A few days later with coordination from Lysithea in the dream world, I lead the Knights of Seiros across the bridge from Ordelia territory in the Alliance to Hrym territory in the Empire. There are a few reasons Dimitri, Seiros, and I decided not to get the Kingdom troops involved. First is that we aren't ready to start our invasion in full without the Alliance lords on board and don't want to make it look like Faerghus is trying to conquer the Empire… yet. Second is that the bridge between Ordelia and Hrym territories is small, and bringing across an entire army is impractical. And since we're only dealing with looters and bandits here, there's no need to get the Kingdom soldiers involved. It's best to send our elite church soldiers, who are the best-trained and equipped.

And there's the third reason I didn't bother telling the others. Robin stressed how important it is to have a unifying identity to make sure Fódlan doesn't squabble amongst itself after the war. Right now, that has to be religion. If the church alone can stabilize the situation here, the people won't forget it.

"Claude," Seiros says, looking out at the city that we're approaching. "I'm thinking I should stay in human form for this fight."

"Was about to bring that up myself," I say. "Your command is what's needed here without Dimitri, and you'll cause less collateral damage as a human."

"And I sustained quite a few injuries from the fight at Myrddin," Seiros said. "I underestimated the number and power of Alliance archers. I've been monitoring the situation and it's fine, but I don't want to push it."

I glance around. Nobody else is listening to us, but the danger Seteth referenced is serious enough that I can't blame Seiros for not wanting to speak it into existence.

"In that case, don't push yourself," I say. "Most commanders do give orders from the back, you know."

Seiros smirks at me. "Like how you never do?"

"Well, I have a wyvern that can take me all across the battlefield, so I'm not stuck on the front lines."

"I'll be fine, Claude. I'm more worried about the poor civilians than myself right now. I didn't kill Nemesis with my own two hands to fall against a group of bandits."

Having Seiros on our side does make me feel more secure. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm even needed here. Which is the space where I prefer to be. Making all the decisions myself is so much harder than watching other people give orders and stepping in when they need help.

When we approach the city, I see Lysithea walking towards us in gremory robes. I already told the Knights about this, but I shout out an order not to fire in case. I have Omar fly up to track her movements, but it becomes clear that she's approaches us without any hesitation. I have Omar swoop down to Seiros right as she walks up.

"Nice to see you, Claude. And you as well, Lady Seiros." She offers a slight bow.

"Well met," Seiros says. "Claude tells me you're the one who organized this mission?"

"Something like that. I'm assuming the Knights of Seiros are familiar with these situations. Fight off the bandits, protect the cornered civilians, the whole deal."

Seiros nods. "Should be easier than trying to wrangle them into attacking supply lines."

"I imagine that was quite a struggle." The corners of Lysithea's mouth twitch upwards. "What I'm hearing is that you don't need Claude with you right now."

Uh, what?

"I also don't want to leave him in the hands of a stranger," Seiros says. "No offense."

"Well, I think that's up to Claude." She turns to me. "You're not the only person I talked to about this mission, you know. Though our friends on the other side of town don't have a full army with them anymore."

I rack my brains to think about who she could be referring to.

"Oh, come on," she says. "Who else do you think has an interest in this land?"

Besides me? There's Thales who ruled it with an iron fist, and before him there was…

"Ferdinand," I say.

"Duke Aegir was spotted here recently after escaping from prison," Lysithea says. "I thought he should know."

"And you want me to fly over with you and fight with him?"

She smiles. "Flight is fast, but teleportation is faster. I can only take one person with me, though, and Seiros is needed here." A pause. "Your wyvern can come with you. Not sure why mounts don't count as creatures for this spell."

Her logic does make sense. I have a personal connection with Ferdinand, I'm more of a commander than Lysithea and Ferdinand are, and I'm no slouch in direct combat. Still, how should I feel about letting her teleport me anywhere she wants?

"And I hate to keep bringing this up," Lysithea says, "But-"

"If you wanted to kill me, you could have done so back at the Tailtean Plains. Trust me, I remember."

Seiros raises an eyebrow at me. I can explain it to her later.

"Speaking of which," Lysithea says, "Sylvain sends his regards. He's in comfortable house arrest and hasn't made any moves to escape yet. Same with Ignatz. Both of them are worried that you're blaming yourself for their capture and want to tell you it wasn't your fault."

Huh, would you look at that. Either more people care about me than I realized, or Lysithea's lying to my face to make me feel better.

"You're all so mature that I forget how young you are," Seiros says. "You've spent, what, almost a quarter of your lives in this war?"

It's been almost six years, so about that much. Damn.

"I'll go with you," I tell Lysithea. "If by an off chance this is a trap, take care of Omar for me, okay?"

She rolls her eyes. "Paranoid, paranoid. Ready to go?"

I nod, and she makes the hand motions for the teleportation spell. The next second, the world blurs around me.

#

When the world reforms around me, I'm standing on the other side of the city by Ferdinand, Bernadetta, and Dorothea. Bernadetta lets out a small "eep" when I materialize, and Dorothea waves hello. Behind them stand Bernadetta's batallion of archers that deserted the fight at the Tailtean Plains.

"I'm surprised he trusted you enough to let himself be teleported," Dorothea says. "Welcome back to the group, Claude. This brings back memories."

"I am still grateful for your assistance at Garreg Mach," Ferdinand says. "If you had not been there to drive out those bandits, some of us could have been seriously injured."

