{-Alfonse-}

They got their call to arms early the next day. Alfonse knew he would be expected to lead the Heroes beside his father; it was only a fitting show of defiance to have the face and future of the kingdom in command. He'd lead small groups of Heroes before, but he himself was really nothing more than a soldier. Despite how long he'd been in the Order and how much he did, he never considered himself near the place of commanding a large group. When considering who might be the best choice for second in command, he thought of Zacharias (even if he wasn't here anymore) or Lucy. Maybe a part of it came from the fact Anna tended to keep Alfonse and Sharena with her or another more reliable person when they went out on missions. Maybe another was that he simply never thought of a time when he'd need to have that kind of experience.

An air of dread seemed to hang over the camp. It was like everyone knew that something bad was going to happen, yet also that he knew something no one else but Gustav did. He hoped it didn't show in his general absence as they waited for Gustav's orders.

Lucy was really the only one brave enough to see if he was still keeping his head above the water. "I know you have to do most of this alone, but would you like me to stay close? Most of them aren't used to your leadership; maybe I could help convey the message."

"I don't want you that close to the front lines," he sighed. "There's a reason the Heroes far outnumber the actual Askran forces. Father is expecting at least a couple casualties. You need to stay with Sharena and Fauna at the rear. Keep them safe for me, okay?"

She nodded. "As you wish." After looking around, she noted, "It seems the king is almost ready."

Alfonse followed her gaze to where Gustav and Henriette were. The only thing that could really be told from this far was that it was time for Henriette to leave. She looked distraught over something; perhaps there was a promise that couldn't be expected to be kept, or a fate she knew was coming yet no one could stop it. Only after she was escorted away did Gustav say something to his own men before walking over to Alfonse.

"Hel's forces should be here soon," Gustav announced. "Make sure everyone is where they need to be. We set out in three minutes."

All Lucy needed was a glance to relay the message to the other Heroes.

Gustav watched her until she was out of earshot. "There's one last thing I need to mention. The scouts said that Hel was with them. Under any circumstances, do not let her see you."

"That's going to be hard, given I'm supposed to be in the front with you," Alfonse remarked. "Might I ask why..?"

"Most of it is too much to explain right now. I would say she can't know you're still alive, but as the sovereign of death, she already knows that. In its simplicity, you're what she wanted the first time and what she was frustrated to leave without. She can't be allowed to lay her hands on you."

"Then why do you want me so close..?"

"Everyone needs to remember who you are. For the past few years, you've been the thing everyone hated to acknowledge. It's time to remind them that you are the prince and, more importantly, the heir to this kingdom."

There wasn't any more time to question or even discuss it. Somehow they all just knew that Hel's army was finally drawing near. Alfonse gave the Heroes their orders: to protect the Askran soldiers and hold the line until Hel withdrew. He didn't exactly think it would be that easy as simply waiting it out, but that had been the only thing he'd been told about it. Even as a leader, it felt like the only thing he could do was pray that they overestimated their enemy and that he had no reason to worry.

They faced their opponent head on. For a while they were only facing common foot soldiers; men who, when they were still alive, held no important rank or title. They didn't stop after being cut down once. After a couple of minutes they came back again from the northeast. But unfortunately they still had to hold out even though they could be relatively certain of their location.

"You're distant," Gustav noted. "You're going to get yourself killed." All the while he effortlessly took down whatever soldiers were dumb enough to get close to him.

"How am I expected to fight with a clear head with everything that's been dumped on me in the past twenty-four hours?" Alfonse hated how he struggled to keep a single soldier off of him. He wished he could blame it on their increasing strength, but really it was just him.

"Are you really still stuck on the reminder that you can't hide forever?"

He was trying to think of some kind of protest when he realized no one was around them. It was like everyone else knew something that they didn't. That something was apparent enough when they saw who was practically standing in front of them.

"Finally I found you," she remarked, grinning. "You know, for a mortal you're awfully good at avoiding death. It's so annoying it's almost commendable."

Gustav stepped between her and Alfonse. "You'd do best to stay away from him, Hel."

"Oh, and what are you going to do to stop me?" She stepped past him to look right at Alfonse. All her attention was on him as she observed him. "I didn't understand why she wanted you dead so much, the last time I was here. I followed her orders because there was something I could gain from it, not because I particularly understood it. But all that's changed now that I see you again, as an adult, nearly capable of defending yourself. I know what she wants now. Someone messed up along the line and she needed me to fix it." She got right next to his ear before whispering, "I can't wait to see her face when she finds out I actually did it. I actually killed the mortals' little prince of peace…"

Alfonse wouldn't have done anything on his own. With Hel so close it almost felt like he should just… stand still, like maybe everything would be fine if he didn't do anything at all. He wasn't even sure he could do something as he watched Hel draw her axe.

"Get out of the damn way!" He was pushed aside and only finally processed what was happening as he saw Gustav take the deadly blow meant for him.

Hel watched him fall. "That self-sacrificial idiot. I'm out of time thanks to him." She turned to try again with her proper target, but when she reached for Alfonse, she began to fade. She let out a frustrated scream before she and all of her soldiers disappeared.

Among the midst of confusion he did nothing, not even as the Askran soldiers and Heroes alike tried to ask for his guidance. He hardly noticed Sharena pushing through them to get to him—Anna, Lucy, and Fauna close behind her.

"Alfonse! We saw what happened. Are you okay?" It had been a long time since he heard Sharena so worried over him. Of course she only got more concerned when it was clear he wasn't going to respond.

((A/N: I avoided writing this chapter by writing what Sharena did during the battle. It wasn't eventful at all until, you know, the king died.))