December: The Rescue

Inigo stated, "What are you talking about? Grima's dead! Robin killed the overgrown lizard when he dealt the final blow himself!"

The mage snorted. "Grima may be dead, but his values remain! There is one who cannot die who we submit to!"

Byleth assumed command of the battle. "Everyone, listen to me! I'll be the tactician for this skirmish. Bernie, take out one of the pegasus knights!"

Bernadetta rushed forward and shot the pegasus knight, who fell to the ground, dead. "Bernie's unstoppable!"

Subaki and Caeldori ganged up on the other pegasus knight. The other knight huffed, "I won't go down here."

Caeldori gave him a final jab with her Swordcatcher and looked down at his corpse. "It looks like you did."

Henry raced toward an armored knight and smacked her with an Excalibur. As she died, he danced in victory. "Yeah, blood!" He slipped her chest key in his pocket and scampered off.

Ingrid ran her spear into a cavalier. "My duty is your death."

Soleil stuck her sword in a mage's back. "Game over, buddy. You never had a chance."

Constance aimed a fireball at an archer, while Nah finished it off. "You really should've picked a better career than a ruffian."

Sophie eyed a vulnerable war monk and declared, "You asked for it!" Her horse galloped and she punctured his chest. Cynthia delivered the final blow and blew violet petals all over the battlefield.

Henry skulked over to the chest, cracked it open, and picked up an Armorslayer. "Ooh, this looks dangerous! Time to see what this baby can do!"

Camilla chucked a hand axe at a dark mage. "Oops! Looks like that'll leave a mark. Be sure to wash your bloodstains out with only the finest soap to avoid wrinkles!"

Darios slashed a warrior while Siegbert cut open a healer. "I hope Father'll be proud of me."

Claude shot a thief with his new Failnaught. "Wow, this thing works like a charm! Thanks Sothis!"

Ophelia gasped as a wyvern rider stabbed her with his axe. Linhardt cast Physic. Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief. "The miraculous Linhardt saves yet another life!"

Severa chased down the wyvern rider and left a gash. "I'm running out of patience! Hand over the Emperor, already!"

The mage that lashed out at Dorothea hissed, "You will never see him alive again!"

Shiro yelled, "That's it! Time to take them out!" He lunged at a mortal savant and hacked at her until she departed from the realm of the living.

Shigure flew to the other end of the battlefield and took out a priest hiding in the corner. "You can't hide from me!"

Byleth clashed blades with a dark knight and dispatched him. "You didn't give it your all."

Silas and Dedue teamed up to take down a trickster. She staggered backward, reeling from the shock of the blows. "I'm a disgrace . . . to Master Grima's memory . . ."

Dimitri leapt into the air and launched his lance into the skull of a grappler. "I'm sorry, but did you expect we just let you get away with kidnapping Ferdinand?"

Dorothea faced the mage that attacked her. "It's over. Give Ferdie back to us!"

He scoffed, "You'll meet him again. In the afterlife!" He hit her with Fimbulvetr.

Dorothea used Agnea's Arrow to throw him off guard. While he was busy catching his breath, she equipped Meteor and dealt the final blow. The mage gurgled. "If only I was able . . . to sacrifice him . . ."

Ingrid jogged past the mage and found an extremely narrow staircase leading to the final room. "I think he's being held up here!"

The group went up and found an unconscious Ferdinand chained to the wall. Constance melted the chains with her fire magic and Dedue carried the emperor out. Azura asked, "How are his vital signs?"

Dedue felt Ferdinand's pulse. "His heart is still beating. I think he was just exhausted for his ordeal. When we make camp tonight, if he's still unconscious, we should pour water and soup down his throat so he won't dehydrate or starve."

As everyone made their way back to Garreg Mach, there was a good deal of excitement in the air from the successful mission. Soleil twirled about happily, frequently bumping into Ingrid.

Dimitri walked next to Claude. "Since we have time to kill, can I check to see if I understand the sequence of events that took place while I was comatose?"

Claude nodded. "Go for it."

Dimitri started, "After Gronder Field, you took down Edelgard and the Empire."

Claude confirmed, "Yep. If we didn't, she would've conquered all of Fódlan. Ingrid dealt the finishing stab in your honor. You know, we were pretty upset when we thought you died. Don't do something so reckless again. I happen to like you with your head on your shoulders, not the ground."

Dimitri simpered. "Thank you. After my stepsister was revealed as the Flame Emperor, I could think of nothing but revenge for the Tragedy of Duscur. After Sothis revealed Rodrigue's possible fate, the room stopped spinning, so to speak. Hatred is not the proper course, justice is."

Claude smiled. "That's a great to hear. We're all here for you if you need any help. I might pepper my encouragement with some snarky comments, though."

"Ha ha! Very well. Once Edelgard was dealt with, you received a posthumous letter from Hubert detailing the hidden schemes of Those Who Slither in the Dark and their secret base in Shambhala. You crushed them, and then a seal keeping Nemesis asleep broke and he and his army awoke from the dead?"

"Yup. I was pretty flabbergasted. I mean, how is it even possible that they managed to revive Nemesis and the Ten Elites? And all those random soldiers. It was crazy. Oh, and the info that Grams shared right before she went into a semi-hibernation? About Byleth having Sothis' heart in her and that Sothis never gifted crests or the Heroes' Relics to the people."

"That part's confusing. Can we go over that again?"

Claude recapped that segment again, and Dimitri nodded. "Okay; I think I get it now, except for a few things. You married the Professor?"

Claude grinned. "Naturally. I couldn't imagine my life without her. She's my rock. I know I sound uncharacteristically mushy, but I love her so much."

"You know, I don't think I've ever thought it was possible for you to be genuine. But here you are, gushing about your wife."

"Can you blame me? Byleth's beautiful, kind, smart, and . . . she helped me figure out the secrets of Fódlan and achieve my dream. I can't believe I'm so lucky. She could've picked any guy, and she chose me."

"And Grams? Who is that?"

"Rhea. She's Byleth's grandmother."

Dimitri's eyebrows shot up. "That's surprising."

Claude shrugged. "There were a lot of secrets before the war. Now that Grams got rid of the lies, we're starting to finally heal."