiraled around her in a cone—ending at her fingertips—before falling down and spiraling outward across the entire opera house. Dense strips of water covered the stage, splashing several audience members in the front row as they called out in shock.

Azura's pendant glowed intensely and levitated off of her. The songstress smiled under her veil as she danced, placing her hand over her hip as she stepped to the side, pirouetting before cupping her hands over her chest. " Hard as a stone, lost in thoughts, all alone. "

Suddenly, the king doubled over and fell out of his chair, clutching at his chest. "Father!" Camilla called, kneeling down to his side as he cried out in pain.

In one section of the audience stands, Hayato stood up and called out an incantation from his tome, gripping his wrist tightly and aiming at the ground. Wind began to come directly from his hand with the force of a small tornado and blew his clothes and hair up, forcing those in the stands to either flee or be blown away. In another section, Saizo stuck a shuriken in the rafters which promptly exploded, making all the spectators in the area run away screaming. No one was caught in the flames of Saizo's explosions, though a few were surely trampled as everyone rushed to escape.

Once Azura stopped dancing, Corrin knew that it was his time to strike. His red eyes glinted and tore his cape off, sprouting draconic white wings from his back. Unlike Kamui's, Corrin's were large and easily able to wrap around him completely. After nodding at Kagero, he kicked off the catwalk and promptly began to glide towards the balcony, his Yato in hand and a fire in his eyes.

"GARON!" he shouted as he soared at an increasing speed towards the king, ready to strike. He saw the man on his knees, weakened by Azura's song, and smiled. Finally…finally this was all coming to an end. The war would be over, no one else would have to die, and he would have avenged his mother and father. "Your retribution comes NOW!"

Time seemed to slow down as he reached the railing of the balcony and drew his sword back, aiming directly for Garon. But then he saw Camilla. He saw his elder sister with one hand on her father's back and the other on her chest, bearing a look of complete shock as she watched her brother fly at her father with murderous intent. He wavered briefly, but knew that there was no time for mistakes now. If he failed, he may never get the opportunity again.

That was when he saw Elise, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. His little sister…was he really about to murder a little girl's father right before her eyes? He had to. It was his duty to both kingdoms.

I'm so sorry, Elise , he thought to himself as he focused on the Nohrian king. At this point, all he needed to do was swing his arms upwards and strike, and his sword would cut right into Garon. This man…this man had caused so much senseless death over the years. So much pain for Corrin. So much pain for Hoshido and so much pain for Nohr. It was only fitting that the boy he raised as his own would be the one to end his life.

Time really did seem to freeze when he swung his sword and only made contact with another.

His momentum came to a halt and he nearly flipped forward and crashed into the seats. Stepping out of the shadows and blocking Corrin's Yato with her own was Princess Kamui herself. Veins bulged in her hands from gripping her sword's hilt and rage burned in her eyes as she bared her sharp, beastlike canine teeth.

The twins locked eyes—Kamui's fierce, determined; Corrin's shocked and terrorized. It had been weeks since they had last seen each other, and Kamui's words echoed in Corrin's head.

It was your sword.

Tightening her muscles, Kamui let out a cry of effort and forced Corrin back when she pushed her sword forward, sending the boy spinning through the air. He wasn't at all used to flying, so he struggled to find his balance while frantically flapping his wings.

"C-Corrin!" Elise shouted, pointing a trembling finger. "Kamui, it's Corrin!"

"Jakob, Elise! Get back with the others!"

"But—"

"NOW!" Kamui barked. Jakob took the hand of Nohr's youngest princess and ran away, Elise calling out for her brother. "Camilla, I need you to get Father out of here. Quickly. Can you do that?"

Camilla struggled to stand as she slung the large man over her shoulder, then nodding to Kamui. "Yes, I can." She began to walk as fast as she could towards the exit before turning her head to meet her sister's eyes. "Kamui, darling, please…don't hurt him."

Once Camilla was out of sight, Kamui focused her attention back on her brother who had just barely managed to catch himself in the air, flapping his wings at a steady pace. "Corrin."

"Kamui," Corrin breathed. "It's…it's been a while."

"This is despicable," Kamui spat. "You attack during a crowded event? You claim to be merciful, but do you know how many people must have been hurt in the panic alone? And gods, you were going to kill Father right in front of Elise…what kind of man are you?"

"A man who wishes for peace," Corrin responded as he lowered his arms. "My only goal here is to—"

Kamui did not let Corrin finish. She took two large strides forward before kicking off of the railing and soaring through the air towards Corrin. She managed to wrap her legs around his waist and once her weight was fully on him, he fell like a rock.

As they fell towards the water, Kamui managed to shakily sheathe the Yato. It was like she was trying to thread the head of a needle while riding a pegasus, but she managed to succeed with little effort. She raised her fist in the air and brought it down once on Corrin's face, immediately drawing blood from his mouth.

At the last second, Corrin managed to throw his Yato onto the stage right before he plummeted into the water. Now that they were submerged, the young prince could better fight with his sister. She wrapped her hands around his neck and squeezed, but was flipped over and shoved off. Bubbles of air came from her mouth as she emptied her lungs, then grabbing her dragonstone and becoming engulfed in its glowing green light.

Kamui surfaced from the water and roared, sending Corrin flying through the air as she flicked her neck. He had been holding onto her horns, but was not strong enough to maintain his grip. He landed with a dull thud and breathed heavily, struggling to regain his breath. Next to him, a large man landed and splattered across the stage, blood pooling under the corpse. His throat was slit. Corrin looked up and saw Kaze up in the catwalk fighting a group of oncoming Nohrian soldiers that were donning the standard uniform. Of course. Of course Nohrian troops were stationed here. Why would the king travel without ample protection?

