"Now…we're nearing the end of the recruitment campaign…I should explain about Fodlan. Its a massive continent divided in a number of territories. The Adrestrian Empire, the Kingdom of Faergheus, the Leicester Alliance and in the center is Garreg Mach Monestary." UI said. "All four have valuable soldiers that could lend us aid against Kaido and his forces."
"Right, three of those territories are ruled by Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude respectively." Roy said.
"Of course you all would know that from having seen them in the Ultimate Smash Battle." UI said.
"But I take it this is going to be a bit different from then, right?" Himiko asked.
"Truth is…Fodlan has multiple versions of it across the worlds." UI said.
"Ah, that would make sense. After all, I remember Three Houses having multiple routes depending on which faction you join." David said.
"So like alternate timelines." Mari said.
"Well…yes and no. While these worlds appear to differ from each other, they are all physically on separate worlds from one another." UI said.
"Ah, right. To keep paradoxes from occurring and the like." Leopardmon said.
"So what's different about this Fodlan?" Stoj asked.
"For one…it seems a number of its most prominent warriors have vanished from the face of it." UI said. "Right before its most major battle could take place."
"I guess with something like that, it could change even the smallest thing." Roy said. "What could've caused it?"
"I honestly have no idea." UI said. "Although I do have a theory. Like for example, someone there allied with someone not from that world."
"And I'm pretty sure we know who their benefactor could be." David said.
"Before I escaped, I overheard a conversation between Zenos Road and his generals. Saying he found a potential fourth." UI said.
"Called it. So Zenos allied with Kaido, huh? Seiya's got a lot on his plate now." David said.
"Right, Zenos already has three generals, I shudder to think who the fourth could be." Natyal said.
"However, I do not know the identity of this potential fourth. Nor about what happened to the warriors here. Still…." UI said as a siren was going off.
"Okay…what's going on?" Jexi asked.
"We've got some vessels approaching our ship. Three of them." Jet said.
"Are they hostile?" Vera asked.
"I don't think so. In fact, it looks like the people in them are incapacitated." Jet said. "Each one has about three life signs inside them."
"Not five minutes into this place, and we're already in the thick of it, huh? Just another day in the life." David said.
"How do we wanna handle this?" Jet asked.
"Bring them aboard." Jexi said. "Can't exactly leave them out there."
"Got it. Let's pick them up." David said.
The three ships were soon brought into the Galaxy King. The first one was opened. Inside was a woman with long white hair. With her was a man wearing all black and a red haired girl in all red.
"This…is Edelgard von Hresvelg. She's the ruler of the empire." UI said.
"The man with her I recognize, but who is the girl?" Roy asked.
"Monica von Ochs. She's the daughter of Baron Ochs in the Empire." UI said. "And the man is Hubert. He is Edelgard's most trusted confidant."
"The second one's opening." Ace said.
The second one soon opened as inside was a young man with blonde hair, a dark skinned man with white hair, and an older man with long dark hair.
"So the second ship has warriors from the kingdom." UI said. "Dimitri…Dedue…and Rodrigue."
"Then the third ship must be the Leicester Alliance." Kido said.
"Hmm…" UI said as they opened it to show a dark skinned man in yellow, a girl with long pink hair in pigtails and a man with short pink hair. "Right on the money. The Alliance's leader, Claude. And the Goneril siblings Hilda and Holst."
"How did they all know we were here? And why is it just them?" Francisca asked.
"They couldn't be the missing warriors could they?" Shantae asked.
"Without a doubt. Question is why they were in those ships? Hopefully when they wake, we can get some answers." Jexi said.
"I have a bad feeling about this. I get the feeling this wasn't supposed to happen." David said.
It was later that the nine had awoken and gathered in the dining room as there was a sense of unease among them.
"Well…seems we've gotten to find ourselves in a unique little situation, haven't we?" Claude said as carefree as usual.
"We're in some unknown location. There are also strange people in play here. Possibly enemies." Hubert said. "Lady Edelgard…say the word and I shall dispose of them."
"Stay your hand. We don't know if they are truly enemies…or allies." Edelgard said.
"Well, they did save us, didn't they? I'm sure they're not all bad." Hilda piped in as a drink was given to her. "Thank you."
"Anything for you, miss Hilda." Sanji said.
Claude looked to Dimirti, who was in thought as Dedue and Rodrigue were close by. "Everything okay, Dimitri? You seem kinda in deep thought there."
"My apologies, Claude. It's just that we've found ourselves in this situation with a pressing matter to attend to back home." Dimitri said. "I can't help but think about everyone else."
"Would you like to talk about it?" Noel asked, handing him some tea.
"What shall we do, Your Majesty?" Dedue spoke up.
"In short…our armies were put into disarray by a mercenary known as Shez." Dimitri said.
