Marianne brushed a hand over the wall of the sewer. The four of them entered a more open area, free of the confines of the narrow passage.

She bit her lip as the other three followed her lead into the chamber. The walls, they had a texture to them she hadn't felt before. No, that wasn't true. It felt like the residue left from acid?

"Dorothea, could you give us some light?" she said, too distracted to remember she had some skill with fire.

"As the lady requests," Dorothea said, waving her fingers. One, three, seven globules of flame appeared around them, at different altitudes, offering light. Hapi recoiled at it, staring agape at Dorothea.

But Marianne paid no attention to that. Her eyes were on the wall, instincts correct. The walls were coated with tiny holes, like the kind acid left in its wake.

"What do you all make of this?" Marianne whispered, brushing fingers down it. It didn't feel recent, but the marring of the stone walls wasn't something she knew enough about to assess.

Hapi did. "Residual Dark magic. It's corrosive, you know? Most people just think that's from direct application, like how I can melt someone's arm off with miasma." Hilda gagged. "But all magic gives off trace amounts. Like bleeding off it as it's cast. With White, that's just light. For Black, it's just excess of the element."

"And for Dark, corrosion?" Marianne filled in. "Is it dangerous?"

"Probably, for extended periods." Hapi shrugged. "Short term, like what we're doing, no way. But these walls are ancient, so they've had plenty of time to soak it in."

"Which begs the question of who has been using Dark down here," Dorothea said.

"Well, sure, but we got something else first," Hapi said, turning to face the songstress. She jabbed a finger towards her. "How the hell you doing that?"

"What?" Dorothea asked, confused.

"That!" Hapi said, pointing at the seven balls of flame. "That's not possible, Do-re-mi." She glanced at Marianne. "You telling me you don't see anything weird with this?"

Marianne shook her head. "Dorothea's always been the strongest of us."

The woman in question scratched her head in rare embarrassment. "Magic's always come easily for me. I don't really understand the big deal."

"Think about it like multitasking," Hapi explained. "You can do one thing really well, or two things kinda well, or three not very well, and so on. Magic's the same way. You cast two lightning bolts, they're weaker than just an individual one. Three, even more so." Hapi gestured to the seven simultaneous spells. "Even though they're not big spells, seven? That's absurd, almost unbelievable. I can only manage three spells at once. Seven is what you expect Saint Seiros to pop out of the clouds and do."

"Huh," Dorothea said.

Hapi groaned. "Seriously, who the hell taught you all magical theory? This isn't hard."

"Byleth never knew magical nuances," Marianne offered.

"For the bit I had him, Hanneman never mentioned it," Dorothea said.

"Idiots," grumbled Hapi. "This is basic stuff."

Marianne wasn't so sure. "Is it? Why do you know it?"

Hapi froze. "Well, I had a teacher who took a special interest in me. Or something." She turned away from Dorothea. "Woah, we better get going, people depending on us. Places to kill, people to be, etcetera."

Hapi promptly marched forward. Hilda cocked her head to the side, as if to remind them all she was there. "Hard subject, I guess?"

Marianne and Dorothea nodded in tandem. The former cleared her throat as they continued on. "What I wanted to say about the walls though, is it's possible that if damage is this noticeable here, maybe it's concentrated elsewhere?"

"What about it?" Hapi called back, very keen on the new topic.

"Structural integrity," Marianne said. "It could be damaged in here. We need to watch what we cast."

With that grim warning, they continued.

Hapi put her hands in her pockets, trying to dispel thoughts of Cornelia from her mind. That was behind her, it shouldn't be so distracting.

"Hey, Do-re-mi," she said to the woman next to her. The seven balls of flame continued with them, an impossibility in her eyes. Impossible for Hapi, at least. "What's your focus?"

"My focus?" Dorothea asked, confused.

"Um," Hapi mumbled, trying to think of how to explain it. "Shit, they probably taught you a different word at the monastery. The fuel for your magic. The impetus."

"Oh! Hanneman called it passion," she said.