In addition to the Nohrian troops, Kamui's own soldiers were also apparently present. Corrin caught a glimpse of Hana crossing swords with a woman with pink and blue hair as well as Hinata rushing towards an archer crouching in the corner. Turning his attention back to his sister, Corrin's eyes widened as he saw her back in her human form, stomping towards him with her arms fully ablaze.

"I promise you, Corrin, your betrayal will not go unpunished," she said as she encroached on her brother, who slowly rose to his feet. "I'm going to bring you back to Nohr and you'll be reprimanded justly. And if that doesn't happen…I'll kill you myself."

The Nohrian princess swung her arm upward and a crescent of flames shot towards Corrin, threatening to burn him right then and there. Luckily for him, water from the pool surrounding them rose into the air and rushed right in front of him, forming a wall on which the fiery crescent fizzled out upon when it made contact.

Fully standing up and looking to his right, Corrin saw that Azura had joined him, Zola's illusion now dispelled. She held her lance in one hand and held the other to the side. When she lowered it, the water fell onto the velvet carpet.

"Nice trick," Kamui said through gritted teeth. "I promise you that I've got a few of my own, though."

Swinging her arms frantically, Kamui sent attack after attack at the two. Aqua blocked as much as she could with the water from the pool, but several shots got by her and crashed into the wall. Corrin once again spread his wings and took to the air, flying only a short distance behind Kamui to retrieve his sword. Kamui spun around with her arms extended, sending flames at both Corrin and Azura before the fire on her arms burned out.

"Damn it," she muttered as she stood up straight. She balled her fist and then extended her fingers, revealing them to be encased in sharp claws of ice. Azura approached her from behind and she quickly pivoted on her heel, deflecting the attack with a slash of her own.

While Azura recovered, Kamui turned around once more and slashed down at Corrin, who had been preparing for an attack from behind. She caught him on the cheek and drew blood, three red slashes appearing on his face.

Clenching her fists again, the ice on Kamui's fingers extended down across the back of her hands and a little past her wrists, giving her makeshift gauntlets. She punched high and landed a hit directly onto Corrin's nose before spinning around to backhand Azura and knock her to the ground.

"Looks like Leo's done his job," Corrin said as he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand.

"Wrong. This is all me."

Corrin scoffed and shook his head. "So you're still as independent as ever, I see. Never relying on anyone but yourself…I'm not like you, Sister. I never was."

Kamui felt cold steel press against her neck and she froze, the ice on her fists shattering. "Don't move a muscle," Kagero said, grabbing Kamui's arm and twisting it behind her back. The princess winced, forcing herself not to lurch forward.

"Ninja…of course. They're cowards, always waiting in the shadows to strike. Too weak to fight head on." Kamui grit her teeth, staring Corrin down. "Good to know that this is the company you keep, Brother ," she said with poison in her voice.

Corrin ignored her, instead opting to help Azura to her feet. "Thank you, Kagero. I knew that I could count on you."

The prince blessed his foresight. While they were planning the attack, Corrin had told Kagero that if anyone were to get the upper hand on him, she was to appear behind them and hold her dagger to their throat. Due to ninjas' ability to practically teleport short distances, she was able to make it from the catwalk to the stage in an instant.

"Azura," Kamui started with a smirk. "I haven't seen you since I left Hoshido. Tell me, how's Corrin been treating you? Is he a fine leader?"

"He's great," Azura responded with a hint of aggression in her tone. "Kamui, what you did at the border was a mistake. All you have succeeded in doing is prolonging the war even further and supporting a corrupt king. What say you to that?"

For a moment, Kamui's smug smirk faltered. No…no, she couldn't let Azura get to her. She was the enemy. Corrin was the enemy.

"I say that I chose to fight with my family. They raised me and have been there for me for…as long as I can remember. I refused to be a traitor like you."

Corrin balled his fist and took a deep breath through his nose. If siding with Hoshido made him a traitor, then so be it. He would rather be considered a traitor than fight in the name of an unjust cause. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Kagero suddenly cried out in agonizing pain and fell to the ground, clutching her neck. From between her fingers, Corrin could see a long, thin metal rod. With his eyes wide and breath shaking, he spotted a single silver haired archer in the distance with a sly smile on his face, Hinata's unconscious body lying on the ground next to him.

"KAGE—" Corrin's shout was interrupted by his sister's foot slamming into his jaw—she was always good at kicking high. He twisted in the air and landed on his side before sliding across the floor.

The sounds of Kagero choking on her own blood and gasping for air drove Corrin to recover immediately, springing to his feet in an instant. "Azura, get her to Sakura! Now!"

"Right!" Azura helped Kagero to her feet as tears filled the ninja's eyes. She walked as fast as she could while hunched over and followed Azura's lead, stepping onto the water. Both women stood on the liquid surface while Azura controlled it to allow them to ride a wave to the dinghy that Sakura was currently on, tending to an injury that Hinoka had sustained.

Panting, Kamui pointed a finger towards Azura and Kagero. "Has she been able to do that since before we met her? Or is that a new development?"

"It's the first time I'm seeing it." Corrin kept his eyes trained on his sister's hand while she drew her weapon from its sheath. "We're doing this, huh? Just the two of us?"

Kamui nodded, squinting her eyes and pointing her Yato at Corrin. "You had better hope that all that sparring when we were younger has taught you something. If not, then may the gods have mercy on your soul."