"But not you of course," Dorothea says, nudging him with her elbow. "Right, Ferdie?"

It takes me a second to remember the day that Byleth crawled out of whatever hole they were hiding in for the past five years and recruited my help in driving off bandits. This does seem like a similar reunion, except Byleth is missing, Linhardt is chilling in Derdriu, Caspar is with Edelgard, and Petra is…

Not going to think about that now. We have a job to do.

"Claude, why don't you go scout the city?" Lysithea says. "We'll meet you at the entrance."

"Guess I can't hide how most of my relevant military skills are flying around and looking down at things. I'll be right back."

"And stay safe," Dorothea says. "We don't want you meeting your end from some stray arrow. Right, Bern?"

"Uhh… right!" She flashes a nervous smile. "You haven't failed us before, Claude. There's no need to be scared."

Is she trying to convince me or herself? I give her what I hope is a confident nod and fly off. The city is close by, and before I even get close I can see the smoke rising from some of the houses. Not a good sign, unless we're looking at noble manors here. Considering what the nobles did to these people, I can't blame them for taking some of the wealth back.

A few minutes flying around the city gives me the information I need. There aren't any rich houses being pillaged, and not a lot of wealth here in general. It looks like the bandits are going after not only buildings but people as well, which means it's time to take decisive action. I think back to the fight at Remire Village where we first saw Solon and his Megamind-sized head. Byleth pushed us to the absolute limit to save every civilian they could. Why didn't they bother to deal with this situation in the same way? I know the answer, but I'm not sure how healthy it is to keep rehashing the same points of hate I have towards Byleth in my head.

I fly back to the entrance of the city and wait for the others. They make good time, and I barely manage to make a plan in my mind by the time that we're regrouped.

"Right now, the bandits in the south of the city are the bigger threat to the people," I say. "Let's deal with those first. Seiros will come in from the east and we can join forces before taking on the bandits in the north. Sound good?"

"Let's do this," Bernadetta says. She takes a deep breath, and her hands stop shaking. "I always thought my strength came from them. But now that they're gone…"

She doesn't have to say a name for all of us to know who she's talking about. The absence of Byleth makes this whole world feel empty and hollow. Which makes sense, because the goddess herself is in Byleth's head and is now vanished from this world. What happens when the divine leaves us alone without guidance? It's up to us to decide.

We engage the first wave of bandits to the south, and fighting alongside the Black Eagles students brings back memories for me. Driving away bandits at Zanado. Rescuing Flayn from Edelgard and the Death Knight in the secret passageway from Manuela's room. Fighting Solon and incapacitating the villagers he filled with crazed bloodlust in Remire Village. In a way, I feel closer to Dorothea, Ferdinand, and Bernadetta than I do to Dimitri and the Blue Lions students.

Ferdinand charges ahead into a whole group of bandits, which is something Byleth would never let him do. Lure them away one at a time and crush each one individually so nobody gets hurt. Though when civilian lives were on the line at Remire…

Need to get them out of my head. I provide follow-up cover fire, and I see Bernadetta unleash a Hunter's Volley at a group of bandits skirting around to flank Ferdinand. I bet Byleth was the one who taught her to spam that combat art. Firing off a flurry of arrows before the opponent can strike back is too good of a technique to pass up on. Too bad it requires enough precision that I can't use it atop a wyvern like this. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how amazing it is that Byleth was able to waltz into the monastery with no teaching experience and unlock the strongest potential of all her students. Even Lysithea, who she only had for a couple months during the war, might as well be a tactical nuke for how devastating she is on the battlefield. I wish…

I wish we could have all come together to fight Those Who Slither in the Dark instead of killing each other like this.

It's a silly thought, especially since we could drop everything and begin working together if we wanted to. But the trust between me and Edelgard is too broken. We've opted into a vicious arms race to try and keep our dreams alive, and it won't be finished until one of us gives in. I could potentially see Dimitri wanting to work with Edelgard, but I'm slower to forgive and forget. Plus, I understand people like her who will do anything to accomplish her goal. Temporary peace is only an excuse to raise a larger army for another invasion. Which it would be for me as well, since I know her attack is coming.

I blink back to the present as an arrow whizzes past me. Not a good time to let my thoughts wander. After we finish off the group of bandits, Ferdinand is bleeding from half a dozen spots on his body. I dig in the pouches of my wyvern saddle for a Vulnerary, but before I finish I see a white glow surround him, and the cuts fade. I glance over at Dorothea, her whole body swaying like a dancer as she channels healing magic into Ferdinand. The sounds of her opera voice cut through the din of battle, and I can tell that her song is helping Bernadetta relax.

"Man, I wish we had a good healer in our fights against the Empire," I say.

"Good luck convincing Lin to join you," Dorothea says. "The two of us are on the same page about this war business being monstrous."

"And we got you to help us today, so you're saying there's hope."

She flashes what I know is a performative smile and looks off into the distance. "I'm only here because I want to help Ferdie find his father. Lin doesn't care that much about anyone."

"Let's keep our focus on the battle," Ferdinand says, riding up to us. "No time for chit-chat when lives are on the line."

I roll my eyes, but I know he's right. My own desires to relive academy days and trade quips with friends don't mean more than the life and death of the people who are depending on us to bail them out of the situation. I have Omar take me up to survey the situation. Seiros is doing well on her side of the battle, to no surprise. Bandits are little match for trained steel. There's a bandit leader in the southern corner that we could go after. Hopefully the others will scatter after they go down. And to the north…

Huh. There are large swaths of bandits already wiped out.