Hapi rolled her eyes. "That's some flowery garbage. It's just fuel for a fire, no poetry about it. What do you think about?"

Dorothea thought about it for a long moment as they continued to walk through the passages of the sewer. Thankfully, the stone paths on the side had gotten much wider, enough for them to walk comfortably side-to-side. Grimy, disgusting water passed through an ankle-deep canal, past open sluices. There was incredible ingenuity behind the undercity, something Hapi could appreciate. Fhirdiad was far too cold for this kind of thing.

"I guess Mercedes," she admitted. "I just think about how I love her."

Hapi stopped, and the rest of the party did too, looking at her.

"You're telling me," Hapi said, "that your magical impossibility is by nature of loving your woman?"

"I guess?" Dorothea said, not having a better answer.

"Huh," Hapi said. "Now I feel inadequate with Coco." The joke made the other three laugh, and they continued.

Privately, Hapi ruminated on it. Hapi had some of the best magical education in existence. Cornelia hadn't just experimented on her, she'd been groomed as her successor. Hapi had learned everything there was to know about magic. To think, for all the trials she had been through, a singer who loved a woman could still be better than her.

It was humbling, in a way. And shed light on just how much Mercedes meant to Dorothea. Maybe…maybe it was good that Mercedes and Byleth hadn't worked out then. What girl wouldn't want that kind of love?

"You don't have a Crest, do you, Do-re-mi?" Hapi asked, searching for what might be a reasonable explanation.

Dorothea fixed her with a look. "No, I'm an orphan. Why, is there something about what I can do that's concerning?"

Hapi shrugged. "I have no idea. It just seems like there could be more to the story."

"We can worry about it later," Hilda said, mediating. "For now, we have bigger things to worry about."

Her curiosity backed down, reluctantly. Marianne took over the lead and Hapi let herself fall to the back.

She wouldn't let it go. Her mind jumped to the staff Flayn carried, but that was dismissed just as quickly. The girl carried that herself, and Dorothea had nothing like that on her.

Goddess, Coco was rubbing off on her. The answer was simple, it was just surprising. Maybe Seiros had been so powerful because of her love for people. Though to equate Dorothea to such a holy figure felt sacrilegious. Then Hapi remembered she didn't care.

"This passage isn't on the map Yuri drew me," Marianne murmured, brushing a hand on the wall next to a narrow archway.

"They probably don't have all the info," Hilda said, peeking down it. It was dark, their light not piercing far enough.

Marianne had an odd look on her face. "Hilda, come with me and check it out. You two, wait here. We'll be back in two minutes."

Dorothea nodded. "Be safe."

The married couple disappeared down the hall, a small glimmer of fire igniting in Marianne's hand.

"Hapi," Dorothea said, once the other two were out of distance. "You're not going to let this go, will you?"

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'.

Dorothea hummed. "There's nothing special about me. I'm an orphan girl from the streets, deprived of love, money, and happiness."

"Quite the dour assessment," Hapi commented, watching her carefully.

She chuckled. "Let me finish. I had nothing. I've had to work harder than most to get where I am. I love Mercedes, with all my heart and more." Leveling her gaze at Hapi, she continued, "Whether it makes sense or not, I started being able to do what I can after Garreg Mach. After we ran away to Faerghus. I noticed as soon as my magic began to exponentially improve."

"Which corresponds with?" Hapi asked.

"Me falling in love with Mercedes," Dorothea breathed. "And her reciprocating. I don't have an academic answer for you, and maybe there is one. Regardless, this is what I do. If you want an answer, I won't stop you, but I'm not going to sit around and play test subject."

The words struck a chord in Hapi and she looked down. "I understand, I'm sorry for pressing."

Dorothea looked taken aback and unsure how to respond. "It's no issue, Hapi. After the war, maybe we can figure something out. But for now, this is irrelevant."

Hapi knew she'd never bring it up again. Dorothea's words had hit her hard. She'd never let herself be Cornelia.

"Hey!" Hilda called out. "Come here! We found something."

Dorothea patted Hapi's shoulder in apprehensive comfort and headed down the hall. Trailing, Hapi followed.