And thus, the duel began. Corrin took the initiative by spreading his wings and giving one powerful flap, kicking into the air and flying towards his sister. Kamui blocked his diagonal slash with the flat end of her blade and he flipped onto the ground, swinging his blade low as he knelt into a crouch. She jumped back and formed her arm into a lance, stabbing at the spot where Corrin would be had he not spread his wings once again and used them to propel himself back. In response, Kamui engulfed her hand in flame and lobbed a ball of flames towards him. Corrin wrapped his wings around his body to protect himself, the flames disappearing into the air upon hitting the hard scales.

Corrin thought that for using his wings combatively for the first time, he was doing quite well. He had taken around an hour earlier that day to have Azura coach him in quickly shifting between having them out and pulling them back in as well as using them to glide. He crashed into the grass a few times after jumping off the top of a tall tree, but eventually he was able to keep himself in the air. He found it more difficult to get himself in the air from a standing position, though soon came to discover that it was easier if he kicked into the air and started flapping his wings then.

As for Kamui, she had been experimenting with new ways to use the channeled elemental tomes that she was studying. These tomes allowed her to harness an element and use it however she desired for a short period of time, whether it be fire, ice, or lightning. According to Camilla—who dabbled in the arcane—Kamui had quite a knack for freeform spellcasting. After reading these specific tomes for so long and so intently, she no longer needed to even have them on her person in order to use them.

Corrin took several fast, long strides to quickly close the distance between him and his opponent, but Kamui had been anticipating this. With all of her strength, she slammed the Yato's blade into Corrin's armor and knocked him to the side. The weapon's edge left a deep cut in the metal, but the blade remained as sharp as ever. Corrin recovered quickly, spinning on his hands before coming back down onto his feet.

"All that flair will be the death of you!" Kamui shouted before bringing down her Yato. Corrin knew that he couldn't block it—Kamui was far too strong for that. Instead, he quickly grabbed his dragonstone and transformed as fast as he could. Instead of cutting straight down the middle of Corrin's skull, her blade harmlessly slid down the side of his long, scaled neck.

With a roar, Corrin whipped his tail before him and hit Kamui directly in the chest, sending her flying back and sliding across the carpet. She rolled back into a crouching stance, running forward before jumping in the air and taking hold of her own dragonstone, emerging as a fully formed draconic beast.

There were several noticeable differences between the twins' draconian states. The most immediately apparent difference was that Corrin's wings were much larger and had a blue underside, whereas Kamui's were a pure white. Kamui's horns were longer and more twisted while Corrin's were much simpler. Lastly, the shade of blue on Kamui's underbelly, neck, and the top of her head was several shades lighter than Corrin's, being more akin to the blue of Peri's hair than the blue of her cape.

Kamui raked her claws across her brother's neck and made him cry out in pain. Even through the throbbing sensation spreading throughout that part of his body, Corrin slammed his neck into Kamui's own and threw her off balance. Using this to his advantage, he jabbed forward with his horns extended, stabbing at the somewhat smaller monster before him.

Kamui used her own horns in defense and they clashed, becoming entangled as both combatants pushed as hard as they could. She was reminded of the pictures of male deer fighting in the old animal encyclopedias she used to look through, using their antlers to establish dominance.

In the midst of their struggle, Kamui stumbled forward as she suddenly found herself pushing against nothing. Looking up, she saw Corrin falling in the air—with his sword in hand no less—and onto her neck. She took note of the fact that he transformed while holding the Yato and changed back with it still in hand.

Corrin raised his Yato in the air and tightly squeezed his thighs around Kamui's neck to keep himself from getting thrown off, preparing to stab down. Just as he had done to her to avoid an attack, she changed forms at the last second. Corrin sprouted his wings and glided down to the ground where Kamui was standing, an angered look on her face. She was breathing heavily, as was he.

"You should make good use of the advantage you have with those wings of yours," Kamui said, slowly starting to walk to her right while Corrin began to inch to the left. "You know you won't be able to best me on the ground."

Corrin scoffed. "So that you have a bigger target to hit when I fly by? I'll pass, thanks."

"Maybe you'll be easier to hit, sure, but you'd have the altitude advantage as well as the agility advantage. I'm only trying to help you become a better fighter, Corrin." Kamui looked past Corrin as they moved in a circle and scanned the area, picking out the faces she recognized. "...I see Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura. Tell me, where is Ryoma?"

Suddenly, Corrin found the tension leaving his body. They were in the middle of a battlefield and pointing their swords at each other, and yet he could swear that for a moment, Kamui seemed…vulnerable. But he couldn't falter, not now.

"You're the enemy. I have no reason to tell you that."

Kamui felt a tinge of pain in her heart and winced. "While that may be true, I…I have a right to know where my—"

"Your what?" Corrin spat. "Your brother? Please. Don't tell me that's the kind of tactic you're resorting to." He tensed his muscles once more and straightened out his arm, taking a step forward towards her. "I know you, Kamui, and you know me. What, did you think I'd lower my guard if you started getting sentimental? I'm not that stupid."

With her eyes thinned, Kamui's legs moved her forward on their own. In truth, that wasn't her plan at all. She genuinely wished to know the whereabouts of Hoshido's high prince. Any general would want to know where their enemy was at any given time, but she couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason why she'd asked.

"No, you're not." Kamui sighed and closed her eyes, hanging her head low. Corrin was surprised; she'd taken her eyes off of her opponent in a fight. In fact, her guard seemed to be completely down. He could easily sprout his wings and close the distance between them in only one or two seconds and could maybe even land a fatal blow. What kind of game was she playing here?