"Shez? I'm afraid we do not follow." Mayumi said.
"Allow us to explain." Dedue said. "His Highness, alongside the Emperor of the Adrestian Empire and Leader of the Leicester Alliance, we were prepared for battle in Aillel, the Valley of Torment. However, we were all being deceived by a mercenary that had wormed their way into each of our ranks…a lone mercenary by the name of Shez. As soon as we were all prepared for battle, he cast a strange magic and sent us all far away, separated from one another."
"That's terrible!" Double D said.
"Isn't it?" Claude asked. "That's how you found us, stranded and unconscious in those three ships. And worse, we have no idea where the rest of our friends are."
"Don't worry. We'll help you find them. In exchange, we will request a favor from you all once the dust has settled." David said.
"Well, I'd certainly say that they seem trustworthy enough." Holst said. "Let us work together then."
"If Holst has trust in you, so do I. Looking forward to working with you." Claude said.
"I'm in too. But leave me out of all the fighting, okay? I'll leave that to you." Hilda said.
"Seems like they don't intend to cause us harm." Monica said.
"True. We'll trust them…for now." Edelgard said.
"Your Highness?" Rodrigue asked.
"Let's put our faith in these people." Dimitri said.
"I will follow your lead, your Highness." Dedue said.
"Alright. Then why don't we head to Fodlan and check out the situation there." Hope suggested.
"That…might not be a good idea." UI said bringing up images from down below showing the soldiers attacking one another.
"Whoa… That's a pretty grizzly sight." Sachiko said.
"This is horrible." Azura said.
"Even though we are missing, our troops are still fighting?" Dimitri asked. "Is Shez behind this?"
"Can't really tell. From the looks of it, all three armies are just fighting with no one leading them." Glimmer said.
"And the lack of leadership has left others to take control of these armies and cause havoc in their own territories." UI said. "For the empire…" he said, bringing up an image.
"The former Prime Minister Aegir." Edelgard said.
"As for the kingdom…" UI said bringing up a woman's image.
"She was supporting my uncle when he tried to take the kingdom." Dimitri said.
"Cornelia Arnim." Rodrigue said.
"As for the Alliance, Almyran forces have taken control of the whole territory." UI said.
"Almyra huh. Yeah. That makes sense." Claude said.
"If we want to bring things under control, we have to bring these three forces down." Spade said.
"I agree with Spade. However, given the size of these forces, we'll need to bring back the warriors this Shez guy took." Dan said.
"Then we'll need a place to start looking." ZS said.
"Well, we found these nine on these ships, right?" Eddy asked. "Maybe the other warriors got put in the same kinds of ships?"
"Somehow I doubt it's that simple. Do you remember where any of you were before this?" UI asked.
"Hmm…I do remember some things before I was hauled off in that ship. I was in a foreign land. It was bizarre in some way. It was Ho something. Ho…shido?" Edelgard said.
"That's the realm I reside from." Azura said.
"That must mean the rest of the Black Eagles are on your world, Azura." Glimmer guessed.
"It's too early to jump to that conclusion…but it's not like we have any other leads." UI said.
"There's also Nohr and Valla as well that reside in the same realm." Azura said. "But I am uncertain if they are in either of those as well."
"Nohr is a possibility. Dimitri, Claude? Anything?" UI asked.
"'Fraid it's all still a little foggy right now. It'll be a bit before we can remember." Claude said.
"Then let's head to Azura's world for now." Jin said.
With that, the group ventured away from the warring Fodlan and headed to Azura's world, to the Land of Hoshido.
"Alright. First thing we should do when we get to Hoshido is meet with the Royal Family or see if Corrin's around, he or the Hoshido Siblings might know something about this." Hope said.
"Yes." Azura said. "Corrin, everyone…I hope that you all are alright. Even after what we accomplished, it seems war returns once again."
"No kidding…look at that." Jexi said as an army was fighting against some Hoshidan soldiers.
"Oh no!" Frosta said. "We gotta get down there and help!"
"Those aren't Nohrian soldiers…" Double D said.
"No…they're from Brigid." Edelgard said. "These are my troops."
"Brigid, isn't that part of the empire?" Adora asked.
"Yes. Brigid is a vassal state, an island off our coast." Hubert said. "We obtained it in a war with its people long ago."
"I have a feeling we know who could be leading them." Monica said.
"Corrin!" Azura called as she saw Corrin clashing with a woman with purple hair.
"And he's fighting Petra." Edelgard said.
"Oh boy… This is gonna be quite a pickle." Petra H said.
"Not quite… If we know this kind of scenario by now. She's probably not in her right mind." Ross said.
"If that is the case, I might be able to free her without any harm." Azura said.
"Uh… We're still here, remember?" Mayumi asked.