The room at the end of the hallways was similar—if not identical to the one in Varley. A circular room with an empty operating table in the center. Her stomach twisted in knots. Years ago, she'd laid on a table just like that.

Marianne looked equally disgusted, but suppressed it enough to rifle through one of the tomes that laid on a desk. She paused, looking surprised. "This handwriting…"

"What's that?" Dorothea asked, walking closer.

"It's familiar," Marianne said, turning a few more pages. "No, more than familiar." She turned to Hilda. "This is Alister's handwriting."

Hilda went rigid. Her anger immediately bled into her expression. "You mean he has something to do with these creeps?"

"I—it's too early to draw a conclusion," Marianne said, but she looked sick.

"Fuck that, I believe it," Hilda growled, cracking her knuckles. "Next time I see him, you won't be able to hold me back from smashing his face in."

A distant noise brought Hapi back to reality, freed from memories of Cornelia. A splashing, like a rock being thrown in a lake. Or maybe a person walking through water.

"Quiet," Hapi ordered, eyes widening. The rest complied, looking at her as she moved over to the hallway. Sure enough, the noise was getting louder. "We've got company."

Marianne slammed the book shut and left it where it lay. Dorothea snuffed all but two of the lights. Hilda pushed past Hapi into the hallway.

"Keep your distance," Hilda whispered, "but back me up. If it's an enemy, let me take point. I'm here to protect you all, after all."

The rest nodded, and followed.

Hilda poked her head out of the hallway, pulling Freikugel off the harness on her back. It was nearly as heavy as what she was used to, but the bone was lighter than its size led to believe.

From her vantage point, she could hear the sounds Hapi had heard. Splashing, wading through water. Someone. Only one person. What fool would be exploring down here alone?

"Just one," she whispered to Hapi, the closest to her. "I'll rush them, get the drop on them. I'll hit hard, then you hit them when they're open."

"Just be wary of the blast zone," Hapi grinned.

Hilda took three breaths, in, out. Her muscles loosened and she rolled her shoulders back to limber up as much as possible. Turning the corner, she leapt into the canal.

Ugh, she'd need a bath after this.

She landed with a splash as Freikugel ignited with the red light all Relics emitted, her clothes soaked. It was plenty of light to bathe the passage.

A solitary man, tinted red from Freikugel, stood in the water. He wore gold armor and a helmet, holding a wickedly sharp axe and shield. Trails of smoke drifted from the helmet's holes, like warm breath on a cold day.

Her companions could see it too, because Marianne shrieked, "Deadlord!"

Hilda's blood turned icy, but it didn't freeze her to inaction. She jolted forward, feinting left only to strike right. Freikugel smashed into the Deadlord's breastplate, rocking him back. Hilda jumped back as much as she could in the water and yelled, "Now!" Before she even finished the word, Hapi's bolt of Dark lightning leapt through the air, dead set on their unexpected caller. The Deadlord raised his shield and the lightning bounced off it, crashing instead into one of the walls.

One of the integrity-compromised walls.

The rumbling began and Hilda jumped back forward, narrowly avoiding a section of ceiling crushing her. She just managed to bring Freikugel up to block the Deadlord's overhand chop, axe meeting axe.

"Hilda!" Marianne screamed.

"Alive!" she yelled back.

"We'll find a way around!" Dorothea shouted. "Hold him off until we arrive!"

Good, they wouldn't smash through the debris. Hilda doubted she'd survive a hail of rocks should they have blown up the barrier.

Hold off a Deadlord, though? One of the creatures that had brought Holst low?

"Hey fucker," she hissed. "You know who I am?"

The Deadlord said nothing.

"I'm Hilda fucking Goneril," she snarled. "And you're gonna pay for hurting my brother."

She pushed the Deadlord back with a shove, breaking their interlocked axes. He stumbled backward, ditching the shield as she followed up. His axe blocked hers again, both hands supporting it in a sturdy stance.

Hilda pulled back as more red energy bled from Freikugel, each pulse like the axe was hungry for the kill. That suited her just fine, swinging for a leg.