"Corrin," she began, lowering her sword arm. "You have to realize that I don't hate you. What you did at the border was…unforgivable. You betrayed your country as well as your family for strangers who barely knew you, and that can't go unpunished." She looked up with sad eyes, gritting her teeth as she stared at him. Her knuckles went white from the tight grip on her sword's hilt. "But you're still my brother. I promise that if you just surrender peacefully and come home with us, Xander, Leo, Elise, Camilla and I will do everything in our power to give you the lightest punishment possible. If Father wants to kill you himself, then…well, I suppose we'll just have to fight him."

The young prince stared at his sister with wide eyes. This…this had to have been a trick. Nohr's way of war was all centered around complete and utter conquest as well as unconditional surrender. They employed underhanded tactics to gain the advantage—just as they had done with Sumeragi on the day the twins were stolen—and showed no remorse for it. Kamui was more than likely just emulating her Nohrian upbringing.

And yet, she seemed genuine. Corrin took a moment to wonder if the siblings he had grown up with over the years would truly let him be killed. Surely they wouldn't; Elise would rather die than have the same happen to any of her siblings. Camilla adored him far too much. Leo, while often cold, could be quite compassionate when it came to his family. And Xander…he was always willing to do what had to be done, but Corrin figured that he cared more about his little brother than his duty to his country.

"Even if you were telling the truth, I'm not the only one I care about," Corrin responded. "Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, Ryoma, everyone. They'd likely all be executed. If you think I'd let that happen, then you don't—"

"I'll do what I can. Corrin, I just want this to be over." Kamui's voice wavered and she raised her sword arm before slipping the Yato into its sheath. "Come now. You said you're not stupid, so prove it. Do you truly believe that Hoshido could possibly stand up to the forces of Nohr? We're a militaristic country; Hoshido is all about art and agriculture."

"I don't care!" Corrin shouted, his voice overtaking the shouting and sounds of metal clashing against metal. Battlefields were loud, but the young dragons' sensitive ears allowed them to focus on each other's voices. Kamui winced upon hearing Corrin's shouting, much to her surprise. Her Corrin had actually managed to startle her. "I refuse to give in just because the odds aren't in my favor! Look around you, Kamui! These are my soldiers, my friends. I have faith in them."

Kamui felt her heart sink. All she had wanted was to end this peacefully and to help Corrin and his friends. This could just be a rebellious phase he had that they could look back on and laugh about when they were old, but here he was being difficult. With a grim expression, she placed her hand back on the Yato's hilt.

"So be it, then."

Before she could draw her sword once again, Kamui was abruptly slammed into and knocked to the ground by something incredibly hard. She had the wind knocked out of her and her face was burned by sliding across the carpet. With an angered expression, she sat up only to see the same pair of candy colored pigtails that she had grown to know.

"PERI!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Peri apologized profusely, stumbling to her feet and pulling Kamui up. "She came out of nowhere!"

Looking past Peri, Kamui saw the same woman who had a dagger to her throat minutes before now wielding a long katana. She was apparently quite angered over receiving an arrow in her neck, as her face was now one of fury and rage.

"Kagero, you—"

"Behind you!" Kagero warned. Corrin whipped his head around and just barely avoided a spear through his chest, leaning back and allowing it to go right over him. He placed his hands on the floor and flipped back, coming face to face with his assailant. His breath left his body when he recognized just who had attacked him.

"Si…Silas."

The knight's expression was a mix of determination and sadness. He was without a doubt intent on impaling the boy just then, but he did not look happy about it. "I'm sorry, old friend. I wish we didn't have to reunite like this."

Corrin remembered that Silas had been forced into knighthood for taking Corrin and Kamui away from the castle, but for him to end up under Kamui's direct command was not something that he anticipated even slightly. He also did not anticipate a dagger whizzing past his face and towards Kamui, only to be deflected by the girl called Peri and her sword.

Kamui's expression darkened further as she saw the pink haired woman emerge from behind Silas.

"Oh, I should have attacked this guy, shouldn't have I? I'm sorry, Corrin!"

Of course. Of course Felicia ran off to join Corrin in his efforts against Nohr. She never did display much loyalty to Garon, but was always extremely attached to Corrin. Kamui cursed herself for not coming to that conclusion sooner.

Silas jumped forward and rolled over to Peri and Kamui's side while Kagero vanished in a puff of smoke, appearing next to Corrin and Felicia. "Felicia!" Silas exclaimed. "Oh no, not you, too…"

"Silas!" The maid gasped her eyes wide. "Wh-what are you doing here? Last I heard, you were banished!"

"He became a knight," Kamui told her through grit teeth, "and now he's fighting for his country, unlike the both of you."

"Yeah! You guys are traitors!" Peri raised her sword in the air, eager to return to combat. "Treason! Treason!"

"It is better to fight for what you believe in rather than what your homeland does," Kagero added. "I have sworn loyalty to my liege and would follow him to the ends of the Earth, but if his heart were to darken and corrupted…well. It would be untrue to myself to not at the very least speak up."

Groaning, Kamui drew her Yato and extended her arm, Peri and Silas following suit and aiming their weapons as well. "Enough talk! Corrin, if you won't surrender, then I'll defeat you myself!"

And thus, the brawl began once more. Silas wasn't used to fighting without Agro, but it wasn't as if they were permitted to bring their mounts into the opera house. Peri was a little more used to combat without Kamui—the horse—but still was out of practice. Even so, she relentlessly swung her sword in practically every direction, threatening to lob off the head of anyone who dared come near.