By my command, Omar swoops down to the northern area and I see Lysithea blasting away at bandits. One of them buries his axe in her chest, and she responds by draining his life force with Nosferatu.

"Claude." She addresses me without looking. "What did I do to disappoint you so much that you think I need help here?"

"I didn't even see you left."

"That's not like you." She blasts another group of bandits with a Miasma spell. "Keep your head in the fight."

"The southern fight-"

"Is covered by you and the others. I saw how they stopped attacking civilians to go after you. The people up here are looting homes and killing anyone inside. Leave them to me."

"Don't you have limited uses of your magic?"

"I have enough energy to finish this fight on my own terms. Like I said, don't worry about me."

Looks like I won't be able to get through to her. Part of me is proud that she's finding her own source of strength in this world and not letting anyone push her around, but I do still worry about her charging into an entire army of bandits alone. Still, arguing here will only waste more time.

I fly back to the rest of the Black Eagles group and fire in a few shots to assist in taking out another group of bandits. I'm starting to think that I'm putting too much strain on Failnaught here by using it against lowly bandits. The Umbral Steel that's used to repair it doesn't come cheap. I switch over to a silver bow and swoop around the area, firing parting shots at bandits I can see to drive them back.

"Looks like all we have left to do is deal with the bandit leader and his group," Dorothea says. "What's the plan here?"

"If we drive them all back, a gambit from Bernadetta's battalion could wreak havoc," I say. "Combine that with that spell of yours where you almost crushed me under that big rock-"

"Meteor?"

"Yeah, that one. Save it for when we back them all into a corner."

"And what do you suggest I do?" Ferdinand says.

Still strange having stuck-up Noble McNobleface listen to my suggestions, but I'm not complaining.

"We'll work together to drive them back. Then after they're stuck in a corner, Bernadetta and Dorothea unleash their attacks and we charge in."

"Sounds like the perfect job for a noble. Let us drive these scoundrels back."

Ferdinand charges off before I can say anything else. I think back to during the original mock battle my first month in Fódlan when Lorenz charged forward and got taken out almost immediately. All overconfident lords seem like they're cut from the same cloth. Fine by me. I do my best work when providing supportive fire anyway.

To his credit, Ferdinand does a good job of approaching the fight in hit and run manner that prevents him from getting locked down. Thank goodness cavaliers are trained in the canto ability that lets them weave in and out of battle. When he charges in, I unleash a rapid-fire burst of arrows to give him cover. With the bandits reeling, he slams into their lines with full force and pushes them back. By the time they recover, he's already out of counterattack range and we repeat the process.

Of course, it's not that perfect. The panicked bandits do return attacks on Ferdinand, but his armor lets him shrug off most minor wounds. Dorothea's white magic is able to keep him healthy through a storm of low-damage attacks and eventually we're able to drive them back into narrower spaces where it's harder for them to surround Ferdinand and attack him on the way out. And before long, we get them all cornered up against the wall.

"Now!" I give the signal to Bernadetta and Dorothea.

Bernadetta nods and orders her batallion to fire. A cloud of arrows rises over me and Ferdinand and descends onto the group of bandits. Dorothea dances in place and seconds later a meteor falls from the sky towards them. Because they're reeling from the volley, they aren't able to dodge. I let out a war cry and have Omar charge forward. One arrow, one casualty. I do my best to keep my head in the fight and aim to incapacitate rather than kill. Dorotha blasts from range with Thoron magic and Bernadetta fires off more Hunter's Volleys.

Before long, the group of bandits surrender. A part of me is disappointed at the fight ending so soon when one of my plans was actually working out, but the larger part of me is shaking my head at myself for letting that thought seep through. War is monstrous, and I can't let myself turn into someone who kills for fun. There's no telling where that will end.

As we begin rounding up the bandits, a flurry of arrows descend from the sky. Omar leaps away from one by instinct, preventing it from puncturing his wing. I look up and see a wyvern circling above us in the sky. Dorothea fires off a bolt of lightning that the rider swerves around.

I can't think of anyone else who practices wyvern archery like I do. Wyvern riders are mostly an Almyran unit that Byleth co-opted for the Imperial army due to their strength and utility. But few people in Almyra use bows, and I learned my archery through the Alliance. Or, well, the Claude from this world did, and his skills transferred to me. Let's see what our mysterious friend has in mind for us.

At my command, Omar soars up into the sky. I ready an arrow and do my best to circle around the other wyvern so the rider can't get close. Don't know if they have melee weapons in addition to their bow. Once I reach their height, I see who my adversary is, and it's the last person I expect.

Because on top of this wyvern, I see my own face staring back at me.

This Claude's eyes glow a dull red, and his body looks limp. When he nocks an arrow, it looks like he's a marionette whose strings are being pulled. I swerve out of the way as the shot passes over my head and return fire with Failnaught. One of my arrows grazes past other Claude's face, leaving behind a trail of blood. He presses his fingers against the wound and then looks at them, but the motions are too stiff to be natural. He then looks at me, expression empty as before, and flies off on his wyvern.

By the time I fly back down and land on the ground, Seiros' army is done with the eastern side of the fight and is moving to regroup with us. Dorothea studies my face, and I try not to let anything get through.

"What happened up there?" she says. "Didn't look like any duel I've seen before."