He deflected it, and she began to frown. The way he moved, it felt almost…familiar?

She jumped back again, back nearly against the rubble. Making a decision, she pulled herself out of the water and onto the stone siding to the canal.

The Deadlord looked up at her, following suit. But he wore armor, and Hilda was far quicker. With the flat of Freikugel, she smashed him as he pulled himself up. He teetered back, not having committed enough to have lost balance. But it bought her time to swing down towards his head to end it all.

He reached up and caught the axe.

Caught was the wrong word. Freikugel bisected his hand, but the chunk of flesh and armor held it there as the Deadlord wrenched the axe from her hands, flinging it across into the water. The red light, far muted beneath the water, glowed like a submarine volcano.

Backlit, the Deadlord grabbed her around the throat with his only good hand, the other hanging at his side. No blood fell from the wound.

She gagged, hand crushing her windpipe. In a flurry, she pounded her fist against his arm, trying to break the hold. But that was a technique that worked on those who could feel, which he clearly could not.

Marianne, she tried to shout. No air could make it past the vice-grip on her neck.

"Hilda!" screamed Dorothea, a lightning bolt following not a moment later. It was a textbook move against an armored knight. Cook them inside their own armor until they melt.

But they stood in water.

The grip broke, but Hilda screamed all the same.

Dorothea realized her mistake just before Hilda screamed. Thankfully, Marianne acted without thinking. A healing spell shot through the air, connecting with Hilda, and her wife jumped into the water. She ran to Hilda, healing spell after healing spell on her fingers.

"Go help," Hapi ordered. "I'll play lookout."

Dorothea didn't think; she obeyed. Healing spells of her own passed to Hilda while she closed the distance.

"I'm sorry," she said to Marianne as soon as she got close. "Goddess, I'm so fucking sorry."

Marianne didn't hear her, clutching her soaking wet wife to her. "She's alive," she said. "She's alive." Marianne kept repeating it, weaving magic in tandem.

Five minutes passed before Marianne relaxed. "She'll recover, just need to give her time to regain consciousness."

"Marianne, I'm—"

"Shh," she said, shaking her head. "You saw her, just as I did. You saved her from that thing. Thank the Goddess you reacted as fast as you did."

That drew Dorothea's attention over to the Deadlord, whose armor was rent each and every way. Their helmet remained undamaged, mostly.

A macabre fascination fluttered in her as Marianne continued to cradle Hilda. She stepped over to the half-submerged man and removed his helmet.

The man's face was covered in black veins, almost like a spiderweb. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin had a faint purple tinge to it.

"I recognize him," she found herself saying. "One of the Knights. I saw him around, but I don't remember his name."

Marianne looked over and her expression tightened. "Gilbert. I spoke to him once."

Dorothea dropped Gilbert—or what had become of him—back into the water. "Goddess," she said. "What the hell are they doing to people?"

"And Alister is likely involved," Marianne murmured.

"What the hell are we even fighting anymore?" Dorothea said, still staring at the orange haired man who slowly slipped under water.

"I don't know," Marianne admitted. "But we know what we're fighting for. That will have to be enough."

Dorothea hoped it was.

Lorenz thought that they must look quite imposing.

The entire army, the entire might of both the Alliance and the Coalition, was arrayed out before Bergliez. They had distance, out of range of the armaments. But it must have been quite the sight.

They waited for the signal, ready to attack as soon as it came. The defenders of Bergliez had to be confused as to why they stood still and did not advance.

"I could pepper them from here, you know," Ignatz offered, standing next to him. He idly strummed his massive bow's string. "Might even be able to hit them through the murder holes."

"There'll be a time for that," Lorenz said, shaking his head. "I don't want to provoke them into using those ballistae."

"We've got the magic, we could take them out," Ignatz said, shrugging.

"We could," Lorenz admitted. "But I can't risk jeopardizing the plan."

"Fair enough," Ignatz agreed.