Felicia thanked the gods for her natural agility. If her reaction time had been any slower, she would have been cut into pieces. Bobbing and weaving to avoid every one of Peri's attacks, Felicia drew a dagger from her waistband and forced it into a chink in her opponent's armor. It didn't make contact with her body, however, for Peri suddenly jerked to the side before Felicia could get it fully into the opening. Now with the advantage, Peri quickly slammed her armored hip into Felicia's face and knocked the clumsy maid to the ground.

Kagero wasn't having much more luck in her battle. With her sword against Silas's lance, she found that he was having a difficult time closing the distance. Silas fought with his teeth grit the entire time, jabbing and twisting the spear whenever he needed to. He could block Kagero's slashes with the pole, but just could not land an attack on his own. He could not just play defense, however. He needed to attack. Kagero brought her sword down vertically and the attack was blocked by Silas holding his lance sideways with both hands. He ducked forward to quickly get directly in front of Kagero, sparks flying as her sword's blade scraped across the pole of his spear. In under a second, Silas swiftly brought the spear down below Kagero's chin and forced it upward, essentially uppercutting her and making her fall on her back.

Kagero ignored the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and rolled to the side to avoid Silas' stab into the ground. The pointed weapon dug into the carpet and when Silas attempted to withdraw it, he found that it had become stuck in the floor. He knew that since Kagero was incredibly fast, he had to abandon the spear and find a new weapon, but he was too slow. The instant he loosed his grip from the spear, the end of Kagero's sword pierced right through the metal protecting his hand and came out the other end.

Kamui's attention usually would have faltered upon her hearing Silas' cry of pain, but she was far too focused to let that happen now. As for Corrin, he briefly wondered if the Yato blades were ever meant to be used against each other, but he couldn't think about that now. All he could do was take everything he had learned into consideration as he fought the girl with whom he had spent his entire life up until now.

He watched her feet, her waist, and her arms. Those were the parts of the body that mattered most right now. Seeing that one of her feet was suddenly on its toes, Corrin anticipated that she was about to spin around. Sure enough, he managed to block her deadly pirouette by holding out the flat end of his Yato, each slashes harmlessly dragging off. Kamui wasted no time between attacks, however, and used the momentum she had to her advantage. With one hand still holding her sword, she balled her fist and punched right past Corrin's own weapon, landing a direct blow to his nose once again.

Corrin fell on his rear end and shook his head to dispels the black spots from his vision, only to be met with the giant maw that Kamui's arm had taken the form of and the large blue orb of water forming within it. He managed to roll out of the way and spring to his feet before he could be hit and caught a glimpse of his sister's arm returning to normal.

At this point, both siblings were exhausted. The water that had soaked into the inner fabric of their armor had slowed them down and made their flesh raw. They had been fighting for so long and they were both starting to show it. Their movements were slower, their posture more sloppy, and their attacks less coordinated.

Felicia was down, having been knocked unconscious, and Silas was pinned to the ground by a sword through his hand. Taking a quick look around the battlefield, Kamui's expression darkened. It appeared that losing Elise was extremely detrimental. The swordsman who Niles had previously knocked out had recovered and with the assistance of a shorter swordswoman had taken him down. He wasn't dead, but was taking cover in the shadows of the tunnel as his arm bled severely.

Niles wasn't the only one hurting. Laslow had been slammed into a wall by a powerful wind spell and could barely walk, having hit his head. Effie and Arthur had been bested by the oldest Hoshidan princess herself. This was not looking good for Nohr, not at all, though in spite of that…

"Keep pushing forward!" Kamui shouted, forcing herself to stand up straight and raising her sword high in the air. "Everyone, we must—"

"That's enough!"

With her eyes wide, Kamui turned her head to the direction in which she heard the deep, booming voice. Standing in the front row of the seats were Garon, Hans, Iago, and Camilla.

"Father!?"

"Garon!"

Immediately, Corrin sprouted wings and began to run forward, fully prepared to strike down Garon right then and there. Before he could kick off of the ground, the entire room flashed white and a bolt of lightning pierced his body, leaving a scorching black mark on the carpet below. With only the whites of his eyes visible, Corrin stood paralyzed for a few moments before crumbling to the ground, absolutely still. Iago smirked as he slowly put his hand back under his cloak.

"It's clear as day that you've lost here, little one. Come now, listen to your father and retreat."

Kamui blinked several times, confused. "B-but you've just taken out their leader! They'll fall apart now! Since when has Nohr ever surrendered?!"

"Surrender would imply that they win the war," Hans pointed out. "We're just making a tactical retreat. Come on."

Before Kamui could argue further, she found herself standing at Camilla's side. Her sister pulled her into a hug at once, smothering the smaller girl in her bosom. One by one, her comrades were bathed in light and transported up into the audience seats, leaving the Hoshidan soldiers down on the stage and the boats.

Kamui opened her mouth, but no words would come. In the presence of her father, she felt…small. Her battle with her brother had been cut short and there was nothing she could do about it. He was even defeated by someone other than her.

"Why not take Corrin, too?" Camilla asked, concerned. "With all he's done, don't you think it would be appropriate to—"

Camilla was silenced as Hans' large hand came down on her face. All at once, Camilla screamed, Kamui gasped, and the sound of the large man's palm slapping against Camilla's delicate cheek seemed to overwhelm all other noise. Kamui's instincts told her to lunge at him and rip him to shreds, but she knew she had to show restraint. Instead, she quietly helped her sister back to her feet and tightly clenched her fist, her nails digging into her flesh.

"Watch your tone, girl!" Hans demanded. "Or are you questioning the authority of the king?"