I shrug. "Person got scared. Must have been a lone raider type rather than an actual soldier."

I can tell by the way she hesitates that Dorothea doesn't fully accept the explanation, but she eventually nods and lets the topic drop. Seiros strides up to us, followed by an entourage of knights.

"Glad to see all of you safe and sound," she says. "Where is Lysithea?"

"Northern part of town," I say. "Couldn't convince her to stay with the group."

"Let's head in that direction then." She turns back to the knights. "Remember, our first priority is to protect civilians, and our second priority is to protect ourselves. Leave the looters for last and make sure to stay safe. Property can be replaced while lives cannot."

The knights all nod in unison. I wonder what pre-amnesia Rhea thought about preserving lives over valuing fancy objects. I get the impression I wouldn't like the answer.

We all head over to the northern part of town, and we find many bandits who are unconscious and killed but none who are standing and fighting. Dozens of scattered bandits turn to hundreds and I wonder how much further Lysithea is capable of going. If we meet her while trying to fight off Edelgard, she could wipe our entire strike force.

The knights scout the whole area and find no sign of remaining bandits trying to attack people or loot houses. Funny how nobles siphon away entire troves of riches from commoners so that they can live in luxury, but when common bandits do the same it becomes a problem. Still, I'll knock the nobles down a peg once I get the opportunity. For now, I've got to stop Edelgard from achieving dominion over all of Fódlan.

After we finish searching, Lysithea emerges from one of the houses. She looks strained, but not as much as I expect her to be after taking on an entire army by herself. What did Byleth do to make this girl so powerful?

"Ferdinand." Her gaze meets his, and his eye contact falters. "I have some bad news for you."

"Is it about my father?" he says.

Lysithea nods. "Killed by bandits. I'm sorry."

Ferdinand lets out a long sigh. "Thank you for telling me. Given how he ruled this land, I suppose he deserved it in some manner. But he's still my father, and I wish this could have ended another way."

"Of course," Lysithea says. "Family is everything when the world takes so much away from you. And there's something we need to discuss about what happened to this land in your father's name."

She goes on to tell him about how Arundel, aka Thales, was the one who destabilized the region even further and acted like it was Duke Aegir who was continuing to set policy. I'm disappointed that I didn't see any sign of Thales here. The dude's been hiding underground for, what, several years at this point? What's he waiting for? I swear I'll put an arrow between his eyes after this is all over.

While Lysithea talks with Ferdinand, I dismount and head over to Dorothea and Bernadetta.

"So what are your plans now?" I say.

"You want us to join your army, don't you?" Dorothea says.

"I would appreciate your help, but I won't force you into anything."

I see the tension relax from her shoulders. "Much appreciated. I don't think we can afford to get caught up in this war, Claude. We'll keep wandering. Try to stay alive until everything settles down. How does that sound, Bern?"

"Uh…" Bernadetta fidgits with her fingers. "Sounds good! I was so scared that I was going to die at that stupid field a thousand miles from home. Let's never do that again."

"If you need any more bandits quelled, we might be able to help," Dorothea says, "But going after the Imperial army is above our pay grade."

I nod along. Sounds like the smart choice for them, as much as I want us all to band together against Edelgard and her imperialist expansion. I can't blame Dorothea for putting her own personal safety first. If I didn't used to be the fancy-pants Alliance leader who made getting involved in this mess a way of life, I'd do the same.

After our conversation, Seiros pulls Dorothea aside to help with healing. This leaves me alone with Bernadetta, who spends a minute staring down at her feet before looking up at me.

"I have to know something," she says. "At the Tailtean Plains. When you flew up and nocked that arrow… were you going to kill me?"

Wow. How do I answer that question? I mean, I could tell her the truth, but I'm worried that she'll never trust me again if I do. Still, I've already hesitated enough that she knows the answer isn't an easy "no." And if she suspects me of lying, it could cause even more damage.

"I wanted to go for the incapacitating shot," I say. "But if you continued being a threat to the people I was sworn to protect…"

I can't finish the rest. It's strange how much harder it was for me to come to terms with killing her than all of the other people I put into the ground during this war. All of the nameless faces I shot had lives and families and unfulfilled dreams as well. I hate who this war has turned me into, and I hate Edelgard for kicking it off.

"I see. That… makes sense, I suppose."

"Are you scared of me, Bernadetta?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should be. But my entire life, there's been nobody on my side. In some ways, life is better now. No more father tying me to a chair for hours on end."

"Tell me about it," I say. "Abusive parents will leave scars that last your whole life. It's not fair, but it's something we have to deal with."

"Which is why I don't know if I can hold trying to kill me against you," Bernadetta says. "I was your enemy before. Edelgard and the Imperials are my enemy now. There are so few people who care about me. So I can't expect any more from you."

"I'll try to prove that I care about you in the future," I say. "After we win this war, Dimitri and I are going to build a new Fódlan. We want it to be a land where everyone can thrive."

And what do I want Fódlan to actually look like? My entire existence has been focused around survival and protecting my people for long enough that I'm not sure if I have any dreams of my own. Ambitions are dangerous. Once they get powerful enough, they start to outweigh lives. Edelgard's ideals led her to throw thousands of lives on the drain to build a Fódlan she wanted to see. A mountain of corpses for a system that one person likes. Not a good trade.

Yet I wonder if my desire to protect can be an ideal itself. I'll fight for a system that protects and empowers the people of Fódlan, letting them decide their own fates. That's the most I can do without turning into someone I hate.