Rain began to fall, a faint drizzle from dark clouds. Droplets on armor of those around him became a cacophonous sound. The rainy season of Adrestia reared its head.

And Lorenz waited for the signal.

One of Yuri's agents had met them at the exit of the sewer. She'd snuck them to the closest building to the Immaculate Gate before leaving as quickly as she came.

"Maybe it was the smell," Hilda had weakly suggested.

Marianne peeked out the window on the second floor at their target. Most of the city's soldiers were on the walls, waiting for the attack. Lorenz hadn't advanced on the gate yet. Combined with the faith the people had in its defense, that meant there were few to none stationed at the gate itself.

It was a giant steel monstrosity. From the exterior, it had an artistic rendition of the Immaculate One's wings folded over each other. But from her view, it just looked like any other gate. A big, well-fortified, gate.

"Belle, you feeling ready?"

Hilda groaned. "I'm gonna feel everything in the morning. I can get one good hit in for sure. You'll need to be quick."

Dorothea, at another window, squinted. "I can see the hinges. How the hell did they build something like this?"

"A buncha years ago, some Bergliez had a special forge constructed to forge it," Hilda explained. "Never used the forge again, apparently. Never needed to, the gate's never fallen."

They all looked at her. She shrugged. "Holst told me."

The hinges were their target. The weight of gate made it so lifting it up like a normal city might wasn't feasible. Instead, it required dozens of people to push it open or shut. And if any invading force tried to, then the murder holes above the gate would teach them to reconsider.

"So, do you think you can do it?" Marianne asked.

Dorothea smirked, a bit cocky. "I can. Can you?"

Marianne smiled. "We've come a long way from classroom learning."

Hapi huffed. "We gonna prattle on all day, or are we gonna fuck up that gate?"

The four began to move into position. Most civilians, especially this close to the walls, would be sequestered inside or elsewhere in the city. They didn't have much time before they went noticed.

Hilda waited in the doorway as the other three stepped out. "Good luck," she said.

The mages entered the thoroughfare, a stone street that led from the gate. Buildings lined the street, stemming from the gate.

"Ready?" Dorothea asked as they walked closer to the Immaculate Gate.

"We'll have thirty seconds at most," Hapi said. "Make it count."

Standing a hundred feet from the gate, they raised their hands. Soldiers on top of the ramparts began to look at them, confused.

Both Dorothea's hands shot out, flame licking at the tips of her fingers. The two hinges on the right side engulfed in fire. Shouts of surprise began on the walls.

On the left, Marianne cast ice. The other two hinges froze solid, becoming unfathomably cold. They each kept up their spells for a few seconds before switching sides.

Now, the heated metal was uncased in ice while the frozen metal bathed in flame. They switched again, bathing each in the respective element. The heat was so extreme, a level only Dorothea could accomplish.

"Jig's up," Hapi grumbled, throwing a hand out. A miasma collided with the lone archer that had taken aim. Brave person, no doubt. But they died all the same. "Make it fucking quick."

Marianne and Dorothea didn't respond, continuing to heat and cool the metal repeatedly. Though they couldn't see them, small cracks began to form in the metal. But they wouldn't be enough on their own.

Hapi chucked another blast of Dark onto the walls, sending the soldiers scattering. "Hilda!" Hapi shouted. They were out of time. She thrust a hand up and launched a fireball straight upwards. The signal for Lorenz.

Hilda burst from the building like a bat out of hell. Freikugel was at her side and began to pick up more and more of a red glow. When she reached the trio of mages, the bone itself was almost obscured by the red energy. She continued past them, running to the gate.

Hapi swept a hand, a swarm of Dark smoke appearing above her. The archers that had begun to target her missed.

Hilda got to the gate and jumped in the air, Freikugel above her head. Time slowed and she let loose a battlecry. The axe's red energy changed texture, into more of a flame, channeling Hilda's might.

It crashed into the Immaculate Gate, the sound nearly breaking Hilda's eardrums. The small cracks that had been manifesting from the ice and fire gave way. Two of the hinges broke completely while the others warped.