Touching her fingertips to her reddened face, the princess winced at the stinging sensation. Camilla was not weak. Under normal circumstances, she would have fed anyone who dared strike her or any of her beloved siblings to her wyvern, but these were not normal circumstances. Garon didn't even flinch when his eldest daughter was struck by a much larger man. Clearly he approved of this.

"No…" she mumbled, her eyes focusing on her boots. She refused to give him the respect of looking him in the eyes.

"Excellent! Now." Iago turned his attention to the dark tunnel leading backstage and sighed, shaking his head. "Come out now, Zola. You didn't think you could hide there forever, did you?"

The crooked man froze upon hearing his name, but forced himself to step out of the darkness and stand where they could see him. Kamui squinted as she tried to recognize the man. Focusing on the name, she eventually came to remember that he was the current archmage of Nohr. She had only had minor interactions with him when she was younger, but remembered him as being quite unpleasant.

"G-Grandmaster Iago! King Garon! Oh, you have no idea how overjoyed I am to see you!" Zola scurried over to the edge of the stage like a roach who had just had a light shined on it. "These Hoshidans kidnapped me and have been forcing me to work my magic for them! But now that you're here, I'm finally free!"

Hoshido's oldest princess balled her fist, grit her teeth, and lunged forward while shouting. Kaze and Saizo took hold of her arms to prevent her from advancing. "Aaaagh! Zola, you coward! You absolutely wretched man! What happened to wanting to end the war?!"

Zola winced at Hinoka's insults, but kept his gaze locked on his Nohrian allies. He couldn't look back, for that would show weakness. "See how short tempered this one is? They're savages, absolute savages! Come now, warp me up there with you all so that I can finally be rid of them!"

When he was not met with a response of any sort, Zola's expression darkened and he clasped his hands together. "I…I also ask of you to be merciful to these people, however. While they may be savages, they are only doing what has been demanded of them by your son, King Garon. Should they really be punished just for carrying out orders?"

The king stared at his archmage for a while, his dark eyes intently focused and his expression unchanging. Finally, his face turned to a scowl and he began looking at Zola with disgust.

"You let yourself be taken hostage by the enemy and chose to help them instead of be killed with your honor still intact. You, Zola, are weak. You will not be missed."

For only a moment, Zola's face was one of despair. He began to turn his head to take one final look at the Hoshidans with whom he had been travelling with, but that action was cut abruptly short as a colossal pillar of fire erupted around him.

Sakura cried out and burst into tears, having to be held by Subaki, who covered her ears with his palms. Zola let loose screams of agony, the flames latching onto his body and refusing to let go. Slowly, his flesh was scorched and his eyes began to melt from his skull, but no one could see this behind the wall of fire. When the screaming finally came to an end, the pillar vanished and left behind a burnt corpse, small flames lingering on the blackened clothing.

Iago smirked as he lowered his hand. "Come along then! We've no time to waste ridding ourselves of these Hoshidans' presence!" He turned around with a flourish of his cloak and began to walk towards the exit, Garon and Hans following behind him.

The sisters exchanged worried looks and Kamui felt bile rising. The sight of Garon himself—the king of the most powerful country on the continent—walking behind a lowly worm like Iago made her sick to her stomach. On top of that, she had just witnessed a man be burned alive. With disconcerted faces, the soldiers of Nohr reluctantly moved on, leaving the Hoshidans down on the stage.

A few of them looked like they were planning on pursuing the Nohrians, but after seeing what happened to Corrin, no one truly wanted to attempt it. Hinoka recognized the man who had struck her brother with lightning as Iago, the same man who had disguised the Wind Tribe warriors as Faceless. She felt her blood boil and nearly chucked her lance directly into his back, but she knew that trying to do so would only end up hurting her and her companions.

"He wasn't hurt badly, just knocked unconscious," Sakura explained to Azura minutes later. The songstress was down on her knees, resting Corrin's head on her lap. "It shouldn't be long before he wakes up."

"He's the only one that can open the passage to the Astral Plane, so we'll just have to wait for that to happen." Azura ran her fingers through Corrin's stark white hair, a small smile on his face. "He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping…you're a lucky woman, Setsuna."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Kagero took a step forward with her brow furrowed. "You are…awfully relaxed considering what just happened. We failed in our mission."

"They retreated, did they not? I'd count that as a victory in our book. How's your neck?"

"It's fine," Kagero quickly responded as she placed her hand over where she had been shot. Admittedly, it still hurt a little, but she was not going to tell anyone that. "Our goal was to assassinate King Garon, which we were not successful in doing. If only Corrin's sister had not been there…"

Azura simply shrugged, putting her hand on Corrin's forehead. "It's unfortunate, but there's no use dwelling on the past. If anything, we should have predicted that she would be there. She is quite the skilled fighter. The way she used her magic, the way she managed her blade, it was impressive. Surely you have to respect her for that at the very least."

"What she is is the enemy," Takumi firmly put. "If it weren't for her, we could have killed Garon and the war would come to an end not long after." The young man grit his teeth, balling his fists. "Gods, she didn't even pay attention to any of us. All she was worried about was her stupid brother."

Oboro nodded in agreement, crossing her arms and scowling. "Of course. She obviously doesn't care about you, Sakura, Hinoka or Ryoma. If she did, she wouldn't have chosen to side with those stupid Nohrians. Did you see the way she left? She didn't even look back!"

"Well, perhaps she was more attached to her other family than us," Azura suggested. When she was met with inquisitive gazes, she shook her head and continued. "Think about it. Corrin claims to have sided with Hoshido because he feels that King Garon is corrupt and unjust. He was stolen as a baby, so it's only logical that he'd want to connect with his birth family, yes?"