Though it's a little late for that. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for the amount of people I've already killed. Why do we live in this world where the only way to survive is to become strong enough that nobody can touch you? And despite my self-hatred, I know I'll still push towards the Imperial Capital Enbarr. Thousands will die because of my decisions. But thousands more will die if I roll over and let the Empire slaughter us all. Does that make it right to kill? I wish I knew.

A part of me wishes I turned Seiros into the Imperials and let Edelgard take Fhirdiad when we were on the brink of defeat. But I know how the story of rapid imperialist expansion goes from my own country. America's history is a tale of genocide, slavery, and the common people kept in generational poverty while the people at the top feast on the riches they pillage from the land. Now I have the chance to atone for what my country did by preventing an Imperial power from ruling Fódlan. I wish I could make a difference on Earth, but I have no power there. I can't let my resolve waver now. I have to finish this.

"Claude?" Bernadetta says.

"Sorry." I blink back to the present. "War turns all of us into philosophers. I'm sorry that I was prepared to kill you, and I don't expect you to forgive me."

"You'd do it again," she says. "In the same situation, if I were a threat to the people you were sworn to protect, you'd move to kill me again."

It isn't a question, and I can't bring myself to deny the truth.

"I thought Edelgard's path was the way to freedom," Bernadetta says. "Under her rule, nobody would have the power to do what my father did to me. I saw the noble class dissolving, and along it the desire to shape their own children into political tools, and dared to hope for a better future."

She takes a deep breath. Giving her time and space is the least I can do at this point.

"But she turned all of us against each other," Bernadetta says. "Replaced one horror with another. And now I don't…" Her hands start to shake. "I don't know what I should do."

"You have time to figure that out," I say. "And while I won't blame you if you don't believe me, I'm rooting for you. We all are. It's like you said. We were forced to fight each other out of necessity."

"I don't know if that makes it better or worse, Claude."

Yeah, I'm not sure either. I want to help this girl find her way, but I don't think we'll ever be able to get past me drawing an arrow, prepared to take her out. So all I can do is hope for the best.

"Still," she says. "Thanks for your support. Now and back at the monastery when we were in school. I wish we could be friends."

"I wish so too."

After a full minute of silence, it's clear that we're both content to leave it at that. I wander over to Lysithea, who finishes up talking with Seiros. When she sees me, she offers the staff Thyrsus to me before speaking a word.

"I was wondering if you were going to follow through with that," I say, accepting the relic.

"When have I lied to you before, Claude?"

"It's only that you had no reason to keep your promise. But there was also no reason for you to let me go at the Tailtean Plains, so I wasn't sure."

"Or maybe," Lysithea says, "And I know this can be hard to grasp for you, but maybe we're not all heartless contraptions who think only in terms of personal gain."

"I didn't think the good ones of us would have attained this much power," I say, "But I'm glad to be wrong about you."

"You're insufferable, Claude," she says, "And I miss you. Head for Fort Merceus next. I'm sure you know that if you pass by the fortress without taking it, you'll get flanked and crushed from behind."

The Stubborn Old General. I'm not sure if it's ever been taken in a frontal assault. Though Fódlan's been shockingly peaceful over the past thousand years, so maybe there weren't enough fights in that area.

"After that, head straight to Enbarr. We won't raid you, and you won't pillage our countryside and steal from our people. Deal?"

"Will Edelgard agree to that? I know she's not the type to let go of an advantage she has."

"She doesn't want her Empire ruined by this. If she crushes you in Enbarr, she can turn the tides of the war. But only if our production systems are intact. No raids on either side means that whoever wins the showdown at Enbarr will be in a position to take over an intact Fódlan rather than a burning one."

"Fair enough. I'll do my best to see those terms through, and I doubt Dimitri or Seiros will have any objections."

"Seiros already agreed to it. She seems a lot more… stable than Rhea ever was. Shame Edelgard and I will have to kill her in order to end the war. Anything else before I go, Claude?"

"One thing. You know a decent amount about the Slithers, right?"

She grimaces. "I'm happy to share what I do know. If something's too painful for me to talk about now I'll contact you through the dream world after mentally preparing myself."

"While fighting today, I encountered someone who looked exactly like me. It has to be the Slithers up to something, right?"

"Hmm." She furrows her brow. "That's right, but I don't know why they would bother disguising themselves as someone who's still alive. They always make sure to have the real version of the person disappear beforehand. Happened with Arundel and Cornelia both."

Tomas and Monica as well, I bet. Not that Solon and Kronya ever really… did much.

"Tell me," Lysithea says. "What was this other Claude's personality like?"

"Oh, that's the other strange part. He acted more like one of the crazed villagers from Remire than an actual person." I pause. "Oh, I guess you weren't there for that."

"I heard enough to get a general idea. And that's a puzzling one. I want to say that the Claude you saw isn't a disguise, and is a real person being controlled by the Slithers like those poor villagers. Actually…"

"Go on. Any speculation at this point is helpful."

"This is a bit of a tangent, but it connects back. I'm convinced that Those Who Slither in the Dark is trying to create another Nemesis."

The crazed warrior from almost a millennium ago. Where did this come from?

"I can ask Seiros," I say, "But I don't think Nemesis actually went crazed with bloodlust like those villagers did."

