{-Alfonse-}

Their plan was practically nonexistent; they would go back to the realm of the dead and kill Hel. It didn't take Líf and Thrasir into consideration. It didn't even mention what might happen if it somehow turned out that they couldn't get to Hel. At least it changed to something a bit more manageable when the portal to the realm of the dead wasn't there anymore. Then all they had to do was hope Líf and Thrasir hadn't left, since they now needed to find them to open it back up.

Now, they still had no idea where they were going. They went off of what little signs of disturbance they could find, under the assumption that there was no one else able to make them. Eventually, though, it started to feel more like it was intentional. The sheer amount of tracks there was to follow was almost suspicious. If Líf and Thrasir really wanted them to catch up to them, why not be the first to engage?

"Eir, you shouldn't wander off," Alfonse advised. "You'll get lost if you aren't careful."

She barely seemed to hear him, continuing to stray further and further from the rest of the group.

Anna noticed it and moved to put a hand on her shoulder, forcing eye contact. "Unless you've got a good reason, quit straying. Having you off doing whatever doesn't bring us closer to finding them."

"I… believe I know where they might be," Eir responded carefully. She pointed to an untouched part of the forest. "Eventually these tracks will lead us to a dead end; by then, they could already be too far for us to catch up with them. They are likely somewhere else… right by the river."

"And how confident are you about this?"

"Almost certain."

Anna sighed. "Fine. But it's still possible that you're wrong. It takes a lot of effort to cover up tracks when there's nothing else to explain it away. If that's what they did, then they did it surprisingly well." She glanced at Alfonse and Sharena. "Can I trust you two this time? If you do see them, remember what I told you."

Alfonse nodded. "Of course."

Eir didn't wait for anything else, simply resuming her wandering with the two of them trailing behind her. She didn't say anything to them and they didn't try to start a conversation with her, though soon it grew just as odd as seeing all those tracks before. He started feeling uneasy the closer they got to the river, and he wished he would've spoken up about it sooner.

She suddenly stepped back, breaking the silence with the grim promise, "I will be sure to tell the others." Without a word of explanation, Eir darted out of sight in the direction they came from.

The reason came soon enough on its own. Líf and Thrasir revealed themselves and were prepared for the fight.

"I'll take care of her," Thrasir mumbled. "I don't care who she is as long as I keep her from being problematic."

Líf didn't say anything at all. He lunged at Alfonse, Thrasir more effectively splitting up the siblings by distracting Sharena.

Alfonse stepped out of the way. "Even if we can't talk peacefully, there's something I need to ask."

"I'd be more concentrated on winning if I was you." Líf tried again but Alfonse blocked it.

"Who are you, really?" He needed to know before all opportunities had passed. Until then, his plan was to defend. "Who are your lost subjects? That woman at the memorial… it had to be Sharena. Are you really the first king of Askr?"

"It's funny, the kind of things you'd assume by a name," Líf remarked. "I think we both remember what Princess Lucina said in her world about taking on the name 'Marth.' We can never truly claim to be such a person, yet we cling to the idea that maybe it would give us the strength we need to keep moving. As if the name itself held enough power that it would make us something special."

"So your real name..?"

"Isn't it obvious? Who else could I be to care so much about her? It's the care of a brother to keep her safe, even if she isn't 'mine.' Your care."

"What happened to you?"

Líf paused for a single moment before continuing with relentless attacks. "You already know the beginning of it. Hel came and killed Gustav, but after that it seems our paths deviated. The four of us tried to figure out a way to stop her, and by some stroke of luck we came across Veronica and Zacharias. They helped us and together we found something that we thought would get rid of Hel for good—the heart of Angrbooa. But we didn't realize that it came with a price; with each beat, it took another life.

"We didn't realize what it was doing at first. It just seemed like nameless faces, people who no one really cared about to begin with… until it was already too late to do anything about it. Eventually it got to our little group and I had to watch as all of our hope of defeating Hel disappeared. When Veronica and I were the only two left, Hel came to us. She made us an offer: she'd return all of our people and overlook the part where it happened because we tried to kill her. In return, all we had to do was kill the prince of peace… you."

It was getting harder to defend as Líf only grew stronger. "But if they're already dead, doesn't that seem too good to be true? Why would she lose power like that when she could just as easily use you for her own means?"

"Shut up!" Líf aimed to kill him, but he stepped out of the way soon enough that only his arm got cut. It was clear that Líf was not stopping there, though, and continued backing him towards the river. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to kill you before I even knew who you were. I'd rather they be back and see me as a murderer than lose them forever and let you live. I would even kill her if I was guaranteed my own again. If there's even a sliver of hope that killing you will bring them back… I don't care what it takes."

Líf raised his sword and was ready to strike. Alfonse desperately tried searching for a way out until he saw them.

The others made no effort to be silent about their arrival. Líf's mistake was hesitating to see what was going on and, in turn, how Thrasir had lost.

"Thrasir—"

"We can still do it." The only thing keeping her standing must have been pure determination; common sense in admitting they were outnumbered, at least, definitely wasn't what she was thinking of.

Líf looked between her and Alfonse, finally lowering his sword. "No, we can't," he sighed as he backed away from Alfonse.

"You idiot! I don't matter—"

"Zacharias is going to kill me if he knew I let you die." Líf offered his support and waited for her to accept it. With one last glance at Alfonse, they left.

At least a kind of comfort came in knowing that he was still willing to sacrifice his goal for his friends.

((A/N: I procrastinated on this chapter so much that I probably would've made something about Sharena and Thrasir's battle if I A: didn't suck at writing fight scenes, and B: knew how the hell magic works in the Fire Emblem universe.

On the bright side, this actually has less talking and a little more actual description of fighting than the last time I wrote this scene. Still hate writing fight scenes, though! There's a reason most of the characters are willing to be talked out of violence…))