"Yes, that seems right," Kagero responded.

"However, think about it from Kamui's perspective. She's abducted and taken to a country she's been raised to hate and then told that a group of strangers are her real family. In the end, she chose to remain with those with whom she already had a deep connection, regardless of their relation by blood." Azura put a finger on her chin, looking up at the ceiling. "I think…that Kamui is more concerned with family than morals and that Corrin simply wants to take down a corrupt leader on top of feeling betrayed by those he called his siblings. Does anyone have any other thoughts?"

No one said anything. For several moments, the only sounds that could be heard were those of uncomfortable shuffling and sniffles. Kaden was the one who broke the silence.

"Wow, Azura! You're pretty perceptive!" he said. He approached the group in the shape of a white fox with a red scruff, nine long tails tipped in the same shade of red sprouting from his backside. His muzzle's fur was stained with blood. In a flash of light, he returned to the form in which he initially met them all, clothes and all. However, blood remained around his mouth and he promptly wiped most of it away with his sleeve. "I don't really know what's going on, but you don't know that lady that looks like Corrin very well, do you? The fact that you're able to just say all that is amazing!"

With a slight blush, Azura waved the comment off. "You flatter me. It's just a guess. We can ask Corrin once he awakens if we're truly that curious."

Having already known the specific reasons for Corrin's decisions, Kagero hid her face in her scarf. She could have spoken up, but she did not feel that it was her place to reveal Corrin's motivations.

Huffing, Takumi sat down next to Corrin angrily and reached out to shake him awake. His hand was slapped away by Azura's own and she gave him a disapproving look. "You see what just happened, yes? He just saw his twin sister for the first time in weeks and had to fight her. Let him wake peacefully."

Takumi threw his arms up in frustration and Oboro patted his shoulder to comfort him. Kaden placed his fists on his hips and stood proudly. "Well then! You all helped me to help a friend, so I guess I owe you a favor now! I'll tell you what. You guys are all humans with fragile bodies—though I think I saw Corrin here turn into a dragon? Anyway, what you need is some kitsune muscle behind your forces! How do you feel about me fighting with you guys until the war's done, huh?"

"We would have to ask Corrin about it, though I'm certain that he'd say yes. You were quite formidable on the battlefield, Kaden. You would be a wonderful addition to our army," Azura answered.

"What? Since when were you second in command?" Takumi asked. He would have continued had it not been for Hinoka putting her hand on his head.

"Easy there, Takumi. We need all the help we can get," she said. "In fact, having someone like Kaden with us would be pretty good in a fight. Kitsune are quick, strong, and hardy."

"And shiny! Did you see my fur?" Kaden added.

Hinoka continued. "Remember, we're not the only ones fighting this war. Thousands of Hoshidan soldiers are working hard out there, fighting their own battles. We're just our own little squadron here. The bigger we get, the better chance we have at winning battles."

"There's been an awful lot of combat when our only goal this whole time has been to reunite with Ryoma. The wind tribe, the Mokushans, the person on the boat—we still don't even know who or what that was!" Takumi shouted. He grew increasingly frustrated as he continued to speak, ranting along. "Why'd we even come here? We were just supposed to arrive in Cyrkensia and continue on marching to Cheve, but no , we just HAD to go out of our way and risk our lives for some girl we've never even met!"

"I assure you Corrin did not just agree to help out of the kindness of his heart, but also the opportunity to potentially kill King Garon. We failed in that endeavor, and there's no changing that, but it's fine. War is a series of wins and losses, Takumi."

The young man scoffed. "Losses, right. Losses like Mother."

Hinoka grabbed Takumi's ear and roughly pulled him back, causing him to repeat "Ow! Ow!". She looked down at him with an angry expression.

"Watch it, Takumi. You're seventeen years old, it's time to grow up. I understand how you feel, but you shouldn't say things like that."

He wanted to retort, but he knew that he'd just be scolded forward. Instead, he chose to change the topic by looking over to Zola's dead body and gesturing to it.

"What are we going to do about that?"


Hinoka and Takumi were against it, but Azura and Sakura insisted that Zola be given a proper burial. Because of this, Lilith buried his body near a bush currently in bloom and gave him a simple headstone marked only with his name.

The mood in the Astral Plane that night was mixed. People like Hinata and Hana were happy to have won a battle while Sakura and Subaki silently mourned Zola's death. Hinoka seemed more annoyed than anything as she showed Kaden around and tried to get him to stop sniffing her hair.

As for Kagero, she stood outside of Corrin's tree house with a look of concern. The pain in her neck had not subsided, but she was more concerned with how her commander was feeling. When he woke up, he was…furious. He was angrier than she thought he could ever get. She could tell that he was holding it in by the look on his face and the aggression in his words, so she was worried.

She stared down at the sigil at the base of the tree. Only Corrin, Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, and Azura could use it, so there were a few complaints when people wanted to speak directly to Corrin and did not want to have to go through one of his siblings first. As such, Lilith had recently modified the system so that when someone was standing on it, it would glow slightly. This was the reason why Kagero squinted in confusion when she saw the sigil start to shine. Perhaps Corrin was coming down to talk to someone?

The kunoichi was surprised when instead of Corrin, she was met with Setsuna. She held her head low and she was hugging herself, her face hidden by her hair. "Setsuna?" Kagero began. "What seems to be the matter?"

Setsuna stepped off of the sigil and the glow died, leaving both women illuminated only by the moonlight. She began to tremble and bit her lip. "Y-you don't think I'm stupid, do you?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"Of course not," Kagero replied immediately. "Did someone say that to you?"