"That's correct. I finished talking to her about that matter. He was simply a bandit empowered by their technology. A pawn that could be controlled with the same ease as a piece in a board game. And we know how easy it can be for them to control people like your doppelganger. Maybe they find a way to put Nemesis' battle skills and conscience into someone else. Maybe they don't. But we know they can brainwash people, and we know that they implanted the Crest of Flames into Edelgard."

A shiver runs down my spine. "They wanted her to be the next Nemesis?"

Lysithea nods. "That seems to be their plan for if the Empire won the war. It's a good thing Byleth forced Edelgard to cut ties with them. She still thinks that we might be able to work with them for the time being and hunt them down later. I disagree."

"We need to finish this war as soon as we can, one way or another. I don't know how much longer we can afford to leave these people alone."

I let the other obvious option remain unspoken. A part of me hopes that Lysithea will bring up how we could all team up and fight the Slithers, and that I'm part of the problem for not being willing to compromise. Instead, she nods.

"I don't know what the existence of your doppelganger means, but it isn't good. But the Slithers have the power to mess with body and mind both to achieve their goals, so a duplicate of you isn't unfathomable. I'll keep an eye out for him and let you know if I see anything."

It's moments like these when I can almost forget that we're enemies. When I can swear that we can go back to how we were at the monastery, basking in each other's company and eating in the dining hall together after a day of training with rivals. But that entire year was filled with lies, wasn't it? Solon and the other Slithers skulking in the shadows, working with Edelgard to find out the monastery's weak points and strike. We need to build a better Fódlan so that the next generation doesn't need to suffer the horrors that we're facing right now.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Lysithea says.

I can't think of anything, but I don't want to say no. Turning away from her now means that we have to go back to fighting on opposite sides. Lysithea studies my expression and nods as if she can read my mind.

"I'll leave you for now, then. Don't hesitate the next time we meet, Claude. And may the strongest person win."

I gnaw on the inside of my mouth. This isn't okay. Might shouldn't make right. People shouldn't be forced to pour all of their effort into becoming stronger just to survive. But if I stand against the system and throw down my weapons, I get killed where I stand. So instead I meet her gaze. I can't bring myself to let go.

There has to be some other way. Some method to win without having to kill one of the people I promised to protect. I can still hold onto hope that she'll surrender, but the way she's talking to me tells me not to count on it. Lysithea's gaze locks with mine for a few seconds, and then she teleports away.

See you in Enbarr.

I turn back to the Black Eagles students, who are packing up supplies and preparing to leave. Goodbyes with all of them are short. I want to say more. I want to spend hours talking about their lives outside the war like I do with Dimitri back on Earth. But when I open my mouth, I can't make the right words come out. So we exchange simple farewells and I see them off.

I have to believe that they'll survive the war and that we can rebuild Fódlan together. I'm not sure I can bear to lose any more of the people I care about. Funny how killing and rampaging is supposed to be a sign of brutal strength when I feel frailer now than ever.

Seiros is surveying the city while the rest of her army is regrouping, so I head over and pay her a visit. She smiles when I approach in a way that I'm still not used to. Rhea smiled like a mother who was expecting you to be her perfect little child. Seiros smiles at me like I'm a friend she wants to spend a quiet afternoon with by the stream.

"Thank you for your assistance today," Seiros says. "It seems that there is a good reason that everyone who works with you seems to think highly of you."

"And thank you for bringing your whole army along to help us," I say. "How does the city look?"

"The church is still well-funded. We can put money in the pockets of the commoners while maintaining security to deter theft and robbery. That will attract Alliance merchants and start to foster a local economy. I'm hopeful about the future."

"You make it sound easy."

Seiros sighs. "Most tasks in this world are simple, at least on their own. It's when you have to deal with other people or try to find excuses not to help other people that it seems inscrutable and complicated. These people are poor due to money being funneled out of their providence. We funnel money back in and they recover. That's all it takes."

Interesting to see that Seiros' economics are borderline socialist when Fódlan doesn't have the same modern political framework that Earth does about this sort of thing.

"Now I'm convinced that we need to win solely because your expertise will help build a more prosperous and resilient Fódlan," I say.

"And to think that I was sitting on all this expertise as Rhea, using it only to consolidate my own power," Seiros says. Looking away, "I'm not sure I blame Edelgard for trying to crush the church. If it were only me, I could forgive her. But going after the Kingdom and Alliance too? I'm glad we're taking a stand against her."

I don't know why I'm surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth. She's criticized the church before, and she and Edelgard are both right that the old Church of Seiros was a festering pit of greed and corruption. When does giving a religious organization an army ever end well?

Guess that makes me the biggest fool of all, then, for reorganizing the Knights of Seiros under a new banner.

"Though while I appreciate your vote of confidence, I don't want to dominate the political sphere," Seiros says. "It will set a bad precedent for my successors. Plus, you and Dimitri know more about modern Alliance and Kingdom politics than I do. In fact, I've been debating this for a while, and I want to yield control of the Knights of Seiros to Dimitri."

I raise an eyebrow. It's not every day that you see someone relinquishing their main source of power.

"The church should be an organization that helps the needy," Seiros says, "Not one that conquers. When you attack Fort Merceus, I want to stay behind. You and Dimitri need to show the world that you can make your own change without relying on a thousand-year-old saint to lead you."

I do like the sentiment, and being able to take a fortress without using a dragon will send a message to nobles all around Fódlan that we do not bow to the church. The question is how to get that to happen.