Half of the double door gate fell flat on the ground while the other half hung off the part of the hinge that stayed intact, a few feet off the ground. Hilda stood between them, slowly standing up with a cocky grin.

The Immaculate Gate was no more. A horn blew, and the army advanced. Bolting spells fell from the sky like hammers, smashing the ballistae while the defenders were too shocked to move.

"Okay, let's go!" Hapi yelled. She conjured more smoke and the three tapped mages rejoined Hilda, preparing to retreat when the army got to them.

It all went to shit when they pushed into the center of the city.

Catherine buried Thunderbrand in an imperial, pushing her way past the soldier that were trying to cut her people off from Lorenz. They had been passing through the streets when soldiers began pouring out of houses—a clever tactic they hadn't anticipated.

Imperials, who knew the city far better than they ever could, skirted through alleys, dividing their forces. She was nearly cut off from Lorenz.

But strategy could only compete with a Relic so far.

I'm not dying until seeing her again, Catherine growled internally. "On me!" she yelled through the rain, pushing forward into the mass of red clad soldiers. Her knights reinforced their deputy commander helping her carve to Lorenz.

"You alright?" he yelled to her, his lance a column of flame keeping all but the bravest away.

"Mostly!" she shouted back. "Who else is nearby?"

"Yuri and Raph are west of us," Lorenz said. "Byleth got held up, we can't count on her."

"Fuck!" Catherine swore, cutting herself off as she killed another soldier. "We gonna push to them?"

"No other choice!" he said. "You take point, I'll bring up the rear."

"Got it!"

It almost worked.

Catherine got overwhelmed quickly as she tried to steer them through alleys. They'd been forced to take back to the main streets, slowly getting overwhelmed.

As their comrades were cut down, he and Catherine pressed their backs together. Her shoulder was bleeding and he sported electrical burns down his leg.

"How the hell are we going to die in some remote city," Catherine groaned.

"This is hardly a remote city," Lorenz said.

"Not helping," Catherine grumbled before pushing off his back, dancing into the fray again.

A wyvern screeched above them.

He sucked in his breath. Enemy reinforcements surely. Claude was harrying the walls and their defenders, too distracted to come to their aid. But when Lorenz looked up, the sky was covered in numerous—no, more than that—wyverns. And those weren't Empire colors.

Green. Almyran green.

"Lorenz!" yelled a familiar voice. A shock of orange leapt from a wyvern that got close to the ground.

"Ferdinand?" Lorenz gasped.

His friend grinned, brushing hair from his eyes. "Just in time." He turned his back to him, facing the imperials, sword aloft. "I am a son of the Alliance! Lorenz, let's beat these fools back and show them how men of Leicester fight!"

An arrow caught one of the Bergliez soldiers in the eye. Lorenz glanced at the roof it came from. Shamir.

Balthus leapt from a wyvern, caving a man's skull in as he landed on him. He met Lorenz's gaze and grinned.

"Took you long enough!" Lorenz yelled, jubilant.

"Sorry it took so long, kiddo!"

Claude wrapped his arms around Nader. "About time! Here I thought you had gotten lost." Claude had retreated when seeing just who was leading the Almyran force. They rendezvoused in the field outside the battle.

The man threw his head back, laughing. "Don't worry, I brought friends." He pulled back and gestured behind him.

"Claude!" Leonie said, giving him a hug that was far less crushing than Nader's. Behind her, a tall woman that could only be Raphael's sister waved a hand and smiled.

"Maya, right?" he said, grinning.

"That's me!" she chirped. Goddess, she was just as tall as Raphael.

"The reason it took so long," Nader whispered conspiratorially, "was our unexpected passenger."

"Nader, careful, or I'll show you just how much of a demon this queen is."

Claude's eyes bulged as he finally noticed the tall woman next to Maya.

"Mother!"

Author Notes: Had to do a research binge on thermal shock to see if what happened to the gate was actually possible. I like using science in magic applications. I think, provided magic, it should work? I'm no engineer. But it was a cool moment regardless.

Editing Notes:
2/15/2022: Minor grammatical adjustments.