The archer shook her head. "No…he said I didn't understand. He said I couldn't understand. I'm s-sorry that I'm not that good with communicating, but I try at least. Isn't that enough?"

Setsuna began to wipe the heavy tears from her eyes with her palms and she broke into a sob. Devastated, Kagero stepped forward and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Of course it's enough. Corrin said those things?"

Sniffling, Setsuna nodded into Kagero's shoulder. "I've never s-seen him yell like that before. He was so…upset about everything."

At this point, Kagero was angry with Corrin. How could he yell at a girl as innocent as Setsuna like that? In her mind, he had failed as both a leader and as a romantic partner. This was exactly why she disapproved of relationships between subordinates and their superiors.

"I will talk to him," Kagero assured Setsuna, stepping back and putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "You can sleep in my house for tonight. Rest well, alright?"

Setsuna nodded, thanking Kagero before turning away and sadly walking away towards Kagero's residence. Kagero herself promptly stood on top of the sigil and watched it glow, waiting for her to be warped into the house. It happened sooner than she expected, with her being teleported away within five or so seconds.

"Setsuna, I—" Corrin reached out to touch her as she appeared in the center of the room, but froze and pulled his hand back when he realized that it was not who he expected. His expression darkened and he looked away. "Oh, Kagero. It's just you. I'm sorry, I was—"

"What exactly did you say to her?" Kagero demanded, giving her commander a stern look. He was somewhat surprised by her sudden question, but his surprised look quickly faded.

The young man sighed and turned around, shuffling over to his desk before sitting down and putting his head in his hands. "I…I yelled at her. She didn't understand, and for that, I yelled at her. It's not her fault, so why did I react that way?" he asked himself. "I was going on and on about so many things and what she said in response just infuriated me. I called her daft, socially inept, an imbecile; Gods, what's wrong with me?"

Kagero frowned, Corrin staring despairingly into the mirror. She knew that she had not known him for very long, but she still never expected to see him this upset, nor did she ever expect him to raise his voice at anyone. He came off as a docile young man, one that was kind and gentle.

"I see…well, what were these things?" she inquired, sitting down on Corrin's bedside. "Say to me what you said to her."

Corrin put his forehead on the wooden desk and let out a large sale. "I said a lot of things…I was so close , Kagero. I was so close to putting an end to all of this, but…I didn't anticipate my sister to be there. What if I held back in my attacks because I didn't want to hurt her? I could have just ignored her and kept pursuing Garon. Maybe if I hadn't taken so long to recover in the air. Maybe if I hadn't let her get me in the water. Maybe if I had just flown away and went after Garon. Gods!" He slammed his fist on the table, startling Kagero a little. "He was right there, damn it! And I let him get away!"

Kagero did not respond immediately. Instead, she allowed Corrin to calm his nerves before continuing. "We may have, but think about the cost. We assisted a young girl in getting to see her mother one last time, but the time we spent fighting that battle could have been put towards going to Cheve. What if something happens to Ryoma or Scarlet and we aren't there to protect them because we lost a day here? Gods, Takumi was right. On top of that, we lost a useful asset in Zola. And…" Corrin's breathing steadied and he slowly raised his head, turning it to meet Kagero's eyes. "Do you have any siblings, Kagero?"

She nodded. "Yes, an older brother. I don't get to talk to him much, but we were very close as children."

"Then I want you to imagine something. Imagine the look of horror in his eyes as he watches you attempt to kill your father after not seeing either of them for weeks." Corrin grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears. "Elise…she's such a sweet girl, and I was going to murder her father right in front of her. What kind of brother am I?"

Kagero nodded in understanding. She was reminded of the days when she was young and Orochi would come to her sobbing about a boy, and she would have to console her best friend over her heartbreak. They were teenagers then, but now, she was a grown woman having to comfort a grown man.

"I can't say that I fully understand," Kagero began, "but you must feel awful. I am truly sorry that this is something that you have to do, but…you made your choice, Commander. When you decided to fight with us, you must have anticipated that you may have to do something like that, yes?"

"I did. And I thought I was ready, but apparently I can't stomach the thought of hurting them. My siblings…I love them all so much and it just kills me that I might have to end their lives one day."

Truthfully, Kagero did not know what to say. She could empathize with his pain, but simply did not have any advice for the situation that he was in. "…Might I suggest something? What I wish for you to do is first apologize to Setsuna. I'm unsure if she will still want to be with you afterwards, but it's important that you make amends. After that, you should talk to Azura about this. You two are close, right?" Corrin seemed to have to think for a moment before he nodded. "Good. She will be able to ease your mind better than I can."

Kagero stood and peered out the window briefly, seeing a few lights in her companions' houses go down. "I should probably get to bed. You should, too. It's important for you to rest."

Corrin unfastened his cape and lazily tossed it aside, giving Kagero a slow nod. "Right…thank you, Kagero. I appreciate your words."

With a smile, Kagero walked back over to the sigil on the ground and gave a wave. "Don't mention it. I have to make sure that my leader is in a good mental state, after all."

"I suppose that is best. Well, good night."

"Good night, Corrin."

And with that, the room was filled with light and Kagero was gone, leaving the young leader alone once again.


A/N: And here it is, folks, the longest chapter in the adaptation thus far, beating out the third chapter by just under a thousand words. Funny how that one contained no action while this one is combat centered, isn't it? How did you like the twins seeing each other for the first time since the battle at the border? Remember, reviews keep me going, and as always, have a good one.