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"Are you ready?"

She sat down on the stone in the classroom, holding her arm out. Light skinned hands rested on her arm. "You sure about this?"

The other woman pouted. "What part of a breakthrough do you not understand? Or are you doubting my ability?"

The man in the doorway snorted, two massive gauntlets hanging from his waist. "Definitely the latter, Constance."

Constance's eyes narrowed. "Balthus, I cannot believe you! Keep your doubt in check or I will turn you into a frog."

"That only happens in fairy stories, Constance."

"More doubt!"

"Hey, can we focus here?" Hapi asked. "I'm kind of about to be experimented on, some focus would do." Even saying the word gave her discomfort, much less the memories she pretended to forget.

Constance scoffed and scooted closer to her, to the middle of the Wolves' classroom. "Experiment implies I do not know the outcome. The outcome is that you are healed, dearest."

"Glad you have enough confidence for the both of us, Coco." Hapi rolled her eyes, but still trembled.

A hand grabbed hers, squeezing gently. "Are you sure about this, Hapi?" she asked.

Hapi nodded. "Let's get it underway before Yuri-bird gets back."

Balthus cracked his knuckles. "What they don't know won't hurt them."

Constance began to draw sigils and glyphs on the ground around Hapi. It all had a dark familiarity to it, something the men with pale hands had done to her time and time again. But this wasn't them, this was Coco. Her heartrate slowed, calmed by that thought.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Hapi asked.

"I'll need you to sigh when I tell you to," Constance said while playing with her log hair as she checked over her work. "And keep sitting there pretty and still."

"Save your flirting for the bedroom," Balthus called out.

"B, shut up!" Hapi growled as Constance blushed.

He laughed. "You sure this is safe? What if she sighs and it doesn't work?"

"Then that's what you're here for," Constance explained. "Unless you don't think you can handle a monster."

"Hypocrite, that sounds like doubt!" Balthus exclaimed. "I am the king—"

"Of showboating, yes, we're aware," Constance jabbed with no malice. She sighed. "Now, cease your excitement, I have to work."

Hapi stayed quiet as Constance began to murmur words under her breath.

"Okay, now sigh."

Hapi sighed.

The glyph exploded with brilliance—no, that wasn't right. The light wasn't emitted, it was consumed. The brightness in the room surrounded Hapi and she felt something well up in her chest, something burning. Hapi threw out a hand to steady herself on the floor, vision growing dizzy.

"Hapi!" Constance shouted, sounding far away.

Hapi blinked several times, but the light was too great. Her vision was all but gone, like she was staring into the sun itself, the Eternal Flames burning away her retinas—

The spell stopped. Hapi seized forward, struck with a hacking cough, nearly vomiting.

"Hapi!"

Arms were on her shoulders. She looked up, heaving breaths, into Constance's face. "Did it work?" she croaked.

Constance shook her head. "I have no idea. You screamed, so I cut the spell."

"I did?" Hapi murmured.

"Let's get her to a healer." Balthus.

"And a nap," Hapi murmured. The weakness in her own voice scared her.

"I'll carry her," Constance said. "You head off Yuri until we have something to tell them."

"Take care of her," Balthus said, serious, before departing.

"Coco?" Hapi muttered. "I feel cold."

"Hang on for just a few minutes, then I'll get you all the blankets you desire," Constance promised.

Hapi nodded. That sounded nice.

Yuri found the body in a river.

It was curious, because the woman wasn't all that worn away. He had seen plenty in rivers, before and during the war. Flesh didn't stay on the body once it began to decay. At least, not the ones he'd seen.

He breathed a bit of light magic into their hands, scaring away the lingering darkness of daybreak. The woman had washed up ashore, expression so content that she could have been sleeping.

Most importantly, she was breathing.

"What's your story…" Yuri murmured, refraining from touching the green haired woman. His hands brought the light around their body, looking for injuries.

None, the woman was unmarred. In fact, he'd go so far as to say she was beautiful, soaked as she was. In her arms, held protectively, was a massive sword Yuri couldn't help but recognize.

"Byleth Eisner?" That was…odd. Last they'd heard, she was counted among the dead. What was a professor doing washing ashore four years after a battle?

Rhea had him monitor Byleth for months after she initially arrived at the monastery, and Aelfric had them continue after. The woman was interesting, sure, but not enough to warrant such attention. At least, in Yuri's opinion.

So he made a decision.

"You'll have to make up for getting me soaked," they groaned, lifting Byleth up over their shoulders. Why wasn't Balthus here to do this? That's what he was best for. But no, he'd had to stay behind for something. Yuri couldn't even remember what the hasty excuse was.

Byleth stirred, but didn't wake. Yuri sighed. But his luck wasn't smiling on them today.

And so began their long walk back to Abyss with the extra cargo.

Hapi woke to Constance's fussing. Which, contrary to popular belief, was a comfort to her. Balthus liked to claim they were together, despite their protests. And they were. Kind of.

It was complicated.

"Hapi?" three voices called out at once.

"Mmm," Hapi hummed, blinking bleary eyes open. She was in her bed, wrapped up in blankets per Constance's promise. Glancing around, she asked, "Who died?"

Balthus, Constance, Yuri, and Aelfric all looked at each other. Balthus spoke up, "You know, we kind of thought you were."

Hapi's eyes flicked over to the bed on the opposite side of the room. "I meant her. But I'm fine, I don't know what you're talking about."

Everyone's gaze turned towards the woman in the bed. Her hair was soaked and clothes that were presumably hers were hanging and drying over a chair.

