(A/N: First of all, I went back and clarified a few things in the previous chapter. I would also like to note something I said in the first chapter: characters may not be portrayed accurately. Most of the chapters are written days—sometimes even weeks—before I post them, and unless it's really bothering me, I won't fix a character's personality or rearrange the plot so it's more accurate to canon. I'm not saying this to be rude; I just wanted to address it, since I've gotten a few reviews pointing it out.)

Being honest, Byleth hadn't planned for what would happen if javelins of light didn't destroy Fort Merceus. Among all the things she hoped to change, that wasn't one of them; to some of the Knights, it seemed like she was concerned about an impossible event. It was more reasonable to warn against the Empire trying to retake the fort.

Regardless, no one opposed them. The Resistance Army took advantage of the fort's position, using it as the base of operations for that month. Their war meeting, held a week after they took the fort, was a bit more informal as a result.

"We can safely say that, for now, we hold Fort Merceus," Byleth said to begin. "If we're optimistic, we can hold it until we defeat Edelgard. The next step is for us to march to Enbarr. I'm convinced that we will fight those who slither in the dark sometime in this campaign—possibly if they intercept our march. I'll give the order to kill only people I know are from that group."

"You're claiming that they're the 'root of everyone's problems,' then?" Dimitri asked, not quite coldly but not quite kindly, either. "The people you wanted to be rid of in your 'world after the war.'"

"Yes," Byleth replied. "I don't have firm proof of it, but I believe they're behind most incidents in Fódlan."

"So if we come across them, we're allowed to kill those people and no one else?" Claude said. After Byleth nodded, he continued, "That's going to be hard to explain to some of the soldiers. Putting that aside for now, though, I want to bring something else up: once we get to Enbarr, we can't come back here or we'll lose our progress. This is our last chance to prepare with the assurance that no one's overhearing, so we need to figure out how we're actually 'defeating' Edelgard."

"Regardless, we won't be killing her," Dimitri replied, pretending to hide his discontent. "The professor made that much clear to me earlier."

"I plan to talk to her," Byleth explained. "After a bit of convincing, I'm sure she will agree to stop the war. I know at least a part of what she wants—and I believe we can achieve that world without fighting. We might need to get her on her knees; we might need to drag her kicking and screaming. After we negotiate how to end the war, though, I know she'll agree to something."

"You'd drag Edelgard kicking and screaming, but you won't let her die?" Dimitri asked. "She's fully capable of lying and betrayal. When you offer your hand, how do you know she won't give you the blade instead, or if she'd even appreciate the gesture?"

"I know Edelgard," Byleth maintained. "She'll come to reason in time—I just need to determine why she started the war and how to help her move away from that motivation."

"And if that isn't possible?" Seteth said, seemingly reluctant to ask the question. "She specifically declared war on the Church of Seiros—the rest of Fódlan only got involved because she pushed them to chose sides."

"She'll understand after we explain," Byleth replied. "Trust me on this, she doesn't want to kill anyone more than I do."

Claude sighed and raised his hands. "This is a fine topic of conversation, but we'll be going on for hours with the professor and Dimitri debating Edelgard's willingness to be friendly again—no offense. My main question was: how would we 'defeat' Edelgard in fighting terms? The normal disarm-and-run strategy?"

"We might have to actually hurt her, as I said earlier," Byleth said, shaking her head. "I'll try talking to her beforehand, but she might have to be near death to accept; I know it isn't particularly fair to her."

"Fairness is for people who deserve it," Dimitri muttered bitterly. A bit louder, he said, "I take it I won't be the first or only one to fight Edelgard?"

"To be honest, I don't trust that you'll keep her alive if you fight her," Byleth said. "I don't want any of you three to die—which is why I'm going to make one final request. When I lead the Resistance Army to Enbarr, I want you and Claude to head back to Garreg Mach."

"Why's that, Teach?" Claude asked. "We can hold our own in a fight."

"I know," Byleth replied, choosing her words carefully. "This is tied into why I didn't want you to go to Gronder Field. My ideal world after the war has all three regions acting peacefully inside and outside their borders. If one of the leaders fall, someone else—it would probably be the Church in this case—will claim the area and take charge. If that happens, not everyone would be willing to accept the change."

"Not to sound disrespectful, but I have everything set up so I can say goodbye to Fódlan forever and never look back," Claude said. "If I leave, the Alliance can still hold up independently. I know what house I'd trust with keeping it that way."

"Only half of the Kingdom acknowledges me as king," Dimitri added. "The people in that group still don't agree with my every action. They might not want me dead, but I'm not worth keeping alive, either."

"You're both valuable assets regardless, without considering my own feelings," Byleth said. "If you fall in battle before the war officially ends, it gives the Empire reason to take control of the area completely. You both lead the anti-Empire portions of your regions, and in your permanent absence they would falter greatly. Listen to me on this—I don't want to put you anywhere near Enbarr."

Claude just shrugged and grinned. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that, Teach. I'm not heading back to Garreg Mach to be safe when you're going to get your back stabbed by Hubert or one of the 'those who slither in the dark' people."

Byleth sighed, but she knew that both Claude and Dimitri felt the same about the matter. "We'll discuss the exact details later," she said, defeated.