"She's right though. Support the Hoshidan army as much as possible!" Jexi said as they landed and departed to the battlefield. As they ran to where Corrin was, a woman walked between them. She had dark skin and long red hair.
"Huh…guess you're the reinforcements." she said.
"I…don't remember her in the Black Eagles." Hope said.
"Because she isn't. Her name is Hapi. She was part of a secret house in Garreg Mach…the Ashen Wolves." UI said.
"Ashen Wolves? How come we never heard about that?" Alphamon asked.
"Because it isn't an official house. It was a group of four made up of people who were outcasts." UI said.
"Plus, it was a secret." Hapi piped in. "You know…we really don't need you guys here right now. I don't wanna do this…but I can't hold it in anymore." she said before sighing as the ground shook.
"That's never a good sign…" Mai said.
They looked in surprise as all sorts of monsters raided the battlefield.
"Wait, her sighs summon monsters?!" Emo exclaimed. "What kind of sicko makes a curse like that?!"
"It's not like I wanted it, goth boy." Hapi said.
"We'd better take care of this big problem quick." Hope said.
"What if we somehow convince her to our side? She could be a great ally to have." Ace said.
"First we get the monsters off Corrin's back." Ichiro said. "Lets provide support to him!"
With that, the group split off and assisted the Hoshidan army with the pack of demon beasts Hapi summoned.
"Perhaps we should fight fire with fire?" Natyal asked.
"Yeah, I think Hoshido is already neck deep in monsters as it is. We should focus on taking them out first." David said.
"Maybe if you at least tamed one of them Natyal, it could fight against the others and buy the Hoshidans some time." Glimmer said.
"Alright. I will do what I can." Natyal said, approaching one of the monsters. A large worm-like creature as it roared at her before she held a hand out as it bowed its head. "Please, help my allies." she said as the worm went and attacked the other monsters.
"Now we're talking!" Mark smiled as he performed an uppercut on another of the monsters. "We're making some real progress!"
"Huh, I sigh and summon monsters, and Naty I think bluey said, can tame them? These guys aren't half bad." Hapi said.
"Yeah, we've got a pretty strange bunch, but… They get the job done when it counts." David said.
"Guess so." Hapi said. "Alright, I'm convinced." she said. "Lead away."
"Nice to have you with us, Hapi." Adora said as she in her transformed state cut down a Crawler.
The group fought their way through the Brigidan army and the rest of the demon beasts before finally catching up to Corrin.
"Hey, Corrin!" Hope called, getting Corrin's attention as he pushed back Petra M.
"Hope! Azura! And everyone else too. It's good that you all are here!" Corrin smiled.
"Glad we were nearby to lend a hand, you doing okay?" Zephyr asked.
"Yes, thank you for coming. This mysterious enemy force attacked Hoshido not too long ago. That woman is leading them." Corrin said, referring to Petra M.
"Hmm… She has quite an exotic wear. Though, I can't say I'm surprised." Sectonia said.
"I do not know from where you come. But you will experience Brigid pride." Petra M said as she ran at them with her sword held backhanded as she clashed with them.
"She's strong. Be careful with her. Knock her out, but don't kill her." David said.
"Not to worry. Incapacitating her should be rather easy." Hubert said.
"Hubert…what are…" Petra M said before she was hit by dark magic.
"Bringing you back to your senses." Hubert said.
Petra M shook off the attack as she charged at the group. "If you too stand against me, you also shall be falling!"
Mai went in front and blocked Petra's attack with her spear.
"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen!" Mai replied as she pushed Petra M away and went on her own attack. "Himeyuri!" she called, thrusting her spear forward. "Gekka! Suzuran!" she called, rolling back before following up with a leap into the air and slamming her spear into the ground, releasing a shockwave that knocked Petra M back.
"You're finished!" Hubert said, knocking Petra M down with a blast of dark magic. "There…it is done."
"There is no doubt she will have a lot of questions once she wakes up." Petra H said.
"Corrin, was it?" Edelgard asked. "Why exactly did Petra and the forces of Brigid start attacking Hoshido?"
"I'm not exactly sure. This could just have easily been a simple act of conquest." Corrin replied.
"Could Aegir have…" Monica said.
"Somehow I doubt the prime minister could pull off something like this." Hubert said.
"Which means there could be a third… fourth… fifth party in play? Sorry, I'm kind of losing track of how many factions there are." Gallantmon said.
"It doesn't matter how many factions there are. Our faction is going to win." Mark stated.
"Well said." Jexi said. "Corrin…have you heard from Nohr lately?"
"Yes…seems they are facing issues like we are." Corrin said.
"Well, I'm not letting my Adoptive family get invaded." Hope said. "Let's get going to help out Xander and the others."