"She can wait," Yuri said, stepping forward and sitting on the bed. Everyone's eyes turned back, except Aelfric's who lingered on the woman, something in his eyes Hapi couldn't place.

"What I want to know," they said, frowning, "is whether this worked."

Hapi grinned. At least Yuri wasn't mad.

"And why you tried something so stupid."

Oh, there it was.

"Don't blame Coco or anything, it was my call. She thought she had a way to get rid of my sigh. Guess it didn't pan out." Hapi shrugged, nonchalant. But she must have betrayed something, because Aelfric honed in on her.

"Performing a ritual like this down here was dangerous," he said, displeased. Aelfric looked even more worn than usual, even more exhausted. "You had no way of knowing the consequences of it. You could have destroyed everything I—we—worked for."

Constance refused to meet anyone's eyes, drowning in guilt. Hapi shrugged. "Good thing we didn't."

Aelfric scoffed. "Children." He left the room.

"Let him go," Yuri said, resting his face in his hands. "I don't have the energy to deal with him now."

Hapi didn't miss the way he said that. Balthus and Constance were probably oblivious to it, But Hapi hadn't missed the tension between the two heads of Abyss. A storm was brewing there, not ready to explode, but building up gradually.

"Okay, yeah, maybe it was a mistake," Hapi admitted, more to get Yuri off her back than in actual apology. "But, if it helps, I think it worked?"

Constance gasped. "Truly?"

Hapi nodded. "Before, there was some weird pit in my stomach all the time. Now it's just…gone? I don't know how to describe it."

Balthus laughed. "Well, there's one way to test it."

She sighed. "B, you moron."

Yuri stilled. Constance froze. Balthus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh," Hapi said.

They all waited.

And nothing happened.

"I am brilliant!" exclaimed Constance at the top of her lungs. Balthus walked over and gave her a hug while Yuri allowed a small smile to creep across his face.

"It's just…gone?" Hapi said, eyes wide. She bit her lip and sighed.

Nothing, again.

Constance cheered louder and Balthus covered his ears.

"Hey," Yuri murmured, cutting through the bickering around them that had begun. "Congratulations."

There was a groan from the opposite side of the room. The four of them stopped, eyes darting to the woman.

She was sitting up, rubbing her eyes and staring at them.

Hapi pulled Yuri out of the room once Byleth had calmed down and fallen back to sleep. Constance was watching over her and Balthus had left to track down Aelfric.

"What are we going to do with her?" Hapi demanded.

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with her? Or can we not help a woman in need?"

"She's her dog, Rhea's dog," she hissed. "I know you're ambivalent about her, but the rest of us aren't!"

He gestured for her to follow him, leading her away from the room. "Look, I'm not going to pretend to be an advocate for Rhea, but—"

"No, you look!" interrupted Hapi, seeing red. She stopped and took a breath. Turning away from Yuri, she continued. "Abyss is safe because people like her aren't here. Now you want to bring a…"

"Wolf into the herd of sheep?"

Hapi could hear the grin on his voice and she growled at it. "Yes, that."

He stepped up next to her. "You have every right to hate the Church. All of us have our qualms with them. I'm sure Aelfric does too." Yuri cast a glance back to the room. "But where you see a threat, I see an opportunity."

She was silent for a long moment. Then, "Go on."

Yuri flashed a grin. "I think we can assume Rhea is dead. Or out of the picture, in the least. If you believe the rumors, our Miss Byleth over there is a reincarnation of the Goddess."

Hapi snorted. "As if you're one to believe horseshit like that."

His eyes twinkled in that way they did when he had a winning hand in cards. "I do when the Archbishop herself told me."

"What?"

"I get around," he said with laughter. "But my point is, true or not, it doesn't matter, so long as people believe it."

"You want to spread the rumor?" she guessed.

Yuri grinned. "Got it in one. You know what I think about this war, Hapi?"

"I think you're going to tell me no matter what."

He rolled his eyes. "There's not three sides to this conflict, there's four. We just haven't picked our side yet."

She connected the dots and her eyes widened. "You're crazy."

Spreading his arms wide, Yuri smiled. "I say Abyss picks a side. And with us we'll bring a powerful bargaining chip. Kingdom, Empire, or Alliance, the side we pick can call it a holy war if we bring the reincarnated Goddess with us."

"And then they'll recognize Abyss," Hapi finished. "They won't send us back underground because we brought them their Goddess."

"Smart woman," Yuri said, looking pleased with himself. "Aelfric thinks running around these tunnels looking for some artifact is going to change things for us, I say different. This Chalice won't save us. But a Goddess? I'm more confident about that."

Hapi stared at him, before smiling herself. "It might just work."

"We just have to tell a few lies. But I think we've done plenty of that so far, what's a few more?" Yuri invited.

"Who do you think we should support? Kingdom, Alliance, or Empire?"

Yuri shrugged. "Whichever gives us the best deal. I think an Abyss army in the center of Fódlan would be enticing to everyone."

"And if Byleth refuses?" Hapi asked.

Yuri started to walk back to the room. "I've got something in mind for that, don't worry."

Author Notes: Yup, that's Byleth waking up after 4 years, not 5.

THEY'RE HERE. To be frank, I did not expect the Wolves to take until chapter 35 to show up (Nor did I expect Part 1 to be over 20 chapters). Hahahaha oops. But here they are!

Oh, did I say I was ignoring Cindered Shadows' plotline entirely about thirty chapters ago? Yeah, I lied. Chalice time, baby.

Editing Notes:
5/9/2021: Minor grammatical adjustments.