"What I do want to be seen working towards," she says, "Is unifying the people of Fódlan. Will you let me talk to the Alliance lords about merging with the Kingdom? I agree with the general setup you have in mind where the commoners have some say over the laws governing them."

"Hey, if you want to deal with them then it's less work for me." I cock my head. "Actually, that could be great. None of them respect me in the slightest. If I present the proposal, they'll think I'm scheming to wrest power away from them."

Which I am. But hey, it's not my fault that the noble class is a leech on society.

"And you'll want this," I say, holding out Thyrsus.

Seiros flinches. Right, I'm basically shoving a pile of bones into her face. Right as I'm about to pull the staff back, she accepts it. She runs her fingers along the bony body of the relic and takes deep breaths.

"For persuading Lorenz, yes?" she says.

"Right. You can make a big deal about how it's a big sacrifice to return the staff to him, since we could use it for the war effort."

"Not a bad idea. Lysithea gave this to you willingly?"

"Couldn't have taken it from her if I tried. Was part of the deal for me helping her deal with this mess."

"I hope she makes it through this war alive," Seiros says. "The poor child has already suffered so much. And still, she puts the needs of others before her."

Odd thing to say about an enemy, but I can't argue there. After all of her studying and training to become the best during our time at Garreg Mach, she's the one letting morals and emotions stray her hand from the dark path of cold rationalism Edelgard and I have decided to walk. Both the Imperial Emperor and I will do anything it takes to achieve our goals. She killed Mercedes with her own two hands, and I was seconds away from sending a potentially fatal arrow flying at Bernadetta. It's people like Lysithea who deserve to have their vision made a reality, not me and Edelgard.

"And yet we can't afford to hold back," I say. "She told me not to hesitate when drawing an arrow the next time we meet."

Seiros offers a solemn nod. "Of everything I've experienced, I've never had to kill a friend in war before. I don't envy either of your positions."

I've avoided killing any of my former classmates so far, and it takes me a second to remember that people's lives on Earth are tied to their alter egos here in Fódlan. That was why I originally invested myself in this strange land in what feels like a lifetime ago. But now, these people stand for themselves. I'm more of a foreigner on Earth than I am in Fódlan at this point.

Still, I think back to Earth Lysithea levitating a pastry in front of me. The horrors that Fódlan Lysithea faced were mirrored in America, and Earth Lysithea will suffer if I follow Fódlan Lysithea's commands and take her out with no hesitation. In some ways, the world is simpler now than it was five or six years ago. I know who to fight and why. But even still, this world is so complicated while trying to achieve that straightforward goal.

Wait. Earth and Fódlan copies of people…

"We ready to head back to the monastery?" I say. "There's something I need to talk with Dimitri about."

#

Back at Garreg Mach, I find Dimitri praying to the goddess in the cathedral. He turns around and gives me a nod when I approach. It's more affection than he's shown in recent months, so I'll take what I can get.

"I'm guessing you think it's strange how I still pray to the goddess even though I know what her fate is."

"I wasn't even thinking about it."

He stares out one of the windows. "You live without faith, don't you?"

"That's not how we like to talk about it, but yeah."

"How? When I thought the goddess had forsaken me, it ruined me. You and Edelgard are both strong enough to carve your own paths without the church's guidance. How do you do it?"

"In my mind, it's easier to believe that there is a deity looking out for us and that everything happens for a reason, but my mind can't accept that. Not after seeing how the church only preaches what will allow it to maintain political power."

Dimitri smirks. "You sound like her."

Not sure how to feel about that. "I'm wary of power," I say. "You know the saying about power corrupting? I think that's bullshit. Imagine everyone starts out with the same power. The people who abuse their power do so to gain more power and rise to the top. So in the long run, we have to expect positions of influence to be occupied by those who care only for their own ambitions. The church is no exception."

"Not going to lie, Claude. Sounds like a cold way to live."

"Right. And I know religious people say it's easy to slip into the darkness of nonbelief, and that walking the high road of faith is harder. So we all imagine ourselves as cutting through the darkness and the lies to reach the difficult truth."

"Even now…" Dimitri inhales, balling a hand into a fist. "I can feel it raging inside me. It wants to be let out. Faithlessness is something I succumb to, not choose."

"And accepting the words of a religious figure as the way I should live my life is the same for me."

"Seems like you've thought about this before." Dimitri grunts. "Why prop up Seiros as the leader of the church, then?"

"Lots of reasons," I say. "At first I told myself it was better her than Edelgard. But now I'm not sure that's the main reason. The biggest factor… is that she didn't want to do it."

Dimitri raises the eyebrow not covered by his eyepatch. "That inspired your confidence?"

"Right. The people who abuse power do so to gain more power. So if someone doesn't want that power, it means they're less likely to expand their influence. I'm oversimplifying here, of course, but when I looked into Seiros' eyes I didn't see someone who wanted to rule Fódlan like Rhea did."

"And if it were a choice between Rhea and Edelgard," Dimitri says, "Who do you go with?"

"I made that choice before. At Fhridiad."

I blink away memories of smoke and flame. What kind of monster burns their own city to the ground without evacuating their people first?

"So for all of your tirades against Edelgard…"

I see the teasing smile come to his face, but I can't stop myself.

"I still hate her. For trying to conquer Fódlan, and for working with the Slithers. Doesn't mean I'm incapable of seeing the horrors of someone who mass slaughters civilians."

"And now we're the ones pushing into Imperial territory."

Because we have to. Did Edelgard have any reasonable explanation for why she couldn't try negotiation before conquest? I mean, Hubert did corner me in the library once and talked to me about church corruption, but I don't count that. If she does have a reason she needed to invade when she did, she sure as hell didn't tell me. So right now, I won't accept that we're the same.

"Sorry to drag on about religion," Dimitri says. "Is it time for us to go to a meeting I forgot about?"

"I'm here to ask you about something. Do you remember the first time we encountered Byleth?"

"Yeah." He adjusts his eyepatch. "You were the one who ran away and got the three of us into trouble."

"So I've been told."

Dimitri narrows his eye at me. "You mean you don't remember?"

"Something like that. Think back to when that happened. Was there anything about me that felt odd?"

"My primary focus wasn't on you, but you did seem to have a moment where you shifted to looking lost and being hesitant around your bow. I figured it was your first battle and that you were panicking."

Well, that part's true.

"Anything else? How did I act after the battle?"

"Well, Byleth said that you ran off when the two of you were chatting. Which was odd. And then you were missing for a while." He frowns. "Though that became a common occurrence."

And when I visited Fódlan the second time, I ended up right in Garreg Mach. I wonder if the Falchion pendant was still doing some sort of calibration as to where to put me when I warped over.

"And…" Dimitri pasues. "Your personality changed. Same as reports about Cornelia and my uncle…"

His eye going wide is the signal I need to leap back. He pulls Areadbhar off his back and points it at me.

"You're not…" Dimitri looks hurt. "You can't be…"

"If I were a Slither, why would I be having you focus on suspicious parts of myself? And if I was taken and killed after that first battle, your timeline doesn't work. After that point, I stopped the Flame Emperor from kidnapping Flayn and helped Byleth deal with Solon."

Dimitri lowers his lance ever so slightly. "Then what happened, Claude? I never thought to question it before, but the pieces don't line up."

"You ready for another big revelation?"

"I don't know how much crazier it can get than Rhea being an eons-old saint and also a dragon. Oh, and how we're using her people's bones as weapons and their hearts as power sources."

"I'm guessing you remember how Byleth was sucked into the darkness of Zaharas before coming out after fusing with the goddess."

"Right. That was another crazy event that happened."

"There are other dimensions. There's a dream world where I've been talking to Edelgard and Lysithea."

"And you didn't think that was important to mention in strategy meetings before now?"

"Sorry. We just butt heads so there wasn't much to report. There's another dimension called Earth. Technology like the javelins of light that the Slithers have is common."

Dimitri shivers.

"It's not that bad. We have lots of good inventions too. But it's a different world. Buildings made out of steel so tall that they rise above the clouds. Land vehicles called cars that can cross Fódlan in a day and run on their own. Air vehicles called planes that fly through the air and can take you anywhere in the world in a matter of a day. And spaceships that can soar above the sky and into the frontier beyond."

"That sounds… unbelievable." Dimitri shakes his head. "How do you know about this place?"

"And there, there are copies of important people from Fódlan. I've met the Earth version of you, actually."

Dimitri stares at me in silence for a few seconds. "That's… wow. So you've been there."

"In a manner of speaking."

Dimitri frowns at me.

"I wasn't born in the Leicester Alliance. I was born on Earth."

"You're…" his eye widens.

"From another dimension, yeah. Byleth and Thales travelled to Earth as well, but they're both from Fódlan. Which brings me to my point of discussion. I've seen Earth equivalents for essentially every important person I met in Fódlan… except for one person."

"And who is that?"

"Me. At least, until today."

I explain to him the other version of Claude that I saw in the Hrym territory. Dimitri crosses his arms.

"So you're saying he's the real Claude?"

"Rude. We're both real, but he's the one who was born here. Thales cast some magic that took me from Earth to Fódlan, and I think that's when I swapped places with him. The transition must have been messy, since I did get to keep his archery skills, but what else can you expect from weird dark magic?"

"This is… you've told me some crazy stuff before, but it's a little hard to believe this."

"If you don't believe me, that's fine. I was asking about it because I wanted to make sure that this other Claude was there right until the moment I entered Fódlan. I think the pieces are finally starting to come together."

And really, this is a question I should have been asking before. Why was I one of the few people at the Iowa Catholic School who didn't have an alter ego in Fódlan? I imagine Thales switching our places and ending up with a terrified Claude von Riegan from Fódlan at his feet on a dark street in Iowa. Easy to incapacitate. And then…

Well, the rest is history.

Wow when did this chapter get so long?

We're finally making good progress through the war, and I'm excited to write out the climactic chapters. Still need to have a big showdown with Edelgard, resolve the plotline with the Slithers, and... potentially other stuff taken from certain routes.

Thank you all for sticking with this fic for so long! :) In less than two weeks, this fic turns a year old.

Notes:

-This whole chapter is based off Lysithea's and Ferdinand's paralogue. It's an easy one to miss since it's non-CF and you need to have both of them during the war phase. Plus Ferdie is really hard to recruit as you need to train the otherwise useless heavy armor skill.

-Bernadetta's comment about not dying on a stupid field is taken from her death quote in VW/AM when she falls at Gronder Field. In my AM run I tried to avoid killing her and then Claude just decided to kill her instead. :(

-Dimitri's comments about Claude and Edelgard not needing religion due to their strength aren't me bashing religion. This is actually Dimitri's reasoning for why he thinks the church should stay in AM, since it helps people like him who are weaker than Edelgard.